Golden Body Continent.

  Bu Nanxing, who had been sitting cross-legged on a mountain peak stabilizing his breakthrough, slowly opened his eyes.

  He glanced into the void and sighed.

  “That senior… has finally started the slaughter.”

  He shook his head.

  He had seen this coming long ago.

  Even a cautious survivor like him had nearly been killed. That alone proved how terrifying the senior was.

  “I wonder if the Nanshan Sacred Ground sent any mighty ones. Probably not… We have too few at home. My Holy Lord father wouldn’t dare risk them in Nihility Heaven. One loss and Nanshan’s already-bottom high martial ranking would sink forever.”

  Bu Nanxing smiled wryly.

  “As expected, this world is far too dangerous.”

  He stood and looked toward the Five Phoenixes, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

  “Just what tier will this newborn high martial world reach? Ninth Tier? Or Eighth?”

  He couldn’t guess.

  Lu Fan was strong—stronger than even his own Holy Lord father.

  So Bu Nanxing suspected the Five Phoenixes might become an Eighth Tier high martial world.

  “Perhaps the greatest fortune isn’t the newborn origin itself…”

  “But this world.”

  He murmured.

  …

  Five Phoenixes Continent.

  Wolong Ridge.

  Heavenly Secret Peak.

  A cold wind swept up withered yellow leaves on the stone steps.

  Lü Dongxuan and Lü Mudui sat opposite each other. Between them lay a stone grill; atop it, a fat fish sizzled, oil dripping and hissing.

  Lü Dongxuan rubbed his hands, squinting. The thick gold chain around his neck gleamed.

  “As expected, the fish from North Luo Lake are the fattest.”

  “That Luo Yue kid has good taste. This gift makes me happy.”

  The fire roared, heating the stone.

  Lü Mudui swallowed hard and brushed sauce over the golden fish.

  Suddenly, Lü Dongxuan’s heart stirred. A deafening boom rolled from the heavens.

  He clutched his gold chain and narrowed his eyes.

  “It’s the Young Master…”

  “Young Master? What happened?” Lü Mudui asked curiously.

  “The Young Master is doing something big. I can feel it…”

  Lü Dongxuan glanced at Lü Mudui, who was wholly focused on the fish, and snorted.

  “You’re still too green.”

  “How long has it been since Heavenly Secret Pavilion released any earth-shaking news?”

  Lü Mudui grinned, showing his gap-toothed smile. “The world just transformed. Everyone’s busy getting stronger. Where would explosive news come from?”

  Lü Dongxuan clutched his chain and squinted.

  “What is the purpose of Heavenly Secret Pavilion? When the Young Master acts, how can we stay silent?”

  “We must let the entire world know—Baiyujing is supreme.”

  His words rang with conviction.

  Lü Mudui blinked in confusion.

  Lü Dongxuan stood and paced the peak.

  “I divine. You write.”

  His robes fluttered dramatically.

  Lü Mudui opened his mouth, then sighed.

  “What are you waiting for?!”

  Lü Dongxuan roared.

  Helpless, Lü Mudui pulled out a brush and a sheet of profound yellow paper.

  Satisfied, Lü Dongxuan began.

  Whoosh!

  He flicked his gold chain.

  A grating sound like stone on stone rang out.

  Invisible ripples spread in all directions.

  “Heaven and earth transformed. Evil demons invaded. The Young Master stood alone against the heavens!”

  “In a battle beyond the sky, the firmament changed color, mountains and rivers collapsed. Young Master Lu slew more than eighteen evil mighty ones, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands!”

  “Congratulations to the Young Master! Congratulations to Baiyujing!”

  Lü Dongxuan finished, eyes bright and voice resounding.

  Lü Mudui’s hand shook.

  “Old Lü… you really dare say anything!”

  The Young Master had only just killed one woman!

  “You just write. When the Young Master acts, the world trembles.”

  Lü Dongxuan snorted.

  Lü Mudui’s face darkened. “Maybe… shorter? Fewer words?”

  Lü Dongxuan stared silently.

  Lü Mudui twitched. Fine. You win.

  He slapped his chest.

  Pfft!

  Under the sun, he spat a mouthful of blood. Brush spinning, he dipped it in blood-ink and wrote in flowing strokes across the yellow paper.

  Heroic spirit surged from his chest.

  Congratulations to Young Master Lu!

  Congratulations to Baiyujing!

  …

  In the void.

  Every mighty one’s face changed.

  What did this mean?

  Why did his words sound so malicious?

  “Quick… kill Qi Liuma!”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  On the cold, dead continent, Zuo Xu snapped out of his shock at the divine medicine.

  Divine medicine!

  Only Fifth Tier high martial worlds and above could produce it.

  Yet this person had one.

  With divine medicine—flesh and bones could regrow. Qi Liuma might actually live!

  So Zuo Xu shouted.

  The mighty ones had just escaped the Myriad Pattern Cauldron. The situation outside was far more complicated than they’d imagined.

  “That’s… Master Zuo Xu?!”

  “The array master of Black-White Sacred Ground?!”

  “Damn it! Zuo Xu is Qi Liuma’s disciple—the Black-White Holy Lord’s pawn to steal the Nine Secret Words! He came to break the formation for us!”

  They recognized him.

  An array master’s reputation was formidable.

  But seeing him now—robes torn, eyes bleeding, primordial spirit burning under the rules…

  He had clearly been brutalized!

  The mighty ones grew warier.

  They stared at Lu Fan, whose strange smile exerted immense pressure.

  “You did this?!”

  “What do you want by freeing us?”

  They demanded cautiously.

  “Stop talking! Kill Qi Liuma!”

  Zuo Xu nearly coughed blood in rage.

  These idiots would die from talking too much!

  Kill Qi Liuma first!

  “This man wants to save him!”

  Zuo Xu’s roar drew attention.

  Many primordial spirits swept toward Qi Liuma and paled.

  “What?!”

  “Qi Liuma’s primordial spirit is reforming? His blood is reviving?”

  “Impossible! He was on death’s door!”

  Shock rippled through them.

  But they weren’t fools.

  Their bodies flashed. They shot forward as streaks of light, sacred treasures blazing, aiming to kill Qi Liuma.

  Qi Liuma sat atop the cauldron like a fetus brimming with power.

  Lu Fan smiled.

  “You really don’t take this young master seriously.”

  “You still haven’t guessed why I freed you?”

  Yet none paid him any heed.

  One expert, renowned for speed, appeared beside Qi Liuma.

  A sharp spear thrust toward Qi Liuma’s face, aiming to pierce his skull and nail his primordial spirit.

  But array patterns swirled around Qi Liuma.

  The attack missed!

  More mighty ones closed in, though some remained wary of Lu Fan.

  Origin qi poured down, forming unbreakable array patterns.

  One mighty one struck with all his strength—yet failed to breach it!

  Their expressions changed.

  They realized something was wrong.

  “You did this?”

  One stared gravely at Lu Fan. They couldn’t sense his true aura. His Qi Refinement cultivation was ignored—who had ever seen a Qi Refiner float in Nihility Heaven?

  They had just escaped; they didn’t know Lu Fan had killed the Holy Consort with one strike.

  So although wary, they still had confidence.

  Eighteen mighty ones together—unless another Qi Liuma formation trapped them again, they could kill gods and buddhas alike!

  On the dead continent below, Zuo Xu spat blood and despaired.

  “Run! If you can’t kill Qi Liuma, run!”

  “The Black-White Holy Consort died by his hand! Spread the news—let the Holy Lord avenge her!”

  Zuo Xu’s eyes lit up as he roared.

  His words exploded like spring thunder.

  Every mighty one felt as though lightning had torn through them. Cold sweat poured.

  At first, they doubted.

  But Zuo Xu’s next words shattered their courage.

  “This is a Venerable! Comparable to a Holy Lord!”

  Zuo Xu screamed, straining his neck.

  He wanted them to escape and carry the message.

  Venerable? Holy Lord level?!

  Every mighty one trembled.

  They stared at Lu Fan in disbelief.

  The white-robed youth smiled gently—no denial.

  “You coveted the newborn origin of Five Phoenixes, treating it as your fortune…”

  “This young master is kind-hearted. Five Phoenixes has just entered high martial—I’m in a good mood. I won’t slaughter lightly. I’ll give you a chance.”

  Lu Fan laughed warmly, like the boy next door.

  “What chance?”

  One mighty one asked, heart pounding.

  “Since you see Five Phoenixes as fortune, then become fortune for Five Phoenixes—benefit the world.”

  Lu Fan said.

  Benefit my ass!

  Someone moved!

  “Fight!”

  Truth or lie—they had to act.

  BOOM!

  Eighteen mighty ones attacked at once—an unprecedented onslaught.

  Primordial spirits manifested. Terrifying auras linked endlessly, shaking the void.

  Golden spears, ferocious beasts, blade-sharp bodies—all surged toward Lu Fan.

  In the void.

  Lu Fan sat calmly in his Thousand-Blade Chair, white robes fluttering.

  The Spiritual Pressure Chessboard glowed softly.

  He lifted a piece and placed it.

  Plop.

  He focused on the board. Some noticed stars and galaxies shifting upon it.

  Pfft!

  One mighty one suddenly felt mountains crash down. He was forced to his knees in the starry sky.

  His powerful primordial spirit nearly shattered!

  BOOM!

  The piece fell like a mountain range. The void cracked.

  It directly crushed one mighty one’s body into bloody mist.

  The overwhelming power horrified the rest.

  “This strength… truly a Venerable!”

  The Body Integration experts panicked. Against a Venerable—the second tier among mighty ones—how could they fight?

  “Which sacred ground’s Holy Lord are you?!”

  “We have no grudge…”

  “This youth is so young yet possesses such heaven-defying cultivation. Could he be a monstrous genius from a Seventh Tier or higher world?!”

  They were terrified.

  Zuo Xu… had not lied!

  Run!

  Facing a Venerable, only idiots would fight to the death!

  The remaining seventeen instantly scattered like celestial maidens casting flowers, fleeing in all directions.

  Lu Fan smiled.

  He had chosen to act—did he look like someone who would let them escape?

  He didn’t think himself invincible across the Nine Heavens.

  After all, he was merely a humble sixth-layer Qi Refiner.

  “Sword… return.”

  From the Thousand-Blade Chair, Lu Fan beckoned slowly.

  On the blood-colored battlefield—

  Nine streaks of light shot into the sky, tearing the firmament like nine blazing suns wheeling overhead.

  Beneath the flames, nine golden crows seemed to soar.

  Phoenix Feather Sword—return!

  Whoosh!

  Guided by the sword soul, the nine blades merged.

  Flames scorched the void, forming a true phoenix tail feather that stretched across the heavens.

  Dark streams of compressed space appeared.

  Terrifying pressure filled the world!

  As Lu Fan beckoned, the Phoenix Feather Sword returned from Five Phoenixes.

  Unstoppable—every mighty one it passed was locked by its aura.

  Now fused with its sword soul, the Phoenix Feather Sword had reached Heaven Tier!

  Pfft! Pfft!

  Bodies exploded into bloody mist wherever it passed!

  The sword aura was unrivaled!

  Sacred treasures were drawn in defense—yet shattered all the same!

  Seventeen mighty ones lost their bodies in an instant.

  Wretched screams filled the void.

  “What manner of weapon is this?!”

  “It came from that newborn high martial world! This man… is a native of that world?!”

  The Phoenix Feather Sword returned.

  In the void, plus the one crushed earlier, eighteen clouds of blood mist floated.

  Lu Fan sat in his chair, hair dancing in the gentle breeze.

  The Phoenix Feather Sword hovered above him, a drop of blood sliding from its tip.

  The sword soul radiated delight and flattery.

  This battle—exhilarating!

  Lu Fan gazed calmly at the eighteen blood clouds.

  Because he knew—this was not the end.

  BOOM!

  Within the blood mist, powerful primordial spirit fluctuations surged.

  Eighteen terrified faces formed, then bodies—restored in primordial spirit form.

  The moment they reappeared, they fled without hesitation.

  But—

  Plop.

  The clear sound of a chess piece falling rang in their souls like heavenly tribulation.

  Lu Fan’s primordial spirit swept out.

  Crack!

  The void seemed to freeze.

  Eighteen primordial spirits—already suppressed by Nihility Heaven’s rules—were now locked by Lu Fan’s spirit.

  They could not move.

  “Senior… mercy!”

  “Lord Venerable, I was wrong! Don’t kill me!”

  Primordial spirit fluctuations pleaded.

  The emotional whiplash nearly broke them.

  They had thought freedom meant carving up the newborn origin and ascending to Venerable realm.

  Instead, a Venerable had been waiting.

  Screams never ceased.

  Mighty ones were still human.

  The stronger one was, the less one wished to face death.

  “Don’t be afraid.”

  “I, Lu Ping’an, consider myself quite amiable. I won’t kill you.”

  Lu Fan chuckled, leaning back.

  Lu Ping’an?

  Was that the Venerable’s title?

  Lu Fan’s eyes flickered as he gazed at the trembling primordial spirits.

  Five Phoenixes had entered high martial. It was time to upgrade the cultivation grounds for the people.

  He moved.

  Like thunder, he flashed across the void.

  Spiritual energy formed a giant hand that swept through.

  Eighteen primordial spirits were captured.

  Terror filled their faces.

  What… was he going to do to them?

  Zuo Xu, crushed deep into the dead continent, sensed Lu Fan leave with the spirits.

  Thinking himself overlooked, he prepared to sneak away and report to Black-White Sacred Ground.

  But the moment he lifted his head—

  He found himself staring straight at Qi Liuma, now brimming with dense life energy.

  Qi Liuma’s cheek twitched.

  The instant Zuo Xu looked up,

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  Master and disciple locked gazes.

  Silence.

  An extremely awkward reunion.

  …

  Blood-colored battlefield.

  Cheers exploded!

  Every soldier gazed at the peerless white-robed figure in the void, wild with excitement. Even coughing blood, they roared.

  “Young Master Lu is invincible!”

  “Baiyujing is invincible!”

  With Young Master Lu, the skies of Five Phoenixes still stood!

  “Brother Lu! Brother Lu!”

  Ni Chunqiu screamed hysterically, earning disgusted looks from Du Longyang and Ye Shoudao.

  Lu Fan smiled and flicked his finger.

  A rain of origin qi fell.

  Every cultivator’s wounds healed instantly.

  Lu Jiulian landed on the battlefield, breathing deeply.

  Gazing at the overwhelmingly powerful Lu Fan, admiration filled him.

  This—this was the bearing of the truly strong.

  Compared to his own sorry struggle against the woman, Lu Jiulian knew his path was still long.

  Lu Fan, carrying the eighteen primordial spirits, appeared above Five Phoenixes.

  Thunder crackled as he moved through the void.

  The sky trembled; rosy clouds flashed.

  Above the Boundless Sea.

  He raised a hand and pulled.

  BOOM!

  The earth shook.

  The sea churned.

  One after another, colossal stone statues rose from the depths—each with a flat platform carved atop its head.

  Lu Fan formed array patterns that fell upon the statues.

  “These statues will be your new homes.”

  He smiled at the captured primordial spirits.

  “Don’t worry—you won’t die.”

  He grabbed one and flung it.

  BOOM!

  The primordial spirit merged with a statue. The entire figure radiated primordial spirit aura.

  Under the array’s operation, the aura became profound—perfect for Yang God cultivators to comprehend and form their own primordial spirits more easily.

  Eighteen primordial spirits were stuffed into eighteen statues.

  The Boundless Sea raged with towering waves.

  “From today, this place shall be called… Primordial Spirit Platform.”

  Lu Fan declared softly.

  A land of fortune for Five Phoenixes.

  His voice echoed across the entire continent.

  At the same moment!

  Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s announcement spread throughout the world.

  In an instant, every cultivator in the land boiled with excitement!

  Congratulations to the Young Master!

  Congratulations to Baiyujing!

  In the void.

  Zuo Xu, pretending to be dead on the dead continent, sensed Lu Fan’s departure.

  Thinking he had escaped notice, he prepared to flee and report back.

  But when he raised his head—

  He found himself face-to-face with Qi Liuma, now overflowing with life.

  Qi Liuma’s eyelid twitched.

  The moment Zuo Xu looked up,

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  Master and disciple locked gazes.

  Utter silence.

  The reunion was exceptionally awkward.