The Five Phoenixes underwent a seismic transformation—an ascension to a higher plane of existence.

  Not only cultivators, but even mortals sensed the heavens themselves shifting.

  Even Tantai Xuan, the man utterly cut off from immortal destiny, felt something inside him change.

  His Imperial Dragon Qi had grown denser. That realization struck him clearly: the dragon qi of an emperor was tied to the fortunes of the common people.

  When the people thrived, so did his power.

  This time, the world’s metamorphosis had showered unimaginable benefits upon every ordinary soul. Those benefits, in turn, flowed back to him like quiet tributaries feeding a greater river.

  Tantai Xuan stood with hands clasped behind his back, eyes narrowed against the icy rain of spiritual energy that lashed his face. Yet no discomfort touched his heart—no trace of envy for those born with immortal affinity, no sorrow for what he lacked.

  So this was the simple contentment of one whose heart belonged to the people.

  Boom!

  Imperial Dragon Qi surged around him. Now, he felt, even if he stood motionless and allowed a Yin Spirit cultivator to strike him, the backlash alone might shatter his attacker.

  Tantai Xuan gave a long, profound sigh.

  So this was the loneliness at the peak of power—dull, empty, and utterly predictable.

  Across the blood-soaked battlefield, silence fell. Everywhere, the sounds of cultivators breaking through their shackles rang out like distant thunder.

  Inside the ice pagoda, the sealed Sons and Saintesses of distant holy lands stared in stunned disbelief, their faces twisted with raw envy.

  These natives—these dirt-born ants—were reaping the fortune of the world’s ascension and stepping into realms the holy children had only dreamed of.

  They weren’t stupid. They understood: this breakthrough was a gift from the world itself, a reward for every living soul within it.

  Watching Overlord, Nie Changqing, and others cross into the Spirit Severing Realm with a single thought, the sealed geniuses nearly went mad with jealousy.

  Spirit Severing—that was the realm so many of them had chased for years.

  They pressed their faces against the icy walls, trembling, watching the natives of Five Phoenixes bathe in the spiritual rain while the fortune they had come to seize danced just beyond their reach.

  On the Golden Body Continent—

  Bu Nanxing stood atop a lone peak, dazed.

  Because his continent had fused with the origin, it too had become part of the Five Phoenixes Small World. Thus, it basked in the same cascading spiritual rain.

  On the vast mountain summit, Bu Nanxing sat obediently, not daring to move a muscle.

  Though that terrifying existence—Lord Lu—had vanished, Bu Nanxing still feared that the slightest twitch might draw a palm of annihilation from the void.

  He only wanted to survive.

  He had underestimated this world once. Never again.

  Suddenly, cool droplets of spiritual rain landed on his skin.

  He lifted a hand. The liquid seeped into his palm, and his expression turned strange.

  This… the fortune wasn’t excluding him?

  Boom!

  Though, as a non-native, he received far less than the true children of Five Phoenixes, it was still fortune all the same.

  At the peak of Spirit Refinement, a barrier he had failed to breach for ages suddenly tore like wet paper.

  Still sitting in that perfectly obedient posture, he broke through.

  From Spirit Refinement, he stepped into Spirit Severing.

  Power surged through his body, so euphoric he nearly moaned aloud.

  He clapped both hands over his mouth, terrified that any sound might offend the unseen mighty one and earn him a swift, crushing death.

  Caution. Steady now.

  “Thank you, senior!”

  Bu Nanxing dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead against the stone toward the spot where Lord Lu had disappeared. The entire mountain trembled.

  He knew this shower of fortune was inextricably tied to Lord Lu’s successful origin ascension.

  So he kowtowed, maxing out every ounce of his will to live, hoping to earn a sliver of goodwill.

  …

  Within the origin space.

  Lord Lu exhaled slowly.

  The Thousand-Blade Chair unfolded and reformed beneath him. He sat, black robes fading back to pristine white.

  Blood stained the white cloth—this tribulation had truly pushed even him to the brink.

  He had to admit: of all the tribulations since his debut, this one had been the most perilous. One careless step, and he might have fallen.

  Yet the rewards were immense.

  By enduring the punishment of the rules, the Five Phoenixes’ high martial origin had become legitimate.

  Perhaps it would stand as the only true high martial origin in all of Nihility Heaven—the sole high martial world.

  That thought alone set his blood aflame with excitement.

  And this was only the beginning.

  The greatest change came from the world’s metamorphosis itself.

  The opportunity born from that ascension had triggered a collective leap among Five Phoenixes cultivators—and a portion of that spiritual energy flowed directly back to him as commission.

  “Has the world upgrade assessment been completed?”

  Lord Lu calmed his joy, eyes narrowing.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He waited.

  Yet the system prompt did not appear.

  Confusion crept in.

  Then, realization struck.

  His brows knit. He raised his head, profound gaze seeming to weave lines of fate across his pupils.

  “Because of those covetous experts?”

  Until those threats were dealt with, the system refused to count the upgrade as complete.

  He had to eliminate the mighty ones from other high martial worlds first.

  Otherwise, the assessment would remain unfinished, and Five Phoenixes could not yet be considered a true high martial realm.

  Lord Lu exhaled.

  His body trembled faintly. The blood on his white robes shattered into fine particles and dispersed.

  He lifted his chin, expression cold and aloof.

  Spotless white once more.

  His finger tapped the armrest of the wheelchair—he prepared to leave the origin space.

  The origin had expanded vastly, now cradling four supreme mid-tier martial origins in perfect, eternal balance.

  There was no longer any need for him to watch it constantly.

  Hm?

  Just as he moved to depart and deal with the intruders, an unexpected change occurred.

  …

  In the void.

  Mighty experts stepped across the bounds of Nihility Heaven.

  Terrifying auras rippled outward, crushing everything in their path. Wandering cultivators caught in the pressure exploded into mist—body and soul obliterated in an instant.

  These beings were simply too powerful.

  Each carried an invincible bearing, sacred treasures glowing above their heads as they crossed the emptiness.

  Brilliant light poured from their bodies; their presence alone inspired dread.

  Every one of them had surpassed Spirit Severing.

  Wanderers scattered in panic.

  “As expected—the great powers of high martial worlds have been watching, hungry for this newborn fortune!”

  “None of those mighty ones are simple!”

  “Run! Even suppressed by Nihility Heaven’s rules, their battle ripples alone can erase us!”

  Even the serpent-tongued beauty and the warrior clad in burning armor fled, abandoning their lifeless continents without a backward glance.

  Yet before they vanished, they saw Qi Liuma emerge from his barren continent—alone, standing against the descending experts crowned with sacred treasures.

  “What is he doing?”

  “Trying to stop them single-handedly? Delusional!”

  The beauty shook her head as if watching a fool, then shot away.

  The flame-armored expert stared.

  “This is the way of Nihility Heaven. The moment a high martial world is born, it becomes meat on the table for the others. Qi Liuma—your flesh and primordial spirit severed, half a foot in the grave—how can you change that?”

  He sighed, shook his head, and glanced back at the ever-more radiant Five Phoenixes continent with naked envy.

  To witness the birth of a high martial world was an honor, yet reality was cruel.

  He had once watched Qi Liuma’s own high martial world collapse.

  Those same experts were insatiable thieves.

  They would carve up the newborn origin and enslave every talented cultivator.

  With a final lament, he exploded into a streak of fire and vanished.

  Qi Liuma intended to fight to the death. He would not.

  He was already a wanderer—homeless, worldless, faithless.

  In his eyes, Qi Liuma’s fate was sealed.

  Death.

  …

  Qi Liuma smiled.

  His hunched back straightened slightly. Color returned to his withered frame.

  His expression was strange—almost demonic—as he gazed at the brilliant figures crossing the void like blazing stars, murder leaking from his grin.

  He did not bother hiding his killing intent.

  “My friends,” he rasped, voice echoing through the emptiness, “must you be so ruthless? A high martial world is born in Nihility Heaven only once in eons. Why destroy it?”

  The wanderers he ignored. The sealed Sons and Saintesses he ignored. Even their Spirit Severing guardians he dismissed.

  But these high martial experts—he had no choice but to face them.

  “You’re Qi Liuma?”

  “So you’re still breathing. You couldn’t protect your own world—yet you stand in our way for another’s?”

  One expert spoke from beneath the blinding light of his sacred treasure, voice dripping mockery.

  They all knew Qi Liuma. Once, he had left Nihility Heaven, broken through to Body Integration, and earned the title of mighty one.

  He returned dreaming of nurturing the only high martial world in Nihility Heaven.

  It became the greatest joke.

  The rules descended. His flesh and primordial spirit were severed. His world shattered. The nascent pseudo-high martial origin was carved up among them, fueling their own breakthroughs.

  To them, Qi Liuma was nothing but a failure.

  “Step aside,” one advised coolly. “Your life is already borrowed time. Don’t throw it away.”

  Another sneered, “Block us? With what—your life?”

  “Your Six Armor Array Sect is dead in all but name. Your precious disciples took the Nine Secret Words with them. Without the Nine Words, what do you have?”

  Terrifying auras clashed and wove through the void, making reality tremble.

  Their words rang clear, reaching every drifting continent. Mortals inside cowered as though gods argued overhead.

  Qi Liuma only smiled.

  “Nihility Heaven needs a high martial world. The glory of the Great Emperor will shine again across the Nine Heavens.”

  Word was his Six Armor Array Sect inherited the ancient Emperor Hao’s legacy. Now it was confirmed.

  A pity—the emperor had fallen countless ages ago.

  Boom!

  Behind Qi Liuma, the transforming Five Phoenixes blazed with new splendor.

  “Move. We’re short on time and have no interest in chatting.”

  “If you survive this day, come visit our sects another time.”

  The moment the words fell, sacred treasures flared.

  One expert turned into a streak of light, sacred treasure blazing above him, charging straight at Qi Liuma.

  He truly didn’t see the half-dead man as a threat.

  If Qi Liuma still possessed the Nine Secret Words, perhaps they would be wary.

  Without them? He was nothing.

  Qi Liuma’s eyes narrowed. Deep within his pupils, vortices spun.

  The instant the expert closed in—

  The seemingly rotten log of a man moved.

  Terrifying energy erupted from his withered frame. A skeletal hand rose.

  Boom!

  Void quaked violently.

  Two radiant masses collided again and again.

  The onlookers watched, certain of Qi Liuma’s defeat.

  They had carved up his world once. They would do it again.

  A blood-curdling scream tore through the emptiness.

  Energy ripples surged outward, shattering lesser continents into rivers of blood.

  In the void, the charging expert’s flesh had vanished completely—only his primordial spirit remained, fleeing beneath the protection of his sacred treasure.

  A mass of bloody meat writhed in the distance.

  Qi Liuma’s withered body devoured it.

  White, dead hair fell away; thick black strands grew in their place. Skin like old bark plumped and smoothed.

  He had stolen another’s flesh to replenish his own.

  Qi Liuma threw his head back and laughed, hands behind his back, array patterns swirling around him.

  “You court death!”

  The remaining experts roared in fury.

  Several streaks of light shot forward, intent on tearing him apart.

  The fleshless primordial spirit fled Nihility Heaven in bitter resentment, glaring back from beyond the border—he wanted to watch Qi Liuma ripped limb from limb.

  Not everyone attacked. A few cautious ones held back; a mysterious array master, even half-dead, still commanded wariness.

  Qi Liuma laughed louder.

  Flesh reborn, he charged forward and threw a punch.

  Array master though he was, he fought with raw physical power.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Yet in the blink of an eye, his newly restored body exploded.

  He was no match for their combined might.

  Flesh shredded, arms detonated—he staggered backward through the void, every step spraying scalding blood.

  “Will you truly trade your life to stop us?”

  The watching experts wore complicated expressions.

  But they saw he was at his limit.

  So they attacked.

  If he wished for death, they would grant it.

  Dazzling radiance erupted.

  In the darkness, the experts struck like blazing stars.

  Void itself was punched full of holes.

  Qi Liuma coughed blood. His body was ground into bloody mist once more.

  Yet black hair tangled with gore danced around him.

  BOOM!!!!!

  An explosion that should not exist in emptiness tore everything apart.

  Spherical shockwaves radiated outward.

  Countless low martial continents turned to ash. Mid martial worlds collapsed—mountains fell, rivers reversed.

  Yet at the center of the blast—

  Qi Liuma, flesh flying, threw his head back and laughed toward the heavens.

  He looked toward Five Phoenixes.

  In the distance, he seemed to see a figure in snow-white robes.

  “Bearer of the Emperor’s bloodline… awakener of the ‘Lin’ Secret Word… forger of a true high martial world…”

  “Young friend, our acquaintance is shallow, yet you are the hope of Nihility Heaven—the hope to restore Emperor Hao’s glory.”

  “A newborn high martial world still needs time to mature. This old man will buy you that time with this broken body.”

  “Hahaha…”

  “Let me live to see the day a true high martial world rises in Nihility Heaven!”

  His laughter rang with exhilaration, hope, and joy.

  The next instant—

  Rumble!

  A terrifying pressure descended—the might of the rules themselves.

  Qi Liuma’s primordial spirit rose from the ruin of his flesh.

  Array patterns blazed around him, as though they had always been etched into the void itself.

  “Damn it! The old bastard laid a formation to trap us from the start!”

  The experts paled.

  Every single one who had been drawn here changed expressions.

  The rules became blades, descending from the Ninth Heaven.

  Slash after slash carved into Qi Liuma’s primordial spirit.

  With each cut, his spirit grew fainter—until only a faint silhouette remained.

  “Madman!”

  “You’ll scatter your soul forever—no rebirth, nothing!”

  One expert roared in rage.

  Because with every slice, the surrounding array patterns thrummed louder, devouring the power of the rules, growing ever more terrifying.

  A true madman.

  Using his own primordial spirit as bait to feed on heavenly rules and complete the formation.

  He meant to drag them all down with him!

  The unique nature of Nihility Heaven chilled their souls.

  They tried to flee—streaks of brilliant meteors shooting across the void.

  Fast.

  But the formation was faster.

  Boom!

  Amid unwilling screams of despair…

  A colossal golden triangular cauldron, woven from array patterns, sealed every last mighty expert within.