Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bells that once rang so melodiously now tolled like death knells across the breadth of the Mingyuan Sacred Land.
Having received the summons, every Mingyuan cultivator flew recklessly toward Mount Yanfu.
Even in Shangyou Immortal City beyond Mingyuan's borders, every defensive formation was brought to full activation, bracing for impending war.
Inside the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, water mirrors flickered, dimly reflecting scenes from every direction.
Escaping lights gathered like clouds; cultivators swarmed like driving rain.
Every conceivable magical treasure was brought out without reserve, radiating sheer murderous intent.
Across the earth, lifeless puppets marched with cold indifference, while colossal beasts nearly a thousand zhang tall galloped forward with earth-shattering roars.
Luo Lingxi stared blankly at the sight, his young mind reeling from the overwhelming shock.
Was this the bizarre, awe-inspiring world of immortal cultivation?
Though he had grown up in the Luotian Sect, Sima Huiniang had known that her son was very likely unable to cultivate, so she had deliberately shielded him from such knowledge.
When outsiders occasionally came to visit, they would usually descend and disperse their escaping light at the foot of Motian Cliff.
The places he frequented were mostly bustling mortal bazaars.
Later, when he traveled away from Motian Cliff with Luo Chen, he had witnessed cultivators riding clouds and soaring through skies and over seas, but such sights had been sparse and distant.
Only now, in this very moment, did the boundless, magnificent spectacle of countless cultivators marching forth together carve itself permanently into his heart.
If one could not cultivate, what was the point of this journey through the mortal world?!
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his hand. Instinctively, he looked up at the young woman beside him.
"Sister Ruoli?"
Ye Ruoli abruptly loosened her grip, panting heavily. "I'm sorry, Lingxi. Did I hurt you?"
Luo Lingxi shook his head. "It's alright. I know you're worried about the sect."
Ye Ruoli bit her red lip and looked toward the white-robed man seated cross-legged ahead.
He wore the Falling Snow Frost Robe bestowed by the Ancestor, bore the title of Master of the Alchemy Saint Hall, and was rumored to possess heaven-defying abilities. Could he really sit here without going out to lend the Mingyuan Sect a hand in an hour like this?
Luo Chen seemed completely oblivious to her gaze, though his breathing grew increasingly heavy.
Through the golden, slit-pupiled eyes he manifested using the hall's formations, he could clearly see the violent surges of origin qi outside.
The clash within the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram had evidently reached its most ferocious climax.
The ancient demon Di Tian had entered that scroll and ultimately suffered the destruction of both body and Dao.
What of Monarch Qixia?
The answer was—
*Riiiip!*
A horribly piercing sound tore through the air, drowning out the battle cries of tens of thousands and overpowering the bells that reverberated between heaven and earth.
To everyone's utter shock, the treasure scroll that stretched ten thousand li, rolling with surging waters of the Yellow Springs, was torn violently to pieces.
A wisp of golden flame darted out with uncanny vitality.
Then, a tiny spark instantly set the world ablaze!
One wisp multiplied into tens of thousands. In the blink of an eye, the raging inferno swept upstream with relentless fury, driving back the boundless waters of the Yellow Springs.
At the far end of the springs, terror showed on the faces of the three Ancestors as each unleashed an ultimate move.
*Boom!*
Amidst the violent collision, the Netherworld Yellow Springs Diagram shattered completely.
This peerless spirit treasure, which had rendered illustrious service in ancient antiquity and modern times alike, was reduced to ashes by the ancient demon phoenix.
As the treasure's bonded master, Patriarch Heize suffered the most devastating backlash. Unable to suppress his injuries, he coughed up a mouthful of brilliant crimson blood on the spot.
Without the slightest hesitation, the three Ancestors scattered and fled in different directions.
Watching them scatter, Monarch Qixia merely sneered coldly and gave chase toward Patriarch Heize, who was the most gravely wounded.
Right at that moment, starlight showered down from above.
Monarch Qixia paid it no heed. Bathed in the starlight, she found that the star-infused attacks, ostensibly capable of terrifying slaughter, posed no threat to her at all—they could not even scratch her protective shroud of qi.
"Qinghe, is this the Great Array of the Heavens' Deity Slaughter that took you down?"
Monarch Qixia let out a scoffing laugh. She reached toward the sky, splaying her five fingers before clenching her fist slightly.
"How dare you insects position yourselves above this Monarch!"
The next instant, starlight fell like driving rain.
Every speck ignited with roaring fire, crashing down like falling meteorites from beyond the heavens.
The thirty-six Nascent Soul cultivators forming the array felt an unbearable heat as their flesh and blood began to disintegrate.
The more decisive among them abandoned their physical bodies on the spot, releasing their Nascent Souls to flee.
Yet the bizarre golden flame clung to them like maggots to bone, coiling tightly around their Nascent Souls.
"Ah!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Ancestor, save me!"
Inside the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, a shrill cry broke out.
"Patriarch!"
It was Ye Ruoli.
Before her eyes, her clan patriarch, Ye Lingtian—the very same Castellan Lingtian with whom Luo Chen was most familiar—was engulfed by the Nirvana Holy Fire.
Luo Chen barked in a low, cold voice, "Quiet!"
Panting heavily, his eyes remained glued to the outside world.
Unlike the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, which targeted only the physical form, the Nirvana Holy Fire was unmistakably lethal against a cultivator's Nascent Soul and divine soul.
This discovery stirred an inexplicable excitement within him.
It also corroborated what he had learned and comprehended in the past.
The Wither-Bloom Divine Fire was inherently rooted in the laws of Wood, embodying a Dao of vitality that circulated through cycles of decay and resurgence.
Only as long as the divine soul endured could vitality persist forever.
Yet the Nirvana Holy Fire was fundamentally different—from its very inception, it was designed to walk toward death to find life, rising renewed from destruction.
In particular, the physical nirvana and the soul nirvana within the Nine Tribulations and Three Nirvanas were processes of wandering at the razor's edge between extreme life and absolute death.
In other words, if Luo Chen could master its essence, he might also be able to unleash the Nirvana Holy Fire to strike directly at an enemy's divine soul!
As for the misfortune befalling Castellan Lingtian outside, with whom he shared a decent relationship, he could only sigh in powerlessness.
A battle between Deity Transformation existences was never something that Nascent Soul cultivators should meddle in.
Their previous success against Immortal Qinghe had been an isolated anomaly.
He had only recently broken through to Deity Transformation, and the Wood true intent he commanded had been countered to the absolute extreme, which had allowed them to secure a resounding victory.
But an anomaly was just an anomaly; how could it possibly be replicated?
Once they entered this game, such an outcome was something everyone should have foreseen.
Yet anticipating it was one thing; accepting it was quite another.
Ancestor Yuming, who had already fled some distance, felt an agonizing pang in his chest and abruptly spun around.
Those were the backbone of the Mingyuan Sect, the very future of his sect!
How could he simply watch them die before his eyes?
He pulled both arms wide.
"Winds, come!"
A blast of astral wind descended from the azure empyrean.
A wisp of nether wind rose from the subterranean depths.
Then he opened his mouth, spitting out a streak of sanguine wind.
Three winds of entirely different properties merged in an instant, transforming into an extraordinary blood-red totem.
From afar, it resembled a monstrous beast, or perhaps a grotesque, primordial bird.
The strange bird swallowed Ancestor Yuming whole in a single gulp, then charged straight toward Monarch Qixia.
Confronting this creature, Monarch Qixia arched an eyebrow.
"The Biaofeng, an ancient desolate beast that commanded the power of wind?"
"What a pity!"
"Even if a true Biaofeng beast were resurrected, it would only be fit to prostrate itself beneath this Monarch's feet! What makes you think a mere divine ability can stand against me?!"
Monarch Qixia chuckled and flew straight into the clash.
Amidst boundless golden light, immense Dharmic power surged forth, faintly manifesting a divine bird spreading its wings.
Her titanic magic power swept up tempestuous worldly origin qi.
Two towering figures staked everything on a single confrontation—a clash of courage where only the fiercer would prevail.
*Bang!*
In a single breath, the phoenix and the grotesque bird collided with raw, unadorned violence.
Then, they parted.
The flames burned ever more fiercely, while the winds weakened by a noticeable margin.
When it came to accumulated foundation, Ancestor Yuming was ultimately no match for Monarch Qixia.
Just then, thunder rumbled down from the ninth heaven.
"Ancestor, lend me your strength!"
Hidden in the shadows, Patriarch Heize slowly revealed himself, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth. He pointed a finger above Monarch Qixia.
"Rain, fall!"
A torrential downpour cascaded from above.
Enveloped within it, Monarch Qixia's protective barrier of magic power seemed to undergo corrosion, hissing as thick white vapor billowed from its surface.
Not only that, but her movement seemed dragged down by the veil of rain, noticeably slowing.
At that exact instant, deafening roars erupted from a thunder pool high above.
Wielding a colossal black broadsword, Lei Daozi channeled the sprawling expanse of lightning across the sky, transforming into a bolt of lightning that tore downward.
This strike was his crowning peak, executed after inheriting the true intent of the thunder laws left by the grandmaster Bai Ye.
Even if he were to reach the Deity Transformation realm in the future, it would be exceedingly difficult to replicate such a strike.
For this move also drew upon the accumulated might of the Mingyuan Sect's defensive grand array, which had run continuously for three thousand years.
A millennium ago, the mighty Bai Ye had incorporated his proudest divine ability, the Nine Heavens Great Primordial Thunder Technique, into the array, ceaselessly drawing lightning into it day and night.
Three millennia of foundation and a millennium of gathered thunder had finally coalesced into that thunder pool, giving birth to Lei Daozi's breathtaking strike.
In just a single flicker of light, Lei Daozi reappeared barely three chi before the red-robed woman.
With irreversible momentum, the massive black broadsword thrust into the protective shroud of magic power that only a Deity Transformation expert could shatter.
Hidden within the glare of thunder, Lei Daozi wore an expression of absolute resolve, driving his peerless magic power forward to pierce the barrier and slay this demonic phoenix.
Yet only in this moment did he truly understand why the Great Array of the Heavens' Deity Slaughter had been utterly useless against her.
'How could such a being exist under the heavens?!'
Looking at the sword tip aimed straight between her brows, Monarch Qixia's face darkened with displeasure.
Raging flames surged upward, clashing violently against the vast expanse of lightning.
"Junior, you are courting death!"
"Not enough!" Lei Daozi's face contorted savagely. "Still not enough!"
Three thousand years of array power!
A thousand years of accumulated thunder!
It still wasn't enough!
There was still the six centuries of cultivation he carried in his own body!
With a single thought, the Great Cultivator Nascent Soul within his violet palace began to tremble violently, before shattering in an instant.
It dissolved into the purest magic power, flooding directly into the thunder broadsword.
*Crack!*
A crisp sound rang out; the tip of the blade finally pierced through Monarch Qixia's protective shroud.
Yet that was as far as it went.
The woman flicked a finger against the gleaming tip of the sword.
*Ding!*
A clear chime sounded, and the tip fractured.
The cracks spread relentlessly. The black broadsword shattered inch by inch, and the destructive recoil fell squarely upon Lei Daozi.
*Crack! Snap! Crunch!*
His flesh and bones broke apart. His Nascent Soul was already gone, leaving only a lone wisp of divine soul drifting between heaven and earth.
"Ancestor... this disciple has done all he could."
In the blink of an eye, a single raindrop encased that wisp of soul, attempting to spirit it away.
Monarch Qixia's willow-leaf brows snapped together in fury.
"Heize, you skulking rat, you think you can escape?!"
She flung both hands wide, unleashing an ocean of golden flames.
Following the veil of torrential rain, the fire surged backward, hunting down Patriarch Heize.
In the process, the raindrop encasing Lei Daozi's soul evaporated into steam, dissipating entirely between heaven and earth.
Nascent Soul collapsed, flesh obliterated, soul extinguished.
Zhang Che, the thunder prodigy of Mingyuan who had once walked the Eastern Desolation without rival, had suffered the total destruction of his body and Dao.
Watching this from within his Biaofeng beast form, Ancestor Yuming felt his heart turn to cold ash.
"Monarch Qixia, do you truly intend to slaughter every last one of us?!"
Monarch Qixia sneered. "You have only yourselves to blame for provoking me. Today, I will leave not a single dog or fowl alive in this place!"
"Fine! Not a single dog or fowl!"
Ancestor Yuming inhaled deeply, the exact same desperate resolve appearing on his face as had been on Lei Daozi's.
"Then we fight!"
Even if he died, he would make her pay dearly for it.
The Biaofeng beast wrapped itself in endless gale-force winds and charged toward Monarch Qixia.
The two powerhouses clashed once more in catastrophic warfare.
Incalculable volumes of worldly origin qi were drawn into their wake. Both embodied the very pinnacle of speed, and as their frenzied battle raged, the battlefield began expanding uncontrollably.
The sprawling Mingyuan Sacred Land was vast enough to encompass eight or nine Jade Cauldron Domains.
Yet beneath the combat of these two titans, distances were crossed in mere moments, reducing the vast land to a cramped arena.
Everywhere their battle passed, doomsday arrived.
No matter how sturdy the defensive formations erected by the various factions within the Mingyuan Sect were, they shattered like brittle blocks of tofu the instant they were touched.
Beneath the scorching flames and savage astral winds, countless lives turned to ash, scattering on the wind.
Throughout the battle, powerful combatants representing the deepest reserves of the Mingyuan Sect repeatedly joined the fray, attempting to assist their Sect Master, Ancestor Yuming.
Yet Monarch Qixia's overwhelming strength was utterly unreasonable.
Whatever approached her was annihilated in a heartbeat.
The golden Nirvana Holy Fire became a terrifying blaze that consumed all creation.
Yet Luo Chen could no longer see any of this.
From the moment Sect Master Ancestor Yuming and Monarch Qixia clashed head-on, the immense torrents of worldly origin qi had obliterated the spirit eyes Luo Chen had stationed outside.
Now, he could only remain stranded inside the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, anxious and helpless.
He could feel the omnipresence of those golden flames.
Not just across ten thousand li!
So long as Monarch Qixia possessed sufficient magic power, a hundred thousand, a million, or even ten million li would be swallowed by an ocean of fire.
Only now did he truly understand why the three Mingyuan Ancestors cared so deeply about this Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
It was not merely the birthplace of Mount Yanfu, holding the promise of advancing into a fifth-order spirit vein.
More than that, it was a sanctuary!
It could withstand heavenly tribulations, shield against earthly disasters, and preserve a spark of life for the Mingyuan Sect in the face of an insurmountable invasion.
"So this is the true purpose of a grotto-heaven and blessed land," Luo Chen muttered to himself, feeling immense relief.
If he had not secured control over this place, his fate right now would likely be no different from Castellan Lingtian's and the others.
Dying soundlessly, leaving not a trace behind.
Though Lei Daozi's death had been tragic, it had at least been heroic.
Yet very quickly, Luo Chen realized something was wrong.
The blessed land was connected to the Alchemy Saint Hall, and its entrance remained open!
With Monarch Qixia's terrifying perception, there was no way she would fail to notice this place.
Sure enough!
In less than half a day, Luo Chen sensed a blistering heat drawing near.
*Sizzle!*
Inside the blessed land, a blade of green grass ignited without any fire touching it.
A wisp of golden flame drifted slowly upward.
Luo Chen's face tightened, and he immediately shielded Luo Lingxi and Ye Ruoli behind him.
The golden flame seemed contagious; the moment it invaded the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, it began spreading like wildfire.
'This cannot continue, or we won't even have a place to take shelter.'
With a flick of his will, Luo Chen summoned his own Nirvana Holy Fire.
Though his flame was still relatively faint, under the stimulation of his magic power, it formed a circle of fire that enclosed the three of them.
When the encroaching Nirvana Holy Fire met this circle, it seemed to recognize its own kind and indeed halted its advance.
Seeing this, Luo Chen let out a quiet sigh of relief.
'Just as I thought!'
'Since Monarch Qixia used me as a guide to locate Immortal Qinghe, she bears no deep malice toward me.'
'At least in this battle, she won't deliberately harm me.'
Just as these thoughts crossed Luo Chen's mind, a heavy thud suddenly echoed through the blessed land.
A torrential curtain of rain crashed down, forcing back a patch of burning Nirvana Holy Fire.
An aged figure lay on the ground, life or death uncertain.
Luo Chen looked over from afar and saw the old man clutching a command token, a faint thread of breath still clinging to him.
"It's Patriarch Heize!" Ye Ruoli cried out in pleasant surprise, about to rush over to rescue him.
Yet she could not take a single step.
Luo Chen's formidable spiritual pressure held her firmly in place.
"Hall Master?"
Confused, Ye Ruoli looked toward Luo Chen with mingled bewilderment and anxiety.
Luo Chen shook his head, his eyes burning with intense vigilance as he fixed his gaze on that figure.
With tremendous difficulty, Patriarch Heize hauled himself up from the ground. His cloudy eyes met Luo Chen's, then locked onto the golden ring of fire.
Chapter 909