"Madman?" The expression on the Wan Yao Saint Empress's face grew exceedingly complex, a faint blush touching her lips. "I merely find this world too dull and flavorless. Isn't that precisely the same attitude you hold toward pursuing divine weapons?"

"The Xuantian Bone Structure has been acquired," Old Liu announced, leaping beside the spirit spring pool with Ye Xiu on his back. He set Ye Xiu down and tossed the bone structure toward the Saint Empress. "Do with it as you please."

"Excellent." The Wan Yao Saint Empress glanced at Ye Xiu. With a gentle sweep of her skirt, a wisp of white mist drifted toward him, transforming into watery vapor as it touched his body, penetrating deep into his core. "My Myriad Demon Spiritual Power is sufficient to restore your vitality."

"Master, Master." Susu, who had been tending to Ye Xiu’s wounds, recoiled as that powerful surge of energy entered his body. She had never experienced such a force. "Master, are you alright now?"

Ye Xiu felt the malevolent energy receding from his blood, replaced by a refreshing sensation that erupted from his chest and escaped through his nostrils. He shook his head, and his first thought was of Old Liu. "Hey, your leg is better! What about that Bone Sect Master?"

"Who knows? At least neither of us is hurt now." Old Liu smiled, grabbing Ye Xiu and delivering a hard punch. "You truly don't know how to control your energy; you went berserk again just now."

Seeing that the two were unharmed, Yan Luo pointed toward Ying Zheng, who was now standing steadily to the side, and roared, "Saint Empress, shouldn't your Death God transformation begin? The blade in my hand is eager to absorb the Celestial Soul."

"Hmph." The Saint Empress waved her hands, and two ribbons of pure white silk shot out from her wide sleeves, coiling around Ying Zheng’s body like snakes, binding him tightly. With another exertion of force, she hurled him onto the stone tablet positioned in the center of the spirit spring pool. Upon sensing life approaching, the pool water surged violently, rising to engulf Ying Zheng’s waist.

"I never imagined an ordinary person could be physically transformed into a Death God," Old Liu murmured, gazing at the bizarre currents with astonishment. The spirit spring water, usually white and clear, now pulsed with countless minute red filaments. These short threads thrashed incessantly, drifting toward Ying Zheng’s body like tiny insects, seemingly forcing their way into his flesh through his pores. "Is this transformation achieved by introducing these parasite-like entities to infect the body?"

Ye Xiu couldn't recall how he had become a Death God, but the mention of infection brought to mind scenes from zombie films—people bitten by the undead turning into more of them. Perhaps the Death God transformation followed a similar principle. "What are these red things?"

"Corpse Bugs. Once they integrate into the human body, becoming part of the skin and viscera, Ying Zheng will become a living corpse," the Saint Empress declared with absolute confidence. "From ancient times until now, only I could complete this process without flinching. But these Corpse Bugs alone are insufficient; the human body cannot withstand such violent agony. That is why the eternal Xuantian Bone Structure is necessary."

"All of this belonged to the Bone Sect Master. Why is it appearing in the Dead Kingdom?" Ye Xiu had long held this question, one that Fa Liangluo had not answered earlier. He hoped the Wan Yao Saint Empress would provide clarity.

"Go!" Ignoring him, the Saint Empress raised her hand, and the pure white bone flew toward the top of Ying Zheng's head. As it rotated slowly, it adhered to his scalp and gradually dissolved into his being. "Yan Luo, take note. I don't know precisely what the Celestial Soul is, but something will certainly manifest within Ying Zheng shortly. If you miss it, don't blame me."

"Do you think I need telling!" Yan Luo's eyes blazed. He raised his long blade and slowly moved toward the edge of the pool, locking his gaze on Ying Zheng, determined not to miss any sign related to the forging of a divine weapon.

"Ah... ah... ah..." Ying Zheng's body began to rebel against the intrusion of the tiny bugs and the Xuantian Bone Structure. His mouth stretched wide in continuous agony. Yet, the Saint Empress’s ribbons bound him fast, rendering his clenched fists useless against the torment. Finally, a massive plume of blue dragon mist erupted from his head, spiraling upward into the deep, dark sky.

"The Celestial Dragon reappears! Is this the Celestial Soul?" The entire realm was illuminated by this blue light. Yan Luo drew his blade and leaped forward, attempting to intercept the dragon's power. Unexpectedly, the Celestial Dragon, drawn by the golden radiance of the long blade, plunged downward, piercing directly into the blade's core. Yan Luo was slammed violently onto the ground. "Celestial Soul, ha ha ha! It truly is the Celestial Soul! Death God, come quickly..."

Seeing Yan Luo thrown to the ground by the powerful impact, Ye Xiu immediately charged forward, clutching the Tian Miao Sword. At that moment, the blue Celestial Dragon seemed to sense the soul power within the Tian Miao Sword. Its dragon head split into two halves; one continued to sink into the long blade, while the other flew toward the Tian Miao Sword in Ye Xiu’s hand. The force was so immense it drove him to his knees. "Is this thing the Celestial Soul? It seems to be actively seeking out weapons."

"Hahahaha, Hahahaha! The world’s foremost divine weapon is about to be born! Only I, Yan Luo, shall be the creator of a legendary blade! Are you watching, Bing Ao old man? How can your Imperial Sovereign Slash compare to my blade!" Yan Luo's hair was spread across the ground as he struggled to lift himself. At that moment, the blade's power was wholly dominated by the Celestial Soul, and its previous golden light intensified, threatening to illuminate the entire domain. "Bing Ao, your Imperial Sovereign Slash surely cannot compete with the weapon in my hands, for it has absorbed power you cannot even imagine."

"What you hold is definitely not the Imperial Sovereign Slash!" Ye Xiu gasped, suddenly recalling what Bing Ao had mentioned about the Imperial Sovereign Slash—that blade forged by Bing Ao himself. Yan Luo, driven by wounded pride, must be forging an entirely new weapon. As he realized this, he was deeply captivated by the red light emanating from his own weapon. His iron rod was enveloped in a sanguine glow, a radiance potent enough to rival the divine weapon in Yan Luo’s hand. As the red light dissipated, a long sword materialized: its blade over three feet long, etched with serpentine red patterns, faintly showing traces of cyan, like a coiled serpent’s tail. The hilt was grasped by what resembled several dragon claws fashioned into golden hooks, tightly gripping the dark handle. Suspended beneath the pommel was a dark pearl, secured firmly by a tiger claw. The overall impression was grand yet exquisitely detailed—the divine weapon once wielded by the Sword Demon Ba Fang Guling of the Dead Kingdom, reborn in this instant.

"Yuyu Fengdao, the Great Completion! Hahahaha!" From the other side came an intense surge of energy. Yan Luo stood in the center of the whirlwind, his eyes blazing gold. He held his blade horizontally: the blade was broad, dark gold in color, and about four feet long. The cutting edge shimmered with an aberrant halo, within which a streak of white mist ascended toward the heavens, proud against the frost and snow, running through its entire length. The handle inclined downwards, where dragon claws and phoenix scales intertwined. A Qilin skull chain extended from the base of the blade to the tip, from which radiated the malevolent energy of the universe. Beneath the bone chain hung several exquisitely crafted small blades—a divine weapon, laughing proudly across the cosmos, an art form that stunned creation.

The Wan Yao Saint Empress watched coldly as the two divine weapons awakened. She smiled inexplicably and brought her palm down upon Ying Zheng, striking him with such force that he instantly disintegrated into ash. "Divine weapons descend. This age of chaos probably no longer requires my guidance. I have already opened the Heavenly Revelation Passage; the Lord of the Demon Realm, Sha Jun Tianxia, must have already descended upon the mortal world by now. Only in times of strife can a clan forge its legend. Death God! Are you prepared?"

"Rumble... crash..." At that moment, a violent, raging torrent of air rushed through, overwhelming any barrier of (Realm/Boundary). The landscape of the Dead Kingdom convulsed violently. That power was capable of destroying everything; its radiance was already flashing across the world.

"This power feels familiar! Master, quickly..." Before Susu could shield Ye Xiu, a wave of rolling stones and surging debris approached. "It's the power from the Rushi Gate! No! It’s even stronger than that power!"

"Sha Jun Tianxia!" Ye Xiu barely registered the name before the world spun around him. His Tian Miao Sword, glowing fiercely red, sliced through endless domains with him. In a critical moment, he grabbed Old Liu. In a flash, images of the First Emperor, the hookworm, and the Bone Structure flickered through his mind. The events of this era vanished in the blink of an eye. Then, his vision went dark, and the sound abruptly faded from his ears. In this lifetime, this scene felt as ephemeral as a dream.

...

"Damn it, where were we flung to this time?" Old Liu was the first to get up. He remembered seeing the fully formed divine weapon in Yan Luo’s hand just before the final moment. He patted Ye Xiu. "You okay? Damn it, that quad-story archway tricked us. We’re back in the plaza outside the four archways."

"Boom..." With a violent shudder, the third archway collapsed, sending up clouds of dust and ash. There was no light, only a bleak desolation.

"This all felt genuinely real; I experienced it," Ye Xiu leaned on the Tian Miao Sword, which now glowed brightly. The sword had completed three stages of forging and was only one step away from full awakening. "We just witnessed the process of Yan Luo forging his divine weapon. I think the moment we were expelled from that realm was when he entered the mortal realm to obtain the Imperial Sovereign Slash before confronting Sha Jun Tianxia."

Old Liu lowered his head, carefully retracing the events. "The divine weapon Yan Luo reforged was not the Imperial Sovereign Slash. It is very likely the artifact Jizo Daigan used to seal Sha Jun Tianxia. To deal with Sha Jun Tianxia, we must find that blade."

"But... but based on what we just saw, Sha Jun Tianxia must have fought Yan Luo! Did Yan Luo fail?" Ye Xiu stood up, feeling that things were excessively complicated and difficult to grasp. "Since we are back in the ruins of the Fengdao Alliance, we need to find Meiyi—and this current Yan Luo—somehow."