The moon-white robes, just as when she had once overturned everything with a single palm and escaped from the Shitian Creation Array beneath the eighteenth level of hell, carried that elegant bearing unique to Yashan disciples.

The expression between her brows was also little different from days past.

Only this cultivation was truly shocking!

Lord Qin Guang was truly astonished.

He was not a cultivator, yet he also knew the difficulty of cultivation. Though he had already heard when this battle began that her cultivation had made an exaggerated leap forward, how could hearsay compare to seeing with one’s own eyes?

Eighty years, from Nascent Soul to Void Refining!

What tremendous ability, what tremendous audacity!

When she had just broken through to Nascent Soul in those years, she had dared to unleash that heaven-overturning palm against Him; today at Void Refining, she was naturally even more filled with solitary courage, fearing nothing!

However—

She was rather too arrogant!

That she, a mere Nascent Soul minor cultivator, had been able to escape from under His hand in those years was only because He had never placed her in His eyes, never anticipated what purpose she might have. Only then had she caught Him off guard, seized an opportunity, and managed to withdraw from the polar regions unscathed.

In the end, she was merely an ant—why should He care?

But now…

Even though she had become a Void Refining great cultivator among cultivators, what did she amount to before Him?!

Sharp light and killing intent simultaneously burst forth from Lord Qin Guang’s eyes. In this instant, He locked onto Jian Chou, His palm gripping the axe handle suddenly shook, and countless soul powers gathered in His palm, already surging wildly toward Jian Chou. At the same time, He let out a cold, sinister laugh: “Eighty years ago I was careless and spared your life—you still dare to come!”

“What is there not to dare!”

Jian Chou had rushed all the way from the mortuary, and along the way had already thought through the advantages and disadvantages of Lord Qin Guang’s entire scheme clearly: He wanted to use her to drag down Fu Chaosheng, so she let Fu Chaosheng come first, catching them off guard; He wanted Lords Wu Guan and Taishan to kill her at the mortuary, so she insisted on wielding her sword to come here, creating an earth-shaking disturbance!

Eighty years ago she dared, so naturally eighty years later she dared even more!

At this time, it was completely a case of “when enemies meet, their eyes turn especially red.”

Lord Qin Guang had ruled the polar regions for hundreds of years—when had He ever lost such face during a struggle? He both feared her “Imperial Purple” destiny and hated her Yashan origins for disrupting His grand plans. Now she even dared to snatch food from a tiger’s mouth, competing with Him for the ghost axe—He could not rest until she was eliminated!

Jian Chou had formed enmity with Lord Qin Guang during the struggle in those years. If not for her sudden enlightenment of the Heaven-Overturning True Seal in that life-and-death crisis, she would likely have already died under His palm! Not to mention all the various schemes before and after, Yashan’s blood feud, and Fu Chaosheng’s current dangerous situation!

She didn’t know what the ghost axe’s transformation meant.

But this absolutely didn’t prevent her from opposing Lord Qin Guang!

Whatever you do not wish, I will certainly do!

Whatever you desire, I will certainly seize!

Moreover, she was originally the ghost axe’s former master—who cared whether this axe had undergone over eighty years of others’ refinement!

Since it acknowledged her as master, this axe was her axe.

Without her consent, who dared take it away?!

“I once swore an oath in those years that this axe was only temporarily stored in the polar regions. Since I have come today, I shall naturally take it back!”

As her words emerged, they rang like a great bell!

Word by word, sound by sound, as if ringing from the heights of the firmament, ethereal yet carrying weight, stern yet touched with transcendence.

Not mortal sound, but Sanskrit tones!

The vast battlefield, constructed upon ruins, where the whistling of swords interwove with howling winds and wailing ghosts, where the bright and dark of blood reflected burning beacon fires.

The axe body’s blazing light illuminated everything, yet people roared and charged in the darkness of their hearts.

Only when this sound rang out did it seem to slowly open a narrow crack in the oppression…

That was the light of glass, not glaring.

From subtle to obvious, the massive Dharma bodies of the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons rotated forth from nothingness—Devas, Nagas, Asuras, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Garudas, Mahoragas!

Appearing extremely slow, yet actually extremely fast!

Just as Lord Qin Guang’s shocking force reached her, the golden phantom of the Four-Faced Buddha of Mahabrahma had already stopped above Jian Chou’s head!

Without hesitation, without showing weakness—one palm strike!

Clouds from all directions followed the Heaven-Overturning Seal’s movement, the phantom of Mahabrahma instantly overlapped with her palm strike, reaching out together like mountains calling and seas roaring, meeting Lord Qin Guang’s domineering soul power!

“Boom!”

Spiritual power and soul power, two completely different forces, massively collided together, yielding to neither. In the blink of an eye, with the axe handle both grasped as center, they exploded outward!

Different from the “dao struggle” when fighting Fu Chaosheng, the current clash between Lord Qin Guang and Jian Chou was pure “force struggle.”

Dao could be controlled, force could not be stopped.

One came from the supreme lord of the polar regions, one came from the strongest strike of a Void Refining great cultivator. When these two forces collided, how intense was the impact produced?

Even Lord Qin Guang hadn’t expected that Jian Chou would unleash such a terrifying killing move right from the start!

Completely without preamble, catching Him completely unprepared!

His brow furrowed, and just as He was about to react, the powerful impact had already fallen simultaneously on both of them and struck the ghost axe at the center!

Only a “buzz” of trembling was heard, like a mirror surface refracting flowing light. The smooth axe body’s blazing light suddenly dimmed, as if dark clouds had suddenly covered it, abruptly rippling out a circle of ripple-like dark light!

“Bang bang!”

Lord Qin Guang and Jian Chou were first struck by the force of their mutual clash, then hit by the dark light rippling from the axe body. They could still bear the former, but could hardly withstand the latter. Without giving them half a chance to resist, it simultaneously blasted both apart!

That was a thunderous fury, yet also seemed to completely disregard them—all things under heaven should not offend its majesty!

Lord Qin Guang’s palm was immediately struck back.

Jian Chou’s strength was inferior by a degree, and being human rather than incorporeal like Lord Qin Guang, she suffered greater impact. When her body was knocked away, the entire arm that had grasped the ghost axe directly exploded in a spray of blood mist!

Her five fingers, flesh and blood completely gone, annihilated in this rippling dark light, leaving only the stark white bones that had once been carved by the Black Wind!

The flesh on her arm also cracked inch by inch!

Spreading all the way up to her shoulder, turning her left sleeve completely red with blood!

“Jian Chou!!!”

Fudao Shanren waved the Huangtian Mirror and had just escaped from the predicament Lord Qin Guang had arranged, when he saw this scene. His eyes suddenly widened, and with a cry mixing shock and rage, he was about to raise his mirror and sword to charge forward!

How vexing that powerful enemies still remained on this battlefield!

Fu Chaosheng had already fallen into the trap, trapped by Pangu’s prohibition in the Rebirth Pool. Shaoji, being also a deity, though he had been extremely close to the ghost axe and Rebirth Pool just now and inevitably suffered impact, was still much better off than Fu Chaosheng, who had completely enraged the prohibition and could barely preserve his soul.

At least his movement was unimpeded!

He feared the power of that prohibition and thus avoided it from afar, but turning to deal with Fudao and Hengxu was more than sufficient!

The original battle situation of Fudao and Hengxu against Qin Guang, Fu Chaosheng against Shaoji, suddenly changed to Fudao and Hengxu against Shaoji, Jian Chou against Qin Guang.

Two against one, though somewhat caught off guard, could barely manage;

One against one, with the enemy strong and ally weak, inevitably led to dangerous situations.

This transformation of the ghost axe was something no one had anticipated.

As the former master of this axe, if not for the fact that its fierce form remained unchanged, Jian Chou would almost have been unable to recognize it. Not to mention this terrifying power that even rejected her!

As if it had been completely reborn!

Even an existence as powerful as Fu Chaosheng, when its blazing light had ignited just now, had been heavily knocked into the Rebirth Pool, trapped and tormented by those unfathomable prohibitions. She was merely a Void Refining cultivator with mortal flesh—even if the force she received was not one-tenth of what Fu Chaosheng had endured, how could she withstand it?

The collapse of her left arm came swiftly and violently.

Jian Chou first saw its destruction and blood staining, then felt myriad agonies assault her. The power and speed were evident!

This ghost axe that had become strange seemed to be warning all those who wished to touch it, who intended to wield it, with such awesome might—this axe was absolutely not something ordinary beings could touch!

If it were anyone else, they would have given up in this instant.

Yet in this moment, not only did she not give up, but she actually developed an even stronger hope than before!

—Lord Qin Guang had not yet become this axe’s master!

She had originally thought that after the opponent had refined this axe for over eighty years, he should have some degree of control over it. But seeing now, the opponent not only lacked commanding ability, but was even like her, suppressed and rejected by this axe’s power!

In that case, wasn’t this a heaven-sent opportunity?

Behind her form that had been knocked flying by the earlier clash’s impact, golden wings spread in the wind, immediately stopping her momentum. With just a light flutter, they had already carried her folding back from mid-air!

The Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Dharma body turned again!

The Four-Faced Buddha Mahabrahma shifted to one side, and what now towered above her head instantly became the true form of the golden-winged great peng bird, Garuda!

Since comprehending the wonderful use of combining Dharma body with dao seals in the surprise attack on the Snow Region, Jian Chou had gradually integrated this Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Dharma body belonging to Buddhism with the dao seals she had practiced in the past, forming her own school of wonderful techniques.

At this moment, the golden-winged peng bird’s shadow emerged, the Dijiang Wind-Thunder Wings spread, and in an instant they had merged into one!

Deep purple lightning wandered in the raging black wind, carrying awesome heavenly might as it charged, aimed at Lord Qin Guang who was similarly turning back to pounce toward the ghost axe!

But no one was an easy target.

Lord Qin Guang had already witnessed her desperate attitude during the struggle in those years, and combined with all the various crafty and changeable news that had come back from the Yin-Yang realm battlefield earlier, even though she was currently only at mid-stage Void Refining, He wouldn’t easily underestimate her.

So when pouncing toward the ghost axe, His actions were identical to Jian Chou’s!

Without thinking, He directly manifested the Book of Life and Death and Judge’s Brush that He had used earlier to deal with Fu Chaosheng!

First kill Jian Chou!

Then take the ghost axe!

The Book of Life and Death opened with golden characters overflowing; the Judge’s Brush pointed with ink energy swirling!

The power of rules descended again!

Like starlight shooting and weaving slantwise in the night sky, all seemingly vivid emotions vanished again from Lord Qin Guang’s eyes. Under the twelve-tasseled crown was the emotionless gaze that looked down upon all beings and viewed reincarnation lightly. With a flick of His finger, the Judge’s Brush had already scattered several drops of ink!

Each drop was like a chess piece falling onto the board!

From the day Fu Chaosheng heard the Dao and was born, he had transcended the five elements and was not within the six paths. Fighting against Lord Qin Guang, he could still match Him. But Jian Chou was originally a mortal who had stepped onto the cultivation path, her name recorded in the Book of Life and Death—how could she escape the constraints of rules?

People were like pieces, fate like chess!

Ink marks faced her, clearly an invisible and unsolvable great net, falling toward her!

Her wind-thunder wings turned, deflecting the first drop; One Line Heaven Slash shattered the second drop; the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragons’ Dharma bodies changed rapidly in emergency turns, blasting apart the third, fourth, and fifth drops!

Gandharva saintess played heavenly music, keeping her spirit alert;

Mahoraga’s human head turned to snake body, enabling her to move and dodge;

Asura’s body transcended Mount Sumeru, making her unmovable;

Kinnaras played wonderful qin with glass fingers, protecting her settled soul;

…

In just an instant, all possible changes were exhausted!

Yet the weary Dharma bodies finally reached their limits. Even if she could block His one, how could she block His ten thousand?

“Snap!”

Like cold rain splashing down!

Jian Chou only felt a chill at her shoulder—a drop of ink scattered from the Judge’s Brush tip had struck her body!

Just like a stone thrown at a fragile mirror!

The collapse came too completely!

The ink drop was tiny, falling like a prison cage, burning like boiling oil!

She hadn’t even formed the thought of counteracting it when it had already enveloped her like thousands of swords and blades! Despite her powerful body, she couldn’t bear this falling force, as if thrown into boiling oil. In the moment of collapse, countless sprays of blood burst forth!

That was a pain of being torn apart from outside to inside throughout her entire being!

All that Jian Chou saw in her vision was blood red.

Everything lost control.

With a “rumble,” the wind-thunder wing phantom disappeared, the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragons Dharma body collapsed, even One Line Heaven flew from her hand!

Lord Qin Guang’s Book of Life and Death opened again, the spread golden slips becoming tall as a wall. Dark golden script text spun wildly, separating from within, actually spinning above the Book of Life and Death, forming six petals of pure and captivating purple light!

That was the most mysterious and unfathomable reincarnation law of this world!

At this time and place, whether in the polar regions or Jiushijiu Zhou, all who had once been human felt a fear from the depths of their souls!

The strong of this world might control the nine heavens, whip mountains and seas, tread the void! They could destroy bitter wind and rain, could slay invading enemies, could eliminate demonic thoughts!

But what could not be destroyed, could not be slain, could not be eliminated—

Was fate alone!

In vision blurred by blood, Jian Chou saw Lord Qin Guang once again extend His finger toward her, pointing across the void like this!

“Crack crack crack…”

There was no magnificent spectacle, only a heart-palpitating sound of shattering!

Coming from her body, from her soul!

Her entire frame was like suffering powerful destruction! Powerful attractive and oppressive forces, accompanying Lord Qin Guang’s finger, came simultaneously from those six petals of the reincarnation Book of Life and Death!

Flesh instantly peeled from sinews and bones, turning to flying ash;

Sinews and bones still maintained their old form, covered and crushed by that instantly expanding ink drop. Even bones once carved by Black Wind began to crack inch by inch!

Her divine soul hidden in her spiritual platform was like being swept into a whirlpool, about to be cast into that Book of Life and Death!

Where could any human appearance still be seen?

Just this one finger’s power had already pressed a living person into a terrifying skeleton!

Devouring power continuously transmitted from the Book of Life and Death, as if wanting to transform this living person who dared defy it back into an obscure symbol among the vast reincarnation laws!

“Crack crack crack!”

Arm bones shattered! Shoulder blades shattered! Even cracks appeared on her brow bone!

Enormous and sudden pain, violent enough to destroy a person’s most tenacious consciousness—even Jian Chou’s awareness fell into chaos that couldn’t distinguish heaven from earth, had no clear or turbid.

From where does one come, to where does one return.

In a trance, it was the murmurs from the tower of Mingri Xinghai, when Qu Zhengfeng raised his cup and sipped lightly: If heaven, earth, and universe have ultimate truth, it should be destruction…

But what if I am unwilling to be destroyed?

In this moment when body and heart swayed together, endless thoughts surged from the depths of her soul only to be torn apart by the life force of that Book of Life and Death. But there was always one thought in her heart that, despite raging winds and torrential rain, thousands of hammerings and countless chiselings, could not be extinguished!

This thought appeared quickly and hid even faster.

Jian Chou couldn’t capture its true form, yet her consciousness that had fallen into chaos suddenly became extremely clear.

The gap in strength between her and Lord Qin Guang was truly like an unbridgeable chasm, impossible to easily cross, let alone compete with the opponent for superiority.

The only chance of victory lay in this ghost axe before her that even He dared not lightly offend!

Body destroyed, soul still existed!

Dragging half a broken frame, she heard wind whistling past her ears and saw hard bones cracking inch by inch. Yet still, in this moment of being carried by life force toward the Book of Life and Death, she clenched her teeth and once again reached out toward the ghost axe…

Remote and distant!

My call—can you hear it?

In the past, I was a broken soul, you were a broken axe.

Abandoned by the world, you alone chose me.

Today, the broken soul remains—where is the broken axe!

Clearly the briefest, clearest instant, no different from when the two had competed before, yet just in the moment she reached out, at that distant place, the ghost axe suspended above the blazing Rebirth Pool finally, almost imperceptibly, trembled lightly…