On the eve of the great battle at Soul-Severing Cliff, the council hall in Pill City was brightly lit. The seventeen Origin Venerate Realm experts of the Great Thousand Alliance sat together as Xiao Yan distributed thirty-three Primordial Purification Pills among them. Each pill was sealed in a specially made jade box, with sealing runes engraved on the outside to prevent its power from leaking.
"When detonated, each pill can create a purification domain ten miles across. Dark creatures will disintegrate on contact, but the effect will be weaker against dark generals at the Origin Venerate Realm or above," Xiao Yan said gravely. "In tomorrow's battle, you must place the pills precisely at the weak points in the dark army to tear open a gap for our forces."
Xuan Kongzi added, "The Lord of Darkness's true body possesses unfathomable strength. Our scouts have learned that he has reached Early Heavenly Sovereign, and he has three dark king generals under his command, all at Initial Heavenly Sovereign. Xiao Yan, though you've broken through to Intermediate Origin Venerate, there's still a gap between you and a Heavenly Sovereign. You need to find an opportunity to break through again."
Heavenly Sovereign!
That realm was like an impassable chasm, standing above Origin Venerate. It meant complete mastery over the power of laws, enough to move heaven and earth with the slightest gesture. Xiao Yan frowned slightly. He could feel the vast gulf between Origin Venerate and Heavenly Sovereign, and with his current accumulation alone, he feared it would be difficult to cross.
Just then, an Origin Venerate from the Eastern Region suddenly spoke. "Speaking of breaking through to Heavenly Sovereign, perhaps we could ask the Luo God Clan for help. The Luo God Clan is an ancient tribe of the Eastern Region. Their inherited Luo Shen Record contains the supreme mysteries of the laws of space and life. Their patriarch, Luo Tianshen, is a mighty expert at Peak Heavenly Sovereign. If you can obtain his guidance, breaking through to Heavenly Sovereign won't be difficult."
The Luo God Clan!
Xiao Yan's heart stirred. The name had appeared in ancient texts from the Pill Realm. The clan was said to have had dealings with the ancient Pill God, and they were especially skilled in the law of space. They also possessed a supreme spatial treasure, the Luo Shen Mirror, which could reflect the heavens and discern laws.
"Where is the Luo God Clan now?" Xiao Yan asked.
"After the Northern Region fell, the Luo God Clan retreated to Luo Shen Valley, on the border between the Eastern and Northern Regions, and has been holding out against the dark army," the Origin Venerate replied. "I've heard that Luo Li, the young master of the Luo God Clan, has been surrounded by a dark king general and is in grave danger. If we lend a hand, perhaps we can secure Luo Tianshen's help in return."
"Good!" Xiao Yan made an immediate decision. "Senior Xuan Kongzi will coordinate tomorrow's battle. I'll take Mo Chen to Luo Shen Valley ahead of the others. If we can enlist the Luo God Clan, our chances of victory will surely increase greatly!"
Xuan Kongzi nodded. "That could work. The Luo God Clan's spatial divine abilities are crucial to breaking the Lord of Darkness's array. You two must be careful. The dark king general surrounding Luo Li has reached Initial Heavenly Sovereign."
That night, Xiao Yan and Mo Chen quietly left Pill City and flew straight toward Luo Shen Valley. Xiao Yan had now reached Peak Intermediate Origin Venerate, and his speed far surpassed what it had been before. In just half a day, they reached the outskirts of Luo Shen Valley.
Outside the valley, dark energy surged to the heavens. A dark king general with a pair of wings held a bone sword and fiercely attacked the Luo God Clan's defensive array. The array's curtain of light was on the verge of collapse, and screams rang out from within; clearly, it could not hold for much longer. At the center of the array, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman in white struggled to hold her ground with a longsword in hand. She was Luo Li, the young master of the Luo God Clan. Though she possessed Peak Origin Venerate strength, the dark king general's onslaught had left her in constant peril.
"Little girl of the Luo God Clan, give up! Today is the day your clan is wiped out!" The dark king general laughed wildly. Dark energy surged along his bone sword as he brought it crashing down on the curtain of light.
Crack!
Cracks appeared in the curtain of light. Luo Li spat out a mouthful of blood, her face as pale as paper.
"Stop!"
An angry shout rang through the clouds as Xiao Yan and Mo Chen descended from the sky. Xiao Yan unleashed the pressure of an Intermediate Origin Venerate, and five-colored Heavenly Flames transformed into a fire dragon, instantly knocking the dark king general's bone sword aside.
"Xiao Yan?" A flicker of surprise crossed Luo Li's eyes when she saw him, followed by wild joy.
The dark king general turned around. When he saw Xiao Yan, contempt flashed in his eyes. "A mere Intermediate Origin Venerate dares meddle in my affairs?"
"It's enough to kill you." Xiao Yan sneered as the Burning Heaven Cauldron hovered above his head and the power of the Heart of the Pill Realm quietly began to circulate. He knew how terrifying a Heavenly Sovereign was and dared not be careless in the slightest, attacking with all his strength from the outset.
"Heavenly Flames: Primordial Burning Heaven!"
The five-colored Heavenly Flames fused with Primordial Purple Qi and water of the Nine Heavens Star River, transforming into a purple-gold torrent of fire. It contained the ultimate powers of both purification and destruction as it swept toward the dark king general.
The dark king general's pupils contracted. Daring not underestimate it, he swung his bone sword and formed a dark canopy. The torrent of fire collided with the canopy with an earth-shaking crash. Dark energy and Heavenly Flames frantically annihilated each other, and for a time neither could gain the upper hand.
"Interesting." A flicker of surprise passed through the dark king general's eyes. "No wonder you dare be so arrogant, but..."
His figure blurred into a black shadow, and he appeared behind Xiao Yan in an instant. His bone sword stabbed toward Xiao Yan's back with enough force to tear space apart. A Heavenly Sovereign's use of the law of space far surpassed an Origin Venerate's!
"Space: Confinement!"
Xiao Yan had been prepared. The Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone and the Void Origin Stone Fragment erupted at once, enclosing the dark king general in a pale-gold spatial domain. The dark king general's movements faltered for an instant, and in that instant Xiao Yan turned and smashed the Heavy Xuan Ruler, blazing with purple-gold flames, against his bone sword.
Clang!
The impact drove the dark king general back three steps and left a notch in his bone sword. Xiao Yan seized the chance to press the attack. His Origin Venerate Dharma Body appeared and resonated with the Burning Heaven Cauldron. Countless flame runes poured from the cauldron, forming a simplified version of the Myriad Transformations Burning Heaven Array and trapping the dark king general inside.
"Mo Chen, protect Luo Li!"
At Xiao Yan's command, he charged into the array alone and engaged the dark king general in a fierce battle. He incorporated the applications of laws from the Primordial Pill Scripture into his fighting, alternating between Heavenly Flames and spatial power, and managed to trade blows with the Initial Heavenly Sovereign dark king general.
Outside the array, Mo Chen swiftly reinforced the Luo God Clan's defensive array, shielding Luo Li behind him. Luo Li watched Xiao Yan's fierce battle with the dark king general, her beautiful eyes shining with wonder. She could feel that Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames and spatial power somehow restrained the law of darkness.
After an hour of fierce fighting, Xiao Yan gradually fell at a disadvantage. A Heavenly Sovereign's control over laws was far too refined. Every attack from the dark king general contained the origin of darkness; if not for the power of the Primordial Purification Pill protecting his body, he would have long since been corroded.
I have to break through!
Xiao Yan roared inwardly, forcibly burning part of his soul power to draw out all the potential within him. The Heart of the Pill Realm erupted with brilliant light, resonating with the law of space in Luo Shen Valley. The surrounding power of heaven and earth poured madly into his body.
Rumble!
With a tremendous boom, Xiao Yan's presence burst through the shackles of Origin Venerate, and the pressure of a Heavenly Sovereign spread outward! His Origin Venerate Dharma Body became tangible, and runes of three laws-space, fire, and life-circled his body. They were the very mark of an Initial Heavenly Sovereign!
The instant he broke through to Heavenly Sovereign, Xiao Yan's understanding of laws soared. He pointed two fingers, and the purple-gold flames became a chain of law that instantly wrapped around the dark king general's bone sword.
"Impossible! You actually broke through to Heavenly Sovereign in the middle of a battle?!" The dark king general's eyes filled with disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible." Xiao Yan's gaze was icy as the power of a Heavenly Sovereign surged through him. "Now, it's time to end this."
He combined the Primordial Pill Scripture with fragments of the Luo Shen Record recorded in the Pill Realm's ancient texts, creating a new divine ability-the Primordial Realm Breaker!
Purple-gold flames fused with the law of space, becoming a pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth. It tore through the dark king general's dark canopy in an instant and struck his true body.
"No-!"
The dark king general let out a despairing scream. His body rapidly melted away in the pillar of light, until at last he was utterly annihilated.
Having dealt with the dark king general, Xiao Yan flashed over and landed before Luo Li. The surrounding Luo God Clan cultivators bowed to him in awe beneath the pressure of a Heavenly Sovereign.
"Thank you for coming to my rescue, Brother Xiao Yan." Luo Li put away her longsword and bowed solemnly. "My father is in seclusion in the valley. I'll take you to see him right away."
Xiao Yan nodded and entered Luo Shen Valley with Mo Chen. The valley was rich with spiritual Qi, and the laws of space intertwined throughout it. A divine hall could just be glimpsed floating in midair-the heart of the Luo God Clan, Luo Shen Hall.
Deep within the hall, a refined-looking middle-aged man in an azure robe slowly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce through space and settle on Xiao Yan, carrying a trace of surprise and gratification.
"The Pill God's descendant has finally come."
Luo Tianshen's voice echoed through the hall, opening a new chapter in Xiao Yan's journey through the Great Thousand World. And with the Luo God Clan's involvement, the final battle at Soul-Severing Cliff had gained even more uncertainties.