The Ninefold Divine Essence of the Sword of Nether Death, yet wielded by Wei Xu with ultimate power, was all the more potent with Nether force.

Within the Imperial Study, even Li Biexue dared not meet it barehanded any longer. He casually retrieved a crimson scimitar. It clashed against the pale sword shadow. However, this Immortal-tier demonic weapon instantly dissolved into a pallid, ashen grey. Iron dust scattered, its 'vitality' severed by a single strike from the Sword of Nether Death, utterly annihilated into grey sand. The force of death spread to Li Biexue's arm, though it did not entirely ‘kill’ the entire hand of the Supreme Primordial Fiend. Yet, Li Biexue frowned slightly, his entire right sleeve turning to ash and scattering.

He watched as countless woody vines stretched out toward them like a tide nearby. And the aura of Sanren Yuanjing was rapidly approaching. Suppressed by the Floating Spirit Sword Formation and the Seven Swords of Lingering Life, the Yin Vein Spirit Slaughterer could only unleash one-tenth of its full ten-tenths might. Now, with the addition of these four Saint Venerables of the Ultimate Realm, its situation was even more dire.

Li Biexue’s eyes flickered, and with a casual sweep of his sleeve, he dispersed the surrounding deathly Nether energy using the Power of Nothingness. Then, composed, he bowed behind him: “There are too many petty nuisances today! I request His Majesty utilize the Nation-Guarding Bronze Men to assist this old man in slaying these rats—”

Yin Yu remained seated upon the throne, still looking perfectly at ease. He let out a light laugh. “That is precisely what I intended! In fact, State Preceptor, even if you hadn't mentioned it, I was already prepared to deploy the Bronze Men! In my view, it is best to resolve this battle swiftly today, to avoid disturbing the populace. These eighteen million citizens in the city are all living in fear.”

He added, rubbing his temples slightly, “More than half of this Phoenix Palace is ruined today. To repair it will require at least a million Spirit Stones. I wonder how much of the people’s livelihood will be consumed. What a pity! State Preceptor, I ask that you show restraint later.”

As he spoke, golden halos unfolded beneath the feet of the twelve Nation-Guarding Bronze Men, blazing with the most dazzling radiance. Countless ancient runes manifested one by one.

Zong Shou felt profoundly familiar with those bizarre characters yet could not recognize them. He knew they were runes intentionally altered to display twisted and chaotic Laws. The twelve halos continuously expanded outwards, enveloping a region spanning seven hundred li, yet they gradually faded.

Zong Shou felt his cultivation plummet suddenly. He was forcibly suppressed by the power of these chaotic Laws from the peak of the Immortal Realm, barely able to maintain his Inner Heaven and Earth. Then, the six Bronze Men situated to the left of the twelve simultaneously threw punches. Unrivaled in might, they slammed violently toward Yuanjing’s position!

Yuanjing’s expression remained serene; he was not surprised. Standing firm in the void, with a wave of his hand, the ground beneath instantly concave for tens of thousands of zhang. The entire ten-thousand-zhang stratum of earth looked as if a massive chunk had been gouged out. And before Sanren Yuanjing, a colossal crystal shield materialized.

Those mountain-sized bronze fists hammered against it. Although crystals shattered and flew, Yuanjing himself remained safe and unharmed.

Zong Shou’s eyes lit up, and a sense of ease settled in his heart. He inwardly mocked himself: the strength displayed today by both Yuanjing and Wei Xu had exceeded his expectations, whereas he himself, despite directing the Seven Swords of the Common People and wielding the power of the Heavenly Dao, remained utterly battered.

Wei Xu’s Mirroring Art could replicate his Supreme Divine Abilities, making him, in terms of combat strength, surpass even the strongest Xu Fu. As for Yuanjing, his fundamental Great Dao was the ‘Yi’ Character Divine Art, a technique known as the ‘Profound Spirit Changing Heaven Grand Method.’ With the Profound Spirit as its foundation, at its peak, it could alter heaven and earth. The term ‘Yi’ referred to change, alteration, and exchange. It was a Grand Dao Divine Rule close to the foundation of heaven and earth.

Since Yuanjing held the ‘Yi’ Character Divine Art, he could manifest myriad transformations. He could cause all things in heaven and earth to undergo ‘equivalent exchange.’ When the six Bronze Men attacked in unison just now, Yuanjing had temporarily changed the tens of thousands of zhang of earth beneath into a crystal whose hardness rivaled an Immortal Treasure. Then, he ‘exchanged’ the force of the incoming blow from the Bronze Men elsewhere. Though his combat strength might be less than Wei Xu or Xu Fu, he possessed the strongest capacity for survival among them.

It was said that this Grand Method grew stronger the higher one’s cultivation reached. If Yuanjing possessed cultivation at the peak realm, he might have been able to use the ‘Profound Spirit Changing Heaven Grand Method’ to exchange his own Immortal power and forcibly ‘swap out’ the Nation-Guarding Bronze Men! There would have been no need for such trouble today.

Shaking his head, Zong Shou looked before him again, his spirit tightening. The pressure from the twelve Bronze Men began to take effect. Wei Xu and Yuanjing had both been knocked down in rank, falling into the Ultimate Saint Realm. With the Laws chaotic, the Primordial Spirit could no longer rely upon the Great Dao. Only the Emperor of Taiyi Donghua remained relatively unaffected, his myriad vines continuing their surging assault.

Li Biexue paid it no mind. The Power of Nothingness spread out ten li, causing the extending vines to dissolve into emptiness. Then, with a grand gesture of his hand, he reached out toward Zong Shou’s direction from afar.

Zong Shou’s eyebrows rose, but his eyes were as calm and cold as a lake. The Wing of Enduring Augmentation within his Sea of Consciousness immediately switched its focus to empowering the Infinite Beginning and End Dharma Body. Instead of retreating, he advanced, flashing forward while simultaneously swinging his sword. The light of black and white instantly manifested as the sword body. It cleaved the empty hand effortlessly, its momentum maintained at its zenith, striking straight back along a linear path!

The Black and White of the Yuan Sword! Fierce and peerless, going straight ahead, magnificent and straightforward, without the slightest variation! This was because this single sword strike had reached the very limit, completely suppressing the power of spacetime!

—If there was any cultivation technique or divine art in this world that could counter his Infinite Beginning and End Great Dao, then Li Biexue’s Primordial Void of Nothingness Divine Art must surely be one of them! Since entering this Phoenix Palace, his Black Hole power had been unable to devour any external energy. He could only use his own power to sustain the operation of the Infinite Beginning and End Grand Law.

This was also why Zong Shou had avoided empowering it with the Wing of Enduring Augmentation. A Supreme Divine Art of the thirteenth rank, even sustaining it for only two hundred breaths, was enough to utterly drain him! In contrast, the Styx River Death-Proclaiming Sword and the Six Gods Blade Control Art suffered no such worry.

Li Biexue chuckled, flicking a finger that met the tip of the Yuan-One Soul Sword once more. Zong Shou, without question, was once again blasted flying backward. With his rank reduced to the Immortal level, the injuries his body sustained now felt more severe. Yet, looking at Li Biexue, only the tip of his finger had been shattered and devoured by the black and white sword light. However, the moment Li Biexue’s flesh entered the black hole, it transitioned from ‘existence’ to ‘nothingness,’ dissipating completely. Even the boundless power of the thirteenth-rank Supreme Law could not transmute a single fraction of it.

Still, Zong Shou’s objective was not to borrow strength or to even hope to injure Li Biexue. His goals were twofold: first, to stall for time, and second, for Wei Xu—

Glancing sideways, he saw that the pale sword light that had swept across was indeed gone without a trace. Replacing it was the sword of black and white. The Styx River Death-Proclaiming Sword manipulated the power of death. The twelve Nation-Guarding Bronze Men could firmly suppress it. The Six Gods Blade Control Art and the Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger originated from another domain. However, this Supreme Divine Ability relied on the Laws of this domain. Only the Infinite Beginning and End Great Dao had not existed during the early Qin era, thus it was not suppressed by the twelve Nation-Guarding Bronze Men. It was unfortunate that the Infinite Beginning and End was, after all, merely Zong Shou’s Dharma Body manifestation.

His root lay in the ‘Dao’ Character Divine Art, which should inherently dominate the twelve Bronze Men. However, before he could integrate the Three Thousand Great Dao True Arts, and before he could complete the reduction from complexity to simplicity—unifying his Dao into one— he would still be affected by the twelve Nation-Guarding Bronze Men—

Although Wei Xu’s realm was suppressed, by utilizing the Mirroring Art, his Saint Realm body only saw a slight dip in combat strength when mirroring his Yuan-One Beginning and End Sword. As the black and white sword struck, Li Biexue’s expression shifted slightly. He retrieved another Immortal Weapon and swung it toward Wei Xu. With a light clang, Wei Xu’s figure was violently thrown backward.

However, this action meant he also lost the opportunity to continue pursuing and eliminating Zong Shou. Li Biexue did not care; the lives of these few people, along with the Wing of Enduring Augmentation, would eventually fall into his hands; it was only a matter of time. What concerned him more was Xiu Guan’s position and when he would strike.

Yin Yu also offered a faint smile: “State Preceptor’s divine might is truly unmatched. I believe His Majesty can rest easy today!” “Your Majesty speaks too broadly! With Your Majesty’s twelve Nation-Guarding Bronze Men, these people are mere ants in my eyes. However, if that person does not reveal himself, I dare not claim absolute victory—”

Li Biexue shook his head slightly, speaking calmly, then frowned again, looking toward the distant void. Xu Fu of Penglai, apart from his initial Magnetic Yuan power, had been silent for a long time. After a short while, he understood. Had Qingxuan Taihuang finally made his move? His true body likely dared not enter this formation, just as he, Li Biexue, was unwilling to enter the Dao Spirit Heaven Realm.

Then, was it an incarnation? Why seek out Xu Fu? His eyes narrowed slightly, and Li Biexue knew the reason. Others might not know why Xu Fu had come, but he could guess part of it. Xu Fu’s forbidden spell, at this time, could only be undone by the Art of Existence Cessation. If it were merely an Ao Kun, it would be impossible. But adding the Wing of Enduring Augmentation gave it a slight possibility.

Taihuang Qingxuan had indeed become suspicious. But at this point, even if he was suspicious, it was too late. This thought had barely formed when thousands of vast white energies surged into the formation from outside the palace simultaneously, driving away evil spirits. The Spirit Slaughtering Divine Light and the Yin Vein Death Flame Thunder scattered one after another, dissolving and melting like snow encountering fierce fire. The vast, righteous energy of tens of thousands of Grand Scholars was now channeled and pressed down by the supreme divine power of Zhu Zi!

Li Biexue felt a surge of irritation. What trick was this Confucian Saint Venerable playing? Then, Zhu Zi’s voice traveled from afar! “This child is the enemy of the current age’s Confucian Way, the sovereign of devils and fiends, and must be slain by the hands of our Confucian Sect!” Li Biexue’s chest was already boiling with rage, but a moment later, his expression shifted. A white lightning bolt descended—it was the Nine Profound Return and Concealment Inquiry Divine Thunder!

This was the tribulation of the Heavenly Dao’s ultimate realm, questioning the heart and spirit. It possessed no inherent offensive power; absorbing it could even greatly enhance one's cultivation. However, as long as there was even the slightest impure or unclean energy surrounding the body, it would trigger a massive, extraordinary force of Heaven and Earth. But how could there truly be a person who was perfectly good, perfectly evil, perfectly manic, or perfectly wicked in this world? That was why cultivators at the Half-Step Ultimate Realm, who intended to pass the tribulation, feared it like the plague. This Zong Shou, despite possessing the Saint Sovereign body, could never be entirely without flaw, never without a speck of wicked energy clinging to him.