On the battlements to the southwest of Xianyang City, a youth clad in white robes stood watching the black and white spectacle in the distance with a leisurely air.

This person appeared to be around twenty, possessing a pallid and strikingly strange countenance, with a crimson scar etched between his brows that extended all the way to his hairline. He stood seven feet tall, his frame so slender it seemed a mere breeze might topple him.

"Endless Darkness, Limitless Light. Interesting! Truly interesting! Just a hair's breadth away from perfection, and it would be the thirteenth rank, a supreme divine ability that disregards all tiers. Heh heh, I can hardly believe that after being sealed for six thousand years, someone this intriguing has emerged within the Cloud Realm. Is this the one Li Biexue ordered me to kill?"

The youth was clearly smiling, yet the Demonic Lotus standing beside him felt absolutely no warmth emanating from him.

At this moment, her complexion was ashen, and she spoke with extreme caution: "It is indeed this child! He is the Blood Sword Demon Lord, the current ruler of Da Qian, the foremost power in the Cloud Realm. He is the second-generation direct disciple of the Cang Sheng Dao, possessing peerless swordsmanship. In less than twenty years, he has become one of the contemporary powerhouses. In the last half-year alone, the disciples of my Demonic Path who perished because of him number in the hundreds of thousands. Even the Heaven Sovereign Who Steps Upon the World perished due to this man. Moreover, he has now allied with the Buddhist and Sword Sects, putting pressure on the entire Cloud Realm. Thus, Lord Yuan Mo harbors an inextinguishable hatred for him and is determined to eliminate him!"

"The Heaven Sovereign Who Steps Upon the World? Xing Xie? That useless whelp is already dead? I was looking forward to flaying him, pulling out his tendons, and dissecting him later to take a closer look. I wanted to see what made that fellow confident enough to even claim the title 'Steps Upon the World'?"

The youth chuckled to himself, genuinely seeming regretful for a moment, before his eyes suddenly flashed.

"Stop trying to fool me! Given Li Biexue's temperament, he wouldn't care even if all the Demonic Sects were wiped out. He would only feel a slight sting over the death of the Heaven Sovereign Who Steps Upon the World, losing a helper. He wouldn't fight the Cang Sheng Dao to the death over such matters. Setting aside everything else, just Xiu Guan alone is enough for him to deal with. I hear the Cang Sheng Dao now possesses four figures at the Pinnacle Realm who can challenge him?"

The Demonic Lotus lowered her gaze, daring not to speak. She neither dared to lie further nor reply to the youth's assertion.

The youth, however, paid her no mind. He reached out his right hand and hooked his fingers under the Demonic Lotus's chin, forcing her head up. His eyes were filled with gentle amusement.

"Demonic Lotus! Before this Demon Lord was unsealed, I did make a vow to eliminate this child for that fellow... but I don't recall agreeing to preserve your life?"

As he spoke, one hand had already climbed onto the Demonic Lotus's chest, tearing open her garments with a casual motion and grasping the high curve of her breast. After toying with it gently for a moment, he suddenly squeezed hard!

"Even so, you still won't speak? You should know my methods?"

The Demonic Lotus trembled, completely unable to resist. Enduring the sharp pain in her chest, she pointed to her head: "This Demonic Lotus wishes to speak, but since Supreme Lord Yuan Mo permitted this concubine to meet the Demon Lord, how could he not have precautions in place? If Demon Lord wishes to take this concubine's life now, this one can only await death."

The youth's eyes narrowed, and finally, he let out a sharp exhale, releasing the Demonic Lotus.

"Tch! Another one of those Soul Restriction techniques, how tedious. Still, I must admit, woman, you certainly know how to cling to life—"

Seemingly bored, he turned his gaze back toward the direction of the altar. The youth then brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking the blood that had stained his fingertips.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if deep in thought over something.

A moment later, he inquired again: "Has that Crimson Clad one been contacted? And Han Qing, I heard he is hailed as the most outstanding disciple of the Demonic Sect in the last ten thousand years, cultivating the Great Rebellious Heaven Magic?"

"Yes! This Demonic Lotus has tried her utmost to contact them, but—"

The Lady Demonic Lotus hesitated slightly before speaking: "Demon Lord Crimson Clad seems unwilling to meet with you, Demon Lord. He claims to be gravely injured and has other pressing matters, so he will not be coming. He also sends his congratulations on your emergence from seclusion, promising a grand gift in a few days."

The youth laughed upon hearing this: "He’s afraid to come, isn't he? It’s truly unnecessary. Few of our contemporaries remain. No matter how mad I am, I still value old ties and wouldn't strike at him. I never imagined that the most unremarkable figure among our peers back then would now be counted among the top echelon of our Demonic Path."

The Demonic Lotus looked down silently, tidying the disheveled front of her robes.

If it weren't for the command of the Supreme Yuan Mo, she too would never have appeared before this person under any circumstance.

After speaking for a while, the youth grew bored. He leaped directly from the battlements and headed toward the direction of the altar.

"Let's go! I'll head over there and meet this fellow who claims to be invincible in the Cloud Realm, see what sort of character he is."

The Demonic Lotus quickly followed, keeping close to his heels. On the street, there were still many Corpse-Folks.

But wherever the youth passed, all the malevolent corpses, regardless of strength, were instantly extinguished, falling silently to the ground. Even the Corpse Armies patrolling the streets were not spared.

He proceeded without delay, reaching the center of the city in just a short while.

Just then, a beam of escaping light sped toward them from afar—it was a flying vessel passing overhead.

The youth glanced up, appearing intensely displeased, and casually reached upward. The flying vessel shattered instantly, and a dozen figures plummeted down. A furious roar simultaneously erupted.

"Who are you to dare destroy my Spirit Barge?"

One of them was clearly a Saint Realm powerhouse. His vast true energy unfurled, immense and majestic, suppressing the area for dozens of miles. His eyes were icy cold as he looked down at the youth.

"Friend, what grievance do you have with our Zhongzhou Xue family? Why the sudden attack? Regardless of the circumstances, you must give me an explanation today!"

"The Zhongzhou Xue family?"

The youth stroked his chin, sinking into memory: "The one from the Five Great Clans? I recall that when I was besieged back then, people from your Xue family were involved, weren't they? What a coincidence—"

The elder facing him instantly changed expression. Without any hesitation, he retreated violently backward, roaring until his voice cracked, laced with boundless terror.

"This is the Thieving Profound Demon Lord! Retreat!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Xue family members also changed color and fled with all their might into the distance.

Seeing this, the youth couldn't help but burst into laughter: "It seems even after being sealed for six thousand years, I still carry such a fierce reputation. Excellent, excellent!"

Amidst his laughter, Dao Xuan snapped his fingers. The Xue family Saint Rank member, who had fled dozens of miles away, suddenly exploded, scattering into countless shreds of flesh.

The Demonic Lotus watched from behind, feeling her scalp tingle.

A cultivator at the early Saint Realm was utterly incapable of resisting a single move; he was utterly annihilated without a chance to fight back.

It seemed that this Demon Lord before her, sealed for six millennia, had not only not weakened but had grown even stronger.

She thought that Zong Shou was likely doomed this time. Yet, she wondered how Supreme Yuan Mo would manage to wrest the Augmentation Dharma Profound Wing from the hands of the Thieving Profound Demon Lord?

Given this one’s temperament, he would never yield easily. Although this person was not a Pinnacle Realm expert, if he chose to flee, even a Supreme Saint Venerable would have a headache dealing with it.

And if he were to grasp the mysteries of the Augmentation Dharma Profound Wing, perhaps no one in the Cloud Realm could suppress him again.

Even Xiu Guan might not necessarily defeat him—

At almost the exact same moment, within the resplendent Epang Palace.

On the white jade plaza before the main hall, at the center of a complex and profound formation, Yin Yu sat cross-legged, appearing to have lost consciousness, his face taking on hues of gold and purple, his eyes tightly shut.

Xu Fu sat opposite him. Behind Xu Fu was the door to the main hall, where a faintly visible Emperor, clad in a black-gold imperial robe and possessing an exceptionally robust physique, was seated upon a golden throne.

If Zong Shou were present now, he would realize that the style of the golden throne was almost identical to the Abi Throne.

On either side of the white jade plaza stood twelve colossal bronze figures, holding weapons—six on each side—guarding the imperial court.

Around these bronze figures pulsed a palpable distortion of world energy. As these force fields connected, all the Qi Refiners within the white jade plaza felt a subtle discomfort; their cultivation was completely suppressed, and the higher their realm, the more strenuous the pressure became.

A Saint Realm Venerable here could, at most, exhibit the strength of an Immortal Realm expert within the Epang Palace.

Yet, Chong Xuan sat calmly beside Xu Fu and Yin Yu, showing no signs of unease.

And now, surrounding the three of them, countless streams of Dragon Qi swirled, with several phantom dragon shadows flickering in and out of sight.

"The convergence of Two Energies to reform the Dragon Body. The Dragon Qi has gathered sufficiently; we can begin. However, Teacher, please pay careful attention not to harm His Majesty's life—"

"Oh?"

Xu Fu glanced amusingly at Chong Xuan: "To think you are so fiercely loyal. When I dispatched you to serve the Great Shang in the past, I never anticipated this."

"Chong Xuan is not an unfeeling person; after all, we shared decades of sovereign-subject loyalty, which is difficult to sever."

Chong Xuan stated coolly: "Though I am but a split-soul body, the main body's consciousness can still perceive and be influenced by it. I will absolutely not betray His Majesty unless absolutely forced."

"Rest assured! I am only fulfilling the promise made in those days to unlock the mental seal; I have no desire to see that other one truly resurrected."

Xu Fu shook his head: "The revival of our lineage of Qi Refiners must depend on this Emperor. Furthermore, your Emperor is not as simple as you imagine."

Yin Yu remained seated with his eyes closed, showing no reaction, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Chong Xuan did not understand but did not press further, though a hint of worry crossed his expression: "Regarding the Heavenly Altar, are we truly going all out there?"

"Naturally!"

Xu Fu nodded slightly: "The Great Qian Sovereign and Lin Xuanxuan are defending that Heavenly Altar; the Corpse Army won't take it down quickly. Though there are only six people atop that altar, appearing weak, in truth, all the Sects, Schools, and Great Families are watching. None will permit the second formation core there to be damaged, which would truly resurrect Ying Zheng. At the critical moment, they will likely intervene to restrain things. Wasn't Ming Ri Xuan planning to lure away all the strong experts stationed in this Epang Palace? I have the same intention; otherwise, how can we carry out our scheme? Therefore, the battle at the Heavenly Altar had better escalate!"

Saying this, Xu Fu suddenly frowned: "The Thieving Profound Demon Lord? Why is that person here? Has the Supreme Yuan Mo truly gone mad and released this person?"