Dark clouds veiled the sky and earth, and in the blink of an eye, the heavens seemed to dim, a monstrous force rising like a tide from the darkness, rippling across the realm, causing the very land beneath to tremble faintly.
Even now, amidst the remnants of the Heijiao Territory, there was still no shortage of cultivators and sects that remained. Although Xiao Yan and the rest had sternly ordered them to leave, many of them simply did not take heed. Most were bold and ruthless people—those who had managed to survive in a ruthless land like Heijiao weren’t quick to give up territories won after years of struggle because of a few words of warning.
Xiao Yan and his allies, having found themselves unable to coax the defiant, ultimately gave up and left them be, knowing full well that regret would soon follow.
As far as the Xiao Gang was concerned, they had long ago been safely placed by Xiao Yan into the Sacred Mausoleum—an inevitable act of kindness given it had once been his faction, and of course, one he was more than willing to give without hesitation.
For this reason, Heijiao was, compared to before, now much calmer, even if several stubborn holdouts still stubbornly stood their ground. Of course, a few sharp ones did flee without hesitation, for in truth, after witnessing those brutal slaughters just days prior, they had been forced to finally grasp just how unfathomably terrible the Hun Empire could be.
The black clouds spread out wider and wider until finally covering every bit of land where the Heijiao war once raged. Within a moment, the clouds quivered with turbulence—thousands upon thousands suddenly howled into life as a swarm of figures emerged in the stormy sky, screeching downward in a torrent of shadows.
Xiao Yan’s face grew tight as he gazed ahead. The entire Hun clan had mobilized itself—a full-scale assault. It was clear, Hun Tiandi had come with every intent of seizing the Grand Gu Palace.
“Stay cautious,” Xun’er murmured beside him, worry evident in her beautiful eyes. She too recognized just how terribly ominous these forces looked.
Xiao Yan gave the slightest nod, focusing instead on the epicenter of the storm. Soon enough, several figures strode over the skies, and at their head flew none other than Hun Clan Chief Hun Tiandi himself. Beside him floated Xuwu Tunyan like a sinister ghost, while close behind marched the four ancient seniors responsible for creating the domain known as World’s Doom some time ago.
“The four seniors’ aura have risen again…” Xiao Yan thought grimly, his heart sinking at the sheer strength of their qi. Four masters, each capable of challenging an Eight Star Dou Sheng—enough to easily throw the balance of the entire battle into imbalance.
Yet, while Xiao Yan wrestled in thought at the dreadful implications, the very space above the school rippled violently, and countless shadows poured from within, a vast army appearing suddenly and without warning in a terrifying display of instantaneous arrival.
The allied forces had finally arrived.
Atop the heavens, black-clad warriors descended from the sky like a storm as the army suddenly appeared. Without hesitation, Xiao Yan flashed forward instantly to assume the place at the vanguard.
“He guessed correctly—it is clear that this corner of Heijiao hides the palace we sought,” Gu Yuan mused quietly with one long glare at the distant Hun army.
Xiao Yan merely nodded, yet as he scanned the incoming force, he soon noted that its might had clearly grown since the last time.
“All three clans gave most of their force over,” Gu Yuan continued, as though anticipating his curiosity with a wry smile.
“Why did none remain to guard the clans from further attacks?” Xiao Yan raised a concerned brow to ask.
“HunTiandi won’t even dare consider splitting their force for a second offensive when their fate hangs in balance,” interjected Lei Ying darkly.
“This is a crucial clash. The cost of failure is destruction itself, thus only the option to go all out remains now.”
Yan Jin added, his tone laced with cold steel, but his eyes burned with icy determination, undisturbed by its own grim forecast.
Xiao Yan merely stood silent for a moment and finally nodded in reluctant agreement. If HunTiandi managed to ascend successfully to Battle King, no matter how strong the defenses were built upon the lands of the three clans, it would ultimately lead only to despair. At this critical point, the only option truly remained was to fight their fate and delay its coming however hard their might could achieve.
“I have already descended beneath the lava lands… beneath, there exists a mystical creature, guardian of the Palace. Its aura is monstrous. If I were to speculate its power, I would hesitate placing it even beneath Grandfather Gu or Hun Tiandi himself.”
Xiao Yan spoke gravely. The moment the words escaped him, even Lei Ying and others couldn’t help but turn their expressions, visibly shaken with fear and disbelief. If true this meant an unpredicted edge in the coming battle—just one Nine Star Dou Sheng late-stage opponent would shift it all, possibly even deciding an outcome.
“I cannot remember of any beast of non-human ancestry manifesting a Nine Star Dou Sheng late within even the past millennium; yet if the claims still bear, this guardian was alive far earlier than either HunTiandi or myself.”
As though trying to reason out, Gu Yuan muttered quietly. A deep frown lingered upon his features.
They were in agreement, however. A guardian to stand against such a place—such immense power must imply immense longevity in this being indeed. Perhaps not only equaling their elders but surpassing them even—such an old guardian would carry that luxury of time. Beasts after all, naturally thrived against time much longer.
Their deliberations were interrupted as, in the far skies, HunTiandi stepped forth across the air calmly with regal disdain, casting merely a slight, indifferent glance to the waiting allied force. His eyes rested last upon Gu Yuan and Xiao Yan himself.
” Gu Yuan,” spoke HunTiardi evenly yet coldly, voice almost serene, “What I proposed yet remains unchanged. Should you approach me again upon achieving Battle King only then shall our mercy fade entirely. I give you now this single advice. Reflect well upon it, lest doom yourself alongside your pitiful race.”
Seeing that yet again HunTiardi tried, even at a moment like this, Gu Yuan let out an exasperated huff that bordered a half-hearted laugh. But no words escaped his lips now. Only a single gesture came his direction—a hand lifting in command—before, like a single entity, the allied warriors suddenly exploded outward in an unfathomable release, a hundred thousand surges surging with intent locking solely on Hun’s force ahead.
“A pity indeed…” HunTiardi only sighed with the same indifference.
Not lingering for a response, from his spatial bracelet he summoned a brilliantly glowing orb that spiraled into the sky and hung above his head—inside, a hazy figure soon materialized. And with the faint outlines of this elderly figure slowly shaping, all of the air and energy around quaked.
The pressure of a presence more immense than even nature came pouring forth like gods descending into this mortal field.
“Tuo She Gu Di!”
A holo-projection—easily identified—as an ancient figure with long flowing hair and radiant aura. Gu Yuan and those behind could only feel their faces harden.
None other than the fabled, ancient Heavenly Emperor himself—none else could summon such a presence.
“They are using the stone to call upon the Gu Di palace…”
Gu Yuan murmured, finally piecing it together aloud. The moment the artifact resonated:
“Hu—!” A single palm slammed from the HunTiardi towards Gan Nan’s Academy below.
Its descent, slow yet impossibly unstoppable, summoned a titanic arm of raw energy thousands and thousands of zhang thick, spanning impossibly wide through air, as if nature had itself extended an unstoppable strike. This massive hand descended, and upon collision:
Kboom!!
Shock waves erupted like never before. The entire academy shook—and not for mere moments—a deafening roar shattered its foundation and, under that single palm, exploded into chaos.
In that instant, massive structures fell. A crater thousands of zhang in diameter was ripped apart from the surface, and within moments, from deep inside, a river began rising—molten lava. In waves, fire-colored streams flooded violently outward from the ruined campus, drowning everything beneath in seared, flaming waves. One devastating move from HunTiandi, bringing ruin across lands—shattering an academic center while forcing even deep-underground magma to the surface itself.
Like wildfire consuming dry grass beneath a merciless sun, heat rolled into the black land like a flood, consuming it swiftly—a sea of molten hell rising. Within time less than expected, the entire Heijiao would sink entirely—a volcanic death zone.
“Cut them off! Keep HunTianDi from calling the Grand Palace via the Gu Di Stone!” Gu Yuan declared with commanding finality. “Strike!”
At his command roars erupted from both sides—the first wave of attacks was launched.
Dozens of powerful beams poured forth in torrents like the very wrath of gods. Against this, the Hun army retaliated just as aggressively.
“Squad Formation!”
From the Huns rose a coordinated counter as their members summoned an array of chains shrouded in ghostly mist, entangling in cross formations overhead before solidifying, in seconds, into the image of celestial webs, massive barriers forming across.
“Bam! Bam!! Bam!!”—the battlefield exploded as attack collided unceasingly overhead. Light flashed wildly with endless detonations. Screens fell apart, chain webs darkened, black mist fading rapidly in response. Yet none could break them just yet.
Those remaining few cultivators and sects who chose not to retreat stood transfixed in abject horror watching that terrible celestial battlefield above, eyes locked in horror at a blackened land below them, now reduced entirely under oceans of lava. For many, watching that war unfold, what they once thought of as great power—all those fights—were rendered completely insignificant by comparison.
Seemingly untroubled with such chaos surrounding himself, HunTiardi kept calm focus inward, eyes closed. Through meditative effort, the ancient Gu Di palace called from a place deep down within that lava. With but a mere gesture and control extended toward the Gu Yü, its response could soon follow.
Gu Yuan, observing with growing concern from afar, finally gave only one bitter grunt—”Humph,”
before moving like a whisper. One step placed him forward like an apparition, standing outside the very barrier of the enemy chain arrays in moments. A swipe from his mighty palms—effortlessly tearing through their black chains of ghostly constraint with the same force as light cleaves shadows.
“Hehe, well, then Gu Yuan—it’s up to me,” came from before him. Black fires surged, twisting and morphing violently, giving way as Xuwu Tunyan’s form emerged. Two Elders emerged silently behind him—those same ones who previously contributed to the World’s Doom.
It became clear he was wise to know that his newly gained Battle King Spirit State wouldn’t make him strong enough to fight Gu Yuan alone.
“Oh—you advanced your Spirit state? So HunTiandi treats his loyal men… ‘well’ now, does he?”
Even without being outright challenged, it was evident that from Gu Yuan alone this fact was immediately sensed.
Tunyan, in cold silence, wasted no word—merely raising both palms. A storm of devouring black fire erupted from nothing as a terrible sucking energy began tearing at the very space he touched, becoming the perfect representation—an entity akin to the universe’s abyss of all things light and life.
From the two shadows behind him, the old pair joined together immediately. Each summoned a horrifying qi surge—a deadly tandem move launched at full strength from the start.
“Tch! All three of you… still too little against me.”
Gu Yuan smiled faintly again.
A flash—
He had moved, as swift as divine lightning before standing in front of one Elder instantly.
Only by extending a finger, he crushed a thousand-foot wide space surrounding into formless void around that Elder instantly. Then swiftly pressing forward toward him in a flash, finger moving forward in a deadly strike once more.
Before even contacting body—
A spurt of blood erupted from the elder’s mouth.
Reeling back with a wounded scream that echoed over all lands, their formation crumbled even slightly.
“Hmph…”—With but a single move having crushed one enemy instantly, another strike was already on his mind—when black flame and a suffocating suction surged toward him head-on without pause.
“Suck,” hissed Tunyean’s voice from above with grim intent. The force tried relentlessly to leech at the very essence pouring from Gu Yuan himself—to drain from his spiritual energies in pure desperation. It was a consuming trap, hoping to nullify him as they fought.
“Your tricks are futile against someone like me.”
Vast Dou Qi exploded around as powerful soul attacks intertwined with spiritual pressure, unleashing a wave so forceful it shattered that devouring flame completely—as though tearing through fabric like wind. Even as the flames shattered in an instant, his palm closed on Tunyan in return with terrifying intent—intent of annihilation, of judgment.
As both Gu Yuan and their group engaged one another furiously—
A further, equally aged pair emerged before the surging figure of Xiao Yan amidst the battlefield chaos.
Cold and sinister voices called out in unision—sharp cries full of venomous malice.
“Little fool!!! Return my Gate of Dead Stillness right this instant!!”
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