Eight torrents of fortune crashed down.
Their power was so terrifying it seemed capable of changing the color of the heavens and shattering mountains and rivers.
Under the crushing weight of these eight rivers, Tantai Mojie’s saintly body simply exploded. Even his sturdy bones could not withstand it—they disintegrated into dust, scattered into nothingness.
Golden blood sprayed everywhere, staining the ground.
No limbs remained, no corpse—only fine ash that vanished into the void.
Such was the horrifying might of the attack.
Tantai Mojie had never imagined he would die like this.
He had once believed he would leave his name in history for a thousand generations.
He had once believed his flesh could become immortal, enduring forever.
But reality struck him like a thunderbolt.
In the end, he was obliterated by fortune itself—body torn apart, consciousness extinguished.
He had thought himself the child of destiny.
He had thought he would reshape the Five Phoenix Continent, become its sole Great Emperor, rule the world, and lead the Five Phoenixes to conquer all nine heavens.
Now he understood: he was nothing.
Just a fleeting ripple in the endless river of time.
How pathetic.
Yet, as his soul drifted, Tantai Mojie felt no hatred—an astonishing thing even to himself.
In life, the slightest provocation had ignited his fury.
Now, facing annihilation, he felt none.
His soul sank deeper and deeper, as if falling into an endless, bottomless sea.
Deeper. Deeper still.
No hatred, only release.
Ever since the golden blood awakened, it had dominated his emotions, controlled everything about him.
His cruelty, his tyranny—all of it had been shaped by the will within that blood.
Now, with his body destroyed and separated from it, he felt… free.
Perhaps this was his true self.
Everything felt wrong.
He remembered his father entrusting him with the throne, the words of caution he had spoken.
What had he done?
The Great Xuan Divine Dynasty was in ruins. His tyranny and harsh rule had brought untold suffering to countless innocents.
He had failed the father who passed the crown to him.
Boom!
Suddenly, a deafening sound.
His consciousness seemed to tear through the sky, drifting beyond the endless firmament.
Vaguely, he glimpsed several towering figures seated among the heavens.
Each one was colossal, as if capable of suppressing an entire world.
They were gathered, seemingly in discussion.
In the center burned a massive golden flame.
To Tantai Mojie, that flame looked strikingly similar to the golden blood once housed in his heart.
In his final moments, when Zhu Long’s last river of fortune descended, he had hoped the blood would protect him.
But he was wrong.
Once his fortune was stripped away, the blood had never stirred again.
Even at the very end, it remained still as dead water.
Then Tantai Mojie truly died.
The golden blood he had always regarded as his ultimate trump card had abandoned him at the last moment.
In that instant, it was not just his body that perished—his spirit shattered too.
The despair of a faith crumbling.
He was no reincarnation of a Great Emperor.
He had merely been a puppet controlled by that blood.
His soul drifted on, soon drawn into the golden flame.
As it was consumed, he faintly saw the figures arguing, terrifying auras clashing across the heavens.
In an instant, the world spun.
His consciousness was utterly extinguished.
…
Outside the Imperial City.
The fires of war died down. The siege had come to an end.
With Tantai Mojie’s death, every golden-armored guard collapsed at the same moment, kneeling lifelessly, heads bowed, blood dripping from their mouths and noses.
The Black Tortoise Guard no longer fled—they knew escape was impossible.
They knelt in surrender.
The rebel alliance surged forward, restraining every Black Tortoise Guard and checking the golden-armored warriors.
All were confirmed dead, fallen alongside the tyrant.
Everyone was stunned.
Who could have imagined that Tantai Mojie’s death would claim so many lives?
The tyrant was dead.
The crusade against tyranny had achieved a monumental victory.
Beneath the Imperial City walls, the allied forces erupted in cheers.
This battle had been too hard-won.
They had broken through three passes, slain three dire beasts, and fought a cataclysmic battle beneath the capital. Only when all the Immortals of the Five Phoenixes united did they prevail.
Such a hard-earned triumph left everyone sighing in awe.
Yet its impact on the Five Phoenix Continent was immense: seven supreme new Xuan Immortals had been born.
The Five Phoenixes’ overall strength and hidden cards had grown far greater.
Now, they could truly be called a top-tier Second-Derivation High-Martial World.
They were not far from First-Derivation.
Once enough Dao Essence was refined, they could leap to First-Derivation in a single bound.
The entire Void Heaven might soon be encompassed by the Five Phoenixes.
With time, as the Five Phoenixes continued to expand, even Void Heaven might prove too small to contain them.
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Who could have foreseen that the once-tiny low-martial Five Phoenixes would grow into such a colossal power?
Above the Five Phoenix skies.
Overlord, Tang Yimo, Sima Qingshan, Kong Nanfei, and Zhu Long—eight Xuan Immortals—floated in silence.
They gazed upward, brows furrowed.
“Something feels… off,” Overlord said.
Zhu Long, eyes closed, long lashes trembling slightly, lifted her serene face.
“The oppression hasn’t dispersed. Something terrifying still watches us…”
Sima Qingshan added.
As Xuan Immortals, their minds could touch the Heavenly Dao. Faintly, they sensed a powerful aura awakening.
They had thought the crusade against the tyrant would end easily.
Now it seemed far from over.
Whoosh—
A sudden wind swept across the land.
It scoured the massive crater clean.
The crater had been formed when Tantai Mojie resisted eight rivers of fortune. In time, it might become a great lake.
For now, it remained a deep pit.
Within it, a single golden gleam appeared.
The pupils of Overlord, Tang Yimo, and the others contracted.
At the center of the crater floated a single drop of golden blood.
It radiated immense, terrifying power.
“What is that?!” Overlord asked gravely.
“A drop of blood?”
“Is it the tyrant’s?”
Nie Changqing frowned.
Suddenly, their souls shuddered—as if an overwhelming existence had swept its divine sense across them.
Then they saw the golden drop begin to writhe, expanding, swelling.
Specks of golden light gathered around it.
Finally…
The single drop of blood gave rise to bones, meridians, flesh…
Transforming into a vague humanoid shape!
“Reborn from a drop of blood?”
“Impossible! Tantai Mojie was only a Saint—rebirth from a drop of blood is an Ancient Emperor’s power!”
“So this was the source of his tyranny?!”
The Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals’ expressions grew deadly serious, eyes filled with shock.
Even Zhu Long looked solemn.
Gradually, the vague figure sharpened.
The form reborn from a single drop of blood became clear.
It was Tantai Mojie once more.
Eyes closed, he floated silently in the crater, lying face-up like a dried corpse.
Suddenly, the corpse opened its eyes.
Those eyes were as if forged from molten gold, flowing endlessly!
Boom!
An invisible shockwave exploded outward from him.
…
On the island in the heart of Origin Lake.
Waves surged across the vast sea, crashing violently against the island.
Mist shrouded the immortal isle; immortal qi swirled.
The giant whale rose and fell, its low roars echoing.
Atop the white-jade pavilion, Lu—who had maintained a lazy posture—finally sat upright.
His eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a trace of seriousness.
The Spirit-Pressure Chessboard before him glowed faintly.
He hadn’t expected Tantai Xuan to leave the Underworld in person, risking backlash to strip the last fragment of human fortune from his descendant.
“What a Tantai Xuan. Still the same fiery temperament.”
Lu smiled.
He tapped lightly on the armrest of his wheelchair.
“Since you’ve come, enter the island.”
He laughed softly.
Raising a hand, his white robes fluttered. With a gentle wave, the thick mist around the island parted, revealing a winding path.
The seawater hissed and evaporated.
A massive, indistinct Hell Hound appeared in view.
It trembled, stepping forward cautiously.
On its head sat Tantai Xuan.
Seeing the island, he leaped down and arrived at the white-jade pavilion.
“As expected of Young Master Lu—still unfathomable.”
Tantai Xuan laughed heartily.
He glanced back at the Hell Hound, intending to have it wait outside. But without needing instruction, it stayed put, not daring to move.
As if it had encountered something utterly terrifying.
Tantai Xuan paused, then smiled.
With Lu on the island, even this peerless beast was petrified.
He stepped into the pavilion.
The breeze blew as always.
“What brings you to the island?”
Lu smiled at Tantai Xuan and poured him a cup of Heavenly Immortal Wine.
“Drink. It will heal the damage to your foundation from stripping Tantai Mojie’s human fortune.”
“Thank you, Young Master Lu.”
Tantai Xuan accepted with a grin and drained the cup in one gulp.
The wine restored color to his pale face.
“What brings you here?”
Lu’s gaze returned to the chessboard. He had already sensed everything that happened in the Imperial City.
After Tantai Mojie’s death, the true nature of the golden blood had been revealed.
Rebirth from a drop of blood—undoubtedly an Ancient Emperor’s technique.
So the golden blood was indeed the work of ancient Great Emperors.
But why?
To seize the Five Phoenixes?
Truthfully, without Lu’s hidden schemes and calculations, Tantai Mojie—with the golden blood’s aid—could easily have dominated the entire Five Phoenixes.
Imperial Blood had that power.
As Human Emperor, his fortune was nearly impossible to strip. He was practically invincible.
The perfect “child of destiny” archetype.
But Lu would never allow Tantai Mojie to run wild.
From a weak low-martial world to mid-martial, then high-martial… Lu had poured too much effort into the Five Phoenixes.
Curiously, Lu looked at Tantai Xuan, wondering what he truly wanted.
To beg for Tantai Mojie’s life?
Unlikely.
Tantai Xuan sat opposite Lu and glanced at the Spirit-Pressure Chessboard. His heart jolted.
Even as a Xuan Immortal—one of the strongest in the nine heavens—a mere look at the board sent shockwaves through his mind.
He quickly withdrew his gaze and looked at Lu.
“Young Master Lu, back then, you used the black dragon as foundation, transformed it into dragon qi, and established the Great Xuan Divine Dynasty upon it, giving birth to the Human Emperor…”
“The Human Emperor is the faith and symbol of the human race…”
Tantai Xuan spoke slowly, eyes tinged with nostalgia.
Centuries had passed.
The Great Xuan Divine Dynasty had been ravaged by a tyrant and now teetered on collapse.
A feeling of time’s relentless change, of vicissitudes.
“You’re not here to plead for Tantai Mojie?”
Lu asked curiously.
Tantai Xuan shook his head. “Karma has its retribution. That wretch’s deeds are his own to bear. In the Underworld, he will sink to the bottom of the Bitter Sea and taste every calamity.”
“But… Tantai Mojie was guilty. The Human Emperor is not.”
“The title of Human Emperor represents the faith of the human race. I have come today to implore you, Young Master Lu: do not abolish the Human Emperor because of Tantai Mojie’s cruelty and tyranny.”
Lu fell silent.
Back then, he had used dragon qi to establish the Human Emperor and gather the fortune of the human race.
Tantai Xuan, as the first Human Emperor, knew well: if Lu chose to abolish the title, there would truly be no more Human Emperors in the world.
“Can you guarantee that no future Human Emperor will become tyrannical?”
Lu asked.
“This time, we were fortunate—Tantai Mojie divided human fortune into eight parts for the beasts, allowing them to be defeated one by one and losing his protection.”
“But next time, luck may not be so kind.”
“The Human Emperor is protected by human fortune—cultivators cannot harm him.”
“If the Emperor turns tyrannical, the crusade against tyranny will repeat itself.”
“Since I can establish the Human Emperor, I can also abolish him. With human fortune now scattered, removing the title will eliminate such future threats.”
Tantai Xuan’s expression grew complex.
No more Human Emperors in the world?
Yet he still shook his head.
“I came today to beg you to preserve the Human Emperor. After this calamity, the human race is weakened while the demon race rises. If the title is abolished now, humanity will suffer irreparable damage.”
Lu gazed calmly at Tantai Xuan.
“Very well. I will give you one chance.”
“Because of this crusade, human fortune has scattered across the world. I grant you one hundred years to regather it.”
“If you succeed, the Human Emperor remains. If you fail…”
“From this day forth, the world shall have no more Human Emperor.”
Tantai Xuan’s gaze sharpened.
A hundred years to restore the shattered fortune of the human race—it would be difficult.
But it was their only chance.
He rose, robes flowing, and bowed slightly.
“Thank you, Young Master Lu.”
Lu nodded faintly.
Tantai Xuan did not linger. He stepped forward and mounted the Hell Hound’s head once more.
Flames blazed around the beast, evaporating seawater into mist as it carried him away and vanished.
Lu held his cup, watching Tantai Xuan’s retreating figure with a meaningful smile.
But soon his gaze returned to the chessboard, eyes hardening.
“Trying to steal my peach…”
One hand held the cup, the other a chess piece.
He placed it firmly on the board.
…
Beneath the Imperial City walls.
Silence reigned.
Everyone was stunned.
No one had expected Tantai Mojie to still be alive!
He had revived in this moment!
Reborn from a drop of blood!
What horrifying power!
A terrifying aura spread, oppressing the world, making all feel the urge to kneel.
“That is not Tantai Mojie,” Zhu Long said softly, eyes still closed.
“Perhaps this is the force that controlled him. The Human Emperor should be benevolent, yet this generation’s was abnormally cruel. Indeed, his mind was dominated by something sinister.”
Kong Nanfei stood with hands behind his back, righteous qi swirling around him, staring at the figure bathed in burning golden flames.
Though it wore Tantai Mojie’s face, the aura was completely different.
“Attack!”
Overlord struck without hesitation.
Whoever controlled Tantai Mojie and turned him into a tyrant could not be good.
Subdue him first.
Tang Yimo opened five meridians, twisting through the air and unleashing shockwaves.
Kong Nanfei, Nie Changqing, Sima Qingshan—five Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals attacked together.
Rivers of fortune reappeared, crashing toward five directions.
The golden Tantai Mojie stood with unmatched majesty, exuding a pressure that demanded submission.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion erupted. The earth cracked again.
On the city walls, people stared in panic at the rising figure.
Under the suppression of five Xuan Immortals, this “Tantai Mojie” moved with ease.
This nightmare seemed to grow stronger with every moment.
The tyrant was not dead?
Boom!
Overlord and the others unleashed their full power. Fortunately, the Five Phoenixes had refined more Dao Essence and given birth to a Heavenly Dao, greatly enhancing the continent’s stability.
In a Fifth- or Fourth-Derivation High-Martial World, such a clash would have shattered everything instantly.
Still…
The battle of Xuan Immortals and Saints unleashed apocalyptic destruction.
Six figures shot into the outer void battlefield.
There, brilliant lights collided with overwhelming force.
Explosions rocked the void.
Terrifying clashes and attacks surged like raging waves.
Finally, the sky tore open.
Overlord, Tang Yimo, and the other five Xuan Immortals coughed blood, groaning as they were sent flying back to the Five Phoenix Continent.
Space ripped apart.
The golden Tantai Mojie stood bathed in golden light in the outer battlefield.
He spread his arms.
An overwhelming aura exploded outward, centered on the Five Phoenixes and sweeping across all nine heavens.
He declared his return in the most domineering way possible!
In that instant.
From the lower three heavens to the upper realms, every race felt their hair stand on end!
In an ancient tomb.
Gu Mangran—who had slept through the birth of so many Xuan Immortals—suddenly opened his eyes, filled with disbelief.
He clutched his chest, shocked awake from slumber.
“Ancient Emperor aura? Have the Ancient Emperors of the Heavenly Spirit Race returned?!”
In the first heaven, at the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s Holy Hall.
Lord Micah’s pupils shrank.
“Ancient Emperor aura… The mysterious vanished Ancient Emperors from the ancient war… have they returned?!”
But before the golden Tantai Mojie could bask in the glory of all races bowing before him—
A faint sound rang out.
The sound of a chess piece placed on the board.
Silver-gray light exploded.
A pillar of white Spirit-Pressure light, like a column piercing heaven and earth, crashed down.
It struck the golden Tantai Mojie squarely.
His hair whipped wildly; his neck bent ninety degrees; his body slammed to its knees under unbearable pressure.
Boom!
In that moment, the clamoring nine heavens fell utterly silent.
