In the outside world, in the skies above the Literati Continent, Lu Hongpao had been watching the developments in the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone this entire time, but now, she silently sat upright. The moment that the silver scroll appeared, she could no longer sense Su Yi’s presence whatsoever. It was as if he’d vanished from the Nine Luminaires Forbidden Zone, or been transported to an altogether separate spacetime!

“What happened, Master?” Yao Monarch Lian Luo keenly noticed his master’s anger. There was clearly something off about Lu Hongpao’s mental state.

“Something went wrong,” said Lu Hongpao. She rose, her fiery robes billowing over the cloud cover. “I wouldn’t have guessed that Jiang Wuchen’s heart devil had such a powerful hidden card.”

Lian Luo’s heart shook. If even Master thinks it’s impressive, it must be truly extraordinary.

“Should we intervene?” he asked.

Lu Hongpao shook her head. “He has to resolve this tribulation himself. All I can guarantee is that he won’t die.”

...

The sounds of slaughter shook the skies of the Ancient Nine Luminaries City.

Innocence and the Sword-Bearer fought beneath the nine heavens, while the Heavenly Monarchs clashed with the Sin Souls. Occasionally, a Heavenly Monarch died in battle. Other times, a Sin Soul exploded and dissipated.

No one tried to flee; the city had been sealed off. There was nowhere to run.

Did someone trick him? Innocence noticed that Su Yi and Cen Xinghe had vanished.

She ought to have been happy. After all, she’d broken free of the Sin-Severing Dungeon. If Su Yi died, she’d be truly free. But she couldn’t work up any happiness, because she knew that even if something happened to Su Yi, the being hidden within that rusted sheath wouldn’t spare her!

“Ketu, you really ought to die!” Innocence’s eyes reddened as if about to weep tears of blood. Roiling waves of sin power coursed over her entire body.

She knew that the only way to remedy the situation was to suppress Ketu and slaughter every last one of those Heavenly Monarchs!

Boom!

She flipped her palm, and a blood-red spear floated into her hand. Electric, blood-red sin power coursed over its surface, and even a casual thrust tore open the sky, sending the Sword-Bearer flying backward.

The Sword-Bearer remained calm even as he fought back with all his might. He owed Jiang Wuchen his life, so even if he died, he’d essentially just be returning what he’d been given.

Meanwhile, within a mysterious, separate spacetime, there was nothing but emptiness on all sides. Su Yi and Cen Xinghe appeared out of nowhere. The Malevolent Sword Venerate appeared shortly after.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate visibly relaxed. “Not even Heavenly Sovereigns can force their way into the Endless Expanse Hidden Realm! In other words, no one is coming to save you!” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Su Yi scanned his surroundings, his brow slightly furrowed.

This hidden realm was extraordinarily strange. He couldn’t sense any sign of the Grand Dao. All was silent and empty on all sides.

In his shoes, any other cultivator would have panicked. They’d have felt the despair of one abandoned by Heaven’s Will.

But Su Yi was different. He sought the Dao within himself, even when breaking into Eternity. Even if Heaven’s Will vanished, his Grand Dao remained in perpetuity!

“Why not attack?” said Su Yi. “A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. If you have an absolute advantage in strength, why waste time talking to me?”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate smiled and waved his sleeve. Mo Lanhe and Fu Lingyun appeared beside him.

“Two ants, that’s all. I know I can’t use them to threaten you, so they’re useless to me. Here, take them back.” The Malevolent Sword Venerate removed their seals and tossed them to Su Yi from afar.

Cen Xinghe caught them, then examined them carefully. It was only after confirming that there was nothing amiss that he nodded at Su Yi.

“A gesture of goodwill?” asked Su Yi.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate laughed dryly. “I don’t care in the slightest whether they live or die, so why go out of my way to kill them? There’s no need for it.”

He then abruptly changed the subject. “This is likely to be our last meeting. Only one of us will leave the Endless Expanse Hidden Realm alive. I’d like to chat a bit before that happens.”

“Go ahead,” said Su Yi.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate put his hands behind his back and gazed upward. “The Eternal Heavens Domain has changed in unforeseeable ways, and so has the River of Destiny.

“I trust that you’ve already realized that these changes originate from the Far Shore of Destiny. The Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City personally established the Eternal Pact of the All-Profound Dominion, but now, someone has destroyed it!

“Without the pact holding them back, numerous terrifying existences have left the Far Shore of Destiny and started intervening in the River of Destiny’s affairs.”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate gestured to the hidden realm around them. “The owner of the Endless Expanse Hidden Realm, Hei Ya, is from the Far Shore of Destiny.”

He paused, then said, “My impression of him is extremely poor. When we met, I found his lofty, superior attitude completely insufferable. He treated me like an ant he can order about as he sees fit.”

A cold, dark look appeared on the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s face. “I swore to myself to one day slaughter the bastard for the insult!”

But then, he laughed. “Of course, there’s no denying that, as loathsome as Hei Ya is, it’s thanks to him that I learned numerous secrets.

“It’s also thanks to him that I know that once, a long, long time ago, our first incarnation was an unparalleled expert of the Far Shore of Destiny. He reigned over Sword Sovereign City, and his influence was such that the rest of the Far Shore’s experts dared not raise their heads!”

His eyes filled with longing. “It’s also thanks to him that I discovered that Heavenly Sovereigns... really aren’t anything special! They wouldn’t have been worthy of so much as groveling before our first incarnation!”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate looked at Su Yi, his gaze sincere. “Su Yi, let’s work together! Our past enmities don’t matter. Join forces with me, and with our first incarnation’s Dao Imprint, neither Heavenly Sovereigns nor the experts of the Far Shore of Destiny will be worthy of our concern!

“With our powers combined, who could we not kill? Where could we not go?” His eyes blazed with ambition. “I can even help you kill all of your old enemies?”

Mo Lanhe and Fu Lingyun looked as if they’d been struck by lightning. He’s Su Yi!?

The name Su Yi had swept across the Eternal Heavens Domain like a windstorm years prior. Both Mo Lanhe and Fu Lingyun were Eternals. They’d naturally heard of Su Yi. It was just that they’d never considered that Li Muchen, their travel companion, was actually the Su Yi of rumors!

As for everything the Malevolent Sword Venerate said about the Far Shore of Destiny? That had far less of an impact. They didn’t understand what he was saying, and they’d never heard of the place, so they naturally didn’t understand its significance.

It was different for Cen Xinghe.

He’d proven his Dao during the Devastation, so he had no idea who Su Yi was. More than that, he knew almost nothing of the current situation in the Eternal Heavens Domain.

However, the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s talk of the Far Shore of Destiny shook him to the core!

His eyes widened. What a braggart. He dares boast that he’ll kill the experts of the Far Shore of Destiny? And that if he and my grandfather join forces, they can disregard Heavenly Sovereigns? Ridiculous!

“Do you really think that’s possible?” Su Yi’s eyes flashed with derision.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate wasn’t the least bit bothered. “Do you think you have any other choice?”

“Why wouldn’t I have any other choice?” asked Su Yi.

“Listen to my conditions first,” said the Malevolent Sword Venerate. “It won’t be too late to decide after you’ve heard them.”

But Su Yi shook his head. “No need. We have nothing to discuss.”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate furrowed his brow. “Just as I thought. You’re as hard and stinky as a rock in a latrine!”

He waved his sleeve, and three figures appeared out of nowhere: a tall, slender old man with graying temples, a Daoist with a fly whisk, and a powerfully built middle-aged man with the contemptuous air of a ruler.

These were none other than Heavenly Sovereigns Wen, Changhen, and Yaoguang! Or rather, these were their avatars of will.

Nonetheless, they exerted terrifying, suffocating pressure on their surroundings.

Back in the God Domain’s Battle for Order, Su Yi saw the strength of Heavenly Sovereigns firsthand. He naturally understood how terrifying they were.

His brow furrowed, and he sighed, “You’re desperate to get rid of me, huh? You really have no shame.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” said the Malevolent Sword Venerate.

The three Heavenly Sovereigns said nothing, but they looked at Su Yi as if he were already a corpse.

Mo Lanhe and Fu Lingyun were on the verge of a breakdown. Both gave in to despair. Those are the avatars of three Heavenly Sovereigns!

They felt much like a mortal might upon seeing a god descend from the heavens. The pressure was so immense that they couldn’t even work up thoughts of resistance.

Even Cen Xinghe felt chills course through his entire body. Just who is my grandfather? How did he manage to provoke three Heavenly Sovereigns at once? And how can he possibly get out of this?

“Why would I change my mind?” asked Su Yi. “Do you really think your victory is assured?”

The question sounded so arrogant that it left the three Heavenly Sovereigns visibly stunned.

Heavenly Sovereign Wen laughed coldly, “In the Endless Expanse Hidden Realm, no one can intervene on your behalf. This won’t be a repeat of the Battle for Order!”

Heavenly Sovereign Yaoguang jeered. “You seem quite confident. Why not reveal your hidden cards and see if they’re enough to scare us?”

Heavenly Sovereign Changhen inclined his head. “I’m eager to see what you’ve got in store for us.”

Su Yi, however, just looked at the Malevolent Sword Venerate. “I dare say with certainty that the avatars of three Heavenly Sovereigns aren’t the only cards you’ve prepared. Why not reveal the others?”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate’s gaze was utterly inscrutable. He said calmly, “We’ll just have to see if you’re capable of forcing me to reveal them or not.”

The two of them maintained their stand-off. Neither was in any rush to attack.

It was Mo Lanhe and Fu Lingyun who felt overwhelming, despair-inducing pressure.

“Very well,” said Su Yi. “It’s indeed time to determine a victor. If you want to see what I’ve got...”

But Heavenly Sovereign Wen attacked before he could finish his sentence.

He raised his palm and pressed down.

A dazzling golden Daoist Seal came crashing down. It emanated the supreme majesty of a sovereign!

Cen Xinghe’s eyes widened in terror, and he instinctively tried to take Su Yi and flee to safety, only to discover that the seal’s power had trapped him firmly in place. He was suppressed to the point that he couldn’t move a muscle!

This was the power of a Heavenly Sovereign. It was like the descent of Heaven’s Will! Even their avatars were far beyond Heavenly Monarchs!

But it was at this critical juncture that a large, slender hand appeared out of nowhere and took the golden Daoist seal in hand.