On that desolate, remote little planet, a piercing, miserable shriek rent the heavens. Beasts scattered in a frenzy.

The Blood-soaked Giant Spirit God slumped heavily onto a Bellowing Ox Stone, his savage face contorted with inexpressible killing intent. His muscles were nearly blown clean off, exposing skeletal structures that shimmered with a blinding, purple-gold radiance. Inside his abdominal cavity, only a peritoneal lining remained, through which his vital organs could be clearly seen spasming violently.

Before him lay a mangled corpse, golden blood pooling on the ground. By the look of the remains, the Giant Spirit God had torn the body apart purely through brute force. A spirit, no more than three feet tall, floated weakly before him, enveloped by two Xuanhua Battle Axes spinning rapidly, their chilling, cold light locking it down so tightly that escape was impossible.

After panting for a long moment, the Giant Spirit God let out a sneer and slapped the spirit across the face, nearly shattering its form. "You, a mere early-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal, dared to chase after me, Giant Spirit?"

"Whose lineage do you inherit?"

"Did you receive the inheritance of some Great Ancient Sage?"

"Is your master some Primordial Immortal from the Great Desolation Era?"

"Could your Ancestral Master be a Primordial Holy One from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?"

"Or perhaps, do you carry a powerful innate magical artifact for protection?"

To every question from the Giant Spirit God, the spirit hastily shook its head. Saints, Great Ancient Sages, Primordial Immortals—such things were far too distant for him. He was nothing more than a hapless lackey sent by the Tianhuan Young Master to hunt down the Giant Spirit God. His Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation was merely the foundation he had painstakingly ground out over countless epochs of calamity.

Seeing the spirit continuously shaking its head, the Giant Spirit God roared in frustration, grabbed the Taiyi Golden Immortal’s spirit, shoved it into his mouth, and began chewing vigorously.

"Impudent trash! You, a worthless Taiyi Golden Immortal, dare to run rampant before your Uncle Giant Spirit!"

The Giant Spirit God jumped up, stomping his feet and bellowing, "Your Uncle Giant Spirit was once a famous Great God in his day! You, a 'Pseudo-Taiyi' who achieved the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage through acquired means, possessing no great divine abilities, dared to pursue and try to kill Uncle Giant Spirit?"

Swallowing the spirit whole, the Giant Spirit God screamed profanities and curses upon the entire eighteen generations of the Tianhuan Young Master’s ancestry, then shot forth a golden light and vanished swiftly into the void. The vast energy from the spirit poured into the Giant Spirit God’s body, rapidly regenerating the muscles that had been pulverized by the spirit’s lightning techniques. Moreover, the newly formed muscles were sturdier, more robust, and his magical fluctuations increased linearly.

"A Pseudo-Taiyi... Hmph. Enjoy! His divine powers and spells are inferior to those of an Ancient Golden Immortal, but this foundation of cultivation is solid!"

The Giant Spirit God swaggered, flexing his fists, satisfied as the nascent muscle tissue slowly enveloped the purple-gold bone structure that emitted a strange, piercing gleam. At that moment, he felt infinite gratitude towards Gu Xiechen for forcing him to integrate the skeletal remains left by the Absolute Sun Bone Demon years ago. If not for that incomparably formidable framework blocking the Taiyi Golden Immortal’s lightning, the Giant Spirit God would have perished once more.

But now, he had slain that pitiful "Pseudo-Taiyi" and devoured his spirit.

The spirit contained over eighty percent of a Taiyi Golden Immortal’s magical cultivation. After consuming it, the Giant Spirit God’s cultivation was infinitely closer to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. When he executed his divine abilities, his speed grew faster, smoother.

Eventually, the Giant Spirit God possessed enough strength to activate his innate ability: Void Flash.

The Void Flash, as it was called, relied on overwhelming divine might to forcefully pierce the void, opening a short-range passage connecting two star domains, allowing instantaneous flight of ten thousand miles. The reason the Giant Spirit God was not proficient even in ordinary cloud-riding techniques was because he dedicated all his energy exclusively to cultivating the Void Flash.

He raised his massive Xuanhua Battle Axe and swung it down fiercely. A slash of axe light flashed, tearing a massive hole in the void. In the distant cosmos, an axe-force burst forth from within a planet, shattering it into fragments. The Giant Spirit God’s colossal frame burst out from the fiery debris of the pulverized world. A single flash allowed him to flee nearly a hundred void regions; the flight speed of the Void Flash was several times faster than the Golden Light Evasion spell!

Having learned from the Ancient Demon God Xing Tian, the Giant Spirit God indeed possessed unique divine techniques.

However, such miraculous methods were unknown in the Three Realms. Had this fellow been deliberately concealing his true power all along?

The axe light flashed rapidly. The greatly improved Giant Spirit God was already far away. Along his path, he left behind tens of thousands of stars smashed to pieces by his heavy blows. Countless living beings were unintentionally annihilated, their souls scattered, caught in the wake of his overwhelmingly tyrannical Void Flash.

Dizhu, Somewhere in Australia.

The Primordial Heaven Venerable convulsed in despair, staring at Gu Xiechen in disbelief.

Penghua and Han’s eight razor-sharp teeth were deeply embedded in the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s neck, madly draining his essence, spirit, and vitality. Although all his magical power had seeped out, the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s foundation remained. Daoist foundation was the root; magical power was merely a trivial branch. His collection of essence, spirit, and vitality was simply too immense to ignore.

After nearly half a month of arduous effort, Penghua and Han had barely managed to swallow less than one-millionth of the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s essence and blood, an amount that nearly caused Penghua to explode. Out of necessity, Penghua had to cease draining the essence blood, focusing entirely on digesting what he had absorbed.

But Han Kui tenaciously refused to release the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s neck, stubbornly trying to squeeze out a little more benefit.

Yang Jian and Monkey sat to the side, eagerly discussing plans with Gu Xiechen on how to utilize the Form Refining Technique to refine the Primordial Heaven Venerable and all his disciples. However, the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s cultivation was truly earth-shattering; refining him would be far more arduous than refining the Sky Moth of yesteryear. It would take at least ten thousand years to seize all his cultivation.

Gu Xiechen’s eyes flickered as he gazed at the Primordial Heaven Venerable and his entourage, finally letting out a long sigh. "What a rich piece of meat, yet temporarily out of reach."

Shaking his head, Gu Xiechen frowned. "We must devise a way to dispose of them. Leaving them here risks them being stolen. Taking them with us... if Mu Jiujian and Fa Yi recover, we’ll have real trouble. How should we proceed? Perhaps kill their sentience?"

The Primordial Heaven Venerable convulsed briefly, then let out a piercing scream: "Venerable Evil Dragon, spare my life, I—"

A finger shot out, restraining the Primordial Heaven Venerable to prevent further outcry. Gu Xiechen frowned. "Could you please be a bit quieter? Your miserable wailing gives me a sense of guilt, making me feel like a villain, like a demon—that’s quite unpleasant!"

Musing for a moment, Gu Xiechen suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. "I have it, I have a solution! It will just require some effort from Master." He then looked toward the creature attached to the Venerable. "Han Kui, did you suck enough?"

Han Kui, clinging tightly to the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s neck, let out a loud burp and stiffly tumbled off the body. His eyes glazed over as he cast a sidelong glance at Gu Xiechen, continuing to burp. "Temporarily enough. After I digest this essence blood, if I feed again, I should recover to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm."

Xinxin narrowed his eyes contentedly. Han Kui declared proudly, "Even if it’s only initial-stage Daluo Golden Immortal, those 'Pseudo-Daluo' nowadays—hehe—won't be my match! Even Daluo Golden Immortals who don't know ancient divine skills and only rely on basic Five Elements restrictions, hahaha, can they even be called Daluo?"

Gu Xiechen smiled, then grabbed backward, tossing the Primordial Heaven Venerable and his hundreds of disciples into the Lunar Profound Orb.

Since they had just refined the progenitor of the Angel Race, the Sky Moth, methods that drain others' powers to advance their own cultivation were unorthodox techniques, not orthodox divine arts. Everyone, except Penghua and Han Kui, was currently consolidating their own cultivation; none could risk draining even a single drop of essence blood.

Inside the Lunar Profound Orb, the Corpse Emperor was perched atop the highest peak of the Lunar Continent, drawing upon the endless lunar energy to boost his cultivation and refine the physical body of Rahu. Gu Xiechen tossed the Primordial Heaven Venerable and his entourage before the Corpse Emperor. Once they were restrained by the Corpse Emperor using Rahu’s secret method, he could employ his preferred Corpse Dao techniques to refine the Primordial Heaven Venerable and the others into Essence Blood Pearls for Gu Xiechen and the others to absorb and refine.

It was only because the Corpse Emperor possessed the True Body of Rahu, allowing him to wield a sliver of Rahu’s primal power, that Gu Xiechen had the means to refine the Primordial Heaven Venerable.

Emerging from the lunar dimension, Gu Xiechen fiddled with the various seals, secret script seals, and monograms he had taken from the Primordial Heaven Venerable, nodding with satisfaction. "With these items, we can use the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s name to control the entire Primordial Palace."

Penghua, who was belching beside him, mumbled hazily, "Without a Daluo Golden Immortal-level expert overseeing things, we can’t let anything slip." Gu Xiechen merely smiled. What if something did slip? With the Heavenly Net Grand Array and the Ten Absolute Formations capable of trapping and killing the Great Sage Linggan, they didn't need to fear even without an immediate Daluo Golden Immortal presence.

The Primordial Heaven Venerable, stripped of all power by the restrictions of the Human Source Star, was captured by Gu Xiechen and his group—destined to become supreme tonic pills for the advancement of Gu Xiechen’s followers. Within the Primordial Palace he left behind were vast numbers of experts ready to be commanded. With the Primordial Heaven Venerable’s seals and secret monograms, Gu Xiechen was confident he could make the Primordial Palace work for him within a century.

A hundred years—he needed to seize this opportunity tightly.

As he was plotting how to manipulate the Primordial Palace, swallow its influence, and replace it so his own forces could be recognized among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a thunderous sound echoed from above. A spatial collapse, dozens of feet in diameter, ripped open high in the sky a thousand miles above the ground. The Giant Spirit God plummeted down, crashing toward the earth in utter disarray.

Gu Xiechen's speed was absolute; as the sound registered, he had already burst from his cave dwelling. Just as the Giant Spirit God landed, Gu Xiechen caught him with one hand. He surveyed the Giant Spirit God’s body; several massive wounds had yet to fully heal, and his magical fluctuations were markedly different from before, signaling significant upheaval.

"What happened? Where is Fu Ya?" Gu Xiechen demanded in a low voice.

"Empress Fu Ya was captured by the people of the Three Divine Palaces. I was thrown out to bring the news." The Giant Spirit God, surprisingly articulate, summarized the entire ordeal clearly in just five sentences. Monkey, standing nearby, looked at the Giant Spirit God with astonishment. Did this brute possess such a nimble tongue? He’d never noticed before.

Fu Ya Ming was captured alive.

That statement struck Gu Xiechen’s heart like a thunderbolt.

He and Fu Ya Ming shared no vows of eternal love, no promises of lifetimes together. But their bond was like the patch of white flowers planted outside Fu Ya Ming’s palace—fragrant and blooming naturally, their scent arising without needing the expression of passionate emotion.

While Gu Xiechen busied himself maneuvering against enemies, while he grandly set up arrays to slay the Great Sage Linggan, while he performed as an expert or a hidden master for outsiders, Fu Ya Ming quietly mobilized forces, organizing logistical support for the Three Sects: the Nine Hells Dao, Kunlun Mountain, and Mount Zhongnan. Spiritual elixirs, magical artifacts, defensive treasures, the creation of spiritual mountains and caverns, the cultivation of rare herbs and flowers, the collection and testing of aptitude for new disciples, and their subsequent assignment and dispatch.

Even the three nominal sect leaders—Little Daoist Zhang, Orthodox Daoist, and Penghua—who often followed Gu Xiechen everywhere, were confused as to why, every time they returned to their mountain gates, their respective powers had grown so significantly. Why, after being away for a period, would they suddenly find so many new members?

Poison Wolf and Poison Fierce had been unable to stop smiling over the population reports and invoices in recent years. The number of colonists distributed from the Earth Federation was increasing, and the overall quality of the population saw a quantum leap every twenty years. Just thirty years prior, the average natural lifespan of Earth humans climbed to three thousand years. In just three centuries, they had surpassed the developmental trajectory of the Star Alliance spanning hundreds of thousands of years.

Individual metrics such as intelligence, physical strength, and reaction speed—colonists dispatched from the Earth Federation had seen enhancements of nearly a hundredfold.

In other areas like military strength, strategic material reserves, economics, culture, and philosophical understanding, the citizens of the Earth Federation stood at an unprecedented peak. Under the guise of the Yafike Empire, the Earth Federation was like a giant dragon still curled in its shell, undergoing a fundamental transformation.

All of this was achieved by Fu Ya Ming single-handedly over these past few centuries! The woman who once loudly proclaimed she would recast the Yafike Kingdom with iron and blood had, with her own hands, brought about this incredible reality.

It was she who shouldered the framework of Gu Xiechen’s immense power; it was she who allowed Gu Xiechen to roam and maneuver without any worries on his back. Unbeknownst to him, she had become the very bone of his bone, the flesh of his flesh—the only soft part, the only remaining flicker of light called "humanity," within his heart that grew colder and increasingly wicked.

"The Three Divine Palaces of Great Wei Mountain? The three Palace Lords all possess cultivation at the peak Daluo Golden Immortal level! They only have one Daluo Golden Immortal at the initial stage—the Tianhuan Young Master!" Gu Xiechen recalled the data gleaned from the soul of the Great Sage Linggan, then laughed uproariously at the sky. "Three peak Daluo Golden Immortals! Does that boy think he has a strong backing?"

His gaze turned cold. The Pangu Banner suddenly appeared in Gu Xiechen’s hand. With one shake, he shattered the void before him and strode forward.

A chilling, piercing command drifted into the ears of Penghua and the others: "Return to Cloud Flower Mountain, open the Heavenly Gang Earthly Fiend Star Array, and wait for my return!"

Penghua paused, then suddenly roared, "That's disloyal! You’re sending me back alone?"

Hmph. Penghua snorted, spat out the Star Sword, and tore through the void to fly away.

Yang Jian and Monkey had already transformed into streaks of purple light, rushing back into Gu Xiechen’s Sea of Consciousness even faster. They sat steadily within his Sea of Consciousness, trembling with excitement for the impending battle. But rushing back with them were the three brothers from the Kongsang Clan.

Siren, Aridya, Banruo, and Mo He activated the innate magic treasures Gu Xiechen had helped them refine over the years, tearing through the void simultaneously.

With the Lunar Profound Orb and Solar Profound Orb supplying nearly inexhaustible energy, and the Pangu Banner cleaving the void, Gu Xiechen moved like a red-hot iron blade slicing through butter—his speed was incredibly fast, requiring no effort at all.

In just three days, Gu Xiechen arrived above the Myriad Immortals Star.

Bursting through the void, Gu Xiechen shook the Pangu Banner, shattering the surrounding thousand miles of space. Terrifying spatial sub-energy tides transformed into countless dragons writhing wildly. Dozens of unfortunate immortals nearby were struck by these energy dragons and instantly vanished, their souls scattered.

Several Golden Immortals patrolling the perimeter rushed over in a panic, shouting fiercely:

"Who dares cause trouble here?"

The Pangu Banner shook, unleashing dozens of chaotic sword qi beams that swept across the area, instantly slaying the Golden Immortals at the forefront. Gu Xiechen moved, stepping in front of the last remaining Immortal, an eighteenth-rank Golden Immortal whose face was ashen with fright, and clamped a hand around his neck.

He tightened his fingers slightly, making the Golden Immortal’s neck crackle. Gu Xiechen asked coldly, "Where is the Young Master of the Three Divine Palaces?"

The Golden Immortal looked at Gu Xiechen in shock, stammering, "You... you're here for revenge? You... you have tremendous nerve."

"I don't care for your nonsense!" With a slight twitch of his finger, the Golden Immortal’s neck snapped. A drop of Dark Water Yin Lightning blasted into his body, shattering his spirit into dust. Gu Xiechen took a deep breath, then manifested his innate primordial spirit—condensed to the size of the Heavenly Net True Man—which shot out of his body with a strange light. His massive innate divine sense surged out like a tide toward the Myriad Immortals Star.

The Myriad Immortals Star shuddered violently, nearly collapsing under the sheer force of Gu Xiechen's reckless action.

His divine sense swept through every palace on the star in an instant, and Gu Xiechen happened to overhear several immortals affiliated with the Three Divine Halls whispering furtively.

"A few days ago, the Young Hall Master seemed to have brought someone back..."

"Hush, don't talk nonsense. The Young Hall Master didn't bring anyone back."

"Exactly. Say less, or the Young Hall Master’s punishment will be hard to bear. Externally, we’ll just say there was an urgent matter within the palace, and the Young Hall Master returned because of it."

Tianhuan Young Master actually took Fu Ya Ming back to the Brahma Contemplation Suppressing Heaven Realm!

A furious roar shook the Myriad Immortals Star violently once more. Before the numerous experts on the star could launch an inquiry, a beam of grayish-white lightning stretching ten thousand miles long shot from Gu Xiechen’s hand, whistling as it slammed into the mountain range the Three Divine Palaces had left hovering above the Myriad Immortals Star, vaporizing the entire mountain range spanning thousands of miles, along with the thousands of affiliated immortals within it.

An initial-stage Daluo Golden Immortal roared and soared into the sky, demanding fiercely, "What manner of fiend dares to be so audacious—"

Before the word "audacious" was fully spoken, Gu Xiechen exerted his full power, shaking the Pangu Banner, and roared at the meddling Daluo Golden Immortal, "Scram!"

Blinding chaotic energy erupted. The Daluo Golden Immortal couldn't even dodge in time before being shredded by the chaotic air currents whipped up by the Pangu Banner.

Silence fell over the Myriad Immortals Star and its surroundings. Even the Daluo Golden Immortals lingering on the star hesitated, unwilling to speak up. An expert at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage killing an initial-stage Daluo Golden Immortal in a single strike—even if it was nearly a sneak attack—was terrifying. The Three Divine Palaces had provoked such a dreadful enemy; it was best to watch and wait.

With one shake of the Banner, all immortals near the Myriad Immortals Star were stunned into submission. Just then, Penghua and the others tore open the void and charged over.

Gu Xiechen took a deep breath, then shouted loudly, "To the Brahma Contemplation Suppressing Heaven Realm! I will wash Great Wei Mountain in blood!"

A fierce, excited gleam flashed in Penghua’s eyes as he was the first to charge out following Gu Xiechen.

They hadn't gone far when Gu Xiechen kicked Banruo and Mo He backward.

"Someone needs to guard the base. This time, you two stay home."

The Banruo and Mo He brothers were kicked thousands of miles away. By the time they managed to stabilize themselves, the figures were long gone.

Roaring in frustration toward the sky for a while, Mo He unleashed a pitch-black Demon Subduing Pestle, shattering a stretch of starry sky and dozens of stars of varying sizes into powder.

The brothers exchanged helpless glances, quickly tore open the void, and sped back toward the Spiral Star Domain.