In the Yinshang Cave Heaven, atop Guyun Peak.
Wu Xu Hong held a silver Bagua Mirror in his left hand. Blood streamed from the index finger of his right hand.
With that bleeding finger, he swept across the Bagua Mirror, inscribing one ancient rune after another.
Once the runes came together, threads of blood-red light shone from the mirror and converged in midair.
"Bzz—"
In the next instant, the blood-red lights formed a '?'-shaped totem in the sky.
Each corner of the totem held a gigantic red dot.
The dots were as large as washbasins. Inside each one, a strange object resembling a skull let out a savage roar.
Wu Xu Hong paid the scene no mind.
"Gather the Spirit of Seven Souls and sever the Root of Six Paths! Hua Ziyan, this time, you won't escape, even if you grow wings! Your Chaos Holy Blood will nourish my Soul of Hidden Puppets!"
"Hua Yunxiao, did you ever imagine that the boy whose cultivation you crippled and whose corpse you abandoned in the wilderness would one day inherit Heaven's Mandate and become a candidate for the next Ancient Emperor of the Heavenly Blood Ancient Clan?"
Remembering how he had changed his appearance over the years and lived in hiding alongside his young master, Wu Xu Hong felt his blood surge.
The corner of his mouth curled upward, baring a battle-god's sinister, alluring grin.
"Begin the spirit-gathering. Wait for the chance to strike!"
His eyes turned bloodred as he took control of the seven Puppet Death Warriors from afar, ready to kill Hua Ziyan in a single blow as she approached.
But at the crucial moment, the void suddenly trembled. A phantom spear, bearing ten thousand Dao marks and an ultimate killing intent, streaked across the sky and shot toward them.
Boom!
The void was annihilated. The seven Golden Core Puppet Death Warriors were split apart by a single spear thrust, instantly breaking into a rain of pulverized flesh and blood that filled the sky.
Crack!
Pfft!
The silver Bagua Mirror abruptly cracked like a spiderweb, while the totem in the void burst apart with a soft pfft, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.
At the same time, Wu Xu Hong's whole body shuddered. The light in his eyes dimmed in an instant.
A series of dull pops suddenly sounded from within him!
Seven explosions rang out in succession, like small blasts erupting inside his body.
Thud!
Unable to withstand the backlash, Wu Xu Hong dropped to his knees. He immediately summoned a sword and plunged it into the ground, only just managing to keep himself from toppling over!
"Damn it! Why did it fail?! Who leaked the secret?! Who?!"
"Didn't Master Zheng Xuan say this was the perfect chance to trigger Hua Ziyan's fated tribulation, and that she would surely perish?"
Wu Xu Hong was shocked and furious, and utterly unwilling to accept this.
But the excruciating pain of the backlash soon drowned out his fury and resentment, making him howl instinctively like a vengeful ghost...
Wanli Holy Land stood in the Wuyue Mountain Range outside Wuyue City.
The Wuyue Mountain Range wound and twisted like a true dragon coiled upon the earth, its tangled ridges stretching for ten thousand miles. White mist shrouded it year-round, lending it an air of mystery.
The area was rich in spiritual energy and beautiful, with the added qualities of wonder, elegance, and danger. It was like a true paradise on earth.
Su Li had been invited here three days ago.
But this world was fraught with danger, and Su Li hadn't tried to leave. Given his abilities, unless someone carried him through the air, it would probably take him ten years to walk back to Silent Ancient Temple on Luoxia Mountain.
Over the past three days, Hua Ziyan and Mu Yuxi had stayed by Su Li's side at all times. They hadn't cultivated or gone on any excursions.
Even the True Disciples of Wanli Holy Land had temporarily canceled their excursion.
Time soon reached 13:37 on September 1, 3030, Yunhuang Calendar.
In the forbidden area behind Wanli Holy Land.
"The time is almost here."
With his hands behind his back, Hua Yunxiao gazed intently at the void before him.
That area was where the Blazing Wasteland lay.
"My lord, twenty breaths remain," Yun Wanchu said respectfully.
Hua Yunxiao didn't respond. His expression gradually grew solemn.
Yun Wanchu fell silent as well. He focused his eyes, held his breath, and watched the area.
Boom!
At the exact moment the appointed time arrived, the distant void shook violently. Then a destructive white light, powerful enough to suppress heaven and earth, suddenly exploded in the distance.
The tremendous upheaval shook all of Wanli Holy Land as if a magnitude-ten earthquake had struck.
Under the circumstances, the Sect Protection Array activated on its own, releasing a powerful protective light.
At the same time, the sect's warning bell rang out by itself, clanging again and again.
Crack!
In the distant void, amid the ultimate white light, a terrifying black hole seemed to split open!
From within it, a ten-thousand-meter-tall stone stele plunged down, like a pillar holding up heaven and earth.
Rumble!
An energy capable of destroying heaven and earth erupted into an endless, violent storm that surged in every direction.
Everything in its path was annihilated, turning into a dark wasteland.
Hua Yunxiao's pupils contracted sharply. He was just about to unleash a protective technique to keep Wanli Holy Land from being caught in the destruction when another light, this one azure, enveloped the surrounding destructive force and abruptly contracted.
Then the endless storm of destructive energy was completely suppressed on the spot, and the next instant, it vanished without a trace.
In the space of a breath, everything had returned to stillness.
But the stretch of dark wasteland in the distance stood as irrefutable proof of what had happened. It hadn't been an illusion!
"He even predicted this accurately?!"
"I gave up on going to the Blazing Wasteland this time and quietly leaked the news instead, luring a group of True Disciples from Yinshang Cave Heaven and the Heavenly Blood Ancient Clan there... They must have been wiped out to the last."
"Master Su's divinations are truly terrifying! His talent for them must be extraordinary!"
"Yan'er has met her destined Dao partner!"
"But Master Su seems to be at odds with the laws of the world, able to block all Daoist arts and heavenly secrets. How can we help him embark on the path of cultivation?"
"If he can't cultivate, how long can he live, given his powerful divination abilities and the toll they take?"
"Perhaps his talent for divination mutated, granting him abilities beyond imagination, while leaving him severely restricted in cultivation."
Hua Yunxiao had lived for nearly a thousand years, and rarely had anything moved him so deeply.
But now, after this upheaval in heaven and earth, his impression of Su Li had suddenly grown especially vivid!
If Hua Yunxiao was this shaken, Yun Wanchu was even more so.
In Yun Wanchu's heart, Su Li's divination abilities were already on par with those of Zhuge Wuwei, the master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion!
"Xiaochu, come with me. Let's go meet Master Su and thank him for saving our lives."
"Yes, my lord."
"By the way, afterward, take Yun Qingxuan and the others to pay Master Su a visit. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have escaped this calamity either. Since Master Su saved their lives, they should remember this debt of gratitude."
"Rest assured, my lord. I've already taken it to heart."
Before you continue