With a deafening CRACK, the golden Dragon Pearl was cleanly severed in two by the Nine Yin White Bone Sword. A blinding burst of golden light erupted, and a terrifying surge of power swept outward, immediately blasting the White Bone Sword backward. Cracks spiderwebbed across the blade's surface.

With a wet thud, Fang Guyou coughed up a mouthful of blood. This Nine Yin White Bone Sword was a treasured artifact he had spent countless years refining, forged with the souls of countless beings. It was one of his primary life-bound treasures, and its damage naturally wounded his own spirit.

“Awoooo, awoooo…” As if sensing the Heavenly Dragon’s final, desperate resolve before annihilation, streaks of golden light shimmered around Xiao Taotao. A colossal shadow erupted from within him, instantly shattering the seals of the runes on the platform, soaring toward the now-shattered Dragon Pearl.

This was the chance the Heavenly Dragon had bought with the price of its very soul scattering; how could he fail to seize it? Blood-red tears streamed from its green eyes, and its white body began to grow wildly.

The fierce beast charged toward the two halves of the Dragon Pearl. Chaos reigned supreme; no one present could intercept the beast in time, not even Fang Guyou, not immediately.

“Awoo…” The fierce beast reached one half of the Dragon Pearl, opening its massive maw and swallowing the semi-orb that still radiated golden light, its power rapidly dissipating.

“Awoooo, awoooo…” The black silhouette was instantly engulfed by the golden radiance, swelling like an overfilled balloon.

The beast let out a scream of agony from its throat. Though it held only half a pearl, the Heavenly Dragon was a being infinitely close to the Venerable Rank—its inherent power was already comparable to that of a true Venerable, lacking only in formal attainment level. The Dragon Pearl contained at least eighty percent of the Heavenly Dragon's essence. Even diminished, it was an overwhelming force; this remaining thirty percent of the Dragon Pearl's power was enough to detonate an Eighth Heaven Martial God, let alone Xiao Taotao, whose current strength hadn't reached that height.

Of course, if Taotao’s true body had swallowed the pearl, while it couldn't digest it immediately, its greatest attribute was consumption—it could assimilate any substance, any immense power, at worst resulting in a deep sleep before recovery. But it was the Evil Beast that had ingested the pearl now—a spirit body, entirely incapable of enduring such colossal energy.

“Awoo…” The true body of the Taotie finally burst free from its bindings, rapidly darting to the Evil Beast’s side and swallowing it whole.

Bursts of golden light illuminated the Taotie’s form, its face contorted in agony. Clearly, this half-pearl was putting too much pressure on it. Only immediate slumber could allow it to assimilate such power quickly. Yet, gazing at the remaining half-pearl nearby, it fiercely suppressed the pain surging from the pearl’s impact and rushed toward it recklessly.

But one figure arrived before the Taotie could reach the second half. It was Xuanyuan Ruoxing, who had been hiding in the shadows. Grasping the half-pearl that shone with golden light, recognizing this as perhaps his ultimate opportunity, Xuanyuan Ruoxing opened his mouth wide and, disregarding the possibility of his body exploding, swallowed the remaining half-pearl whole…

“Awoooo!” Seeing Xuanyuan Ruoxing consume the half-pearl the Heavenly Dragon had died fighting for, the Taotie erupted in fury. With a roar, its white form lunged toward Xuanyuan Ruoxing.

Xuanyuan Ruoxing was no match for the Taotie. Seeing the lunge, he turned and fled into the distance. However, after flying only a few hundred steps, he plummeted downward. The pearl’s berserk energy was rampaging through his body; even a flesh-and-blood being could hardly withstand such force, much less a soul form!

“Well done…” Just as Xuanyuan Ruoxing’s spirit body was about to burst from the pressure, Fang Guyou materialized before him and struck the crown of his head. A massive surge of power erupted, directly suppressing the Dragon Pearl's chaotic energy within Xuanyuan Ruoxing.

“Since you have the audacity to swallow half a Dragon Pearl, I shall grant your wish completely!” Fang Guyou had originally planned to use the Dragon Pearl to forge the Heavenly Tribulation Elixir, but the Heavenly Dragon’s final strike had completely derailed his scheme. From the moment the Taotie swallowed the first half, he knew his elixir plan was bankrupt. The remaining power, though immense, offered little to him now. In that case, he might as well fulfill his grand-disciple’s fate. After all, by consuming the pearl, Xuanyuan Ruoxing had crushed the Heavenly Dragon’s final wish to transfer its power to the Taotie, thus avenging him in a small way.

Under the sheer pressure of Fang Guyou’s power, the energy inside Xuanyuan Ruoxing was relentlessly compressed. His previously vague form grew clearer and clearer; Fang Guyou was actually using the Dragon Pearl’s energy to reconstruct his physical body.

With a single hand reaching into the void, the lifeless corpse of the Heavenly Dragon nearby instantly ejected a mass of flesh and blood that merged into Xuanyuan Ruoxing’s reforming body. Although the Nine Yin White Bone Sword had absorbed most of the Heavenly Dragon’s vital essence, what remained of its flesh was far superior to ordinary physical matter. Combined with half the Dragon Pearl’s power, Xuanyuan Ruoxing could now command this refined flesh.

All this transpired in the blink of an eye. At this moment, Xiao Taotao was still mid-lunge, but Xuanyuan Ruoxing’s new body was already taking shape.

Seeing the rapidly approaching Xiao Taotao, Fang Guyou sneered and raised a hand to snatch him. “Good grand-disciple, watch how your grand-master forges you an unparalleled divine body today!” As Fang Guyou’s vicious smile spread, about to tear into the Taotie’s head, a figure intercepted him.

It was Ye Jingyu, who had arrived at a full sprint. Wielding his blade with both hands, he unleashed a strike toward Fang Guyou. A brilliant, dazzling blade-light illuminated the entire sky; even the sun above seemed dull beneath the seven-hued sheen.

Sensing the immense power contained within the blade-light, Fang Guyou’s expression shifted slightly. He tapped a single finger, and a white lotus reappeared over his chest, intercepting the massive wave of blade energy…

With a resounding CRASH, the lotus was split in two by the single strike, its dazzling white light bathing the heavens. Seizing this chance, Ye Jingyu grabbed the Taotie’s body and bolted downward. But Fang Guyou scoffed, raised a hand, and summoned a white bone seal, which shot skyward…