The old demon fiend had lived for over four thousand yearsโa truly peerless figure. Just as he had said, how many from the same generation still remained in this world?
Yet at this moment, he was begging the Divine King for mercy. To survive, he had cast aside all pride and knelt, prostrating himself with his forehead to the ground.
“Caiyun…” Jiang Taixu called softly, lowering his head to gaze at the woman cradled in his arms, his expression incomparably gentleโas though he feared the slightest sound might wake her.
“Brother Taixu, spare me. In this mortal world, you and I are the only ones left from our generation.” The old demon fiend’s voice trembled as he begged once more for his life.
The Divine King’s head snapped up. Twin beams of divine light blazed from his eyes like lightning, and boundless killing intent surged forth. He fixed the old demon fiend in a cold, piercing stare, the war spear in his hand spewing streams of violet radiance.
The old demon fiend’s complexion turned ashen. He knew the other’s killing intent was absoluteโthere would be no mercy. He snarled in a chilling voice: “Then let us die together!”
Divine fire erupted from within his skull, blazing like an immortal furnace igniting. It transformed into endless raging flames that swept toward Jiang Taixuโhe intended to shatter his very source of being and deal a devastating blow to the Divine King.
“Halt!”
A single sharp exclamation from the Divine King, and the boundless terrifying fluctuations stilled in an instant. The peerless old demon fiend was pinned in the void as though nailed there by an invisible handโlike a painting fixed upon empty air.
This was a supreme technique evolved from the Sacred Art of Battleโdistilling the great Dao’s celestial sound into a single syllable, capable of subduing all killing intent, whether tangible or formless.
Thud!
The violet war spear in the Divine King’s hand thrust forward, piercing clean through the brow of the peerless old demon fiend. Black mist seeped out, saturated with a dense aura of death.
Hiss!
Jiang Taixu lightly shook the war spear. Violet divine flames surged and roared, incinerating everything to ash. The peerless old demon fiend was utterly annihilatedโbody and soul destroyed together.
At this moment, eight figures at the Sacred Sovereign level still remained. Every one of them had gone pale. Every one feared for their own life. How were they to continue fighting in such a situation?
Within the Divine King’s pure land, Jiang Taixu was master of all. Merged as one with the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demonic Vessel, he was utterly irresistibleโlike a living deity!
Jiang Taixu held his violet war spear and swept his gaze across everyone. Still he spoke no word. Cradling the Caiyun Immortal, he drifted through a shower of petals and advanced step by step toward the eight supreme experts.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a vast and mighty divine power descended and tore open the Divine King’s pure land, blasting open a path of escape.
The Extreme Dao Pressure!
Someone was wielding a reawakened Great Emperor’s sacred weapon, carving open a passage that connected the Divine King’s pure land to the outside world. The eight Sacred Sovereign-level figures felt as though they had been granted amnesty, and they soared skyward.
Thud!
Jiang Taixu unleashed a single strike. The violet war spear pierced one figure through, tearing them into pieces. Blood and flesh splattered across the Divine King’s pure landโthat person dissolved into a wisp of lingering soul, yet another great figure whose soul had scattered and perished.
Slash!
The beautiful pure land vanished. The Caiyun Immortal was gone as well. The Divine King stood alone in the field, the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demonic Vessel floating above his head, violet war spear in hand.
“Divine King, Founding Ancestor…”
Before the Dragon Transformation Pool, the members of the Jiang Family cried out in unison. They had sensed the Extreme Dao Pressureโwas the most terrifying figure hidden in the darkness finally about to make his move?
BOOM!
Like surging tides, like ten thousand horses and soldiers galloping together, the sound was so immense that many cultivators could barely withstand it, nearly collapsing to the earth.
High up in the sky, a scarlet-golden divine phoenix transformed into a dazzling streak of brilliant light and plunged downward, disappearing into Jiang Taixu’s body. His aura instantly soared to an unreachable pinnacle.
In this moment, there was no distinction between him and a deity. His black hair swirled wildly. His white robes transcended the mundane world. His physical body bloomed with a crystalline, auspicious radiance, and when his gaze swept across the crowd, it left everyone breathless.
“Jiang Taixuโyou have grown so intimate with the Eternal Universe Furnace, and it turns out you share a natural, inborn connection with it!” From the darkness came a voice like the screech of a night owl.
In the underground cavern, a sacred furnace cast from phoenix blood and scarlet gold blazed with light ten thousand zhang high, so brilliant that no one could look directly upon it. No one could see its true form.
It was from this furnace that the divine phoenix had just burst forth and merged with the Divine King’s body.
“It was you who killed Caiyun…” Jiang Taixu’s words were calm, yet within them lay an endless, boundless sorrow.
“Four thousand years ago, when you killed my elder brotherโdid you ever think this day would come?” The night-owl voice turned ice-cold.
Jiang Taixu’s expression shifted slightly, as though distant memories had been stirred. He pondered for a brief moment, then said: “The Twin Kings of Central Province?”
“Your memory is quite goodโremembering us after more than four thousand years!” The voice from the darkness grew even colder.
In the distance, every member of the Jiang Family changed color. None had imagined that the hidden enemy would have such formidable origins.
More than four thousand years ago, the Twin Kings of Central Province had shaken all under heaven. The elder brother was known as the Solar King; the younger was the King of the Night. They were twin brothers.
Together, the two brothers swept across the world, unstoppable and invincible, hailed as a matchless duo without equal in their age.
The Divine King Jiang had faced countless enemies throughout his life, yet the battle against the Solar King had been the most dangerous of allโa clash that shook heaven, moved the earth, and caused the very ghosts to weep.
They had toppled mountains and shattered mountain ranges, fighting for an entire night without cease. Only at the last did Divine King Jiang deliver a world-shaking strike that annihilated the Solar King’s body and soul, erasing him from the world forever.
“Jiang Taixuโfour thousand years ago, did you use the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace to kill my elder brother?!” the King of the Night demanded coldly.
“I never used the sacred furnace,” Jiang Taixu replied, and with those words, he rose into the air and emerged onto the surface of the earth.
The light radiating from the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace was as crimson as blood, as brilliant as rosy cloudsโmore radiant than the sun itself. Yet save for Jiang Taixu, no one could see its true appearance.
At this moment, two Extreme Dao sacred weapons held each other in check, still locked in opposition.
Before the Dragon Transformation Pool, the members of the Jiang Family wore grave expressions. They sensed that the situation was heading in a very bad direction.
The King of the Night was absolutely capable of matching the Divine King in battle. If a true confrontation erupted, it would be difficult to say who would prevail.
Moreoverโwho had lent the ancient Great Emperor’s sacred weapon to the King of the Night? His origins were shrouded in mystery, yet there was no way he could possess an Extreme Dao weapon on his own.
The King of the Night harbored great ambitions. He had long desired to seize the Eternal Universe Furnace, making repeated attempts, and had not abandoned the effort even now.
Meanwhile, Ye Fan stood quietly, reviewing the Divine King’s techniques in his mind and cross-referencing them with his own understanding of the Sacred Art of Battle. He was gaining much.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the great battle between the King of the Night and the peerless Divine King erupted. They shot into the clouds and displayed their inexhaustible methods without restraint.
The Eternal Universe Furnace and the other mysterious Extreme Dao sacred weapon were caught within the incomplete Great Emperor formation patterns, entangled with each otherโneither had been drawn into the battle itself.
This was a battle that no one could witness. Both sides moved through a shattered void, engaging in a contest of the great Dao itselfโcountless times more perilous than the duels that had just taken place.
Hum!
The sacred city shuddered. Every person trembled within. It felt as though the great Dao of heaven and earth was pressing down, and many people shook with fright, collapsing directly onto the ground.
The King of the Night was a being of extreme terror. He surpassed three old demon fiends combined by a margin that could not be measured. He had survived to the present day through his own power aloneโnot through the effects of any dark and shadowy herb, as the three old demon fiends had done.
The King of the Night’s own lifespan had not run dry. His divine power was inexhaustible, and both his physical body and his divine soul were frightening beyond measure.
His comprehension of the Dao was something that few alive today could matchโto a degree that made people shudder.
One could only imagine: had the Solar King of old still been alive and the Twin Kings acted in concert, what terrifying power would they have wielded over the world!
This battle was destined to be inscribed in the annals of cultivation history. Two peerless kings clashing in rivalryโone could not know how many years had passed since such a thing had last occurred.
Yet regrettably, no one could witness the course of their battle. The two combatants dueled with the great Dao across the heavens above. Unless one was an opponent of the same level, there was simply no way to perceive it.
“Kill!”
The seven Sacred Sovereign-level figures who had fled now returned, launching an attack upon the Jiang Family membersโseeking to disturb the Divine King’s mind and, indirectly, help the King of the Night finish him off.
It wasn’t that they wished to linger. But the sacred city was sealed. So long as the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace remained uncontained, none of them could escape. If Jiang Taixu emerged victorious, everyone present would dieโnot a single one could survive.
Dong!
Heaven and earth were punched through as the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demonic Vessel descended with crushing force, holding the cluster of Sacred Sovereign-level figures at bay outside the Dragon Transformation Pool, exhaling boundless killing intent.
The ninth great bandit, Jiang Yi, stepped forward and shouted: “Cowardly rats who hide their heads and conceal their tails!”
Jiang Yun also stepped forward, fixing the seven supreme experts with a frigid stare. Their conduct was so vileโforcing the Divine King to drive back the half-Extreme Dao weapon in order to protect the rest of themโand it filled him with unbearable fury.
“Divine King, Founding Ancestorโyou need not concern yourself with us! As long as you can win, everything can be reversed!” The members of the Jiang Family cried out together.
“Ha ha ha…” The seven Sacred Sovereign-level figures burst into loud laughter.
“Jiang Taixu is finished!” They soared high into the air and moved far from the scene, fearing the peerless Divine King might suddenly strike back.
Dong!
Abruptly, the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace trembled as though it were about to break free of the voidโcausing the entire sacred city to shudder.
“What is happening?!” The Jiang Family members cried out in alarm.
“This is terribleโthe Great Emperor formation patterns carved by the King of the Night have taken effect and merged with the other sacred weapon. Together they are trying to wrap around the sacred furnace and carry it away!” The Jiang Family expert who had been controlling the Solar Sacred Furnace cried out in shock and fear.
“Damn it!” Jiang Yun bellowed in rage. He finally understoodโkilling the Divine King was secondary to the King of the Night. His primary goal all along had been to seize the sacred furnace.
BOOM!
In the sky above, terrifying pressure bore down. The two peerless kings appeared to be drawing closer to the earth below.
“Jiang Taixu, the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace will be mine! There is nothing you can do!” The King of the Night laughed coldly, drawing upon the great Dao to intercept and kill Jiang Taixuโto prevent him from returning to the ground.
“Bring out the fire furnace you carry on your personโlet it draw near the sacred furnace!” Suddenly, Jiang Taixu’s voice resounded within Ye Fan’s heart.
Ye Fan’s heart jolted. He immediately thought of the้ข็ซSacred Furnaceโcould it truly share some connection with the Jiang Family’s sacred furnace?
This was no moment for hesitation. Ye Fan acted with decisive swiftness, launching the้ข็ซSacred Furnace outward, letting it transform into a streak of firelight that flew toward the Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace.
BOOM!
Heaven and earth shook. The Eternal Universe Furnace blazed with brilliant light. The scarlet-golden sacred radiance of phoenix blood instantly engulfed the entire ancient city of Chengu, and every soul within was startled to a standstill.
What had happened?
Almost immediately, nearly half of all those present dropped to their kneesโutterly unable to bear the sudden and vast pressure that had descended!
The Eternal Universe Sacred Furnace steadied itself. Even with the other sacred weapon and the Great Emperor formation patterns combined against it, both were now at an absolute disadvantage.
Above in the sky, the King of the Night cried out in shock: “What is that fire furnace?! It carries within it the Dao patterns of a Great Emperorโit has broken through the formation patterns I inscribed!”
Dong!
The sound of celestial Dao echoed from the cloudsโas though the ancient Celestial Court itself had descended to the mortal world. It shook forth divine power without equal, engulfing the entire sacred city.
The King of the Night let out a muffled grunt and said: “Jiang Taixu… you were sealed within the Purple Mountain, your lifespan nearly exhausted. How could you possibly have broken through to such a level?!”