Dongbo Xueying understood clearly. After reaching the Ultimate Realm, the next step was to gradually advance toward becoming a ‘Hunyuan Lifeform’! Take the Stone Elder, for instance—he was wholly devoted to the path of ‘Breaking Laws with Pure Force.’ Similarly, the Infinite City Lord was forging his own path, dissecting the Supreme Rules by observing the order of laws! However, participating in the slaying of the Undying Nether Emperor would undoubtedly greatly disrupt his path.
It would make his journey a thousand, even ten thousand times more arduous. Such a thing was something the Infinite City Lord would never willingly do!
‘To sever one’s path of cultivation’—for any powerhouse, this was absolutely a mortal enmity!
“City Lord, you are mistaken,” Dongbo Xueying refused to relent and instead raised his voice. “Your path—do you truly believe what you’re doing is right? No, it is wrong.”
“Wrong? Oh? Where have I erred?” The Infinite City Lord, intrigued, pressed the question.
“The soul… is the foundation of a cultivator,” Dongbo Xueying declared solemnly. “But City Lord, do you know what the soul yearns for most?”
“What does it yearn for?” The Infinite City Lord was curious. After all, the white-robed youth before him was the one who had walked the farthest on the path of the soul in the entire history of the Heartworld Continent.
“Freedom!”
Dongbo Xueying spoke softly, his mind flashing back to the countless souls he had saved from the Holy Master’s enslavement—their cheers, their cries of freedom! Souls were born to be free.
“Every soul yearns for freedom,” Dongbo Xueying continued. “It yearns for freedom, for transcendence. Through relentless cultivation, only with such willpower can one hope to break free from the shackles and achieve the state of a Hunyuan Lifeform. But you, City Lord, fear disrupting the order of laws. You tread cautiously, minimizing your karmic entanglements, as if you were merely an observer, carefully watching. Yet, without realizing it, you have become a guardian under the ‘order of laws’—a part of the rules themselves.”
“We are but manifestations of the Supreme Rules,” the Infinite City Lord shook his head.
“We originate from the manifestation and nurturing of the Supreme Rules, but we are not part of them. The Supreme Rules are merely our cradle—we are meant to break free from it!” Dongbo Xueying fixed his gaze on the Infinite City Lord. “If you resign yourself to being a mere part of the Supreme Rules, too afraid to even influence the order of laws on a large scale, then transcendence becomes an even more distant dream.”
“There is some truth to your words,” the Infinite City Lord admitted, shaking his head. “But I have my own path! There is no need for further discussion.”
Dongbo Xueying fell silent.
He was unwilling to give up.
Yet he also understood that a cultivator who had reached the Ultimate Realm—one who was still advancing—would not be easily swayed by words.
Only when such a cultivator encountered obstacles in their own cultivation and reflected upon them would they reconsider their path. Persuasion from others was futile, especially when he himself did not fully comprehend the Infinite City Lord’s path!
—
**Flying Snow City.**
“No wonder weaker cultivators consider him the most peaceful and even-tempered. Though his Infinite City enforces strict order, as long as one abides by it, there is no trouble.” Dongbo Xueying shook his head. “He sees himself as a mere observer of the entire order of laws, unwilling to interfere—naturally, he remains aloof. His temperament… truly makes him the most peculiar of them all.”
Understanding his path made it somewhat comprehensible.
Compared to this Infinite City Lord, figures like the Eternal Night Primogenitor, the Polar Night Primogenitor, Patriarch Fan, Emperor Xia, the Undying Nether Emperor, the Monarch of Mo Heaven, and the Monarch of Moonblossom seemed far more real—each with their own loves and hatreds.
“What should I do?”
“If he refuses, no one can track the Undying Nether Emperor.”
“Could we ensure that once we besiege him, we kill him instantly?” Dongbo Xueying himself found this nearly impossible. If a group of World Lords launched a joint assault, the Undying Nether Emperor would surely flee upon sensing danger. Preventing his escape? The chances were negligible! After all, in terms of profound techniques, the Undying Nether Emperor far surpassed the native World Lords.
Just as Dongbo Xueying was mired in frustration, his avatar in the Starlight World received a message from the Northriver Emperor.
“Flying Snow Divine Emperor, I am prepared. It is time to act,” the Northriver Emperor transmitted.
“Act? Very well!” Dongbo Xueying immediately agreed.
For now, he set aside the matter of slaying the Undying Nether Emperor to ponder other possible solutions.
First, he would assist the Northriver Emperor—after all, he had already given his word.
—
**Northriver World.**
Dongbo Xueying arrived in the grand hall.
“Brother Flying Snow.” The Northriver Emperor, clad in a cyan robe and seated upon his throne, rose to his feet. Within the hall stood ten of his Divine Generals—the top ten among the Thirty-Six Divine Generals. Normally, these figures were unruly and fiercely independent, yet the Northriver Emperor had gathered them all—a testament to the gravity of this occasion.
“Your Majesty.” Dongbo Xueying smiled. “Are we ready?”
“Indeed!”
The Northriver Emperor brimmed with vigor. “Brother Flying Snow, are you prepared to depart at any moment?”
Dongbo Xueying nodded. “Where are we headed? Which of the Three Supreme Monarchs?”
“Supreme Monarch Shifan,” the Northriver Emperor replied.
Dongbo Xueying acknowledged. Among the Three Supreme Monarchs of the Deathblade Clan, Shifan was relatively the least malevolent—yet he was still a ruthless and tyrannical demon. Born from the essence of death, Shifan believed that killing other beings and returning them to death was a form of ‘blessing.’ Thus, he delighted in bestowing his ‘gifts.’ Upon descending upon a native world, he would conduct a ritual before his ‘blessing,’ annihilating all life within the world in a single stroke.
Supreme Monarch Shifan deemed this an act of grace, a divine favor.
But to the countless natives, it was sheer terror. Even Dongbo Xueying considered him a born demon.
“Though I have visited Shifan Island before, I was driven out without even glimpsing the Supreme Monarch. Only with your presence, Brother Flying Snow, do I dare attempt this,” the Northriver Emperor said with a smile. “I shall remember this great favor. Once we return from Shifan Island, I shall not let you down.”
“Let us proceed first. After all, we face a Supreme Monarch,” Dongbo Xueying cautioned. The Five Supreme Monarchs were not to be trifled with.
“Very well. Let us depart!”
The Northriver Emperor laughed heartily.
Side by side, he and Dongbo Xueying strode forward, followed by the ten Divine Generals. In an instant, they traversed the void, leaving the Northriver World behind.
—
**Shifan Island.**
Occupied by a Supreme Monarch, this floating island ranked among the top three in the Broken Tooth Mountain Range in terms of size. Here, peril and opportunity coexisted—far more treacherous than the island of the Thirteenth Emperor, Emperor Yan. The mere presence of Supreme Monarch Shifan was enough to instill dread.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The twelve figures descended upon Shifan Island.
Though vast and boundless, the island was crisscrossed with stone-paved pathways, extending in an intricate web across its expanse.
Dongbo Xueying marveled inwardly. Though he had visited many floating islands, most were primitive, with only clan territories bearing any semblance of construction. In the cultivators’ world, diverse cuisines, architectural styles, and city layouts flourished—yet the floating islands remained starkly untouched.
“This Supreme Monarch Shifan is indeed worthy of his title—at least he has made some rudimentary constructions on his island,” Dongbo Xueying mused.
According to intelligence reports, Supreme Monarch Shifan existed between reality and illusion.
His enemies would perish without a sound.
Among the Five Supreme Monarchs, his methods of slaughter were the most enigmatic.
The moment the twelve arrived, before they could act, an eerie black light emanated from the stone pathways, enveloping them all.
“We’ve been discovered,” the Northriver Emperor remarked lightly.
“Northriver! You dare trespass upon Shifan Island?” A furious roar echoed as a towering figure clad in black armor materialized mid-air, wielding a massive black spear.
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