Dao Emperor Zhaowu sipped on his wine, and there were a few dishes laid out in front of him. He showed little interest in the fierce battle in the sky, only glancing at it occasionally.

The shockwaves from the fight between Ye Guan and the Western Underworld Lord were incredibly strong, but each time the sword energy and spear light approached the Dao street, they'd disappear without a trace.

Tianwu Xin was utterly shocked, and her respect for the Dao Emperor Zhaowu in front of her grew even deeper. She believed that the reason Ye Guan and the Western Underworld Lord's power couldn't affect this place was all due to Dao Emperor Zhaowu.

Tianwu Xin knew that she had to cling tightly to the powerful figure before her.

Seeing that Dao Emperor Zhaowu's cup was empty, Tianwu Xin walked over and poured more wine. Dao Emperor Zhaowu smiled and said, "Having someone at the Path Creation Realm pour me wine is quite a waste of talent."

"No, it's an honor," Tianwu Xin quickly responded.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu smiled again but said nothing more.

Tianwu Xin seemed to have thought of something, and she suddenly looked out the window to stare at the Ascension Stele. She had just noticed that it was unaffected by the shockwaves of Ye Guan and the Western Underworld Lord's fight.

Curious, Tianwu Xin asked, "Senior, does the Nine Heavens really have the existing Great Dao?"

Dao Emperor Zhaowu glanced at the Nine Heavens and smiled. "There should be."

Tianwu Xin frowned slightly. "Then how come it hasn't stopped this fight?"

Dao Emperor Zhaowu remained silent.

Just then, Tianwu Xin realized something and said, "I guess it must be because you're here. I don't think that even the existing Great Dao is daring enough to disrespect you."

Dao Emperor Zhaowu burst out into a peal of boisterous laughter at that.

***

A young man was sitting cross-legged in front of a stone staircase that led to the distant end of the Nine Heavens. The young man, dressed in a white robe, had his hands folded over his abdomen, and a mysterious Dao energy wafted off him.

The young man frowned and turned. "Master, they've shattered the Ascension World. You're not going to do anything at all?"

A voice echoed from within the gate at the distant end of the Nine Heavens. "No."

"Is Dao Emperor Zhaowu so strong that you have to give him face?" the young man asked with a solemn expression.

"No." A voice echoed from within the gate.

"Is it because of the Evil Dao Alliance?"

The voice's reply came late. "The one surnamed Ye is not someone to be messed with."

The young man was stunned speechless.

***

Ye Guan was still in a fierce battle with the Western Underworld Lord, and he was growing braver as the fight went on. He was being consumed by his battle frenzy—he was losing his mind.

However, his strength soared as he lost more sanity.

The Western Underworld Lord, on the other hand, was having a miserable time.

He had just realized that even if he went all out, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Ye Guan. Ye Guan's fleshly body was abnormally strong, and his recovery rate was ridiculously fast.

He wasn't a swordsman; he was a Physique Cultivator!

The most terrifying part was that Ye Guan's strength was still increasing; both his sword intent and his two bloodlines were growing stronger.

The spear in the Western Underworld Lord's hand was already in tatters, on the verge of breaking. The Western Underworld Lord dared not confront Ye Guan directly and could only dodge, as even a slight touch would injure him.

He was feeling frustrated.

In contrast, Ye Guan was like a rampaging bull, relying on his divine sword to charge forward recklessly. This was the first time the Western Underworld Lord had encountered someone with such a powerful divine sword.

He couldn't do anything to Ye Guan at all.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu chuckled. "The Western Underworld Lord is about to give out."

Tianwu Xin glanced at Ye Guan in the sky and remarked, "He's relying entirely on that sword. If it hadn't been for that sword, the Western Underworld Lord would have killed him long ago."

With that, Tianwu Xin glanced at Dao Emperor Zhaowu and asked, "Senior, shouldn't you intervene?"

"Not yet." Dao Emperor Zhaowu smiled. "An old friend hasn't arrived yet."

Tianwu Xin asked, "Is it another Underworld Lord?"

Dao Emperor Zhaowu shook his head.

Tianwu Xin hesitated for a moment, but he didn't ask any further.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu looked up at the sky and tapped the table.

Boom!

A terrifying aura suddenly shattered spacetime and rushed toward Ye Guan.

Ye Guan turned and slashed out with his sword.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, Ye Guan was forced back tens of thousands of meters away, and as soon as he stopped, blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He looked up to see an old man dressed in a red robe with an iron staff in hand. The old man had a bed of white hair and a beard. There was a blood-red vortex swirling behind him.

The Eastern Underworld Lord! The strongest of the Four Holy Underworld Lords!

Ye Guan gripped his Qingxuan Sword and slashed out toward the Eastern Underworld Lord.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

There was silence, but the Eastern Underworld Lord's face changed drastically. A million years of his lifespan had just vanished instantly! Before he could do anything, Ye Guan slashed out nine times in rapid succession!

The Eastern Underworld Lord's pupils shrank suddenly, and his heart became filled with terror as he retreated frantically, but it was too late. When he finally stopped, he had become incredibly old, with all his hair becoming white.

Ten million years of lifespan was gone just like that!

The Eastern Underworld Lord stared at Ye Guan in disbelief.

Meanwhile, fear was evident in the Western Underworld Lord's eyes as he retreated thousands of meters away from Ye Guan.

Fortunately, Ye Guan hadn't used that terrifying sword technique on him; otherwise, he would have lost ten million years of lifespan as well. Although he had many years left, he couldn't afford to lose it so carelessly.

However, the Western Underworld Lord was puzzled.

Why didn't Ye Guan use that sword technique on me?

Upon using Lifespan Severance ten times in a row, Ye Guan became extremely fatigued. The main reason he had used it on the Eastern Underworld Lord was that the latter appeared to be older than the Western Underworld Lord.

Lifespan Severance was particularly effective against the elderly!

Instead of swinging his sword again, Ye Guan quietly consumed an Eternal Crystal.

Even with Ao Qianqian's support, he was still left exhausted upon using Lifespan Severance ten times in a row. If he could use it a hundred times in a row, he'd instantly kill a fresh Path Creation Realm cultivator!

However, he was too weak to do that at the moment.

In the distance, both the Eastern Underworld Lord and the Western Underworld Lord were too afraid to make another move. They were both afraid of having their lifespans cut short by Ye Guan's sword!

Because of this, even though they knew Ye Guan was healing, they didn't dare to approach. They had come here mainly to support Dao Emperor Zhaowu, not to risk their lives. What they had thought would be an easy task had turned out to be much more difficult than expected.

The newly arrived Eastern Underworld Lord was the most unfortunate one. His face was extremely grim. His lifespan had already been running low, and his heart bled after Ye Guan severed ten million years of his lifespan.

Ye Guan closed his eyes, tightly clenching his left hand into a fist.

The power of his bloodline was growing stronger, especially the Mad Demon bloodline, which was beginning to affect his mind. Ye Guan took a deep breath and looked at the two Underworld Lords in the distance.

"Want to go again?" he asked. Despite asking that, he didn't make any move. His goal was to stall for time.

The two Underworld Lords stared intently at Ye Guan but didn't make a move.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu smiled and remarked, "They don't want to risk their lives!"

Tianwu Xin glanced at Ye Guan and remarked, "Dao Emperor, Ye Guan..."

Dao Emperor Zhaowu remained silent.

Tianwu Xin gnashed her teeth and said, "Dao Emperor, I hope you will provide my Tianwu Clan with some support if we decide to eliminate Ye Guan!"

Dao Emperor Zhaowu wordlessly waved his hand, and a scroll flew to Tianwu Xin.

When Tianwu Xin saw the words on the scroll, she was ecstatic.

The Zhaowu Scripture!

The number one cultivation method of the Zhaowu Era!

Trembling, Tianwu Xin accepted the scroll and walked to the window. She opened her palm, and a Tianwu Token shot into the sky.

Boom!

A pillar of light shot up to the heavens.

A terrifying pressure swept across the Ascension World, and it affected every expert throughout the Ascension World. Everyone was shocked as they stared at the pillar of light.

An expert beyond the Path Creation Realm?

Ye Guan looked at the pillar of light, his brows furrowing tightly. A middle-aged man in a green robe emerged from the pillar of light. He had long hair draped over his shoulders, and he was emitting an elegant, scholarly aura.

The Tianwu Clan experts on the other battlefield quickly stopped fighting and bowed deeply toward the middle-aged man. "Greetings, Ancestor!"

Ancestor! Ancestor Tianwu Shi of the Tianwu Clan!

Ye Guan's face darkened. The middle-aged man's aura was abnormal. He was no longer at the Path Creation Realm. He hadn't come here in his fleshly body, but his projection's aura far surpassed any Path Creation Realm cultivator present.

Tianwu Shi glanced at the Nine Heavens up above before turning his gaze to the tavern down below.

Dao Emperor Zhaowu smiled. "I didn't expect us to meet again like this."

Tianwu Shi's eyes flashed with a complex light. "When I first met you, you were already invincible in the world. Now, you've gotten even stronger."

"Hahaha." Dao Emperor Zhaowu laughed. "To be honest, I was quite surprised as well. I casually pointed you in the right direction back then, and you actually managed to break through your limits and reach a whole new level. Impressive."

"I've never forgotten the kindness you showed me back then," Tianwu Shi said, smiling. "I've always regretted the fact that I haven't been able to repay your kindness at the time."

Just then, Tianwu Xin stepped forward and bowed. "Now is the perfect opportunity to do that, Ancestor!"

Then, Tianwu Xin looked at Ye Guan in the distance.

Tianwu Shi turned to look at Ye Guan and frowned. "Three special bloodlines..."

Tianwu Shi's expression became solemn.

Ye Guan cast a vigilant gaze at Tianwu Shi.

After staring at Ye Guan for a long time, Tianwu Shi's eyes flashed with a complex light.

He's no ordinary individual, and my Tianwu Clan has risked everything to stand against him.

I don't know whether this is the right move or not, but the gamble has been made, and I must see it through.

With this thought, Tianwu Shi took a step forward and swung his fist at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan's pupils constricted into needle points as he caught a whiff of Death barreling toward him.