The power struck with such suddenness that neither Ye Jingyu nor Xue Yuanyun had time to react before being slammed in the chest by this bizarre force.

Ye Jingyu plummeted like a meteorite, crashing heavily onto the ground. The impact sent dust and stones scattering, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. Even the sternum, capable of resisting attacks from Immortal Artifacts, shattered in places, exhibiting multiple comminuted fractures. The agonizing pain nearly caused Ye Jingyu to lose consciousness.

As for Xue Yuanyun, who held the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, he was utterly pulverized by the force without even having a chance to employ that artifact renowned throughout the Three Realms. Although his cultivation was superior to Ye Jingyu's, his physical **toughness was vastly inferior, making him utterly incapable of withstanding such terrifying power...

A nascent soul burst forth from his body, but a horned man immediately appeared above his head. He opened his massive maw and swallowed the nascent soul whole. Faintly, Xue Yuanyun's desperate, unwilling cry could be heard.

Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke simultaneously rose to their feet, gazing up at the sky. Besides the horned figure, a man and a woman had also appeared. The man was strikingly handsome; it was none other than Demon Yuan, whom Ye Jingyu and the others had encountered in the Fanlong Empire.

Seeing the arrival of these three and sensing the immense aura emanating from Yuan, Ye Jingyu—ignoring the searing pain in his chest—stepped forward instantly, snatched Liang Xiaoke’s body, and fled toward the distance. It was no joke; this individual was an 'Arha-level' master, a full realm higher than himself. Even with his formidable physical body, he couldn't endure such an attack. That last blow was undeniably his doing. Without the Heaven-Overturning Seal in hand, without the Twelve Heavenly Witch Annihilation Grand Array, Ye Jingyu didn't believe he was strong enough to challenge an Arha-level expert.

While escaping, Ye Jingyu did not forget to retrieve the golden brick hovering in the air. After all, it was an artifact belonging to the Great God Nezha, the Grand Marshal of the Three Altars, and losing it would be a pity. As for the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, he understood there would be no opportunity to claim it this time.

Liang Xiaoke also watched wistfully as Mu pocketed the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, reluctantly recalling Gongsun Lu back into his Sea of Consciousness as he fled into the distance with Ye Jingyu.

Such a magnificent treasure—they would have to find another chance to seize it later...

Mu grasped the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and moved to pursue, but Yuan stopped him.

"My Lord, this kid just survived a major battle and is completely exhausted. Why don't we take this opportunity to slay him and eliminate future trouble?" Mu looked doubtfully in the direction where Ye Jingyu and the others had vanished, saying with unwillingness.

"Didn't you see the ancient green bell on him? The defensive power of that artifact is astonishing; even I am not entirely confident in breaking it. Instead of wasting time here, it is better that we hurry to Qin Mountain and break the seal," Yuan said calmly, tightly gripping the blood-red longsword in his hand.

This peerless blood sword, capable of blocking the Immortal Slaying Sword, was the other sacred sword of the Demon race—the Yuantu Sword.

Hearing Yuan's words, Mu sighed heavily. Meanwhile, Lin, standing beside them, had not spoken a single word from beginning to end, though his eyes remained fixed on Yuan's face, seemingly trying to discern something.

Yuan's gaze, however, was fixed on the horizon. Just as he was about to intercept Ye Jingyu, an aura filled with the death energy of the Netherworld swept over from that direction. Although that energy was far from being a match for him, it was certainly potent enough to heavily wound him. This was the real reason he allowed Ye Jingyu and his group to leave.

With the Yuantu Sword in hand, his objective achieved, why invite unnecessary complications?

The figures of the three gradually vanished, and the Guhua Continent was plunged into complete chaos from that moment on. After all, the Nine Great Families, along with their powerful patriarchs, had perished in this battle. No expert could be found across the entire Guhua Continent; perhaps Fang Zhuguo and Xuel Ming were now the strongest figures there.

Ye Jingyu brought Liang Xiaoke directly back to Jiuzhou. Fang Zhuguo and Xuel Ming also arrived in Jiuzhou with Xiyang. When they saw Ye Jingyu return safely, they were overjoyed, but Ye Jingyu was not as happy as expected; Yuan's appearance left him with a persistent sense of unease.

Fang Zhuguo and Xuel Ming returned to the Guhua Continent. The deaths of the seven patriarchs were purely accidental, born of greed. Ye Jingyu did not dwell on sentiment; he only felt that the human world had suffered a tremendous loss with so many Heaven-ranked experts gone.

Yet, this might not be an entirely bad thing. At least from now on, whether Jiuzhou or the Guhua Continent, they would be united. With the current strength of Fang Zhuguo and Xuel Ming, unifying the chaotic Guhua Continent would not be difficult. Their only task now was to continuously enhance their own power...

This battle had resulted in heavy losses, especially for Liang Xiaoke, who was almost utterly ruined. If he hadn't absorbed Hua Wuhui's vital essence in the end, his cultivation might have completely reverted to the Corpse Emperor realm, making further progress impossible.

Now, although he could barely maintain the Flying Yaksha realm, it was uncertain how long it would take for him to manifest his two clones again. However, when Ye Jingyu handed him the Immortal Slaying Sword, the grief in his heart finally found a sliver of comfort.

Everyone paused to rest and recover their strength, continuously working to improve their power, unaware that Yuan had obtained the Yuantu Sword for the purpose of breaking the Demon seal...

A year passed quickly. The Southern Cloud Empire took advantage of this time to continuously expand outward. Perhaps because Demon Yuan had departed, the Fanlong Empire could no longer withstand the Southern Cloud Empire's armies and was swiftly conquered by the forces led by Nangong Yun. Even the Atlantis Empire in the Far West was subdued by troops led by Tuobafang Chang, who had pledged allegiance to Luo Ruofeng.

Luo Ruofeng finally became the first emperor to unify the entire Douhun Continent. Of course, how many experts assisted him in this endeavor remained unknown...

At least during the conquest of the Atlantis Empire, Fang Zhuguo brought a large number of high-end energy weapons from the Guhua Continent. Furthermore, the experts from the Ancient European Continent backing the Atlantis Empire were jointly defeated by Ye Jingyu and the others...

In that year, after stabilizing Medusa's inner core, Jiu Feng's cultivation neared the True Immortal realm. Her power was already comparable to that of an ordinary Heaven-ranked expert. Once she comprehended that final layer, she could achieve the Demon King physique at any time.

【Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book】