Just then, Liang Xiaoke’s figure materialized before him, holding the Sky Sovereign Blade that rightfully belonged to him. A ferocious smile twisted her face as she brought the blade down upon Ye Jingyu...

“No!” A cry of utter despair escaped Ye Jingyu’s lips, yet the strike landed true. His head soared into the sky, and he watched, detached, as his headless corpse slowly crumpled to the ground...

Was this how it ended?

Despair washed over Ye Jingyu, extinguishing any remaining thought...

Everything was so still, so silent, so utterly hopeless...

Dead? Was he truly dead?

“Buzz…” At that precise moment, a sound, ancient and resonant, chimed—the sound of a magnificent bell. Ye Jingyu’s entire being shuddered...

“Buzz!” The tolling continued, and Ye Jingyu, who should have been dead, distinctly heard it.

Was he not dead yet?

Suddenly, his vision flooded with cyan light. Before him spun a colossal, ancient bronze bell, emitting waves of blue luminescence. That melodious, distant chime originated from within this very artifact.

The bell felt intensely familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before? Yes, it was the Eastern Emperor Bell. It was once the personal magic treasure of Donghuang Taiyi; it was the foremost divine artifact that shook the Three Realms...

Why was it here? Had it come to save him?

Could it be that he hadn't died?

No, how could he possibly die? He possessed the Chaos Body; death was impossible. Illusion, it was all an illusion, every single moment an illusion...

Ye Jingyu roared inwardly, and an outburst of light erupted from his entire body, a colossal force shattering the surrounding space into dust...

“Aargh…” With a monstrous bellow, a mouthful of blood erupted from Ye Jingyu’s lips. He awoke from the phantasm, finding himself back in the stone chamber.

The chamber was exactly as it had been—undamaged. The pictures embroidered with human skin still hung on the walls. The only difference was that Fang Jiutai had vanished, leaving behind only a tattered, ragged black banner on the floor...

Seeing this, comprehension dawned on Ye Jingyu: everything he had just experienced was indeed nothing more than a nightmare. But where had Fang Jiutai gone? Why leave this broken banner and disappear?

Could this be yet another illusion? He immediately summoned the Eastern Emperor Bell, feeling the swirling, shifting cyan light, and the crescent mark on his brow pulsed with silver radiance. He knew, this was no phantom.

But at that very instant, a tremendous grinding sound echoed from above. The ceiling of the stone chamber began to descend...

The chamber door had long since sealed. Having witnessed the sheer power of this room, Ye Jingyu’s heart lurched. Was that fellow Fang Jiutai planning to crush him to death?

With a flash, he darted to the black banner, snatching it up and tucking it inside his robes. He then manifested the Eastern Emperor Bell and hurled it toward the ceiling.

The bell instantly expanded to the size of thirty feet, completely enveloping and shielding Ye Jingyu. The stone ceiling continued its inexorable fall, slamming down onto the Eastern Emperor Bell with a deafening impact.

The very ground trembled; the entire chamber structure groaned and began to collapse. The hanging human-skin tapestries, the stone tables, the jade couches—all were pulverized under the immense gravitational force of the descending ceiling.

Everything within the stone chamber was utterly obliterated, leaving only the ancient cyan bell. As the ceiling pressed downward, the bronze bell shrank rapidly, and Ye Jingyu, trapped inside, likewise grew smaller and smaller.

When the ceiling finally met the floor and settled flush, the cyan bell was reduced to a speck smaller than a sesame seed, blending in with the pulverized rubble.

The building above had completely sunk into the ground. Fang Jiutai, clad in opulent robes, lay sprawled on a massive, silken couch. His complexion was ashen, his lips tinged blue, and his expression was one of profound exhaustion.

Surrounding him were eight Heavenly-tier masters, with more experts continually arriving from every direction. Soon, hundreds of skilled individuals encircled the area.

“Quickly! Dig! You must unearth that bastard’s corpse! He is the one my father ordered apprehended. If I’m the one who kills him this time, Father will reward me handsomely!” Fang Jiutai commanded weakly from the couch, addressing the surrounding retainers.

The others dared not hesitate. Especially the old steward who had escorted Ye Jingyu here—he dug with frantic effort. He had brought such a dangerous individual before his young master; if anything happened to the master, he wouldn't even know how he died.

He could only pray that the intruder was crushed to death and that he could be the one to find the body, perhaps appeasing his young master's wrath enough to spare his life.

“Hurry up! And remember, if you find any scraps of torn cloth or anything similar, bring it to me immediately!” Fang Jiutai paid little heed to the hunched, anxious steward. What concerned him most wasn't Ye Jingyu’s life or death. He believed that by destroying the entire stone chamber and using a ceiling weighing millions of catties to crush him, Ye Jingyu, even with his Sixth Heaven cultivation, would be flattened into a pulp. His real concern was the black banner he had dropped in the chamber.

When he’d first unleashed that banner, he had felt an overwhelming surge of demonic energy, as if it sought to devour his very essence. If he hadn't thrown it away quickly enough, he might have been sucked dry, leaving nothing behind. He couldn't fathom why the banner, which he had fed with so much blood sacrifice, would turn against him.

Yet, the banner’s power was undeniable. A smear of black light had emanated, and he witnessed Ye Jingyu’s expression turn vacant. But the terror emanating from that black light was so profound that he fled instantly toward the stone door, not daring to even retrieve the banner...

Once upstairs, he immediately ordered the mechanism activated to crush Ye Jingyu while simultaneously dispatching men to summon the Fang family experts. He didn't have many capable fighters near him, and he couldn't risk Ye Jingyu escaping that black light and fighting his way up...

Most critically, such a massive commotion would surely alert his family. If his parents discovered he had slaughtered so many people and embroidered so many 'artistic pieces,' who knew what the consequences would be?

Just as Fang Jiutai was consumed by these worries, a figure descended from the sky. Upon seeing the arrival, Fang Jiutai’s brow furrowed slightly...

(It seems today is Valentine's Day, ah, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!)