Dizang Chuan lightly leaped from the massive, deep-blue crystal shard, his intricately carved battle boots landing on the frost like feathers, utterly silent.

"Zhen Liangzhi..." Dizang Chuan surveyed his surroundings, seeing only a vast expanse of snow-white ground across the broad, crystalline floor, punctuated occasionally by sharp icicles jutting out like nascent bamboo shoots from the ice.

Dizang Chuan’s expression was serene; his feather-like sword-brows slanted back toward his temples. Beneath the proud brow bone rested a pair of eyes as warm and gentle as pure black gemstones. He looked toward the colossal crystal sarcophagus ahead, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It seems a few little flies are still guarding this place."

Poof. From behind the massive, hoarfrost-like crystal coffin, four black figures flashed out, like specters emerging from the darkness, positioning themselves before Dizang Chuan. They stood perfectly still; only the slight breeze stirring the frosted ground lifted the edges of their robes near their boots, causing them to flutter gently.

Dizang Chuan’s pace did not falter. He continued forward at an unhurried, steady tempo, a cold curve etched onto his mouth. "Will you fall on your swords, or shall I oblige?"

The four figures stood silently before him, each possessing a mask of emotionless indifference. Their sharp gazes were like those of fierce falcons, holding a chill light as they fixed upon Dizang Chuan. Despite their extreme composure, a tidal wave of shock churned beneath the surface. They had guarded this place for many years and knew intimately the immense hardness of the giant deep-blue crystal outside. Yet, it was now shattered.

How terrifying must the strength be of the black-clad youth before them, whose lips held only a faint smile?

The elder on the far left, clad in a silver-white long robe, suddenly radiated a cold glint from his eyes. He took a step forward, his right foot pressing onto the hoarfrost-like ice. His fingers, emerging from his shriveled, ancient hands crisscrossed with tiny wrinkles, shot out like iron hooks in a grasping motion. The air directly in front of him instantly distorted.

Crack!

A sheer wall of ice abruptly erupted from the ground ahead. As if a gate were opening, numerous piercing slivers of ice shot out from the wall, raining down upon Dizang Chuan in a torrent. The whistling, cold light of the ice shards carved nearly transparent trajectories through the air, emitting a faint, sibilant hiss as they hurtled toward his handsome face.

Before the ice shards reached him, the sheer force of their passage whipped Dizang Chuan’s black hair into a wild dance. He maintained an elegant smile, as if the incoming shards were mere illusions. His pupils contracted slightly, and the countless ice projectiles before him seemed to ripple as if disturbed by water, dissolving rapidly—like snow melting—into countless motes of crystalline dust.

Dizang Chuan smiled and continued walking toward the elder.

"What!" The elder’s pupils constricted; his heart hammered violently. He had not expected that his formidable technique, seemingly simple yet capable of instantly slaying a peak God-Emperor with every single shard, had failed to kill this strange, uncanny man in black. It was utterly unbelievable.

"Is that all you have?" Dizang Chuan asked with a smile, his voice as gentle as if addressing an old friend.

The elder frowned and sneered, "Don't think that just because you blocked these basic offensive sweeps, you can—" His voice cut off abruptly.

The others beside him gasped in shock and turned to look. Their eyes snapped shut instantly, their faces contorting into expressions of sheer horror. They saw an ice shard protruding from the throat of the powerful elder, piercing through. Viscous blood clung to the hoarfrost-like spike, steaming slightly in the cold. Furthermore, three more ice shards had pierced his chest, emerging in a triangular pattern, tearing great holes through his torso. Crimson blood dripped down the edges of the spikes, staining his clothing.

The elder's eyes remained wide open, filled with incredulous terror, as if he had never imagined that with his own tremendous power, he could be so absolutely suppressed by the transcendent strength of his opponent, allowing for direct "Internal Energy Control."

The so-called "Internal Energy Control" occurred when one party’s spiritual power vastly exceeded the other’s, allowing them to use potent mental force to forcibly manipulate the target's internal energy for a 'counter-kill'!

The remaining three men were filled with shock. They quickly realized that this bizarre and sinister man before them was far beyond their ability to contend with. Yet, behind them lay the sacred object fiercely protected by countless generations of powerhouses within the Divine Hall; they could not retreat a single step!

"Die!" The man in the azure armor at the center roared, his burly physique akin to a King Kong ape. He raised the battle-ax in his hands and swung it upward toward Dizang Chuan, who was slowly approaching from the ground beneath his feet. The strike scraped across the solid ice surface, kicking up a layer of white, ice-shaving light that resembled the frantic roar of a great white shark rising from the frost, hurtling toward Dizang Chuan.

Dizang Chuan walked on with a smile, his feet gently stepping directly onto the white light-slash as it neared. The moment his foot made contact, the entire ground instantly calmed, as if falling into sudden stillness. Then, he raised his head, looking at the man in azure armor with eyes that were both sinister and cold. "With strength like yours, you're assigned to guard this place?"

The face of the man in azure armor cycled through colors, his expression unspeakably strained. Cold sweat soaked the palms gripping the ax handle, wetting the haft. It was as if he stood before an indescribable monster. His legs strained desperately to retreat, but his body felt frozen, utterly unable to move. Only his heart hammered wildly. He tried to swallow, but a searing current choked his throat. His mouth hung slightly open, unable to utter a word.

"I won't play games with you any longer..." Dizang Chuan smiled faintly, gently raising his hand and extending one finger toward the man in azure armor and the others. The finger was slender and translucent as jade, like a carved work of art. A shimmer of golden light slowly coalesced at the fingertip, flashing brilliantly like a cross, before suddenly shooting forth.

"Not good." The man in azure armor and the others recoiled in terror, desperately trying to flee. Suddenly, they felt their bodies locked in place, as if fixed by something invisible, sealed within a tight box, unable to shift even slightly. They could only watch as the golden beam rapidly split into three paths, each blasting toward one of the three men, expanding in their pupils—Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Three bloody cavities appeared on the foreheads of the three men, precisely between their brows. Warm blood flowed out of the edges of the holes, trickling down like twitching earthworms, running over their noses and eyebrows, down to their eyelids and eyes, resembling twin streams of bloody tears.

Then, a soft breeze blew past, and the bodies of the three men tilted backward, collapsing onto the ground. The blood flowing from the back of their skulls rapidly stained a large patch of the frosted floor, spreading like vibrant red blossoms across the hoarfrost-white expanse.

Di Zang slowly withdrew his finger, lightly wiping his lips—a gesture utterly nonchalant, even somewhat alluring. He smiled gently, then stepped over the corpses and walked toward the massive white crystal coffin.

Standing before the huge coffin, he examined it up and down with interest, a look of admiration crossing his face. "Quite nice. A fine place to sleep for so many years, and someone to attend to you, too."

He chuckled softly, slowly raising one palm as if lifting a bright lamp. Dense black energy surged from his pale palm, forming a small vortex. Within the vortex, a pure black dagger slowly materialized, sharp and keen, seeming capable of swallowing all light.

"You’ve slept long enough; it’s time to wake up..." Dizang Chuan’s eyes flashed with bright light. He gripped the black dagger tightly and savagely stabbed it onto a small, goose-yellow circle on the lid of the crystal coffin—a small circle that resembled a complexly structured array.

Mouth~

As the black dagger struck, the entire massive crystal coffin seemed to emit a groan of pain, shaking slightly. Dense, goose-yellow light erupted from the point where the dagger landed, drifting outward like countless ribbons of light, instantly eclipsing all other colors in the frozen world. This yellow glow illuminated Dizang Chuan’s face and eyes. He gritted his teeth slightly and exerted force with his hand!

Bang!

It sounded as if an ethereal glass shattered somewhere within that span of time and space.

Then, all the ribbons of goose-yellow energy vanished. The silent frozen world reverted to its hoarfrost-white hue. A slight curve slowly formed on Dizang Chuan’s lips. He spun the black dagger once in his hand, then let it sink into his skin, disappearing without a trace.

As if knocking on a door, he leaned casually against the side of the great crystal coffin and tapped the lid lightly. "The seal is broken. You can come out now, can’t you?"

After a long silence, a sudden click echoed, and then the lid of the crystal coffin slowly began to move, sliding downward, revealing what was inside—Heavenly Sovereign Divine Continent.

In the vast expanse of the sky, the boundless azure heavens were now choked and obscured by countless streaks of light of various colors, densely packed beyond enumeration. Amidst these myriad, chaotic beams of light stood a youth clad in a black (mink/sable) coat, hovering in the air. His powerfully built chest was bare to the elements, embroidered upon his sternum was the tattoo of a pitch-black sword crest!

Behind him, a long, black cloth bundle wrapped around something wide and long. He merely stood in the void, yet he seemed to stand above all living beings, the master of all things, demanding submission and worship from every creature.

His eyebrows were as sharp as daggers, and his narrow eyes were set with two black-gem-like pupils, filled with profound indifference, as if nothing could stir him. His sable robe, resembling a cape, billowed and soared in the howling wind, exuding an indescribable air of cold majesty and effortless grace.

The people of the entire Heavenly Sovereign Divine Continent, from ordinary citizens in the streets and alleys to the warriors of the great merchant guilds, looked up at the sky in sheer terror. They realized they had never seen so many streaks of light appear overhead—brilliant and mysterious. Especially that minuscule black dot, which radiated a suffocating pressure.

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