The well at the Torchfire Tower’s centre, forged from an unknown material, shimmered jade-green, adorned with ancient patterns. These markings depicted strange beasts, weapons, spiritual herbs, and more.
On the three hundred and thirty-third floor, the well was sealed by a divine pearl.
Irregular in shape, the pearl resembled a rugged stone a yard wide, embedded with golden metal veins that twisted across its surface, exuding an enigmatic aura.
Below it, space thickened, making movement laborious.
Grand Dawn King stood behind Zhang Ruochen, a flicker of awe in her eyes, “A Divine Core Pearl! This tower holds such a treasure.”
Chen Liuli, beside them, asked, “What’s a Divine Core Pearl?”
Grand Dawn King remained silent.
As the famed Shadowless Fairy of the Heavenly Realm, even as a captive, her pride kept her from answering a mere Saint’s question.
Zhang Ruochen had subdued her through strength alone.
Zhang Ruochen explained, “A Divine Core Pearl is unearthed from the depths, brimming with potent divine power and intricate rules—a supreme treasure of heaven and earth.”
“Some wise minds speculate it forms when an ancient true god’s corpse, buried for eons, is compressed by the earth, tempered by subterranean fires, and nurtured by spiritual qi, sunlight, and starlight, becoming a stone-like marvel as hard as a supreme saintly weapon.”
“Others say it’s a life birthed by the earth, destined to one day crack open, releasing an innate divine being to dominate the world.”
“This pearl is likely the hub of the Torchfire Tower—or rather, the ancient inscriptions of the entire Eastern Domain Holy City.”
Spotting a groove matching the Torchfire Token’s shape on the pearl, Zhang Ruochen placed the token into it.
A perfect fit.
The well’s torchfire stirred, growing lively.
Zhang Ruochen stepped back three paces, eyeing Grand Dawn King, “Next, follow my orders. Try anything clever, and you’ll regret it.”
Her intelligence deduced his intent.
She had no choice—defying him carried a cost she couldn’t bear.
For now, she’d comply, biding her time, plotting a reversal or escape. She doubted Zhang Ruochen would free her after she activated the tower.
He’d already had Chen Liuli confiscate her items and sealed her saintly meridians and channels with a secret technique.
With only spiritual power, escaping him was impossible.
Zhang Ruochen unsealed her spiritual power, “Inject it into the Divine Core Pearl to activate the Torchfire Tower and control the ancient inscriptions.”
Her saintly heart cleared, senses sharpening to the surrounding matter and rules.
Flexing her slender fingers, she said, “Zhang Ruochen, you’re too confident. Think I’m powerless with just spiritual power?”
“Try me,” he replied.
Having clashed with her多次, he knew her capabilities well.
Her Eight-Step Saint King martial cultivation had surprised him.
With martial prowess alone, she could briefly spar with a Nine-Step Saint King of the Greater Rule Heaven. Without his recent spatial breakthrough and capture technique, subduing her in one strike might’ve failed.
As for her spiritual power, though formidable, it focused on soul attacks and ghost control. With her Ghost Kings slain and his own robust saint soul, Zhang Ruochen feared her less.
Like Ancient Pine, another potent spiritualist skilled in alchemy, a mere One-Step Saint King could chase him helpless.
Against anyone but Zhang Ruochen, Grand Dawn King could hold her own even against a Domain of the Dao expert.
Spiritual cultivators had weaknesses.
This was why Zhang Ruochen had prioritised martial arts over spiritual power.
She hesitated long, then refrained from acting, obeying him. Her right hand pressed toward the pearl, unleashing potent spiritual power.
“Crackle.”
Golden metal within the pearl flared blindingly.
Secret patterns emerged, tadpole-like, floating and flowing across its surface.
The torchfire surged upward, more vibrant.
The tower’s first floor ignited.
Then the second.
When the third floor glowed, ancient inscriptions appeared on the well’s walls.
“Swish.”
Centred on the tower, inscriptions activated, spreading outward, soon enveloping the Eastern Domain Holy City.
Cultivators looked skyward.
Above the clouds, a luminous web formed.
Phantom divine beasts materialised—winged dragons, grey wolves, golden pythons—exuding mighty auras, as if the city had returned to ancient times.
Soon, the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors lit up.
More inscriptions activated, the beasts’ presence growing more fearsome.
On the sea, Lord Shenya, Murong Yefeng, and Jiang Yunchong ceased fighting, retreating to separate corners.
An Array Earth Master’s perverse strength was undeniable. Even with the Nine Phoenix Cauldron, Murong Yefeng needed Jiang Yunchong’s aid to match him.
“The ancient inscriptions are active—Grand Dawn King’s succeeded! Haha, brilliant! The Eastern Domain Holy City is ours. Aren’t you two fleeing yet?” Lord Shenya stroked his beard, his gloom lifting.
Facing their relentless assault, he’d barely held them off with all his tricks.
Continued fighting was uncertain.
But now, victory seemed assured, and he pondered eliminating them to plunge Kunlun into ruin.
Murong Yefeng said, “Are you so sure it’s your side controlling the inscriptions?”
Lord Shenya smirked smugly, “Activating the city’s ancient inscriptions requires at least fifty-ninth-rank spiritual power.”
“In today’s Eastern Domain Holy City, besides me and Grand Dawn King, where’s a third such cultivator? Even if there were, they wouldn’t know where to trigger them.”
“This is bad!” Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong’s hearts sank.
…
…
The Eastern Domain Saint King Mansion’s main city housed two hundred thousand elite troops and a ninth-grade array from the Chen Clan’s ancestors—an impregnable fortress, one of the domain’s most fortified sites.
Yet now, it lay in ruins—walls shattered, corpses strewn, rivers of blood.
Grand halls burned, flames and black smoke rising.
Some Chen Clan members knelt, suppressed and immobile. Others hung impaled on walls, blood like splashed ink. Some formed joint arrays, struggling against invading Saint-level foes.
Lord Shenya’s long-planned assault struck before the Chen Clan could react, infiltrators breaching the ninth-grade array from within.
Screams, pleas, and slaughter wove a dirge of blood and tears.
Three Domain of the Dao experts led the attack, godlike and hidden, their identities too significant to reveal.
A casual palm strike from them was a heaven-turning seal, crushing scores of cultivators.
Many factions rushed to aid, only to be routed by the shadowed Domain experts, leaving countless dead, bodies piled high.
Besides them, elites like The Traveller and The Wanderer—top Nine-Step Saint Kings—joined the fray.
To many, without the Zhou Tian Grand Array and ninth-grade array, any Nine-Step Saint King could sweep the Chen Clan.
Yet Lord Shenya, ever cautious, deployed over ten Nine-Step Saint Kings and three mysterious Domain experts to ensure its fall.
Two hundred miles from the main city, a spiritual mountain rose.
Tianchu Fairy, Butcher, and Fool stood atop it, gazing at the distant battlefield.
Fool sighed, “What carnage. Isn’t anyone upholding justice? Where are the Patrol Angels?”
Tianchu Fairy’s deep eyes betrayed no emotion, “Lord Shenya has strong ties in the Heavenly Palace. To seize the Eastern Domain Holy City, he’d have briefed the Patrol Angels, likely bribing them with a share.”
Butcher said, “Justice in a weak realm? Strength is justice. Kunlun’s too feeble, lacking a figure to deter all sides.”
“Imagine if Yan Wushen were from Kunlun. These bastards wouldn’t dare step foot here, let alone rampage like this.”
Fool clutched his chest, “Don’t mention Yan Wushen—my heart can’t take it! If the Heavenly Palace’s Four Heavenly Kings weren’t off dealing with him, I wouldn’t dare come to Kunlun.”
Tianchu Fairy’s lips moved faintly, “Pity the War of Merit came too soon for Kunlun. A few more years, and perhaps he could…”
Mid-sentence, she sensed the trembling saintly energy, stopping to look skyward.
