With blood trickling from the corner of Zong Shou's mouth, it wasn't due to the impact of the bone spear, but because the Law of Beginning and End Transformation was not yet fully mature, and he could not command it completely.

Six months prior, in the Azure Firmament Realm, he had repelled the Primordial Demon Lord. The greatest realization drawn from that battle was this concept of the Beginning and End Transformation. Regrettably, even now, he had not managed to use it with ease.

At that very instant, from within the white void, an aura of power, equally formidable and nearly comparable to the previous bone spear, violently surged towards the spear's origin. Everything in its path was utterly annihilated! Miles away, nearly ten thousand Shashi were instantly pulverized into dust by this fierce surge of gangqi, without any power to resist. It was only when a second bone spear pierced out from the void and engaged, tangling with the gangqi, that the assault ceased. Then, with a resounding boom, the explosion of immense power radiated in all directions. A full ten li radius was leveled, and every single Shashi within that range vanished without a trace.

Zong Shou’s expression grew solemn as he gazed in that direction. He saw a figure clad in black armor, mounted upon a colossal warhorse that seemed forged by three beings, reveal itself. It advanced slowly toward the Altar of Heaven, holding a battle-glaive in its right hand and a bone spear in its left. Upon closer inspection, the bone spear appeared to have extended directly from the being’s own skeletal structure. This black-armored general fixed his deathly grey, ashen gaze intently upon the Altar of Heaven.

“Those who obstruct the rebirth of my Emperor—slay them!”

As the word 'slay' echoed across a hundred li, four grey spheres ascended sequentially into the skies in the four cardinal directions. These were treasures of an unknown nature, emitting boundless death energy. The density was so profound that even the infinite light shining upon them could not disperse the gloom instantly. Likewise, the boundless darkness could not devour or absorb this death energy. They could only allow the grey mist to spread, once again enveloping the ten-li radius around the Altar of Heaven. Sheltered by this death energy, the Shashi were no longer rapidly dissolved and once again formed an impenetrable encirclement around the Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation.

“It is the Necrolord Jade!”

Shen Yuexuan, possessed of vast knowledge, recognized what lay within the four grey spheres at first glance. His eyes were filled with shock. “Such a marvelous treasure has actually taken form within this First Emperor’s Tomb—”

This could no longer be classified as a mere rare treasure; it transcended the four tiers of Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, falling squarely into the realm of divine objects! A Saint Realm cultivator whose primary path was related to 'Death' could directly devour and refine these four Necrolord Jades to forge an ultimate Dao Foundation!

Zong Shou felt a sense of helplessness. It wasn't that his Limitless Beginning and End Divine Ability was insufficient; rather, his own cultivation realm was too low, which inherently restricted the might of this technique. If he possessed the strength of the Divine Realm, or if the Black and White Qilin were further elevated in rank, he could forcefully suppress even these four Necrolord Jades!

Glancing furtively at the direction of the black hole again, Zong Shou could not help but furrow his brow. The inability to counter this death energy was partly due to the Black Qilin’s inherent resistance, its unwillingness to exert its full strength. Even though its memories had been erased by Xiu Guan, rendering its spiritual consciousness as pure as blank paper, the primal aversion it felt toward him from the battle half a year ago remained almost instinctual. This aversion had not diminished much despite the memory loss. Furthermore, due to the disparity in cultivation, Zong Shou still could not fully subdue it. During the transformation of the Beginning and End, the Black Qilin had actually played a significant role in causing him minor injury.

After a quick look, Zong Shou shook his head slightly, dismissing it. In truth, he had never expected to completely sweep away these millions of Corpse Lords relying solely on this Limitless Beginning and End Divine Ability. In any case, having the Black and White Qilin manipulate it for him meant the Limitless Beginning and End Dharma Manifestation consumed little of his mental energy. As long as the black and white holes remained suspended in the air, they could tether at least four Corpse Generals approaching Saint Realm strength, along with those four innate divine artifacts! Within the ten-li radius near the Altar of Heaven, the boundless light still possessed destructive power that the Shashi could not resist! Those Shashi that were stopped outside the Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation were incinerated by the golden and crimson flames upon the slightest approach, compounded by the impact of the boundless light. Even Shashi approaching Fifth Tier strength were often instantly reduced to bone dust.

Watching this, Lin Xuanxuan couldn't help but let out a soft breath: “It truly lives up to being the divine ability closest to the Thirteenth-Grade Supreme level. With your Dharma Manifestation here, even billions of Shashi assaults should be holdable. However, if your cultivation were a bit higher, today would have been far simpler.”

The boundless light could not affect pure death energy, but it could expel and purify corpse qi, making it the direct counter to these Shashi. Besides the flames and the brilliant white light, dozens of golden and silver streaks of light flashed within the flag formation. It was Little Gold, having simulated his form, coordinating with Han Xi and several dozen Silver Ants of the Sacred Fire, clearing out the powerful Shashi that managed to breach the flag formation. The light-forms darted like shuttles, moving with extraordinary speed. Wherever they passed, even Shashi possessing Spirit Realm or even Immortal Realm strength could not withstand a casual strike. Often, a swift gleam would pass, and those formidable Shashi would turn into dust. This kept the entire Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation unshaken despite the surging onslaught.

At this moment, among the six individuals atop the Altar of Heaven, several had not even made a move. Perhaps they understood that this kind of onslaught was useless except for depleting the city’s corpse populace; it could not harm the flag formation.

Following a desolate horn blast, the Shashi surrounding the formation withdrew, receding like a tide after having surged forward like one. Moments later, organized armies of corpses began to appear before the six figures. Their numbers were only a million, yet their imposing aura was far more formidable. Especially the hundred thousand Black Armored Cavalry, which possessed a suffocating power.

Zong Shou’s expression turned grave, knowing this was only the beginning. The truly perilous moment had only just arrived. The hundred thousand Great Qin Iron Cavalry were equivalent to at least ten peak Saint Realm entities. Even relying on the nearby Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Array and the protection of the Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation, with a Half-step Ultimate expert like Lin Xuanxuan presiding, the scene before them was enough to make one’s heart pound nervously.

However, the first attack did not come from the slowly advancing corpse army in the distance, but from hundreds of fierce birds possessing Divine Realm strength in the sky, led by several Saint Realm Bird Kings, which suddenly swooped down. The countless iron feathers descended like sharp arrows, enveloping the entire Altar of Heaven. Grey-white flames filled the firmament, resembling hundreds of meteors with overwhelming momentum.

Shen Yuexuan’s two hundred arrow puppets immediately aimed their crimson bows toward the source of the corpse birds overhead. Lin Xuanxuan also raised her hand, her gaze heavy; she clearly held considerable apprehension toward these fierce birds.

But before they could react, the direction in which the corpse birds were falling suddenly deviated. They crashed down twenty li away, not only failing to harm the Altar of Heaven in the slightest but instead colliding with and thoroughly smashing several ten-thousand-strong corpse army formations.

The group turned to look, realizing it was Su Xiaoxiao who had acted. The enchanting woman had placed a thin, paper-like blue jade tablet, inscribed with spiritual patterns, against her brow. Around where she sat cross-legged, ten similar thin blue jade tablets formed an irregular circle. She had actually set up a small spiritual array within the Altar of Heaven itself, significantly amplifying her soul sense. Then, using the Seven Emotions of the Primal Demon technique, she caused all several hundred fierce birds to veer entirely off their original course.

Lin Xuanxuan lowered her hand. Even though she held no favorable impression of Su Xiaoxiao, she couldn't help but cast an appreciative glance her way. “Well done! Continue—”

Though she disliked this woman, the Seven Emotions of the Primal Demon technique was truly extraordinary. Twisting the seven fundamental emotions and desires, even affecting the five senses—Su Xiaoxiao alone could handle the onslaught of these fierce birds. Upon closer inspection, although this woman hailed from the Demonic Path and was rumored to possess countless male consorts, her eyes remained pure and untainted; these things could not be hidden.

Lin Xuanxuan’s impression of this woman instantly improved significantly. However, this woman’s infatuation with Zong Shou meant she was a rival to her own disciple. A demonic enchantress, ultimately, could not be trusted—

Thinking this, she instantly paused. What was she even thinking about? Zong Shou’s affairs were none of her business to comment on.

Shaking off her thoughts, Lin Xuanxuan returned her attention to the scene before her. A sound of clashing iron armor rang out; the ten thousand Iron Cavalry in the distance had finally made their move. A dozen black-armored knights, slightly less imposing than the previous general with the glaive, gradually emerged from the ranks of the cavalry. They advanced at a steady canter, leading the ten thousand Iron Cavalry in a surging forward rush. The remaining Heavenly Gang infantry also advanced steadily, encircling the altar from all directions with strict formation. Upon reaching fifteen li from the Altar of Heaven, the four hundred thousand Heavenly Gang Crimson Crossbowmen halted first. Then, a massive volley of fully four hundred thousand crimson arrows rained down, darkening the sky.

Meanwhile, the dozen Great Qin Corpse Generals gathered the might of their vast army and unleashed dozens of colossal saber lights toward the Altar of Heaven. Even though the Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation immediately deployed a layer of golden membrane, and the second core array within the altar promptly drew down stellar power, blanketing the area with a heavy, magnificent gravitational force spanning over twenty li, several formation flags were still severed by the saber light!

And the four hundred thousand arrows possessed terrifying momentum, almost submerging the entire Altar of Heaven. Even Zong Shou’s Limitless Divine Ability could not fully devour them all. Finally, Yuan Wushang acted, spitting out the word, ‘Explode.’ Billions of spiritual energies detonated, forming a mushroom cloud three hundred zhang high in the sky. The resulting gangqi formed a wall, pushing back all the crossbow bolts in every direction. A breach appeared in the Crimson Banner Golden Flame Formation, and the golden flames within noticeably weakened.

The ten thousand First Qin Iron Cavalry continued to maneuver outside, not rushing to attack the Altar. However, the Heavenly Gang Swordsmen entered the formation without hesitation. At this moment, the spiritual connections and vital energies across all the Shashi linked together, causing a layer of black gangqi to cover every Heavenly Gang Swordsman. Even while being burned simultaneously by the crimson and golden flames, they remained unharmed. Only the boundless light could ignore this gangqi, causing these corpse soldiers to suffer nearly ten thousand casualties instantly!

Zong Shou watched, his brow tightly furrowed. There was still an hour until the time he had agreed upon with Guanzizai. At this moment, he genuinely did not know if the few of them could hold out.