Confronting the Saint King

"This... is the power of the Mighty Expert Realm!"

"He actually broke through to the Mighty Expert Realm!"

Outside the mirror, countless cultivators stared in horror, looking at the youth within as though he were some monstrous prodigy.

"The Heavenly Emperor's cultivation talent is simply too terrifying. Without any method of advancement, he still reached the Mighty Expert Realm!"

"An eight-year-old Mighty Expert Realm powerhouse—he must be the first in the entire ancient history of the Northern Profound Continent!"

Countless cultivators were stunned, yet they also felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Emperor's Dao foundation had been destroyed. If he had continued cultivating at that pace, he would likely have long since ascended to the Immortal Realm.

How could they have gathered here now to witness the Heavenly Emperor's past?

"Form the array!"

A fierce shout suddenly rang out from within the mirror.

Countless white-robed cultivators rode divine rainbows through the air, gathering in the sky to form an incomparably profound formation diagram that enveloped Gu Changqing.

Yet before a Mighty Expert consumed by rage, this obscure formation was no more substantial than paper.

The woodcutter's blade was hurled into the heavens.

This most commonplace of mortal tools could never have imagined that one day, it would receive such an honor.

Boundless laws of heaven and earth converged upon the blade.

At that moment, the woodcutter's blade resembled a supreme imperial weapon that had leapt free from the River of Time and Space, severing a stretch of that river and suppressing all things in the world!

Those cultivators who had once stood so high and mighty in the Young Heavenly Emperor's heart—

Beneath the cold edge of that woodcutter's blade, they fell one after another, staining the sky with blood.

"How dare you run wild!!"

At the peak of the sacred land, a white-haired elder in white robes suddenly tore through the void and sat cross-legged in the air.

As that ancient, thunderous roar rang out, a vast giant palm that crushed the heavenly vault descended from the Nine Heavens Above toward Gu Changqing.

The terrifying pressure burst the sky apart, shattered mountains and rivers, and plunged heaven and earth into silence!

"A Saint King!!"

Outside the mirror, every cultivator's pupils abruptly contracted.

No one had expected the foundation of a mere mortal sect to be so terrifying.

Its sect master was actually a Saint King-level existence!

"No wonder the Heavenly Emperor's Dao foundation was destroyed even after he broke through to the Mighty Expert Realm. Before a Saint King, a Mighty Expert is no different from an ant!"

After all, this was an existence two entire realms above the Mighty Expert Realm.

Transcendence, then sainthood!

No matter how strong one was beneath the Half-Saint Realm, one remained mortal. Only upon reaching the Half-Saint Realm could one experience the wonders of sainthood!

"Could it be that this was the one who dug out the Heavenly Emperor's Immortal Root?"

"But why was the Heavenly Emperor still able to survive?"

Those words left everyone stunned.

That was right.

How could a Mighty Expert possibly survive beneath a Saint King's hand?

Had this man held back, deliberately sparing the Heavenly Emperor's life and leaving the weeds uncut at their roots? That clearly made no sense.

"It must have been Miss Youwei's master who appeared when he was on the verge of death."

Someone said.

The crowd nodded faintly.

For now, this seemed to be the only explanation.

"Break for me!"

Facing the Saint King's suppression, Gu Changqing did not merely refuse to evade—he charged straight at it.

Within his body, the Immortal Root erupted with blazing divine radiance. Endless divine runes spewed forth boundless power of laws, linking heaven and earth.

He drew upon the great force of heaven and earth, gathering it all into his fist.

Boom!

As that punch flew out, a deafening explosion resounded through heaven and earth. Soundwaves swept in every direction, and in that instant, the entire Jade Void Sacred Land was reduced to scorched earth.

The palm that suppressed heaven and earth shattered inch by inch.

Until he turned into drifting clouds and mist.

"Eh?"

The White-robed Saint King in the firmament could not help but utter a soft cry of surprise.

His aged face was filled with both astonishment and shock.

Outside the mirror, the expressions of the many experts were almost identical to that of the White-robed Saint King.

No one could have imagined that the Young Heavenly Emperor, despite possessing only the cultivation of a Great Power, would be able to shake a Saint King!

"This is fucking absurd, isn't it?"

Many people began swearing outright.

Even if the White-robed Saint King hadn't used his full strength, how could a mere Great Expert possibly block the secret technique of a Saint King?

That was a Saint King! Not some cabbage by the roadside!

"An Immortal Root? That's an Immortal Root??"

After his brief daze, boundless delight appeared on the White-robed Saint King's face.

"When I was young, I once heard that those born with an Immortal Root were innate Supremes. I spent half my life searching for one, believing such a divine thing existed only in ancient records. Yet I never imagined that, at death's door, I would be fortunate enough to see it."

"Heaven truly favors me!"

"With such bones and roots, I will surely attain Supremacy and break free of the limits of lifespan."

"Hahaha..."

As the White-robed Saint King laughed, the way he looked at Gu Changqing became kindly. "Hand it over, then."

He suddenly reached out.

A giant hand that blanketed the heavens thrust into the void and, in an instant, arrived before Gu Changqing.

Outside the mirror, everyone's emotions tightened at that moment.

They could more or less guess that it was precisely then that the Young Heavenly Emperor's Dao foundation was destroyed and his Immortal Root dug out.

"Master, if only you had appeared a little earlier."

Gu Youwei seemed unable to bear watching any longer and could not help murmuring.

Yet no one had expected it.

The very next moment.

After dissolving Cao Yuwei's attack this time, Mei Gongzi did not rush to counterattack. She merely stood where she was, motionless.

Cao Yuwei's brows knit slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so sharp? After he had forged armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had pressed her attack, he was confident he could use one of them to restrain her. But she had not advanced, forcing the ability he had poised and ready to interrupt.

The battle saber slashed out once more, its powerful saber intent even stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with his saber, man and blade becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand formed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle once again, and with an instantaneous teleportation, she switched positions. While dissolving her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. A flash of golden-red light flickered across Cao Yuwei's body; had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! She seemed intent on wearing Cao Yuwei down.