The vast sea suddenly exploded!

  A streak of golden light shot down from the sky like a meteor, crashing into the waves.

  The entire ocean surface boiled, steaming with endless heat. Scorching waves rolled outward, searing the air.

  Zhu Long stood in midair, eyes closed. Above her, the Five Phoenix Heavenly Dao stars poured down radiant light, enveloping her entire body.

  The thin glow wrapped around her like a veil woven from moonlight.

  With the Heavenly Dao’s blessing, Zhu Long’s combat power soared. Though her total fortune remained unchanged, the Dao’s amplification was undeniable.

  Boom!

  The sea erupted.

  The Flame Clan Ancient Emperor avatar, wreathed in golden flames, shot skyward with fury etched across his face.

  His severed arm had already regrown, but Zhu Long closed in again.

  Her delicate little fist swung, blooming with countless colors in an instant.

  The Emperor avatar raised both arms to block—only for them to shatter into bloody mist.

  “Heavenly Dao empowerment! Quasi-Emperor combat strength!”

  The avatar roared in rage.

  He had never imagined the Five Phoenixes possessed such a method—capable of creating Quasi-Emperor power.

  To receive the Heavenly Dao’s blessing was one thing, but what truly shocked him was that the Five Phoenixes had actually birthed their own Heavenly Dao.

  Bang!

  Zhu Long’s fist smashed into the avatar’s cheek. Half his face exploded and vanished.

  Everyone stared in stunned silence at the two streaks of light clashing in the void.

  Zhu Long was completely dominating the Ancient Emperor avatar.

  It was pure one-sided abuse. The Emperor was sent flying again and again. He tried to flee, but Zhu Long always sealed the void one step ahead.

  Then she resumed the beating.

  Punch after punch…

  The avatar’s body cracked, golden blood spraying outward.

  The scene was utterly brutal!

  Everyone sucked in a cold breath.

  Lu Jiulian gripped his green-lotus sword, mouth twitching.

  So… terrifying!

  A woman who had cast aside all restraint was truly terrifying!

  Bang!

  The avatar crashed into the sea. Zhu Long kicked out, as though detonating a massive bomb.

  Seawater shot thousands of meters into the air.

  A deep trench split the ocean almost in two.

  The avatar plunged to the seabed, carving an unfathomably deep gash.

  At first, the Emperor could still resist.

  But soon, it became nothing more than a one-sided thrashing.

  Zhu Long even grabbed him by the legs and swung him left and right. Each impact on the sea surface caused massive explosions.

  Golden blood flowed into the ocean, its energy so vast that marine creatures instinctively craved it.

  Yet none dared approach—Zhu Long’s terrifying presence kept them frozen.

  “Quasi-Emperor…”

  The avatar was dazed.

  After such a beating, even he began to question existence.

  Why had he come here?

  As the mastermind behind the Great Xuan Divine Dynasty’s downfall—what was the point?

  Was it just to receive this thrashing?

  This was nothing like he had imagined. Wasn’t he supposed to return in glory, shocking the world and commanding the worship of all races?!

  Even as an avatar, he shouldn’t have to endure such humiliation!

  Outside Void Heaven—beyond the Five Phoenixes.

  In Pingyang Heaven, countless powerhouses had gathered at some point.

  The remaining five great holy clans of the upper realms were present, even experts from the Heavenly Spirit Clan.

  They stared blankly at the battle in the Five Phoenixes.

  Lu had sensed their arrival and kindly lifted the concealment of the Heaven-Covering Formation, allowing them to witness the utterly lopsided fight.

  An Ancient Emperor avatar—being brutally beaten.

  In an instant, the joy of those who had celebrated the Emperor’s return turned to cold indifference.

  An Emperor couldn’t possibly be this weak.

  It was all fake!

  No Ancient Emperor had returned!

  The fervor on many faces faded. Some ancient beings felt deep disappointment.

  The avatar sensed this and nearly coughed up blood from rage. As a Flame Clan Emperor, his power grew with anger.

  But against a Quasi-Emperor, what good was fury? The gap in raw strength could not be bridged by emotion.

  He decided to flee.

  But a massive hand appeared in the heavens.

  A colossal figure materialized—seated, playing a chessboard.

  Like a deity, it blotted out the sky.

  The avatar tried to escape, only to be trapped by the spreading chessboard domain.

  The character “All” appeared in array runes.

  He tried to break free, only to be bounced back—and beaten again by Zhu Long.

  The world watched in stunned silence.

  Especially the Five Phoenix Immortals, who drew sharp breaths.

  “The Demoness of Buzhou Peak… she’s becoming more terrifying by the day! From now on, Buzhou Peak is officially a forbidden zone for life!”

  “So strong! This is just too strong!”

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  “What a arrogant Ancient Emperor—stirring chaos in the Five Phoenixes, igniting the crusade against tyranny, thinking victory was assured. Yet today he’s beaten into a dead dog by the Demoness!”

  Human Immortals and True Immortals spoke up—some in awe, some laughing.

  Overlord, Tang Yimo, and the others were speechless.

  Watching the avatar—bloodied, helpless, body crumbling—they shivered.

  Even Overlord, with his unyielding Dao Intent, felt a chill.

  If he were the one facing Zhu Long now, even unyielding Dao Intent might not save him.

  His fate would surely be worse than this Emperor’s.

  “Stop him!”

  The avatar—covered in blood, aura wavering—fell into despair.

  He couldn’t beat Zhu Long head-on. He couldn’t outmaneuver her either.

  So he could only flee desperately within the chessboard.

  But the Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals—aside from Zhu Long—were still present.

  Lu Jiulian’s green-lotus sword danced, blooming with sword flowers that sealed one escape route.

  The avatar immediately changed direction.

  Yet every path was blocked, giving him the hopeless sensation of having nowhere to go.

  He had thought he knew everything about the Five Phoenixes—knew all their powerhouses.

  But now he realized the Five Phoenixes’ depths were far greater than he imagined.

  They had even birthed a Heavenly Dao!

  He should have been delighted. As the only high-martial world to produce a Heavenly Dao, the Five Phoenixes possessed unimaginable potential. The Ancient Emperors had not misjudged.

  But right now, being beaten senseless, he felt no joy.

  “It’s over.”

  After the thrashing, Zhu Long floated silently.

  The battered, swollen avatar exhaled slowly. Finally, it was ending.

  The girl who wasn’t beating him looked serene as an autumn leaf… yeah, right!

  Zhu Long suddenly opened her eyes.

  Her left eye was pitch-black as ink; her right eye blazed pure white.

  One black, one white.

  This was her divine ability.

  Under the Heavenly Dao’s blessing—

  Night and day across the entire Five Phoenixes reversed and shifted!

  Zhu Long raised her hand. Black and white qi swirled in her palm, forming a massive Yin-Yang millstone—like a small planet.

  The avatar felt a chill run through him.

  An unparalleled storm of terror formed around Zhu Long, sweeping the sea into sky-high water dragons, as though the ocean itself was being sucked upward.

  The avatar turned and fled without hesitation.

  The other Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals moved to block his path.

  Zhu Long swung her Yin-Yang millstone—like a planet—and smashed it down.

  Terrifying energy swallowed the Ancient Emperor avatar whole.

  Dada dada dada!

  Boom!

  A deafening explosion transformed into a hemispherical white eggshell, enveloping the entire sea region.

  A ring of shockwaves spread outward from the eggshell.

  Countless waves surged and fell.

  Even the giant whale carrying the island in Origin Lake was swept away by the tide.

  The heavens and earth changed color.

  The entire Five Phoenix Continent trembled.

  Even creatures at the continent’s poles shivered in terror.

  This explosion… it was apocalyptic!

  Lu Jiulian, Lu Changkong, Ni Yu, Bai Qingniao, and the other Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals acted at once.

  They released their energy to reinforce the land, blocking the surging waves and preventing the Five Phoenixes from being swallowed.

  If unchecked, the waves would have flooded half the Eastern Domain.

  After a long while.

  The white light faded.

  Zhu Long closed her eyes again. Smoke rose from them, like the barrel of a cannon that had just fired.

  Before her.

  A massive hemispherical crater had appeared. Seawater rushed toward its edges.

  The exposed seabed had been blasted into a bottomless abyss.

  Boiling heat rose from the depths.

  It was over.

  Lu Jiulian and the other Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals sensed the vanishing Ancient Emperor aura and smiled.

  But Zhu Long tilted her head slightly.

  Still connected to the Heavenly Dao, she retained Quasi-Emperor-level strength.

  Her senses were far sharper than normal.

  She raised her delicate fist and struck toward empty space.

  Bang!

  The air exploded. A massive air bomb detonated.

  Pfft!

  An invisible drop of golden blood was struck and sent flying.

  It writhed like a living thing.

  Lu Jiulian, Overlord, Tang Yimo, and the others drew sharp breaths.

  Even under Zhu Long’s savage assault, it had not been destroyed.

  They remembered clearly: Tantai Mojie had been reborn from a single drop of this golden blood.

  In other words—the Ancient Emperor avatar was not yet dead.

  Zhu Long reached out and pinched the golden blood between her fingers.

  Her long lashes trembled faintly.

  Her red lips curved upward.

  The golden blood writhed.

  On the other side, everyone watched gravely.

  This should be the interrogation phase. Perhaps Zhu Long could extract information from the blood.

  Had the Ancient Emperors truly returned?

  The world fell utterly silent.

  All eyes were on Zhu Long, who held the Emperor’s blood as though pinching an insect.

  They waited for her questions.

  Zhu Long took a deep breath, lashes trembling.

  While the Heavenly Dao’s power still lingered.

  Her thumb and forefinger squeezed hard.

  Pop!

  The golden blood burst instantly!

  “Now no one will ever know how undignified I was.”

  Zhu Long exhaled deeply, speaking with utmost seriousness.

  The world: “…”

  Everyone suddenly felt a chill. As Zhu Long turned her face, they all pretended they had seen nothing.

  The silence this time was one of speechlessness. No one knew what to say.

  As the golden blood burst, vast Dao Essence poured out and was absorbed by the Heavenly Dao stars above Zhu Long.

  Then, the fortune the Ancient Emperor avatar had absorbed began to scatter.

  Rumble!

  Fortune surged, reshaping mountains and rivers.

  The connection between Zhu Long and the Heavenly Dao stars severed. Lu withdrew her cheat.

  Zhu Long’s strength plummeted…

  The massive drop made the girl purse her lips in grievance.

  Vast fortune began to descend.

  As the main force who killed the Ancient Emperor avatar, Zhu Long naturally received the lion’s share.

  The other Five Phoenix Xuan Immortals also gained immensely—far more than from slaying the dire beast Six-Infant.

  Of course, it wasn’t enough to break through—still far from it.

  But it was progress.

  According to the Great Luo Immortal Scripture, Golden Immortals possessed fortune like seas.

  How vast that must be.

  Right now, they had only rivers. Becoming a sea was still distant.

  Even Zhu Long, who received the greatest share, was nowhere near breaking through to Golden Immortal.

  …

  On the island in the heart of Origin Lake.

  Lu placed his final piece, ending the game on the Spirit-Pressure Chessboard.

  When he saw Zhu Long crush the Ancient Emperor’s blood just to preserve her dignity, even he laughed.

  But he didn’t mind. Crushed was crushed.

  Even in his hands, he would have done the same.

  It was going to be crushed sooner or later—who did it didn’t matter.

  “Still, the Dao Essence contained in that imperial blood was an unexpected bonus… quite a large amount. Not inferior to what an imperial weapon would hold.”

  Lu smiled and took another sip of Heavenly Immortal Wine, feeling very pleased.

  Suddenly, Lu paused.

  He looked up, gaze turning toward a direction in Void Heaven.

  There, a crack slowly appeared.

  Vast power surged from within.

  Vaguely, a pair of eyes seemed to watch the Five Phoenixes from inside.

  Lu narrowed his eyes, watching calmly.

  As expected… the imperial blood was connected to that mysterious crack in Void Heaven.

  What lay beyond it?

  More importantly—during his two consciousness ascensions, had he entered that very place?

  If so, who had kicked him?

  Lu waited quietly, calm and composed, watching for the entity beyond the crack to act.

  Those eyes seemed to sense Lu’s gaze.

  Their gazes met.

  Finally, the crack slowly closed.

  But in the final moments before it sealed—

  A beam of golden light shot out.

  It struck somewhere in Void Heaven.

  Buzz…

  Winds rose across Void Heaven.

  Countless threads of rule power intertwined.

  That golden light acted like a key, unlocking the prison that had bound those rules.

  The countless rule powers poured out of Void Heaven, melting away like ice and snow…

  Seeing this, Lu raised a brow.

  Oh? Angry now?

  …

  The rule power that had once prevented powerhouses from descending directly into Void Heaven—vanished!

  Erased by mysterious force, dissolved, gone!

  With the collapse of the chains of order,

  Powerhouses from the holy clans beyond Void Heaven rejoiced!

  “The rules have completely dispersed! Void Heaven’s rules are gone… this is the sign! The sign of the Ancient Emperors’ return!”

  “The madmen of the Five Phoenixes dared to kill an Ancient Emperor avatar. Now… the Emperor’s will no longer protects you!”

  “Without Void Heaven’s rules… the Five Phoenixes will become everyone’s target! They’ll be swarmed by Saints!”

  One holy clan powerhouse after another stood in the void and spoke.

  Some ancient Saints, heartbroken over the death of the Emperor avatar, roared with righteous indignation.

  They vowed to invade the Five Phoenixes and conquer them in the name of the Emperor’s will!

  Of course…

  It was all talk.

  The current Five Phoenixes were no longer the weak world they once could bully at will.

  Now, the Five Phoenixes possessed a vast number of Saint-level combatants.

  Overlord, Lu Jiulian, Tang Yimo…

  And Zhu Long—who had beaten an Ancient Emperor avatar to death.

  From outside, they could only see the avatar being thrashed and finally pinched to death like an insect.

  They could not sense the Five Phoenix Heavenly Dao.

  So they could only guess Zhu Long’s strength based on the avatar’s power. This girl… might already possess Quasi-Emperor-level strength!

  Hiss—

  The Five Phoenixes had a Quasi-Emperor guardian?!

  In that instant, the saint ancestors sucked in cold breaths.

  The Saint who had vowed to invade was dragged away by a group of cursing saint ancestors.

  A Quasi-Emperor…

  Even Micah, lord of the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s Holy Hall, would struggle against one.

  An ordinary saint ancestor would simply be courting death.

  To deal with the Five Phoenixes, they would need to unite with the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s Holy Hall and gather all the Saint-level power it had accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years.

  The current Five Phoenixes had grown into a colossus rivaling the Heavenly Spirit Clan.

  They were now the second greatest power in the nine heavens.

  The first was the Heavenly Spirit Clan of the first heaven—home to a living Ancient Emperor, unmatched by any other force.

  Yet they did not know that, at this very moment,

  In the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s Holy Hall,

  Micah—the one they had pinned their hopes of destroying the Five Phoenixes on—was actually sighing in relief at the death of the Ancient Emperor avatar. Joy lit his face.

  After this battle, Micah felt even more confident in the Five Phoenixes’ future.

  His gamble had been right!

  At the Five Phoenixes’ growth rate… he might truly have a chance to break through his own shackles there!

  But soon, he frowned again.

  With Void Heaven’s rules gone, the Five Phoenixes might face new dangers.

  Of course, with their current strength, they no longer feared a united assault from the holy clans.

  The Five Phoenixes were no longer weak. A combined attack would only result in the holy clans’ deaths.

  Moreover, the holy clans—having lost imperial weapons and their Dao Essence—had long since lost the courage for such a joint assault.

  “The only concern is that the dispersal of the rules might attract the attention of the nine heavens’ Heavenly Dao… and the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor…”