Godfall, Dust Settles

The divine battle above the heavens did not decide victory and defeat in an instant, as mortals might have imagined. The vitality of deities was extraordinarily tenacious. Wounds fatal to mortals could slowly heal under the support of their powerful divine bodies and surging divine power. So long as their divine consciousness remained unextinguished and their divine cores unshattered, they could continuously draw upon the energy of heaven and earth to cling to life.

Thus, this encirclement was destined to be a war of attrition.

On the first day, from the blazing noon sun to a sky full of stars.

"Luo Wuya! Spare me! The Sea Whale Gang is willing to offer half our treasury! No, seventy percent!" Du Yunhe was drenched in blood, his once magnificent blue brocade robe long reduced to tatters. His aura was chaotic, and his eyes were bloodshot—the signs of excessive depletion of divine power and origin energy. Luo Wuya's Star-Radiance Binding clung to him like a disease in the bones, preventing him from ever fighting at full strength. Meanwhile, Li Yunming's Sky-Piercing Divine Spear was like a venomous dragon lying in wait. Every thrust carried a tyrannical will capable of tearing apart the soul, leaving bloody holes across Du Yunhe's body that could not quickly heal.

"Isn't it too late to say such things now?" Luo Wuya's voice was indifferent. With a wave of his Astral Staff, he drew upon the power of the surrounding stars, transforming it into heavy shackles that continuously piled onto Du Yunhe's body, making his movements increasingly sluggish. "The moment you set foot in the east and allowed greed to take root in your heart, your fate was already sealed."

Elsewhere, Xie Miaojiang's screams and curses never ceased.

"Dongyue Xian! Lin Jingshen! You two bastards! I'll fight you to the death!" Both his arms had been severed. Purple lightning and emerald life energy coiled around the wounds, preventing his flesh from regenerating. He tried to detonate the accumulated poison origin within his body for one final desperate strike.

"Stubborn to the end!" Lin Jingshen's gaze sharpened. The God-Shocking Sword transformed into countless shadows of lightning, descending like a net cast over heaven and earth, sealing off every possible route for Xie Miaojiang to self-destruct. "Thunderclap Sword Prison!"

Dongyue Xian, meanwhile, drove the Heavenly Heart Ring with all his strength. Emerald radiance surged like a tide, not only purifying the spreading poisonous miasma but also wrapping around Xie Miaojiang like the toughest strands of silk, steadily wearing away at the origin of his divine soul. "Your poison has harmed countless lives. Today, it shall return completely to heaven and earth!"

That night, divine blood fell like rain, occasionally splashing onto the ground and corroding it into craters, or being barely blocked by Heavenly Phoenix City's protective formation. The entire sky was filled with violent currents of energy and shrill howls, as though the end of the world had arrived.

On the second day, dawn broke, and the battle grew ever more brutal.

After a night of attrition, Du Yunhe and Xie Miaojiang's divine power had nearly run dry. The rate at which their wounds healed was far slower than the rate at which new wounds were inflicted. Their divine bodies had dimmed, and their auras were like dying candles in the wind.

"Spare... spare me..." Du Yunhe spoke again, his voice hoarse and weak, filled with utter despair. "I am willing... willing to be your servant..." To survive, he had already abandoned all dignity.

Li Yunming's spear shattered the water shield he had barely managed to condense. The spear light carved a bone-deep wound across his chest as Li Yunming said coldly, "My Li Family has no need for a servant like you."

Xie Miaojiang no longer even had the strength to beg for mercy. He tumbled through the air like a ragged scrap of cloth, dodging lethal attacks. His eyes were unfocused, leaving only instinctive terror behind.

Below, atop the walls of Heavenly Phoenix City.

After their initial tension and shock, the members of the Li Family and Dongyue Family gradually put their fears to rest as they watched their four deities firmly hold the upper hand.

Li Xuansheng, Li Xuanbei, Li Xuanmeng, and the other younger members had long lost their initial fear. Instead, they gathered together, gazing up at the rare God Rank battle in the skies while discussing it excitedly.

"Ancestor Yun Ming is too powerful! Look at that spear technique—it's practically flawless!" Li Xuanchang gestured excitedly, as though he himself were on the battlefield.

Li Xuanbei was more composed. "Senior Luo's control is equally crucial. Without his Stellar Secret Art restraining Du Yunhe, he would not have been defeated so quickly. God Rank battles truly are not merely contests of strength."

Li Xuanmeng blinked her large eyes and looked at Li Xuansheng. "Brother Xuansheng, do you think we can become as powerful as our ancestors someday?"

Li Xuansheng smiled faintly, but his gaze never left the battle in the sky, especially the figure of his master, Li Yunming. "If we work hard enough, it may not be impossible. But the path of cultivation is long, and we must guard against arrogance and impatience." His heart was just as stirred, but what he felt more strongly was urgency. Only by becoming stronger could he protect everything he wished to protect.

Nearby, some of the uncles and aunts from the Yuan and Qing generations had also gathered together.

"Brother Yuan Hui, it seems our Li Family has truly pulled through this time!" A burly man named Li Yuanhong slapped Li Yuanhui hard on the shoulder and laughed heartily, his face full of joy at having survived the disaster.

Li Yuanhui also revealed a relieved smile, though a trace of exhaustion and lingering fear remained deep in his eyes. "Yes, we have Elder Yun Ming to thank, as well as the Dongyue Clan and Seniors Luo and Lin for their full support. My Li Family will never forget this favor."

Over on the Dongyue Clan's side, the elders who had come to provide aid were similarly excited.

"Elder Qingxuan, it seems we did not come here for nothing!" a young Titled Douluo of the Dongyue Clan said to Dongyue Qingxuan.

Dongyue Qingxuan stroked his beard and nodded, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "After this battle, the Qiu Family and Five Poisons Valley have lost more than half their top forces. The alliance between our Dongyue Family and the Li Family will greatly increase its influence in the east! This is an opportunity as well!"

Everyone's eyes remained fixed on the sky, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

At noon, the sun hung high overhead.

"It's over." Luo Wuya spoke calmly and exchanged a glance with Li Yunming.

The two unleashed their strongest attacks at the same time!

"Stellar Extinction!"

"Sky-Piercing: Godslayer!"

Countless points of starlight collapsed inward, producing terrifying annihilating power that bound and crushed Du Yunhe tightly! At the same time, a golden spear light containing all of Li Yunming's essence, energy, and spirit flashed forth like a ray of light tearing through eternity. It instantly pierced through Du Yunhe's glabella, destroying both his sea of divine consciousness and divine core!

The light in Du Yunhe's eyes dimmed instantly. His body froze in midair for a moment before falling like a meteor, utterly devoid of life.

Almost at the same moment, Lin Jingshen and Dongyue Xian also unleashed their final killing blows.

"God-Shocking: Finality!"

"Life Judgment!"

Lin Jingshen merged with his sword, becoming a streak of violet lightning that pierced through heaven and earth, passing directly through Xie Miaojiang's battered divine body! Dongyue Xian's Heavenly Heart Ring released its final purifying radiance, like warm flames that thoroughly burned Xie Miaojiang's remaining divine soul and poison origin into nothingness!

Xie Miaojiang did not even manage to let out one final scream before completely vanishing amid lightning and emerald flames, his body and soul utterly destroyed.

Two Divine Officials who had dominated the continent for years had fallen just like that!

The energy storm in the sky gradually subsided, leaving only four deities standing amid the clouds. Their auras had also been greatly depleted, yet their majesty had only grown stronger.

They did not pause. Their gazes shifted toward Qiu Qianchen, who remained suppressed below.

Having witnessed the miserable ends of his two "allies," Qiu Qianchen had long turned ashen-faced, his eyes filled with endless resentment and terror.

"You... will die horribly!" he cursed hoarsely.

The four of them wasted no words. Divine power converged and transformed into four dazzling pillars of light that crashed down with a thunderous roar!

"No—!!!"

Amid Qiu Qianchen's desperate roar, his divine body and divine consciousness were completely reduced to ash beneath the combined attack of the four deities, scattering into heaven and earth.

Thus, all three invading deities were slain!

At last, the sky completely returned to clarity.

After a brief silence, deafening cheers erupted within Heavenly Phoenix City! The wild joy of surviving disaster and the exhilaration of victory filled every heart!

"We won! We won!"

"Long live the ancestors!"

"Long live the Li Family! Long live the Dongyue Family!"

The cheers swept across the entire city like a tsunami.

Li Yunming, Luo Wuya, Lin Jingshen, and Dongyue Xian slowly descended and landed atop the city walls. Looking at the excited crowd below, relieved smiles appeared on their faces as well.

The divine battle that had lasted a full day and night finally ended in a resounding victory for the Li Family and Dongyue Family! The clouds of death that had shrouded Heavenly Phoenix City were completely swept away!

Li Xuansheng looked at the fading remnants of divine power in the sky and listened to the system notification in his mind announcing the completion of the mission. He let out a long breath.

A new era was about to begin.