A Pyrrhic Victory

Ye Xiu frowned as he looked at Mu Chen. Ye Xiu, who had the highest cultivation and the strongest combat power, naturally took the lead role upon himself.

However, if what Mu Chen said is true, then Mu Chen will naturally play a greater role, and Ye Xiu will have to protect him from being focused down.

Ye Xiu a deep breath and said to Mu Chen, "Words are no proof. Let me feel your power!"

"I'd be happy to oblige!"

A starry sky rose behind Mu Chen, and three identical figures stood in the starry sky. The three of them pointed at Ye Xiu at the same time.

The next moment, Dragon's Roar and Phoenix's Cry and phoenixes cried, tigers howled and lions roared. In the boundless purple night sky, Black Stars were arranged in a radial pattern. Within each star, a beast-like shape could be faintly seen, emanating waves of oppressive power that touched the soul.

"Watch out!"

After giving a final reminder, Mu Chen said no more. Thin black lines stretched across the Purple Night Sky, connecting the Black Stars together, like a vast net that covered the sky and pressed down on Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu neither dodged nor avoided, like a solid mountain, unmoved even if the sky collapsed and the earth caved in.

The raging, purplish-black flames engulfed everything, obscuring the view of onlookers. Only the deafening explosions and the earth-shattering waves of fire remained, making everyone's hearts pound with fear and making them feel that they could not unleash such combat power.

After a few breaths, the vibrations gradually subsided, and the purplish-black flames slowly dissipated like a receding tide, revealing the figures of Mu Chen and Ye Xiu inside.

Judging from their appearances, neither of them seemed to be injured, and their breathing was quite stable. However, Mu Chen cupped his hands to Ye Xiu and said, "You flatter me."

Ye Xiu nodded coldly at Mu Chen without saying anything more.

Neither of them used their true skills, only exchanging a few blows. But it's undeniable that with more people involved, Mu Chen, the Spirit Array Master, played a greater role than Ye Xiu.

"Let's go. Besides the Endless Fire Domain, the Heavenly Sovereign of other forces are also a considerable force." Mu Chen smiled and strode forward...

On the other hand, Maha Tian did have some trump cards, but none of them surpassed the power of Saint Grade. All he had were special Pills from the Endless Fire Domain, which could quickly restore Spiritual Power, heal injuries, and unleash combat power.

However, no matter what, Maha Tian was no match for the two Late-Stage Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign.

Even though both enemies were injured, Maha Tian could only defeat one of them with the help of the sacred artifact. Even if Maha Tian consumed all the Pills, he still could not achieve a complete victory against the two of them working together.

Maha Tian also considered escaping, but the two were willing to suffer some injuries to force Maha Tian to stay, showing an attitude of not giving up until they eliminated Maha Tian, which made Maha Tian furious.

In the end, Maha Tian could only leave with the sacred artifact, his eyes filled with hatred, determined to kill as many Outer Realm Evil Clan as possible after recovering from his injuries.

"I didn't expect that Maha Tian didn't have the Flame Emperor's backup plan."

"Perhaps Flame Emperor left a contingency plan with his own son? But what about Xiao Qingshan..."

The two didn't discuss the spendthrift son much. The once-famous Heavenly Sovereign Pig had indeed shaken the Outer Realm Evil Clan quite a bit.

After a short rest, the two went back to find the three men. They had all been injured in the fight against Maha Tian, who was constantly taking drugs. They used to be able to exert 90% of their fighting power with minor injuries, but now they could only exert 50% or 60% at most.

After some time, the forces of the Great Thousand World and the forces of the Labor Reform Spirit Emperor finally clashed head-on.

To the dismay of the remaining three Spirit Emperors, the fighting force of the Great Thousand World was stronger than they had anticipated.

Nearly two hundred Heavenly Sovereign gathered together, with Ye Xiu, a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign, at the head. Their auras condensed together, causing the gray mist within a radius of ten thousand miles to dissipate completely, forming large areas of voids.

On the other hand, the Three Spirit Emperor, while also having a considerable number of Demon Emperor from the Outer Realm Evil Clan, few of them had switched to cultivating Spiritual Power. The ones who came this time were all late-stage Saint Grade who had reached the point of no further advancement. Judging from their aura alone, they were subtly overshadowed.

"So what if a bunch of ants gather together? When someone dies at my hands, how many will survive?"

"Even if Flame Emperor has a backup plan to wipe us all out, how can you possibly compete with the leading experts? You might as well withdraw now and cut your losses."

The faint, urging voice echoed in everyone's ears, like a demonic whisper, causing even the Heavenly Sovereign to show a troubled expression.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a thunderous roar erupted, and everyone broke out in a cold sweat—they had actually considered giving up based on just two sentences from the other party.

"This is a divine power of the Sound Demon Clan. They can use sound as a medium to sway the will of others," said a man with an ordinary appearance.

The man was dressed in plain linen clothes, of average height and build, with no particular features except for his eyes, which were deep and dark, as if concealing a deep pool, with faint flashes of lightning within them.

The thunderous sound also came from the man, and before he spoke, no one around could have noticed that such a person existed.

"Heart Demon Emperor, are you going to betray our Sacred Clan?" the Spirit Emperor of the Sound Demon Clan said angrily.

The man did not reply, but a mocking look flashed in his eyes. When the Spirit Emperor got angry, the Spiritual Power fluctuations around him became even stronger, and there was really no trace of Demonic Qi to be seen.

"First of all, my name is Cheng Xin. I am a native of the Great Thousand World and have no idea what you are talking about. I am also irreconcilably opposed to Spirit Emperor like you, who is Outer Realm Evil Clan."

Cheng Xin cleared her throat and then continued, "Secondly, the Outer Realm Evil Clan is the Outer Realm Evil Clan. Don't try to glorify yourselves. Sacred Clan? You don't deserve that title!"

"You have betrayed your past and deserve to be burned to ashes." A hoarse voice followed, the vicious curse devoid of any emotion, as if stating a fact.

Cheng Xin immediately felt dizzy and lightheaded, her limbs went weak, and she felt waves of intense pain in her chest and abdomen. A scorching heat suddenly erupted from deep within her bone marrow, followed by uncontrollable black and white flames.

"What kind of bizarre ability is this?"

A crystal-clear flame enveloped Cheng Xin, and its terrifying heat burned Cheng Xin's body to ashes even before the Saint Demon Flame could burn.

However, the flames did not stop burning; instead, they exploded, and a Cheng Xin exactly like the one before emerged from the flames.

The purple night sky reappeared, and Black Stars enveloped the numerous Heavenly Sovereign. Except for Ye Xiu, everyone else formed a unified whole.

"Ahem, this is the legendary Ancient Undying Bird. It's so powerful it's unreasonable."

Cheng Xin nodded to Nine Nether and, without keeping him in suspense, said directly, "Since the Outer Realm Evil Clan was defeated by the Flame Emperor, the Great Thousand World has paid little attention to the strange abilities of those races. I obtained the inheritance of an ancient force and also inherited their hatred for the Outer Realm Evil Clan, so I know a bit more about them."

"That was probably a natural ability of the Curse Demon Clan. It looks unpredictable, but you need to prepare in advance to cast a curse."

"I'm not entirely sure what the specific preparations are, but this kind of direct, lethal curse can only be used when there's a huge difference in cultivation levels. If I break through to the Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign, even if it's just the early stage, he won't be able to curse me to death directly."

Cheng Xin briefly explained why she knew so much, but her hands moved swiftly, her Spiritual Power surging forth as if it were free, pouring into the Black Stars. Under Mu Chen's control, she attacked the two Spirit Emperors who were making their move, fearing that the group of ferocious Heavenly Sovereign beside her would mistake her for the reincarnation of the Heart Demon Emperor and chop her up.

"There are some records in the Endless Fire Domain's Library Pavilion, but most people who go there are focused on the Saint Demon Flame, and no one pays attention to the innate abilities of other Outer Realm Evil Clan," Wang Ling'er from the Endless Fire Domain said, trying to help Cheng Xin out of her predicament.

"I did take a look at the Corpse Demon Clan's method of Corpse Qi corpse beasts. The Endless Fire Domain also has the supernatural ability to turn flames into Fire Beast. The two do have something in common." Mu Chen said quickly, then continued to restrain the two Spirit Emperors, preventing them from interfering in Ye Xiu's battle with the remaining Spirit Emperor.

The remaining Spirit Emperor was also quite extraordinary. Even though Ye Xiu the power of thousands of Divine Beasts and had refined Immortal Flesh Body, he still could not completely ignore its fierce attacks. One wound and bruise after another appeared. No matter how quickly he recovered, it was still not as fast as the new injuries that appeared.

The abilities of the Sound Demon Clan and the Curse Demon Clan are more supportive, and they are not strong in direct combat. In fact, they are suppressed by Mu Chen.

Mu Chen and Ye Xiu bore the greatest pressure. One had to control the violent Spiritual Power of nearly two hundred Heavenly Sovereign and their fierce fighting spirit, while the other was being relentlessly hammered by a Late-Stage Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign.

Just then, Xiao Qingshan, who had been cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes.

"This Saint Demon Flame is really difficult to refine..."

Xiao Qingshan chuckled and muttered something. Looking around, he saw that the Saint Demon Flame, which had helped him temper the power of Reincarnation and also restricted his movements, had completely dissipated. In its place, a black and white color resembling a Tai Chi diagram appeared in Xiao Qingshan's eyes.

"A fight has broken out over there? The noise is still incredibly clear even from this distance, it's really frightening."

"Should I go check it out? I should be able to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the chaos now, right?"

Xiao Qingshan revealed a simple and unpretentious smile. Although he hesitated with his mouth, his feet did not stop at all. Flames burst forth, and his figure rushed towards that direction at a terrifying speed.

When Xiao Qingshan arrived at the scene, he immediately saw a sea of fire burning down on the Three Spirit Emperor, who were attacking Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu was covered in wounds all over his body. His once handsome face was now bruised and swollen, and his features were rugged.

However, whenever Spirit Emperor wanted to abandon Ye Xiu and charge into the sea of fire to dismantle this damned Formation, Ye Xiu would rush forward without hesitation, his body erupting with billions of Glazed Radiance, trapping him tightly and forcibly dragging him back to the center of the Formation.

Xiao Qingshan could see clearly that although Ye Xiu was in a sea of fire, the power of the stars did not fall on him at all. Instead, a crystal-clear flame slowly burned on his hideous wound.

The flames of the Ancient Undying Bird were far superior to the regenerative abilities of the Three Thousand Burning Flame. As the flames burned, buds of flesh rapidly surged and then joined together. The blood stopped flowing, forming a thin scab that eventually fell off, revealing the tender pink skin beneath.

Of course, this process is not without cost. Ye Xiu's life force and blood energy will be rapidly depleted. Even with the Undying Bird replenishing them, his essence is still being damaged.

This is related to Ye Xiu's relatively young age. Heavenly Sovereign have long lifespans and an unimaginably vast Life Origin within their bodies. In addition, Ye Xiu has also cultivated Immortal Flesh Body, containing abundant blood and qi.

If it were an elderly person whose qi and blood are declining, their vitality would be insufficient, and as each wound heals, it would drain the last bit of life force from their body.

The three Spirit Emperors were in no better shape; their clothes were tattered, their skin was charred, and their hair and eyebrows had long been burned to ashes.

"Still fighting? Don't worry, whoever wins will have to get past me."

Xiao Qingshan's cheerful voice rang out, or rather, it penetrated the flames and reached the ears of the three Spirit Emperors.

Upon hearing the voice of this powerful reinforcement, everyone in the Great Thousand World was invigorated, but the Three Spirit Emperor' aura suddenly weakened, and their mood plummeted.

There's no way to explain it. No matter how "spendthrift" Xiao Qingshan is, he is still a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign. His combat strength is not bad, and he has more Pills than Maha Tian. He probably also has a lot of sacred objects.

Even if the Three Spirit Emperor paid a huge price to achieve final victory and luckily defeated Xiao Qingshan, he definitely still had a backup plan left by the Flame Emperor.

The only thing they couldn't understand was why Xiao Qingshan, who originally had no intention of competing, had suddenly appeared.

Did this guy intend to reap the benefits from the start?

Thinking of this, the Three Spirit Emperor could no longer hold on. Their three blurry Dharma Body separated from their bodies and exploded on their own. Then, with their injuries, they forcibly withdrew from this space.

With the Great Enemy gone, the Formation vanished, and the numerous dejected Heavenly Sovereign appeared in Xiao Qingshan's field of vision. Ye Xiu finally didn't need to hold on to his last breath; his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground.

"Tsk tsk tsk, with a single word I sent three experts of the same realm packing. Looking across the Great Thousand World, who can rival me? Not even the Flame Emperor!" Xiao Qingshan said arrogantly, like a victorious rooster.

"Cough cough, Brother Xiao's support came just in time. A few more minutes and we probably wouldn't have been able to hold on," Mu Chen said weakly, coughing twice.

"Thank you, Xie Hui. One hundred million drops of Sovereign Spirit Liquid for each of you—if you don't pay, I'll send you to the elimination zone right now." Xiao Qingshan glanced at Mu Chen, thinking to himself, "Who are you? Calling me Brother Xiao?"

"Huh?" Mu Chen's expression froze.

"Don't say I'm bullying you. You've all fought tooth and nail, yet the Reincarnation Dharma Body still hasn't made a move. Don't you understand?" Xiao Qingshan smiled mysteriously. "Don't you want to know the secret behind it?"

"Could it be..." Mu Chen and Ye Xiu exchanged a glance. "Brother Xiao knows?"

Xiao Qingshan curled his lips, his smile vanishing, "Nonsense, my father is Xiao Yan!"