The instant that crystalline stone shattered, untold amounts of temporal power surged forth like a tidal wave.

Time itself seemed to stall, with even the Cosmic Chronicle of Life and Fate only managing to defend a three-zhang radius around Zong Shou. The immense golden net suspended in the air, however, was slowed to a near-static state.

This allowed the five figures in crimson robes to escape the confinement of that golden net unharmed.

However, once the torrent of time released by the dark brown crystal completely dissipated.

Zong Shou's sword, now empowered by the Cosmic Chronicle of Life and Fate, accelerated once more to its absolute peak.

With a tenfold time differential, the Refining Spirit Sword caught up to the group behind them in just one three-thousandth of a blink.

The eyes of the Crimson Robe figure sharpened; the trajectory of the sword was not aimed at him, but menacingly toward Han Qing, standing beside him.

The late-stage Soul Realm sword intent alone sent a chill down his spine.

And the various divine techniques woven within it made one’s scalp crawl.

Space—folded; Time—accelerated; Causality—inverted—

It was clearly a killing blow; once this sword struck, Han Qing would surely have no chance of survival!

Although he could intercept it, he would inevitably be injured. In a worse scenario, his form might be temporarily paralyzed, trapping him within the golden net and risking being besieged and killed by the other four.

"Indeed, the power of Immortal Essence—"

A cold dread settled in the Crimson Robe’s chest. If it were merely late-stage Soul Realm sword intent, it would be manageable, but with the backing of Immortal Power, it truly possessed the qualification to wound him.

—This Zong Shou had clearly not yet stepped into the Divine Realm, merely residing in the late Immortal stage.

By all logic, at this stage, one should only have completed the Inner Heaven and Earth. Yet now, he had actually managed to nurture the power of Immortal Essence?

Han Qing’s fate was tied to the rise and fall of the Demonic Sect and the centuries of plotting by the Supreme Primordial Demon. He absolutely could not die now, but neither could the Crimson Robe risk himself for him. After only a brief contemplation, the Crimson Robe figure directly reached out and seized. A massive, spiraling force forcibly sucked in one of the Free Spirit Demon Gods, instantly replacing Han Qing’s position.

The power of causality was the most esoteric of all. Once inverted, it meant that the consequence of Han Qing’s demise would precede the cause of his demise!

A simple, direct block would not be very effective. He could not entirely nullify or smooth out the causal forces within the strike.

However, it could be transformed. Using the method of spiraling, he could lock Zong Shou's causality onto this ‘Free Spirit Demon God’ and redirect it.

Han Qing, who had been drenched in sweat, convinced he was surely about to die and nearly consumed by despair in his Dao Heart, finally felt a sudden release of tension. But the sensation of having been only one step away from death remained indelible.

The ‘Free Spirit Demon God’ who had replaced him let out a roar of utter disbelief mixed with extreme fury.

The sound, emanating from a formless, immaterial soul body, stabbed painfully into the eardrums and caused dizziness.

The other two figures also roared in extreme anger. If not for the urgency of their escape, one might suspect these two Free Spirit Demon Gods would immediately pounce to tear the Crimson Robe apart, rending flesh from bone!

Far in the distance, Zong Shou sighed inwardly.

This Han Qing, was he some sort of immortal pest? He had managed to escape death again.

To have a Saint Realm Venerable from the Shadow Demon Clan die in his stead—this person’s destiny was proving far too tenacious.

However, since the Crimson Robe had personally delivered this Free Spirit Demon God into the path of his sword,

Zong Shou saw no reason to let it go!

The Illusionary Heart Mirror hummed, and a beam of pure light shone forth, reinforcing the Refining Spirit Sword.

As the sword light flashed, the Free Spirit Demon God, whose strength reached the Saint Realm, was instantly annihilated.

Its soul shattered, the greater part of its soul power scattering into the void. Then, a portion of it condensed into a transparent Primal Crystal, which tumbled down.

By this time, the four figures in the distance had fled fifty or sixty li away, re-entering the coverage range of the Grand Unity Dragon Coiling Formation.

Though now within the array, facing countless perils, they had simultaneously received the protection of this restrictive formation.

Having escaped the immediate danger of being besieged, they immediately split ways. The remaining two Free Spirit Demon Gods, along with the Crimson Robe and Han Qing, each took a different fork and vanished into the side paths.

Zong Shou similarly had no intention of pursuing. Once inside the Grand Unity Dragon Coiling Formation, controlling the situation was no longer guaranteed, precisely because the variables within were too numerous.

Most importantly, having unleashed four swords in quick succession, he had completely exhausted the Immortal Power within his body.

His current combat strength had dropped by an entire tier. Even with the Chronicle in hand, he would definitely not be a match for the Crimson Robe.

To have managed to execute and eliminate the majority of the seven Saint Realm Venerables gathered here today was already an outcome exceeding expectations. He was entirely satisfied—

He decisively sheathed his sword and stood still, smiling toward the void: "Brother Chi, I wonder if you might spare a word for my counsel?"

The sound carried true force, projecting over the distance. But the path behind them was silent. Yet, Zong Shou knew that the fleeing Crimson Robe was certainly listening closely.

"I know that you Demon Sect Venerables place great importance on Han Qing. Saint Venerable Primordial Demon favors him greatly, placing high hopes upon him. However—"

He paused, then gave a cold sneer filled with mockery: "However, could this man’s heaven-defying sorcery possibly withstand the River Styx Death Call sword I just unleashed? Since it cannot, what value does this person truly hold for your Demonic Sect? I hope, Brother Chi, you will reconsider, and in the future, refrain from sending others to die in his stead—"

Dozens of li away, the Crimson Robe’s face was ashen, utterly ghastly. Yet, he was startled into deep thought, glancing at Han Qing beside him.

Was sacrificing the agreement with the Shadow Demon Clan for this one man truly worth it?

That sword which converted life and death and manipulated Nether Force—that heaven-defying sorcery was indeed impossible to reverse.

And currently, the Demonic Sect’s greatest enemy was Zong Shou—

Han Qing was equally pale, seeming to recall something, a flicker of alarm appearing in his eyes.

After speaking, Zong Shou stopped paying attention to the movements of the Crimson Robe group and began attending to the aftermath here.

The Illusionary Heart Mirror continued to emit its pure radiance, now actively devouring the scattered soul power from the annihilated Free Spirit Demon God.

Zong Shou had killed several Shadow Demons to date, and none of them were of low rank, yet the Mirror had never shown such a strange reaction before. It was only after this particular Free Spirit Demon God was executed that the Illusionary Heart Mirror transmitted a strong sense of yearning to his mind.

This was one reason Zong Shou had given up on further pursuit.

The soul power released by the Free Spirit Demon God was simply too vast. The Mirror needed a significant amount of time to fully devour it—at least two or three hours.

Meanwhile, Chu Xue on the side had completed the necessary hand seals, borrowing the power of one of her guardian divine beasts, the Black Scale Beast, to petrify the entire collapsing mountainside, halting the collapse.

Zong Shou cast an appreciative glance at his little Xue'er, then swiftly retrieved the Demon God Primal Crystal and the Night Demon Golden Core.

Because the two Night Demon Venerables had both perished into dust under the River Styx Death Call sword—even the Golden Cores within their bodies had been 'killed' along with them.

Thus, only one Night Demon Golden Core remained.

Once refined, the Golden Core could be incorporated into the Three Thousand Great Dao Stars.

The Saint-level Instant Space Dragon Cores and Cultivator Golden Cores in his possession had already accumulated to a total of thirteen, but he simply hadn't had time to refine them.

The Shadow Demon Primal Crystal was also useful to him, though the benefit was less than that of the little Golden Core.

He tossed the Primal Crystal casually into the spiritual pouch where Little Jin resided, but received no reaction whatsoever.

Little Jin had coiled itself into a tight ball, showing no desire to consume it.

Was it too high in rank, sensing it could not be swallowed?

Zong Shou then took the Primal Crystal out and tentatively placed it before the Illusionary Heart Mirror, but again, the Mirror showed no sign of absorbing the Shadow Demon's unusual energy.

It seemed this Illusionary Heart Mirror mostly could not absorb physical matter—

Zong Shou shook his head and put the Primal Crystal away. For the time being, this item appeared useless.

At this moment, Yuan Wushang flashed to his side, his voice thick with regret: "A pity, four of them escaped. Zong Shou, you shouldn't have mentioned there were only two Life-Death Epiphyllums left."

Given the situation just moments ago, holding back those four would not have been an impossible task.

Only the Crimson Robe, whose cultivation was indeed supreme, having reached the late Saint Realm, possessed incredibly potent 'Spiral' divine techniques.

Whether he could be executed still held an element of chance.

However, to resist the power of the Chronicle, this man's combat strength had been reduced by at least eighty percent.

"Your Majesty was unwilling to suffer casualties among us!"

Shen Yuexuan shook his head dismissively, his gaze fixed on Zong Shou with a somewhat peculiar look.

At the critical moment, being unable to make a decisive choice and unwilling to sacrifice his subordinates' lives—this was not the action of a wise and capable sovereign.

But then again, the man before them was a Saintly Ruler in the flesh.

"Although we still have two chances for resurrection, to kill all four of those people, by my calculation, at least one of us would need to die three times to achieve it."

Zong Shou gave a helpless smile, first taking out a Qiankun Bag, then manifesting the two Life-Death Epiphyllums from his divine sense.

Yuan Wushang was instantly silenced. The low-grade Immortal Stones in Zong Shou's Qiankun Bag only amounted to twelve hundred pieces.

A fierce battle of this magnitude could only sustain the Chronicle for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn.

And the Life-Death Epiphyllums—to be precise, there was only one and a half left.

"So, this time we were just lucky? They didn't dare to risk it and fled early?"

"It’s not exactly luck!"

Shen Yuexuan shook his head again. "If the fight had continued, the odds would still favor the four of us winning, but the price would have been quite high. The Crimson Robe’s temperament is strange, but he values his own life extremely highly and would never risk it—"

Yuan Wushang considered this and found it reasonable, yet he still felt a lingering resentment. The pain of having his body shattered by the Crimson Robe was unimaginable for ordinary people.

He hated this giant of the demonic path to the utmost degree. He could only mutter under his breath with disdain: "It's truly surprising for a ruler of a nation, possessing seventy-six worlds under his command and occupying two-tenths of the Cloud Realm, to be this poor!"

With a casual toss, he sent over ten thousand low-grade Immortal Stones.

Zong Shou sighed softly, thinking: Don't you realize how stifling this is? But with the Chronicle here, I have no choice.

Thinking thus, he unceremoniously accepted the Immortal Stones into his possession.

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