As he spoke, Li Wuhui tossed out a purple-gold spirit talisman, and the space around him instantly filled with the spirits of time and space.

"An Immortal Talisman? A Boundary-Shattering Qiankun Talisman?"

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, then calmed himself. Since it was such an immortal-grade talisman, it was no wonder he could still traverse space even under the confinement of the Great Formation of Ten Absolutes and Vaulted Heavens.

But leaving in front of him wouldn't be that easy!

Just as Li Wuhui's figure was about to vanish, Zong Shou struck out with his sword once more, this time piercing directly into the void.

It was still the Instantaneous Space Dragon Sword, but he twisted time further using the method of the Black Hole.

Then, he heard a muffled grunt from Li Wuhui, followed by a sigh.

The black blade-sword in his hand simultaneously shattered, vanishing without a trace.

Zong Shou frowned slightly, then gave a short snort and continued his ascent toward the peak.

He had only heavily injured Li Wuhui just now, failing to kill him. Since the man had the means to escape this Great Formation of Ten Absolutes and Vaulted Heavens, Zong Shou could only let it go for now.

That debt would be settled another day!

The black blade-shadow continued to coalesce. With a sweep through the void, sword qi raged, abruptly striking thirty zhang away.

When the Blade of Nothingness shattered once more, a corpse, severed at the torso, suddenly appeared at that location.

It was another Ninth-Tier Martial Cultivator! Even at this moment, disbelief lingered in his eyes.

This man had been using the protection of the Grand Sect Formation of Shangxiao Sect to conceal his presence nearby since Zong Shou began fighting Li Wuhui, waiting for an opportunity.

Unfortunately, he never managed to wait long enough to see an opening.

His gaze swept coldly around the surroundings one last time, sensing that the few faint auras present were rapidly retreating. In just a single breath, they had vanished completely.

Zong Shou could only shake his head slightly. Did these people not understand that even if they waited until he reached the mountaintop, they would still face a fight to the death?

At that time, there would be no backing down—

Hundreds of Yuanmie Divine Crossbows continued their bombardment, but breaking through the core spiritual patterns and restrictive runes was becoming increasingly difficult.

With every step Zong Shou took, he needed to pause and ponder carefully before finding a way to decipher the mechanisms.

However, after only a dozen breaths, a blood-red long spear suddenly arrived from the void.

First, with a peng, it forcibly shattered all the runes and restrictions within sixty zhang in front of Zong Shou! Then, with a duo, it embedded itself into the ground, its shaft still vibrating fiercely.

Zong Shou’s brow lifted slightly as he looked back towards the origin of the blood spear. It was Zong Yuan. He immediately hurled another spear, extracting nearly one-tenth of the blood mist surrounding Zong Shou’s own contingent. His three hundred Blood Cloud Cavalry were now rushing toward the peak.

The leaders of the other units were performing similar actions. However, instead of spears, they used short halberds only two feet long. Each flew forth, striking the stone path before Zong Shou.

As for the millions of troops amassed below the mountain, they had either scattered far away or had already been slaughtered, becoming part of the blood mist.

The corners of his lips curled up, and Zong Shou continued upward. The path ahead was now being violently cleared, inch by inch, by his Blood Cloud Cavalry, making the way completely open.

Zong Shou walked with supreme ease, hands behind his back, ascending the stone steps. In just a dozen or so breaths, he reached the summit.

Viewed from below, the mountaintop was at most four hundred zhang in circumference, far smaller than Mount Qiantian.

But when standing at the peak, the area stretched over twenty thousand zhang long and wide. While not as grand as the Realm of All Life, the spiritual energy here was supremely abundant, with five-colored spiritual light shining everywhere.

Zong Shou’s attention immediately focused on the massive formation rotating in mid-air.

Over two thousand people stood fixed in specific positions, their arrangement arcane yet conforming to the Great Dao.

However, within the formation, all the disciples of the Shangxiao Profound Spirit Sect displayed expressions of profound agony.

Their bodies were withering, their vital energy and blood being drawn out thread by thread, converging toward the center above.

A vast, colossal sphere of thunder continued to swell, and directly beneath the thunder sphere was Han Nishui.

Though visible now, Zong Shou knew he was still one step short of truly entering the Spirit Mansion of Shangxiao.

This time, he did not wait for the blood spears and halberds from behind. He spread the two-hundred-zhang long black wings that had unfolded and gathered all the lightning and black flames into his hand, transforming them into an immensely large greatsword which he swung forward violently!

Thunderous Radiance of a Thousand Blossoms, Slash!

Where the black sword shadow passed, everything before him was destroyed. A small patch of space seemed to shatter and break apart! The core of the protective sect formation also disintegrated, ceasing to exist.

And when Zong Shou truly stepped onto the mountaintop, a tremendous clap of thunder roared across the entire sky, sounding like a colossal impact. Clouds shimmering with five-colored light converged rapidly.

Thirty thousand zhang away, Kong Yao pursed her lips, a trace of unwillingness flickering in her eyes.

—In the end, he succeeded! The moment he truly ascended the peak of Mount Shangxiao, a colossal white dragon finally materialized, coiling subtly around Zong Shou.

Colored clouds gathered, bringing forth a thousand streams of auspicious light—this was the aura of a True King!

It wasn't that she didn't want to stop him, but at this moment, she was utterly incapable.

She felt a slight stinging pain where the blood-mark split open on her brow. Kong Yao could only reluctantly retract the bloodline secret technique passed down by her family.

The majesty of a King must not be lightly defied. Observing his fundamental essence was permissible before Zong Shou became a True King.

But now, daring to gaze too long would certainly invite backlash, perhaps even heavenly retribution.

Even in that brief moment just now, for anyone else, it would have cost at least thirty years of lifespan!

Yet, she pondered silently: he was still a Saint King! Even though Zong Shou had stained his hands with the blood of millions, the kingly aura remained purely white! It seemed the more he killed, the purer his essence became.

It was as if the entire world was cheering for him, rejoicing in his ascent. Faintly, she could feel the world itself stirring for him.

Almost simultaneously, in another void, the figure of a woman dressed in palace attire suddenly stood up. The flawless, delicate face, like fine jade porcelain, had completely changed in expression.

—A Saint King? How could it be a Saint King?

What was the origin of this disciple chosen by Wei Xu for her elder sister?

Why would he possess the aura of a Saint King?

That aura was clearly pure white and flawless; she could not be mistaken!

Another woman beside her looked on in utter bewilderment. "Second Sister, why are you so surprised and losing your composure?"

The elder sister remained silent for a long moment before glancing sideways at the young woman beside her.

If you knew what just happened, you would surely be as shocked as I am. But should I tell you?

After a moment of contemplation, the woman finally spoke, "Zong Shou just manifested Dragon Qi!"

The younger woman smiled faintly, showing no surprise. Four million elites of the Qiancheng Alliance were all buried here. After this battle, most of the Eastern Lin Sects would either perish or scatter.

In this world, perhaps no one could stop Mount Qiantian from unifying the Eastern Lin Cloud Continent. Thus, it was natural for the destiny of Eastern Lin to gather upon Zong Shou, allowing him to achieve the Dragon Body.

Why be surprised by this?

But then she heard her "Second Sister" continue serenely, "You know that after I used a secret technique to force my way into the Ultimate Realm, although I haven't practiced methods for observing the fate of others, sometimes, through a connection with the Heavens and Man, I can gain insight."

The younger woman nodded. All Godly Venerables of the Ultimate Realm possessed immense divine abilities. Even if her sister had achieved her status through artifice rather than the true Great Dao, she was still nearly omniscient and omnipotent, naturally possessing such means.

She grew curious about what Zong Shou had done to shock her Second Sister so profoundly.

The gentle voice continued:

"Just now, when I observed his kingly aura, it was undeniably pure white, utterly flawless!"

As soon as these words fell, the younger woman froze, then burst into an abrupt, wry laugh. "A flawless, pure white kingly aura? You mean the aura of a Saint King? I remember reading about that in an ancient Taoist text discussing destiny. But, Senior Sister, are you joking with me? A Saint King—how long has it been since one appeared since the Desolate Wilderness? It's impossible for one to arise now. Even the enlightened monarchs of the Central Cloud Continent, or rulers governing hundreds of worlds in the Outer Regions, no one has ever qualified to be truly called a Saint Sovereign—"

As she spoke, she looked at the woman in palace attire beside her, whose eyes held a look of intense seriousness.

This meant she was absolutely not joking!

The younger woman paused again, her mind reeling. "So, it really is a Saint King?"

Seeing the other woman slowly nod, the younger woman didn't know whether to be happy or distressed, only feeling it was utterly absurd.

"Our sect, the Path of All Life, will actually produce another Saint Sovereign? What is this? That lazy fellow who cares about nothing is actually the Sage Ruler recognized by Heaven and Earth? This Heaven must be blind—"

Rubbing her temples in frustration, the younger woman suddenly remembered something and snapped her eyes open.

She saw the woman opposite her looking over at the exact same moment, and in unison, they both exclaimed in shock: "Divine Emperor—"

Was this a case of planting flowers without intent only to have them bloom elsewhere? For the Path of All Life, was this a blessing or a curse?

The woman in palace attire frowned deeply. She recalled Wei Xu mentioning that Mount Qiantian might be crucial to their Path of All Life.

Now, it seemed there must be a reason. Could it be that the national policies Zong Shou enacted shared common ground with the tenets of the Path of All Life? If so, she truly needed to investigate further.

Zong Shou also looked up toward the sky in immense bewilderment at the five-colored clouds overhead.

—Are those auspicious clouds of five colors?

But this is too ridiculous? The slaughter had just begun, and the lives of four hundred people rested entirely on his word.

At this moment, shouldn't Heaven be wailing, perhaps even sending down retribution? Yet, why were auspicious clouds appearing and radiant light spilling forth on this peak?

Does the Almighty Heaven have any sense at all? (To be continued)

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