"What is the reason? The Dragon-Swallowing Configuration, yet why is it the Dragon-Swallowing Configuration? The Overlord Manifests! What exactly has occurred within this Tomb of the Qin Emperor?"

Amidst the brilliant starry expanse, within the Central Celestial Realm. Seventeen stars once shone brightly, five of them distinctly brilliant.

Yet, those stars that were already dim were now almost invisible to the naked eye.

And of the original five clusters of brilliant starlight, only three now remained, forming an inverted triangle.

One among them was exceptionally dazzling! Even though the very mechanism of the world had been thoroughly disrupted by countless masters of arcane arts, and even though this Lesser Thousand World was blanketed in miasmic gray clouds of death, its radiance could not be concealed.

"What is going on?"

Mingxuan felt a profound strangeness and instinctively began to move toward the direction of the Hall of Mountains and Rivers.

But the moment he took a step, Mingxuan instantly halted his movement.

"The celestial signs have manifested, destiny is set! It is an affair already passed; even I cannot prevent it—"

His eyes filled with regret and remorse, and the look of burning anxiety in Mingxuan's gaze gradually faded.

"I cultivate the Dao of Destiny; involving myself in turmoil would only bring misfortune, not fortune. It seems that for this lifetime, I can only remain a lone wanderer of the mountains and wilds."

Sighing deeply, Mingxuan grew even more curious.

Who was it that had triggered the Dragon-Swallowing Configuration?

The Overlord Manifests—who is this Overlord walking the world?

Was it Shi Yue, or Zong Shou? Or perhaps Shi Wuji?

With these thoughts, Mingxuan's figure retreated backward without the slightest hesitation or delay.

A great calamity would soon erupt here; remaining long would serve no purpose! Retreating swiftly was the only path to survival!

At almost the exact same moment, ten thousand li away. On the Central Cloud Continent, within Jinling City, Kong Rui suddenly began bleeding from his nose and ears, staring blankly at the sky, mute with shock.

"The Dragon-Swallowing Configuration, the Overlord Manifests—"

Hu Qianqiu, who was beside Kong Rui, preparing for the relocation of the capital and selecting sites for the imperial palace and ministers' residences, was startled by the sight.

"Imperial Uncle? What is wrong? Is it a physical ailment?"

He inwardly wondered if this was a heavenly retribution for revealing too much celestial secret knowledge.

Indeed, the might of Heaven was inscrutable. If he had known this, he should not have desperately pestered this man in previous years to divine his fate and ascertain the fortune or misfortune of the Hu Clan.

If anything were to happen to him, how would he explain it to Kong Yao and His Majesty?

After a long pause, Kong Rui finally withdrew his gaze from the starry expanse. He shook his head: "I am unharmed; His Majesty is in peril!"

Hu Qianqiu was even more alarmed, his gaze turning dangerous. Could it be that His Majesty had encountered disaster within the Tomb of the Qin Emperor?

A son of noble birth should not trifle with danger; His Majesty, as the sovereign of a nation, should never have personally visited such a perilous place as the Qin Emperor's tomb.

"I had previously guarded His Majesty's fate, concealing his celestial star configuration. However, His Majesty's malevolence is too overwhelming now. Kong Rui is incompetent, his cultivation insufficient. I can no longer suppress it; the art has broken, leading to this backlash upon myself."

Kong Rui explained calmly, though there was little dejection in his tone; rather, surprise and elation predominated.

The deadlock was broken after all; misfortune had been turned into blessing. He must cleave through the killing intent with unparalleled sharpness—

The Overlord Manifests—does this refer to Zong Shou? Or someone else?

Connected to the Dragon-Swallowing Configuration, they must possess the Fate of Kingship.

The four great Overlords of antiquity—Chiyou, Xiang Chu the Hegemon-King, Ran Wutian the Heavenly King, and Lü Wushuang—all were unrivaled in the world, sweeping across the Cloud Realm.

He wondered what manner of majesty this present-day Overlord would possess.

Coincidentally, outside the Tomb of the Qin Emperor, seated upon the Nine-Petal Lotus, chanting the Sutra of Boundless Future Prayer, Jing Shi Yin also opened her eyes in confusion.

Though she did not understand numerology or calculation, her divine abilities naturally allowed her to foresee all things.

As she chanted her future prayers now, she felt a peculiar resonance with the Boundless Buddha Lord within the tomb.

"Severed—"

All her Buddha power had been cut off. It was as if Zong Shou was no longer in this realm.

Then, Jing Shi Yin’s eyes became exceptionally bright: "So the illusion has been dispelled."

Her voice was low, and Jing Shi Yin murmured as if reciting a scripture: "That is an artifact for augmenting profound Dharma. Used for the sword, it can connect to the divine; used for the law, it can enter the supreme. If you choose to be a Buddha, you can inherit the position of the Present Buddha. If you choose to be a King, you can dominate all realms. Congratulations to the Future Buddha Faction; today, you ascend to the heavens and rule the myriad realms—"

Still beneath the earth palace, Zong Shou's eyes were blazing red, his expression ferocious.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, only to be dismissed one by one.

To maintain Su Xiaoxiao's vitality, he could only rely on the Origin Life Spirit Breath Art taught by Lin Xuan Shuang.

But either his strength was insufficient to execute it, or it was proving largely ineffective.

Master Xuan Shuang surely had a method; he only needed to stall as much as possible, to preserve Su Xiaoxiao’s life force. Once they exited the Tomb of the Qin Emperor, he could seek Lin Xuan Shuang’s aid!

"Young Master, have you forgotten those artifacts of reincarnation?"

Chu Xue’s voice suddenly sounded beside Zong Shou’s ear. She too was severely injured, covered in countless wounds with flesh torn wide open.

However, she was in significantly better condition than Zong Shou and Su Xiaoxiao. Her gaze, now complex, rested upon the girl in Zong Shou’s embrace, whose life signs were fading.

Where there had once been disgust, where she hadn't even wanted to look at this woman, there was now respect.

She did not wish for Su Xiaoxiao to perish like this.

"The Reincarnation Array Artifacts!"

Zong Shou's spirit jolted awake. He realized he had been muddled; how could he have forgotten these things?

Without hesitation, he immediately retrieved the eight Immortal Artifacts. Zong Shou pondered for a moment more and then, with the utmost speed, retrieved several hundred spirit stones, setting up a spirit array before him.

In his desperation, he hadn't considered too deeply. He directly used the Nine-Aperture Primordial Stone as the array core, mimicking the structure of the spirit array he had observed in the chamber of the Qin Emperor, and slightly refining it with the secret methods recorded in the Origin Life Spirit Breath Art.

As the spirit array was established, streams of vital essence energy flowed ceaselessly into the center of Su Xiaoxiao's chest.

Zong Shou held his breath, waiting with extreme caution. Only when Su Xiaoxiao’s heart meridians reactivated and her body warmed did he finally exhale in relief.

However, Su Xiaoxiao did not awaken again; her primordial spirit remained in a state of deathly stillness, showing no sign of movement.

So, was she alive or dead now?

Zong Shou gritted his teeth so hard he nearly let out a roar of fury. Looking around, he saw nothing but darkness. The space was small, only about thirty zhang wide.

"This is a self-contained domain? Such a technique! No wonder the Supreme Annihilation True Scripture could transcend realms. Jing Yin mentioned seeing a dark space; she meant this place, didn't she? That's why she thought it wasn't inside the Tomb of the Qin Emperor—"

He let out a grim, bitter laugh. Zong Shou felt boundless hatred surge in his chest, yet simultaneously, waves of weakness and exhaustion flooded his consciousness.

He was covered in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wounds; his Wheel Meridians were utterly destroyed, and his primordial spirit was heavily damaged. The residual divine thought of Li Bie Xue still coiled within his Sea of Consciousness.

He had sustained injuries to this extent—

Zong Shou’s heart suddenly moved, and he grasped the wing-shaped iron piece on his chest.

It was still intensely hot, scorching his palm.