Yanyi lay within the indentation of the meteorite. Gu Xieli Chen summoned the Chou Qin Liu and exhaled a stream of vital energy onto the Haotian Mirror. A hazy cyan light shimmered forth, rendering every movement within the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation perfectly visible. The Haotian Mirror, famed for its ability to peer into all aspects of the heavens and worlds, lived up to its reputation. Logically, the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation should have shielded against such scrying, but Useli lacked the strength to unleash the formation's true potential. Gu Xieli Chen was delighted to watch the Roman people suffer.

Sustained by one Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir after another, a furious and utterly frustrated Useli expanded the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation across a radius of ten thousand li. Endless sword energy lashed out within the array, tearing fissures in the void wherever it passed.

Two towering, ancient trees stood sentinel within the massive formation. Countless terrified Roman people shivered, huddled beneath the protection of the branches, gazing in despair as the infinite swordsmanship of the heavens poured down relentlessly. There was no longer any sign of a Roman warship within the great array; the instant the Romans were swept in, the dense sword energy had annihilated every vessel and the vast majority of the Roman populace.

Even Aier Loli, who had arrogantly believed she could easily dispatch Useli and seize her magic treasures, had her expression shift. She carefully pulled Sagerson, both reverting to their true forms, and cautiously weathered the bombardment of the pervasive sword formation. Countless branches and leaves were swept away by the passing sword energy, soaring high into the air only to be shredded into dust in the blink of an eye.

Fewer than a hundred thousand Romans were fortunate enough to be saved by Aier Loli and Sagerson. How long had it been since Aier Loli and Sagerson had set out, full of confidence, vowing to slay the Mo Tang Long Gen and dominate the entire universe?

As if struck down from the clouds into the dust, Aier Loli’s face was grim, and her spirits sank to their lowest ebb. She had never dreamed that Useli possessed such a terrifying formation map, such a treasure of devastating power! She sensed that this Immortal Slaying Sword Formation could threaten her own fundamental power, capable of eradicating her primordial imprint within this universe.

In a moment of inattention, a massive branch on Aier Loli’s colossal body was swept away by a streak of sword energy. Though Aier Loli trembled in agony, scattering leaves across the sky, the several thousand Romans sheltered beneath that branch also shrieked as they were snatched away by the purely white arc of sword light. A flash of lightning, and the thousands of Romans were reduced to ash, not even a remnant of their lingering souls remaining.

Among those Romans were beings at the Celestial Immortal level. But before the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, Celestial Immortals were no more than ants.

Aier Loli grew desperate. These Romans were the very core of her planned domination of the universe; she had counted on several Golden Immortals emerging from their ranks in the future to aid her. Back then, the ancient Roman Empire was shattered by the Mo Tang Long Gen lineage precisely because the descendants of the Mo Tang Long Gen were too powerful. A ceaseless flood of Golden Immortal-level Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline descendants had relentlessly destroyed the Romans!

From that day forward, Aier Loli understood one thing: her own power was finite. Having a lineage of formidable descendants was what truly mattered! In those days, she and Sagerson had killed the Mo Tang Long Gen’s mate and sealed the Mo Tang Long Gen, but under the assault of the Mo Tang Long Gen's crazed progeny, Sagerson's main body collapsed and died, barely managing to preserve a single core seed of his life essence.

Even Aier Loli herself had her primary form nearly annihilated, barely managing to revive her complete physical body by relying on a life-essence seed she had previously planted. The descendants of the Mo Tang Long Gen—how she envied that powerful force! She yearned for her own descendants to grow into such a formidable race.

But—

Suddenly, the four-colored sword energies descended simultaneously. Sagerson let out a pained shriek as half of his treetop was sheared off. A thousand li of canopy was pulverized by the sword energy. Over ten thousand Romans beneath the canopy wailed as they were pulled into the vast sword currents, vanishing instantly.

Heavens above, those who were saved by Aier Loli and Sagerson in the first moments were the absolute elite of the Roman people, the dearest treasures of their hearts! These Romans either already possessed Celestial Immortal cultivation or were on the verge of advancing. That was why Aier Loli and Sagerson spared no vital energy in restoring their true forms to protect them. The loss of even one would cause them heartache for a long time!

Before Aier Loli could devise a plan to counter the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, three hundred and sixty consecutive streaks of sword energy in the void coalesced into a colossal four-colored lightning bolt that crashed down upon them. A terrifying aura of world destruction suppressed Aier Loli’s intrinsic energy, forcibly compressing her true form to a span of less than a hundred li in diameter.

The lightning struck, and Aier Loli cried out in agony. Nearly half of her treetop was blasted into dust, and the more than twenty thousand Romans sheltering beneath her were destroyed along with it.

"Venerable powerful one, we should talk this over properly," Aier Loli cried out, abandoning all concern for dignity.

"There is nothing to discuss! You will all die!" Useli roared venomously, howling almost maniacally, "I recognize you—you are the Romans whom the Ancestor Lord ordered completely exterminated! Damn Romans! You all deserve to die!"

Aier Loli’s face changed, and Sagerson exclaimed in alarm, "Descendants of the Mo Tang Long Gen? Damnation!"

Useli let out a few strange laughs. Aided by the power of the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixirs, the tail that had been torn from her regrew, now more agile and stronger than her previous one. Her massive body, stretching ten thousand meters long, manifested within the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. The four immortal swords circled her. Her long tail gave a gentle flick, striking one of the immortal swords, immediately unleashing countless sword energies.

Aier Loli and Sagerson’s true forms were two Primordial Spirit Trees, whose innate attribute was wood. The Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, based on swords, drew upon the primordial aura of slaughter and annihilation, perfectly aligning with the heavenly rules of winter decay and the life-and-death cycle where Metal conquers Wood. Attacking Aier Loli and Sagerson with the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation was like using a mousetrap on mice; it maximized their power tenfold.

The continuous sword energy blasted everywhere. Occasionally, a flash of lightning appeared, and a massive hole would instantly open in the colossal bodies of Aier Loli and Sagerson, with hundreds or even thousands of Romans vanishing into nothingness along with the destroyed segments. After the attack lasted for nearly an hour, fewer than twenty thousand Romans remained alive.

Aier Loli and Sagerson exchanged a look. They both compressed their forms, abandoning the protection of their subjects, and instantly reverted to their ordinary human shapes. Countless sword energies whistled past, sweeping over the unprotected Romans, who instantly dissolved into dust.

Taking a deep breath, a single, crystal-clear tear rolled down Aier Loli’s eye: "My children... I will avenge you."

Useli, meanwhile, became so excited that she continuously urged the sword energy to sweep toward Aier Loli and Sagerson. She laughed triumphantly, "Avenge them? Give it up. You cannot possibly escape from here! You are doomed, doomed! I know you, I know you."

Even vaster power surged from Useli's body. She laughed almost frantically! "The inheritance left by the Ancestor Lord bears your likeness—Roman Mother Goddess Aier Loli and Sagerson! Ah ha! It is you? I have achieved merit! I have achieved merit! You cannot escape!"

Useli danced with excitement, simultaneously compressing the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, focusing all its might onto Aier Loli and Sagerson, terrified they might flee. She stared at the trapped pair with utter exhilaration; words could not describe her feeling at that moment.

"Strange, Sagerson, you should have been killed by the Ancestor Lord! Why are you still alive?" Useli asked in confusion. But she quickly dismissed the thought. Whether Sagerson had died once or not was irrelevant; the important thing was that they were now trapped by her sword formation. They could not escape; they were about to be killed by her!

Aier Loli looked at Sagerson. Sagerson recoiled in fear, shaking his head repeatedly, murmuring, "No..."

Tears flowed more freely from Aier Loli’s eyes. She sighed deeply, "Sagerson, how much I love you! But for our clan to continue, for our tragically slain children!"

Sagerson roared in despair, "No, no, no! I have tasted that sensation once! I say, no!"

Her gaze turned icy. Aier Loli’s eyes, already four-sided, now constricted to pinpricks, the entire surface of her eyes becoming a repulsive, dead white. She spoke with cold, heartless finality: "My dear, since your true form collapsed once, since the will developed from your primordial consciousness was destroyed once, what is one more time?"

She pointed a finger, and Sagerson's body suddenly exploded, dissolving into a massive green torrent that scattered everywhere.

Opening her mouth greedily, Aier Loli devoured all the massive energy released by Sagerson’s collapsing body. She cried out in ecstatic joy, "Yes, this is it! I have proven that our true forms are the legendary 'Cycle Godwood.' Every death brings us greater power! As long as our core seed is not destroyed, we can be reborn cycle after cycle!"

She pointed again, and from Sagerson's shattered form, a golden seed the size of a fist flew out. Aier Loli laughed madly, "Dear, you sacrificed yourself once to save me. Why can't you sacrifice yourself a second time, a third time, or even more? Each of your sacrifices will make you stronger upon rebirth, and I will become stronger! What an ideal arrangement!"

"...Oh, of course, to ensure you remain obedient, I must implant restrictive talismans within your seed. This causes me such pain! I truly do not wish to do this, but it is for our species, for our children!"

Baring her teeth, Aier Loli shattered the faint memory fragments of Sagerson’s current reincarnation clinging to the seed with a single punch. She then drove several restrictive seals designed to control Sagerson’s body and soul into the seed. Kissing Sagerson’s primordial seed gently, Aier Loli turned toward the dumbfounded Useli with a strange smile.

"You even... sacrificed your own mate?" Useli asked dumbly.

"I was forced," Aier Loli sighed with feigned seriousness. "It is so difficult to survive in this dangerous universe!"

Aier Loli’s internal aura was continuously strengthening, like a mother spider devouring her mate after mating. Having absorbed all of Sagerson’s energy, Aier Loli underwent a fundamental transformation—a qualitative change resulting from a quantitative increase. Her aura rose by leaps and bounds. Faint cyan auspicious clouds spread from her body, and a profound, far-reaching aura permeated the surroundings. Aier Loli’s cultivation stabilized at the Eighth Grade of Golden Immortal.

Gu Xieli Chen, speechless, exchanged silent glances with the equally mute Ten Heavenly Lords. Eighth Grade Golden Immortal—even with all the strength Gu Xieli Chen currently possessed, he stood no chance against a being of this realm. In the Golden Immortal realm, an increase of one grade represented a hundredfold gap in combat power. Coupled with the disparity in comprehension of universal laws, an Immortal of a higher grade could generally ignore one of the next lower grade.

Fortunately, the one facing Aier Loli now was Useli.

Gu Xieli Chen, savoring the misfortune, chuckled softly, "Fight, fight! One with powerful cultivation, one with invincible magic treasures—let’s see who wins!"

Useli stared at Aier Loli with a strange look, then mocked with a sneer, "I never thought the Roman Ancestor would be so unclear about her own true form! Cycle Godwood? Very interesting!"

Aier Loli lifted her head with reserved pride. Her power having surged, she was absolutely certain of defeating Useli.

She cast a cold, arrogant glance at Useli and stated blandly, "What’s so strange about it? A minor accident caused both Sagerson and me to lose a portion of our primordial memories... This is not something I need to explain to a minor figure like you! Hand over all your treasures, and I will grant you a swifter death!"

With a cold laugh, the white armor on Aier Loli’s body doubled in thickness; she had absorbed Sagerson’s white armor onto herself. The dense white dragon scales gathered together, making the armor significantly heavier. In her left hand, she grasped a shield crafted from a giant dragon’s skullcap. In her right hand, she held a pale cyan spear, with a faint strange light flickering at the tip.

Useli laughed even more coldly, "You are confident because you don’t know the origin of these treasures I possess, right? Unfortunately, you cannot defeat me! Even if you are the Roman Ancestor, you cannot defeat me!"

Arrogantly raising all her innate supreme treasures, Useli took a deep breath. She first deployed the Exquisite Pagoda and the two Five Elements Banners to guard herself. Then, she poured all her magic power into the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. She intended to annihilate Aier Loli in one fell swoop. If she could offer Aier Loli’s and Sagerson’s core seeds to the Ancestor Lord, what immense merit that would be!

The vast energy contained within the core seeds of Aier Loli and Sagerson might even allow the Ancestor Lord to break free!

Useli’s eyes brightened. Shouting the name of the Mo Tang Long Gen, she activated the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.

Aier Loli smiled mysteriously. She said in a low voice, "Foolish descendant, you shouldn't have engaged me in a fight!"

Sighing, Aier Loli murmured, "I truly hate this form, but you forced me to this point."

Just as countless Immortal Slaying sword energies surged toward Aier Loli, her body suddenly expanded. With a twist, she transformed in place into a giant dragon, a hundred li long, covered in dark green scales, possessing nine heads and six wings—a creature of incomparable, almost perfect, aesthetic lines!

"Heavens!" Useli cried out in shock.

A vast aura, unique to the Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline, violently erupted from Aier Loli’s body. Aier Loli roared toward the sky, emitting a deafening sound. This innate pressure, specific to the Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline, weighed heavily upon Useli, the subordinate lineage. Useli’s body went weak, and the sword energies spewing from the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation struck Aier Loli solidly.

This bloodline pressure should not have been able to penetrate the light shield of the Exquisite Pagoda, but Aier Loli had made a sudden move, merging with all of Sagerson’s power, rocketing her cultivation to the Eighth Grade Golden Immortal level, and then fully activating her bloodline might. Only then did a faint, almost imperceptible trace of pressure manage to breach the Pagoda’s protection and press down on Useli.

Even that sliver of pressure was enough. Useli instantly lost the ability to resist, staring blankly at Aier Loli, screaming in disbelief, "How can you possess our Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline? You—you—your true form should be that great tree!"

Aier Loli was struck by the Immortal Slaying sword energy. Her two heads and six wings were all severed; only the central dragon head remained intact. Her body slowly rose, gradually reverting to the appearance of the Cycle Godwood. A cold, long laugh echoed from deep within her.

"As I said earlier, what right does a minor figure like you have to know things only we know?"

"Why I possess the Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline? That question is ridiculous, but very real, isn't it?"

"If I didn't have this damned bloodline, I couldn't have defeated you. I would have been destroyed by you already!"

"But fortunately, I possess this sickening, repulsive bloodline, which is why you are now powerless to resist!"

Taking a deep breath, countless vines erupted from Aier Loli's body, quickly binding Useli. Aier Loli looked up and laughed proudly, "But I will not tell you the answers to those questions. Let your flesh become my nourishment; my injuries are quite severe!"

A sharp, fierce wooden spike emerged from the vines, plunging deep into Useli’s body.

Useli let out a desperate shriek. Her body convulsed, rapidly shriveling. Her fleshly energy and soul power were being continuously drained by Aier Loli. Controlled by the Mo Tang Long Gen bloodline pressure, Useli had even lost the courage to activate her magic treasures for self-preservation.

Just as Aier Loli was smugly enjoying her spoils, a blinding green light suddenly erupted from within her body.

The green light burst forth like lightning, tearing a massive gap in Aier Loli’s physical form. Even Aier Loli’s primordial spirit was blown out by the tremendous explosive force. Aier Loli roared in terror, "Sagerson, why do you still retain the memory of this cycle? I clearly already—"

Sagerson’s sinister voice sounded, "My beloved, my dear Aier Loli, you and I share the same origin. Are not your thoughts and intentions also mine? Don't worry about how I managed it, but I swear to you, I will definitely resurrect you again!"

"I will borrow your body for a few days! I will cherish it! Hmm, since our true form is Cycle Godwood, the gender of this body truly doesn't matter!" Sagerson chuckled triumphantly, seeming particularly delighted to have finally plotted against Aier Loli once.

It happened in less time than it takes to speak: Gu Xieli Chen suddenly shot into the sky, instantly appearing in the fray.

The malicious curse technique from the Great Wilderness Scripture, "Soul Curse: Seizing God Art," erupted, striking precisely the primordial spirit of Aier Loli, which had been forced out of her body. Immediately, the same Seizing God Art struck again, perfectly hitting Aier Loli’s physical body—which Sagerson was currently seizing—and Useli’s body, which had shriveled like a ragged water bladder.

Seizing God Art, as the name implied, was a great divine ability used by ancient Wu tribesmen to manipulate primordial spirits and imprison souls. Gu Xieli Chen might not be able to control the souls of Aier Loli and Sagerson, but confusing them for three to five breaths of time was sufficient.

If their primordial spirits were still within their bodies, Gu Xieli Chen would not dare act, no matter how audacious he was; his current power could not shake their spirits. But since they were fighting amongst themselves and their primordial spirits had left their bodies, Gu Xieli Chen could not be blamed for acting as the opportunistic fisherman.

Blown away from her physical form with little resistance left, Aier Loli’s primordial spirit shrieked, turning into a green light and drilling into Useli’s ruined body. Sagerson, who was struggling to take over Aier Loli’s body, never expected Gu Xieli Chen to be waiting nearby. He also screamed, his primordial spirit flying out from his core seed and darting into Useli’s husk with a strange cry.

Gu Xieli Chen waved his sleeve, and thousands of restrictive seals instantly covered Aier Loli’s massive true form. He turned and stuffed this Cycle Godwood into his large sleeve. Baring his teeth, he smiled at Useli, who was struggling on the ground, and hurriedly untied a purple, fist-sized Hundred Treasures Pouch from her waist.

Just as he reached out to grab the magic treasures from Useli’s hand, Useli’s body managed a final, desperate struggle. A streak of black blood light spewed from her wolf-like body, and the Immortal Slaying Sword Energy roared forth, sweeping toward Gu Xieli Chen.

Gu Xieli Chen retreated rapidly, narrowly avoiding the torrent of sword energy capable of shredding him to pieces.

The furious curses of Sargon and Airluo's box erupted from Wusuli's body, spectral green light spewing forth from within her. Taking the husk—already withered and drained of all vital essence—she ascended into the air, frantically fleeing toward the distance under the protection of various supreme treasures.

Gu Xiechen’s eyes were sharp and his hands quick; heedless of his own safety, he instantly teleported forward, snatching the golden gourd and the Pangu Banner from Wusuli’s grasp.

Wusuli shook the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation once more. Gu Xiechen’s face drastically changed, and he immediately retreated backward, fleeing tens of thousands of miles without daring to look back.

Wusuli let out a hysterical roar, fleeing into the distance amidst a torrent of vicious curses. She and Sargon simultaneously ignited the very essence of their souls, dragging the tattered, hollowed-out ** and escaping at incredible speed, vanishing completely within the blink of an eye.

Gu Xiechen clutched the Pangu Banner tightly in his left hand, dangling the small golden gourd in his right, and a purple Hundred Treasures Pouch at his waist, suddenly throwing his head back in wild laughter.

Although this encounter was perilous, the gains were substantial. Gu Xiechen was thoroughly intoxicated by his success.

As for Airluoli and Sargon?

"Hmph, I shall certainly inform the bloodline of Mo Tang Long Gen of your arrival!"

Gu Xiechen sneered wickedly. Struck by the Divine Calculation Technique and trapped inside an unfamiliar **—even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would require thirty-six months to break free. Otherwise, how could the Divine Calculation Technique live up to the formidable reputation of the Great Desolate Scripture?

Being imprisoned inside Wusuli’s body for thirty-six months—this prospect was simply too entertaining!

The descendants of Mo Tang Long Gen would certainly give them a warm welcome! (To be continued)