The surrounding soldiers raised their swords high. In the previous landings, they seemed to have suffered defeat beneath the monstrous dragon, but this time, humanity had won. Xu Fu had won, too. He walked steadily toward the fallen beast, saying, "The elixir of eternal life must be in the cave behind us. My King has waited for this moment for many years, and from this day forward, we too shall remain by your side forever!"

"There is another power at work!" At that moment, Susu suddenly shrank back behind Ye Xiu, fear evident in her voice. She pointed toward the distant cave, which was pitch black but suddenly flickered with a faint light. "Master, look!"

Ye Xiu followed her gaze. Inside a dark hollow behind the monstrous dragon, a tiny speck of white light was expanding, gradually replacing the darkness with illumination. A slender silhouette then appeared in that spot.

"Who is that!" Xu Fu and the soldiers nearby were startled only then. Such a sight was unprecedented even for them. If a figure appeared on the Three Divine Mountains beyond the East Sea, could he not be a legendary Immortal?

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" A series of piercing sounds cut through the air. The once barren earth suddenly erupted in a flurry of swirling sand. Though the grains were minute, they severed the soldiers' necks as they passed, instantly felling dozens in the small unit. Only Xu Fu remained, standing there, stunned.

"This... who..." Bloodshot lines appeared in Xu Fu's eyes. He was terrified. He had never imagined that after believing he had slain the monstrous dragon to claim the elixir, an entity even more terrifying than the dragon existed in this mysterious place.

Ye Xiu was shaken by the movement of the flying sand. He turned toward the dark opening. Standing just outside it was a slender figure draped in flowing crimson. With skin as white as jade, a proud physique, and an intoxicating fragrance lingering in the air, it was none other than Hong Ling, who had been missing for so long. "Hong... how could it be you?"

Hong Ling paid no heed to Ye Xiu’s words. Her skirt fluttered as she walked straight toward Xu Fu without even glancing at him. Her eyes were icy, and her beautiful face shone with an air of disdain for the mundane world. She drifted before Xu Fu, lightly raising a slender, jade-like finger. "Take me to the First Emperor. I can grant him eternal life!"

"Yes..." Xu Fu’s eyes were vacant, his voice dragging slightly as he spoke. His spiritless head bowed, and he turned to walk toward the edge of the cliff. He had shed all his former composure; he was now as humble as a dog clearing the path for Hong Ling.

"Hong Ling..." Each time Ye Xiu saw Hong Ling’s haughty demeanor, he felt a fresh wave of confusion. He could never quite place this long-haired, enchanting woman. "Are you Mo Xi... or..."

"I didn't expect anyone here could recognize the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons!" It turned out the figure before Ye Xiu was neither Mo Xi nor Hong Ling, but the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons herself. "You are a Reaper of Death!"

"Empress of Ten Thousand Demons?" Ye Xiu stared at the Empress, perplexed. He had encountered Han Xin within the Seven Star Strange Formation, and it was this Empress who had bestowed the power of the Reaper of Death upon him. Swallowing hard, he asked, "You don't recognize me, Empress of Ten Thousand Demons?"

The Empress of Ten Thousand Demons finally turned her body. Her posture was elegant, her ample bosom vaguely revealed, as if she had never seen Ye Xiu before. "I did not expect to meet a Reaper of Death in this place, nor did I expect you to carry the essence of the Pluto Heart. Unfortunately, you are not my target."

"The Pluto Heart again?" Ye Xiu stumbled back a step. This was not the first time Hong Ling had mentioned it. Back at the Peak of the Cloud Sea, Hong Ling had spoken of him being some Pluto, until he understood that the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons had gifted Han Xin with the essence of the Pluto Heart. Yet, Ye Xiu himself was still unclear about the true nature of his own origins. "What are you doing? Do you intend for the First Emperor to gain eternal life, or turn him into a Reaper of Death?"

"Hahaha..." The Empress of Ten Thousand Demons ceased paying attention to Ye Xiu. She slapped Xu Fu, and the two drifted effortlessly past the cliff edge. "The entire history of the Primordial Era is written by me, the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons. What consequence is a mere First Emperor!"

"Wait a moment!" Ye Xiu tried to pursue them for an explanation. "What is your relationship with Hong Ling!"

"Nonsense!" The Empress of Ten Thousand Demons turned back and lashed out a palm strike toward Ye Xiu’s chest. Her blow seemed devoid of power, yet as her palm neared his chest, three distinct streaks of colored light flared within Ye Xiu's body. "Oh, so you are the legendary Three-Formed Anomaly."

"Ah! Argh!" Ye Xiu felt colors swirling wildly around him, his mind reeling. A wave of heat surged in his chest. The Buddhist power of Ksitigarbha, the might of the Styx Blood Sea, and the spirit power of the Heavenly Scorn Sword Soul all collided within him, simultaneously tearing free from his original form. Only at this moment was he truly himself—a purely simple Reaper of Death!

"Let us go." The Empress cast a contemptuous glance at Xu Fu, and the two transformed into a single ball of light, vanishing into the sea of swords. As the Empress departed, the sword sea became unrestrained. The ships moored securely by the cliff edge were instantly submerged without a trace.

"Master! The power within you..." Susu had also sustained injuries from the Empress's might. She shifted into human form and hurried to support Ye Xiu. "I sensed the energies inside you draining away into different realms. This world within the Sword Grave is too complex. How could such intricate domains appear here!"

"How can this be? How can this be?" Ye Xiu also felt a severe drain of internal energy, an emptiness as if he had been hollowed out. He rested his powerless hands on the ground. What kind of existence was the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons to unravel his proudly held strength in an instant? He tried to gather his Black Flame, but his hands were empty. "Even the power of a Reaper of Death is gone? This..."

"Thump-crack!" At that moment, the level ground began to collapse. Before Ye Xiu could react, his entire body transformed into a massive Buddha statue—tens of meters high, holding a precious orb and a staff in its hands, seated upon a stone lotus pedestal. Who else could this be but Ksitigarbha of Mount Jiuhua?

"Master, hurry and run!" Susu stared intently at the movement of the Ksitigarbha giant statue. When she saw the statue’s head shift slightly, she used her own strength to propel the demoralized Ye Xiu away. "This giant stone figure contains infinite soul energy. Being struck by it means eternal damnation!"

"Pfft..." As Susu finished speaking, the colossal stone Ksitigarbha’s massive arm crashed heavily onto the ground. It turned out Ye Xiu and Susu were standing precisely on the instep of its foot. The statue stomped its foot, pulverizing the solid rock beneath it.

"Hoo..." Ye Xiu was sent tumbling several times by Susu’s push. He never imagined the Ksitigarbha’s form could be so vast, and that it could transform into a stone image to attack him. "Damn it, what do we do!"

The Ksitigarbha giant statue did not halt its movements because of the cracked instep. It turned its head and saw the direction Ye Xiu had fled. Wielding its staff like an immense pillar that pierced the heavens, it slammed down toward the ground: "If Hell is not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha! Remnant of the Asura Clan, perish by my hand!"

Ye Xiu hadn't managed to catch his breath before the shadow cast by the massive stone pillar obscured a patch of sky above him. Facing such immense pressure, he instinctively raised his hands to shield his head, but this was akin to a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or an ant trying to shake a tree. Now disarmed, he could only surrender in the face of this life-threatening crisis.

"No, Master! You still possess the power of the Sun, Moon, and Stars—the Three Fundamentals!" At this moment, Susu snapped out of her panic. In desperation, she suddenly unleashed her power, flooding Ye Xiu’s body with the energies of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. "It is not time to concede yet!"

"Whoosh..." Ye Xiu felt three streaks of colored light enveloping his body. When the Ksitigarbha’s staff swept through, his entire form dissolved into a blue void. He watched his own body passed through by the staff, scattering the surrounding dust toward the heavens in surprise. "My body... this is the power of the Star Serpent!"

"Master, be careful!" Susu warned Ye Xiu, as the Ksitigarbha giant statue raised one of its feet, stirring up countless flying stones, its target clearly to crush Ye Xiu beneath it.

"Whoosh..." Another indistinct sound followed. Ye Xiu once more controlled his body to turn into a blue void. This time, the Ksitigarbha’s foot plunged deep into the earth, the force of the stomp driving the entire foot beneath the surface.

"I possess the power of the Sun, Moon, and Stars?" Ye Xiu looked at his body in confusion, waves of blue, ghostly light flickering repeatedly. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad. "How could this be? That palm strike from the Empress of Ten Thousand Demons completely changed the nature of the power within me. Susu, do you understand?"

Susu shook her head. She had been about to tell Ye Xiu that another heavy punch was descending from above, but she knew that if the Ksitigarbha statue’s blow landed, it would only strike empty air. "That woman said you are the Three-Formed Anomaly, meaning your body conceals three different kinds of power!"

Ye Xiu looked up. Just then, a punch from the Ksitigarbha giant statue shook the earth once more. He stared at the emotionless, massive stone figure above him and swung his own fist. At this moment, his punch shot out like the Star Serpent before, launching streaks of sharp sword light. The magnificent light cut through the Ksitigarbha giant statue’s stone cheek, knocking off a thick layer of mud. "Don't worry, with the power of the Star Serpent, he cannot possibly harm me!"

"Roar! Roar!" Seeing that Ye Xiu's power seemed somewhat rampant, the Ksitigarbha giant statue shuddered, shaking loose countless stones. It swung both fists again, attempting to crush Ye Xiu between them. "If Hell is not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha! Remnant of the Asura Clan, perish by my hand!"