Yun Xi trembled slightly as she gazed at Huang, at Shi Hao from the lower realm. He was not yet eighteen, yet he could already stand unrivaled among the first-generation talents of the upper realm.
“Quick, strike him down!” whispered a hidden deity in the shadows.
Finally, steadying her resolve, Yun Xi stepped forward through the sky, approaching the mountain peak where Shi Hao stood.
“What? Does the Celestial Clan still have someone from the younger generation willing to fight?” The crowd was astonished. Had the once-glorious royal clan not yet given up?
By now, everyone was convinced that among the three thousand provinces, few youths could rival Shi Hao. Clearly, the Celestial Clan’s so-called elites were not among them.
“This woman is truly beautiful, like an immortal maiden stepping out of a painting!” Many marveled. Yun Xi was breathtaking—her skin like polished jade, her eyes like gemstones, her figure flawless, her violet robes fluttering. She was a peerless beauty.
“She is the Celestial Clan’s jewel, one who has fused with the Heaven Mandate Stone. Her status is exalted,” someone recognized.
Yun Xi’s luminous skin glowed as she looked toward the youth on the opposite peak. He stood calmly, holding the Heaven Mandate Stone, radiant light soaring into the heavens like a divine sovereign.
Her heart was conflicted. They had once been enemies, then comrades in life and death, traveling together. Yet now, they had come to this.
“Don’t go any closer!” someone from the Celestial Clan warned her telepathically, urging her to keep a safe distance.
It was clear Yun Xi was no match for Huang. The only chance was to exploit their past entanglement to distract him, then unleash a fatal strike with a divine artifact from a safe distance.
The Celestial Clan’s deities were ready to intervene at any moment.
“What is she…?” Feng Wu’s eyes gleamed as she watched, then turned to the Celestial Clan. “Huang is in danger. The Celestial Clan will never let him go.”
Qing Yi’s brow shimmered with a flickering azure flame, radiant and pure. Clad in snow-white robes, she murmured, “I believe he will be fine. His fate is unyielding.”
“Will you lend him your aid?” Feng Wu asked, recognizing the ancient flame—the Azure Moonfire, one of the rarest flames in existence.
In the void, Yun Xi sighed softly, her graceful figure shrouded in mist as her violet robes glowed. Her delicate brows furrowed, her eyes shimmering as she gazed at Shi Hao. She parted her lips, then closed them again.
What could she say now, at this moment?
Across from her, Shi Hao remained calm and composed, his conscience clear. He had done all he could for her, even escorting her across the Bloody Plains.
In the Celestial City, perhaps Yun Xi had been powerless, forced into seclusion by the deities, unable to save him. He bore no hatred for that.
But now, if she raised her hand against him, it would be different. Shi Hao would not hold back. His eyes burned with resolve.
Yun Xi felt a searing pain under his gaze, her heart churning. She halted, dazed and pained, staring ahead.
Neither spoke, but Yun Xi stopped advancing.
Behind her, a Celestial Clan deity nodded approvingly. She was still at a safe distance, and this was a test of her loyalty.
The air was silent. Shi Hao remained wordless.
Yun Xi’s expression was complex—memories of their past, their laughter, their conflicts, their journey together. Now, they stood facing each other in silence.
Finally, she steeled herself, her gaze sharpening with resolve.
She opened her palm, summoning a divine artifact.
*Clang!*
A metallic hum echoed through the heavens as radiant light erupted from her hand, revealing a sacred object pulsing with divine power and runes.
The atmosphere tensed instantly.
Shi Hao’s pupils contracted, his body erupting with blazing bone texts.
“This is bad!” someone muttered, sensing the aura of a deity. The artifact was formidable, requiring no effort to unleash its might.
Yun Xi’s gaze was resolute as she raised her hand, holding a pristine white lotus that radiated holy light and terrifying runic fluctuations.
She stood poised, sacred and serene, pointing the lotus toward Shi Hao.
The crowd murmured. Rumors said Shi Hao had once protected this woman across tens of thousands of miles. Yet now, she stood against him.
The Celestial Clan’s experts smiled faintly.
Qing Yi realized the cruelty of this move—using Yun Xi to confront Shi Hao directly, making words unnecessary.
If Yun Xi attacked, could anyone still believe Shi Hao’s claims of protecting her? This was disastrous.
Indeed, many who witnessed this scene began to doubt, whispering among themselves.
“Huang is truly ruthless. Perhaps the Celestial Clan’s accusations weren’t unfounded!”
“First impressions deceive. The truth may not be as we thought.”
Yun Xi channeled her bone texts, the divine artifact resonating as its radiance engulfed the mountain peak in dazzling brilliance.
“Her combat sense is lacking. She should have struck decisively earlier,” a Celestial Clan deity frowned in dissatisfaction.
You Yu, pale and silent, watched helplessly. Today, he had been utterly defeated.
“It’s happening!” the crowd exclaimed.
The Celestial Clan’s jewel was charging toward Shi Hao, wielding her artifact.
“I’m sorry!” Yun Xi’s eyes reddened as she rushed toward him.
At the Heavenly Immortal Academy, several elders frowned, flames flickering around them as they exuded powerful auras.
“Should we aid this boy? It’s troublesome. The Celestial Clan surely has experts lying in wait,” one murmured.
Feng Wu frowned. The boy seemed familiar—reminiscent of the one she had encountered at the Bronze Sparrow Altar.
Qing Yi’s brow glowed as a wisp of azure flame emerged, hovering like a crescent moon. She watched the battlefield intently.
Shi Hao sighed. Had it truly come to this? Would he have to fight her?
He shifted a hundred feet away, preparing to counterattack. He was no stranger to deadly artifacts—any who underestimated him would fall.
Yun Xi closed in, her artifact tearing through the void with terrifying force.
Shi Hao dodged effortlessly.
The space where he had stood shattered violently.
“I’m sorry… In the Celestial City, I was powerless,” Yun Xi whispered, her face filled with guilt.
Amid the spatial distortions, she sent a telepathic message: *”Take this divine artifact. It can tear through the void. Use it to escape!”*
Shi Hao was stunned. His blazing bone texts dimmed as he stared at her in disbelief.
*”Go now! I don’t know if they’ve arrived yet, but they will soon. This is your last chance!”* Yun Xi urged, her voice frantic yet cautious.
“Who?” Shi Hao asked.
*”Two deities. They went to summon a Guardian—an existence beyond reckoning. Even if you have protectors here, you won’t survive. Leave now!”*
With that, she raised her hand, sending the white lotus floating toward him—not as a weapon, but as a gift.
Shi Hao’s eyes blazed. This was unexpected. He had braced for her attack, only to find her aiding him.
*”Go, or it’ll be too late!”* she pressed.
“Who am I? I am Huang. The Celestial Clan cannot touch me. You needn’t take this risk,” Shi Hao said calmly, exuding unshakable confidence.
With a flick of his finger, a gentle light repelled the lotus, sending it back to her.
Yun Xi froze, heartbroken. She thought he resented her for the Celestial City’s betrayal, refusing her help. Tears welled in her eyes.
“I… I failed you,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
No matter what, this indomitable youth had endured life-and-death trials to escort her home, only to be imprisoned and tortured. How could he forgive that?
“Please, just go. There’s no time,” she pleaded, wiping her tears.
“Yun Xi, you misunderstand. This isn’t about you,” Shi Hao shook his head, smiling faintly, his teeth gleaming.
Seeing his expression, Yun Xi was dazed. Even now, at such a critical moment, he refused to flee, just as stubborn as ever.
“Something’s wrong!”
Many noticed the anomaly. Instead of fighting, the two stood motionless.
Though Yun Xi’s first strike had shattered the void, some could still sense their exchange.
“The Celestial Clan is truly in the wrong! That girl is helping Huang!”
The revelation sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Instantly, the Celestial Clan’s faces darkened. Yun Xi had betrayed them, aiding their enemy.
“Isn’t this a slap to the Celestial Clan’s face? Proof of their ingratitude!” someone muttered.
The mountainside erupted in chaos.
*Boom!*
The Celestial Clan’s experts turned livid. Their deities, enraged, abandoned all pretense and charged forward.
“Go now!” Yun Xi cried, desperate, her beautiful face etched with worry as she tried to pass the artifact again.
“No need!” Shi Hao refused.
With a flap of his lightning wings, he transformed into a streak of lightning, charging toward the deities instead of fleeing.
The crowd was stunned. This youth wasn’t running—he was challenging gods!
Twelve Celestial Clan experts surged forward, unleashing their artifacts.
Shi Hao’s eyes narrowed. Among them were deadly weapons, formidable even if not divine-tier.
Without hesitation, he unleashed the Heavenly River water, lightning, and cursed mud from his alchemy furnace, flooding the battlefield.
A jade purification bottle, looted from a War Clan descendant, gleamed as it struck forward.
The twelve deities recoiled, unwilling to face the cursed onslaught.
They hadn’t expected Shi Hao to possess so many treasures, countering their assault effortlessly.
*Whoosh!*
Shi Hao’s lightning wings carried him like a bolt of divine wrath.
*Boom!*
His first clash shattered a deity into bloody mist.
“What?!” The crowd erupted in shock.
He pivoted, annihilating a second deity with a single punch.
Then a third fell, pulverized under his lightning speed.
This was the power of his magic immunity—unknown to most, even the Celestial Clan hadn’t anticipated its potency.
In the Divine Mine battle, all witnesses had perished, leaving no leaks.
The Celestial Clan knew of his ability but never imagined it could negate deity-level attacks.
They had prepared countermeasures, assuming he relied on artifacts. They were wrong.
A fourth deity exploded under Shi Hao’s fist, painting the sky crimson.
The spectators were horrified. Was this still a mere Venerable One? He was slaughtering deities!
The twelve Celestial Clan experts, once encircling him, now found themselves trapped with a frenzied beast.
Shi Hao tore through them like a tiger among wolves, his hair wild, eyes blazing with cold lightning.
“You dare, little bastard?!” Five true deities roared, charging forth.
They had studied Shi Hao thoroughly. His previous deity-slaying feat had relied on thunderstorms. Today, the sky was clear—no lightning to exploit.
*Boom!*
Without hesitation, Shi Hao hurled a crimson talisman—plundered from Yu Lun, a Celestial Clan elite.
The explosion engulfed the sky in scarlet fury, its divine might annihilating the deities’ artifacts.
Two were obliterated instantly; a third was grievously wounded.
Seizing the moment, Shi Hao decapitated the injured deity, scattering his soul.
The Celestial Clan howled in rage.
Four deity-level experts and two true deities had fallen in moments.
The spectators were dumbfounded. This… was beyond comprehension.
As his magic immunity waned, Shi Hao retreated, reclaiming his artifacts and landing before the Supreme Dao Field’s gates.
His triumph was absolute, silencing all.
*Boom!*
A deafening roar echoed as a blazing figure approached, shaking the heavens.
“Insolence!”
The newcomer—a deity—raged at the carnage.
“Ancestor!” the Celestial Clan cried, their fury boiling.
“Ant, you dare defy us? Today, you die!” The deity’s colossal hand, larger than mountains, descended upon the Supreme Dao Field.
The crowd paled. This was divine wrath—inescapable.
Suddenly, another hand emerged from the Supreme Dao Field, swatting the deity’s arm into oblivion.
“Ant, you dare touch my disciple? Begone!”
The spectators gaped. Did he just call a deity an ant?
The counterblow sent the deity crashing into distant mountains, flattening peaks beneath him.
The world trembled.
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