The Nine Capitals Absolute Extinction Blade Array was shattered, leaving no one capable of protecting Liu Jue.

Yet, the first to achieve a clear victory was not Zong Shou, but Ye Xuan.

Just as the devastating sword light rampaged across the void, Ye Xuan's Great Cycle Tremor Sword light, which had split into two streams, suddenly dispersed and vanished.

Then, as the two distant figures watched in astonishment, the sword light quietly coalesced back into a single line, flashing away like a white dragon.

"Great Cycle Dragon Strike!"

In the void, blood instantly splashed and rained down.

It was Guan Zhong's body that was utterly destroyed by this single strike, every part of him reduced to bloody fragments.

Ye Xuan's Great Cycle Tremor Sword Art could contend against three Saints. Without Liu Jue, it saved him nearly half his strength. Concentrated as one, it was naturally enough to slay a Saint.

Beside him, Ju Weisheng's expression transformed drastically. All intent of continuing the fight vanished, and he retreated madly backward.

Of the three, he was the only one relatively intact, yet his spirit was utterly broken. He no longer harbored any desire to capture Zong Shou, only wishing to flee far away.

With Guan Zhong dead, one segment of the Nine Capitals Absolute Extinction Blade Array was destroyed, and the Dao Gate faction was fleeing. The battle today was lost beyond recovery, no matter what.

Since escape was the only option, he fled. He was a Saintly Guardian of the Nine Capitals Immortal Court, receiving his stipend annually from Liu Muchen to serve the Court. But there was no need to be buried alongside the Nine Capitals Immortal Court!

With Guan Zhong retreating, Liu Jue became even more isolated and helpless. Standing utterly alone before Zong Shou, his arms severed, he appeared devastatingly desolate.

A man like him held little fear of death, but his eyes were filled only with rage, resentment, and unwillingness. Unwilling to perish here, to have his Dao path cut short.

Zong Shou harbored no mercy. He cast a cold glance at his opponent, and the Nameless Sword moved again, mobilizing the vital energy of the one hundred and eighty-four Source Sea Demon Slayers to control the Jue Jue Sword Intent!

"Supreme Absolute Extinction!"

With a sweep of the blade, Liu Jue’s body was irrevocably cleaved into two segments.

At this moment, Ao Yi struck abruptly. The instant Ji Ming, Han Tao, and the others were distracted by this turn of events.

Ao Yi suddenly manifested ten-zhang ice blades in both hands. The power of Freezing Extinction completely locked down the Spirit River, which possessed a speed equivalent to a Divine Realm expert’s twenty-breath escape velocity.

The pair of ice blades slashed out lightly. Freezing a thousand miles, Ji Ming dodged and fled with all his might in alarm. Yet, his movements gradually slowed. Affected by the freezing energy, his body grew numb. When the ice blades struck, it was like hacking at rotten wood. They easily severed his great bow before piercing straight into his chest and abdomen.

There was no scene of flesh flying; Ao Yi’s attack was far gentler than Ye Xuan's or Zong Shou's. Once the blades entered his torso, Ji Ming’s entire body was instantly frozen within a thick layer of ice, suspended in the void like an ice coffin.

The surrounding observers were equally shocked and scattered in all directions.

Liu Jue perished, Guan Zhong died, Ji Ming died, Bai Daozi was lost. By now, four Saints had fallen sequentially. The remaining few Saints lost all will to fight to the death, knowing that even giving their all now could not scratch Zong Shou.

Ao Yi merely let out a cold laugh, retrieving two hairpins from her elaborate hair and tossing them out lightly. They transformed into streaks of light and shadow, chasing swiftly. Han Tao, unable to flee entirely, had to maneuver frantically, engaging the hairpins.

And then, the ice blades pursued again as his movement stalled. After barely a dozen exchanges, he too was severely wounded, all the flesh on his body completely frozen solid. Though not dead, he was locked within an ice coffin.

Xu Xun suffered an even more tragic fate. Also relentlessly pursued by the hairpin shadows and blade light, he was utterly desperate. His cultivation was inferior to Han Tao’s, and he could not evade them. He resisted the ice blade with all his might, but the jade hairpin pierced directly into his skull. The freezing power spread, and unable to resist, his spirit and soul were instantly annihilated.

Saints possess an Indestructible Body and the ability to regenerate from a single drop of blood. But under the spread of this Freezing Extinction power, this ability was rendered utterly useless.

Ao Yi did not move against the other fleeing figures, allowing them to scatter into the distant void. Firstly, her strength was insufficient to pursue them all. Secondly, she understood Zong Shou's intent.

For the Great Gan, merely crippling the Nine Capitals Immortal Court so they could not retaliate was enough. The complete destruction of the Nine Capitals Immortal Court would offer no benefit to Great Gan; it would only profit others. It was best if some strength remained to guard against invasions from other powers. The longer they were entangled, the more benefit Great Gan would reap, allowing them to stabilize their foothold in the Primordial Lotus World without distraction.

Therefore, Ao Yi paid little attention to the other Nine Capitals Immortal Court Saints. She focused directly on Xu Xun, Ji Ming, and Han Tao. These three belonged to the Profound Spirit Association and the Extreme Extinction Immortal Court. Killing them would severely wound those two factions, serving as a warning to completely sever the predatory claws extended by the Profound Spirit Association and the Extreme Extinction Immortal Court.

Zong Shou also paid no mind to the others who escaped. After slaying Liu Jue, the pale white sword light he controlled began tearing through the void, stretching wildly toward the distance. It pierced through the Boundary River, shattering layer upon layer of barriers. The sword intent pointed directly at a flying vessel frantically fleeing in the distance.

Already a mid-grade Immortal Treasure, under the urging of two Saints, it moved at an unimaginable speed, flashing like light, capable of covering ten thousand li in an instant. But it could not outpace Zong Shou's sword. Arriving later but striking first, within a tenth of a finger-snap, he had already caught up to the rear of the flying vessel.

Passing through dozens of layers of spacetime barriers, the sword’s momentum showed no decrease; instead, it grew stronger by three parts!

Inside the flying vessel, a maple-leaf-shaped blade light first shot out horizontally. Upon a slight collision with the sword light, it immediately retreated. Following closely behind, a golden seal, transformed to be ten thousand zhang wide, suddenly pressed down from above.

The pale white sword light completely ignored it, its intent sharpening, meeting the seal without fear. With a tearing sound, it managed to completely penetrate the golden seal and strike the flying vessel itself. The powerful shockwave impact instantly shattered the mid-grade Immortal Treasure flying vessel, tearing it apart and causing it to disintegrate. Many Immortal Realm cultivators inside died instantly under this immense force, while the remaining Divine Realm experts were all deathly pale, their auras unstable and scattered, clearly having suffered grave injuries.

"The sword force hasn't ended; it can still kill one more!"

As the vessel shattered, this thought simultaneously crossed the minds of Cheng Xin and Rong Bi. They exchanged a look, and in their eyes appeared a shared expression of helpless resolution. If they did not commit fully, it was highly likely one of them would perish here!

But when the sword light arrived, it did not point at either Cheng Xin or Rong Bi. Instead, it weaved and continued extending toward the slender figure among the crowd.

The expressions of Cheng Xin and Rong Bi immediately shifted slightly.

"Qingming!"

"Zong Shou, you fiend!"

With only a moment's thought, they understood Zong Shou’s intention. Slaying Qingming was not just about settling a personal grudge for Zong Shou. It was a direct blow against Kun Ming! If this sole descendant died, the ultimate trial of their Junior Uncle would likely face unforeseen complications. Furthermore, it was an attack they were compelled to save—they could not evade it!

Within the Void Boundary River, Zong Shou let out a cold laugh. Wicked? It was one thing for the magistrates to commit arson but another for the common people to light lamps? Since this woman started it, he was naturally entitled to finish it. What was wrong with a small return gift?

Cheng Xin did not hesitate, tossing out his lotus-leaf Immortal Treasure to shield Qingming. His whisk extended three thousand silver threads, attempting to bind the sword light. However, just as he shifted his body, preparing to interpose himself, he heard Rong Bi suddenly speak: "Junior Brother, I have long meddled with heavenly secrets, and my lifespan was already limited. This impending tribulation, let me face it!"

As he spoke, Rong Bi’s figure moved to stand before the ashen-faced Qingming. Dozens of jade slips flew from his sleeves, forming the pattern of the Eight Trigrams: Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun—lacking only the central Taiji Yin-Yang diagram. Waves of majestic power surged forth from within.

The pale white sword light, after shattering the flying vessel, finally dimmed for a brief instant. But immediately afterward, it regrouped, instantly restoring itself to its peak state. It pierced forward, first shattering the lotus leaf with its sharp light, and then tearing through the entanglement of the three thousand silver threads. It was only momentarily blocked before the eight trigram jade slips.

But that moment was only a third of a finger-snap. Following a cold snort from Zong Shou in the distance, the sword light violently broke through, sending the jade slips flying, and then pierced inward, boring directly through Rong Bi's skull.

Rong Bi offered a silent, bitter smile. He had known long ago that between him and Cheng Xin, one of them was fated to die today. It was only regrettable that he hadn't anticipated this before coming. An instant later, his body began to turn to dust, all his vitality utterly destroyed by the Jue Jue Sword Intent.

Cheng Xin let out a roar on his side, like a cornered beast filled with despair. But now was no time for grief. The maple-leaf great saber reassembled itself and swept horizontally against the residual momentum of the sword force, which had not yet completely dissipated. The two forces collided, and the sword light immediately fragmented.

Cheng Xin was not pleased but startled, finding it strange how easily it broke. Observing the sword momentum, although it had been weakened by a huge seventy percent, it still possessed the strength to contend with a Saint. At this moment, it collapsed in one blow. Had Zong Shou given up?

A moment later, Cheng Xin suddenly snapped back to reality, a mixture of shock and fury contorting his face so severely his eyes seemed ready to burst. Celestial Fox Illusion Technique! Everything he saw was clearly false. As he grieved Rong Bi’s demise, the illusion had infiltrated his mind without a trace. With this thought, the world he saw and sensed began to crumble. Looking again, the still-powerful, pale white sword light surged past him like a tide, completely engulfing Qingming! Strike after strike pierced through, and in an instant, Qingming's body was riddled with thousands of bloody holes. In a single moment, all life essence vanished.

In the distant Void Boundary River, Zong Shou frowned slightly, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. "Second Nascent Spirit? A pity—" But then, he supposed it was understandable; how could the beloved daughter of an Ultimate Realm expert lack a means of preservation? He curved his lips into a cold smile. His Supreme Demon Slaying Array's sword of Absolute Extinction was not so simple.