No one had expected the Heavenly Spirit Clan’s invasion of the Five Phoenixes to end like this.

  The ones suffering heavy losses were the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor and his clan.

  After this battle, the Heavenly Spirit Clan would be severely weakened. Their once-proud Holy Hall was shattered—every Saint perished under the Heavenly Dao’s wrath.

  Countless Heavenly Spirit Clan members were crushed by the Heavenly Dao—souls scattered.

  The once supreme Heavenly Spirit Clan of the nine heavens had fallen to the abyss.

  It could even be called near-extinction.

  Yet the final twist—the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor charging into the rift—left many stunned.

  Lu Jiulian and Tantai Xuan—the two Five Phoenix Golden Immortals—narrowed their eyes.

  They had clearly seen Lu’s intervention.

  “What was the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s final trump card?”

  “That seemed like a strange creature—neither in the nine heavens nor the Five Phoenixes.”

  “Can he win inside the rift?”

  Tantai Xuan and Lu Jiulian asked each other.

  Many Xuan Immortals watched this battle—holding their breath.

  The situation had spiraled beyond imagination. Those vanished Ancient Emperors—hidden for unknown reasons—seemed on the verge of returning.

  Whether this was good or bad—no one knew.

  Seeing even someone as powerful as the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor nearly die—

  Now entering the rift—no one knew what awaited inside.

  Lu was not anxious. Seated in his thousand-blade chair—

  Others could not see—but he could.

  The Spirit-Pressure Chessboard before him glowed faintly.

  Lu picked a chess piece from the box—slowly placing it. As it landed—countless lines flickered in his eyes.

  His divine soul left his body—drifting.

  Above the sky—the void rift stretched—radiating terrifying pressure.

  Because the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor had entered—the guardians of the entrance seemed weakened.

  At least—Lu’s divine soul entered without resistance.

  Of course—he did not venture deep.

  His divine soul hovered at the entrance—gazing inside.

  …

  Boom!

  Terrifying aura erupted fully.

  Through Lu’s divine soul observation—he clearly saw—inside the rift—a fearsome battle raged.

  An Emperor-realm battle.

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor—fused with the innate divine demon corpse—his strength had even surged slightly.

  This was why he dared charge into the void rift.

  Lu saw the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor surrounded and attacked by several figures—terrifying energy waves seeming to crush heaven and earth.

  Lu sighed. The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor was truly miserable—gang-beaten in the Five Phoenixes—now gang-beaten again in the rift.

  Those figures were shrouded in strange mist—faces obscured.

  But Lu clearly sensed—every energy wave was Emperor-realm power. Many auras felt familiar to Lu.

  After all—Lu had tampered with various holy clans’ imperial weapons—quite familiar with Ancient Emperors’ auras within them.

  Thus—Lu grew increasingly puzzled.

  What was the purpose of these Ancient Emperors hiding here?

  What were they plotting?

  Hiding in this rift for hundreds of thousands of years—there must be an unknown reason.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Fused with the divine demon corpse—the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor grew stronger.

  Unfortunately—still not enough. Though he gained immense power—the level remained Emperor realm—hardly able to dominate and overturn the chessboard.

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  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor battled several Emperors—pushing deeper into the rift.

  Even standing at the rift entrance—Lu’s divine soul sensed terrifying energy waves surging from within.

  That battle—absolutely ferocious.

  Lu enjoyed watching the show.

  In the nine heavens—

  Micah blocked the nine heavens’ Heavenly Dao.

  The Heavenly Dao manifested an incarnation—Emperor-realm strength.

  Micah fearless—raising fists—charging forward. He had long resented the Heavenly Dao. Without its blockage—he might have become Emperor long ago.

  Boom!

  Extreme Dao Emperor Fist—comprehended in the Five Phoenixes. Micah’s talent was monstrous—even Lu admired this fist art.

  The Heavenly Dao incarnation was a figure of light.

  They clashed in the nine heavens. Heavenly Dao rules coiled around it—Micah’s fists hard to land.

  But the nine heavens’ Heavenly Dao seemed uninterested in prolonged battle—unleashing full dominance.

  Soon—Micah was blood-soaked—appearance miserable.

  Repeatedly repelled by the Heavenly Dao incarnation.

  Even his chest was pierced.

  Yet Micah grew fiercer. To describe it as “the more he fought, the more excited” was not exaggerated.

  The Heavenly Dao incarnation wanted to enter the void rift—to deal with the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor.

  Because—the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor was its true target. As for Micah—it cared not.

  After all—Micah proved in the Five Phoenixes. Alive or dead—meant nothing to the nine heavens’ Heavenly Dao.

  But the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor was different. A living native Ancient Emperor of the nine heavens—his value far surpassed this traitor Micah.

  Boom!

  Micah—blood-soaked—retreated in the void.

  Each step shattered void with cracks.

  “I said before—you blocked me. Today—I block you.”

  “You blocked me for six hundred thirty thousand years. I block you for half a day—not too much, right?”

  Micah grinned—appearance miserable—yet his words roared with boldness.

  “Fight again!”

  A flame seemed ignited in Micah’s heart.

  His Extreme Realm path grew through battle.

  The Heavenly Dao incarnation raged.

  Each attack sent Micah flying far.

  Yet Micah returned again and again—bearing pressure.

  Because the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor entered the rift to fight—the world could only see Micah battling the Heavenly Dao incarnation.

  Seeing Micah’s relentless refusal to yield—inspired many.

  Micah indeed felt immense pressure.

  But this also ignited his battle desire.

  His Extreme Realm path needed such battle to break through and gain insight.

  Before—as Quasi-Emperor—he had no right to fight the Heavenly Dao incarnation.

  Now—this chance lay before him. He would fight with all his might—vent his obsession—clarify his mind.

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  The Heavenly Dao incarnation floated high—towering. Its body blazed with blinding white light—face obscured.

  Suddenly—

  Rule power transformed into chains—tightly binding Micah’s body.

  Micah struggled—but the more he did—the heavier the chains became—nearly crushing his flesh.

  Pfft!

  Blood sprayed everywhere.

  His flesh exploded from the chains—blood bursting from wounds—each drop brimming with vitality.

  After all—he was Emperor realm—though newly proven from hundreds of thousands of years as an Ancient Emperor.

  Hundreds of thousands of years—compared to millions—was nothing.

  But Micah—newly proven Emperor—was in his prime—full of vigor.

  Micah refused to yield.

  In his mind—countless scenes flashed.

  Because he had severed his cultivation—restarting from Core Formation realm to now—Golden Immortal.

  But upon proving Golden Immortal—memories of his Holy Hall Master days—severed earlier—gradually resurfaced.

  Soon—he recovered all nine heavens’ cultivation memories.

  Micah froze—as though watching time rewind through those memories. As they fused with his mind—

  Micah sighed deeply.

  With a thought—his nine heavens cultivation surged—like climbing a ladder—reaching Quasi-Emperor.

  Of course—using Heavenly Spirit Clan methods.

  With Golden Immortal cultivation and memories—advancing was easy.

  Quasi-Emperor power had little impact on Micah’s strength.

  But—it gave him a bold idea.

  The moment the idea appeared—it surged uncontrollably in his mind.

  “If I prove Emperor again with the nine heavens’ method… how strong would I become?!”

  A mad thought in Micah’s heart.

  He had proven Emperor through the Five Phoenixes’ path—after great difficulty.

  If he also proved Emperor with the nine heavens’ method—

  Dual Emperor cultivation—would he be even more dominant?!

  Thus—fight! Micah grew increasingly frenzied—battling the Heavenly Dao.

  He would use this battle—to force his potential—to prove Emperor with the nine heavens’ method!

  Terrifying attacks surged from Micah’s fists.

  Under Micah’s relentless assault—the Heavenly Dao incarnation truly struggled to break free.

  …

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s mind was filled with violence.

  This was the side effect of fusing with the innate divine demon corpse. No choice—the divine demon was too strong. Without cultivating the Heavenly Dao—it could forge flesh rivaling—or surpassing—Emperor realm.

  Relying on this—he charged deep into the rift.

  He retained a sliver of clarity.

  He wanted to know—who was plotting—who was playing chess.

  The moment they clashed—he knew—the ones blocking him—the ones trying to kill him—were his old comrades.

  Boom!

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor battled onward.

  Countless powerful attacks struck his body.

  Even with the divine demon flesh as shield—he was blasted bloody—scales shattering.

  Terrifying killing intent crisscrossed—leaving the rift in chaos.

  Emperor-realm battle—containing unimaginable destruction.

  Blood-soaked—he pushed deeper.

  Finally—his body plunged into darkness and nothingness.

  When light flickered—

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor saw—seemed to glimpse some secret.

  Boom!

  Void instantly collapsed.

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor stared dazedly at the deepest part of the rift.

  A chill enveloped him.

  Even fused with the divine demon’s powerful flesh—he felt terrifying cold.

  “No… impossible!”

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor stared in disbelief.

  The next moment—he turned—desperately fleeing toward the rift’s exit.

  “Conspiracy! All of it—a conspiracy!”

  The Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s face twisted with madness.

  As though seeing an unacceptable truth.

  His battle intent vanished—even the divine demon’s battle intent was extinguished.

  Perhaps—not knowing the truth allowed peaceful living.

  But knowing the truth—brought soul-deep pain.

  This was a grand scheme!

  Everything between heaven and earth—a scheme!

  “All of it… fake!”

  All fake!

  Boom!

  He transformed into black light—fleeing like lightning.

  However—

  From the rift depths—terrifying killing intent erupted—heaven and earth overturned.

  Pfft!

  An attack from the rift depths—terrifying beyond measure—smashed into the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s back.

  The divine demon flesh—instantly bloodied—blurred.

  Immense force made the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s aura dwindle.

  At the rift entrance—

  Lu—watching the show—changed expression.

  He saw the bloodied Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor—desperately fleeing.

  And the despair and disbelief on his face.

  A collapse of mentality after massive shock.

  “What exactly is in that rift’s depths… to break a millions-year-old Ancient Emperor’s mentality?”

  Lu’s divine soul focused.

  “Perhaps—only the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor himself knows…”

  “So…”

  “I’ll seize it!”

  Decisive.

  Lu acted—to seize the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s soul fragments.

  Whether to uncover the rift’s secrets—or simply—not wanting those fragments to fall into the enemy’s hands.

  Mind set—he acted without hesitation.

  In an instant—

  He struck with a palm.

  Terrifying suction erupted—contending with the array-hand resembling Ancient Emperor Hao—for the Heavenly Spirit Ancient Emperor’s soul fragments.