The Saint Descends

However, just as the masses were immersed in jubilation, at the brilliant moment when the Dragon Qi first surged into the clouds!

At the heart of the oasis, atop the altar meticulously nourished by seven-colored energy beside the Spirit Gathering Pavilion, the winds and clouds suddenly shifted!

Hum—!!!

That seven-colored giant egg, which had been silent for so long, began to tremble violently without warning, as if a prehistoric behemoth were hidden within, about to break through its shell. The seven-colored rays of light flowing across the surface of the shell instantly became blinding and scorching, like the midday sun, making it impossible to look upon directly. A terrifying aura, far purer and more domineering than at any previous moment, carrying the supreme majesty of a prehistoric sovereign, erupted from within the egg like a sleeping ancient fierce god suddenly opening its eyes, shaking the entire heavens and earth!

Crack... crack...

The faint yet incredibly clear sound of shattering rang out quietly amidst the thunderous cheers, yet it exploded like a thunderclap in the depths of the souls of Yue Mei and the other elders, causing their hearts to tremble!

The eggshell... had cracked! It heralded the imminent arrival of a new life or power!

Meanwhile, in the Desert of Buried Immortals, atop the Demon Peak of Bones.

The churning Chaos Demon Flame once again filled the void left behind by the shattered immortal light, like viscous dark red blood, greedily licking every inch of the bones scorched to a deep crimson, exuding an aura of destruction and death. The lingering might from the collapse of the Soul Extinguisher's projection and the residual Dragon-Phoenix aura from Xiao Zhan's outburst had not yet fully dissipated; they intertwined with the sulfurous stench and destructive aura of the Demon Flame, forming a suffocating domain of death.

Suddenly!

Above the Demon Peak, the sky, illuminated dark red as blood by the Demon Flame, was torn apart by an invisible giant claw as if it were fragile fabric! A terrifying spatial rift, a thousand feet long and burning with ghastly white Soul Flame at its edges, hung hideously across the horizon, appearing like a horrific gateway to another world!

An aura far more terrifying and profound than that of You Lao, Elder Ming, or even the projection of Soul Extinguisher—as if originating from the deepest layer of the Nine Netherworlds—descended with the force of a tangible cold wave! The space of the entire Demon Peak was instantly frozen, and even time seemed to have stalled for an instant! The rolling Demon Flames were frozen in mid-air! Below, Xiao Yan, who had just completed his initial transformation and was stabilizing his aura, and Xiao Yi Xian, who was sitting cross-legged healing, felt as if they were being crushed by an invisible iceberg; even breathing became incredibly difficult, their souls frozen, as if they would be crushed by this terrifying pressure in the next instant!

The spatial rift was deep and unfathomable, like a portal to an endless abyss. From within this rift, a blurred yet majestic figure stepped out slowly, each step seemingly shattering the tranquility of the void. His figure was exceptionally tall and straight as a pine, draped in a pitch-black cloak that seemed woven from countless twisted, suffering souls. At the edges of the cloak, ghastly white Soul Flames burned eternally, never extinguishing, like hellfire from the underworld.

His face was hidden in darkness, impossible to discern, save for a pair of eyes that flickered with an eerie light through the gloom of the cloak—these were not ordinary soul fires, but two slowly rotating, deep, abyss-like pale white vortices, as if they could swallow all light in the world and drag souls into endless darkness.

Gu You Saint! His true body had arrived, his pressure like a mountain!

His gaze, like a probe carved from ten-thousand-year black ice, sharp and cold, instantly pierced through the layers of space and Demon Flame, landing with pinpoint accuracy at the bottom of the deep pit. There, Xiao Zhan was tightly wrapped in golden-red Dragon-Phoenix mist, like a star about to explode. At the same time, his gaze also swept over the ancient ring on Xiao Yan's left hand and the Woe Poison Pill circulating with purple-gold light in Xiao Yi Xian's dantian, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Dragon-Phoenix Qi... Woe Poison Body... and... that faint, mysterious aura of the Immortal Hall..." A cold, indifferent voice echoed at the peak of the dead Demon Peak, like two pieces of ten-thousand-year ice rubbing against each other; every word seemed to carry the power to freeze the soul, making one shudder.

"Very good... In this way, it saves this Saint the trouble of searching for you one by one."

The pale vortex eyes turned slightly, revealing an irresistible majesty, instantly locking onto Xiao Zhan, whose aura was weak but contained a terrifying new power.

"Xiao Zhan... you actually dared to destroy this Saint's projection... for this crime, you shall suffer the punishment of soul refining, unredeemable for ten thousand years!"

Immediately, his gaze slowly swept over the pale-faced Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, who were facing a formidable enemy, his voice carrying an indifference and superiority that treated all living things as mere straw dogs. "As for you two... come with this Saint back to the Soul Hall. There, you will pay the price for your actions."

The last word fell like a thunderclap, the lingering sound echoing for a long time at the peak of the Demon Peak!

Gu You Saint's right hand, wreathed in ghastly white Soul Flame and seemingly from the Nine Nether hells, slowly lifted, carrying irresistible majesty and cruelty. His gaze, like a cold icy blade, swept in turn over Xiao Zhan in the pit below, the entire towering Demon Peak of Bones, and the faces of Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, which were filled with determination and defiance. Then, he squeezed gently, as if the entire world trembled along with it!

"Nine Nether... Soul-Capturing Prison!"

Hum—!!!!

In an instant, the space of the entire Demon Peak of Bones seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, instantly collapsing inward and solidifying! Countless chains of law composed of pure ghastly white Soul Flame, like hideous ghost claws reaching out from the deepest abyss of hell, carrying endless malice and coldness, ignored the barriers of spatial distance and material defense, instantly piercing through all obstacles. With fierce momentum, they struck toward Xiao Zhan's glabella, Xiao Yan's left hand, and Xiao Yi Xian's dantian! Furthermore, a main chain, incomparably thick and like a giant dragon, coiled toward the entire Demon Peak, intending to drag this place, along with every living soul within it, completely into that cold, dark, sunless Nine Nether Purgatory!

When a Saint is enraged, the heavens and earth change color! The true killing blow descended at this moment, sweeping across the entire Demon Peak of Bones with the momentum to destroy everything!

At the peak of the Demon Peak of Bones, time seemed to have been frozen into amber; everything stood still at this moment. Gu You Saint's claw, shrouded in ghastly white Soul Flame, was like the authority of a Nine Nether judge holding the power of life and death, carrying endless majesty and cruelty as it slowly closed upon the pit below, the entire Demon Peak, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian!

"Nine Nether... Soul-Capturing Prison!"

Hum—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying fluctuation of laws instantly enveloped the heavens and earth, as if the entire world were trembling at this moment! Space was no longer just distorted; it was completely solidified and collapsed, forming tiny black holes that swallowed everything around them. Countless chains of law composed of pure ghastly white Soul Flame, like vicious tentacles reaching out from the deepest part of hell, carrying endless malice and coldness, ignored the vastness of spatial distance and the sturdiness of material defenses, instantly piercing through all obstacles and striking their targets with fierce momentum!

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Three chains, condensed to the extreme and burning with ghastly white Soul Flame, struck like ghosts from the Nine Netherworlds, precisely and ruthlessly, toward the glabella of the unconscious Xiao Zhan in the pit, the ancient ring on Xiao Yan's left hand, and the Woe Poison Pill circulating with purple-gold light in Xiao Yi Xian's dantian! At the same time, a main chain as thick as a dragon, coiled with billions of wailing soul shadows, surged like a Nine Nether giant python leaving its den, lashing toward the entire Demon Peak of Bones with world-destroying momentum! It intended to lock down the very foundation of existence of this place and all living beings within it, dragging them into that eternal, cold, and dark purgatorial abyss!

The might of a Saint; his words become law! This was absolute suppression at the level of rules, the supreme power of the laws of heaven and earth!

"Father—!" "Uncle Xiao—!"

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian's eyes were split, emitting desperate and shrill roars! They felt as if they were mosquitoes trapped in amber, their very thoughts frozen by that terrifying Saintly Might, unable to move! They could only watch helplessly as the chains representing death and eternity, carrying a cold and ruthless aura, struck down!

Just at this moment of total destruction, of life and death!

At the bottom of the deep pit, the figure steaming with golden-red Dragon-Phoenix mist, whose aura had been as weak as a candle in the wind, suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, like a dragon that had slept for ten thousand years awakening!

"Roar—!!!"

A dragon roar, majestic and unyielding, seemingly piercing through the ancient prehistoric era and shattering the shackles of time and space, mixed with a clear, high-pitched phoenix cry that surged into the clouds, suddenly exploded from the depths of Xiao Zhan's soul! This was no longer an illusory shadow, no longer a projection of will, but the wrath of the True Dragon Heavenly Phoenix—ignited and erupted from the deepest source of his bloodline by the Saint's pressure!

Boom—!!!

A crimson-gold light, far purer and more domineering than at any previous moment, carrying the majesty of the glorious Saintly Dao, erupted from Xiao Zhan's body like a volcano that had been suppressed for billions of years, illuminating the entire heavens and earth!

The dense, fine dragon scale phantoms covering his body instantly solidified and surged! They transformed into a suit of physical dragon scale armor, burning with crimson-gold flames, the edges sharp as divine blades, engraved with ancient and mysterious Dao patterns! Behind him, a pair of giant flaming phoenix wings, woven from pure Green Lotus Core Flame and Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi, tore through the void and unfolded defiantly! The wingspan blotted out the sky and sun, and every flap whipped up a flame storm that incinerated all things, as if intending to set the entire world ablaze!

At his glabella, the Nirvana Extinction Residual Poison that had been suppressed for so long now faced the rising Dragon-Phoenix Holy Might like filthy, residual snow exposed to a scorching sun, emitting faint "chi-chi" cries of agony before being evaporated and purified into nothingness in an instant, as if it had never existed! The hideous, terrifying wound on his left shoulder, where the blue-black power of death had lingered, encountered its natural, absolute nemesis; under the frantic devouring and assimilation of the newly born Dragon-Phoenix Power, which contained the powerful vitality of nirvana and rebirth, the flesh grew and healed at an astonishing speed visible to the naked eye, like new buds breaking through the soil in spring, filled with vibrant life!

A vast pressure, surpassing that of a Dou Zong and sufficient to make the vast space itself submit, descended upon this world like an ancient giant god slowly awakening, carrying endless majesty and power!

Dou Zun! A one-star Dou Zun!

Under the deathly pressure of the Saint's killing blow, and amidst the nirvana rebirth brought by the ultimate transformation of the Dragon-Phoenix bloodline, Xiao Zhan completed his nirvana from the ashes, ascending in one step to enter the realm of Dou Zun that countless people dreamed of!

"Old dog! You—are you worthy of touching the son of this Xiao Zhan?!"

A cold, bone-chilling arc, seemingly capable of freezing the soul, curled at the corner of Xiao Zhan's blood-stained mouth. His voice, like a biting cold wind blowing from beneath the Nine Netherworlds, echoed throughout the universe with endless anger and determination! He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward, as if receiving the power of heaven and earth! Within his dantian, the source of the Green Lotus Core Flame, which had undergone multiple transformations and completely merged with his soul, suddenly bloomed like a flower of flame, gorgeous and dazzling! Endless deep-cyan flames mixed with the newly born Dragon-Phoenix Dou Zun power, frantically condensing and compressing in his palm, as if intending to burn the entire world to ashes!

This was no longer a simple Fire Lotus! It was a Flame God Seal, burning with crimson-gold and cyan-green dual-colored flames, engraved with clear, coiling Dragon-Phoenix Dao patterns!

The God Seal was barely a foot square, yet it emitted destructive fluctuations that made the space of the entire Desert of Buried Immortals tremble, as if on the verge of collapse! At its core, a purple-gold chaos point, condensed to the extreme, flickered in and out of existence like the brightest star in the night sky; it was a trace of the true essence of chaos bestowed by the Burning Mantra after fusing with the Chaos Demon Flame, containing endless mysteries and power!