Crimson Moon Divine Lord trembled, staring blankly at the disintegrating immortal body of Azure Sun Divine Lord.

From behind the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s head, a purple light shot forth. Within the halo, there was an aberrant vulture, its wingspan stretching over a hundred miles, its plumage a kaleidoscope of seven colors. Its two golden talons gripped the thrashing, struggling soul of Azure Sun Divine Lord with deadly firmness.

Accompanied by triumphant, sneering laughter, streaks of violet flame erupted from the tips of the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s claws, burrowing into the seven orifices of Azure Sun Divine Lord’s spirit. This ceaselessly burned away the foundational power of Azure Sun Divine Lord’s soul, causing its aura to weaken with every passing moment. In the blink of an eye, he plummeted from the peak Highgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm back down to Midgrade.

Two demon immortals, both at the Initial Grade Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, stood flanking the Purple-Eyed Vulture King. Wielding the Soul-Summoning Banner and the Door of Death Nail—two grotesquely shaped magical artifacts—they tightly sealed off Azure Sun Divine Lord’s soul. Both artifacts were specialized tools of the evil path, designed specifically to deal with spiritual entities. With his soul constrained by these two instruments, Azure Sun Divine Lord could no longer exert even a sliver of his divine abilities.

“Have the three venerable sirs perhaps forgotten the saying in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths: even the strength of a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal should not underestimate the threat posed by a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal?” The Purple-Eyed Vulture King cackled menacingly, triumphantly using his long halberd to repeatedly stab at Azure Sun Divine Lord.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord roared in fury, “Feathered beast, release my second brother! I will overlook what happened today!”

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s expression turned frigid. The true form of his primordial spirit, manifested behind him, suddenly swooped down, pecking the forehead of Azure Sun Divine Lord’s soul, smashing half of his head to pulp. Amidst Azure Sun Divine Lord’s piercing wails, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King fixed his gaze upon Crimson Moon Divine Lord and sneered, “Old fool, what did you just say?”

Crimson Moon Divine Lord immediately clamped his mouth shut. His heart felt as if it were boiling oil.

His third brother was missing, and his situation was likely dire; his own son, who constantly stirred up trouble and invited disaster, had fallen into the enemy’s hands; and his second brother, Azure Sun Divine Lord, who held the best hope of breaking through to the Highgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, had been ambushed and captured by the Purple-Eyed Vulture King.

Utter defeat. A crushing rout.

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was truly such an aberrant place. Even an immense power ruling billions of miles of territory just days ago could vanish into smoke and dust in the snap of a finger. The Three Divine Palaces had legions of millions, once a force that shook one direction, but now they were reduced to this state!

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s words were well-spoken: even an immortal at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm could perish at the hands of a mere Grand Unity Golden Immortal if they lost their vigilance!

Aside from those immortals who specialized in body refinement, and certain demon immortals possessing rare, ancient bloodlines, the physical bodies of the vast majority of immortals were insufficiently strong. The difference between the physical body of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal and a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal was merely the difference between granite and alloy steel. However, the destructive power of the spells and divine abilities mastered by a Grand Unity Golden Immortal was equivalent to heavy artillery, potent enough to threaten the physical body of a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Were it not for using magical power to shield their bodies, were it not for utilizing immortal artifacts to protect their flesh, even a distinguished figure at the peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal level could be injured by a Grand Unity Golden Immortal wielding powerful magic tools. Such occurrences were not rare in the history of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s ambush against Azure Sun Divine Lord, despite the former only being a Midgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortal, was aided not just by his extraordinary divine abilities, but also because Azure Sun Divine Lord’s state of mind had been disrupted.

Witnessing the disappearance of his third brother and the capture of his own nephew, Azure Sun Divine Lord’s mind had been thrown into chaos, allowing the Purple-Eyed Vulture King to gain the advantage. Crimson Moon Divine Lord let out a bitter laugh, slowly moving a few steps closer to Gu Xiechen, cautiously spreading his empty hands. Taking a deep breath, Crimson Moon Divine Lord performed a respectful bow to Gu Xiechen, bearing immense humiliation, and spoke calmly, “These beasts clearly have ill intentions. Venerable Evil Dragon, let us wipe the slate clean regarding our enmity. Why don’t we join forces against the enemy?”

The surrounding Heaven Roc Army demon immortals surged forward, numbering over a hundred thousand. Moreover, just like the immortals of the War Immortal Academy, every single one radiated an aura of fierce competence, clearly veterans of countless battles. Demon immortals and devil immortals delighted in slaughter and warfare; perhaps the cultivation of the Heaven Roc Army demon immortals was not as profound as that of the War Immortal Academy immortals, but their actual combat prowess was certainly not far behind.

Over a hundred thousand Heaven Roc Army demon immortals had surrounded seventy-two thousand elite immortals of the War Immortal Academy—their purpose was self-evident.

Especially since Gu Xiechen only had Young Sovereign Yan Luo, a Midgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortal, who had recently sustained considerable injury; whereas the opposition boasted the Purple-Eyed Vulture King, a Midgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortal, plus two other Initial Grade Grand Unity Golden Immortals. In every conceivable aspect, the Heaven Roc Army demon immortals held an absolute advantage.

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s father was the Purple-Eyed Roc King, who also possessed peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation. His inherited divine abilities and spells were in no way inferior to those of Young Sovereign Yan Luo. Now that Young Sovereign Yan Luo was wounded from his struggle with Crimson Moon and Azure Sun, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King already held a decisive upper hand.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord bowed deeply. Gritting his teeth, he stated in a low voice, “Venerable One, you killed the three demon immortals under Great Sage Linggan. The demon immortal lineage is fiercely united; they absolutely will not let this slide. If you and I do not ally today, the situation will be precarious.”

Gu Xiechen tightened his right hand’s five fingers, and Tian Yuan Xiaonan immediately let out a sharp scream. Gu Xiechen’s fingers were like iron bars against Tian Yuan Xiaonan’s flesh; the young man’s neck bones were nearly crushed in his grip.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord’s body trembled slightly. He spoke sharply, “Venerable One destroyed my lineage on Concubine Mountain, wiping out millions of followers—I can let go of that vengeance. Venerable One has gained such a great prize, such immense prestige; must you insist on committing the folly of mutual destruction?”

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King suddenly let out a cackling, sinister laugh: “Venerable Evil Dragon, I came here with no malice. I have some minor grievances with these gentlemen from the Three Divine Palaces; I merely came to harass them. Venerable One, feel free to settle your scores with them; I swear I will not intervene.”

Gu Xiechen smiled. He glanced at the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s darting, shifting eyes, then suddenly threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.

After laughing for a very long time, Gu Xiechen finally extended a middle finger toward the Purple-Eyed Vulture King. Beside him, Peng Hua, Mo He, and Siren—these three scoundrels of vile character—simultaneously shouted a greeting toward the Purple-Eyed Vulture King.

At this, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s pupils weren't the only purple things; even his skin turned mottled blue-purple. He shivered, staring at Gu Xiechen, and after a full period equivalent to one Xuan Zhong, he suddenly roared with laughter. He dropped his long halberd, pulled a bone bottle, refined from human bones, from his sleeve, peeled back the blood-stained grey-white talisman sealing the stopper, and summoned a wisp of grey mist to absorb Azure Sun Divine Lord’s soul.

Forcing the stopper back in place and fiercely patting the bone bottle, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King shot a chilling glance at Crimson Moon Divine Lord. Then, retrieving the bottle, he picked up his long halberd again. The halberd, glinting with cold light, pointed sharply at Gu Xiechen as the Purple-Eyed Vulture King sneered, “Then I shall not commit the petty act of standing aside to reap the fisherman’s profit from your struggle. Today, you shall all die!”

Taking a deep breath, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King said calmly, “The foundation of Concubine Mountain, my Heaven Roc Palace lineage claims it. Anyone who dares kill my fellow demon immortals must also die!”

The halberd flashed, and the Purple-Eyed Vulture King glared at Young Sovereign Yan Luo, sneering, “This matter does not concern the Young Sovereign; please feel free to depart as you wish!”

Young Sovereign Yan Luo frowned. He pulled out a pill bottle, crushed it, extracted three thumb-sized blue pills, and stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing them forcefully. A large expanse of azure mist billowed around him. He looked at the Purple-Eyed Vulture King and coldly laughed, “Vulture King, you take yourself far too seriously! If word gets out that I abandoned an elder of my palace because of you, how could my Yuan Luo Palace still hold its ground in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths?”

“Then, die!” The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s eyes chilled. The phantom image of his primordial spirit, the vulture, soaring above his head abruptly retracted into his body. He shot forward like a streak of seven-colored rainbow, long halberd raised, charging directly at Young Sovereign Yan Luo. Avian demon immortals possessed the fastest flight speeds, especially the Purple-Eyed Vulture King, who inherited the bloodline of the Purple-Eyed Roc King; his speed was astonishing, nearly escaping the lock of even Gu Xiechen’s innate divine sense.

However, there were beings in the Three Realms faster than the Purple-Eyed Vulture King!

From behind the Prajna Mo He brothers, two massive wings suddenly erupted. A flash of black and white brilliant light cut through the air, and the brothers transformed into two threads of extremely fine, cold light, soaring toward the Purple-Eyed Vulture King. In the void, countless emerald cloud light and rain of black and white light clashed intensely. Following this, that section of the void suddenly shattered.

The bodies of those watching shook violently. When the void finally stabilized itself under the self-restoration of spatial laws, they saw the Purple-Eyed Vulture King looking utterly stunned, suspended nearly a hundred miles away, his face contorted as if he had been constipated for half a month.

Seventeen or eighteen spots on the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s immortal armor were shattered, the cracks spreading in spider-web patterns, clearly evidence of heavy blunt-force trauma. His complexion shifted from green to purple, and a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The Prajna Mo He brothers showed no obvious external injuries, but the skin on both their hands had been pulverized, exposing bloody flesh and gleaming golden bone. Their Demon Subduing Pestles, also primal artifacts obtained from Gu Xiechen, floated near them. Judging by the trembling of their hands, they clearly could not grip their weapons for some time.

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King gave a dry, forced laugh, “There are those faster than my movement technique, yes, but not many.”

He coughed, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. “But, when I unleash my full power, I don’t believe anyone in the Three Realms, within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, can injure me through my protective magic while I am still a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.”

Stabbing his long halberd fiercely into the ground, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King spat blood as he roared, “What is your origin? You are using Buddhist cultivation methods, but that trace of foreign power contained within your Buddhist Zen force—what in the blazes is that?”

With a gasp, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s shout aggravated his internal injuries, causing him to vomit another stream of blood. This time, the blood was copious, even spurting from both nostrils in twin streams. He appeared utterly wretched.

The Prajna Mo He brothers merely chuckled strangely, remaining completely silent. The foreign power contained within their Zen force naturally originated from the Heavenly Dao laws of the outer-domain universe carried by the physical bodies they currently occupied. This law power was something the immortals of this universe had never encountered. The Purple-Eyed Vulture King had naturally suffered a great loss by being caught off guard.

Despite their success, the brothers were not unscathed. The Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s protective immortal light was exceedingly sharp. Even after tens of thousands of heavy strikes against the Vulture King, the brothers had barely managed to breach his protective immortal light and shatter his immortal armor, yet their own hands suffered severe backlash injuries, shattering the meridians in both arms.

Given the vast difference in cultivation realms, managing to injure the Purple-Eyed Vulture King was currently the absolute limit for the Prajna Mo He brothers.

Gu Xiechen noticed the Prajna Mo He brothers’ distress. He tightened his grip on Tian Yuan Xiaonan’s neck and shouted fiercely at Crimson Moon Divine Lord standing before him, “Take a venomous oath! From this day forward, you three brothers and your son are forbidden from attacking me again, by any means whatsoever, and you shall never settle accounts with us!”

Tian Yuan Xiaonan painfully lifted his hands, trying with all his might to pry open Gu Xiechen’s fingers clamped around his throat. Yet, no matter how desperately he strained, he could not shift Gu Xiechen’s grip in the slightest. The Primordial Yellow Indestructible Body was a top-tier body refinement technique in the Three Realms; Tian Yuan Xiaonan, an immortal who specialized in spells and divine abilities, had a disparity in physical strength comparable to their difference in magical cultivation.

Gazing upon his son’s ashen face and convulsing fingers, and recalling the disappearance of his third brother, White Water, and the capture of his second brother, Azure Sun, Crimson Moon Divine Lord trembled, and a streak of blood slid from the corner of his mouth. He forced a tragic smile, “Fine, I shall swear the oath immediately!”

Lifting his right hand, Crimson Moon Divine Lord severed all five fingers at the base. Violet-gold blood sprayed out. He swore a vicious and malevolent oath, staking his own life force and the fortune and future of the entire lineage of the Three Divine Palaces.

Young Sovereign Yan Luo kept his eyes fixed on the Purple-Eyed Vulture King, who was meditating in the distance to recover his energy, while simultaneously monitoring the swearing Crimson Moon Divine Lord. Witnessing Crimson Moon Divine Lord severing his own five fingers to swear the oath, Young Sovereign Yan Luo’s heart tightened, and he nodded vigorously to Gu Xiechen.

This oath was utterly vicious and contained no trickery or fabrication.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord had been pushed to the breaking point; otherwise, given his stature and status, he would never have sworn such an oath, much less sworn it to a person like Gu Xiechen!

Receiving confirmation from Young Sovereign Yan Luo, Gu Xiechen released his grip and tossed Tian Yuan Xiaonan to Crimson Moon Divine Lord’s side.

Tian Yuan Xiaonan roared toward Gu Xiechen in resentment and was about to attack when Crimson Moon Divine Lord slapped him hard across the face. A bolt of lightning exploded on Tian Yuan Xiaonan’s face, blasting away half of it. He let out a painful howl, clutching his severely damaged face and squatting on the cloud mass, wailing incessantly. “Rebellious son, rebellious son! If not for you, how would the lineage of the Three Divine Palaces have ended up like this?”

Crimson Moon Divine Lord cursed Tian Yuan Xiaonan furiously before bowing once more to Gu Xiechen, “Venerable One, I have taken the oath, please—”

Gu Xiechen understood. He beckoned, and a mass of white mist emerged beside him, within which the White Water Divine Lord appeared out of thin air, his expression blank and his eyes wide, as if suffering extreme shock. Gu Xiechen picked up the battered White Water Divine Lord and tossed him toward Crimson Moon Divine Lord, saying calmly, “As for Azure Sun Divine Lord, I am afraid I cannot help you, Divine Lord.”

Crimson Moon Divine Lord silently took hold of White Water Divine Lord, noticing that the White Water Divine Lord’s vital artifact—the water bowl capable of inflicting the True Water of Taiyin and trapping enemies—was missing. He looked toward Gu Xiechen, but Gu Xiechen had his hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the direction of the Prajna Mo He brothers, adopting the posture of someone completely ignorant of the matter.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord sighed inwardly. In his left hand, he held White Water; in his right, he held his own perpetually unlucky son who had provoked all this trouble. He mounted a cloud and flew toward the Purple-Eyed Vulture King.

Separated by a distance of several dozen miles, Crimson Moon Divine Lord shouted coldly, “Purple-Eyed Vulture King, release my second brother’s vital soul. I will overlook today’s matters.”

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King had already finished recuperating. Aided by the bloodline from his mother’s side, his recovery speed was terrifyingly fast. He waved his long halberd, looking strangely at Crimson Moon Divine Lord, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. “Not hold you to account? Based on your wounded body?”

After several sinister laughs, the Purple-Eyed Vulture King sneered, “If I weren't certain I could swallow this entire group of failures whole, why would I expose myself?”

He let out a piercing screech toward the heavens. Suddenly, a spread of golden feathers, several hundred feet long and seemingly cast from pure gold, erupted above the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s head. A suffocating, vast aura enveloped the surroundings, and a pillar of golden light shot skyward, quickly forming a gate a hundred feet high above the Vulture King.

A cold snort echoed faintly, and four powerfully built men, clad in purple robes, slowly emerged from the portal.

The Purple-Eyed Vulture King smiled broadly, cupping his fists in salute to the four great men, repeatedly calling them ‘Uncle’ without hesitation.

Crimson Moon Divine Lord’s face turned ashen, and he retreated several steps in extreme terror. He looked at these four men, his eyes filled with despair.

If his strength were still at its peak, if both his brothers were whole, he would have been one hundred percent confident in overpowering these four.

But now, he himself was seriously injured, White Water Divine Lord was effectively crippled, and Azure Sun Divine Lord was captured. Facing the four sworn brothers of the Purple-Eyed Roc King, all of whom were Highgrade Grand Unity Golden Immortals like himself, he had no chance of victory whatsoever.

A Barbarian Bird capable of summoning floods, a Heavenly Rooster whose feet spanned the two shores of the South Sea, a Five-Colored Bird that devoured living beings, and a Sour Bird that instilled terror—these four great men were all remnants of the Primordial Era, anomalies among avian species. As sworn brothers of the Purple-Eyed Roc King, they were figures of immense weight among the demon immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, capable of reigning over vast territories.

The patch of golden feathers that flew above the Purple-Eyed Vulture King’s head was actually a single feather plucked from the Purple-Eyed Roc King himself, possessing the divine ability to traverse the void and travel across the heavens. The four great demon immortals used this to arrive directly from a vastly distant location.

Following behind the four great demon immortals, nearly a thousand more demon immortals emerged, bearing strange appearances and ferocious visages. All were immortals refined from mountain spirits and water sprites, famous figures among the demon immortals.

Young Sovereign Yan Luo’s expression shifted. He grabbed Gu Xiechen’s shoulder and whispered urgently, “Flee, or we face disaster. Do these feathered beasts truly intend to break ties with my Yuan Luo Palace?”

Before he finished speaking, the four great demon immortals all looked over. Among them, the Heavenly Rooster fiend laughed, “Nephew Yan Luo, do not be anxious. You cannot outrun us!”

After a few sinister laughs, the Five-Colored Bird licked its lips and grinned, “Listen to us. Tell us where your father is hiding, and you will be safe.”

Young Sovereign Yan Luo’s face changed. Gu Xiechen urgently interjected, “Venerable Seniors, what you say is mistaken. Heavenly Venerable He—”

Just as he was trying to find an excuse to smoothly deflect the conversation, the Five-Colored Bird suddenly gave a sinister laugh, waving its hand. In its palm, a pagoda refined from countless human skulls materialized out of thin air. A cloud of black smoke trembled above this entirely crimson pagoda, which radiated infinite Yin Sha energy. Several avatars of the Ghost Sage were writhing and struggling within the black smoke, emitting hideous, ghostly wails.

“Where is the Human Source Star?” The four great demon immortals shouted in unison. Their eight eyes were nearly spitting fire.

Gu Xiechen almost burst out laughing. These fiends were looking for the Human Source Star? How fiercely must he resist before he should tell them its location?

Young Sovereign Yan Luo’s expression shifted; he seemed to finally grasp the reason behind his father’s secret seclusion!

Even the Purple-Eyed Vulture King was startled, crying out, “What are my four Uncles saying? The Human Source Star? Heavens above, they found the Human Source Star?”

A shriek sounded from behind a small planet far in the distance, and then that planet abruptly…

Suddenly, the area around Gu Xiechen and the others plunged into darkness. The Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, and elemental energies around them became utterly chaotic. A cloud cloth, spanning millions of miles, pressed down directly from the high heavens, spraying down streaks of cloud light that sucked Gu Xiechen and the others into the brocade cloth.

Even the four great demon immortals could not resist. Nearly two hundred thousand immortals present were captured in one sweep. To know what happens next, please log on to [Website Address], more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! F