Qu Fuchen’s face had already turned a ghastly bluish-purple, one could not tell if it was from sheer rage or utter shock. “My Lord, what is the meaning of this?

Are you truly intending to make enemies of our four houses?” “And if I am? We’ve already made our move, why the incessant prattling?

Such noise!” Zong Shou waved his sleeve dismissively, his eyes filled with chilling coldness. “Were you not threatening this solitary ruler?

Insisting on recklessly attacking Tianfang, declaring unending war against me? By the likes of you lot?

Who do you think you are? You, Qu Fuchen, what kind of insignificant figure are you to dare come here and mediate the dispute between me and the Tianfang Cultivation Society?

My forces have already acted. If you wish to fight, then fight.

If you don’t wish to fight here and would rather die, then get lost!” Qu Fuchen’s complexion grew even paler, his body trembling slightly, before a flush of crimson spread across his face again. With a glance brimming with apprehension, he surveyed the void here, casting his eyes upon the four Saint Realm Venerables of the Sword Buddha Sects.

Had it only been Ao Kun and Ao Yi, their combined strength would have been enough to suppress these people. How had the Sword Buddha Sects of the Cloud Realm also become involved?

Judging by the situation, it was clear they intended to provide full support, seemingly cooperating seamlessly without the slightest reservation. He instantly understood: today, they had most likely lost, and lost terribly!

Yet, he did not feel despair. In the past, among the five major sects of the Cloud Realm, there had been instances of joint operations to carve out external domains.

Initially, they could maintain unity, but invariably, conflicts of interest would arise soon after, leading to endless disputes. The other sects in the Cloud Realm would also not tolerate any one faction expanding its influence too greatly, lest it feed back into their own domain.

Without anyone needing to scheme, this united front would naturally collapse and disintegrate, making the situation easily manageable. Though they had lost this skirmish for the moment, it did not mean they couldn't win back tomorrow.

Suppressing his turbulent emotions, Qu Fuchen forcibly composed himself, his expression steadying, and his tone softened. “My Lord, your words are perhaps too absolute.

If we cannot negotiate an agreement, we can still discuss matters. Why must it come to the point of fighting?” But he had barely finished speaking when he heard Miao Di say faintly, “Five breaths!” His expression appeared calm, utterly undisturbed, yet a thread of murderous intent was already condensing in his eyes.

This was a reminder to Qu Fuchen that he had five breaths left to depart this place safely. Beside Zong Shou, Ye Xuan also suddenly opened his eyes, his hand resting on his long sword as he took a step forward.

“My Lord, why waste words on him?” With a flick of his sleeve, the azure sword light had already left its sheath. At first, it showed no grand display, merely vibrating gently, utterly devoid of any earthly smoke or fire, threading forward along the current of the Boundary River spirit flow.

But before anyone could fully react, the sword light was already before Qu Fuchen. Then, the sword intent abruptly soared, revealing an absolute, dominating might.

The blade emitted a violent resonance that echoed everywhere, making people’s eardrums ache painfully. Qu Fuchen’s eyes widened in horror, his expression changing once more.

However, the action was sudden, and he was not thrown into panic. Four jade-quality spiritual talismans automatically flew out from his sleeves, manifesting as four divine beasts, the shape of the Four Symbols, to guard his surroundings.

His wide sleeves rolled outward, completely enveloping the azure sword light. A flurry of darting finger shadows sprang forth from within.

Qu Fuchen’s cold laughter continued unabated. “Very well!

I have long heard that your Daoist technique, Ye Xuan of the Carefree Sect—the Great Universe Shocking Sword Art—once broke the combined assault of three Venerables in a single day. To be able to witness it firsthand today is indeed worthwhile…” He tapped the sword body one finger after another, producing a continuous series of ringing sounds, eroding its power bit by bit, harming its spiritual essence.

Just as the azure sword light, which was winding like a dragon, was about to be suppressed, Ye Xuan seemed entirely unconcerned. Only when the sword shadow was completely contained within Qu Fuchen’s voluminous sleeve did he form a sword seal with his right hand.

Instantly, the sword intent shifted again. Qu Fuchen’s wide sleeves suddenly billowed and swelled, as if an arrogant, trapped dragon was thrashing wildly inside them.

Large beads of sweat appeared on Qu Fuchen’s forehead as he exerted himself to maintain control. Finally, with a muffled peng, both sets of his sleeves were shattered, and the azure sword light shot upward, soaring high—arrogant, unparalleled, majestic, surveying all beneath!

With a single slash, the divine beast phantoms formed by the Four Symbols spiritual talismans instantly cracked apart. The residual force of the sword momentum continued to surge straight towards Qu Fuchen’s neck!

Qu Fuchen’s clothing, buffeted by the vibrating sword energy, was all pulverized. He was utterly disgraced at this moment and dared not continue his defense.

With a flash, he darted away to safety. Ye Xuan did not pursue, retracting his sword momentum, and shouted with a voice that cracked like thunder: “Scram!” As this single word rang out, the cultivators present suddenly realized that the intent of more than a dozen Saint Realm beings that had lingered here moments before had completely vanished.

And Qu Fuchen, after evading Ye Xuan’s sword, made no pause, nor uttered another word. He transformed directly into an azure streak of escape light and fled in a rush.

The seventy-odd warships also retreated swiftly, as if terrified of exceeding the time limit set by Miao Di. Everyone stared blankly, and then all gazes converged on the Tianfang Cultivation Society’s seventy-odd voidships outside the Tianfang World.

The scale was not small, but in everyone’s eyes now, they appeared abnormally solitary and minuscule. Zhao Yanran glanced over and let out a soft sigh, “What a pity…” At this juncture, such a remark seemed quite inexplicable.

Zong Shou, however, understood her meaning. Originally, the Cangsheng Dao was also meant to participate in this battle.

During the previous great war against the Jiudu Immortal Court, Zong Shou, using the Great Qian as a solitary force, had settled the outcome. Now, attacking the Tianfang World, it was naturally the time for the Three Teachings to contribute their strength.

Yet, Zong Shou had deliberately left the two Saint Realm Venerables of the Cangsheng Dao, along with the Dao Soldiers dispatched by the sect, in the Yuanlian World. Firstly, without a Saint Realm figure anchoring the rear, Zong Shou would not feel comfortable leaving.

Secondly, it was to cater to the Sword Sect of the Buddhist Path; their strength was formidable, and offending these few powers would be painless. But the Cangsheng Dao now was different.

It seemed his careful consideration had been perceived by Zhao Yanran. And Tan Jing, who had been observing silently since returning, also let out a sigh at this moment.

He knew that the Tianfang Cultivation Society, with its history spanning over ten thousand years, was utterly finished. It took less than half a ke to crush the Tianfang Cultivation Society’s fleet commander.

After Qu Fuchen and the Saint Realm Venerables and voidships sent by the four major powers were forced to flee, the personnel of the Tianfang Cultivation Society lost all will to fight, ceasing all thoughts of resistance. Several Saint Realm experts hadn't even needed to make a move.

Shi Ruolan, leading nine Grand Supreme Thunder Artifact Ships, had subdued the majority of the Tianfang Cultivation Society’s fleet. Almost all sixteen of the Nine Luminaries Star Shattering Ships fell into Shi Ruolan’s hands, virtually intact.

This was what brought Zong Shou the greatest joy; every Earth-tier warship was astonishingly valuable, equivalent to one-quarter of the Great Qian’s annual income in the Yuanlian Realm at this time. Furthermore, the Nine Luminaries Star Shattering Ships, like the Grand Supreme Thunder Artifact Ships, were genuine vessels that could be manned by Origin Sea Demon Slayers, capable of elevating the strength of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty's fleet by another level.

After crushing the fleet, the next step was the ground invasion. Led by Lie Que, a mere three thousand Profound Fox Iron Cavalry, ten thousand Heavenly Zenith Sword Soldiers, and ten thousand Heavenly Zenith Scarlet Crossbowmen swept through the entire Tianfang Realm almost unopposed.

In fact, the military strength stationed here by the Tianfang Cultivation Society was still more than double that under Lie Que’s command. But on one hand, morale was shattered, and there was no fighting spirit.

On the other, pressured by the few Saint Realm figures, the upper echelons of the Cultivation Society had lost all will to resist stubbornly. They feared that Zong Shou, this ‘Tyrant’ who remained overwhelmingly domineering even when facing the combined might of four great powers, might become enraged and slay them all.

As a result, the super-large Guardian Spirit Array deployed within the Tianfang World lay completely useless. Before the battle was even halfway concluded, nearly half of the inhabitants had already declared allegiance to Zong Shou.

Zong Shou was temporarily uninterested, his primary concern being the hidden treasury of the Tianfang Cultivation Society. Perhaps due to excessive overconfidence, believing the seven alliances and the four other major powers could secure the Tianfang World.

None of the Tianfang Cultivation Society’s caches had been moved. Looking at the tens of thousands of low-grade Immortal Stones, the hundreds of thousands of armaments and elixirs in the warehouses, Zong Shou was so ecstatic he nearly swooned on the spot.

The spoils alone were more than enough for him to clear all debts owed to the Asura race and make up for the losses incurred by the previous Time Reversal, with enough left over to double the current total strength of his Dao Soldiers. However, this joy only lasted until the very moment he found the Tianfang Cultivation Society's treasury.

Upon hearing that the Society had already gifted away nearly one-third of their reserves to invite aid from the four major powers, Zong Shou’s face instantly darkened, his complexion fluctuating between green and white, wishing he could rip off the heads of the five main and deputy leaders of the Tianfang Cultivation Society right then and there! Lu Wubing had not accompanied him.

After the conquest of the Tianfang Realm, all subsequent matters would have to be handled by him personally. Fortunately, this was only a Minor Thousand World.

The lines between friend and foe were clear, and the situation was not overly complicated. Only pacifying the merchants and rogue cultivators within the realm presented a minor headache.

Zong Shou could only patiently avoid mass slaughter, temporarily confining all high-ranking members of the Tianfang Cultivation Society. Three days later, Zong Shou, accompanied by Ye Xuan and Yuan Wushang, walked into the Artifact Inquiry Tower.

It was unclear whether it was because the Tianfang Realm had just experienced warfare, or if the proprietor here was simply terrible at management. In any case, when Zong Shou entered, the place was still deserted and extremely quiet.

Shen Yuexuan seemed to have known he was coming and was waiting inside the shop. “When I refined artifacts for Your Lord that day, Yuexuan never imagined that Your Lord would be the Sovereign of the Great Qian in the Cloud Realm.

Nor did I ever think that Your Lord could sweep across a region in just a few years and establish the dominion you hold now. Even this Tianfang World has fallen under your control.” Sighing with emotion, Shen Yuexuan added in a teasing tone, “From now on, my Artifact Inquiry Tower will have to earn its living under Your Lord’s jurisdiction.

I ask the Sovereign, considering our past acquaintance, to grant some patronage…” Looking at this person, Yuan Wushang was half-convinced, half-skeptical. He looked utterly ordinary and unremarkable.

Could such a person truly repair the damage to his jade puppet? Ye Xuan’s eyes, however, flared with sharp light.

He focused intently on Shen Yuexuan’s hands, realizing that this person was not only a sword cultivator but possessed sword skills that were not inferior even to his own! To achieve such mastery in the martial path as a Refiner—this was truly intriguing!