A Fierce Battle

Above the firmament, an energy maelstrom churned like a boiling sea, turning the entire Heaven-Burial Mountain Range and the surrounding ten thousand miles into a terrifying battlefield.

Space had long since ceased to exist. Only countless shattered cracks remained, alongside the void that was constantly annihilated and reformed.

The decisive battle between the four great ancient clans and the Soul Clan had erupted—and plunged straight into the fiercest heat!

The Top-Tier Battlefield Splits Apart

Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi, two late-stage Nine-Star Spirit Saints standing at the pinnacle of the continent, had already fought beyond the Nine Heavens.

Their battle, by contrast, seemed the most "peaceful." There were no dazzling explosions of spiritual energy, only clashes between the most fundamental laws.

With the slightest movement, they shaped space into their own domains. Time itself seemed to fall into disarray, and every collision made the Great Dao roar. Ordinary Spirit Saints were not even qualified to approach and watch.

The phantom of the Ancient Emperor Mirror flickered around Gu Yuan, dispelling Hun Tiandi's strange and unpredictable soul attacks. Hun Tiandi wore an eerie smile, black spiritual energy swirling around his fingertips. It devoured light and corroded space as it repeatedly clashed with Gu Yuan's vast, surging spiritual energy.

This was an all-around clash of will, foundation, and understanding of the laws of heaven and earth. Neither side could gain the upper hand in a short time.

Elsewhere, Lin Hai blocked Void Devouring Flame, who was about to pounce on the battlefield below.

"Ke ke ke! A strange Nine-Star Spirit Saint? If I devour you, perhaps I'll get a glimpse of the gate to the Emperor Realm!" Void Devouring Flame let out a shrill laugh. Its humanoid black flames suddenly swelled, transforming into a gigantic mouth that could swallow the heavens. A terrifying suction force erupted, seeking to devour Lin Hai along with the space around him!

Lin Hai's expression remained unchanged. Facing suction powerful enough to swallow an Eight-Star Spirit Saint with ease, he simply raised his right hand.

Boundless light gathered in his palm, as if countless worlds were being born, destroyed, and reborn within it. An exalted aura of creation, capable of bringing forth all things and evolving a myriad of worlds, spread out around him.

"Heaven-Rank High-Grade Spirit Technique: Great Thousand Creation Palm!"

He pushed his palm forward with effortless calm.

There was no earth-shattering display, only a seemingly gentle palm print of glazed light, imbued with boundless creative vitality.

Wherever the palm print passed, the terrifying devouring force melted and retreated like snow beneath the spring sun!

The power of creation was, to a certain extent, a perfect counter to Void Devouring Flame's devouring nature!

The palm print drifted toward the enormous mouth of black flame.

Rumble!

When the two collided, there was no thunderous boom—only a strange hum, as if all things had just begun.

The black flames roiled violently, letting out a pained hiss. The enormous mouth was pierced through by the palm print, which purified a large portion of it!

Although the black flames quickly writhed and recovered, Void Devouring Flame had clearly suffered a minor setback.

"The power of creation?!" Void Devouring Flame cried out in shock and fury, its voice turning shrill.

It stopped underestimating Lin Hai. The black flames filling the sky drew together and became a pitch-black spear wreathed in eerie fire—the Flame-Devouring Spear!

Wherever its tip pointed, space withered and vanished on its own.

Lin Hai's gaze sharpened. He raised his left hand, and an extreme chill and aura of death—utterly unlike the power he had just used—began to spread.

The surrounding temperature plummeted. Even the flow of energy slowed, as if everything were about to freeze.

"Heaven-Rank High-Grade Spirit Technique: Mysterious Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal!"

A massive handprint, pitch-black and seemingly formed from Netherworld ice, appeared out of nowhere. Runes flowed across it, radiating a terrifying aura that could freeze souls and blot out the sun.

In stark contrast to the vibrant Great Thousand Creation Palm, this was the ultimate power of destruction and death!

Mysterious Underworld Seal versus Flame-Devouring Spear!

Hiss—!

Extreme cold and extreme heat, death and devouring—two utterly different powers clashed fiercely!

This time, the collision unleashed an explosion that could destroy heaven and earth!

A black energy storm swept outward, sending several nearby Western Star Spirit Saints flying backward in a spray of blood.

Lin Hai and Void Devouring Flame both wavered, each retreating a step.

Their first head-on clash had ended in a draw!

"Good! Good! Good! Two Heaven-Rank High-Grade Spirit Techniques! Looks like you're hiding plenty of secrets. I'll devour you today, no matter what!" Void Devouring Flame abandoned all pretense of contempt and attacked with even greater fury.

Lin Hai calmly met its attacks, alternating between the Great Thousand Creation Palm and the Mysterious Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal. The two forces of endless creation and silent death flowed freely through his hands, firmly holding Void Devouring Flame at bay. No matter how it roared and charged, it couldn't break through his defenses, let alone go support the other battles.

Eight-Star Battlefield: The Four Great Elders versus Yan Jin, Lei Ying, Gu Lie, and the Lava Giant Ape

This was the fiercest clash after the peak battlefield!

The Soul Clan's Four Great Elders cultivated the same technique and worked together with astonishing coordination.

They did not separate, but took their positions in four directions and formed hand seals in unison. Their sinister black spiritual energy surged out, instantly gathering into an enormous "Ten Thousand Soul Bone-Eroding Array"!

Within the array, ten thousand souls wailed as countless ghastly phantoms lunged forth. They could devour spiritual energy and even directly corrode souls!

The array's power stacked in layers, matching a strike from an early-stage Nine-Star Spirit Saint!

"Hmph! A trifling trick! Flame God World-Burning Palm!" Yan Jin roared. His late-stage Eight-Star Spirit Saint fire-attributed spiritual energy erupted without reserve, turning into a blazing palm that blotted out the sky. Lava seemed to flow across its center as it slammed toward the Ten Thousand Soul Array!

Flames were pure and unyielding, the natural bane of evil spirits.

"Thunder Emperor Judgment!" Lei Ying's hair and beard bristled as lightning dragons coiled around him. He punched, and a terrifying pillar of lightning ten thousand feet long descended like divine punishment. The pure, unyielding power of thunder was just as effective against evil spirits.

"Black Annihilation God-Slaughtering Spear!" As the Ancient Clan's commander, Gu Lie fought with unmatched bravery. A black battle spear formed in his hand, surging with murderous energy. He thrust it forward, piercing space and aiming straight for the array's core!

"Roar!" The Lava Giant Ape took the simplest and most brutal approach. It threw back its head and roared, revealing part of its true form. Its arms transformed into giant ape limbs covered in white lava. With power so pure it reached the extreme, it brought both fists crashing down like falling stars!

The attacks of the four powerhouses struck the Ten Thousand Soul Bone-Eroding Array at once!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

An earth-shattering explosion rang out!

Flames, lightning, baleful energy, immense force, and countless evil spirits devoured and annihilated one another in a frenzied clash!

The energy storm turned that entire area of space into chaos.

Crack!

Under the combined might of the four, the strange array finally couldn't take any more. It gave a strained, cracking sound before exploding!

The Four Great Elders all shuddered, clearly struck by the backlash.

Yet their eyes remained numb and cold. The instant the array broke, they scattered like phantoms, turning into four wisps of black smoke that each latched onto one of their four opponents.

The battlefield immediately split into four smaller clashes.

One elder held a Soul Banner. With every shake, thousands of ferocious souls became tangible attacks and coiled around Yan Jin.

Emperor Flame surged around Yan Jin, forming layer upon layer of a sea of fire that burned the souls continuously. But those souls seemed endless, and for a time they managed to trap him.

Another elder fought Lei Ying at close quarters. His spiritual energy was sinister and highly corrosive, even capable of eroding Lei Ying's lightning spiritual energy. Lightning and black energy exploded repeatedly as their fists and feet collided.

The third elder faced Gu Lie. Both were known for their fearlessness, and both fought head-on. Black spear shadows clashed again and again with withered ghost claws, ringing like metal striking metal. Neither could gain the upper hand.

The last elder faced the Lava Giant Ape.

The Lava Giant Ape was the strongest, but slightly slower.

The elder had a strange movement technique and avoided direct clashes. Instead, he continually unleashed chilling soul shrieks to disrupt the ape's mind, while streams of deathly spiritual energy that sapped its vitality clung to it like bone maggots. The immensely powerful ape found its movements hindered and roared in fury.

For the moment, the Eight-Star battlefield was deadlocked.

The Soul Clan's Four Great Elders had managed, through their strange technique and perfect coordination, to hold off the alliance's four powerhouses.

The Great Melee Among the Seven-Star and Lower Ranks

This was the most chaotic and fiercest part of the battlefield!

The Soul Clan had sent out six Seven-Star Spirit Saints, five Six-Star Spirit Saints, thirteen Five-Star Spirit Saints, and eighteen Four-Star Spirit Saints!

The alliance had seven Seven-Star Spirit Saints—the Three Immortals of the Gu Clan, a Flame Clan grand elder, the Thunder Clan's ancestor, the Heaven-Burning Crocodile, the Blazing Earth Lizard, and the Flowing Fire Sky Owl—along with seven Six-Star Spirit Saints, twelve Five-Star Spirit Saints, and seventeen Four-Star Spirit Saints!

In terms of numbers, the alliance had a slight advantage among the Seven-Star and Six-Star ranks, while the two sides were roughly even among the Five-Star and Four-Star ranks. They traded blows, locked in a fierce struggle with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

"Form the Ancient Emperor Array!" Elder Gu Dao gave the order, and the Three Immortals of the Gu Clan immediately gathered together. Their spiritual energies joined, forming a vast, ancient light wheel. As it spun, it radiated an immense force capable of suppressing all things, directly trapping two of the Soul Clan's Seven-Star Spirit Saints within it!

With three against two, they immediately gained an overwhelming advantage, but still couldn't defeat their opponents outright.

The Flame Clan's Seven-Star grand elder faced a mid-stage Seven-Star Spirit Saint from the Soul Clan. Both wielded fire, but one was the righteous, open power of sacred flame, while the other was the eerie, sinister power of soul fire. They clashed furiously in the air, flames filling the sky as they suppressed and overcame one another, maintaining a delicate balance.

The Thunder Clan's ancestor had a fiery temper. He went straight for two early-stage Seven-Star Spirit Saints from the Soul Clan, lightning flashing all around him. He fought one against two without falling behind in the slightest, even pressing his opponents into a defensive position, but couldn't secure a victory in a short time.

The three magical beasts under Lin Hai were even more ferocious!

The Heaven-Burning Crocodile revealed part of its true form. Its enormous tail swept across the battlefield, carrying flames that could burn the heavens and boil the seas as it fought a Six-Star Spirit Saint from the Soul Clan. The flames clashed, and both sides gained and lost ground in turn.

The Blazing Earth Lizard had astonishing crystalline armor. It withstood attacks from a Seven-Star Spirit Saint, then countered with a breath attack of concentrated Blazing Earth Flame, forcing its opponent into a panic. The two sides fell into a stalemate.

The Flowing Fire Sky Owl was the fastest. It darted through the battlefield like a phantom, its flowing-fire wings as sharp as heavenly blades. It focused on striking down the Soul Clan's Four-Star and Five-Star Spirit Saints. Though it had caused no casualties yet, it had thoroughly disrupted the Soul Clan's formation and prevented them from forming an effective encirclement.

The battle below was just as fierce.

The melee between the Five-Star and Four-Star Spirit Saints was like falling stars colliding with one another.

Spiritual energy swept across the sky as energy storms rampaged. Powerful fighters were constantly blasted away, badly wounded.

A Five-Star Spirit Saint commander from the Ancient Clan was surrounded by three Five-Star Spirit Saints from the Soul Clan. Relying on exquisite footwork, he held his ground despite being at a disadvantage.

A Four-Star Spirit Saint from the Thunder Clan fought a Five-Star Spirit Saint from the Soul Clan. Using his lightning-fast speed to keep moving, he somehow managed not to show any signs of defeat.

The Soul Clan fighters used strange methods and often disrupted their opponents with secret soul techniques, but they also feared the alliance powerhouses' counterattacks and dared not use moves that would take both sides down. The two sides continued wearing each other down, maintaining a delicate balance throughout the battle.

The entire Heaven-Burial Mountain Range had long since been shattered. The land sank, lava surged out of fissures, and the sky was painted in a bizarre array of colors by spiritual energy and energy storms.

Powerful fighters were wounded and forced to retreat at every moment. This melee was more like a test of endurance and will, with both sides waiting for the moment their opponents revealed an opening.

The Central Focus: Lin Hai versus Void Devouring Flame

The battle here had already reached its fiercest stage.

"Devouring Flame Domain: Ten Thousand Devouring Boundless Realm!" After failing to defeat Lin Hai with a prolonged assault, Void Devouring Flame flew into a rage and unleashed the power of its domain.

Endless black flames spread outward, forming a vast black barrier that enveloped Lin Hai.

Within the barrier, the devouring power increased more than tenfold. Even spiritual energy, soul power, and vitality rapidly drained away!

"Let's see how long you can last in my domain!" Void Devouring Flame's form merged with the black flames, becoming omnipresent as it launched a barrage of attacks.

Countless tendrils of black flame, blades, spears, and ghostly faces surged toward Lin Hai from every direction.

"A domain? You're not the only one who has one." Lin Hai's gaze turned cold. "Mysterious Underworld Domain, open!"

(He had comprehended it while cultivating the Mysterious Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal.)

Centered on Lin Hai, an extreme chill erupted! Pitch-black Mysterious Underworld energy surged outward. Everywhere it passed, even Void Devouring Flame's black flames seemed to freeze solid!

Within the Mysterious Underworld Domain, all things withered and time and space slowed. The terrifying devouring power was greatly suppressed.

The two domains clashed and eroded each other with a grating, sizzling sound.

"Great Thousand Creation, life and death in my palm!"

Lin Hai had already seen through Void Devouring Flame's true strength. Now he held nothing back and unleashed the Great Thousand Creation Palm with all his might.

This palm strike was a full fifty percent stronger than before!

The glazed palm print seemed to contain a real world. Its ceaseless vitality temporarily broke through the Devouring Flame Domain's suppression and struck precisely toward the hidden core of Void Devouring Flame.

"What?!" Void Devouring Flame was shocked and forced to reveal itself, gathering all its power to meet the palm head-on.

Boom!

Void Devouring Flame was directly blasted apart, its black flames scattering.

"Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal, Eternal Frozen Ice Coffin!" Lin Hai pressed his advantage. His left hand shifted the Mysterious Underworld Seal, and boundless deathly Mysterious Underworld energy gathered into a colossal black ice coffin. Radiating a chill that could freeze souls, it swept toward Void Devouring Flame, seeking to seal it away!

Void Devouring Flame sensed the immense threat and let out a shrill hiss. "You want to seal me?! Dream on! Void Clone, Myriad Transformation Demon Flame!"

It abruptly split into tens of thousands of Child Flames. Each one took on its appearance, then fled in every direction, making it impossible to tell which was real!

Lin Hai frowned. The Mysterious Underworld Ice Coffin descended and sealed away a large cluster of Child Flames, but Void Devouring Flame's true form seized the chance to escape.

"Let's see how many times you can run!" Lin Hai locked onto the faintest, most fundamental trace of Void Devouring Flame's soul fluctuations. Then, with a single movement, he pursued it as if teleporting.

Alternating between the Great Thousand Creation Palm and the Mysterious Underworld Heaven-Covering Seal, Lin Hai drove Void Devouring Flame into a wretched state. Its devouring ability was countered by the power of creation, and its speed was slowed by the Mysterious Underworld Domain. It had fallen entirely onto the defensive!

With Lin Hai successfully holding back—and even suppressing—Void Devouring Flame, a key force on the battlefield, the alliance's morale soared.

Meanwhile, the Soul Clan began to show signs of decline.

Once Void Devouring Flame fell, or the Four Great Elders were broken through, the scales of victory would tip entirely in the alliance's favor!