Surrender!
Originally, Bi Xiao had planned to join forces with Ye Xuan, Tian Yan, and the others to resist the Ancient Emperor and his group!
But when the Ancient Emperor made his move, she lost all hope!
Tian Yan was terrifyingly powerful, wasn’t she?
Yet she couldn’t withstand even a single strike from him!
Continuing to fight would be a pointless sacrifice!
As for the plain-skirt woman behind Ye Xuan…
The plain-skirt woman could defeat Tian Yan, and so could the Ancient Emperor. Their strengths seemed roughly equal!
But her gut told her the Ancient Emperor was stronger!
Why?
Because he had seized control of the Qingxuan Sword, a blade forged by the plain-skirt woman. If he could control it, the difference in their power was clear!
Moreover, so far, the Ancient Emperor hadn’t even revealed his true strength!
That casual strike had been enough to overpower someone as formidable as Tian Yan!
What was there left to fight for?
In the distance, Ye Xuan glanced at Bi Xiao, admittedly surprised!
In his view, Tian Yan was the most likely to surrender. She didn’t get along with him and probably wanted him dead. Yet, not only did she not surrender, she even helped him!
Meanwhile, Bi Xiao had surrendered!
Life could be so unpredictable—things often unfolded contrary to expectations!
The Ancient Emperor turned to Bi Xiao, a slight smirk on his lips. “Surrender?”
Bi Xiao nodded.
He chuckled. “Why should I accept your surrender?”
She smiled. “From your earlier words, I gathered that you leave some alive to let this universe recover and thrive. You won’t completely wipe out all life here, correct?”
He nodded. “Correct!”
Bi Xiao met his gaze. “Then I want to live! And my clan too!”
He studied her. “Why should I let you live? Give me a reason!”
She smiled faintly. “My death brings you no benefit. My survival can save you a lot of trouble. After all, I understand this universe far better now!”
After a long look, he laughed. “I’ll accept your surrender! Do you know why?”
She shook her head.
He grinned. “Because you’re clever. I like clever people.”
Bi Xiao fell silent.
The Ancient Emperor turned to Mu Niannian, still trapped in the distance. “Lady, if you’re willing to surrender, I won’t kill you!”
Mu Niannian looked at him and smiled. “I’m not fond of surrendering!”
With that, she stepped forward and pressed a finger against the blood-red space before her.
*Boom!*
Under everyone’s gaze, the blood-red space dissolved into nothing!
A flicker of surprise crossed the Ancient Emperor’s eyes. “Impressive! I underestimated you!”
He stepped forward and threw a punch at her. The space-time before her twisted and shattered!
Mu Niannian opened her palm, and countless sword qi surged forth, instantly enveloping the surrounding space-time!
*Boom!*
The sword qi twisted but held firm, blocking the full force of his punch!
The Ancient Emperor frowned, then struck again!
*Boom!*
All the sword qi shattered. By then, Mu Niannian had appeared beside Ye Xuan.
He glanced at her. “Still underestimated you!”
Mu Niannian turned to Ye Xuan. “Should we leave first?”
Ye Xuan asked gravely, “Are you planning to stay and take them all on?”
She smiled. “This guy’s formidable. He hasn’t shown his true strength yet, and I’m not confident I can beat him. Plus, that black-robed man with him is strong too. Neither is someone you can face right now!”
Ye Xuan looked at her. “I won’t let you stay here alone!”
Once, Sister Nian had died for him!
He’d sworn never to let her get hurt for his sake again!
Never!
Mu Niannian smiled softly. “I’m not your Qing’er, able to crush anyone in seconds. I can’t guarantee I can protect you!”
Ye Xuan grinned. “I want to face this with you! I won’t drag you down now, will I?”
She looked at him for a long moment, then laughed. “You’ve grown up!”
At that moment, Tian Yan gripped the blood-red spike in her hand and yanked it out with a fierce tug!
Everyone turned to her!
Her face twisted with ferocity. She glared at the Ancient Emperor. “Let’s go again!”
With that, her pupils turned an eerie pure white. She leapt forward, transforming into a beam of white light that shot out!
*Boom!*
In an instant, the space-time within hundreds of thousands of miles boiled!
Ye Xuan’s eyelid twitched. *Bloody hell, this woman’s still fierce!*
The Ancient Emperor’s eyes flickered with surprise. “You’ve awakened the White Pupils… Interesting!”
He pointed two fingers forward lightly.
*Boom!*
The white light was halted by his gesture. Tian Yan, within it, thrust an ancient spear downward!
*Rip!*
A sharp tearing sound echoed through the field!
The Ancient Emperor caught the spear between his fingers.
Tian Yan’s eyes flashed with savagery. She twisted her hand fiercely.
*Boom!*
Space-time within hundreds of thousands of miles ignited!
Yet the Ancient Emperor stood unmoved, like a rock!
His fingers tightened slightly.
*Boom!*
The spear shattered, and Tian Yan was flung back. As she retreated hundreds of meters, a hand steadied her.
It was Mu Niannian’s!
Tian Yan glanced at her but said nothing.
Mu Niannian looked at the Ancient Emperor with a smile. “I bet you’re lonely—the loneliness of the invincible, right?”
A strange glint passed through his eyes. “I must say, I truly admire you. Not only is your strength impressive, but your wisdom is unmatched.”
She grinned. “I know someone incredibly powerful. I think he could bring you some excitement!”
He laughed. “Is that so?”
She nodded. “Yes!”
He studied her. “Then I’d like to meet him!”
She smiled. “I’ll take you to him!”
He chuckled. “Much obliged!”
Bi Xiao suddenly interjected, “Sir, she might not have good intentions!”
Mu Niannian glanced at Bi Xiao, smiling. “You’re clever and good at picking sides, but you don’t understand this Ancient Emperor’s mindset. For a powerhouse like him, a defeat would be a rare gift!”
Bi Xiao looked at her, silent.
The Ancient Emperor laughed. “She’s right. I’ve roamed universes over the years but never found a worthy opponent. If someone could defeat me, it’d hardly be a bad thing!”
Mu Niannian grinned. “Then let’s go!”
She grabbed Ye Xuan’s hand and turned to leave.
Pausing, she looked at Tian Yan. “Miss Tian Yan, come along!”
Tian Yan hesitated, then followed.
In the distance, the Ancient Emperor smiled and led his group after them.
Bi Xiao paused, then followed too!
Was the plain-skirt woman really stronger than the Ancient Emperor?
She didn’t know!
She only knew she had no way back now!
Her earlier choice was a gamble—betting the Ancient Emperor outmatched the plain-skirt woman!
If she won, she and the Shenhuang Clan would survive—more than that, they’d become the only race left intact in the Zhouyuan Realm!
Then, the entire realm would be theirs.
But if she lost…
Bi Xiao didn’t let herself dwell on it!
In the distance, Ye Xuan suddenly asked, “Sister Nian, are we going to the Milky Way?”
Mu Niannian turned to him. “Why the Milky Way?”
Ye Xuan said gravely, “Aren’t we fetching Qing’er?”
She shook her head. “No!”
He blinked, confused. “Then who are we finding? Dad? Big Brother? But do you even know where they are?”
She shook her head again. “No idea!”
Ye Xuan was speechless.
Not Qing’er, not Dad or Big Brother—who was Sister Nian taking them to?
Who else could take down this Ancient Emperor?
Mu Niannian suddenly chuckled. “Stop overthinking! You’ll see soon enough!”
Tian Yan interjected, “Lady, your strength doesn’t seem inferior to his!”
Mu Niannian smiled. “You’re oversimplifying him!”
Tian Yan frowned. “What do you mean?”
Ye Xuan looked at her curiously too. He could sense Sister Nian wasn’t weaker than the Ancient Emperor, yet she showed no intent to fight him.
Mu Niannian explained, “It’s normal you can’t tell. His strength far exceeds the Zhouyuan Realm’s scope! His soul and consciousness have fused with this realm. When he devoured its life essence long ago, he destroyed its Heavenly Dao and became it himself—stronger than the original by leaps and bounds! To fight him, you’d have to shatter the entire Zhouyuan Realm. But that would mean annihilating countless lives within it! Understand?”
Tian Yan said gravely, “So as long as he’s in the Zhouyuan Realm, he’s invincible?”
Mu Niannian laughed. “You could say that! He won’t give you the chance to destroy it!”
Ye Xuan was about to speak when Mu Niannian said, “We’re here!”
She stopped. Ye Xuan looked ahead. Not far off stood a thatched hut with a garden in front.
Which great being lived here?
Ye Xuan’s curiosity piqued!
