High above the border, Ghost Qi churned.
Tianzhao Mingyin hovered behind the mountain-protecting formation with the high-ranking figures of Netherworld's borderlands, gazing from afar at the immortal figure in the heavens beyond their domain.
Even across countless light-years, even with the formation between them, that cold, majestic pressure still left the ghosts struggling to breathe. Several ghost generals with weaker cultivation had already begun trembling uncontrollably.
Tianzhao Mingyin steadied himself, marshaled all his ghost power, and cupped his hands toward the distant figure, his voice piercing the clouds:
"Tianzhao Mingyin, border commander of the Tianzhao lineage, pays his respects to the Immortal Palace's Heavenly Venerable."
"Netherworld and the Immortal Palace have long had a border agreement of mutual nonaggression. Heavenly Venerable, you have manifested your Mahayana Dharma manifestation at the border today, casting your pressure over all of Netherworld. What is your intention? Please make it clear, so we may report to the Divine Domain's envoy."
His words were neither servile nor overbearing, but he had covertly invoked the Freedom Divine Domain, hoping to use its name to gain the upper hand.
In his view, however domineering the Immortal Palace might be, it still had to show the Freedom Divine Domain some respect.
In the quiet chamber, Jiang Qingyuan heard the transmitted message.
She did not so much as lift an eyelid. One hand remained pressed against Chen Fan's brow, stabilizing his Chaos Sea, while the other casually drew in the vital Qi of the void.
A mere Evil Cultivator elder in the Body Integration Realm thought himself worthy of questioning her?
The Immortal Palace was the common sovereign of countless powers on the Eastern Divine Continent, and Netherworld was already a registered hostile force.
Never mind merely manifesting her Dharma manifestation beyond their domain-even casually slaughtering this Tianzhao Mingyin today would take no more than a lift of her hand.
If a true immortal from the Freedom Divine Domain really dared to leap out and demand an accounting, the Immortal Palace had people to deal with them.
Through all the years of its legacy, reserves were what the Immortal Palace lacked least. Eating, sleeping, and beating the little Japanese devils were simply routine.
When the immortal figure in the heavens gave no reply for a long while, Tianzhao Mingyin grew uneasy. Still, he steeled himself, floated a little farther forward, and spoke again:
"If you continue to remain silent, Heavenly Venerable, do not blame us for taking this as the Immortal Palace's deliberate attempt to tear up the agreement-"
He never finished.
Far beyond the domain, above the nine heavens, the immortal figure that had stood motionless at last moved.
Her icy immortal eyes flickered, and her fair wrist slowly rose.
In an instant, the moonlight filling the sky erupted in earth-shaking ripples!
Ring after ring of silvery-white waves spread in every direction from the immortal figure.
Wherever they passed, clouds shattered and meteors dissolved, while an indescribable deathly stillness and terror filled heaven and earth.
"Deserving of death."
A voice devoid of any discernible emotion pierced the universe and starry skies.
Every syllable was like a supreme immortal decree, carrying the might of resonance with the Heavenly Dao.
The instant the voice fell, the endless meteors drifting through the starry void beyond the domain shattered with a thunderous crash; countless low-ranking ghost soldiers along Netherworld's border had their souls shaken apart outright, turning to drifting ash; the entire Netherworld Ghost Domain trembled faintly, all living beings shuddered, and even the dead souls in the yin rivers ceased their wailing.
The immortal decree surged forth, resounding throughout the domain.
In this age when the immortal Dao remained hidden, Mahayana was the strongest beneath immortals.
No one could stop her!
Tianzhao Mingyin's expression changed drastically. Every hair on his body stood on end as the shadow of death engulfed him completely.
Never in his dreams had he imagined that she would strike without warning!
Without so much as another word, she had sentenced him to death?!
Did the Immortal Palace really hold powers such as the Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See in such contempt?!
"Please quell your anger, Heavenly Venerable!"
Tianzhao Mingyin shrieked, unleashing his ghost power to its utmost. An enormous Tianzhao ghost manifestation appeared behind him, countless ghost markings flowed around his body, and he drew upon the border formation's power to its very limit, placing it before him.
He gave everything he had, asking only to withstand this single blow.
High in the heavens, an immense palm belonging to the immortal figure suddenly appeared.
Boundless pure moonlight spilled from the night sky. Wherever it passed, the sinister Ghost Qi melted and was purified as swiftly as snow beneath a blazing sun.
This palm strike had no flashy moves, no intricate Daoist arts. It was pure numerical superiority crushing everything in its path.
Beneath Mahayana, all were ants.
Boom!!
The immortal palm pressed down gently.
The ghost manifestation, ghost markings, and mountain-protecting formation that Tianzhao Minghe took such pride in shattered instantly, as though made of paper!
The violent power of moonlight slammed into him. Tianzhao Minghe screamed as his body was ground to dust beneath the boundless moonlight, vanishing into ash.
One move.
Just one move.
Tianzhao Mingyin of the Body Integration Realm had his soul utterly annihilated.
Along the border, the remaining Netherworld leaders were frightened out of their wits. Every one of them stood frozen, not daring so much as to move.
At last, they understood.
A Mahayana cultivator could not be insulted!
She had never taken them seriously, nor had she taken any agreement or the Freedom Divine Domain seriously.
Under the Immortal Palace's rule, they were merely members of a hostile force. She could kill them whenever she pleased.
If anyone else truly wanted to act, they had best prepare for the Immortal Palace's retaliation!
It was not the place of ants like them to pass judgment.
"Scram."
Another indifferent word fell.
As though granted a grand pardon, the remaining Netherworld leaders scrambled away, fleeing into the depths of Netherworld without once looking back.
They did not dare utter even half a threat.
In the heavens beyond the domain, the enormous immortal palm slowly withdrew.
Moonlight still spilled everywhere, and the immortal figure still stood quietly, as though she had not been the one to strike.
Not a sound remained between heaven and earth.
No one dared question her again. No one dared show their face.
In the quiet chamber, Jiang Qingyuan's expression was calm. From beginning to end, her attention had remained on Chen Fan.
A diplomatic incident? However high the flames rise, they won't reach me. A puny Body Integration cultivator dared question a Mahayana Heavenly Venerable so openly? That in itself was an inferior defying a superior. The Immortal Palace isn't the Netherworld Ghost Domain. Each rank does the work of its own rank. Dare break the rules? Hah.
With an inexhaustible supply of vital Qi from the void supporting it, along with the suppression of Mahayana Power of Principle, the Chaos Sea within Chen Fan's Spirit Sea finally settled completely.
Gray mist circulated slowly, and the cycle from Supreme Change to Supreme Ultimate operated in an orderly manner in its depths, no longer raging.
The dissolution of the thirty-six Spirit Veins had not gone to waste. Their origin particles scattered into the depths of the Chaos Sea, becoming pinpricks of starlight.
Between those points of starlight, fine embryonic innate channels were slowly but steadily growing and linking together.
Though still very weak, the solidity of his foundation already surpassed that of cultivators at his level by an unknown number of tiers.
The pain on Chen Fan's face gradually faded, and his breathing steadied once more.
The bloody threads on the surface of his skin receded, and the disordered presence around him drew back in.
This transformation of his origin, triggered by the Aperture of the Mysterious Female and nearly taken beyond control, had finally reached a safe landing with a Mahayana cultivator there to catch him.
A short while later, the bright moon in the heavens beyond the domain gradually faded, and the blazing sun once again hung high.
The majestic immortal figure that had suppressed heaven and earth also rapidly dispersed like an ebbing tide, withdrawing behind the clouds and vanishing.
The torn void slowly healed, and the pressure between heaven and earth vanished entirely, as though everything that had just happened had been an illusion.
The third-floor quiet chamber of the villa at Han University.
The Spiritual Qi gradually settled.
Jiang Qingyuan withdrew her hand. Looking at Chen Fan seated cross-legged in meditation, his breathing steady, her brows remained furrowed, and some lingering anger colored her voice.
"You certainly have some nerve, forcing your way into Five Supreme Evolution the moment you came into contact with your origin."
"Half a step later, and your Spirit Sea would have exploded."
In all her long life, Chen Fan was truly the first person she had met who could stir up so much trouble and gamble with his life so recklessly.
He had merely been lucky enough to be staying at her place. Anywhere else, he would have long since gone cold.
Only after roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn did Chen Fan slowly open his eyes.
A glimmer of chaotic light flashed through his eyes before they quickly returned to normal.
He moved his hands and feet, sensing the vast, boundless Chaos Sea within his Spirit Sea. His whole body felt clear and unimpeded, his mind refreshed; even his Divine Sense was several times sharper than before.
Though his cultivation was still stuck at Qi Refining Perfection, his foundation, reserves, and origin potential were now on an entirely different level.
"Professor Jiang."
Chen Fan rose. Looking at Jiang Qingyuan's displeased expression, he rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.
"This time... thank you."
He knew he had taken things too far this time. Had Jiang Qingyuan not intervened, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Jiang Qingyuan glanced at him. Seeing him like this, more than half her anger dissipated.
She gave a cold snort, turned, and walked toward the door.
"Come downstairs."
"And tell me exactly what this Five Supreme Evolution of yours is all about."
Chen Fan chuckled and hurried after her.