As expected of the Immortal Emperor.

Wang Sheng could already feel the immense pressure coming from Feng Jiu. He naturally did not believe her, yet at the moment, he could not find any flaw in her logic that was strong enough to be exploited.

It was not just him. Even Xu Zhongliang, Erlang, and Qinghua merely frowned and watched her in silence.

Feng Jiu truly was ruthless.

First, she openly admitted to her every crime. Right after, she turned around and condemned the injustice of heaven and earth while subtly shifting the focus toward the Three Pure Ones' control over the world. She even claimed that if the Heavenly Court had continued advancing back then, all immortal beings would eventually have been erased.

Step by step, she pushed the blame onto the Three Pure Ones and reshaped herself into someone who fought desperately for the freedom of all living beings, regardless of the cost. The troublesome part was that none of it could be easily refuted. After all, she was merely interpreting the same objective truth from a different perspective.

Beneath the low and gloomy skies outside Fengdu City, countless eyes watched the scene within the endless immortal light shining across heaven.

Deathly silence filled the realm.

Feng Jiu's cold laughter still echoed in everyone's ears. None of the immortals and gods on Wang Sheng's side knew how to answer her. Even the experts who wanted to step forward and argue against her found themselves unable to resist her overwhelming presence.

She stood beneath the dark skies of the Nether Realm, isolated from the world itself. Beautiful yet sorrowful, she resembled a blazing flame of life burning brightly despite knowing only ashes awaited her at the end of the road.

Wang Sheng suddenly stepped forward.

His robe dissolved into immortal light and faded away. Afterward, the Great Dao of Creation formed a silver-white suit of armor around him. His long hair loosened on its own and gathered beneath a simple Daoist headband.

None of those actions held any practical purpose. They merely bought him a little time while drawing the attention of the surrounding experts onto himself.

As expected, countless gazes turned toward him. Even Wang Sheng, who had experienced countless grand scenes before, still felt under pressure now.

He had to say something, and he had to say it now.

Wang Sheng replied calmly. "So you're saying the destruction of the Heavenly Court was done to prevent the Three Pure Ones from sealing the future of this world and to preserve the right of all living beings to cultivate?"

Feng Jiu narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly as her reply reached every corner of the battlefield.

"I am not as noble as you make me sound; I merely followed the flow of events. Simply put, I could not tolerate those lofty Three Pure Ones any longer. I established the Heavenly Court, yet the shadow of the Three Pure Ones always loomed behind it. In the end, I failed to protect it, allowing it to become a blade that the Three Pure Ones wielded.

"The only thing I could do was destroy everything and start anew, establishing a new Heavenly Court that would never restrict the right of living beings to cultivate. The primal qi of heaven and earth naturally belongs to all existence. It is only right for living beings to cultivate.

"Now, everything lies before my eyes. After today's battle, no living being will be capable of obstructing me. I will personally seal the Three Pure Ones themselves in the Sea of Dao Laws! The old era is about to end, and I shall become the new beginning!"

Wang Sheng was rendered speechless.

Fine then. This is simply on a different level.

He had wanted to bring up Feng Jiu's identity again, but she had effortlessly dragged the conversation back toward the points most favorable to herself.

Many cultivators under Feng Jiu had already started showing signs of retreat, but after hearing her monologue, they all steadied themselves once more. Some even looked more determined than before as they stared at her back.

Her influence truly was terrifying.

A heavy feeling suddenly pressed against Wang Sheng's chest.

Compared to leading others, he had always been better suited to being a swordsman. This simply was not his talent.

"Now, let us fight—"

Without warning, someone softly replied from within Fengdu City, "No. You're wrong."

Warm spring breezes accompanied it as the reply spread throughout heaven and earth.

Wang Sheng abruptly turned around. When he saw the person appear above Fengdu City and slowly approach, his brow furrowed and then gradually relaxed. A faint light flickered within his eyes.

She was in a flowing, cloud-patterned dress and had arranged her long hair into an elegant, graceful bun, which made it seem as though she had dressed carefully today. Her beautiful eyebrows and bright eyes hadn't changed; they still had the same pure beauty that had once stunned Wang Sheng on that snowy mountain night. The streak of red upon her forehead, however, added a new touch of divine grace.

Goddess Wanxuan bloomed within the Nether Realm.

She had cloth shoes on, surrounded by drifting pale-red flower petals and green lotus blossoms circling beneath her feet. Though she appeared to take only a dozen slow steps forward, those were enough to get her past the gathered heroes within Fengdu City, bypass the orderly ranks of the Nether Realm's ghost wardens, and stop right behind Wang Sheng.

The two looked into each other's eyes. Wang Sheng originally wanted to call out "Senior Sister," but the words that reached his lips were just a simple greeting.

"What are you doing here?"

Mu Wanxuan smiled faintly as she lightly waved a small hand toward Wang Sheng. "To fight."

Wang Sheng could not help but smile as well. He cupped his hands toward her and gently replied, "Please remain in the rear lines. You are already quite powerful, but you should not force yourself. The opponents here aren't ordinary Great Dao Golden Immortals."

She gently shook her head. "What she said earlier was not entirely correct. She claimed that the destruction of the Heavenly Court was done to fight against the control of the Three Pure Ones. She also claimed that if the Heavenly Court continued developing, all immortal beings would eventually be eliminated. However, where is the evidence?

"At the end of the day, these are merely the Immortal Emperor's own claims. Perhaps this is all meant to conceal certain secrets unknown to others. Or perhaps she faked her death to escape the surveillance of the Three Pure Ones, allowing her to eventually achieve some hidden objective."

Wang Sheng's expression immediately turned rather complicated. After examining her carefully, he concluded that she was definitely his senior sister.

However, lotus flowers now bloomed beneath each of her steps. Her voice was still gentle and soft, but her every word precisely targeted the enemy's weak points. Combined with the mature grace she radiated with her actions and speech, Wang Sheng truly felt surprised.

While he had secluded himself on Earth for all those years, his senior sister had experienced more than ten thousand years of hardship and tempering outside. She had undergone understandable changes. Still, they were astonishing.

Feng Jiu had just opened her mouth to respond when Mu Wanxuan added, "You said you became a puppet through which the Three Pure Ones controlled heaven and earth, but why would Saints even seek to control the world?

"Every Saint was once the greatest existence beneath heaven. Step by step, they ascended. Whether it was Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, or Taiqing Daode Tianzun, they each left behind their own Daoist heritage before returning to the Sea of Dao Laws and merging with heaven and earth to protect countless living beings.

"And yet here you are, claiming those Saints, who already returned to the origin, now seek to control the world. If they truly controlled heaven and earth, what would they even want? What would there still be left to prove? Do not measure everyone by your own heart and assume all people crave control as much as you do.

"Instead, perhaps you should explain something to us first: where exactly did you come from, Your Immortal Majesty? The Dao Laws within you stand utterly at odds with this world. Where did those come from? What about the strange true spirits you gathered and used to taint the Six-Path Wheel of Reincarnation?

"The Heavenly Court's fall was all part of your grand scheme, but you might be the only one who knew your true objective. Did you do it because you could no longer hide your origins? Or perhaps you coveted the origin of this world from the very beginning, wishing to weaken the Saints so you could steal the world's origin for yourself?

"And to the fellow Daoists standing behind the Immortal Emperor, have you truly thought about what awaits you? Even if you win today, once no one remains capable of stopping her, and she rebuilds the Heavenly Court... The fate of the immortals and gods of the old Heavenly Court already stands as proof enough.

"She once stood at the peak of all living beings, above the very summit of the Three Realms, yet even that could not satisfy her. Are you truly willing to put your lives in the hands of an external devil like her? Do you truly share her ideals? She keeps shouting about avenging Goddess Nuwa, yet she personally sealed away the Holy Child she had chosen and destroyed her people.

"Is this how you repay Goddess Nuwa, Your Immortal Majesty?"

Her speech spread across thousands of kilometers.

Feng Jiu's expression darkened slightly. She laughed softly before her expression turned ice-cold once more.

"So you're Cyan-Wood Goddess Hua Qing? In the past, you barely spoke to anyone and were never good with words. You simply stood quietly before the divine tree. The purity within your divine soul was so bright that even I did not dare approach you. Who would have thought that today, before two armies, you would personally step forward and argue with me? You have become attached to worldly matters, too, Hua Qing."

"I am no longer an outsider." Mu Wanxuan slowly raised her right hand.

Wang Sheng reached over and clasped it gently. He then grinned, narrowed his eyes, and raised a brow at Feng Jiu. "There's a saying back in my hometown. Women hold up half the sky. As for me, Senior Sister is my sky."

Feng Jiu's expression grew even darker.

Qinghua stood with his hands behind his back. The black aura around him transformed into savage beasts sprinting along the Great Dao of Death as he slowly asked, "If we're done talking, shall we begin fighting?"

Erlang answered calmly, "In the end, this all comes down to selfish desire. Using one's own selfishness to forcibly alter the fate of others is a sin that can never be washed clean."

Xu Zhongliang frowned. "Perhaps I shouldn't speak right now. After all, I once served under you, Your Immortal Majesty. What happened to the Emperor who once declared he would establish order within the Three Realms, bring life back to heaven and earth, and protect the weak?! Were those beautiful promises merely lies used to deceive us into following you from the very start?

"Your Immortal Majesty, Emperor Ziwei chose self-destruction in despair. So many soldiers, immortals, and gods of the Heavenly Court died calling out your name while the rebel army you had created slaughtered them. Listen carefully! Even in this Nether Realm, the cries of remnant souls and lingering residual spiritual consciousness still echo without end! Do you truly have no conscience at all?

"Open your eyes and look. Every person standing beside and behind me clawed their way out from the ruins of the Heavenly Palace! The more they admired you back then, the more they hate you today! Do you possess even a shred of humanity?"

Feng Jiu shouted furiously, "This world is filled with countless errors!"

Wang Sheng suddenly roared, "Enough!"

A brilliant radiance burst forth behind him and condensed into the figure of Goddess Nuwa, human above the waist and serpent below. She held a spear and radiated endless light, illuminating the skies of the Nether Realm.

"Our world is not yours to judge."

"Fellow Daoists, immortals, and gods of every side! I, Wang Sheng, Wang Fei Yu, swear before the Saints that my sword exists only to slay foreign devils and defend heaven and earth! That I exist only to sweep away injustice and aid the weak against the strong! I will never sit upon the throne of the Immortal Emperor!

"Anyone who comes to their senses today and refuses to continue aiding this monster in his evil deeds will not be pursued after the battle. Scatter and flee for your lives!"

"Fei Yu!" Feng Jiu cursed. "Do you even know what you are saying? You are returning order to chaos!"

"That has nothing to do with me."

Wang Sheng released Mu Wanxuan's soft hand. A wave of immortal power pushed her gently backward as he stepped forward with Spiritless in hand.

Streams of sword intent circled him like tangible sword phantasms, revolving endlessly as they reflected across his face.

"Immortal Emperor, do you dare fight me?"

Feng Jiu snorted coldly and opened both hands. Strands of golden light erupted around her as an overwhelming pressure descended upon Wang Sheng like the collapse of the heavens themselves.

"You alone are not his match," Erlang proudly remarked from the side.

Light flickered beside Wang Sheng as Erlang rushed forward with his three-pronged, double-edged spear. The vertical eye on his forehead slowly opened.

Wang Sheng laughed. "If we join forces, aren't we bullying him a little?"

"That is assuming we can bully him at all," Erlang replied with a slight curl of his lips. He pressed a sword finger gesture against his vertical eye, and a divine beam slashed across the skies. "Reveal yourself!"

The golden light surrounding Feng Jiu suddenly scattered apart. Thick black smoke imbued with pure destructive intent surged outward and swallowed her whole.

The great battle had begun!