Standing high above, a dashing, red-haired youth stood with proud immobility. Clad in golden-red battle armor and crowned with the Dragon Crest, his presence was extraordinary. "To force me to remove my Seal Garment, you are indeed a capable individual. However, this does not grant you passage out alive."

"Cough..." Changkong had already been severely injured by the preceding explosion and could not move. It was only when he heard Sha Jun Tian Xia mention the Seal Garment that he realized the truth. "Just how immense is Sha Jun's power that it requires a Seal Garment to restrain it? It seems the few of us here can only sacrifice ourselves now."

"Get out of the way!" Ye Xiu, who seemed barely to know Old Liu, shoved him aside and rose again. "I will kill this fellow!"

Due to the demonic power unleashed by Sha Jun's passing, Old Liu collapsed to his knees once more. He had never witnessed Ye Xiu in such a frenzy. "Ye Xiu, are you courting death?"

Sha Jun held the Yu Huang Zhan behind him, surveying the collapsed figures around. "The Seal Garment restrains at least more than half of my strength. I believe no one in the Mortal Realm could force me to shed it. You few are indeed proud warriors; I can offer you one chance. Surrender to me, and you live. Fight me, and you die."

"Swoosh..." At this moment, Ye Xiu's eyes burning red, strode toward Sha Jun. As he raised one hand, various lights shimmered upon the Death God Scythe. He moved with blinding speed, intending to overwhelm Sha Jun through sheer brute force.

Sha Jun straightened, meeting the charge head-on. He unleashed the Yu Huang Zhan, its might shaking the eight directions. "Your gaze reminds me of my past self—an expression of invasion and mercilessness. But such eyes alone are not enough. Instant Kill and Survival depend on strength. Since you are intent on dying beneath my Yu Huang Zhan, I shall grant your wish."

"Buddha Domain Demon Quelling Array!" At that instant, golden nets descended from the sky. Dozens of figures floated down swiftly, each holding various kinds of tin staves—they were the elite of the Buddha Domain. "The Nine Splendor Buddha Domain is the Great Vow Dao Field of Ksitigarbha; how can we tolerate this foreign demonic evil running rampant?"

Seeing the Buddha Domain disciples engage, Changkong naturally regained some confidence. This Demon Quelling Array primarily served to suppress the enemy's magic power. No matter how mighty the foe, once trapped within the formation, they could not casually increase their cultivation, thereby reducing the threat somewhat. "Fellow disciples, be careful. Sha Jun Tian Xia must not be underestimated."

Sha Jun closed his eyes, paying little heed to the surrounding crowd. With a toss of his red hair, a torrent of boundless mystic power erupted. Blades flashed like glazed tile throughout the entire realm. In that moment, not only did the fine, thread-like Demon Quelling Array vanish, but even those who formed the array disappeared entirely. He looked at Ye Xiu. "These clownish insects are not even worthy of dying by my blade. But you are different; I will bestow upon you the most dignified death."

"Yah hah!" Hearing this, Ye Xiu moved like a hurricane, both hands gripping the scythe. He brought the weapon down ferociously toward Sha Jun.

"Dong!" With a dull clang, the golden light flashing from the Yu Huang Zhan blocked the Death God Scythe. The instant the two blades intersected, a scene re-emerged: a black dragon battling a fierce tiger. Endless sparks erupted from the edges of the blades, so brilliant that they forced onlookers to shut their eyes.

"Decent strength, but alas..." Sha Jun glared, instantly amplifying the power infused into the Yu Huang Zhan. At that moment, the tiger's claw tore through the black dragon's throat. As the Yu Huang Zhan cleaved forward, the Death God Scythe was sliced directly into two pieces.

"Pfft!" Ye Xiu fell to the ground along with the broken blade of the scythe. Blood erupted from his mouth, and strangely, he regained clarity. He could accept wounds all over his body, but he could not accept the destruction of Yue Yuan Tu, one of the Netherworld's Twin Saint Swords. Just what kind of power was this?

As blood-soaked winds swept through the Rushi Sect, the formerly gate-less Rushi Gate suddenly emitted a creaking sound as it began to close.

"If the Rushi Gate closes, Sha Jun Tian Xia won't be able to leave Mount Jiuhua either!" Changkong forced himself up, enduring the pressure. He intended to use his final Fan Hai Ji Tian Seal to trap Sha Jun.

"Time is short; I shall humor you all for today!" Sha Jun Tian Xia cast a disdainful glance at Ye Xiu, his body transforming into a streak of golden light that shot out of the Rushi Gate. His voice boomed, capable of reaching all realms. "The Demon Realm shall rise from this day forward! All realms, be warned! Hahahaha!"

"Pfft!" Within the Yi Yuan Nether River Realm, King Zhou, seated firmly on his palace throne, unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He used his soul energy to protect his heart meridian, filled with bewilderment. "How could this be? Throughout history, only the Netherworld King of the Dead Kingdom possessed such might. Where did that power just now originate?"

Shun Yi, whose cultivation was lower than King Zhou's, had long since collapsed onto the floor. He struggled to rise. "Could there be someone more terrifying than the Netherworld King of the Dead Kingdom?"

At that moment, a stunningly beautiful but heavily made-up demonic woman emerged from the shadows, stepping beside King Zhou. Her form flickered, sometimes seeming to sink into the ground, sometimes standing upside down. Her weapon was a pair of claws. "Someone incompetent allowed the Bone Sect members to steal the Soul Soldier Talisman. My Dark System Death God's ambition to conquer the world might not be so simple. Why not borrow the power of the holder of this energy?"

"Hmph, Yan Ji, don't forget that our cultivation levels are comparable. Fighting him won't benefit either of us." Shun Yi, knowing his failure, quickly addressed King Zhou. "The Master of the Bone Sect, Jiaye, is actually involved in the scramble for the Soul Soldier Talisman. There might be hidden secrets involved. I beg Your Majesty to grant this subordinate one more chance to search for the Talisman."

King Zhou, clad in a pure black dragon robe studded with sparkling points of starlight, held a dark pillar in his hand. He appeared somewhat aged. "The matter of retrieving the Soul Soldier Talisman will be left to Yan Ji. Shun Yi, I want you to keep a close watch on that Flame System Death God. He comes from the Flame System Inner Cabinet and must be connected to the missing Netherworld King. As for how to utilize that surge of power..."

"That shall be entrusted to this subordinate," declared a figure holding a black pipe, emerging from a cloud of smoke in the great hall. His face exuded intense pressure. He knelt on one knee. "Yan Du already knows the source of that power!"

"Very well, proceed with your respective tasks," King Zhou waved his hand, signaling them to depart. The sharp pain in his heart from moments ago had only just subsided. That power was absolutely something he coveted. Moreover, the hidden location of the Dark System Death God lineage, the Yi Yuan Nether River Realm, was a crucial territory fought over by experts from all realms because it was the first miraculous realm to connect with the Mortal Realm!

Yan Ji flashed out with Shun Yi, saying dismissively, "I hear you were defeated by that low-level Flame System Death God last time. Truly embarrassing!"

"Hmph, that Death God is far from simple, especially the Soul Stone he possesses," Shun Yi showed no regret for his defeat. He pointed at Yan Ji's claw weapons. "Our Soul Stones are weaponized; that fellow's Soul Stone is merely a ring. Yet, he commands one of the Netherworld's Twin Saint Swords. He is not to be trifled with!"

"Why are you two being so friendly?" Yan Du swept past them amidst a wisp of green smoke. He was a Death God proficient in poisons. Though his cultivation was only past the Body Sacrifice realm, and his Soul Stone was just a pipe, it contained the world's myriad poisons, feared even by other Death Gods. "Just focus on your own duties."