The Pangu Banner was indeed a supreme treasure, as a torrent of chaos energy surged directly toward Tianyuan Xiao Nan. The rules of the Heavenly Dao were, after all, the fairest, ensuring the most balanced control over all beings in the cosmos. Entities resembling ants were countless; within a single forest, there might be millions of insects and ants. Conversely, the more powerful and intelligent a life form, the more arduous the process of producing offspring became.

At the realm of Grand Luo Golden Immortal, giving birth required not only the expenditure of tens of thousands of years of cultivation and immortal power but also devout supplication for an auspicious date, coupled with sheer fortuitous chance, just to be blessed with a descendant.

Among the Three Divine Monarchs of the Three God Palaces, it was the Crimson Moon Divine Monarch who was the luckiest, having sired Tianyuan Xiao Nan, whom he cherished above all else in his life.

Seeing the Pangu Banner hurtling towards Tianyuan Xiao Nan, although he couldn't discern the artifact being wielded by Gu Xie Chen, the sheer chaotic hue suggested it was no ordinary supreme treasure. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch disregarded the imminent danger posed by the twelve golden figures swooping down upon him, instead throwing himself toward Tianyuan Xiao Nan. In his haste, he neglected to summon his protective artifact, hastily forming only a basic protective barrier spell.

Those twelve golden figures were the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods, who had reformed their true bodies decades ago by borrowing the immense vital essence and divine spirit of the Celestial Moth. They held significant status in the Heavenly Court, mastering various Daoist spells and countless wondrous secret arts.

However, the time since they regained their true forms was relatively short. Even having obtained the vital essence of the Celestial Moth, receiving aid from a sacred artifact of the Roman people to coalesce their physical forms, and being supplied with copious divine crystals to restore their immortal power, the cultivation of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods had only barely managed to ascend to the realm of Middle-Grade Golden Immortal. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch, only sensing the magic power level of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods, paid them little heed.

Wielding weapons such as long maces, dual whips, swords, and long spears, the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods unleashed a chaotic barrage against the back of Crimson Moon Divine Monarch's heart.

Though only at the Golden Immortal level, the divine abilities and immortal power of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods were not to be taken lightly. They effortlessly enacted the Six Ding and Six Jia Mountain-Driving Divine Art, instantly seizing the spirits of several thousand great mountains and rivers surrounding Mount Da Lou, transforming them into a crushing force that slammed into Crimson Moon Divine Monarch's back.

Their combined strike was equivalent to thousands of spiritual mountains and great rivers from the Brahma Heaven of Suyan pressing down from above. Even for a High-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal like Crimson Moon Divine Monarch, his heart region burned intensely, and a taste of brine rose to his throat.

If it were merely a crushing blow, it might have been endurable, but the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods' Daoist arts were profoundly mysterious, embedding a Curse of Law-Breaking within the attack. Indeed, among the Daoist deities, the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods were renowned for their ability to enter and exit without trace or form, their magical techniques refined to a degree beyond common imagination.

Crimson Moon Divine Monarch finally managed to hastily weave the protective Dragon-Tiger Golden Body Spell, pouring immense immortal power into forging his body to be as solid and unyielding as Vajra. Little did he expect that the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods specialized in breaking spells. With a single strike, the Dragon-Tiger Golden Body Spell suddenly emitted a few strange shrieks, and two streams of golden light and purple mist—one dragon, one tiger—soared up from behind Crimson Moon Divine Monarch, allowing the attack of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods to strike his physical body squarely.

Although Grand Luo Golden Immortals possessed profound and immeasurable magic power and divine abilities, they were not, after all, immortals specializing in body refinement. While their physical forms were hundreds of times stronger than ordinary immortals, they could not compare to the indestructible forms of Erlang Shen or the Monkey King, who feared no blades, axes, lightning, or fire. Normally, Grand Luo Golden Immortals never needed to engage in close combat; with their divine abilities, who could possibly get close to them? This momentary lapse allowed Crimson Moon Divine Monarch’s protective barrier to be shattered, leading to immediate severe suffering.

The taste of brine in his throat could no longer be suppressed. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch spat out a torrent of golden blood. His heart throbbed wildly; he had been injured in the heart meridian by the shockwave from the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch roared in terror and fury—a dignified Grand Luo Golden Immortal actually injured by twelve Golden Immortals?

Having struck true, the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods instantly dissolved into purple mist and fled back into Gu Wu Chen's Sea of Consciousness. Their Daoist arts were sublime; they had seized the opportunity while Crimson Moon Divine Monarch was momentarily unbalanced to injure him—this was already a stroke of immense luck. If Crimson Moon Divine Monarch had truly recovered and counterattacked, their current cultivation level absolutely could not have endured it; their newly reformed physical bodies and divine souls might have been shattered into pieces and forced back into their original forms.

Still, it was enough. The protective Dragon-Tiger Golden Body Spell was broken. Although Crimson Moon Divine Monarch successfully positioned himself in front of his son, the Pangu Banner struck his chest without any obstruction.

A flush of red light and purple mist erupted from Crimson Moon Divine Monarch’s chest. His light-red Daoist robe was also a supreme-grade immortal artifact of the highest quality, densely covered in various tadpole-like talismans. Now that its master was attacked, it activated its protective function autonomously.

However, the gap between a supreme-grade immortal artifact and the Pangu Banner was too vast. Gu Xie Chen flicked his wrist, and the Daoist robe was instantly pulverized. The red light and purple mist abruptly dissipated, and the chaotic air current generated by the Pangu Banner slammed violently into Crimson Moon Divine Monarch’s body.

Crimson Moon Divine Monarch concentrated all his immortal power onto his chest. Violet-gold immortal power surged there, emitting a purple radiance that spanned ten thousand zhang, illuminating a vast expanse. Yet, against the Pangu Banner, this desperate move proved largely ineffective. The immortal power he condensed was sliced to shreds like tofu under a blade, and the chaotic air current blasted directly into his body.

Amidst the sharp crackling of bone fractures, Crimson Moon Divine Monarch’s ribs in his chest were crushed into pulp, and nearly half of his body was blown apart.

Screaming shrilly, Crimson Moon Divine Monarch clutched his precious son behind him with his mangled body and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing toward the depths of the cavern dwelling. A treasure mirror, three zhang and six chi in diameter, entirely crimson and shaped like a full moon, flew out from within him, its brilliant light shielding his entire form.

Seeing the Pangu Banner strike again, injuring Crimson Moon Divine Monarch, Gu Xie Chen was overjoyed. He had not anticipated injuring him so easily. Acting decisively, he poured all his remaining internal strength into the Pangu Banner and launched another all-out strike.

He truly hadn't expected that a venerable High-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal, a leading figure in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths at this time, would have half his body so easily shattered by the Pangu Banner. The might of the Pangu Banner truly exceeded expectations—worthy of being a top-tier innate supreme treasure, and worthy of being an artifact bestowed by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

The chaotic air current howled sharply as it struck the protective treasure mirror shielding Crimson Moon Divine Monarch. Suddenly, a blinding red treasure light burst forth from within the mirror. Countless layers of dense, sesame-seed-sized golden ancient runes visibly shot out from the light, instantly transforming into a shower of fiery meteors sweeping the surroundings. The chaotic air current churned up by the Pangu Banner was stopped by this meteor shower and could advance no further.

Seeing this, Gu Wu Chen turned to flee. His body was empty, devoid of any remaining immortal power. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch’s cultivation was countless times higher than his. Since he now possessed an innate artifact for defense, even holding the Pangu Banner, Gu Wu Chen could not harm him. In any case, having severely wounded Crimson Moon Divine Monarch was enough for Gu Xie Chen to be proud of. With half his body destroyed, Crimson Moon Divine Monarch would require several epochs of dedicated rest to fully restore his cultivation. Immortals with higher cultivation realms were always more wary of injury; their flesh and blood were meticulously refined over vast spans of time, involving countless painstaking efforts. A single drop of blood from a Grand Luo Golden Immortal might take a century of hard work to coagulate, let alone half a body? Meanwhile, the blue-eyed elder being ambushed by the Monkey King was the Azure Sun Divine Monarch.

Just as he was about to conclude his meditative absorption, the sudden change of events threw Azure Sun Divine Monarch into disarray. Normally, who would dare ambush a Grand Luo Golden Immortal? And who could infiltrate their secluded cultivation lair without alerting them? Like Crimson Moon Divine Monarch, Azure Sun Divine Monarch had made no defensive preparations. He was at the critical juncture of concluding his absorption, preparing to draw his immortal power back into his divine soul, when the Monkey King’s Gate-Demise Staff struck his back.

In desperation, Azure Sun Divine Monarch ignored the tearing pain inflicted upon his body by the counter-reversing immortal power. His eyes widened, shooting out two beams of green light that transformed into two spinning green short swords, plunging toward the Monkey King. He swept his hand back, and a Ruyi scepter materialized in his palm, crafted from green gold filigree and naturally adorned with a fist-sized green jewel. It whipped up layers of treasure light, sweeping toward the Monkey King.

The Monkey King gritted his teeth and, with brute force, rammed his head directly into the two short swords, increasing the power behind his strike against Azure Sun Divine Monarch regardless of the consequence.

Clang, clang! Two enormous sounds echoed. Azure Sun Divine Monarch stared in stunned silence as two rows of firelight erupted from the top of the Monkey King's head. His two flying swords, formed from his own vital essence, had only managed to shave off a layer of the Monkey King’s outer skin and hadn't even drawn blood. “What a hard head!”

Azure Sun Divine Monarch instinctively exclaimed in admiration. Although he was too rushed to gather more vital energy, those two flying swords were equivalent to the full-power strike of a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal, yet they merely scraped off a bit of the Monkey King’s skin. This monkey’s physical body was truly terrifyingly robust. “And what a hard, hard club!”

The Monkey King shrieked, his arms swelling up as if inflated, instantly becoming three times thicker and more than twice as long as usual. His pure immortal energy, a blend of Buddhist and Daoist cultivation, churned and poured into the long staff, bringing with it a strange howling sound as it slammed down heavily.

Azure Sun Divine Monarch’s two eyeballs suddenly popped out of their sockets by more than an inch. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several fragments of his shattered heart and lungs.

Those who have never experienced the Monkey King’s Gate-Demise Staff can never truly know what kind of horror it is. It felt as if one had transformed into a handful of beans being battered relentlessly by an enormous iron bar weighing one hundred eight thousand jin, tethered by hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban strongmen, threatening to crush one’s body into ash and smoke. Every shred of pain accumulated, reaching deep into the soul, a torment so profound it felt like the very mark of one’s innate soul was about to collapse.

The protective armor of the venerable High-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal, Azure Sun Divine Monarch, was smashed by one blow from the Monkey King’s Gate-Demise Staff. The spine in his back, writhing like a black dragon, was hammered into pulp by the staff’s impact. The staff’s kinetic force plunged straight into Azure Sun Divine Monarch’s viscera, churning his internal organs into fragments. “You’re killing me!”

Azure Sun Divine Monarch wept tears and snot as he wailed, waving his green-gold Ruyi scepter. The green jewel unleashed blinding light, swirling to shield him, and he fled toward the depths of the cavern dwelling, weeping and blowing snot.

The Monkey King’s mouth stretched, revealing several inches of grotesque, strange fangs. At this moment, he seemed to have reverted to the monstrous leader who once ruled the mountains, committing arson and murder, a dense black smoke of killing intent rolling off him. He mustered all his strength and brought the staff down fiercely toward Azure Sun Divine Monarch once more.

This blow proved fruitless. The green fierce light easily blocked the Monkey King’s staff, and an overwhelming repulsive force surged back up the weapon. The Monkey King’s hands convulsed, the skin of his palms suddenly bursting open, trailing blood along the staff.

That green fierce light, regardless of its origin, possessed an astonishingly high temperature and incredible power. The Monkey King’s staff instantly became searing hot, nearly melting.

Had this staff not been an innate object born alongside the Demonic Dragon Gen, and had the Monkey King not spent massive amounts of innate material to reforge it, a single touch of that green fierce light would have melted it into molten metal, dissolving it into a puff of green smoke.

The Monkey King gasped in shock. He glared at Azure Sun Divine Monarch through narrowed, pained eyes, cautiously reaching out to grasp his beloved staff. However, a puff of black smoke rose, and the smell of scorched flesh wafted out. The Monkey King frowned, sprayed a breath of immortal energy onto the staff, which turned into a gust of cold wind, cooling it down. “What a powerful artifact!” The Monkey King shook his head, squinting as he looked at Azure Sun Divine Monarch again, but he did not pursue.

Crimson Moon Divine Monarch and Azure Sun Divine Monarch were defeated, but only their physical forms were injured. With some elixirs and proper recuperation, their Daoist foundations would be unharmed. However, the White Water Divine Monarch, ambushed by Fu Ya Ming, unfortunately suffered a tremendous loss.

Similar to Azure Sun Divine Monarch, White Water Divine Monarch was complacently concluding his absorption when Fu Ya Ming launched her surprise attack. Unlike Azure Sun Divine Monarch, White Water Divine Monarch was usually extremely arrogant and self-important; Tianyuan Xiao Nan’s temperament was heavily influenced by him.

The arrogant man assumed that when Fu Ya Ming told him to stop stirring the pool of water and fire, she had conceded defeat. White Water Divine Monarch was ecstatic. Fu Ya Ming’s beauty was irrelevant; that was something Tianyuan Xiao Nan could enjoy. However, her few innate magic treasures were all extraordinary, especially the Azure Lotus Heaven-Enveloping Banner, which even carried a strand of Heavenly Dao Rule that White Water Divine Monarch could not comprehend. Other things aside, that azure banner rightfully belonged to him.

While finishing his absorption, White Water Divine Monarch was calculating his gains with smug satisfaction. Deep beneath Mount Long Shou, protected by layers of restrictions and patrolled by elite disciples, White Water Divine Monarch never worried about anyone infiltrating the secret residence where the three brothers cultivated. Thus, he was careless and completely unguarded during his absorption. He even released a thread of divine sense to peer toward Fu Ya Ming.

He had only intended to immediately gauge the power of the Azure Lotus Heaven-Enveloping Banner. Who knew that Fu Ya Ming would not only shoot the Primordial Mixed Seven-Treasure Sword toward his heart but also summon the Azure Mirage Bottle, an artifact specialized in absorbing souls and capturing magical treasures? Poor White Water Divine Monarch! The instant his thread of divine sense emerged, it was struck by the green mist spewed from the Azure Mirage Bottle.

The Azure Mirage Bottle was an innate magic treasure refined by the Immortals of Kunlun in the New Universe, after paying an immense price—losing hundreds of fellow disciples—to slay an innate Soul-Devouring Azure Mirage. They integrated its soul cavity with rare materials from that New Universe and fused it with the Azure Mirage’s innate divine soul during its refinement.

That Soul-Devouring Azure Mirage was incredibly powerful and inherently greedy. Back then, during the battle against it, no matter how high the cultivation of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal, if one was glimpsed from afar, the creature would let out a single sharp cry, and the soul spirit would be sucked away from a great distance.

The Kunlun Immortals expended considerable effort refining the Azure Mirage Bottle, preserving the fierce nature of the Soul-Devouring Azure Mirage, and actually making its power slightly stronger than when it was alive. The unfortunate White Water Divine Monarch had actively sent his divine sense toward the Azure Mirage Bottle—this was tantamount to walking straight into a trap. He heard a startled cry as a white, misty figure shot out from the center of White Water Divine Monarch’s brow, trailing panicked shrieks as it was pulled toward the Azure Mirage Bottle.

Unfortunately, Fu Ya Ming’s cultivation was insufficient to fully manipulate the Azure Mirage Bottle. Furthermore, she had been besieged by the four Grand Luo Golden Immortals of the Tianyuan Xiao Nan family using the pool’s water and fire for so long that her immortal power was almost entirely depleted. Therefore, the Azure Mirage Bottle could not unleash its full might.

White Water Divine Monarch’s innate soul spirit struggled briefly within the green mist, managing to stabilize itself and avoid being sucked entirely into the bottle. He was even able to activate restrictions, continuously flying back toward his physical body. In just a few breaths, he was on the verge of returning to his flesh.

At this critical juncture, the Primordial Mixed Seven-Treasure Sword spat out by Fu Ya Ming rushed forward, trailing a cascade of enchanting immortal sounds.

The Seven-Treasure Sword contained seven types of rule power: lightning, electricity, earth, water, fire, wind, and sound. Moreover, these rules originated from two different universes, meaning they were fourteen distinct forces of rules that were broadly similar yet fundamentally divergent.

Fu Ya Ming’s cultivation was insufficient; she could currently only activate one rule power on the sword at a time. What she was currently activating was the power of ‘Sound’! That enchanting immortal sound was the power of acoustics, a sound that permeated everything, carrying the ability to shake the soul and startle the spirit, aimed directly at White Water Divine Monarch’s soul.

If it were merely the law of sound from this single world, White Water Divine Monarch could barely suppress it and avoid harm. He expended everything, spitting out the vital essence of his innate soul, which transformed into layers of water waves covering his soul. The water waves vibrated rapidly, oscillating up and down or swirling left and right, thus forming a dense, tightly woven sound-insulating barrier. No matter how beautiful the immortal sound, it could not reach his soul, only stirring countless ripples on the water waves.

However, the Seven-Treasure Sword also contained the 'sound' law from the other universe. This unfamiliar rule caused White Water Divine Monarch to suffer a significant loss. Amidst the pleasing, enchanting immortal sound, a sharp, piercing shriek suddenly erupted. The water waves formed from White Water Divine Monarch’s innate soul essence instantly solidified like black ice. Immediately following, countless extremely sharp ice spikes shot out. Vibrated by the sound wave, these ice spikes vibrated rapidly like high-frequency saws, piercing into White Water Divine Monarch’s soul. In the blink of an eye, his soul was riddled with tens of thousands of holes, as fine as threads of hair.

With his innate soul damaged, White Water Divine Monarch immediately let out a miserable howl, and a large cloud of blood mist sprayed from his physical body.

Fu Ya Ming pointed a finger, and the Seven-Treasure Sword was about to fly over to cleave White Water Divine Monarch’s soul when two frantic roars echoed from the depths of the cavern dwelling. Crimson Moon Divine Monarch and Azure Sun Divine Monarch rushed out like mad tigers, driving their red treasure mirror and green Ruyi scepter, bearing overwhelming killing intent.

Behind them, Tianyuan Xiao Nan also crept forward like a thief, clutching two jade talismans, closely following the group.

The Seven-Treasure Sword was still several feet away from White Water Divine Monarch’s soul when the treasure mirror driven by Crimson Moon Divine Monarch unleashed a vast expanse of red light and purple mist, barely threatening Fu Ya Ming’s body. Fu Ya Ming gritted her teeth, intending to slay White Water Divine Monarch’s soul first, when Gu Xie Chen suddenly burst in from the side, grabbed her slender waist, looked up to the heavens, and charged toward the entrance of the cavern dwelling.

The Monkey King grinned menacingly at the pursuing Crimson Moon and Azure Sun, casually plucked a handful of golden fur from his thigh, blew it into his mouth, and instantly, images of Gu Xie Chen, Fu Ya Ming, and the Monkey King darted everywhere.

By the time Crimson Moon and Azure Sun dispersed the myriad illusions, realizing the entire cavern was filled with the scent of burnt monkey hair, Gu Xie Chen and the others had vanished without a trace. Crimson Moon and Azure Sun yelled and cursed in anger. Azure rushed toward White Water, whose soul was dim and vital energy severely depleted.

White Water Divine Monarch’s weakened soul returned to its body, and a stream of golden blood suddenly sprayed from the seven orifices of his physical form. Crimson Moon and Azure Sun simultaneously let out mournful cries. White Water Divine Monarch, who possessed the cultivation of the peak of High-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal, plummeted straight down as if struck by a mountain collapse, landing just shy of the threshold of High-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal, almost falling back to the Middle-Grade Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Damage to the soul was not merely a reduction in immortal power; it made it much harder for White Water Divine Monarch to break through to higher realms in the future.

Unless he possessed an immortal elixir or miraculous medicine capable of repairing the primal spirit, White Water Divine Monarch would forever have to exert a hundredfold effort compared to his two brothers just to glimpse the peak of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm. As for breaking through to the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm and stepping into the Primordial Chaos Realm, that was nothing more than a dream—impossible in this lifetime.

After hastily assessing White Water Divine Monarch’s injuries, Crimson Moon Divine Monarch spun around and delivered a whirlwind slap across Tianyuan Xiao Nan’s face, knocking out all his front teeth and sending the youth spinning hundreds of times on the spot. “You unfilial son! Before you abducted that woman, why didn’t you inquire clearly about her background?” Crimson Moon Divine Monarch roared in rage, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“No matter who you are, and no matter who backs you, I, Crimson Moon, will pursue you to the death!”

My own brother lay gravely injured, the disaster brought about by my own son. The Crimson Moon God Lord could not face his sibling, and could only swear a blood oath, vowing to secure justice for the White Water God Lord. The Azure Sun God Lord bit hard upon his tongue, spraying a mouthful of his vital essence blood into the air. “I, Azure Sun, swear to the Heavens: this great hatred of today shall be repaid a millionfold! That woman, that woman—I will make her wish for life more than death!”

After roaring their fury to the heavens, the two great God Lords hurriedly instructed the young man from Tian Yuan to take good care of his second uncle. Then, they rushed out of the secluded cave dwelling. Since Gu Wu Chen and the others could not instantly shift within the Brahma-Vastness Heaven, they could not leave the sphere of influence of Mount Da Lou quickly. If they pursued now, they might still catch them.

Aside from the two innate magical treasures they treasured as their very lives, Crimson Moon and Azure Sun also brought along dozens of their most prized supreme immortal artifacts, single-mindedly determined to vent their rage upon Gu Xie Chen and his company.

Although both brothers had suffered grievous injuries to their physical bodies, temporarily suppressing the damage with immortal elixirs, given their cultivation levels, if they truly became serious, how could Gu Wu Chen and the others possibly stand a chance?

Riding a tide of overwhelming malevolent energy, Crimson Moon and Azure Sun burst forth from Dragon Head Peak, circling it rapidly atop swirling clouds. Almost simultaneously, they spotted Gu Wu Chen suspended above a small hillock not far away. Gu Xie Chen smiled genially, greeting the two God Lords, before lightly flicking a finger.