Chapter 1762: Fen Qin's Power Has Its Limits, But This Heavenly Mandate Still Needs to Be Defied

"The Eighth Sword Immortal, the Holy Slave's Prime Seat...""And the venerable ones of the Black and White Veins from the City of the Sky, also known as the inner island of the Void Island!"As these words echoed, lost memories resurfaced in the minds of people across the Five Domains.

To low-level Spirit Refiners, the City of the Sky was simply that—a city in the sky, known at most for holding opportunities for sainthood. However, for high-level Spirit Refiners, the City of the Sky was also referred to as Void Island, which was divided into inner and outer sections. It was rumored to contain not only opportunities for sainthood but, more significantly, the closely guarded secrets of Half-Saints and Saint Emperors.

"The Void Island's inner island, the Mirror World, Ghost Beasts..."At the climax of the Void Island events, many had survived the numerous battles, and those survivors, though not countless, certainly held considerable influence throughout the Five Domains. After leaving the Void Island, they all recounted their experiences on the island. Yet, it was as if they had entered a Peach Blossom Spring: neither those who spoke of it nor those who listened remembered much of the island's events afterward.

Now, with a single word from Eight Revered An, people suddenly recalled. It seemed that within the Void Island's inner island, legends still persisted, such as "trampling the Demonic Emperor Black Dragon underfoot and pointing a sword at the Three Ancestors of the White Vein."

"Legends... are they true?"Whether they were true or not, it was no longer necessary to ponder. As Eight Revered An Sword pressed the eight-character token and issued a command, a thunderous roar soon echoed from beyond the heavens.

This time, the sound was not the subtle rise of war drums or spiritual chanting, but a pure, direct explosion!"Boom—"The sky, like a mirror, fractured and shattered. From the swirling currents of fragmented space-time, a section of a magnificent city wall suddenly emerged, its surface scarred with the mottled marks of ages.

"Sky... Void... Island!" Feng Zhongzui shrieked, mixing up the names. He had previously heard that in the Eastern Domain's Eastern Heaven Royal City, the City of the Sky seemed to have been "summoned" by the Holy Slave's Prime Seat. While that sounded unbelievable, it became somewhat comprehensible with the blessing of the Saint Emperor's Golden Edict. Yet now, the Eighth Sword Immortal had done nothing more than press a token and issue a command. Had the Void Island truly descended?

"Roar—"A dragon's roar resonated. Evidently, more than just the Void Island was descending. Only a corner of the island was visible, caught in a celestial rift, not fully landing on the Guizhe Sacred Mountain ruins. Immediately afterward, the heavens underwent dramatic changes. Endless demonic energy billowed and converged, accompanied by the dragon's roar, coalescing into the winding, coiling shadow of a black dragon.

The sky above the Central Domain suddenly turned gloomy. One realm saw its head, another its body, yet another its tail... For a moment, no one could glimpse the full extent of this colossal black dragon.

"Dragon Treasure!"Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up. It had been so long; he was instantly transported back to his time fighting alongside Dragon Treasure on Void Island. Unlike Xu Xiaoshou's familiar address, Feng Zhongzui dared not show any impropriety, appearing utterly reverent:

"The Demonic Emperor Black Dragon!" he exclaimed, explaining as he processed the urgent intelligence from the Feng family: "The inner island of Void Island is divided into the Black and White Veins, each commanding countless heinous and inextinguishable ghost beasts. This dragon is the master of the Black Vein, known as the 'Demonic Emperor Black Dragon.' It is a descendant of the Dragon Ancestor bloodline, one of the Ten Ancestors, the former master of the Dragon Cave, and one of only two current Dragon Saint Emperors."

As each of these titles was revealed, even without a detailed explanation of what transgressions led to the Demonic Emperor Black Dragon's exile to the Void Island's inner sanctuary, the Five Domains were utterly stunned.A Saint Emperor!Nothing else mattered. These two words alone were enough to make jaws drop. Eight Revered An truly possessed Saint Emperor-level combat power at his side, and it manifested through a formidable race like dragons. He clearly held the power to defy the heavens!

Even Xu Xiaoshou was astonished by Dragon Treasure's past. How did Feng Zhongzui know more than he did? Oh, right, after leaving Void Island, Xu Xiaoshou had been somewhat detached, never even thinking to delve deeper into his friend's history.

"Shou!"The Demonic Emperor Black Dragon's head materialized first, followed by its body. Compared to its initial majestic appearance in the Eastern Heaven Royal City, this time it appeared exceptionally joyful, lunging forward with a direct objective.

The Demonic Emperor Black Dragon passed right through Xu Xiaoshou, unable to lift its former comrade as it had intended. It was clearly bewildered. After its massive body coiled back into the void, it emitted confused sounds.

"Guess I can't get a warm hug!" Xu Xiaoshou mused, looking down and examining his own body. The moment of contact had been peculiar; he distinctly felt as though he was about to be lifted by the dragon and soar into the clouds. Suddenly, that sensation vanished. The power of the Ancient War God Platform truly existed, and it was quite unsettling. It forcefully suppressed that "change," clearly deeming the Demonic Emperor Black Dragon's intervention an "influence" on the battle. But how exactly was the "baseline" for such an influence defined?

Xu Xiaoshou looked down at his feet. Earlier, he had scooped up some sand, which then vanished from the Sacred God Continent, only to reappear instantly. He looked into the distance. Ai Cangsheng had shot an arrow at Zhong Yuanzi, shattering the latter's head. From Zhong Yuanzi's panic, it was clear his head had indeed exploded, but without any sensation of pain.

"Both combatants can affect the environment, and the environment, in turn, can certainly influence their battle," Xu Xiaoshou thought. "But has the impact been diminished?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked back at Elder Sang. He could instantly transfer life spiritual energy to Elder Sang, and it would take effect, but if the situation were reversed... "If he wanted to help me, it wouldn't necessarily work."

"If that's the case," he mused, "and I, as a Southern Domain evil cultivator, needed to cast a spell sacrificing thousands of lives to severely wound Ai Cangsheng... would those thousands of lives truly die, or would they not?" Could the Ancient War God Platform's presence determine such outcomes?

If so, then the "baseline" standard must be highly flexible, perhaps defined by the War Ancestor's will. And if one were to consider the seemingly paradoxical "sacrifice method" solely from the perspective of "war" and "War Ancestor"...

"If others subjectively want to help, they likely can't," he concluded. "But if one of the combatants possesses a spell that requires sacrificing others, then those individuals might indeed be sacrificed if they don't flee. Whether the War Ancestor resurrects them is unknown... In essence, is everything subservient to the completion of 'war,' with all else being secondary?"

Elder Sang was disconnected. Xu Xiaoshou posed this line of reasoning to Dao Qiongcang, and upon receiving a "yes" in reply, he understood.

The Demonic Emperor Black Dragon was clearly not the only entity making an appearance. Before the world could ponder much, another surge of power erupted from the corner of the Void Island, still caught in the celestial rift.

"Whoosh..."This familiar, unusual sound caused hearts to pound. But it was not the Burning White Flame, nor did it originate from Lord Shou or Wuxiu. Instead, a sea of white flames spread across the sky with the sound, and from within that vast expanse, a disheveled Saint, with shackles on both his hands and feet, slowly emerged.

He appeared in human form, his face obscured, but he seemed ancient. He wore a Dead Sea prison uniform, familiar to everyone in the Five Domains, though it was now tattered and charred. As he emerged from the sea of flames, the fiery anomaly abruptly collapsed, and countless powers converged into a single point, which the Saint Emperor elder then directed with a finger onto Wuxiu's glabella.

"Whoosh—"Holy Slave Wuxiu was instantly engulfed in white flames. For anyone else, such a sight would have meant unimaginable torment. Yet, he seemed to be injected with soul and vitality, all his vital energy rapidly recovering. Seeing this, Xu Xiaoshou ceased transferring life spiritual energy.

"Ancestor of Burning Brilliance!""The Ancestor of Burning Brilliance, progenitor of all ancestors. Legend says he was born from the Ancestral Tree, the Tree of the Firmament, cultivating to become a Saint Emperor through the Burning Prison Flame spirit. He is compatible with all heavenly fires and capable of incinerating Dao laws and spiritual lifespans."

Another Saint Emperor!The Five Domains felt as if the world was quaking. Was the sky about to collapse? How could so many Saint Emperors, previously unheard of but now revealed to have truly existed, suddenly appear in a world where the Grand Void was considered the peak and Half-Saints were the highest cultivation?

Feng Zhongzui was given no more time to explain. No sooner had his voice trailed off than another figure slowly materialized behind Holy Slave Wuxiu.

This being's form was even more ethereal; at a glance, no person could be seen, only a sense of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Yet, seven Blood Trees were rooted firmly to his back, seemingly stabilizing what should have been a fading, illusory existence.

Feng Zhongzui's voice was already trembling:"The Great Emperor of Seven Trees...""An Ancestral Tree, the Blood Tree, a spirit of this world?"

Among the Nine Great Ancestral Trees, few were primarily focused on combat. The Nine Sacrificial Cinnamon, Dragon Apricot, and other lesser types needed no further explanation. In fact, even Divine Willow, the head of the Ancestral Trees, had never truly achieved Saint Emperor status through combat power integration. Divine Willow was renowned for its cunning, its association with worship, and its mastery of the paths of reception and the soul. However, when it came to true frontal combat, without external aid or reputation, it was undoubtedly true that, in a one-on-one fight, no other Ancestral Tree could rival the Blood Tree or the Sisal.

Feng Zhongzui lowered his voice, trembling: "I heard that the Great Emperor of Seven Trees, or rather the Blood Tree itself, excels at guidance. At its peak, it nearly assimilated the other eight Ancestral Trees; fortunately, the Ancestor of Arts intervened... But this also seems to be one of the roots of the Ancestor of Arts' corruption, doesn't it?"

This was too terrifying! After hearing his old patriarch's words, Feng Zhongzui didn't even know if his current interpretations would invite any karmic repercussions. But since the old patriarch's revelations hadn't ceased, he could only brace himself and articulate the seemingly vague connections from the past:

"The Blood World Pearl, which sealed Half-Saints during the Five Signs of Decay, is it rumored to be from the hand of the Great Emperor of Seven Trees?""Among the nine forbidden areas of the Void Island's outer section, one named 'Blood Realm' once released a ghost beast that possessed Liu Changqing, a member of the First Building in the Sky.""That ghost beast, 'Ancestor Wuji,' was actually Xuan Wuji, a subordinate of the Great Emperor of Seven Trees who cultivated heavenly machine techniques?""And was it Ancestor Wuji and the Holy Slave Water Ghost who conspired from within and without to ignite the Void Island War?"

What level of guidance was this? The more Feng Zhongzui spoke, the more terrified he became; he had never considered the start of the Void Island battle from this angle. In his and the Five Domains' eyes, Void Island was simply a sudden, heaven-sent opportunity for Spirit Refiners to gain fortune. Any conflicts within were merely about vested interests, a desire for more, and the pursuit of greater power—nothing more.

But it turned out... it was also a conspiracy? A scheme jointly orchestrated by the Holy Slave and the Saint Emperor Ghost Beasts of Void Island, with groundwork laid since the Royal City battle, specifically targeting the peak combat forces of the Holy Divine Temple?

Whether it was a conspiracy or a game, it was all in the past. After the Great Emperor of Seven Trees appeared, it was also a phantom, not a true form. And it, too, infused a surge of power into Holy Slave Wuxiu.

"Hiss..."At this, Elder Sang's charred body, Wuxiu, showed faint signs of vitality coalescing within its cracked skin. Though still somewhat unsustainable...

"Two of the White Vein's Three Ancestors have appeared; where is the Divine Prison Bluestone?"No sooner had Feng Zhongzui spoken than a blue chain shot forth from that distant corner of the Void Island's city wall. With a resounding thud, the chain pierced into Holy Slave Wuxiu's chest, similarly infusing him with power.

"The Divine Prison Bluestone!"Feng Zhongzui grew agitated, pouring all his enthusiasm into his voice. But after a moment, hearing no response from his old patriarch, he grew anxious: "The Divine Prison Bluestone!"Still, there was no sound.

Believing he wasn't enthusiastic enough, Feng Zhongzui cried out: "The White Vein's Three Ancestors, the Divine Prison Bluestone!""Now! We are witnessing! The Divine Prison Bluestone... has unleashed a chain!"Come on! Give me the intel!Feng Zhongzui was frantic. Had his old patriarch dropped the ball at the most crucial moment? Had his chain been stolen by the Divine Prison Bluestone?Silence.

Feng Zhongzui realized what was happening. Could the vast Feng family truly know nothing about the Divine Prison Bluestone? This was, of course, unacceptable. His mind raced, and he immediately changed his tune: "Saint Emperors!""A full four Saint Emperors!""With a single command, the Eighth Sword Immortal has summoned four Saint Emperor will avatars! Is this the true influence of the venerable ones from the Black and White Veins?"

Feng Zhongzui swallowed hard. "So what do they... what exactly do they intend to do?"The Three Ancestors of the White Vein poured power into Wuxiu. The Demonic Emperor Black Dragon held its head high, waiting proudly until the ancient beings of the White Vein completed their actions before slowly raising its claws. A heroic dragon could make the first appearance, but it must deliver the final strike.

"Four Pillars of God, open!"Accompanied by a resonant dragon's roar, the four Saint Emperor phantoms transformed into four distinct marks, swiftly merging into the crimson blood-mark on Holy Slave Wuxiu's glabella.

At that moment, Buddhist chants reverberated across the Five Domains. Holy Slave Wuxiu's body glowed with a golden Buddhist light. His tightly shut eyes suddenly opened, devoid of spirit, yet fixed directly on... Xu Xiaoshou!

Elder Sang made no sound. Even his gaze seemed to have lost its soul. The vessel for the Four Pillars of God was no longer Xu Xiaoshou from Void Island, but Sang Qiye, in his charred Wuxiu form. At this moment, he also contained an additional will from the Resentful Buddha and the weighty burden of an innate Ancestral God's destiny.

Xu Xiaoshou remained silently.A Profound Half-Saint? A charred Wuxiu body? Even as one of the Holy Palace's Four Sons, with talent surpassing millions and having actualized his potential to this degree, even forcibly comprehending profundities after ascending the throne... Compared to the Supreme, could Elder Sang still only be a "host"? Was this his destiny? Was this his cage?

The freedom sought by the Holy Slave had found an answer in White Cave—an answer that floated in the clouds, utterly unattainable. Now, with Elder Sang, Resentment, the Four Pillars of God, and the power of the entire world all converging and suppressing that very answer of "freedom," Xu Xiaoshou felt he might not be able to bear the weight.

Yet, Elder Sang didn't allow him to bear it. Instead, this seemingly lesser individual took on the burden himself!

With the power of the Four Pillars of God flowing into his body, Elder Sang was no longer depleted. His various wounds healed, his power rapidly recovered, and even the land within the palm of the Great Buddha beyond the world seemed to clench more tightly. But this was only while he remained unattacked. If the five Saint Emperor secret realms on the Heavenly Staircase or the remaining Ten Ancestors detected an anomaly and launched an assault...

"One year?"Big Mouth Xiao had said ten breaths. Xu Xiaoshou would believe that anyone who showed up would last ten breaths, considering the ancient sword cultivators' "no upper limit" reputation. But Elder Sang said one year? Xu Xiaoshou suspected his master was putting on a show!

Yet, who wouldn't want to save face? The Five Domains were all marveling at the strength of the Four Pillars of God, and reminiscing about how Lord Shou, so young at the time on Void Island, was already so powerful that he could become a vessel for the Four Pillars of God and cut down Yao Yao with his sword.

Xu Xiaoshou gazed into Elder Sang's vacant, soulless eyes, and all that flashed through his mind were his master's habitually proud words."Live...""Just survive, and leave the rest to your master."

He refused to bow his head, always playing the role of a master, even though he had been fully surpassed by Xu Xiaoshou in every aspect long ago.

"If I return to the Dead Sea, the Heavenly Staircase will shatter, Saint Emperors will emerge, the order of the Five Domains will collapse, and everyone will be in peril.""If I return to the Dead Sea, ghost beasts will appear, an era of chaos will descend, shocking changes will ripple across all four seas, and various factions will rally support.""If I return to the Dead Sea, Eight Revered An must arrive, the Void Island will descend, and the Black and White Veins will pour forth en masse.""If I return to the Dead Sea, the Holy Imperial Hall will rise, the Holy Profound Gate will roar, and all the Saints of various races will spare no effort."

Elder Sang's words from the Divine Ruins, echoing in his mind now, couldn't help but make his scalp tingle. His actions... his thoughts...

Xu Xiaoshou remembered them well. Now, the first and third prophecies seemed to have come true, though not in the way he had expected. If Dao Qiongcang had not temporarily averted the threat of Saint Emperors on the Heavenly Staircase by using his own Saint Emperor status, would Elder Sang, now petrified, have to face even more?

"Though myriad changes occur, the essence remains...""Hmph, you seemed to have miscalculated far too many 'changes,' haven't you? No wonder you spoke with such a resolute, self-sacrificial air back then..."

As for the remaining two and four, it was difficult to predict. Xu Xiaoshou had gone to the Xuanyue Grey Palace, but Elder Sang's calculations proved inferior to the will of heaven. His abilities were truly limited; he had completely failed to anticipate that Dao Qiongcang and his forces would prematurely destroy the Xuanyue Grey Palace. Sang was simply inferior to Dao – this was the only diplomatic way to phrase it.

As for the "Holy Imperial Hall being erected" mentioned in the fourth prophecy, Xu Xiaoshou had also taken the opportunity to "uproot" it for him. Not knowing exactly who to target, he simply uprooted everyone, as a token of his regard.One less obstacle.One less variable.What remained...

With the Four Pillars of God before him and Eight Revered An Sword I behind, Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts spun. Simultaneously, the eyes of everyone in the Five Domains turned toward another direction.

"Roar—"Following the Demonic Emperor Black Dragon's roar from the Void Island, a dragon's roar also erupted from the Holy Palace, specifically from the Holy Profound Gate!