With a piercing sound, Xiao Wuchang, carrying the *Heavenly Demon Blade-Drawing Diagram*, appeared atop the snow peak, facing Mu Lingxi.
His gaze roamed over her brazenly, a sinister glint in his eyes.
“Such a stunning beauty. Why follow a doomed man? Hand over the *Heavenly Demon Mad Dragon Diagram*, and I won’t hurt you,” Xiao Wuchang said with a lecherous smirk.
Mu Lingxi’s eyes flashed with disgust. “Want the *Mad Dragon Diagram*? Prove you’re worthy,” she said coldly.
A chilling aura surged from her, the peak’s already frigid temperature plummeting further.
Vast Extreme Yin Nether Ice power flowed from her back, forming crystalline ice phoenix wings. Their flapping whipped up a howling gale.
“Feisty. I’m growing fonder of you, little beauty. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy,” Xiao Wuchang laughed brazenly.
Mu Lingxi’s gaze sharpened. Holy energy surged as she struck a palm toward him.
A massive vortex appeared in her palm, deep and mysterious, as if opening a spatial passage.
*Roar.*
A deafening beastly roar echoed, and a colossal creature shot from the vortex.
It was a black python dragon, covered in crystalline ice scales, lifelike and radiating ferocious might.
Six more massive creatures followed, each exuding formidable auras.
The snow peak below couldn’t withstand such power, collapsing instantly into a massive avalanche.
“The Moon-Worship Demonic Sect’s only Mysterious Middle-Tier Saint Technique, *Eight Desolates Beast Emperor Art*. Lingxi’s cultivated it to Great Completion, just a step from Perfection,” Zhang Ruochen noted, nodding approvingly.
He recalled Mu Lingxi practicing the *Eight Desolates Seal Technique*, one of the sect’s ten great techniques, derived from the *Beast Emperor Art*. Mastering the former laid the foundation for the latter.
Like the *Seal Technique*, the *Beast Emperor Art* required refining eight beast souls, at least Saint King level, the stronger the better.
Refining one soul marked entry, four was Minor Completion, seven was Great Completion.
Refining all eight achieved Perfection, rivaling High-Tier Saint Techniques.
Legend held that refining a ninth soul could elevate the art to true High-Tier status, but few in the sect’s history had achieved this.
Mu Lingxi’s Great Completion was remarkable, given the immense difficulty of Mysterious Saint Techniques, often requiring centuries of study.
*Roar.*
The seven beast souls roared, charging at Xiao Wuchang.
All ice-attributed, nurtured by Mu Lingxi’s Extreme Yin Nether Ice, their power was fearsome, their chill threatening to freeze the heavens.
“Let’s see the peerless demonic technique I gleaned from the *Blade-Drawing Diagram*,” Xiao Wuchang growled, dark demonic energy surging from him.
*Whoosh.*
He waved, unleashing a razor-sharp blade light toward Mu Lingxi.
The black python dragon roared, meeting the blade head-on.
*Crack.*
The blade, unstoppable, shattered the dragon’s ice scales, but broke apart itself.
Extreme Yin Nether Ice surged, instantly repairing the scales. The dragon lunged at Xiao Wuchang, unharmed.
“Hm?”
Xiao Wuchang frowned, surprised by the ice beasts’ resilience.
As the seven beasts closed in, his body shook, a terrifying phenomenon manifesting behind him.
A towering Heavenly Demon phantom stood in boundless void, one hand on the scabbard, the other on the hilt.
The blade, still sheathed, exuded a piercing aura, as if it could cleave the cosmos.
Unlike most Black Demon Realm cultivators’ phenomena, Xiao Wuchang’s was vivid and spirited, imbued with divinity, not just form—a direct result of studying the true *Blade-Drawing Diagram*.
*Whoosh.*
As the beasts neared, the phantom moved, drawing the blade in a flash, unleashing a terrifying blade light that rippled space.
The light split into eight—seven weaker ones struck the beasts, the strongest aimed at Mu Lingxi.
*Bang.*
The beasts were thrown back, their ice scales and armor shattering.
“Petty tricks. How can they compare to the supreme demonic techniques of the *Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions*?” Xiao Wuchang sneered.
Mu Lingxi remained calm, unflinching.
The vortex surged with power, a massive ice claw emerging.
*Crack.*
The claw caught the blade light, crushing it with ease.
A magnificent ice phoenix, trailing long tail feathers, soared from the vortex, scattering countless ice crystals.
Its aura dwarfed the other beasts, faintly exuding a Great Saint’s terrifying pressure.
Spectators gasped in shock.
“All eight beasts. Mu Lingxi’s reached Perfection in the *Eight Desolates Beast Emperor Art*. Few in the Moon-Worship Demonic Sect’s history have done this.”
“What’s with that ice phoenix? Kunlun hasn’t had phoenixes for ages, only descendants with their blood. With her ice phoenix bloodline, how could Mu Lingxi target one?”
“Beyond Kunlun, only the Demon God Realm has phoenixes. Did someone kill a Great Saint ice phoenix there?”
“Refining a Great Saint ice phoenix soul makes her *Beast Emperor Art* rival High-Tier Saint Techniques. Enviable.”
All eyes turned to Mu Lingxi.
The *Beast Emperor Art*, a renowned Mysterious Middle-Tier Saint Technique, was well-known, especially to outsiders drawn to Kunlun’s top techniques.
In terms of such techniques, few worlds rivaled Kunlun.
These were the foundation of Kunlun’s revival. Losing them could doom it to decline.
Zhang Ruochen was surprised, unaware Mu Lingxi had mastered this. He wondered about the Great Saint ice phoenix soul’s origin.
“Could it be Phoenix Lake?” he mused.
“Junior Sister-in-Law’s incredible, mastering the hardest *Beast Emperor Art* to Perfection. She’s the sect’s top genius in millennia,” Bao Lie praised.
Xiao Hei scoffed, “Lingxi’s the only one in the Mu family to awaken ice phoenix blood in ages. This is nothing. If she gains the ice phoenix ancestor’s legacy, that’d be impressive.”
Xiao Hei had always believed in Mu Lingxi’s potential for greatness given time.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, hoping she’d grow strong enough to protect herself without him.
The Black Demon Realm’s mood grew heavy.
“A Mysterious Middle-Tier Saint Technique. We have only two in the Black Demon Realm. Kunlun’s heritage is enviable. After taking the Blood God Sect, we should visit the Moon-Worship Demonic Sect. They might have true *Inscriptions*,” Zuo Li said, licking his lips greedily.
Yin Fan Demoness frowned. “The Moon-Worship Sect’s odd. Recently, Heaven Realm’s Giant God Hall leader, Uros, secretly led elite giants to seize the Life-Death Bronze Furnace. They suffered heavy losses, and Uros barely escaped, gravely injured.”
“Someone in the Moon-Worship Sect injured Uros? Impossible,” Zuo Li’s face changed.
To him, Kunlun’s factions were insignificant, easily crushed.
But this suggested otherwise.
Uros, a top third-tier below Great Saint with perfect Titan Giant blood, had unmatched physical strength. Few dared face him directly.
Injuring him was no small feat.
Yin Fan Demoness continued, “Not just them. Many ancient Kunlun sects are strange. Many tried to exploit them, only to fail. It’s either divine contingencies or hidden powerhouses.”
The mystery lay in the unknown reasons for these failures.
“My master warned me not to underestimate Kunlun. Its depths may exceed imagination,” Mo Sheng murmured.
His master was the Black Heart Demon Lord.
Such a warning spoke volumes.
The Black Demon Realm experts grew pensive, their perspectives shifting.
*Boom.*
Mu Lingxi and Xiao Wuchang, undeterred, unleashed powerful techniques, clashing fiercely.
“Her cultivation isn’t even at Path’s Anterior peak. How is she this strong?” Xiao Wuchang grew alarmed.
Using a Nine-Shine Ten Thousand Patterns Saint Weapon blade and his demonic technique to the fullest, he couldn’t gain the upper hand, instead feeling cornered—a bad sign.
Mu Lingxi had used only one technique, holding back other means.
“Won’t hand over the *Inscription* willingly? Don’t blame me!” Xiao Wuchang’s eyes turned ruthless.
Channeling his demonic technique, dense demonic energy poured into the *Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription* beside him.
The *Inscription* wasn’t just a wager but his strongest trump card.
Infused with demonic energy, the *Inscription* grew profound, its engraved image vivid.
Sensing its dangerous aura, Mu Lingxi altered her seals, channeling more Extreme Yin Nether Ice into a massive, slowly spinning ice wheel.
The eight ice beasts merged with the wheel.
“Heavenly Demon Blade-Drawing, All Spirits Extinguished,” Xiao Wuchang roared, hurling the *Inscription*.
Bonded to it, he could control it freely, making it nearly impossible to seize.
Mu Lingxi’s expression grew solemn, her hands forming intricate seals, pushing the ice wheel forward.
“Eight Desolates God-Suppressing Wheel.”
This was the *Beast Emperor Art*’s ultimate move, unusable without Perfection.
The wheel spun rapidly, exuding world-suppressing power.
*Bang.*
The clashing forces rippled space, spreading destructively.
Mountains crumbled, the earth sank, and peaks were leveled.
“Retreat!”
Spectators paled, retreating swiftly.
Some, too slow, were flung by the ripples, spitting blood, caught in the collateral damage.
Before the Blood God Sect, Zhang Ruochen intervened, using spatial power to nullify the ripples.
His gaze fixed on the battlefield, worry for Mu Lingxi creeping in.
Wagering against the Black Demon Realm was perilous. He’d have preferred she not fight, dreading even the slightest harm to her.
*Bang.*
Mu Lingxi’s *God-Suppressing Wheel* shattered, unable to withstand the *Inscription*.
“The *Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription* lives up to its name. My less-than-perfect *God-Suppressing Wheel* can’t compete,” Mu Lingxi thought, unshaken.
As the stele charged with piercing force, she didn’t hesitate. Holy energy surged, and a thousand-zhang stone orb rose from her Sea of Qi.
It was the divine throne planet Zhang Ruochen had given her.
Radiating divine might, it seemed capable of collapsing the heavens.
*Bang.*
The stele was halted, its blade light sharp but unable to breach the planet.
“A divine throne planet with potent divine power,” Xiao Wuchang’s face darkened.
He hadn’t expected this trump card.
Seized from Wang Xu, the planet held a wisp of divine star soul. Without Moon God’s refining, Mu Lingxi couldn’t have wielded it.
The soul made all the difference.
It enabled the planet to counter the *Inscription*.
“It’s over,” Mu Lingxi murmured, forming complex seals.
A lifelike phoenix mark appeared on her brow.
A thousand-zhang ice phoenix phantom materialized above, exuding vast pressure that shook souls.
Xiao Hei exclaimed, “It’s ‘Spirit Summoning’! Lingxi can use ‘Spirit Summoning’!”
“What’s that?” Zhang Ruochen asked, intrigued.
He was well-versed but unfamiliar with the term.
Xiao Hei’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Spirit Summoning is a technique only accessible when a bloodline or physique reaches a certain level. It calls a wisp of an ancestor’s soul from the bloodline, borrowing their power.”
“It’s incredibly difficult. Few achieve it. For phoenixes, it requires forming the Heavenly Phoenix Dao Body. Even ancient Heavenly Phoenixes needed Saint King realm to do so. Lingxi’s achievement rivals an ancient Heavenly Phoenix in the same realm.”
Zhang Ruochen was stunned. Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes, like the dragon clan’s divine dragons, were rare and immensely powerful.
Matching one at her realm, with only partial phoenix blood, was extraordinary, even for pureblood phoenixes.
