The Haoyang Ancestral King had fallen. The scene fell utterly silent, the crowd gripped with terror — his forehead had been pierced by a single note of the qin, and he lay in a pool of blood, unmoving.
Such a powerful Sage-King, one who had dominated the primordial era with virtually no rival in this world, had passed from this life in such a manner — for the various primordial clans, it was nothing short of shocking.
A note of slaughter had pierced through the mind, like a heavenly sword drawn from its sheath, a flash of divine brilliance in an instant, piercing straight through the skull, without the slightest hesitation, terrifying enough to overawe the nine heavens and ten earths!
Xuedian and Taiming, the two Sage-Kings, both stepped back several paces, their expressions frozen — this was a figure who stood on equal footing with them, and he had died just like that.
And the other Ancient Kings all felt a chill run through their bodies — such devastating power, how could striking them down present any difficulty at all? It left them utterly without confidence; did truly killing their opponent really require piling up their own lives as the price?
The God King coughed up another mouthful of blood, staining his once-pure white robes, and yet he remained calm, sitting cross-legged in the void, wrapped in the drifting rain of petals, standing alone against all the Kings.
To say he would kill a Sage-King, and then truly do it — how could such overwhelming might not inspire fear?
An ancient qin lay horizontally before him, radiating flowing light, its seven strings rising and falling like seven translucent little dragons leaping and dancing, resonating with the rhythm of heaven and earth.
Amid the crystalline rain of petals, his heart was at peace, utterly empty and clear, as though his entire being had forgotten everything of the outside world, sinking into a wondrous state of the Dao.
“Even incomplete, the Divine Melody is this terrifying — it carries within it a true divine power!”
The Xuedian Queen’s voice was cold as ice, gripping her dragon spear tightly, pointing it toward the front, where Dao patterns swirled and divine laws lay dense, forming a cage that had trapped him within a small world.
“He is burning away his own life. If he acts to harm anyone, he will pay the same price — there is no need for any of you to fear,” the Taiming Ancient King said in a deep voice, resembling a god who had burst free from the underworld.
Figures moved, and over a dozen Ancient Kings stepped forward once more, surrounding the white-robed God King again, though every one of them proceeded with the utmost caution, terrified of being killed in a single strike.
“Attack together and kill him — he is burning through his own life force, he cannot sustain this much longer,” one particularly aggressive Ancestral King shouted, launching the first attack.
He opened his mouth and spat out a stream like the Milky Way itself, released from an ancient mirror he had spat forth, carrying with it the laws of a Sage, plunging into the small world ahead.
“Zheng!”
A single note leapt forth, and a killing sound burst out, severing the silver law and following its very trajectory, surging toward that Ancestral King.
“Puff!”
A blossom of blood bloomed — though the Ancestral King had dodged in time, blood still sprayed from his shoulder, a black hole appearing there, swallowing the spilled blood.
“Kill!”
The others attacked as well, aiding this Ancestral King, unleashing wave after wave of divine techniques into the pure land, weaving together into a great net, seeking to grind Jiang Taixu down.
“Divine Dao Net of Refinement, obliterate him together, shatter his body!”
One Ancestral King spoke in a low voice, taking the lead in spitting forth a mouthful of innate primal Life Essence, the others following suit, sealing off the pure land, weaving a net of the Dao to grind down Jiang Taixu.
They no longer wished to take risks — they wanted the safest, most reliable method to kill the God King, each sacrificing their own Sage-level primal essence to refine him.
Beam after beam of light surged upward, their entire bodies bursting into flame, each of them shooting out a single ribbon of light, plunging into that small world, transforming into calamitous fire.
Within the pure land, the God King remained utterly serene, his hands moving across the strings, the Divine Melody flowing forth — first with a gentle, tinkling resonance, then gradually rising higher and higher, ringing out sharply, shattering the heavens above.
“Pop!”
A burst of divine brilliance surged upward, piercing through the net of the Dao, bursting through like a divine sword breaking through the clouds, shooting straight out — startling all of the more than a dozen Ancient Kings, their expressions all changing at once.
“No need to worry, he is paying the same price — we can simply exhaust him to death through consumption!” one of them shouted loudly, having seen that blood had once again seeped from the corner of the God King’s mouth.
At the center of the pure land, a droplet of blood fell, landing upon the God King’s snow-white robes, blooming like a blood-red plum blossom, a sight that struck fear into every heart.
Many human cultivators grew anxious — continuing like this was no solution at all; the white-robed God King would carry his regrets to the very end.
“Kill!”
Over a dozen Ancient Kings roared together, the innate essence they spat forth growing even thicker, transforming into a vast sea of spirit that swept forward, engulfing everything ahead, giving the God King not the slightest chance.
“Zheng, zheng, zheng…”
Within the pure land, the God King’s hands moved rapidly across the strings, each pluck ringing out like a blade of iron, one clashing sound after another, the sound of slaughter growing deafening, entirely different from before.
The refining hell formed from the innate Life Essence of the Sages was slashed open by heavenly sword after heavenly sword, and finally cracks appeared, followed by a great crash as a piece broke away entirely.
“Clang!”
The sound of the melody struck like blades, piercing into the heart of every person present, producing a cold, metallic tremor.
“Ahh…” one Ancestral King cried out, the first to bear the brunt, half his body shredded to pieces beneath a visible ripple of energy, sent flying through the air, his Origin Spirit destroyed, dead on the spot.
“What — this can kill people too!?” the others exclaimed in shock.
Blood continued to seep from the God King’s mouth, and having paid such a heavy price to break through this cage, he naturally had no intention of stopping there. He gave the strings a forceful pluck, and another visible ripple could clearly be seen spreading outward.
“Puff!”
Ahead, another Ancestral King let out a great cry, blood spraying in all directions, instantly slain by the Divine Melody, his body and soul utterly destroyed.
“Kill him, he cannot hold out much longer,” the remaining Ancient Kings shouted.
Various divine laws shot forth, surging in the direction from which that ripple had appeared.
At the same time, the Xuedian Queen, who had been coldly observing from the sidelines, finally made her move. A crimson glow rose into the sky as she swung the dragon spear in her hand and thrust it forward.
The blood-red dragon spear blazed with fire, boundless divine flame scorching the void, weaving forth endless Dao patterns, transforming into a world-ending divine spear, shattering the very void as it closed in on the God King.
This single thrust was simply too fast, like a bolt of blood lightning, carving open a black chasm through the void, its speed pushed to the very extreme!
“Zheng!”
One of the strings on the ancient qin leapt free, transforming into a translucent flood dragon, coiling around the peerless, sharp tip of the crimson spear, producing a sound like the roar of the Dao mingling with a dragon’s cry.
“Puff!”
The instant the dragon spear was entangled, a streak of blood-red brilliance it had spat forth pierced through the God King’s shoulder, brilliant blood blooming forth, radiant and splendid, and the dragon spear, like a divine serpent, vanished from sight — a single strike, then retreat.
“Ding!”
The string, having briefly entangled the dragon spear, finally let out a soft ring as it passed through the spear, which glittered like a red agate, producing a resonant sound.
“Puff!”
In the distance, the Xuedian Queen’s body shook violently, several terrifying cracks appearing along her entire arm, and she opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, retreating several large steps.
“The God King’s body, having achieved Sagehood, truly lives up to its reputation!” she said, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, the killing intent radiating from her growing even thicker.
All around, silence fell. Even the other Ancient Kings felt unsettled — the Xuedian Queen’s strength was formidable beyond words, and yet this single, deadly assassination attempt had left even her wounded.
“Kill — do not give him any chance, do not let him escape from that cage, his life cannot last much longer!” the Taiming Ancient King said in a deep voice.
The great battle resumed, all the Ancient Kings surging forward once more, unleashing their strongest attacks, striking into the pure land, divine light surging and clashing in every direction.
“Ahh…”
An Ancestral King cried out, cut apart by a string that had burst free of the pure land, and amid the gentle resonance of the melody, he was reduced to a rain of light, dissolving into the laws of heaven and earth, vanishing from existence.
Another Ancient King had been killed. The white-robed God King himself trembled as well, his complexion growing considerably paler, another streak of blood now marking his snow-white robes.
“What should we do?” Ye Fan could barely restrain himself any longer, wanting to reveal his trump card and charge forward to aid the God King. No matter what, he would not let tragedy repeat itself a second time — he absolutely could not let the God King perish.
“Land of Nine Serenities, the Netherworld sinks and rises, transmigration through the cycle of life!”
Suddenly, the Taiming Ancient King let out a low shout, and in that instant unleashed a forbidden technique, a desolate netherworld manifesting and descending, seeking to draw the God King in and seal him within.
“You have finally mastered it.” The Xuedian Queen was startled, and quickly moved to assist, while the other Ancient Kings each unleashed their own divine laws as well.
A desolate netherworld, dim and lightless, black mist swirling, not a single blade of grass growing there, a Yellow Springs river surging forth, leading toward an unknown distance.
“How could it be complete — this is only a rough approximation of the netherworld. All of you, help me draw him in, and I will suppress and kill him from within!” the Taiming Ancient King said.
“Boom!”
Over a dozen figures acted together, finally drawing the white-robed God King into the netherworld, all of them pressing down together, seeking to seal shut this strange black prison.
“Clang!”
Before the God King, the ancient qin blazed with resplendent light as his hands moved across it, his entire mind and spirit seeming to sink into it, imprinting his own Life Essence into the instrument, and in that moment it let out a heaven-shaking resonance!
It did not sound like the notes of a qin at all — it sounded instead like the very stirring of the cosmos, the sound of the world’s first opening, chaotic light illuminating everything, deafening to the ear.
“Ahh…”
Screams rang out, and two Ancient Kings were killed, their bodies shattered, bursting apart atop the Heaven-Reaching Platform, staining the very void a deep crimson.
The netherworld realm had not managed to close. The white-robed God King remained seated cross-legged in the void, a ten-foot radius around him gleaming crystal-clear, ten thousand blossoms drifting down, his expression calm, the notes of the qin returning to their original rhythm.
A small pure land, caught between the netherworld’s grasp, unable to advance or retreat, locked in stalemate.
“The human race’s white-robed God King is truly terrifying!” the myriad clans of the primordial era all felt fear in their hearts.
“Even the Sage-Kings cannot suppress him — this is quite troublesome indeed.” Yuangu furrowed his brow.
The Heavenly Prince’s Son sneered: “The myriad clans have no shortage of experts. Back then, even a peerless figure like the Divine Silkworm Princess was nailed to death by a single spear. If he truly wishes to stand out, that alone would be enough to level this world.”
“Realm of the Netherworld God’s Rebirth!”
The Taiming Ancestral King let out a great roar, exerting his power to the utmost, for the decisive moment had come — this would be a fight to the death. The others joined in as well, all unleashing their full strength, their radiant light engulfing the entire Jade Pool.
A terrifying aura surged through the air, so vast that it seemed capable of shattering the nine heavens and ten earths.
Within the ten-foot pure land, the God King’s right hand moved through the techniques of plucking, wiping, hooking, and flicking, while his left hand moved through pressing, sliding, pausing, and striking, graceful and natural, sacred and transcendent, his entire body wrapped in a clear, pure light.
The sound of the divine melody flowed like water, peaceful and serene, its resonance not overly loud, and yet it shook ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, cleansing the very soul — this was the true Divine Melody!
At this moment, the white-robed God King seemed utterly transcendent, as though he no longer belonged to this world at all, sitting cross-legged before his immortal qin in the void, his hands moving gently across the strings, heaven and earth falling into perfect stillness.
“Ahh…”
With one final great cry, the Taiming Ancestral King’s head fell from his shoulders, severed by a single clear note that shot forth, and then it burst apart, blood filling the sky.
“What — even the Taiming Ancestral King has died? How could this be? Just what kind of terrifyingly powerful force does this human hero possess?” Everyone present was utterly shaken.
Within the pure land, petals fluttered down like tears shed by the divine, falling and scattering, shimmering with brilliant light, drifting down beside the white-robed God King, settling before the ancient qin.
At this moment, blood continued to flow unceasingly from his mouth, impossible to swallow back, and the falling crystalline petals around him were all stained with streaks of blood — he too had paid a considerable price.
And yet, he remained an undefeated myth. Even grievously wounded, he still inspired deep reverence and awe in all who beheld him.