The White Empress’s own cultivation had already reached the Tai Bai realm. Once she drew upon the terrain and the arrays, she could channel the entire qi of Xinghuan Heaven into herself. Beneath the Immeasurable, she could fight any opponent.
Yet the instant Qian Mo Sang stepped inside, he shattered all her gathered qi. The sheer depth of his cultivation was utterly world-shaking.
Having survived five Yuanhui tribulations and cultivated into the sixth Yuanhui, with seven hundred thousand years of accumulation, such beings were exceedingly rare across the entire universe.
With a flick of a finger, he could destroy a realm or exterminate a clan.
Mo Jie was equally stunned. He sat bolt upright, inwardly shaken. “So this is the second-ranked of the Adjudication Division!”
Qian Mo Sang paced forward and stood at the centre of the palace, each step resounding like thunder. “The armies of the Heavenly Court are already marching towards Xinghuan Heaven. If City Lord still refuses to confess, there will be no more chances!”
The White Empress showed no surprise at the news of the Heavenly Court armies approaching.
Now truly was the moment of life-or-death for Xinghuan Heaven; a choice had to be made.
Yet how could she choose Hell Realm?
If the secret of the Ni Shen Clan were exposed by the Shang Clan, Yu Yan, Bai Qing’er, herself, and all the hidden Ni Shen clansmen would face utter catastrophe.
Xingtian Cliff would be implicated as well.
The Shang Clan was certain she would never dare betray them.
Seeing the White Empress unmoved, Qian Mo Sang’s eyes darkened. Overwhelming aura erupted from him, crushing down upon her. “The Twelve Divine Maiden Districts saved Gu Ya. The Temple of Destiny will not forget that debt. It is precisely because you did the right thing that this seat is still willing to give you a chance to explain—or to choose.”
Bang!
The White Empress’s hair bun was shattered by Qian Mo Sang’s aura; her dark tresses cascaded down.
Never before had she felt so powerless, so pained and helpless.
A mighty Great God and lord of a realm, yet as frail as a withered blade of grass that would snap with the slightest pressure.
Not because of Mo Jie and Qian Mo Sang.
But because of the dual pressure from both Heavenly Court and Hell Realm!
A hundred thousand years ago, burning rage had filled the White Empress’s heart. She had wanted to fight, to swing her sword at every god who threatened or used her. Yet for a hundred thousand years she had kept her blade sheathed, unable to draw it.
Not out of cowardice, but because she had too many ties; she could not sever all emotion and righteousness.
Qian Mo Sang sensed the killing intent radiating from her. “Such powerful killing intent. City Lord wishes to fight? Fair enough—this is Xinghuan Heaven, the Heavenly Divine Maiden City. City Lord should have that confidence.”
The White Empress’s long hair whipped wildly; divine light blazed from her body. “What right do you have to force this City Lord to choose? In Hell Realm, this City Lord trusts only the Five Pure Sect and Emperor Luo Yan.”
The White Empress knew full well the weight of today’s decision. Her own death would be a release, but among either Heavenly Court or Hell Realm, few could truly protect Xinghuan Heaven.
They needed both the strength to shelter it and the sincere intent to do so—and there was not a single one.
Once the Ni Shen Clan’s secret was revealed, neither the Five Pure Sect nor Emperor Luo Yan would oppose the entire Hell Realm for the sake of the Twelve Divine Maiden Districts.
Mo Jie stood, slamming his staff against the ground with a cold snort. “Stubborn and unrepentant. Why waste more words? Capture her first and seize control of the arrays in the First Divine Maiden City—that is what matters most. When Hell Realm’s armies arrive, we can judge her slowly.”
Qian Mo Sang’s patience was exhausted. He nodded. “Before the Heavenly Court armies arrive, we must indeed secure all arrays within Xinghuan Heaven. Spiritual God Mo Jie, act!”
Despair filled the eyes of the twelve suppressed cultivators from the Twelve Divine Maiden Districts lying on the ground. They knew the Districts were doomed today.
Mo Jie sneered and channelled spiritual power into his staff.
A fragrance wafted in from outside the palace.
Pink, crystalline peach blossoms drifted in on the wind.
Tap, tap!
A tall, upright young man strode in from the entrance and casually closed the palace doors behind him.
The hall dimmed; even the divine light from the three gods could not illuminate it.
Mo Jie paused and looked at the intruder. “Who might Your Excellency be?”
“To think you do not even recognise me. Your knowledge truly is lacking. It seems the Darkness Temple wasted its efforts establishing the Spiritual God Hall. Better to have Wu Yue disband it quickly.”
The young man struck the gap between the two doors with a palm. With a boom, the doors dented inward.
The dent turned crimson and began to melt.
The two doors were welded shut by that single palm print.
When he turned, the White Empress saw his face clearly and all colour drained from her own.
Mo Jie had never witnessed such audacity. To barge into the forbidden Divine Queen Palace and, facing three Great God-level beings, weld the doors shut?
Even if he were powerful and confident, if any of the three gods detonated their divine sources, would he not perish with them?
“Who exactly are you?”
Mo Jie’s staff darkened, becoming a black hole that devoured all things. Countless strands of black lightning crackled from it.
“Darkness Tribulation!”
Mo Jie swung the staff…
The young man walked forward, expression cold, and casually swatted with one palm.
Like swatting a fly.
Mo Jie’s body exploded into a shower of beautiful peach blossoms that scattered across the floor.
Only petals remained—no corpse.
A spiritual-power expert comparable to a Tai Bai Great God had been utterly extinguished, his spiritual thoughts and divine soul annihilated.
Everything happened in an instant. Mo Jie had no time to dodge, flee, or even scream.
The twelve cultivators from the Twelve Divine Maiden Districts lying on the ground were even more terrified than before. This young man was clearly handsome and emitted no divine power fluctuations, yet he was more frightening than death itself.
The lives of gods seemed utterly fragile before him.
“Peach Blossom Tribulation!”
Qian Mo Sang uttered those three words in a voice deep and complex. Then he drew a weapon that was neither sword nor blade, and the Gate of Destiny appeared behind him.
With utmost caution he said, “I never imagined—truly never imagined—that the new leader of the Heaven-Slaying Organisation would be you, Xuan Yi!”
Peach Blossom Tribulation was the Heaven-Slaying Organisation’s most infamous killing technique.
True God Xuan Yi inhaled deeply. All the peach blossoms that Mo Jie had become after death were drawn into his body.
He closed his eyes to refine them. “Not exactly new. I have led the Heaven-Slaying Organisation for quite a long time. But to an ancient god like you who has lived far too long, even a hundred thousand years still counts as new.”
“The Heaven-Slaying Organisation has offended many powers. Are you not afraid your identity will be exposed?” Qian Mo Sang asked.
True God Xuan Yi kept his eyes closed. “What a stupid question! Truth be told, quite a few cultivators already know this secret. But they are all dead!”
Qian Mo Sang swung the Great Adjudication Cyan Blade. In an instant, this quasi-divine supreme sacred artefact was pushed to its limit by his divine power, blazing with cyan divine fire.
True God Xuan Yi stood motionless, eyes closed, breathing steady. Only the five fingers of his right hand formed a seal.
He did not even release the seal.
Yet Qian Mo Sang’s divine body shuddered violently. All his power was shattered, and he staggered backwards.
“The power of space!”
Qian Mo Sang was shocked beyond measure. He had never expected that, with his cultivation of five Yuanhui, he would be defeated in a single strike by Xuan Yi.
“No—this is the power of heaven and earth!”
True God Xuan Yi opened his eyes; billions of rays of light surged from his pupils.
Boom!
No one saw what struck him, but the Gate of Destiny behind Qian Mo Sang shattered into streams of destiny rules and divine-qi clouds.
Qian Mo Sang roared and unfolded his divine-realm world.
“A divine-realm world is not meant for combat. It is a gift from the heavens, meant for evolving a world and comprehending it in the process. You have misunderstood!”
True God Xuan Yi’s voice sounded beside Qian Mo Sang’s right ear.
Qian Mo Sang whipped his head to the right.
True God Xuan Yi pressed a palm forward, forcibly compressing Qian Mo Sang’s half-unfolded divine-realm world back into his body.
Qian Mo Sang bled from every orifice and let out a wretched scream.
True God Xuan Yi’s second palm struck heavily on Qian Mo Sang’s chest, caving in his armour and slamming his divine body into the ground.
Boom!
Countless array inscriptions appeared throughout the palace, threads of light criss-crossing.
Qian Mo Sang did not die, but the twelve cultivators from the Twelve Divine Maiden Districts—including the Lower God district master—were all killed by the shockwaves of their battle, reduced to dust.
“Fight!”
Qian Mo Sang roared, burning his divine blood.
Pfft!
True God Xuan Yi struck like lightning. Two fingers pierced like swords through Qian Mo Sang’s supreme sacred armour and dug out his divine source.
Only after the divine source was removed did Qian Mo Sang’s cry of “Fight!” leave his mouth.
Divine blood burned on Qian Mo Sang’s body, battle intent boiling, yet when he stood he saw True God Xuan Yi’s blood-drenched hand holding a divine source.
He looked down—there was a bloody hole in his chest.
True God Xuan Yi pocketed the divine source. “See? This is how one fights. Do not confuse cultivation with combat.”
Qian Mo Sang roared in fury, despair, and boundless battle intent, swinging the Cyan Blade weakly at True God Xuan Yi.
True God Xuan Yi swept his sleeve, forming a vortex of divine force that shredded Qian Mo Sang’s divine body into bloody pulp, then into mist, drawing both the mist and the Cyan Blade into his sleeve.
Silence fell upon the Divine Queen Palace.
Only the White Empress’s breathing remained!
True God Xuan Yi’s gaze fixed upon her. “Speak! Where are Huang Tian and Emperor Duotian?”
The White Empress’s chest heaved violently, her breathing rapid, unable to control the terror in her heart. “This City Lord does not know what you are talking about. The one who fought Emperor Duotian was the Blood Absolutes War God. The two entered the void space and their auras vanished. No one knows where they are now.”
“Would the Blood Absolutes War God have any reason to kill Emperor Duotian?” True God Xuan Yi’s eyes were sharp as swords.
“Yet that is the truth,” the White Empress said.
True God Xuan Yi could detect no flaw in her. He nodded slightly, walked to a palace window, opened it, and gazed at the sky outside. “I hope it truly was the Blood Absolutes War God who acted. Only then can Emperor Duotian survive—and only then can you survive.”
