Corpses littered the plain, their pale yellow and viridian blood clotting into a stagnant river across the emerald grassland. Hundreds of thousands of Roman warriors and nearly a million Spirit race soldiers lay sprawled haphazardly, their wide, lifeless, ashen eyes fixed blankly on the sky.

Ducart and Lily hovered in the air, coldly surveying the million dead bodies below.

Excluding the few Doom Guards left behind, the strongest Roman warriors present barely possessed the cultivation of early Golden Core stage. Before Ducart, who commanded the power of a Sixth-Rank Heavenly Immortal, they were nothing more than mayflies born and dying in a single day, foolishly challenging a god on the clouds—it had been nothing more than a one-sided slaughter.

Yet, something felt profoundly wrong. Even as Ducart, dizzy with bloodlust and his consciousness slightly clouded, he grasped the critical issue: Why were there only this few Roman and Spirit race inhabitants defending the entire planet? Where were the other Romans? The Roman nobles, the elite Roman soldiers, and the vassal warriors brought back from the outer sectors by Bolport, Poluukin, and Yakkin? Where was the true essence of Roman might?

It seemed he had been tricked. Ducart scratched his head, looking down at the corpses piled so densely they covered more than half the grassland.

Two streaks of light flashed on the horizon as Gu Wuchen rushed forward, riding the clouds. Still several miles away from Ducart, Gu Xiechen abruptly dropped the Colossal Spirit God, who stumbled forward a few steps on the grass before steadying himself and lumbering after Gu Xiechen with heavy strides.

Standing on the water-clouds before Ducart, Gu Xiechen stared intently at the agitated Ducart and demanded, "Xiao, what is wrong with you?"

Lily tightly grasped Ducart’s hand. Ducart haughtily lifted his head and spoke in a low voice, “Nothing is wrong. It’s just that I feel it is time we swapped positions.”

“From this day forward, you obey my commands. I can grant you anything you desire.”

Gu Xiechen was stunned. These were not words Ducart should be speaking. This was the kind of speech a fiercely ambitious gang leader would use when recruiting a powerful newcomer.

Ruhua charged to Gu Xiechen's side, pointing wildly at Ducart and shouting, "Metal-head, are you insane or just stupid? What did you mean by those words?"

Ducart smiled faintly, answering Ruhua’s question with action. He leaned forward, gliding in a blur to stand before Ruhua. His right fist shot out like a heavy cannon. Four cracking sounds merged into one; Ruhua’s left and right shoulders, and his left and right thighs shattered simultaneously. The immense impact pulverized his muscles, his skin exploding outward like popcorn, sending fragments of flesh flying hundreds of meters.

With a muffled thud, Ruhua was driven into the ground by the heavy punch, embedding himself nearly a hundred meters deep.

Hanba sprang out from beside Ruhua, screaming fiercely, "How dare you strike my man?"

Her figure flickering, Hanba lunged toward Ducart, her hands wreathed in scarlet corpse fire. Ducart scoffed disdainfully. His fists were covered in dense black scales, from which a black, wave-like radiance emerged. His twin fists shot out like fiery meteors, leaving long fiery trails as they met Hanba’s incoming blows. With a massive crash, black light and scarlet flames erupted everywhere. Ducart remained suspended in mid-air, steady as Mount Tai, while Hanba was blasted screaming to the ground by the heavy impact. Her arms hung limply at her sides, the bones within them reduced to powder.

"Xiao, that's too much!" Gu Wuchen roared. "What in the hell are you doing? What is on your hands?"

"Oh?" Ducart slowly raised his hands. The black, blazing light gradually receded, revealing the thick, dense layer of black scales covering them. "Are you referring to this?"

Seeing Ducart's hands, Gu Wuchen and the others gasped. Gu Xiechen demanded fiercely, "How did you turn into this?"

Ducart shook his head lazily, then commanded in a low tone, "Stop asking pointless questions. Can we please be efficient? Submit to me, become my most loyal subordinate, and I will bestow upon you power and influence! You cannot even imagine what I can offer you."

Ruhua struggled to prop himself up. He looked at Ducart and managed a bitter smile. "Junior Brother, I think we have been set up! Don't you notice something is wrong here? There isn't a single living Roman on this entire planet! Where did they all run off to? If they intended to ally with us, why flee? What exactly was inside those relics Bolport gave Xiao?" Ruhua, astute as ever, had identified the key issue: Ducart's change began immediately after he obtained the relics belonging to his mother.

Ducart merely gave a faint smile, his head held high, murmuring softly, "Gu, I hold you in some regard; you weren't too bad to me, after all. Submit and become my subordinate; I can grant you much!"

Gu Wuchen looked at Ducart with a hint of sorrow, his voice dry as he asked, "I considered you a brother... no matter what happened, you only ask me to be your subordinate?" Ducart stared at Gu Xiechen silently, his eyes flashing sharply, his expression shifting rapidly. After a long silence, Ducart stated calmly, "It is the good fortune of low-level beings like you to even have the chance to become my subordinate. You cannot comprehend my greatness, and therefore you cannot understand the glory of serving me!"

The Colossal Spirit God suddenly roared, "Nonsense!" He seized the Xuanhua Great Axe—over thirty meters long, its handle as thick as a pillar—and brought it crashing down toward Ducart's head. The Colossal Spirit God bellowed, "All talk! If even the Exalted One must serve you, then what am I? Yarrrgh! Die!"

Ducart glanced dismissively at the colossal axe descending toward him, shaking his head with a sigh. "Ants can never truly understand the chasm between us..." Crack! As Ducart casually extended his right fist to try and halt the axe, his face changed drastically. He had never imagined this single blow would carry such crushing weight. The power contained within it felt like the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau slamming down from overhead. Ducart felt like a slightly stronger ant, utterly incapable of resisting this terrifying force! The bones in his right arm screamed in protest, and his body was blasted backward by the gale created by the axe blade. Ducart quickly seized that rushing wind to propel himself desperately backward.

The Colossal Spirit God's blow missed, the axe blade slicing diagonally past Ducart's body before impacting the ground heavily. A golden torrent erupted from the axe surface, rocketing across the ground toward the distance. The earth was torn open, revealing a massive ravine several miles wide and nearly a li across. When that golden surge struck a great mountain a thousand miles away, the ground shuddered violently. A mushroom cloud shot into the sky, and a fierce wind rushed back from the distance. The mountain disintegrated into ash within the brilliant light.

Where the mountain had stood, only a vast crater remained—nearly a hundred kilometers deep and over five hundred kilometers in circumference.

Hanba, who had been grimacing while treating her shattered arm nearby, whipped her head around in surprise. "Giant Spirit? Is that you, you brute? Hssss... You hopeless idiot who ruins everything!"

The Colossal Spirit God looked foolishly at Hanba, then suddenly chuckled strangely, winking conspiratorially at her. "This young lady looks terribly familiar. Are we perhaps old acquaintances?"

Hanba’s nose almost twisted off in anger. She yanked her head away and snorted coldly, "You forgot me? Oh, Amitabha, that's wonderful, I don't recognize you either! What are you waiting for? Go hack that ungrateful bastard to death! Is that axe in your hand just for show? Go chop him!" Hanba glared fiercely at Ducart.

The Colossal Spirit God started, nodded rapidly, "Right! I must hurry and chop him to death!" Grasping the Xuanhua Great Axe, the Colossal Spirit God roared and charged toward Ducart. At this moment, the Colossal Spirit God's entire focus was locked onto Ducart; the only thought in his mind was to annihilate this one who showed disrespect to Gu Xiechen. When the Colossal Spirit God concentrated all his energy on a single task, he immediately displayed a terrifyingly immense combat power. Every movement he made was as elusive as a swan landing on snow; the trajectory of every swing seemed perfectly natural, the glinting trail left by the axe blade subtly carrying a trace of Dao energy. Such a massive battle axe swept through the air without raising so much as a whisper of wind.

Especially remarkable was the Colossal Spirit God's suddenly nimble and unpredictable footwork. A thin layer of mist began to envelop his feet, lifting him off the ground. He zipped around Ducart at lightning speed.

The battle axe, wielded with the dexterity of a master craftsman's carving tool, slashed wildly around Ducart. Its strikes were as pervasive as spreading mercury, finding any minuscule opening and immediately drilling into any oversight Ducart made, constantly targeting his vital points.

Suddenly, the frequency of Ducart’s defensive punches began to lag behind the frequency of the Colossal Spirit God’s swings. The Xuanhua Great Axe, carrying a blinding flash of light, slammed two heavy blows into Ducart’s back and hip. Fortunately, Ducart managed to summon the Flowing Cloud and Rushing Water Armor in time. The half-foot-thick armor collided fiercely with the great axe.

Amidst screeching metallic friction, countless sparks sprayed everywhere. Ducart’s armor was torn open by two huge gashes from the axe. A gash three chi long and three cun deep split his back, blood spurting out like a fountain. Nearly two jin of material was cleaved from his hip, causing a massive spray of dark blood that dyed the armor covering his thigh a bizarre, dark-red color! Ducart's blood had transformed into a viscous, oil-like, dark-red sludge! Ducart screamed skyward in agony; his body was smashed away nearly a hundred li by the heavy axe, like a cannonball leaving the barrel.

The Colossal Spirit God, eyes wide and feral like a maddened tiger, howled and swung his great axe crazily, chasing after Ducart. He roared fiercely, "Chop you, chop you... Hahahaha, I'll use your bones as drumsticks!"

Lily, watching from the sidelines, saw Ducart clearly losing ground and shrieked in alarm. She shot forward in a streak of green light toward the Colossal Spirit God. Still far off, a churning cloud of cyan lightning enveloped Lily, and in an instant, countless bolts of sickly green lightning imbued with innate cyan wood energy tore through the void, descending upon the Colossal Spirit God. The dull thunder cracked the ground faintly, causing the earth to tremble. Tens of thousands of lightning strikes instantly hit the Colossal Spirit God's massive body.

With a tremendous crash, Lily’s lightning cracked several fine lines onto the immortal armor covering the Colossal Spirit God’s body. His enormous frame was struck so hard that he plummeted from the sky, landing upside down in a heap. Half his body was plunged deep into the ground, only his two legs flailing weakly, trying to heave himself out.

Lily ignored pressing the advantage against the fallen Colossal Spirit God. She sped toward Ducart, who had been knocked a hundred li away, and pressed her hands, carrying dense cyan wood spiritual energy, onto his wounds. Nourished by the cyan wood energy, Ducart’s injuries rapidly mended. Red light flashed in his eyes, and the shattered Flowing Cloud and Rushing Water Armor rippled like liquid, instantly restoring the damaged armor as if it were new.

A low, cold laugh rumbled from Ducart’s chest, instantly transforming into a bolt of thunder that echoed across the entire grassland! "Vile creature, how dare you harm my body?" Ducart roared, laughing madly as he soared into the sky. He shook his body violently, and six massive, fleshy wings extended from his back, accompanied by the muffled sound of wind and thunder. His body twisted and writhed rapidly. Before Gu Xiechen’s disbelieving eyes, Ducart transformed into a three-headed giant dragon!

"You!" Gu Xiechen was truly stunned. He stared blankly at Ducart’s cold, merciless, six inverted-triangular pupils, his body trembling uncontrollably.

What else was there to say? Ducart’s current appearance clearly linked him to that group from the Elder Council—the bloodline descendants! When had Ducart acquired the bloodline inheritance of the Elder Council? It was completely impossible! His father was Nanket. Horsam, the purest Roman noble. His mother was Xiao Yiqiu, an equally pure native Earthling, a genuine descendant of the Hua Clan. Given the traditions and rigidity of the Xiao Yiqiu family, it was impossible to possess not just the alien bloodline of the Elder Council, but even non-Hua Clan foreign bloodlines!

"Bolport, you damned bastard, I will kill you! I swear it, I will kill you, and I will annihilate your entire Roman race!" Gu Xiechen was genuinely enraged.

Everything was clear now. The so-called relics of Xiao Yiqiu that Bolport gave Ducart must have been mixed with some strange objects carrying the bloodline of the Elder Council. Ducart had unintentionally merged with that entity, thus turning into this monster.

Thinking of this, Gu Xiechen suddenly felt a chilling fear in his chest. Thank heavens he possessed the Haotian Mirror, and thank heavens he used it to break all the restrictions within those two orbs and that piece of fleshy stalk. Otherwise, if he had rashly merged with those three treasures, his fate might not have been much better than Ducart’s! Boundless rage and killing intent surged from Gu Xiechen’s heart. At this moment, he felt the genuine urge to slaughter the Roman race without restraint. With the power he currently commanded, setting up any single formation of the Ten Absolute Formations would be enough to wipe out the entire Roman species. He truly had the impulse to commit xenocide against the Romans. Gu Xiechen was tired of trying to evaluate the behavior of these cunning and treacherous Romans; he completely failed to understand their ultimate motivation for doing all this!

Roaring to the sky in anger, Gu Xiechen gathered the last vestiges of vital energy that had formed from the fleshy stalk, split it in two, and tossed it toward Hanba and Ruhua. Being in the form of zombies, they were naturally deeply drawn to all forms of blood energy and vital essence. Hanba and Ruhua’s eyes immediately lit up upon seeing the mass of vital energy Gu Xiechen produced.

Hanba exclaimed: "This is the root of Yuan Yang from a congenital Great Sage who achieved some measure of power—the source used for procreation. You brat, where did you get such innate life energy?"

As she questioned Gu Xiechen, Hanba swallowed the mass of energy in one gulp. She narrowed her eyes with satisfaction, her heart filled with endless joy. This congenital-level vitality was incredibly potent: weeds touched by it would turn into ginseng; mushrooms into Lingzhi; grass carp into Heavenly Dragons; earthworms into Divine Wyrms. This was an object capable of turning decay into wonder, and it held infinite significance for the current Hanba. With this vital energy, she was confident of restoring a portion of her true Zombie essence in a short time! Of course, while her cultivation and power levels wouldn't immediately surge, possessing an incomparably firm true Zombie form meant Hanba feared no one. Although this mass of energy was small, not enough for a complete restoration, in the mortal world where not a single Golden Immortal master existed, two-thirds of her true Zombie form was more than enough for Hanba to look down upon the world.

Ruhua also swallowed the mass of energy. As soon as it entered his abdomen, it reacted with the Natal Essence Blood of the Fire Virtue Star Lord he had absorbed earlier. The two rapidly merged and evolved, transforming into a wondrous energy that flooded Ruhua’s entire body, drastically altering his physical structure. Unconsciously, threads of golden fierce flame began to emerge from Ruhua’s pores, turning him into a figure of fire for a moment, the golden flames heating the surrounding soil until it became magma.

Glancing at Hanba and Ruhua, whose situations were greatly improving, Gu Xiechen scooped up the struggling Colossal Spirit God, who was still stuck in the ground, with the sleeve of his robe, and slowly walked toward the rapidly transforming Ducart in the distance. As he walked, Gu Xiechen amusingly asked the Colossal Spirit God, "Do you have no magical transformations at all? Besides wildly hacking with that axe, what else can you do?"

The Colossal Spirit God frowned, his face mournful, and mumbled quietly, "Strength overrides technique. Having strength is better than anything else. My Master said that magical transformations, after one good axe swing, would still die. Why bother learning anything else?"

Glancing curiously at the Colossal Spirit God, Gu Xiechen pressed, "Who is your Master?"

The Colossal Spirit God lifted his head proudly, smiling cheerfully, "My Master, of course, is the Ancient Demon God Xingtian!" He proudly hefted the axe in his hand! Gu Xiechen stared at the Colossal Spirit God in astonishment. After a long moment, he finally raised a single thumb. Amazing, truly amazing. He was a disciple of Xingtian; it was no wonder his fighting style was so rugged and unrestrained, and his physique so terrifyingly large. A disciple of Xingtian—did that mean the bloodline of the Colossal Spirit God held some connection to the Great Desolation Scripture?

Smiling, Gu Xiechen lightly patted the Colossal Spirit God's toe.

The two walked incredibly fast. In just a few sentences of conversation, they had covered dozens of miles and arrived before Ducart, who was undergoing his rapid metamorphosis. Staring blankly at Ducart, whose six eyes burned with rage, Gu Xiechen sighed deeply, "Ducart, do you still remember me? Do you still remember... us brothers?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Ducart’s frantic gaze, but it was quickly overwhelmed. A towering black-red inferno surged around him, completely vaporizing the last vestiges of clarity in his mind. He glared at Gu Xiechen and roared, "Stop this pointless chatter! Emotions are merely tools the weak use to maintain their position. A being as powerful and magnificent as I require no such things! Submit to me, or be consumed by me—you have only these two choices!"

Emotions are unnecessary? Gu Xiechen sighed, then pointed at Lily. "What about Lily then? Why did you keep her by your side? Why?"

Ducart's massive body stiffened momentarily. One of his heads turned to look at Lily, who stood devotedly behind him. The other two heads burst into loud laughter: "Lily? She is the tool for me to propagate my lineage, the tool for my release! Of course, I keep her close! Hahahaha, do you think I would ever develop feelings for such a frail and insignificant life form?"

Ducart's words struck Lily like a thunderbolt. Her face turned deathly pale, and she swayed, nearly collapsing. But she bit her lip fiercely, steadied herself by moving closer to Ducart, and gently placed her small hand on his long tail, tenderly stroking his smooth scales.

A strange curl lifted the corner of Ducat's mouth, and he declared with utter confidence, "See? This is the meaning of possessing power. As long as I have enough strength, these females will stay by my side and never betray me! Power can bring me everything!" Gu Xiechen roared, "Power brings you everything, but can it bring you Lily's affection for you?"

Ducat's eyes bulged, and he roared back, "I said that affection is something completely unnecessary! Why would I need emotions? Only those insignificant bugs need feelings!" With a great shout, the longest and thickest dragon horn on Ducat's central head suddenly spewed out a lightning bolt the thickness of a water tank, shooting straight toward Gu Xiechen.

The rampaging power surged forward. Gu Xiechen rapidly assessed the comparison between his current strength and the terrifying power contained within the lightning bolt. He hastily dodged, pulling Ju Lingshen with him to evade the black lightning. The black thunderbolt, accompanied by a dull roar, scraped past Gu Xiechen's body and smashed into the ground. The entire planet subtly trembled, and a transparent hole spanning half a li in diameter appeared on the planet's surface. The black lightning, not yet depleted after piercing the planet, continued its violent trajectory toward the depths of the cosmos, finally exhausting its energy only after shattering two or three asteroids.

A figure flickered, and Hanba flew over rapidly. Shaking his hands, he cast several seals to stabilize the restless core fire deep within the planet. Lava churned and surged out of the transparent opening, soon filling the entire void. Under Hanba's control, the magma quickly solidified, neutralizing the hazard that threatened the stability of the planet's crust.

"The strength of the Qiyào Huǐ Tiān!" Hanba said dryly. "What did this guy eat to become so powerful?"

Even a cultivator at the initial stage of Celestial Immortal possessed the power to destroy a planet, but it required them to expend their full power recklessly for a single strike to obliterate a small asteroid. Yet, Ducat pierced such a massive planet with a casual beam of lightning; his power was ridiculously strong.

Ducat grinned, carelessly hooking the middle finger of his foreclaw and laughing, "Don't bother asking what I ate to become so strong. You'd better check my dinner menu for tonight. If you don't obey me, then tonight I'll have stewed Gu Xiechen and deep-fried Ru Hua... Hmm, you woman, with your tender skin, I might consider eating you as sashimi with soy sauce!"

Ru Hua floated over swaying, sneering, "You want to eat deep-fried zombie? You'd better have the appetite for it! Is the strength of Qiyào Mó Yí Tiān so formidable? Let's join forces!" With a loud laugh, Ru Hua wildly waved the Xuányuán Kòng Shuǐ Qí, summoning rolling black waves that surged upward. Wielding countless white lotuses, he shielded the bodies of the few people on his side. Ru Hua laughed smugly, "With this treasure protecting me, let alone your mere Qiyào Mó Yí Tiān power, even if you were a true Golden Immortal, could you bite off my limb?"

Ducat swept a cold glance over Ru Hua, shaking his head dismissively. He sighed profoundly, "Insignificant beings only know how to rely on external objects, ignorant of the true source of power residing within themselves!"

Gu Xiechen sighed, muttering in a low voice, "Let's attack together. He has entered a state of madness. Regardless of why this change occurred, we must capture him alive first and then find a way to cure him... Alas, we came too hastily; I should have brought the Ten Heavenly Lords. The Ten Absolute Formations could surely capture him easily."

Forming a lightning seal with both hands, Gu Xiechen flicked his hand, unleashing a Kuí Shuǐ Yīn Léi toward Ducat's forehead. Gray-white lightning exploded over Ducat's body, but the light merely flashed before being completely absorbed by the black scales covering him. Even his smooth scales showed not a single trace of the attack.

Gu Xiechen was stunned. Ru Hua and Hanba were also dumbfounded. The divine senses of the three simultaneously swept over Ducat's body. Then Hanba exclaimed in shock, "Xiantian Pò Fǎ Zhī Tǐ? These black scales carry the power of Innate Law Breaking? Judging by his aura, unless our power can surpass his tenfold, all our Daoist magic and divine abilities cannot harm his body!"

The Innate Law Breaking Body (Xiantian Pò Fǎ Zhī Tǐ) was a strange attribute acquired by certain Innate Great Sages through unknown means. This attribute allowed these Innate Great Sages to be immune to a considerable degree of magical damage. The most famous example was the Sky Dragon clan under the ancient Heavenly Court; this clan also inherited the innate law-breaking bloodline. The most powerful ancient Sky Dragon could completely ignore Daoist attacks where the power differential was hundreds of times greater. A peak Taiyi Golden Immortal Sky Dragon could withstand an ordinary Daluo Golden Immortal, illustrating the terrifying nature of this law-breaking principle. Ducat, perhaps due to impure bloodline, possessed a law-breaking rule on his black scales that only granted complete immunity to magical attacks ten times stronger than himself. However, for the current Human Realm, this was an almost invincible attribute. A being ten times stronger than a Qiyào Mó Yí Tiān Immortal might exist in the Human Realm, but certainly not Gu Xiechen and the others right now.

Ducat laughed triumphantly, lowering his head to smile at Gu Xiechen, "I didn't expect to possess such a terrifying attribute either. However, considering our past pleasant relationship, I'll give you one more chance. Obey me, and you can gain much from me. Disobey, and I will stew you for dinner."

Before Ducat finished speaking, a black light and a red light suddenly flashed on the distant horizon. Siren, holding Aredia’s hand, flew over together at extreme speed. Behind them, twenty-four black and red wings waved ostentatiously, stirring up monstrous black fire and red flames with every flap.

"Uh, today is not the right day; I must be seeing things!" Ru Hua vigorously rubbed his eyes, murmuring to himself, "But I'm a zombie, so seeing ghosts should be normal, right?"

Gu Xiechen burst out in ecstasy. He leaped up, treading on water clouds to meet them, shouting fiercely, "Siren? You damn hermaphrodite! And Aredia... You two..." Opening his arms, Gu Xiechen pulled both Siren and Aredia into an embrace. He laughed wildly at the two, "You're not dead?"

Siren cursed angrily, struggling violently out of Gu Xiechen's grasp. Simultaneously, he pulled Aredia away from Gu Xiechen's hug, pushing the smiling Aredia a dozen steps back before powerfully throwing his arms open for a bear hug with Gu Xiechen. He laughed joyfully, "Luckily, we were lucky enough to survive... But trying to take advantage of Aredia? That's not allowed!"

Without needing many words, Siren condensed all his experiences into a transparent sphere of psychic energy and handed this ball of information to Gu Xiechen. After absorbing the information within the sphere, Gu Xiechen understood the entire experience of Siren and Aredia. He looked at the two with extreme shock; receiving direct guidance from a clone of Nuwa, their fortune was ridiculously immense. Even more astonishing was that the Earth had expanded to such a degree, and all natural environments had returned to their most perfect and ideal state? What Gu Xiechen found most incredible was that the one hundred thousand-plus individuals on Earth created by Nuwa using her vital blood and Xirang (living soil)—if Gu Xiechen guessed correctly—were the so-called Innate People, possessing the same physical aptitude as himself. Even if they weren't as impossibly strong as the original batch of Innate People from antiquity due to being created by Nuwa's clone, they were still remarkable. Especially since their souls were forged by melting down the soul fragments of the sixty-plus billion tragically deceased Earth citizens collected by Nuwa's clone, these hundred thousand-plus individuals represented the continuation of those sixty-plus billion Earthlings, giving them an even more extraordinary significance.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Xiechen hugged Siren tightly, then extended his right hand toward Aredia, "No matter what, it's good that you're back. That you two aren't dead is the best thing."

Ru Hua also flew over. He glanced from a distance at Siren, who was being held by Gu Xiechen, and suddenly spread his arms to hug Aredia. "Dear Miss Aredia, it's the greatest fortune that you didn't die! As an old friend, come, let me welcome you out of hell with a warm embrace!"

Aredia looked smilingly at the pouncing Ru Hua. A faint glimmer of fire flashed in her eyes, and suddenly, a fierce blaze erupted all over Ru Hua's body. The high-temperature flames burned Ru Hua's clothes to ash and made black smoke rise from his body. This level of fire could not harm Ru Hua, but it made him look as pathetic as a beggar on the street.

The others watched Ru Hua, standing with his arms spread and smoke billowing from him, and burst into loud laughter, their mirth carrying boundless joy and relief.

Ducat, however, roared in anger beside them: "You dare to ignore me? You bunch of lowly creatures, you dare to ignore the great me?" With a fierce clap of the six wings on his back, Ducat’s massive body transformed into a black lightning bolt and shot high into the sky. He roared maniacally, and the central head opened its huge mouth, continuously spitting out dazzling black lightning bolts. Innumerable black electrical arcs filled the void, forming a vast net spanning several li that pressed down upon the group.

Gu Xiechen coldly snorted, about to make a move, when Siren casually looked up to the sky and began cursing: "What three-headed monster is this? None of you move, let me play with him!" A rapier, about six chi long, no wider than a little finger, paper-thin yet incomparably sharp, and completely milky-white jade in color, sprang from Siren's hand. With a graceful thrust, he met the electric net above his head. As this sword appeared, Gu Xiechen immediately relaxed. Although the sword in Siren's hand looked ordinary and betrayed no aura whatsoever—appearing like junk scratched out by a stone on the roadside—the Haotian Pagoda and the Haotian Mirror both vibrated intensely. Gu Xiechen instantly understood that the grade of this sword was comparable to supreme treasures like the Pagoda and the Mirror. Although he knew this sword was transformed from Fuxi's Ruler of Fate (Mingge Zhi Chi), Gu Xiechen did not know the exact grade of that ruler. But judging by the reaction of the Haotian Pagoda, he was reassured.

The rapier silently met the electric net without any unusual anomaly. The fiercely descending net vanished into smoke, leaving only a faint, negligible spark flickering on the sword tip. Siren playfully flicked the sword, showing off a flourish, and laughed at the dumbfounded Ducat, "Three-headed monster, you're so ugly, yet you dare to show off? Heh heh, wouldn't it be nice if I just ran you through with one stab!"

With a fierce clap of his twelve black wings, Siren's body suddenly teleported above Ducat, and he drove the sword down fiercely toward the central head of Ducat! As the sword struck, the sight before Gu Xiechen and the others transformed. Everything in heaven and earth became a simple dichotomy of black and white because of this single thrust. All things, including the bodies of the onlookers, turned into faint, translucent phantoms. Especially Ducat, the target of Siren's sword, looked as hazy as an illusion sketched by a wisp of smoke; under the threat of the sword tip, Ducat's body seemed ready to dissipate like smoke at any moment.

Under the gaze of Gu Xiechen's Divine Eye—also known as the Eye of Destiny—he clearly saw a golden thread inside Ducat's body vibrating rapidly under the threat of the piercing sword. The Divine Eye could peer into the fate of all things in the world. That golden thread was the visualized manifestation of Ducat's entire destiny. If Siren's sword shattered this golden thread, Ducat would immediately die. The Ruler of Fate did not injure a person's physical body or spirit, but rather the more ethereal Fate and Fortune (Mingge Yunshu). One strike severed one's vital fortune; once fortune was cut, the person naturally vanished.

However, although this sword possessed immense power, it was clear that Siren could not fully control it. As Siren drove the sword downward, the veins on his body bulged, and the black wings on his back began to burn with fierce black flames. He was exerting almost all his strength just to control the sword to slowly stab toward Ducat.

All three heads of Ducat tilted upward. They opened their massive mouths, spitting out a black lightning bolt, a swirl of black wind, and a beam of black flame, which ultimately merged into a dark, murky ball of chaotic light that blasted toward Siren. Especially the two eyes in his central head, which flashed with eerie dim light, causing the space before Siren to suddenly warp, much like a small boat navigating a river suddenly encountering a huge whirlpool, making it slightly lose control of its direction.

Siren roared in shock and anger. The twelve wings on his back shone even more brilliantly; he had released all his power without reservation. Vast sheets of black feathers spewed from his wings, transforming into an overwhelming rain of black fire that rushed toward Ducat. These feathers stuck to Ducat's body and ceaselessly burned, turning Ducat into a massive fire dragon. Siren had unleashed all his strength, releasing his entire aura. Such immense pressure made the planet beneath him tremble, and the unique aura of the Dark Angel saturated the entire Thirteen-Star Cluster region. As Siren's aura continuously released and intensified, a massive solar storm suddenly erupted on the surface of the sun in the Thirteen-Star Cluster region. Eruptions stretching tens of millions of li long spewed forth from the sun, releasing endless energy in a near-frenzied manner.

The white-robed man whom Gu Xiechen had previously glimpsed hidden in the core of this sun slowly opened his eyes. Twelve pure white wings suddenly burst from his back, wrapped in blinding white holy light. As his eyes opened, streaks of transparent holy light pierced the entire sun, and a brilliant golden ray shot down from some spot in the void, landing precisely on the center of the white-robed man's brow.

"Sinner of Darkness... What is this detestable aura?" The white-robed man slowly straightened up. His figure flashed, and he instantly arrived at the surface of the sun. He coldly surveyed the thirteen planets in the Thirteen-Star Cluster region and murmured to himself, "Third Archangel Morphe reported: detected the aura of a Dark Sinner... Morphe halts hibernation and proceeds to handle... If the Twelve-Winged Sinner possesses an immortal body, Morphe requests reinforcement." Muttering a few words, the Third Archangel Morphe reached behind the sun and seized a set of immaculate white armor, a golden shield, and a long silver spear, equipping himself before swiftly flying toward the planet where Gu Xiechen and the others were fighting.

Passing through a planet controlled by the Church, Morphe coldly glanced at the ground and scoffed disdainfully, "Pitiable believers, producers of faith power." He shot out a streak of holy light and charged into the atmosphere above Gu Xiechen's head in what seemed like an instant, thrusting the silver spear directly toward Siren's back. Morphe's speed was astonishing; not a single person saw his movement before the silver spear pierced Siren's body. Silver holy flames enveloped Siren, burning him furiously, abruptly interrupting his assault. Siren struggled to turn his head to glare at Morphe.

Morphe shrieked, recoiling like a young girl encountering a libertine, "Heavens! A Twelve-Winged Undying Dark Angel! And there are two of them!"