Qi Liuma felt as though he had been dreaming for an eternity.

  He drifted along the river of time. In one dream, he became nothing but withered bones. In another, he returned to the glorious era of ancient Emperor cultivation.

  That was an era that set the heart racing. He met the invincible ancient Emperor—one thought could reverse the galaxy, one punch could boil time itself.

  He was thrilled.

  Even more thrilling, the ancient Emperor seemed to take a liking to him and fed him a divine herb.

  Divine essence flowed, divinity permeated—truly a divine medicine.

  The overwhelming energy shattered his dream.

  Everything before Qi Liuma’s eyes dissolved.

  The ancient Emperor in his dream transformed into a figure in white robes, leaving an indelible mark on his mind.

  Then he awoke.

  He woke with emotions too complex to name.

  He… was not dead.

  Qi Liuma’s eyes were deep and profound. On his weathered face, countless wrinkles crisscrossed like the sharp edges of time.

  He saw Zuo Xu kneeling before him on the cold, dead continent.

  That familiar face stunned him for a moment.

  “Zuo Xu?”

  His voice boomed with vitality, startling even himself.

  He had drawn upon the rules, laid down the formation, and had his primordial spirit carved away—he should have perished utterly.

  Yet now… he felt stronger than ever?

  Qi Liuma did not understand.

  But he showed no reaction.

  He gazed calmly at the blood-soaked, pitiful Zuo Xu, his eyes filled with quiet pressure.

  Zuo Xu stared blankly at the awakened Qi Liuma.

  Sweat beaded on his bloodstained face.

  Blood tears streaked down as his expression turned awkward.

  “M-Master…”

  Zuo Xu forced the word out.

  His smile was uglier than crying.

  Master and disciple met again—no joy, only boundless awkwardness.

  Only now did Zuo Xu understand.

  That terrifying white-robed Venerable had not ignored him while he played dead.

  He had planned this all along.

  He suspected the Venerable had deliberately placed him here.

  When the Venerable said Qi Liuma would decide his fate—it had been literal.

  Boiling blood surged in Zuo Xu’s chest, rage bubbling.

  He wanted to curse.

  But the words turned into a powerless spray of blood.

  “Old Fifth.”

  Divine medicine’s immense life force coursed through Qi Liuma’s withered body, dragging him back from death’s door.

  Fifth—Zuo Xu was the fifth of his nine disciples.

  “Master… forgive me. This disciple… knows his wrong!”

  Zuo Xu gritted his teeth.

  He looked utterly wretched—bones shattered, primordial spirit burning under the rules.

  Half-dead.

  He wanted pity.

  Survival was everything.

  But Qi Liuma ignored him.

  He glanced at the cold, dead continent, then at the empty Myriad Pattern Cauldron.

  The mighty ones sealed within were gone.

  Lingering blood qi in the void told of exploded bodies.

  “A great battle took place here. All the mighty ones… dead?”

  Qi Liuma murmured.

  Zuo Xu said nothing, trembling harder.

  The less Qi Liuma spoke, the more terrified he became.

  “No… no shattered primordial spirit signatures. Their primordial spirits escaped?”

  Qi Liuma said.

  He turned, dry white hair whipping.

  He looked toward the Five Phoenixes continent.

  His cheek twitched.

  Then he exhaled, as though a great burden had lifted.

  Everything was getting better.

  Hope remained.

  But confusion quickly followed.

  How?

  Eighteen mighty ones breaking free should have been a catastrophe for the newborn high martial Five Phoenixes.

  What exactly had happened?

  Qi Liuma was baffled.

  But he no longer cared.

  Five Phoenixes still stood. The only high martial world in Nihility Heaven remained.

  That was enough to fill him with joy.

  Perhaps the white-robed youth had used some method, or the fully activated “Lin” Secret Word had erupted with overwhelming power and crushed the mighty ones.

  Either way, it must have been a bitter fight.

  Right now, Qi Liuma’s mind was filled with questions.

  Why was he alive?

  Why was Zuo Xu kneeling before him?

  But in the end… did it matter?

  After a long silence, Qi Liuma finally looked at Zuo Xu.

  Zuo Xu, trembling, suddenly grew excited.

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  “Master… spare me!”

  He swallowed hard, throat bobbing.

  Qi Liuma’s wrinkled face creased into a smile.

  “Is the Secret Word still in your possession?”

  His voice was hoarse.

  Zuo Xu froze.

  Then shook his head.

  “No… it was… taken.”

  Qi Liuma’s brows knitted into a deep frown.

  “Oh.”

  He said.

  “Then what use is sparing you?”

  Hope froze on Zuo Xu’s face. His forced smile turned grotesque.

  Qi Liuma did not wait for a reply.

  His withered, branch-like finger pressed against Zuo Xu’s brow.

  BANG!

  A bloody hole exploded in Zuo Xu’s forehead. Red and white sprayed from the back of his skull.

  Array patterns twisted and strangled.

  Zuo Xu’s primordial spirit cracked.

  He stared blankly at Qi Liuma.

  He had never expected such decisiveness…

  His already-ruined primordial spirit went out like a candle—only a wisp of smoke remained before vanishing completely.

  On the dead continent, Zuo Xu’s body knelt, head bowed.

  Blood dripped steadily from the hole in his forehead.

  As though kneeling in sincere repentance before his master.

  Qi Liuma’s robes fluttered.

  He stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the Myriad Pattern Cauldron.

  With a wave, the formation scattered into countless fragments that flowed back into his body.

  The terrifying binding formation dissolved into the void.

  Qi Liuma coughed, body trembling slightly.

  Killing Zuo Xu stirred no great emotion in him.

  Cleaning house. Removing a lingering sickness from his heart.

  “To think you wasted a divine medicine on this old bones…”

  “Young master’s righteousness knows no bounds.”

  Qi Liuma’s expression was complex.

  He stepped forward and shot away.

  But he did not descend upon Five Phoenixes immediately.

  The world’s protective barrier still lingered.

  A mighty one descending would suffer immense backlash and suppression.

  He turned. Beside him floated an ordinary-looking youth.

  “Greetings, Sect Leader Qi. I have long admired your great name. To meet you today is a true honor.”

  The youth smiled warmly—a practiced, disarming smile that evoked no hostility.

  Qi Liuma was taken aback, but one did not strike a smiling face.

  He nodded slightly.

  The youth introduced himself, “I am merely an ordinary holy son of Nanshan Sacred Ground. To meet Sect Leader Qi is the fortune of three lifetimes. To think you single-handedly trapped eighteen mighty ones with a formation—truly astonishing. I am in awe.”

  Nanshan Sacred Ground?

  A Ninth Tier high martial world, near the bottom of the rankings.

  Qi Liuma recalled and smiled politely.

  BOOM!

  Below, the misty formation parted like the sea cleaved in two.

  The array opened.

  “Sect Leader Qi, after you.”

  Bu Nanxing bowed.

  Survival Rule #1: Defer to seniors. Live longer.

  Qi Liuma did not refuse and descended onto the blood-colored battlefield.

  Bu Nanxing followed.

  Every cultivator on the battlefield was overwhelmed with excitement.

  “Sect Leader Qi may not know, but earlier, Venerable Lu Ping’an slew eighteen mighty ones with a single ‘Sword Return.’”

  Bu Nanxing said.

  Qi Liuma’s heart jolted.

  “Sword that slew eighteen mighty ones?”

  So Lu really had killed them?

  Suddenly—

  Origin power surged from the battlefield, falling like origin rain.

  It washed over Bu Nanxing and Qi Liuma.

  “Bathe in the origin rain—cause and effect will not cling.”

  Qi Liuma said.

  Bu Nanxing did not resist.

  With the world’s protective barrier still active, entering without the world lord’s origin rain would invite suppression.

  The stronger one was, the worse the backlash.

  After the rain, three figures approached from afar.

  Three Spirit Severing experts.

  A newborn high martial world already producing three Spirit Severing cultivators—unbelievable foundation.

  Du Longyang, Ye Shoudao, and Ni Chunqiu.

  Jiang Li and Lu Jiulian followed.

  “Senior, Brother Lu requests your presence.”

  Ni Chunqiu said respectfully after taking a deep breath.

  Qi Liuma had sacrificed himself to block eighteen mighty ones for Five Phoenixes. They held him in high esteem.

  Without lingering, Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing followed them into the continent.

  Once past the oppressive blood color, magnificent mountains and rivers appeared.

  “What a beautiful world.”

  Bu Nanxing sighed sincerely.

  They flew across the sky.

  Over the Boundless Sea.

  Suddenly, Qi Liuma’s gaze shrank. A chill ran from his soles to his spine.

  “This…”

  He saw eighteen colossal statues, each as large as a mountain.

  Powerful primordial spirit fluctuations wove through the sea.

  Yet these fluctuations felt… familiar.

  Were these not the eighteen mighty ones?

  In the blink of an eye, they had become statues?

  “Those who sought to treat Five Phoenixes as fortune had their primordial spirits captured by the Young Master and forged into fortune…”

  “The Young Master calls these statues the ‘Primordial Spirit Platform.’ They aid comprehension—the primordial spirit waves help condense one’s own primordial spirit.”

  Ni Chunqiu explained.

  Qi Liuma’s eyes flickered, then widened in shock.

  Bu Nanxing, who had been silent, inhaled sharply—then joy spread across his face.

  Eighteen mighty ones’ primordial spirit fluctuations turned into a cultivation ground to help form primordial spirits?

  Bu Nanxing had entered Spirit Severing thanks to the fortune on Golden Body Continent.

  His next step was to form a primordial spirit and become a true mighty one.

  This Primordial Spirit Platform would be of immense help!

  “As expected…”

  “The true fortune is not the origin—it’s this world!”

  Bu Nanxing’s excitement grew.

  But he suppressed it. His conviction only strengthened.

  They continued onward.

  Soon, a giant whale appeared, carrying an immortal island on its back.

  BOOM!

  Origin qi formed a lake on the island, seven-colored auspicious clouds floating above—truly an immortal realm.

  “We’ll stop here. Please ascend on your own.”

  Ni Chunqiu, Du Longyang, and the others turned back, each choosing a statue to sit before and comprehend.

  All three were at the peak of Yang God, half a step from Primordial Unity.

  After the terrifying battle, they understood: only by growing stronger could they share Young Master Lu’s burden.

  Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing waited.

  Soon, a figure emerged from the misty sea.

  Carrying a black pot on her back, white dress fluttering, a chubby little dragon perched on her head.

  Ni Yu stepped out of the mist.

  “The Young Master invites you.”

  Her big eyes spun curiously as she sized up Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing.

  It had been a long time since the Young Master allowed anyone on the island.

  Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing stepped onto Lake Heart Isle.

  A gentle breeze carried pure origin qi.

  Though the island was breathtakingly beautiful, their gazes were drawn to the white-robed figure at the foot of the mountain peak, idly twirling a peach blossom.

  “Young Master, I brought them!”

  Ni Yu announced excitedly.

  “Good. Go refine pills. Become an Earth-tier alchemist soon. Stop playing with Little Yinglong all day.”

  Lu Fan glanced at her.

  Ni Yu pouted, then carried her pot away to start a fire and refine somewhere on the island.

  Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing were stunned.

  Forcing such a young girl to become an Earth-tier alchemist…

  That was harsh.

  Alchemists were as profound and rare as array masters.

  After Ni Yu left,

  Lu Fan smiled and waved.

  Hum…

  The scene shifted.

  The three appeared in the Baiyujing pavilion.

  The rich scent of plum wine filled the air.

  A cup appeared before Qi Liuma and Bu Nanxing, wine rippling gently.

  “How do you feel?”

  Lu Fan sipped from his bronze cup and asked Qi Liuma.

  Qi Liuma knew what he meant.

  He set down his cup and prepared to bow deeply.

  “This old man has no virtue or ability to deserve Young Master Lu’s life-saving grace. The value of a divine medicine far exceeds this old life.”

  Qi Liuma said earnestly.

  Bu Nanxing was shocked—Lu Fan had used a divine medicine to save him!

  “It was only a divine medicine seed, ripened with the time power of the ‘Lin’ Secret Word. Its effects were greatly reduced. It can revive the dead and regrow flesh, but it cannot fully restore your primordial spirit.”

  Lu Fan said.

  “This old man is already endlessly grateful…”

  Qi Liuma sighed.

  Even a seed could grow into true divine medicine.

  Only Fifth Tier high martial worlds and above could birth them.

  To waste it on a half-dead old man…

  What a waste.

  Qi Liuma knew his own state—primordial spirit carved away by rules, body decaying. Half a foot in the grave.

  “Used is used. Don’t burden yourself.”

  Lu Fan waved dismissively and sipped his wine.

  “Refine the medicine’s power slowly. As for your primordial spirit—it’s difficult to heal completely. Stay in Five Phoenixes for now. The world can shield you from the rules’ damage. Recover slowly; perhaps you’ll be whole again.”

  Lu Fan said.

  “Thank you, Young Master.”

  Qi Liuma cupped his fists, emotions swirling.

  His nose stung.

  His early life had been glorious—he inherited the Six Armor Array Sect, achieved Body Integration in Pingyang Heaven, returned to Nihility Heaven vowing to forge a high martial world.

  His later life—wandering, nearly dead.

  Now, to have a home in Five Phoenixes was not bad.

  Especially since it was the only high martial world in Nihility Heaven.

  That moved him most.

  In his lifetime, he had lived to see Nihility Heaven birth a high martial world.

  His dream fulfilled—no regrets.

  Suddenly, Qi Liuma frowned.

  A faint sense of crisis stirred.

  “Young Master Lu…”

  “Five Phoenixes has only just become high martial. Though the mighty ones who coveted the origin have been suppressed, the true calamity has not yet come. You must prepare early.”

  Qi Liuma warned gravely.

  His concern was valid.

  “A world’s protective barrier lasts anywhere from one month to one year after ascending to high martial. Once it fades, the restriction on experts disappears. Terrifying beings will descend. If any bear ill will toward Five Phoenixes, it will be a great disaster.”

  Bu Nanxing’s heart jolted.

  Yes—this was the true crisis!

  Lu Fan’s smile slowly faded.

  One hand propped his chin, the other toyed with his cup.

  “Hm…”

  “That venerable from the high martial Buddha world did say the day Five Phoenixes became high martial would be the day he descended.”

  “This young master… has been waiting for him all this time.”

  Lu Fan said.

  Qi Liuma: “…”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it, unsure what to say.

  That venerable from the high martial Buddha world was no weakling. Their world was no mere Ninth Tier like Nanshan.

  A clash would be dangerous.

  So Qi Liuma silently resolved to lay down powerful formations outside Five Phoenixes while the protective barrier still held.

  At the very least, it would give Five Phoenixes some defense.

  He could not bear to see the only high martial world—the only hope—in Nihility Heaven fall.

  Bu Nanxing’s teeth ached.

  Once the barrier fell, it wouldn’t just be that Buddha world venerable.

  Countless sacred ground Holy Lords would come.

  After all…

  Lu Fan had slain the Black-White Holy Consort with one sword.

  And the ice pagoda still held many holy sons and saintesses captive.

  Five Phoenixes had made enemies of countless sacred grounds the moment it ascended.

  Thinking this way, Bu Nanxing suddenly felt…

  Five Phoenixes might not be the safest place to lay low.

  But sometimes, one had to choose.

  “Senior Lu… what do you plan for those captured holy sons and saintesses?”

  Bu Nanxing probed carefully.

  Lu Fan blinked, then pondered long and sighed.

  “I hope… they can be proper tool people.”