Today’s Iron Water Black Stone Mountain, compared to sixty years ago, spanned an area of only one hundred and ninety-eight million, seven hundred and fifty thousand li.

Three hazy columns of fire circled and intertwined above the vast Iron Water Black Stone Mountain: the white flame symbolizing creation, the golden flame symbolizing protection, and the crimson flame symbolizing destruction. These three flames were as thin as the mist on a summer morning, slowly spinning above the mountain. The immense body of the mountain was slowly shrinking inwards, thread by thread, sliver by sliver.

By means of these three strands of miraculous fire, the Black Stone Old Ancestor was using his own esoteric secret method to refine himself, determined with great perseverance and extraordinary willpower to re-forge his original body into human form. It was easy to imagine that if he succeeded, the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain, spanning two hundred million li, would manifest a physical body that, while perhaps not indestructible across measureless eons, would rarely encounter a force capable of destroying it in the world.

Due to the presence of the three flames, the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain was currently saturated with intense heat, its temperature soaring so high that even ordinary Great Overarching Golden Immortal-level demons dared not linger within. Consequently, all of the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s direct demon subordinates were dispersed across various parts of the Cold Prison to act as overseers, squeezing the miners for their diligent labor. Only a contingent of nearly a million lesser demons led by three or five great demons remained stationed nearby. Outside the mountain, atop a ridge, a great Heavenly Wolf Banner fluttered in the wind—the banner of the Heavenly Wolf Palace.

Hong Ya and the other five Young Masters of the Heavenly Wolf Palace were loudly marshalling troops beneath the banner, drilling a cohort of formidable lesser demons. Meanwhile, Xin Long’er and Xin Pa’er were cheerfully drinking fine wine with several great demons from the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain under the shade of a tree. Several enchantingly beautiful fox demons were languidly singing and dancing on a nearby grassy patch, continuously striking alluring poses.

Sixty years had passed. Under the deliberate cultivation of Gu Xie Chen, the six Hong Ya brothers had all attained the pinnacle level of Golden Immortal, standing just one step away from breaking into the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Although these six brothers served as a convenient facade for Gu Xie Chen's activities within the Cold Prison, Gu Xie Chen had treated them exceptionally well.

Beneath the Heavenly Wolf Banner stood a crudely constructed palace, much like the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s own residence—square, as ugly and plain as one could imagine. However, the secret grotto beneath this palace was arranged with exquisite elegance, exuding an aura of transcendence.

Gu Xie Chen’s original body sat cross-legged in the secret grotto, his Primal Spirit of the Self suspended above his head. Above that, a pitch-black Chaos Bell, resembling a phantom’s shadow, rotated slowly. Before him, hundreds of enormous storage rings spewed forth countless rare treasures, which were continuously devoured by the Chaos Bell.

In the past sixty years, more than eighty percent of the countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures painstakingly mined by the myriad demons under the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain had been consumed by the Chaos Bell that Gu Xie Chen was refining.

The Chaos Bell, originating from the outer realm's new universe, possessed immense power, its quality even surpassing native innate supreme treasures like the Pangu Banner or the Five Directions and Five Colors Banners born in this universe. However, this Chaos Bell had not fully matured in that new universe before it was forced out in a manifested form due to the invasion by countless Immortals and Sages from this universe. After a fierce battle, the Chaos Bell's master was slain by the Haotian God, the bell’s body shattered, and its spirit forcibly suppressed by the Haotian Pagoda.

Later, Gu Xie Chen acquired the Chaos Bell Spirit and reforged the Chaos Bell. But now, he could only rely on the Bell itself to continuously devour immeasurable quantities of items, gradually transforming the acquired into the innate, slowly nourishing itself, slowly restoring its strength.

Clearly, to recast such a supreme treasure, allowing it to consume mere ordinary dirt and dust would yield no effect, even after many years. Over these years, leveraging the labor of so many demons in the Cold Prison and capitalizing on the authority granted by the Black Stone Old Ancestor, Gu Xie Chen sat atop the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain, reaping the rewards. Unknown quantities of precious minerals and materials had been swallowed, allowing the Chaos Bell to finally recover a sliver of its original essence.

Yet, it was still a hundred thousand li short of fully restoring the Chaos Bell’s essential power.

A plume of turbid energy suddenly erupted from the Chaos Bell. A sharp cold light flashed in Gu Xie Chen’s eyes, and he opened his mouth to swallow this current of murky air.

A scorching Solar Flame roared to life within his body. This incredibly dense, venomous stream of air was rapidly ignited, transforming into a rampant poisonous flame that burned everywhere within Gu Xie Chen. For him, the power of such a flame was akin to an ordinary person swallowing a mouthful of sulfuric acid, causing considerable damage to his body.

Wisps of black energy continuously seeped out from his body. Gu Xie Chen’s physical form suffered minor damage, but it rapidly recovered under the mending power of the Profound Yellow Indestructible Body.

For these sixty years, aside from the initial few years spent accompanying Peng Hua and others to secretly plant chess pieces in several other locations, Gu Xie Chen had remained in this secret grotto, quietly enjoying the offerings of countless demons. The Chaos Bell absorbed the essence of countless heavenly materials, and in turn, the turbid evil energy it expelled became the perfect auxiliary material for Gu Xie Chen’s cultivation of the Profound Yellow Indestructible Body, forging his fleshly form to be increasingly robust.

Once the black energy within his body was completely expelled, faint, invisible, colorless flames of the Void subtly flickered from Gu Xie Chen’s eyes. He casually formed several hand seals and tossed this wisp of Void Flame into the empty air. Instantly, it pierced through layers of restrictions and soared into the sky.

The three-colored flames atop the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain spun gently. This colorless, invisible Void Flame was drawn into the tri-color fire, slowly assimilated, and merged into the three colors, becoming part of the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain. Over these decades, Gu Xie Chen had expelled countless wisps of Void Flame, silently integrating them into the mountain.

Although the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s cultivation was unfathomable and his power supreme, when it came to manipulating flames, he was separated from Gu Xie Chen by a gulf of one hundred thousand li. Having mastered the Solar Profound Pearl, Gu Xie Chen was the foremost grandmaster in manipulating flames in all of heaven and earth. In other divine powers and transformations, he might be inferior to the Black Stone Old Ancestor, but in the Way of Fire, the Black Stone Old Ancestor was unworthy to carry his shoes.

The Void Flame thus quietly infiltrated the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s true body, while the Old Ancestor himself perceived no anomaly whatsoever.

Were it not for this specific matter, Gu Xie Chen would never have relocated the Heavenly Wolf Palace right to the doorstep of the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain.

With a cold smirk, Gu Xie Chen executed a hand seal and pointed at the hundreds of storage rings before him. More heavenly materials and earthly treasures surged forth.

The Chaos Bell slowly rotated, and a vague stream of chaotic energy roared out, sweeping all the materials into its embrace.

Specks of starlight flashed from within the Chaos Bell. Deep spiritual light undulated slowly, bathing Gu Xie Chen in shimmering radiance, marking him as extraordinary.

Dozens more days passed. After Gu Xie Chen expelled another wisp of Void Flame into the void, a faint glimmer of spiritual light suddenly appeared in his eyes. His eyes flickered a few times with considerable alertness.

Two faint figures suddenly broke through the wall. His Taiyin Primal Spirit and his Solar Primal Spirit slowly emerged. They bowed respectfully to Gu Xie Chen with smiling faces.

Nodding slowly, Gu Xie Chen pointed to the cloud mass of profound yellow colors above his head. The two Primal Spirits instantly flew into the cloud mass, leaving behind several storage bracelets crafted by the Mortal Dust Daoist, whose capacity could only be described as astronomical.

Gu Xie Chen was certainly diligent. Aside from resting on the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain, dividing the spoils, and quietly enjoying the contributions of half the demons of the Cold Prison, his Taiyin Primal Spirit and Solar Primal Spirit were also launching offensives everywhere. Over these decades, they had raided countless mines belonging to sects of varying sizes across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, plundering untold amounts of heavenly materials and earthly treasures that others had painstakingly accumulated.

Naturally, the treasures plundered were all converted into nourishment for Gu Xie Chen's Chaos Bell.

"Sixty years have passed! The sixty-year agreement is up."

The sixty-year pact had arrived. The overlords among the numerous Sages and Demons of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had already dispatched their most capable subordinates to take a final tally of the heavenly materials and earthly treasures collected over the years, preparing to submit them to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang.

The quantity of these materials would determine the scale of the benefits their respective factions could claim after capturing the Thirty-Three Heavens in the future, so not a single detail could be mistaken. Even materials like Quintessence of Five Elements, down to half an liang or eight qian, had to be calculated precisely.

Gu Xie Chen, however, had no such worries! He had no intention of handing these materials over to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang. With a casual sweep of his hand, he gathered the hundreds of storage rings before him and absorbed them into his Taiyin Profound Pearl. Gu Xie Chen slowly rose, transformed into a shadow, pierced through the earth, and shot toward the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain.

Before a massive black rock at the mountain's base, Gu Xie Chen cupped his hands: "Old Ancestor, the appointed time with the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang has arrived!"

The Black Stone Old Ancestor’s hoarse, unpleasant voice emerged from the black rock: "Is that Po Tian? You see, Old Ancestor is at a crucial juncture in his cultivation. For the future conquest of the Thirty-Three Heavens, our Iron Water Black Stone Mountain lineage must secure the greatest benefits. Old Ancestor must reform this original body into human shape."

After a brief pause, the Black Stone Old Ancestor spoke gravely: "Old Ancestor's spirit and body have been reforged into one. Without reforming the human form, I cannot stir even slightly. The task of submitting the various materials to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang this time does not require Old Ancestor to go personally."

Gu Xie Chen adopted an appearance of profound subservience, bowing deeply to receive the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s instructions. The Old Ancestor was not one for excessive talk; he personally selected eight Great Overarching Golden Immortal-level demon giants among his subordinates, ordered them to lead a force of one hundred thousand demon soldiers, and instructed them to accompany Gu Xie Chen to the Primordial Great Tree at the exit of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. There, they were to rendezvous with the representatives of the overlords from all sides of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and officially hand over the various materials to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang.

"As you command," Gu Xie Chen responded respectfully. He gathered Xin Long’er, Hong Ya, and the others, mustered thirty thousand demon soldiers from the Heavenly Wolf Palace, and departed the Cold Prison in a leisurely manner.

Upon exiting the Cold Prison and arriving at the Primordial Great Tree within the chaotic space, the White Flood Dragon Spirit, responsible for this matter under the Ancestor Hao Hua, also arrived leading several tens of thousands of demon soldiers. As they were all demons hailing from the same Cold Prison lineage, Gu Xie Chen warmly approached the White Flood Dragon Spirit, engaging him in continuous, pleasant conversation.

This White Flood Dragon Spirit was also rather cunning. He continuously probed about how many heavenly materials and earthly treasures the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s demons had collected over the years. Gu Xie Chen skillfully deflected, utterly uninterested in addressing the topic. He truly didn't know the exact amount the hardworking demons had mined; after all, seven or eight tenths of it had already been consumed, so he couldn't provide a precise figure.

Soon after, people from the other nine Heavens and ten Earths also arrived, emerging from the clouds. Similar to the Black Stone Old Ancestor and Ancestor Lin Hua, the overlords of Sages and Demons in these celestial realms had not appeared in person either. Instead, they had appointed their most capable subordinates to carry these materials. Strictly speaking, although the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang held an extremely high status among the Protecting Heavens, she was still slightly inferior to supreme deities like Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. To put it plainly, she was merely leveraging her innate divine abilities to run errands. For any of the overlords to personally handle the material exchange with her would be a loss of face. Which overlord in these Nine Heavens and Ten Earths would commit such a foolish act?

It was evident that due to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s proposal to seize the Celestial Court, the Demon Overlords of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had clearly divided themselves into nineteen distinct power blocs. The nineteen groups of Sages and Demons were situated far apart on nineteen great trees, eyeing each other suspiciously, creating an atmosphere thick with imminent confrontation.

As the nineteen factions of demons were just assembling, a spiritual light flashed through the void. The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang, with a charming smile, manifested, accompanied by boundless celestial music and celestial flowers showering down everywhere. She cast a delicate, enchanting smile toward the assembled Sages and Demons, gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and spoke softly, "Esteemed Daoist Friends, I apologize for keeping you waiting so long!"

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang was peerlessly graceful; her beauty was a natural creation of heaven and earth, impossible to replicate through any later manipulation. The Sages and Demons froze instantly, collectively drawing a sharp gasp of cold air.

Immediately, they heard the Sages and Demons laugh in unison: "Not at all, not at all! We just arrived, just arrived! Haha!"

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang pursed her lips in a delighted smile. She was exceedingly proud of her own allure. The reaction of these Sages and Demons only added a measure of pride and self-assurance to her demeanor.

Her gaze shifted, finally landing on Gu Xie Chen. She smiled and asked, "Daoist Lord Po Tian, how many heavenly materials and earthly treasures have you brought this time?"

Instantly, all the demons stared at Gu Xie Chen with intense jealousy. Some demons’ eyes flashed with murderous intent, suggesting an impulse to rush forward and hack Gu Xie Chen into pieces.

Gu Xie Chen hurriedly stepped forward, smiling as he bowed to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang: "Greetings, esteemed elder. This junior, Po Tian, pays his respects. This time, Po Tian has brought a considerable amount of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. My Old Ancestor has given strict instructions: please have the Heavenly Maiden meticulously count the quantity. We cannot allow our Iron Water Black Stone Mountain lineage to suffer a loss!"

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang took the opening and smiled: "How is the Black Stone Old Ancestor?"

This was standard protocol. The minor demon, who was only a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal manifested by Gu Xie Chen, meant nothing in the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s eyes. It was only because the Black Stone Old Ancestor’s origin was truly astonishing—an ancient primordial demon born in the Grand Mist—that she even bothered to remember what Gu Xie Chen was.

Gu Xie Chen smiled, stepping a few paces closer. His sly eyes swept over the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s curvaceous figure a couple of times before he chuckled: "He is well, all is well. My Old Ancestor is greatly indebted to the Senior for your kindness. Those three flames have proven immensely helpful to my Old Ancestor!"

Sensing Gu Xie Chen's 'greedy' gaze, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang smiled faintly, inhaling slightly and deliberately thrusting her chest forward. Immediately, the assembled demons collectively drew a sharp breath, and every single one of them swallowed hard. Were it not for the knowledge that the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang was a formidable figure not to be trifled with, these demons might have charged forward to subdue her on the spot.

Casting a triumphant glance over the flushed, hunched-over demons resembling lobsters, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang calmly laughed: "That is nothing. It is merely what allies owe each other."

After a brief pause, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang smiled: "This time, how many materials have you brought? Daoist Lord, please announce the amounts to the assembled Daoist Friends one by one. This way, our dealings will appear fair. After all, this concerns how much benefit everyone will gain in the Celestial Court in the future. It cannot be solely up to me to decide."

The assembled Sages and Demons nodded and laughed repeatedly. They praised the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s approach as very fair and reasonable, all urging Gu Xie Chen to announce the total amount of materials collected by the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain over the last sixty years.

He let out a few dry chuckles, staring intently at the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s face, then smirked: "Heh heh, Senior, please forgive me. Before this junior presents the materials, this junior has one item to present to the Senior!"

The Sages and Demons were stunned, and an immediate uproar erupted, filled with curses and shouts.

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang, however, examined Gu Xie Chen with genuine interest, extending her right palm, which seemed carved from white jade and molded from creamy butter—exquisitely delicate and soft. She smiled and said, "What is this object? Pray, let me see it."

Smiling, Gu Xie Chen stepped forward carefully and presented a glittering, iridescent jade casket to the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang.

Her beautiful eyes swept over Gu Xie Chen. The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang laughed lightly and casually accepted the box. She lifted the lid, revealing a string of...

As a string of twenty-four egg-sized precious pearls emerged, the entire cosmos was instantly filled with rosy clouds and auspicious mist. A surge of pure Yang righteousness shot into the sky, manifesting as a luminous canopy that enveloped the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang.

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang cried out in surprise and instinctively gripped the string of beads tightly.

These twenty-four pearls were perfectly spherical and uniform in size, showing no deviation whatsoever. They were a fiery crimson color, with vast amounts of red glow and purple mist continuously soaring from them. If one looked closely into the beads, one could see they were densely packed with countless innate divine script characters. Their complexity and profoundness were such that even the experienced Heavenly Maiden Jixiang found them difficult to decipher.

This was clearly an innate exotic treasure of extremely high quality, imbued with an infinite amount of pure Yang righteousness—a supreme pure Yang treasure of immense power.

The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s beautiful eyes glanced at Gu Xie Chen. Gu Xie Chen was bowing and scraping obsequiously, flattering her with a beaming smile, his 'greedy' eyes stealthily darting over her alluring bosom.

"You are quite thoughtful. How did you acquire this treasure?" The Heavenly Maiden Jixiang chuckled, and her favorable impression of Gu Xie Chen instantly surged, nearly surpassing her regard for Vishnu.

"I thank Senior for inquiring. This junior obtained it in a certain secret residence deep within the Cold. Such a marvelous exotic treasure—besides the Senior, no one else in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths is worthy of it!" Gu Xie Chen’s smile became even more radiant.

The eight Great Overarching Golden Immortals sent by the Black Stone Old Ancestor glared at Gu Xie Chen with burning eyes. This damned, traitorous Daoist Lord Po Tian! This wretched wolf spirit!

If the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang hadn't been present, they would have rushed up to kill Gu Xie Chen for implying that, apart from her, no one else was worthy of the string of pearls—effectively sidelining their own Old Ancestor! Such a turncoat deserved to be purged from existence! And he was supposed to be the foremost guest official of the Iron Water Black Stone Mountain!

With her slender fingers stroking the string of pearls, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang joyfully slipped them onto her left wrist. She extended her left wrist and asked Gu Xie Chen with a smile, "Your words are pleasing to my ears, and this string of pearls is truly wondrous and profound! Moreover, its power is immense—it is something I can certainly make use of!"

Gu Xie Chen nodded and scraped his bows repeatedly, agreeing profusely.

This was practically stating the obvious. After obtaining the essence of the Solar Profound Pearl in the Minor Northern Extreme Ice God Palace last time, Gu Xie Chen’s Solar Profound Pearl had achieved Great Accomplishment. Coupled with his rapid advancement in Dao attainment and magical power over the years, the Solar Space had gradually evolved, opening up a world. This string of twenty-four 'Innate One Qi Mixed Yang Pearls' was a set of twenty-four out of one hundred and eight Mixed Yang Pearls. They were the first world-level exotic treasure generated after the Solar Profound Pearl, this innate supreme treasure, opened up the Grand Mist Void by evolving its miniature inner world.

Due to the spatial rules and world-level hierarchy within the Solar Profound Pearl, the grade of this string of pearls was merely that of an ordinary Grand Mist Spiritual Treasure. The inherent Dao principles within were simple, but because the rules were exceedingly singular and pure, the power unleashed was immensely grand—hence, their success in winning the favor of the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang.

However, Gu Xie Chen had not offered these twenty-four pearls merely to curry her favor. He had numerous followers, and there was no need to gift the Grand Mist-level spiritual treasures nurtured within his Solar Profound Pearl to her as a favor.

Once the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang wore this string of pearls, Gu Xie Chen could use the connection between these twenty-four beads and the remaining eighty-four beads to clearly track her every movement. No matter where she was, as long as she wore this string, she could not escape Gu Xie Chen’s perception.

The most vexing aspect of the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang was her innate divine ability, which allowed her to traverse various restrictions and formations freely, making it impossible even for Sages to easily perceive her existence. But now that she wore these beads, her innate divine ability was rendered completely ineffective against Gu Xie Chen!

If the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang were to completely refine this string of pearls, her plight would become even more dire!

These Innate One Qi Mixed Yang Pearls were nurtured within the Solar Space, virtually equivalent to the 'offspring artifact' birthed after the Grand Mist Supreme Treasure, the Solar Profound Pearl, underwent a full gestation period. If she were to refine the pearls until they merged with her Primal Spirit, a part of her Primal Spirit would effectively be held in Gu Xie Chen's hands.

And the Great Desolation Scripture that Gu Xie Chen practiced was most adept at injuring souls imperceptibly. With the Innate One Qi Mixed Yang Pearls as the medium, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang might periodically suffer fits of dizziness or spit up blood, likely never realizing the cause.

Unwittingly gaining a pure Yang exotic treasure that appeared outwardly impressive and perfectly aligned with her own cultivation of Buddhist Dharma and Zen arts, the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang’s mood was exceptionally good.

It was no wonder the Heavenly Maiden Jixiang fell for the bait so readily.

The ability to self-evolve into a minor world, a rare treasure from the Primordial Era, was possessed by only a handful of artifacts. Even renowned supreme treasures like the Pangu Banner or the Wind Fire Cushion lacked this function, as their purposes lay elsewhere. Those who commanded these scarce, unique treasures were invariably figures of immense stature in antiquity—Saints, or at the very least, Great Divine Power wielders of the Primordial Chaos realm, standing only a hair's breadth from sainthood themselves.

How could such powerful beings condescend to use methods like Gu Xichen's to calculate the fate of the Celestial Maiden of Auspice? They simply could not afford such a loss of dignity!

Yet, Gu Xichen feared no loss of face. The innate divine ability of the Celestial Maiden of Auspice was far too inscrutable; he had no choice but to exhaust every trick to divine her path. Even sacrificing the first minor world treasure nurtured by the Solar Profound Pearl was a price he deemed necessary.

The Celestial Maiden of Auspice simply smiled radiantly, her crimson lips parting in joyous laughter. "Dao Monarch Potiandao, I beg you to wait just a moment. Hehe, I ask Daoist Friend White Jiao to kindly announce to everyone the materials collected by your Bottomless Cave's Immortal Trapping Pool!"

The assembled Immortals, Saints, Demons, and Fiends nearby felt a surge of indignation. It was obvious that the Celestial Maiden of Auspice had accepted a bribe from Gu Xichen and was now scheming to cheat on his behalf!

But before these spirits could voice their demand that Gu Xichen first reveal the materials he had brought, a sudden upheaval occurred.

Beside the White Jiao Spirit of the Bottomless Cave's Immortal Trapping Pool, a monkey suddenly materialized, standing barely five feet tall and gripping an iron staff. With a casual swing, it smashed the unprepared White Jiao Spirit into a bloody pulp with a single blow.

The White Jiao Spirit's divine soul shrieked as it fled its mangled corpse. Before it could escape far, the monkey unleashed a blast of Buddhist divine lightning, obliterating the spirit's soul until not even a wisp of remnant consciousness remained.

The Celestial Maiden of Auspice, who had been filled with satisfaction, froze mid-smile. Then, her fury erupted. "Monkey King, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong! You, you, you seek death!"

With a flash, the Celestial Maiden of Auspice lunged toward the ferocious-looking ape.

Suddenly, millions of heavily armored Heavenly Soldiers and Generals surged forth from every direction. The Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare Formation snapped instantly into place, sweeping up all the Immortals, Saints, Demons, and Fiends who had come from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to present their various celestial treasures.

Immediately, chaotic blasts of electric light, thunder, and fire erupted everywhere. Gu Xichen, transformed into Dao Monarch Potiandao, let out a terrible scream as he was shattered to dust by a bolt of lightning.

The Celestial Maiden of Auspice blinked in shock, and then a scorching rage boiled up within her.