Xu Pingfeng’s body emanated waves of clear light. With several flashes, he passed through the pitch-black deep sea and saw the great underwater trench.

He wore a cicada-wing-thin robe that wrapped around him like a membrane, allowing the white-robed Shushi whose primordial spirit was near dissipation to breathe freely underwater while keeping the terrifying water pressure at bay.

The Water-Repelling Robe!

If there was one thing Shushi never lacked, it was magical artifacts. They could adapt to all kinds of environments, never having any weaknesses.

Even if they did, they would simply spend more silver to forge new artifacts.

In the dark seabed, the water rippled as the great trench gaped like a monster’s bloody maw, waiting for lost fish to swim into its trap.

Xu Pingfeng opened his palm to examine the glow of the white scale. According to its guidance, the “White Emperor” was below.

The scale was stained with the “White Emperor’s” soul aura, forming the basis for their thousand-mile communication.

Xu Pingfeng looked up, sensing the Terrestrial Immortal and the First-Rank brute watching him through the endless ocean, hesitating to dive in for fear of the monsters in the seafloor trench.

“I will never reach a dead end.”

Xu Pingfeng muttered to himself. Wrapped in clear light, he took out a night pearl radiating brilliant white light and entered the seafloor trench.

The white light plunged rapidly, swallowed by endless darkness.

After an unknown time, Xu Pingfeng’s feet touched the silt—he had finally reached the bottom of the seafloor trench.

Walking for a moment while holding the night pearl high, a huge, blurry silhouette appeared at the edge of the bright, intense light.

After walking another hundred paces, Xu Pingfeng saw the tip of the monster’s iceberg.

Before his eyes was a face resembling a human’s, but with cruder and uglier details. Six slightly curved horns crowned its head, which was as tall as the capital city’s walls.

Adding the six curved horns that thrust toward the sky, it was twice the height of the city walls.

The six curved horns were covered in innate, mysterious patterns. At Xu Pingfeng’s current level, he could see at a glance that they contained Dao principles.

If one could fully comprehend these patterns, they could evolve into powerful formations.

But he quickly shut his eyes—though valuable, those patterns were too dangerous, like bottomless whirlpools that nearly devoured his already weakened primordial spirit.

Very powerful, incredibly powerful… Although the monster before him was in deep slumber, Xu Pingfeng could still estimate that it was far more powerful than the White Emperor.

“You’ve come.”

A vast, ethereal voice transmitted directly into Xu Pingfeng’s mind.

“Xu Qi’an repelled the Garuda Tree. We lost,” Xu Pingfeng said in a low voice as he examined the “human face” and asked:

“Is this your true form?”

“Merely a severely wounded body. When the Dao Sovereign drove us out of the Nine States Continent back then, I fought him and nearly died. My injuries haven’t healed even now.”

Huang’s voice sounded again.

Xu Pingfeng neither believed nor disbelieved it, saying:

“As long as Great Feng doesn’t fall, the Supervisor won’t die. Your goal of refining the Guardian is impossible to achieve.”

“The current plan is to avoid their edge and wait a hundred years until Xu Qi’an dies of old age. Then we can return in force and overthrow Great Feng in one strike.”

At this moment, a light chuckle came from one of “Huang’s” curved ram horns.

“Teacher Supervisor, are you pleased?” Xu Pingfeng stirred his primordial spirit and transmitted:

“Your protégé Xu Qi’an has successfully ascended to First Rank, becoming one of the few mighty ones of the Nine States Continent. Meanwhile, my plan to refine the Central Plains’ fortune and advance to Destiny Master must be halted.”

The Supervisor’s casual voice transmitted back:

“Wei Yuan has been resurrected, hasn’t he?”

Xu Pingfeng fell silent for a moment before giving a cold snort.

The Supervisor laughed:

“Pride and arrogance are your greatest weaknesses. You reached Second-Rank Shushi at such a young age and considered yourself clever, viewing all heroes under heaven as nothing.”

“Now that you’ve been driven to a dead end by your son, how does such embarrassment feel?”

The Supervisor’s words were like a knife stabbing into Xu Pingfeng’s chest, making his forehead veins bulge and his face twitch.

“You still want to make a comeback? As long as you live, will Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng leave you be?” The Supervisor laughed:

“Given Xu Qi’an’s hatred for you, you won’t escape. Even with ‘Huang’ protecting you, he will fight you to the death.”

Huang fell silent.

…

Luo Yuheng’s fine brows furrowed:

“Don’t be careless. You said the White Emperor’s true form is ‘Huang,’ but why did it return to the Nine States wearing the White Emperor’s skin? If it had descended in its true form, we couldn’t possibly have reached First Rank.”

Xu Qi’an pondered:

“It means either something’s wrong with its true form, or it’s inconvenient to return to the Nine States.”

If it was the former, they could try to slay “Huang,” but if it was the latter, the situation would be more troublesome.

“Let’s probe first,” Xu Qi’an said.

Luo Yuheng made a sound of agreement as the black “Water Phase” floated from her head, diving into the sea and quickly circling beneath their feet.

A ten-meter-diameter whirlpool immediately appeared on the sea surface, rapidly expanding to fifty meters. The whirlpool’s sharp tail twisted like a blade, piercing into the seabed.

Soon, through the center of the whirlpool, Xu Qi’an could see the seabed and the great trench.

By now, the whirlpool stirred up by the “Water Phase” had expanded to a hundred meters in diameter—a magnificent sight.

As a Terrestrial Immortal, Luo Yuheng was no less capable in underwater combat than any water-attribute Divine Devil descendant. Even if the White Emperor’s physical body remained, Luo Yuheng wouldn’t fear fighting it in water.

Seeing this, Luo Yuheng raised her iron sword, its bright blade erupting with the soaring sword qi. Then, a layer of intense flames danced along the blade, burning fiercely.

Her sword-holding hand became wrapped in a rotating current of air that spun faster and faster.

Xu Qi’an wasn’t idle either. He lightly clenched his fist, twisted his waist, and pulled back his right arm. Qi gathered at his fist, the rising energy distorting the air.

Compared to Luo Yuheng’s brilliant technique and immortal-like methods, a First-Rank warrior’s force gathering appeared much more plain and simple.

…

In the great trench.

Xu Pingfeng suddenly looked up, seeing a twisted, enormous whirlpool parting the seawater, heading straight for the great trench.

Through the whirlpool’s center, he faintly saw Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng each gathering power, their killing moves about to arrive.

Behind him, the sleeping “Huang’s” eyes remained closed as its mouth slowly opened, brewing a pure and dazzling power within.

Above the sea, Luo Yuheng’s sword-holding hand, wreathed in spinning air currents that had reached their limit of speed, threw the sword as she cried out:

“Go!”

The air current went “whoosh,” as if equipped with a propulsion device, pushing the flame-burning iron sword toward the whirlpool’s center.

The sword’s momentum was swift and sharp, combining the Wind Phase’s speed, Fire Phase’s explosive power, and the Human Sect swordsmanship’s keen killing force.

Beside her, Xu Qi’an unleashed his long-gathered punch.

The punch force was heavy and magnificent, like a mountain collapse, like a tsunami. Seawater that accidentally touched the punch force sizzled and instantly vaporized.

On the other side, from “Huang’s” fanged mouth, that dazzling light spewed forth.

The dark great trench lit up bright as day.

Boom!

The moment the light touched the iron sword, it exploded. Thousands upon thousands of tons of water boiled as the seabed experienced an earthquake. The soft mud layer for dozens of miles was simultaneously lifted, and sediment accumulated for over a hundred years rose as gray dust clouds. The clear seawater instantly became muddy soup.

The great trench where Xu Pingfeng stood collapsed, huge rocks tumbling down.

He quickly teleported to one side and then saw the flame-burning iron sword pierce through the muddy water, dragging brilliant and gorgeous flame trails as it stabbed into the sleeping monster’s forehead.

The iron sword only penetrated halfway before exhausting its power.

At this moment, the overwhelmingly dominant punch force followed closely, vaporizing all turbid flows along its path. The punch force struck the sword hilt, pushing its latter half into the human-faced ram-bodied monster.

The sleeping monster’s eyelids trembled violently, seeming about to wake.

Xu Pingfeng’s heart trembled as his scalp tingled. A terrifying pressure rose with the monster’s revival, a pressure that even the Garuda Tree Bodhisattva didn’t possess.

It was somewhat similar to the Confucian Sage’s Hero Soul and the Mahavairocana Dharma Body.

Above the sea, Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.

Now at First Rank, they could understand the terrifying nature of this pressure more clearly and directly than Xu Pingfeng.

Xu Qi’an had never seen the Confucian Sage’s Hero Soul or the Mahavairocana Dharma Body, but he had seen Shen Shu when he was only missing one head from complete reconstruction, seen his terrible state when berserk.

Now, from “Huang’s” aura, he sensed the power of the same rank.

This was power approaching the Beyond-Rank.

What’s going on? Is “Huang’s” true form this terrifying? Xu Qi’an’s heart trembled.

Just then, he, Luo Yuheng, and Xu Pingfeng heard a “crack.”

One of the curved horns atop the human-faced ram-bodied monster’s head broke off.

The innate patterns on the curved horn lit up, devouring everything around it, including seawater, light, water spirit power, and more. Like the legendary bottomless extreme abyss, it devoured all things between heaven and earth.

It was such a horn that had once killed the Supervisor in Qing Province, sealing his primordial spirit within it.

“Huang” paid a certain price, actively breaking off one horn to deal with Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng.

This was a “weapon” of a former Beyond-Rank being who had once dominated the ancient era. It contained its innate divine ability, a manifestation of spiritual essence.

The broken horn slowly rose, its tip pointing at Xu Qi’an and Luo Yuheng.

At this moment, alarm bells rang in Xu Qi’an’s heart. Beyond a warrior’s sense of crisis, he had a vague feeling that this strike couldn’t be dodged.

Due to her special nature as a Terrestrial Immortal, Luo Yuheng saw more clearly. She “saw” mysterious and bizarre runes rapidly spreading, turning into “whirlpools” that engulfed everything, including them.

“I once heard a Divine Devil descendant say that Great Huang’s innate divine ability is to devour all things. The more powerful beings it devours, the stronger its divine ability becomes.”

Xu Qi’an said softly.

Luo Yuheng frowned silently. Great Huang’s divine ability wasn’t magic in the ordinary sense—her Golden Body couldn’t grant immunity to it.

“I didn’t expect its true form to be so terrifying…” Xu Pingfeng secretly dreaded.

However, the stronger his ally, the more beneficial it was for him.

How else could they oppose a Terrestrial Immortal and a First-Rank warrior?

Hum!

Space suddenly rippled like a pierced curtain as the broken horn shot forth, targeting Luo Yuheng and Xu Qi’an.

With the broken horn as its core, mysterious and bizarre patterns transformed into rolling vortexes, whirlpools that devoured everything.

Golden light flickered in Luo Yuheng’s eyes as she prepared to meet the broken horn when her waist suddenly tightened—Xu Qi’an pulled her back:

“Step aside.”

Before Luo Yuheng could get angry, he dove down, clasped both hands together, and grabbed the broken horn.

Whoosh!

The bizarre and terrifying vortex suddenly expanded. Xu Qi’an was like a moth rushing into flames, unable to escape from the vortex.

The broken horn was half as tall as the city wall. In comparison, Xu Qi’an’s body wasn’t even as large as a moth—he was a fly, a fly pierced by a sword.

The skin on his hands rapidly peeled away, revealing pink muscle tissue, which also began to strip away.

His qi and life force rapidly drained, seized by the vortex.

In the great trench, Xu Pingfeng watched this scene, his eyes brightening.

The “White Emperor’s” divine ability truly exceeded his expectations. By the looks of it, it might severely wound Xu Qi’an.

“Stay back!”

Xu Qi’an shouted at Luo Yuheng who wanted to help, grinning as he said:

“Watch carefully. Let me show you the brute force of a First-Rank warrior.”

As his words fell, Xu Qi’an’s robes exploded, revealing his pure white, muscular body. Smooth yet fierce muscle lines are displayed before Luo Yuheng’s eyes.

The muscles across his body silently writhed as terrible power transmitted from his calves to his thighs, then to his waist, pushing layer by layer up to his arms.

“Ahhhhh…”

Xu Qi’an threw back his head, letting out an ear-splitting roar.

Two beams of golden light shot from his eyes, penetrating the heavens.

The entire ocean began to boil as tens of thousands of acres of seawater surged upward, white foam gushing forth.

Storm clouds rolled overhead as lightning flickered within the clouds—an apocalyptic scene.

Luo Yuheng was startled. In her unique vision, all the world’s elements had become chaotic, as if something not belonging to this world had appeared, causing errors in the Dao’s order.

Looking back at Xu Qi’an, she “saw” the world’s elements avoiding him completely, not daring to touch him. The mysterious patterns spreading from the broken horn were also being pushed back bit by bit.

She couldn’t help but recall a rumor she’d heard before about warriors.

The ultimate state of a warrior was to cultivate only oneself, not communicating with the outside world, becoming one’s heaven and earth.

“Crack!”

With a crisp splitting sound, countless tiny cracks appeared in that ram horn half as tall as the city wall. Before this, the mysterious patterns surrounding them had already dispersed.

“Crack!”

The horn’s tip completely shattered, forcibly broken by the First-Rank warrior’s brute strength.

The all-devouring vortex dissipated with it.

The curved horn quickly fell back, plummeting toward the seafloor trench, returning to “Huang’s” forehead. The broken section fit perfectly as if it had never broken, but the tip that Xu Qi’an had snapped off couldn’t heal.

Xu Qi’an stood proudly between heaven and sea, the flesh of both hands completely gone, leaving only a stark white bone. His aura was no longer mighty, seemingly about to fall back to Second Rank, though his rank remained First.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Qi’an’s face twisted as he roared toward the seafloor:

“Kill him!”

His roar rolled like thunder.

In the seafloor trench, the patterns on Huang’s ram horns suddenly lit up. Whoosh—a vortex formed reflexively.

Kill me? Xu Pingfeng’s heart trembled as he instinctively tried to use his teleportation technique.

But it was too late. The vortex enveloped him, fixing him in place.

Then, his flesh rapidly peeled away, transforming into pure spiritual power that was devoured into the vortex’s center.

Huang’s sighing voice echoed through the great trench:

“The situation in Yun Province is already lost. You’re not as important as you think…”

“My spiritual essence is damaged, and I don’t want to fully awaken yet. Compromise is my best choice. The First-Rank warrior’s strength far exceeds my imagination…”

“Wait for Xu Qi’an’s natural death in a hundred years? It’s too late. The tide of the era has begun to surge. The Great Tribulation approaches…”

“You’re too weak. You don’t qualify to be my ally. Only First Rank can participate in the Great Tribulation.”

“Devouring you is a good choice for me. Fortune and spiritual essence are equally important, and you are a Qi cultivator!”

Under Huang’s mumbling, Xu Pingfeng’s body slowly dissolved. His face filled with despair as his primordial spirit shook with an exasperated roar:

“No, you can’t kill me, don’t kill me…”

That unwillingness and resentment were so thick they seemed solid.

He suddenly looked up, seeing through the vortex’s center Xu Qi’an’s cold gaze looking down at his unsightly state.

“In my life, what I regret most is not strangling you back then.”

Xu Qi’an raised his palm as qi gathered into a spear, saying slowly:

“Today I slay you!”

“I’ve heard of executing a tyrant like King Zhou, but never of killing one’s father.”

He forcefully threw the qi spear, piercing through Xu Pingfeng’s chest.

Xu Pingfeng’s body completely collapsed, and his primordial spirit was extinguished.

This peak Second-Rank Qi cultivator seemingly hadn’t expected to meet his end this way.

Driven by his eldest son, dying at the hands of a Divine Devil descendant.

…

The turbulent seawater slowly calmed as the dark clouds in the sky dispersed.

Xu Qi’an hung in the air, hunched over, breathing heavily.

He had actively chosen to catch “Huang’s” horn partly because he didn’t want Luo Yuheng to risk danger, and partly to “subdue” it, making it understand one thing:

Though you’re very powerful, if I gamble my life against you, you’ll have to gamble yours too.

When he saw the sleeping “Huang” through the whirlpool Luo Yuheng stirred up and judged that its true form indeed had problems, Xu Qi’an had settled on this plan.

And he knew it would work!

The core idea was the same as when the Garuda Tree withdrew from the Central Plains—why should I pay such a heavy price for an ally?

Especially an ally whose cause was already lost.

From the moment the Yun Province army was completely defeated, the relationship of their triangle alliance had become unstable, because they no longer had a common goal in the short term.

Sure enough, when he crushed “Huang’s” horn, showing an attitude of fighting to the death, “Huang” chose to compromise.

“Settling karmic debts, past events—all wiped clean!”

Xu Qi’an opened his arms to the blue sky as if embracing a new life.

Luo Yuheng’s eyes softened as she showed an almost imperceptible gentle smile, unprecedented for her.

She seemed to think of something and frowned:

“Is the Supervisor dead or alive?”

Xu Qi’an was stunned for a moment:

“He should be… alive? Whatever, forget about him.”

“Just a mere Destiny Master, not much use.”

The Supervisor definitely couldn’t be saved, and besides, Xu Qi’an felt that of all people to worry about, don’t worry about that old fox.

You never know what he’s plotting.

…

In the pitch-dark seabed, an enormous body floated in the water, drifting toward more distant overseas waters.

It kept its eyes closed, as if sleeping, drifting with the currents toward far places.

From one of the curved ram horns came the Supervisor’s sighing voice:

“I told you he wouldn’t rest until he killed his father, but you wouldn’t believe it. Now look what happened.”

“Lost another horn’s worth of spiritual essence.”

Huang spoke flatly:

“The taste of a Shushi was quite nice. My power has increased again.”

The Supervisor chatted on:

“The Great Tribulation approaches, yet you still go overseas?”

Huang’s vast, ethereal voice came:

“Do you want to know what’s overseas? I’ll take you somewhere. I need to prepare for the Great Tribulation’s arrival.”

…

Luo Yuheng looked at the purple-robed middle-aged man in her palm and said:

“Turtle Back Island has considerable money and grain reserves. We can bring them back to ease the court’s shortage of food and silver.”

Xu Qi’an raised his blood-streaked bone finger and poked Luo Yuheng’s tender cheek, smiling:

“Imperial Mentor, I’m severely injured and urgently need dual cultivation to heal.”

Luo Yuheng kept a straight face, speaking in an official tone:

“I am now a Terrestrial Immortal. Let’s not speak of dual cultivation anymore. You and I no longer have a man-woman relationship.”

Your good sister the Flower Goddess said similar things, but then turned around and straddled my waist moaning… Xu Qi’an silently complained.

…

East Sea Prefecture.

In the luxuriously decorated East Sea Dragon Palace.

In the inner hall, Dong Fang Wanrong, wearing a light green dress and looking charming, entered with a wooden tray, placing tea before Nalan Tianlu with a sweet smile:

“Congratulations, Master, on reconstructing your physical body.”

Nalan Tianlu, white-haired and gaunt-faced, smiled and nodded.

Looking at his beloved disciple’s charming face, he suddenly sighed:

“After regaining my physical body, I had planned to send you to the Heaven Sect. Since that boy once promised you marriage, even if I offended the Heaven Sect, I would make him marry you.”

“But just now, the Great Shaman sent word calling me to quickly return to Jingshan City.”

Dong Fang Wanrong frowned:

“Why?”

Nalan Tianlu’s expression turned strange. After choosing his words, he said:

“The Central Plains war has been settled, and Xu Qi’an has ascended to First-Rank warrior. The Great Shaman says the Shaman God has issued a decree summoning all shamans back to Jingshan City. You must go too.”

Seeing Dong Fang Wanrong’s bewildered expression, he said word by word:

“The Great Tribulation approaches.”

…

Alanda.

Under the Bodhi tree, the Garuda Tree Bodhisattva looked at the Vairocana Bodhisattva, snow-white robed with cyan hair like a waterfall, and said:

“Next, Guangxian and I will work together to help heal your wounds and restore your cultivation.”

The Vairocana Bodhisattva asked:

“You’ve been to see It?”

The Garuda Tree made a sound of agreement:

“The Great Tribulation of the Divine Devil era is coming. You all must prepare to face it.”

“Also, Xu Qi’an has reached First Rank, becoming the strongest warrior of this age. The opportunity the demon race has been waiting for has arrived. Alanda will first face a military disaster.”

The Vairocana Bodhisattva and Guangxian Bodhisattva, in the form of a young monk, wore grave expressions.

…

Qing Province City.

Refugees in tattered clothes and disheveled appearances crowded at the city gate, listening to officials explain the contents of the announcement.

“From this day forward, Qing Province will remake the Yellow Register. All who register will have their past pardoned…”

“From this day forward, the court will open granaries widely. All who participate in rebuilding Qing Province will be allocated farmland. Before autumn harvest, the porridge stalls will not be removed.”

On those dirty faces that had once been numb, new hope bloomed as the light returned to their eyes.

In all thirteen provinces of Great Feng, the same announcements were posted on every notice wall.

Darkness had ended. Dawn had arrived.

…

Imperial Palace.

The Empress, wearing dragon robes and no less majestic than any man, climbed the high tower to meet the gentle spring breeze—cool but not bitter.

She stood with hands behind her back, raising her fair chin as her lips curved in a smile.

To establish the heart for heaven and earth, to establish destiny for the people.

To open ten thousand generations of great peace!

…

Haogi Tower.

“Thump, thump, thump…”

With slow footsteps, Xu Qi’an, wearing the silver gong officer’s uniform, climbed to the seventh floor. He saw the familiar tea room and familiar furnishings, and behind the tea table sat the familiar figure in a large cyan robe.

The man with frost at his temples smiled warmly:

“You’ve come?”

Tears suddenly blurred his vision. Xu Qi’an carefully adjusted his clothes, just like before, then bowed with clasped hands:

“This humble officer pays respects to Lord Wei!”

The world is full of flattering bones, only you remain as before!

(End of Volume Four)