Ten thousand years ago, nearly all the powerhouses of the Xianxing and Chixing Clans perished. After ten millennia, the Panxing Clan and the foreign Ling Shen grew ever stronger, while the Xianxing and Chixing Clans further weakened. The gap in strength between the two sides widened significantly, leaving the latter almost powerless to resist the former’s might.

Living in the outer heavens, the two clans were forced to live at the mercy of others.

However, although the three figures were utterly subservient, acting like slaves, Nie Kong still glimpsed resentment in their eyes when they knelt down.

Not only Nie Kong, but Pangu Taizun and the others surely noticed it too, yet they paid it no mind, finding the resentment of these three Star Gods utterly laughable in their eyes.

It was like a chick trying to struggle against an eagle; no matter how much the chick flapped, it could never harm the eagle in the slightest.

"Rise."

As Qicai Taizun passed before them, she gently raised a hand.

"Yes."

When Chi Yu and the other two stood up, the strangeness in their eyes had vanished.

However, when Chi Yu and Chi Feng's gazes flickered towards Nie Kong, who stood beside Qicai Taizun, their faces changed drastically, their lips trembling uncontrollably. The anger and shock in their eyes could no longer be concealed; their four gazes were sharp as blades, seeming intent on tearing Nie Kong into countless pieces.

"Hmm?"

Lei Long Taizun suddenly turned back, his eyes shimmering with brilliant lightning, focusing on Chi Yu and Chi Feng.

In the next instant, the two recoiled as if struck hard, stumbling back more than ten paces before spitting out a mouthful of blood. Their complexions instantly turned deathly pale.

"Please forgive us, Great God!"

Xian Liang was greatly alarmed by this, hastily pulling Chi Yu and Chi Feng to kneel on the ground.

Lei Long Taizun snorted coldly, his steps pausing for not a moment. As for Pangu Taizun, Panling Taizun, and Ziwei Shenzun, they did not even turn their heads to glance over, as if the three figures kneeling on the ground were merely tiny ants that couldn't possibly draw their slightest interest.

Nie Kong sighed inwardly and quickly caught up to the figures walking ahead.

He knew that the reason those two Chixing Clan Star Gods had suddenly lost their composure must have been because they recognized the "Lingxi Battle Robe" he wore. In their eyes, he might even be considered the direct culprit who killed Chi Lian ten thousand years ago, thereby seizing the "Lingxi Battle Robe."

After walking for several dozen seconds, the group arrived before the palace gate, which towered hundreds of meters high.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Two massive golden Star Seals suddenly shot out from within Pangu Taizun and Panling Taizun’s bodies, merging into the great door. Almost simultaneously, a purple gleam and a seven-colored radiance rose from Lei Long Taizun and Qicai Taizun’s forms, disappearing into the gate of the Taishi Palace.

The four Taizuns acted together; even the slight aura emanating from them was enough to make one’s heart tremble, as if the four represented the heavens and the earth. Even a Ninth-Rank Ling Shen or Ninth-Rank Star God seemed like an insignificant speck of dust before them, unable to muster any thought of resistance.

"So strong!"

Nie Kong took a deep breath, pushing the Chaos God Art to its limit just to suppress the violently shaking agitation in his mind, yet the shock in his chest was indescribable.

When he was in the Central Domain, Pangu Taizun had once opened the gate to the outer heavens, but at that time, although the display was full of might, it hadn't left such a deep impression on Nie Kong.

This time was different. Although the Taizuns only revealed a mere sliver of their aura, it filled the heaven and earth, possessing a power that commanded submission. A deep sense of dread rose in Nie Kong’s heart; without his master’s protection, if Pangu Taizun truly decided to act, Nie Kong feared he would be instantly reduced to ashes.

He must ascend to the Taizun realm in the shortest possible time!

Nie Kong bit down hard.

"Rumble!"

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from within the Taishi Palace, and the ground shook violently. After absorbing the power of the four Taizuns, the hundreds-of-meters-high palace gate slowly opened.

A strange aura drifted out from the gap in the gate.

Ancient, primordial, weathered...

This aura instantly permeated the void. The bustling city around the Taishi Palace fell into sudden silence, as if the entire outer heaven had been plunged into a deathlike stillness.

The gap in the palace gate widened, and the shadow of an edifice gradually appeared. After ten seconds, its complete form was revealed.

It too was a palace, identical in shape to the massive illusory structure. That strange aura originated from the palace within.

It stood silently, like an ancient giant coiled upon the ground.

"This is the true Taishi Residence..."

This thought flashed subconsciously through Nie Kong’s mind. Looking at the palace, he felt an urge to kneel down and worship it. However, the others seemed completely unfazed, filing in through the open gate as if it were a common sight.

Nie Kong quickly suppressed the strangeness in his heart and followed their steps.

"Boom!"

The gate of the palace illusion closed immediately. Just as the figures of the group were completely cut off, Chi Yu, Xian Liang, and Chi Feng, who had been kneeling outside, finally stood up...

"This is the true entrance to the 'Taishi Palace,' the 'Taishi Grotto-Heaven.'"

Pangu Taizun stopped walking, gazing at the wide-open palace gate, a flicker of reminiscence in his eyes. "No one knows who built this 'Taishi Palace,' nor how the 'Taishi Divine Crystal' within came to be. It has been here since the dawn of humanity."

Ziwei Shenzun and the others were perfectly familiar with the situation; Pangu Taizun’s words seemed specifically directed at Nie Kong.

Listening to Pangu Taizun’s aged voice, no one spoke, all feeling a sense of profound emotion.

Nie Kong also quietly examined it. The style of the palace was magnificent and beautiful. After a moment, he suddenly realized that the shape of the Taishi Palace bore a striking resemblance to Lei Long Taizun’s spatial artifact, the "Great Thunder Sound Hall." It was likely that the "Great Thunder Sound Hall" had been forged by imitating the Taishi Palace.

Lei Long Taizun broke the surrounding silence, laughing, "The gate of the Taishi Palace is open; everyone may enter. I hope everyone has good luck and that someone manages to find the 'Taishi Divine Crystal.'"

"One can only hope."

Ziwei Shenzun smiled gracefully, clearly not harboring much hope for the "Taishi Divine Crystal." "Four Taizuns, this junior bids farewell." Having said that, Ziwei Shenzun shot a knowing glance at Nie Kong before her graceful figure shot toward the Taishi Palace, a hundred meters away.

The gate of the Taishi Palace resembled the gateway to the outer heavens—the slowly rotating vortex was like a mass of chaos, white and indistinct, seemingly concealing unfathomable mysteries.

In an instant, Ziwei Shenzun was swallowed by the depths of the vortex.

Following her were the six Ninth-Rank Ling Shens of the Panxing Clan. After them, the four Shenzuns—Dantian, Hailong, Leshan, and Anyie—also set off in succession.

Before leaving, Nie Kong noticed that Anyie Shenzun had intentionally or unintentionally glanced back at him. His eyeballs were obscured by black mist, but Nie Kong clearly felt a bone-chilling coldness, as if a venomous snake were hidden in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity to strike him fatally.

"Master, I am leaving too."

Glancing sideways at Anyie Shenzun's retreating back, Nie Kong sneered inwardly. After bidding farewell to Qicai Taizun, he immediately followed close behind, speeding toward the "Taishi Palace"...