Dongxuan Daoist Treasury

At the sight of this scene, everyone froze in place. No one dared to approach.

Whether it was Qian Daoliu and his companions, who had spent years at the Angel Temple, or Di Tian, concealed in the Mustard Seed Space beneath the Lake of Life, they were all too familiar with the aura now spilling from Lie Xu.

"What is that?"

"Faith!!!"

"An incomparably pure divine power!!!"

"Even more sacred than the Angel God's faith!!!"

"Stronger than the divine power of the Asura God—even the Dragon God in his prime!!!"

At that moment, Qian Daoliu and Di Tian were both reeling with shock. They were bewildered and baffled, unable to understand what was happening, but more than anything, they wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Yet their instincts warned them that if they took even one more step—or let an improper thought cross their minds—the divine substance drifting around Lie Xu would instantly strike them dead!!!

Lie Xu, meanwhile, seemed to have entered a state of utter detachment.

After the Soul Bone containing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Eye of Fate fused with him of its own accord, a wisp of violet-gold light wrapped around his consciousness and carried it into the depths of the boundless void...

In the vastness of space, a magnificent, iridescent river surged into view, stretching across the ages. Countless fine tributaries spread in every direction, plunging deep into the unknown void.

"The River of Fate!!!"

Though he had already fused with the Fate Skull and could sense the River of Fate's existence, Lie Xu was still stunned to witness it with his own eyes.

Every cresting wave on the River of Fate marked the rise and fall of a flourishing age, a civilization that bloomed for a fleeting moment; every droplet of mist suspended above it carried a living being's entire journey, from birth to its final end...

Yet the violet-gold light bore his soul steadily upstream, crossing eons in the blink of an eye.

Here, time had no meaning. Every pause marked the rise and fall of an era...

After an unknowable span, the River of Fate ceased its furious surge. Its flow slowed, and its iridescent radiance gradually settled within.

Amid the endless void, a clear sea of azure-gold clouds unfurled. A warm, jade-like breath of azure Dao qi swept toward him, washing away the dust his soul had gathered through reincarnation.

At the heart of the cloud sea, a magnificent immortal palace hung in the air, filled with wondrous mysteries.

White jade steps rose through nine tiers of celestial halls; lofty buildings perched against the mountains, suspended in midair. Flecks of spiritual light clung to the gilded tiles, while blue-jade and colored-glass wind chimes hung from the eaves, stirring without a breeze and sending out soft, endless notes of immortal music.

Violet mist and rosy light streamed down from the dome, drifting over tiers of vermilion balustrades. Spirit springs wound around the palace corridors, their waters flowing over blue-patterned immortal stones. A thousand green lotuses in the pools kindled golden flames of their own accord. Cranes roosted beneath ancient pines at the corners of the halls, and ethereal clouds swirled around the palace, revealing the faint outline of a heavenly palace beyond...

It was the Azure Splendor Joyous Realm, the Eastern Extreme Wondrous Majesty Palace!!!

Outside the palace, Fangqian Divine Trees formed a forest, their branches laden with the radiance of the Seven Treasures. As their leaves swayed, wisps of innate Nine Qi drifted on the wind.

Azure-gold auspicious light poured down from every side of the palace, converging into an endless stream of Nine Suns True Source. The vital energy took the form of a supreme Heavenly Venerable, seated upon a nine-colored lotus throne in the main hall.

Behind him, a purple-and-azure jeweled banner unfurled in midair, scattering auspicious light across the heavens. Yet he had drawn in all his majesty, lowering his head and eyes; compassion for all who suffered filled his long, narrow phoenix eyes.

Beneath the lotus throne lay a nine-headed male lion, almost indistinguishable from Xiao Jiu in appearance.

The colossal beast kept its eyes tightly shut, resting in serene stillness. Together with the Heavenly Venerable, it manifested in ten directions, seeking the cries of those in need across billions of kalpas, crossing the immeasurable sea of suffering to save all living beings in distress...

As the sacred proclamation said:

Azure Splendor expounds the teachings, opening wide the gate of salvation.

In Western Shu, the scriptures are passed down, and the canon of deliverance is broadly proclaimed.

Now, the jade altar is ringed by stars, and the treasured registers unfold amid the clouds.

All receive the solemn presence of the jade court, and together behold the splendor of the jeweled scrolls.

We look up to the sacred throne and humbly beg it to grace us with its presence.

May the merits of nine cycles of returning and seven turnings lead all to the Supreme Ultimate.

May those trapped in the three paths and five sufferings escape the cycle of reincarnation...

Lie Xu stared blankly at the vision before him. Just then, the Heavenly Venerable abruptly lifted his gaze.

"It's time to go back!!!"

Accompanying the Heavenly Venerable's compassionate, gentle voice, an immense, boundless force enveloped Lie Xu's soul in an instant and sent his consciousness back to his body.

As his consciousness returned, a soft ball of white light appeared in his sea of consciousness.

The moment he touched it, the orb dissolved into pinpricks of starlight, revealing two ancient books within.

Nine Qi Return to Origin Method

Taiyi Scripture of Salvation and Deliverance

"This is the Dongxuan Daoist Treasury!!!"

"Boom!!!"

Before he could inspect the two sacred scriptures, Lie Xu's consciousness was jolted awake by a tremendous crash outside...

Time turned back to the moment Lie Xu's consciousness returned to his body.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the mark on Lie Xu's and Xiao Jiu's foreheads slowly closed and disappeared into the space between his brows, while the profound divinity that had enveloped his body withdrew completely within him.

As if guided by a shared understanding, Di Tian and Qian Daoliu darted toward Lie Xu.

Di Tian's enormous claw, formed from Soul Power, was stopped dead by the Angel Holy Sword in Qian Daoliu's hand.

"Human, get out of the way. I don't want to waste time with you!"

Di Tian narrowed his eyes, his golden pupils turning into slits as he stared at the human blocking his path.

"Not a chance. If you want to take him, you'll have to defeat me first!"

Qian Daoliu slowly shook his head and replied calmly, as if discussing some trivial matter.

Di Tian was determined to take this human child away.

Setting aside the incomparably pure and powerful divine power that had inexplicably appeared around him just now, the Auspicious Beast's fate and the power of fate he had received from the Emperor Auspicious Beast alone meant Di Tian could not let him leave the Star Dou Great Forest.

Once he left, the Dragon God's godhood, which had been separated from the Dragon God and was now on the Master, would immediately attract the Divine Realm's attention without the power of fate to conceal it.

And the Asura God's divine power, which the Asura God had left on the Master, would immediately let the Asura God track him down.

So no matter what, Di Tian could not let him go. The Master's plan, laid over millions of years, could not be ruined by this human brat.

"Then die!!!"

Soul Power around Di Tian suddenly surged into a furious boil. Black Soul Power rolled like ink-dark waves. His body twisted and warped, his bones and tendons cracked, and his form stretched longer and longer under the force of his Soul Power.

In an instant, a black dragon thousands of meters long stretched across the sky, its enormous wings blotting out half the heavens.

With every breath, wisps of black dragonfire burst from its mouth, searing space with a sizzling hiss.

The dragon opened its jaws, gathered Soul Power, and unleashed a thick torrent of black dragonfire.

Facing Di Tian at full strength, Qian Daoliu naturally did not dare let his guard down.

He activated his Seventh Soul Skill in an instant, transforming into a hundred-meter-tall Angel True Body. With a sweep of her six wings, she faced Di Tian in midair.

Yet compared to the eighty-eight-thousand-year-old black dragon Di Tian, his strength was naturally a step behind.

Transformed into her six-winged Angel True Body, Qian Daoliu summoned the Angel Holy Sword and gripped it in her palm. All nine rings lit up...