The masters of the Three Great Sacred Lands gasped in stunned silence, for the two figures emerging gracefully from the bamboo grove truly rendered them speechless!

In the eyes of the Three Sacred Lands, this man and woman had once been the most irritating thorns in their sides—a blight that absolutely had to be eradicated as quickly as possible!

There had even been a period where the Three Sacred Lands had felt completely secure regarding these two scourges. The reason was simple: the two individuals who posed the greatest threat to them had been confirmed dead!

One had perished while fighting a siege, taking three Saints down with him; the other had died at the Heavenly Punishment Forest headquarters, personally ambushed and killed by Saint Emperor Zhan Mubai, who had even been generous enough to spare one more, the Serpent King Qian Xun!

In short, both of them were supposed to be dead men, relics of the past!

By calculation, the Three Sacred Lands had enjoyed nearly three months of profound peace!

But now, at this very moment, it seemed the entire world had been overturned. Their long-time great enemy, whom they believed relegated to the past, a memory, history, was suddenly standing alive and breathing right before their eyes!

And their cultivation had advanced immensely!

How could Zhan Mubai, the man directly involved, not be astonished? How could he not be shaken to his core! As he looked at that familiar young face reappearing before him, it felt as though he had been struck squarely by a massive club, leaving him dizzy and faint! Even the composure he had struggled to feign vanished instantly, dissolving into thin air!

“Zhan Mubai, Saint Emperor Zhan, are you quite surprised, old man? Look at your face, pale and flushed green; while this is indeed an unexpected event, surely it doesn't warrant this kind of reaction? You are a Saint Emperor expert, a being seated high above! Your current display is far too undignified!” Jun Moxie, cloaked in flowing white, stepped forward, addressing the crowd while a chilling, sinister sneer played on his lips, his eyes flashing with cold, sharp light!

“Jun Moxie, are you truly that Demon Lord of Evil?” Hai Wuya drew a deep breath and took a step forward, positioning himself in front of Zhan Mubai. His heart now held only room for bitter irony. In this moment, all he could think was: What a colossal miscalculation!

Compared to this young man before him, what did even the legendary Ethereal Physique matter? If the Ethereal Physique could cause several Saint Emperors to tear each other apart in bloody conflict, wouldn't this person standing here incite every powerhouse to fight to the death without regard for their own lives...?

“Your esteemed self pays me too high a compliment,” Jun Moxie smiled faintly. “Are you from the Dream Illusion Blood Sea? Saint Emperor Hai Wuya?”

“Indeed, that is this old man,” Hai Wuya replied, looking at him and smiling mildly. “Jun Moxie, permit this elder to ask presumptuously today... have you, by chance, already reached the Saint Emperor realm?”

Jun Moxie flicked his sleeve and laughed airily. “My luck has always been quite good. I don't know precisely how I reached my current level; I suppose it’s pure chance. Compared to the tireless, dedicated cultivation of a senior like yourself, I can only offer my shame!”

What a polite, humble statement that was! Yet, how could such astonishing power achieved at such a young age be mere chance?!

“Shame?! It is we old fellows who should truly be ashamed! Compared to Young Master Jun’s progress, we are utterly disgraced.”

Hai Wuya smiled bitterly. “To the best of my knowledge, Young Master Jun has barely turned eighteen, has he not?! An eighteen-year-old Saint Emperor... unprecedented in all history! In the face of Young Master Jun’s achievements, countless romantic figures from the past and present pale into insignificance! This accomplishment is not only unparalleled, but likely unrepeatable. I believe even the Nine Nether First Young Master from the ancient days would feel inadequate in comparison!”

Jun Moxie was silent for a moment. “Saint Emperor Hai is overpraising me. While my personal achievements might be noteworthy, they are far inferior to those of the Sacred Lands. The Three Great Sacred Lands truly boast a multitude of talents, possessed of unrivaled power. I have repeatedly fled for my life under the Sacred Lands’ pursuit, surviving countless near-death experiences by sheer luck... I am intimately familiar with the might of the Sacred Lands, and I hold them in the highest regard, an impression I shall never forget.”

“All the matters that transpired here were truly a blunder on the part of our Sacred Lands. To have incurred the enmity of Young Master was the greatest mistake the Three Sacred Lands have made in ten thousand years!”

Hai Wuya sighed deeply, his expression filled with infinite regret. Shaking his head, he said mournfully, “If there were a chance to do things over, this kind of peerless talent blooming in a chaotic age like Young Master Jun’s—I would exert every fiber of my being to prevent our side from becoming your enemy! I would spare no effort, regardless of the cost, to secure your friendship...”

Every word, every tone, every inflection in his speech sounded utterly sincere. Anyone hearing it would know these were words spoken straight from the heart.

Jun Moxie remained silent for a beat. “It is a pity... but in the affairs of man, there is no such thing as an ‘if’! So-called ‘ifs’ are merely useless fantasies.”

“Indeed, what Young Master says is absolutely correct.” Hai Wuya raised his head with solemnity. “I have been secluded in the Heavenly Saint Palace for three hundred years, never imagining that such an exceptional figure as yourself would appear in this world! The path of profound cultivation always dictates that the accomplished one is the teacher, regardless of age or seniority. Though Young Master is young, your cultivation rivals my own, but I have, after all, lived a few hundred years longer. Today, I cast aside my pride and leverage my age to ask a single question...”

Hai Wuya did not finish his sentence, instead taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and then slowly opening them again. It seemed as though he mustered all the strength in his body as he uttered, word by deliberate word: “If the Three Great Sacred Lands were to offer an apology to Young Master, and pay a commensurate price, would you be willing to reach an understanding with the Sacred Lands, turning weapons into jade and resolving this senseless slaughter?!”

“Is there still room for reconciliation between us?” Hai Wuya stated in a low voice. Given his status, uttering these words was already equivalent to lowering himself significantly.

“Room for reconciliation...” Jun Moxie murmured the phrase back, then suddenly broke into a faint smile—a smile laden with mockery, tinged with a subtle sarcasm. “Senior Hai, I believe you are not saying this out of fear of death. On the contrary, the very fact that you can utter these words earns you respect! Because you speak them for the sake of the Heaven-Seizing War, offering these heartfelt words that diminish your own standing. Though you haven't stated it plainly, I understand! And I admire it!”

Jun Moxie spoke with genuine feeling. “It is just that, regrettably, everything is far too late! I believe Senior Hai understands that from the very beginning, I, Jun Moxie, never intended to actively confront the Three Great Sacred Lands! Truly, not even once... to speak of distant history, just a year ago, I didn’t even know that the peak existences known as the Three Great Sacred Lands were even real!”

“But today, in this moment, I can no longer turn back!” Jun Moxie sighed, his voice dropping low. “Times have changed, circumstances have shifted. It is no longer a matter of you targeting me; rather, it is that I will now absolutely not let you go! Today’s decisive battle is merely the beginning.”

“Nothing in this world is absolute; no grudge is so deep that it cannot be set aside,” Hai Wuya insisted earnestly. Jun Moxie’s understanding struck the Saint Emperor of the Dream Illusion Blood Sea with a wave of complex emotion, even moving him slightly. He stepped forward, his expression fervent. “Our Heavenly Saint Palace can make the final decision. Whatever grievances exist, we can set them aside. Everything must yield to the Heaven-Seizing War! Everything must yield to the welfare of all living beings in the world!”

“If this had happened six months ago, or even three months ago, and our two sides had reached an understanding to cease hostilities—that might truly have been a perfect outcome for both. Regrettably, it is not possible now. As I said before: circumstances have changed, times have shifted! Your Heavenly Saint Palace no longer has the authority to decide this matter!”

Jun Moxie smiled. “Now, the one who holds the authority, the one who dictates the terms, is no longer you three Sacred Lands—it is me! And only me. Furthermore, Senior Hai... if I were truly to heed your words, I fear the three hundred or so people under my command would all end up as corpses within six months, not a single exception! I trust you understand what I am saying. What you desire is destruction, and what I desire now is the same as yours!”

Hai Wuya sighed, intending to argue further, but then heard a voice nearby interrupt. “Jun Moxie, you are truly too arrogant! Having achieved momentary success, you now speak incoherently? Let me tell you, no matter what accomplishments you possess now, or what formidable strength you command, before the Three Great Sacred Lands, you still face nothing but a dead end! No one in this world can protect you!”

The speaker was none other than Zhan Mubai.

“Brother Zhan!” Hai Wuya never expected Zhan Mubai to jump in and sabotage the moment, and he hissed his rebuke in a low voice.

“Brother Zhan’s words may be inappropriate, but his reasoning is sound. Brother Hai, there is truly no room for reconciliation between us and Jun Moxie; we are locked in a situation where only one side can survive.”

He Zhi Qiu sighed heavily. “The Jun family has been driven to desperation by our actions, and the Heavenly Punishment Forest is no longer what it was because of us; several lives are entangled in this, and blood debts can only be repaid with blood... Even Jun Moxie himself, despite his survival, went through an ordeal of near-death experiences. This is just accounting for the losses on the opposing side... As for the losses suffered by the Sacred Lands, we have already buried over a thousand lives in total. How is this debt to be settled!”

He Zhi Qiu sighed heavily. “The cultivation of the lowest among these thousand-plus sacrifices was above the level of Supreme Being! Moreover, among them was Mo Xiaoyao, the younger brother of Mo Wudao, the Master of the Hidden Immortal Palace! I believe even if the Heavenly Saint Palace mediates, this hatred and grievance will not be easily dissolved.”

“Therefore, today, there is only battle!” Jun Moxie grinned, revealing teeth as white and sharp as the fangs of an ancient beast, showing a fearsome threat.

Hai Wuya stood dejectedly, silent for a long time, his expression filled with deep melancholy. After an age, he suddenly gritted his teeth. “A pity! What a pity... With someone like Jun Moxie as a friend, what challenge in this world could not be overcome... But to be his enemy is truly too dangerous. If we cannot eliminate him in this battle, then wait no longer; within three to five years at most, there will likely be no Three Great Sacred Lands left in the world! I can state this with certainty!”