Chapter 112: Extreme Crushing
The moment the azure-blue light finished spreading across the ancient formation, every cultivator immediately realized something terrifying.
None of them could move.
Not a single step.
Not a single finger.
Not even the spiritual energy flowing through their meridians answered their command anymore.
It was as though the cultivation they had painstakingly accumulated throughout countless centuries had suddenly become nothing more than an ornament decorating an empty shell.
Every secret technique they knew remained inside their minds, every profound scripture was still perfectly remembered, every immortal treasure still rested inside their spatial rings, yet none of them could activate even the simplest spiritual art.
The formation did not suppress their cultivation by force. Instead, it seemed to stand above cultivation itself, calmly denying every attempt to resist as though it possessed unquestionable authority over everything existing within its domain.
An indescribable silence settled over the floating islands.
The Azure Cloud Sect cultivators looked at one another.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
The fear within everyone’s eyes already conveyed everything.
The Ascendant Realm elder slowly lowered his gaze toward the glowing runes beneath his feet. For the first time since stepping into the Ascendant Realm more than a thousand years ago, he experienced genuine helplessness.
He had survived life-and-death battles against ancient demonic beasts. He had crossed forbidden oceans where even Soul Transformation cultivators disappeared without leaving behind bones. He had stood against immortal inheritances whose guardians had slaughtered generations of experts before finally yielding to his determination.
Every step of his cultivation path had been earned through blood, sacrifice, and countless brushes with death.
He remembered being born into an ordinary branch family whose name carried no prestige.
He remembered watching his parents exhaust every resource they possessed simply to purchase a single spirit herb so he could begin cultivating.
He remembered failing his first examination.
Failing his second.
Failing his third.
Every failure had been followed by ridicule.
Every ridicule had become another reason to cultivate harder.
Eventually he entered the Azure Cloud Sect as nothing more than an outer disciple responsible for sweeping mountain paths and carrying water to senior cultivators.
While others cultivated inside warm halls, he spent winters kneeling beneath freezing waterfalls tempering his body because he could not afford medicinal pills.
When others slept, he remained meditating beneath moonlight until dawn. When others celebrated breakthroughs, he quietly accepted injuries that would have discouraged ordinary cultivators.
He remembered every scar.
Every broken bone.
Every meridian that had once shattered during an unsuccessful breakthrough.
Every companion who had died before reaching the next realm.
Every teacher who had believed in him.
Every enemy who had underestimated him.
Those countless memories eventually led him to the Ascendant Realm.
A realm countless cultivators dreamed of yet never reached.
A realm standing above Soul Transformation cultivators.
A realm where mountains bowed and kingdoms trembled.
Yet now...
Everything had ended the instant a strange formation activated.
He could not move.
He could not resist.
He could not even understand how he had lost.
The other Ascendant cultivators experienced similar thoughts.
One remembered spending eight hundred years refining a single natal treasure.
Another remembered sacrificing half his lifespan to survive heavenly tribulation.
A third remembered watching his entire clan perish while protecting him so that their final surviving bloodline could continue climbing the path of immortality.
Their lives had been filled with unimaginable hardship.
Every breakthrough demanded sacrifice.
Every advancement demanded suffering.
Yet all of those struggles suddenly appeared meaningless.
Not because they lacked strength.
Because before the being above them, their strength simply held no meaning.
Above the floating islands, Clayne watched the tiny figures standing motionless within the glowing formation.
He honestly did not care how they reached their current cultivation.
He did not care how many years they spent cultivating.
He did not care how many enemies they defeated.
From his perspective, they were simply newcomers who had wandered into his territory.
He scratched the back of his head before speaking in a casual tone.
"So... who exactly are all of you?"
His voice rolled through the heavens.
The Ascendant Realm elder immediately forced himself to remain calm despite the fear lingering inside his heart.
He slowly bowed.
"This junior is Gu Tianyuan, Great Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect. This junior has cultivated for one thousand three hundred and twenty-six years and oversees the instruction of the younger generation within my sect. Earlier, this junior entered this territory because of my disciple Liang Feng’s report. If my arrival has offended Senior Deity, then this junior willingly accepts responsibility."
Liang Feng immediately lowered his head.
"This disciple Liang Feng greets Senior Deity once again."
The remaining Azure Cloud cultivators hurriedly introduced themselves one after another.
"This junior Yue Lin greets Senior Deity."
"This junior Han Mo greets Senior Deity."
"This junior Zhao Chen greets Senior Deity."
One after another, names echoed throughout the floating islands.
No one dared conceal their identity.
No one dared lie.
The atmosphere remained frighteningly quiet.
Clayne listened for a while before nodding absentmindedly.
"Alright."
His enormous hand slowly descended.
Every cultivator instinctively stiffened.
They had no idea what he intended to do.
The fingertip stopped above one elderly Ascendant cultivator who had remained silent since the beginning.
The old man instinctively looked upward.
His lips trembled.
"Senior..."
Before another word escaped his mouth—
Crunch.
Clayne gently pinched him.
The sound echoed across the floating islands.
The Ascendant cultivator disappeared instantly.
His body collapsed beneath the overwhelming force as though it had been crafted from fragile clay rather than refined through more than a millennium of cultivation.
Blood never even had the chance to scatter.
His physical form simply ceased to exist.
The surviving cultivators froze.
Every face turned deathly pale.
Their minds went blank.
That...
That had been an Ascendant Realm cultivator.
Someone capable of overlooking entire continents.
Someone countless sects worshipped as an ancestor.
Someone ordinary cultivators could never hope to challenge.
Yet...
He had just been crushed.
Not during a great battle.
Not after exchanging countless techniques.
Not beneath an earth-shattering divine art.
Simply...
Crushed.
As easily as an ordinary person might crush a grain of rice between two fingers.
Several Azure Cloud disciples felt their breathing stop.
Liang Feng’s knees nearly gave way.
Even Gu Tianyuan’s expression became completely rigid.
For the first time in his long cultivation life, genuine terror overwhelmed every rational thought.
Meanwhile, Clayne calmly took out the strange mirror he had obtained earlier.
He casually held it above the fading remains.
A faint stream of light emerged.
Soon, the soul of the fallen Ascendant cultivator appeared within the mirror, struggling desperately while pounding against the invisible walls imprisoning him.
Clayne nodded with satisfaction.
"So this still works."
He gently removed the mirror from the Tiny World.
Without hesitation, he closed his fingers around it.
Crack.
The mirror shattered.
The imprisoned soul was immediately pulled into Clayne’s consciousness.
Within the boundless darkness of his spiritual sea, the terrified soul floated helplessly before an immeasurable faceless figure whose body contained countless stars and galaxies revolving in eternal silence.
Clayne looked down at him.
"Time to absorb you and your memories."
The soul’s expression instantly collapsed into complete panic.
His eyes widened.
His entire body trembled violently.
He desperately raised both hands toward the towering existence before him.
"Wait... wait... wait!"