Lu Rong shrieked, his expression frantic, his voice tearing at his throat.

Behind him, the faces of the others were ashen, their eyes hollowed with despair. Flee? Where could they possibly run now? With a High God dead, the Hall Master having bolted, and dozens of Heavenly Spirit Masters blocking their path, not to mention the presence of experts like Long Tiangong, Mu Xueyi, Hua Caidie, and Yu Qinglan—the gap between the sides was an insurmountable chasm!

Unless a miracle occurred, there was no chance of escape.

Yet, the experts of the Spirit God Hall were not men who would await death lying down. In their desperation, they became fiercer, roaring as they charged headlong into the fray. The broad plaza erupted like a pot of boiling water, filled instantaneously with piercing blasts that rose and fell without cease.

Terrifying currents of vital energy tore heaven and earth apart...

The void thrashed as if the Apocalypse had descended. Spirit power crisscrossed the square, obscuring all figures. Fortunately, the strong protectors stationed around ensured that the observing Spirit Masters on either flank avoided being caught in the crossfire, but the occasional howls and screams that pierced the din left the onlookers deeply unsettled.

How had a grand inauguration ceremony devolved into this scene?

The crowd was utterly bewildered. Seeing that the exit portal remained open, some faint-hearted Spirit Masters began to slip away quietly, only exhaling a breath of relief once they were clear of the Forbidden Spirit Marsh boundaries. The majority, however, chose to remain; such a sight was a spectacle rarely witnessed in a millennium.

The fierce battle raged on...

...

On that day, with the exception of Kou Xilai, every expert from the Spirit God Hall and the Snake Spirit Tribe who entered the Spirit Mansion was utterly annihilated!

As masses of Spirit Masters left the "Forbidden Spirit Marsh," the events unfolding within the Spirit Mansion spread with a terrifying velocity. This news, like a massive boulder suddenly dropped into a placid lake, instantly stirred countless ripples across the Heavenly Spirit Continent.

The battle for the Spirit Mansion thrust the name of the Spirit God Hall into the knowledge of nearly every Spirit Master.

As time wore on, the veil of mystery shrouding the Spirit God Hall was gradually lifted, and its hidden secrets were unearthed one by one.

The roster of dozens of Heavenly Spirit Masters, the medicinal altars spread across the continent, the High Gods who could descend at any moment... All of this showcased the terrifying might of the Spirit God Hall.

And yet, this power, so formidable it inspired dread, had suffered an unprecedented, crushing defeat during the grand opening ceremony of the Medicine King Palace. Had it not been for secret arts like the "Divine Concealment Heart Escape," even Kou Xilai, the Hall Master who had already passed the Second Spiritual Tribulation, might have perished.

Following the shock, various theories began to circulate.

Some claimed the Spirit God Hall’s grievous setback was self-inflicted. Others suggested the Medicine King Palace’s opening was a conspiracy orchestrated by the continent's major sects against the Spirit God Hall, given the existing feud between Nie Kong and the Hall. Luring the Spirit God Hall into a trap under the guise of a ceremony was entirely plausible.

While the debates raged, news also spread widely that the Medicine King Palace would establish various levels of medical academies across the continent, delighting countless Spirit Masters and Spirit Apothecaries. If those academies were successfully launched, there would be more Spirit Apothecaries on the continent, inevitably leading to an increase in spirit herbs, a drop in their prices, and smoother, faster cultivation for Spirit Masters.

Although the various academies had yet to be formally established, the mere announcement caused Nie Kong’s prestige to ascend yet another level.

Even those sects and noble families who had originally hoped the Spirit God Hall would suppress Nie Kong were now forced to admit that his rise was unstoppable, even as a tremor of apprehension ran through them. If even the Spirit God Hall and the Snake Spirit Tribe had suffered such a crushing defeat, these lesser powers knew they would have no means of resistance if great forces like the Yin Ruins or the Dragon Spirit Tribe decided to strike—there would only be ruin.

Nie Kong, however, held little interest in those smaller factions.

Not long after the great battle concluded, the majority of the Heavenly Spirit powerhouses gathered at the Spirit Mansion split into two paths. The experts from the Flower Spirit Tribe and the Fish Spirit Tribe headed toward the "Ten Thousand Snake Immortal Nest," while forces like the Yin Ruins and the Dragon Spirit Tribe pressed on relentlessly toward the Spirit God Hall's ancestral stronghold.

Since the two sides had completely torn off all pretenses, there was no longer any need for mercy.

It was time for a thorough purge!

As for Nie Kong, he journeyed to neither the "Ten Thousand Snake Immortal Nest" nor the Spirit God Hall. Instead, riding the Ghostly Soul Eagle King, he returned to the Yin Ruins at the fastest possible speed.

Inside the Heartwood Space, life flourished in vibrant green.

Nie Kong sat cross-legged, before him floating a dark-green orb the size of a millstone, crystal clear and brilliant. Without the invasion of the "Dark Blood Spirit Worms," this heart of the Wood Ancestor had fully recovered. The surging vitality emanating from it made it seem as though Nie Kong's own blood was eager to burst forth.

"Nie Kong, what you did was rather reckless,"

After a moment of silence, the Wood Ancestor’s aged voice emerged from the dark-green sphere, his tone as benevolent as ever, lacking much in the way of blame. "If that 'Dark Night Divine Venerable' and the others managed to break through the dimensional gate and invade en masse, the Heavenly Spirit Continent could face complete annihilation."

"Indeed, that was my concern as well. But since the 'Dark Night Divine Venerable' came knocking, we had no choice but to strike first," Nie Kong admitted with a touch of helplessness.

Just as many Spirit Masters had guessed, the Medicine King Palace's opening ceremony had indeed been a plot against the Spirit God Hall. Even if those five High Gods had not burned their souls and initiated the surprise attack, Nie Kong would have found another pretext to detain the Spirit God Hall's experts.

Initially, Nie Kong’s goal in hosting the ceremony and establishing the Medicine King Palace was simply to create the tiered medical academies and gather more faith power. However, after disrupting the Dark Night Divine Venerable’s "Soul Sacrifice," Nie Kong and the Spirit God Hall had entered a state of irreconcilable enmity.

Rather than reacting passively, it was better to take the offensive.

The major sects had long resented the tyrannical high-handedness of the Spirit God Hall, but every faction nursed its own secret agenda and was unwilling to be the first to stick its neck out. Lacking unity, how could they resist the Spirit God Hall's dominance? Over millennia, the Spirit God Hall had become the overlord of the Heavenly Spirit Continent.

Nie Kong’s emergence provided an opportunity for the sects to unite, and the Medicine King Palace’s opening ceremony was the perfect catalyst.

The Spirit God Hall had preemptively allied with the Snake Spirit Tribe and the Moluo Holy Mountain, further backed by the presence of the "Dark Night Divine Venerable"—Kou Xilai and his followers were supremely confident. And indeed, had the "Dark Night Divine Venerable" not met with an unexpected disaster, even if Nie Kong had sealed the Spirit Mansion, he could not have done much to the Spirit God Hall.

But Kou Xilai and the others had underestimated Nie Kong. First, their ally, Snake Qian, was killed and his soul extinguished; then, even their greatest reliance, the "Dark Night Divine Venerable," fell into Nie Kong’s hands. With the Moluo Mountain Master switching allegiances, the Spirit God Hall was left completely isolated.

Afterward, the surprise assault by the five High Gods of the Spirit God Hall provided Nie Kong with the perfect justification. Nie Kong, along with several strong figures like Long Tiangong, struck suddenly. Kou Xilai was forced to utilize the "Divine Concealment Heart Escape" to flee the Spirit Mansion, sealing the Spirit God Hall’s fate of inevitable ruin.

By eliminating the Spirit God Hall first, at the very least, the "Dark Night Divine Venerable" and the other deities could no longer descend at will as they had before...

... ...RO