In a space resembling a hellscape of scorching flames, a mournful roar of utmost rage suddenly echoed across the Nine Heavens.

The sound vibrated with such intensity it seemed to permeate beyond the boundaries of this realm.

"Lu Zi!"

Like a beast driven to despair, it caused the nearly one million soldiers currently engaged in battle here to halt abruptly! They turned back in astonishment toward the rear.

Where their gaze landed, they saw a young man seated upon a crimson war chariot. Handsome yet imbued with martial vigor, he held a greatsword aloft, positioned at the heart of the vast army—undeniably their supreme commander!

His eyes were flushed crimson, webbed with blood vessels that looked ready to drip scarlet.

"Who dares! Who dares to—to scatter Zi'er's soul to nothingness—"

That psychic ripple burst forth, bombarding all directions, seemingly striving to extend into the far distance, erupting without any regard for consequence.

Yet, it caused countless soldiers present to feel an unbearable pressure. They sank to one knee, gritting their teeth fiercely.

Even the enemies opposite them, whose bodies were covered in stone-like skin and flame, looked over in surprise toward this side.

They seemed utterly unable to comprehend why this commander, who had inflicted such heavy losses upon their kin, would suddenly fly into a rage.

But they were also awed by his might and dared not press the attack rashly.

"Celestial Horizon World, Azure Flame Divine Hall! It must be Fang Jue, he truly deserves death—"

He seemed to have pinpointed the location where Lu Zi had perished. The young man's face grew even more ferocious as he instinctively began displacing his wrath.

"Remember this: whoever you are, whatever your status within the Lu family! I, Lu Wushuang, will assuredly cleave you under my sword! I will make you suffer for a lifetime! I will slaughter your entire clan, allowing you to taste this excruciating, heart-rending pain!"

After uttering this declaration, the figure abruptly shot upward, leaving the ground. With a single stride, he departed from that world of fire.

However, just as his form was about to vanish far away, an immensely vast power suddenly breached the boundary and arrived, firmly restraining him.

A cold, authoritative voice instantly resonated.

"Lu Wushuang, the conflict here is not yet concluded. Where do you intend to go? Are you attempting to abandon your post?"

"Zi'er is dead!"

Lu Wushuang ceased struggling, allowing the power to suppress his body, his eyes glaring furiously at the void.

"Remember, you once swore you would look after her!"

"Lu Zi? The junior from the Fourteenth Branch? I recall sending her recently to investigate matters in the Cloud Realm. This is unwise; Fang Jue does not possess that audacity—"

The authoritative voice carried a hint of perplexity before solidifying once more.

"Is one woman from a collateral line of the Lu family worth this much to you? Worth abandoning the battle in the Blood Flame Realm?"

"However she is, Zi'er is worth this much to me!"

Lu Wushuang snorted coldly, his voice absolute: "In my eyes, even the entire Lu family is not as important as she is alone!"

"Hmph? You insolent boy, you are truly incorrigible!"

The authoritative voice seemed infuriated. Then came a stretch of silence, as if considering and weighing the situation. Moments later, it spoke again.

"I will dispatch someone to investigate this matter thoroughly. You must seek your vengeance personally, and I will not impede you. But before that, you must conclude the war in this Blood Flame World, and your losses cannot exceed one hundred thousand. Otherwise, with me obstructing you, you will never leave this place in your lifetime!"

As the voice faded, the immense foreign force simultaneously dispersed and vanished.

Lu Wushuang remained suspended in the air, his face shifting between pale green and white. Finally, he stamped his foot with profound unwillingness, re-entering the Blood Flame Realm.

This time, however, his killing intent was sharp and chilling, once again bearing down upon the million soldiers of the Lu family... Even across ten thousand worlds, Zong Shou felt a chill run through his entire being at this moment.

This malevolent killing intent, piercing through his very lineage, lingered stubbornly, leaving him utterly horrified.

His heart surged, and the sense of danger grew ever more imminent.

"This person possesses terrifying strength!"

At least stronger than he was now! It caused an almost unbearable tremor in his chest.

He had only felt this same sensation once before, when he had single-handedly challenged the Dao Sect, regardless of success or failure, life or death uncertain.

Back then, he faced thousands of Daoist sects and countless Spirit Realm cultivators within the Firmament Domain.

Yet now, this single individual evoked such a perilous feeling.

"It is clear that advancing my combat strength must take precedence. I need to perfect the Three Thousand Star Fall Art, and preferably, within a few months, merge the forty-eight Instant Space Dragon Pills to achieve true-to-virtual transformation, becoming one with the Nascent Soul—"

While pondering, Zong Shou casually gestured, sweeping up all the personal belongings of the four fallen foes into his hand.

Especially the Sky-Shrouding Woven Silk Net and the Scarlet Calamity Sky-Burning Thunder, Zong Shou examined them closely, finding them increasingly miraculous.

"This net is truly bizarre; I wonder what material it is made from. Immune to blades and swords, yielding to ethereal force, and possessing self-healing capabilities. It must be an artifact refined by a Divine Realm Master, likely between Seventh and Eighth Grade, yet its power far exceeds items of the same rank. And this Scarlet Calamity Sky-Burning Thunder—it clearly utilizes the essence blood of a Divine Realm expert as its core, refining it into Sky-Burning Fiend Thunder, whose power is nearly equivalent to thirty percent of a Divine Realm expert's strength! This Lu family is genuinely terrifyingly wealthy—"

He had noticed this when seeing Fang Jue's group previously. The personal implements and combat prowess of these individuals were extraordinary.

In fact, it wasn't just the Sky-Shrouding Woven Silk Net and the Scarlet Calamity Sky-Burning Thunder; even the Scarlet Flame Flying Needles and the Flame Blades were not ordinary treasures, all possessing respectable power.

They were all at the Middle Stage of the Immortal Realm, yet the numerous Immortal Realm experts gathered by Yelü Hongji earlier were no match for him in a direct confrontation.

But these four individuals had forced him to exhaust nearly all his trump cards, requiring the assistance of the Azure Fire Profound Turtle just to subdue them.

"It's a pity this net is too heavily damaged; without corresponding materials, it likely cannot be repaired. As for the Scarlet Calamity Sky-Burning Thunder, without a special technique to activate it, it's practically useless. If I encounter the Divine Realm cultivator himself, it's tantamount to a time bomb; it's better not to use it."

He reflected internally, realizing he needed to be doubly vigilant in the future. The Outer Domains were filled not only with exceptional individuals but also countless bizarre and strange divine abilities—truly impossible to guard against completely.

Just like today, he nearly fell into a deadly trap.

He considered what might have happened if he lacked the Cosmic Fate World Book, and if these four, after he was caught in the net, had attacked with all their might without reservation.

Even with half a body covered in the Vast Heaven Armor and the Azure Fire Profound Turtle protecting him, he would have been severely wounded.

Recalling today's events still sent shivers down his spine, chilling him to the core.

What if he had to face someone even stronger in the future?

It seemed that going forward, he needed to be extremely cautious and acquire more means of self-protection.

As he thought it over now, he realized he could only rely on his swordsmanship and his throwing knives.

As for spiritual arts, they were simply not fit for serious confrontation.

The divine abilities he could use were far too few.

The four members of the Lu family had quite a few personal items and a significant amount of spirit stones.

Although far inferior to the treasures found in the Qin Emperor's secondary tomb or the First Dragon Palace, it was still a considerable haul.

The gains were exceptionally fruitful. Zong Shou had grown somewhat disdainful of these Profound Grade Mid-to-Low tier spirit stones.

However, he still needed some spirit stones for emergencies, such as setting up formations or for other uses.

Moreover, a large expenditure was likely just around the corner.

These gains were his only source of solace.

Invoking the power of the Cosmic Book, he erased all traces of their presence, and Zong Shou resumed his original journey.

"They have indeed arrived! And it's been some time now; those two little girls must be extremely worried these past few months—"

His spiritual sense could clearly perceive the fleet of airships parked not far from the Celestial Horizon Realm.

They were hidden in an extremely concealed location and camouflaged with great care.

It was only due to a unique secret art specific to the Azure Life Dao that Zong Shou could detect them.

However, Zong Shou did not proceed immediately to rendezvous with the fleet.

Instead, he rapidly descended into the Celestial Horizon Realm and skillfully headed straight for the Artifact Inquiring Tower.

Having been away for several months, this newly opened Artifact Tower still seemed to be struggling to establish itself.

And the Master Shen who managed it was, as ever, leisurely sipping tea alone in the tower's sitting room.

Seeing Zong Shou arrive, he first frowned instinctively, then his gaze sharpened.

"Such potent fiendish energy. You have killed someone recently, haven't you?"

Zong Shou smiled upon hearing this. Indeed, it had been four people at once.

"And I've brought a major headache upon myself! The restriction placed upon you by whoever initiated it must be at least at the peak of the Immortal Realm. A bloodline link—it won't be easy to remove—"

Hearing these few sentences, Zong Shou was slightly startled. He looked up, glancing at the person opposite him with astonishment.

He could discern all that?

It was indeed the case. When he executed Lu Zi, a strange power, akin to a secret curse, had invaded his body from her.

This curse was meant to protect Lu Zi, but upon her death, it could instantly activate a tracking pursuit to hunt down the killer.

If it were an ordinary curse, Zong Shou could resolve it himself.

While he wasn't adept at spiritual techniques, he was confident that his understanding of the Dao was second to none among Immortal Realm cultivators.

With a bit of study, he could find a solution.

But the problem was the deep, intertwined blood connection between them, making resolution extremely difficult.

"Does Master Shen have a method to resolve this?"

He had come for this very reason, and since the person opposite had identified his predicament at a glance, perhaps he possessed the ability to untangle this knot.

"The Lu family's Profound Yang Soul-Lock Tether. Unless there is no trace of the Lu family's Sky-Burning Blood within you, you will never be able to remove it."

Saying this, the middle-aged man surnamed Shen looked over quite strangely.

"I hadn't expected that my esteemed guest, besides having ties to the Cloud Realm, also possessed background within the Lu family. Your bloodline is exceptionally pure; you must be one of the Lu family's young masters, correct?"

Zong Shou instantly felt a wave of disappointment, followed by a wry smile.

This Master Shen truly possessed insight like a blazing torch.

As for the title of Lu family young master, he had never accepted it, nor did he wish to acknowledge it.

But in the eyes of others, that was precisely how he was perceived now.

The Shen-surnamed Master seemed uninterested in delving deeper.

The Lu family had been plagued by internal strife for the past few millennia, and even the current Patriarch could not fully suppress it.

For a direct descendant of the Lu family to fall to such a state, drifting to the Celestial Horizon Realm—a region universally acknowledged as remote in the cultivation world—spoke volumes of his plight. The reasons behind it hardly needed deep investigation.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke again: "Although I cannot break this curse, I possess a talisman that can temporarily resolve this immediate crisis for you!"

With that said, he promptly sent a golden talisman flying toward him. (To be continued)RQ