"So... you all just came back like this?"

In the depths of Divine Sorrow Ridge, half submerged in the pond water, Demon Buddha Xing E's skin emitted an inhuman, pale whiteness. Jets of ink-black substance oozed out of his pores, merging into the surrounding water.

"Reporting back to Demon Buddha, Nature Banner's Leader Zhao Gengyun had sent the Sun Brothers. Experts from Star Mansion Sea Cliff, Shenxiao Sect, and Dachan Temple were all lurking outside Nanlin Prefecture. If we dared to step even half a foot into Nanlin Prefecture, these people would swarm out, and then..."

Prostrating on the ground before Demon Buddha Xing E, the Green Hill Ruler didn't care in the least that his jade-like skin was tarnished by dust, as he softly reported on the situation.

"In the end, you all are just afraid of dying, aren't you?"

With his eyes tightly closed, Demon Buddha Xing E's voice resounded in the ears of the six rulers.

Suddenly, the space twisted.

The six rulers found themselves horrifyingly transported inside a giant stone mortar. Looking up, they saw an expressionless, colossal stone Buddha lifting its heavy stone pestle high before smashing it down ferociously!

SPLATTER!

Flesh turned to sludge, bones shattered to pieces.

At this moment, the Dao Body Realm rulers seemed stripped of all their power, only able to watch as the stone pestle fell, crushing them into a pulpy mess.

Shrill shrieks of agony rent the heavens.

The entire stone mortar was a grotesque sight, filled with an intense pain that spread and surged uncontrollably.

After a brutal death, in the blink of an eye, the rulers were revived inside the stone mortar, their eyes still wild with panic and fear before they could even compose themselves.

The stone pestle, wrapped in a fearsome gale, was already plummeting down once again!

RIP!

RIP!

RIP!

Over and over again, death, revival, death, revival... Trapped in this torturous cycle of unrelenting torment. Endlessly repeating, with no escape.

Not until the rulers had been crushed to death by the stone Buddha with the stone pestle for the hundredth time, right there in the stone mortar.

In the next moment, the rulers were back in front of the tranquil pond.

Time seemed to have passed in the snap of a finger.

Yet the rulers' eyes had become hollow and numb, subjected to a pain amplified a millionfold, acting directly upon their souls.

If they hadn't been beings of the Dao Body Realm, with souls already at an incredibly powerful state, their souls would have been torn to shreds by the overwhelming pain the first time they were crushed.

Only after a full quarter of an hour did their consciousness finally return, and their bodies started to quiver and weaken as the aftermath set in.

"You fear death, so this poor monk let you die a hundred times. Hopefully, there won't be any more such foolish actions next time."

"We thank Demon Buddha for the lesson! There absolutely will not be a next time!"

Simultaneously touching their foreheads to the ground with resounding thumps, the six rulers—who normally stood above all, commanding countless demons and monsters—practically pressed their entire faces to the ground.

They thought that after enduring the ordeal of a hundred deaths, the matter would be over, but Demon Buddha Xing E's next words plunged the rulers into hell once again.

"The loss of the holy fruit source this time is difficult to explain to the mountain. Choose one among you to be sent back to the mountain, to be prepared for Cold Water Prison."

"Please, Demon Buddha, show mercy!"

Full of terror, the rulers frantically kowtowed, hoping Demon Buddha Xing E would spare them the calamity of Cold Water Prison.

"Spare you? What mercy is there to spare for a bunch of useless trash? In my opinion, all of you should be sent back to the mountain and thrown into Cold Water Prison to serve your sentences!"

The sound that suddenly erupted caused the rulers' complexions to change. Just as they were about to turn around to see which audacious mongrel was spouting nonsense, space shimmered.

A burly and fierce figure, bare-chested with hints of golden light flickering in his eyes, and shoulders as broad as a stretch of sky, suddenly appeared before the rulers.

Slowly opening his eyes slightly, Xing E glanced at the newcomer, then closed his eyes again. "Cao Wuji, you actually came in person."

Cao Wuji?! Hearing this name, which sounded like one from the Human Race, the rulers were struck as if by lightning, their bodies instantly stiffening as if they had turned into stone statues.

Cao Wuji, Patriarch of the Great Roc Clan, one of the Hundred Strong Great Clans.

His honorific title: Fuyao Great Saint!

"What, not welcome?" Slowly turning, Cao Wuji gave Xing E a once-over, his gaze lingering on the half of Xing E's body submerged in the pond.

His brows raised, this last pure-blooded Great Roc in the world let out a snort of laughter. "Going all out like this? I remember you weren't this type of character."

"Just fulfilling a trusted task, that's all."

Ignoring the mockery in Cao Wuji's tone, Xing E brought his palms together, sinking further into the pond. "Your arrival is actually timely. I can't extract myself right now. If they discover that no Primordial Spirit is overseeing Divine Sorrow Ridge, who knows what little schemes they might concoct."

"You wish. I'm not here to play gatekeeper for anyone." Waving his hand, Cao Wuji didn't even pause to reject Xing E's suggestion. "I'm here for two reasons. First, it has been a long time since I've been in the mortal world, and I wanted to see what this territory you're all squabbling over is worth. Second, I have some personal matters to attend to."

"Personal matters? More like private grudges." Seeming to know the Fuyao Great Saint well, Xing E's lips turned upward, piercing right through his true intentions.

"I suppose so. Has the Primordial Spirit restriction been broken yet? If it has, I'll take action right away."

Surveying the heavens and the earth, Cao Wuji slowly stretched. The shadow of a colossal golden-winged roc, its wings capable of spanning tens of thousands of miles and seeming to swallow the sky and devour the earth, swiftly emerged in the sky above.

And with this simple stretch from Cao Wuji, the entire Dianchuan Province was once again shaken by a significant tremor.

「Atop a white jade tower.」

Under a peach tree with lush branches and light pink blossoms, the Crown Prince of Great Xuan, about to sip the fragrant tea at the table, suddenly noticed a slight ripple forming in his cup.

Feeling something, he turned his head toward a distant point on the horizon.

There, at the edge of the skyline, a barely perceptible golden light was emitting a domineering brilliance, reminiscent of a soaring Great Roc spreading its wings and crying out.

"Has it arrived?"

"You really can keep your cool. That Great Roc himself has personally graced us with his presence."

By the Crown Prince's side, a man garbed in a dazzling robe that glittered like stars, wearing a high coronet and with a face as white as jade, stepped onto a bridge formed from endless starlight and ascended to the top of the white jade tower.

"What does it matter? As long as Dianchuan Province has not completely fallen, this Great Roc cannot stir up any storm."

Seemingly indifferent to the arrival of Fuyao Great Saint, the Crown Prince of Great Xuan took a sip from his cup and furrowed his brow slightly. "It's cooled down?"

"Including this Great Roc, there are already two Primordial Spirit powerhouses within Divine Sorrow Ridge. If the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains continue to send more from the Primordial Spirit Realm, the situation in Dianchuan Province might not be so clear anymore," the man in the star-glitter robe said slowly.

"No rush, we still hold the initiative in this game of chess. We can fight if we want to fight, or negotiate if we want to make peace. Right now, the only person I'm concerned about is someone else."

"Who?"

"The Military Governor of Xiangchu Province, Zhu Shanhe."

"Him? What do you mean by that?"

"Dianchuan Province borders Xiangchu Province. Everything that happens here might as well be occurring right under Zhu Shanhe's watch. Though his relationship with Gao Tianxiong was lukewarm, they were still both Military Governors. Yet after Gao Tianxiong's death, Zhu Shanhe hasn't said a word, let alone come to offer his condolences in person. There is likely more to this than meets the eye."

Setting down his teacup, the Crown Prince of Great Xuan wore a thoughtful expression, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table beside him.

Zhu Shanhe.

Foremost among the twelve Military Governors of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

The area of his Xiangchu Province is second only to the directly governed Jiangnan Province.

He commands twelve iron brigades, each one of which, if singled out, could match the Royal Forbidden Army in strength.

Zhu Shanhe far surpasses the other eleven Military Governors, both in personal strength and the forces under his command.

Especially this Military Governor—a man of grand strategies and towering talent. Amidst the waning days of the Great Xuan Dynasty, only his Xiangchu Province is thriving in all respects. He has also organized several purges and campaigns, driving all the Demonic Evil Cultivators out of the province.

The entire Xiangchu Province is rightly seen as a sacred land in the human world.

Yet now, as Dianchuan Province faces brewing storms and tumultuous waves, Zhu Shanhe appears apathetic. This sort of reaction would be nothing out of the ordinary for someone else. Every household has its own snow to clear from its doorstep. But for a person like Zhu Shanhe, this seemingly normal behavior is extremely abnormal.

"Are you worried that he also wants a piece of Dianchuan Province?"

"I hope this is just my overthinking. However, if he truly intends to intervene, several matters must be advanced."

Slowly lifting his gaze to the falling petals of the peach tree overhead, the Crown Prince of Great Xuan picked up the teapot on the table and poured the boiling hot tea entirely over the roots of the tree.

「The matter of the Evil Fruit's source came to a close.」

The Sun Brothers captured the Lord of Night Peace, one of the seven rulers of Divine Sorrow Ridge, and brought him back to the Nature Banner along with the Source of the Evil Fruit.

The Demonic Evil Cultivators suffered a devastating defeat in this battle. Not only was the Source of the Evil Fruit taken from them, but they also lost an old demon of the Dao Body Realm, the Lord of Night Peace.

Meanwhile, due to the contention for the Source of the Evil Fruit, Demonic Evil Cultivators from the surrounding prefectures and counties of Nanlin Prefecture, under orders from Divine Sorrow Ridge, streamed into Nanlin Prefecture en masse, attempting to support the Lord of Night Peace.

However, the Human Cultivators, prepared in advance, met them with an extremely fierce interception and encirclement.

The scale of death and injury was no less than that of a major decisive battle.

As a result of this fight, many cultivators were blessed by Human Path Merit, breaking through their cultivation realms on the spot and experiencing a surge in their power.

The Demonic Evil Cultivators' attempt to gain an advantage backfired, resulting only in losses.

「Meanwhile, in the Shenxiao Sect's Secret Post.」

Qi Xiu, who had originally planned to just lie in wait but inadvertently became the MVP of this large battle, sat cross-legged in his room.

With one hand, he supported the Black Gold Imperial Seal, transformed from Yama's Law Seal. His body was enveloped in whirling black vapors that vaguely exuded an intense, bone-chilling cold.

Yama Golden Body! The second divine marvel of [Yama's Golden Chapter].

Previously, when [Yama's Golden Chapter] had broken through to the Second Realm in the Dragon Prison, Qi Xiu had intended to strike while the iron was hot and directly cultivate this divine marvel with his Realm of True Spirit of the Soul.

But unexpectedly, to cultivate this divine marvel, he first needed to gather ten thousand souls from the Dao-Entering Realm and above.

Otherwise, it was like a tree without roots, impossible to cultivate.

Thanks to lying in wait on the borders of Nanlin Prefecture this time, Qi Xiu had finally gathered the ten thousand souls necessary to cultivate the Yama Golden Body.

"It's time."

Taking a deep breath, Qi Xiu slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Black Gold Imperial Seal in his left hand.

He then gripped the seal tightly and stamped it forcefully onto his own chest!

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