Gongye Zhefu was the first to be defeated during this battle, and he was also the first to be heavily injured and unable to stand up again.

There was a slanted and long injury on his chest. His flesh had split upon while the bones beneath were faintly visible. It was a horrifying sight, and it still hadn’t healed until now.

Because strands of sword qi still remained around the injury, and it was ceaselessly tearing the injury. So, no matter how hard he tried, he was utterly unable to repair it.

However, this wasn’t enough to be lethal to a peerless genius who was a Spirit God Exalt. The true cause of his inability to stand back up was the injuries within his body.

They were too heavy.

All the tendons and meridians in his body had collapsed into pieces while his bones had broken inch by inch. Moreover, the universe within his body was in complete chaos and on the verge of collapse. If his foundation wasn’t extremely deep, then he would have probably suffered from qi deviation a long time ago.

During this period of time where he was lying on the ground, he’d tried to struggle to his feet on more than one occasion, yet it was in vain in the end.

This caused him to be terrified, uneasy, frustrated, furious, and panicked to the extreme. He was of lofty birth and was even ranked at the 9th position on the Domain Enlightened Chart himself. He’d always gotten what he’d wanted since he’d started cultivating, so when had he ever experienced such a feeling of powerlessness and misery?

Most despairing to him was that he’d personally witnessed the process of Chen Xi annihilating Luo Shaonong, Di Jun, Yue Ruhuo, Jin Qingyang, and Pei Wei.

He watched them being slaughtered mercilessly, and he saw their expressions of disbelief and pain before death....

All of this was like a nightmare. This caused Gongye Zhefu’s expression to be ashen and dreary, and he felt terrified and despaired to the limit.

In his entire lifetime, he’d never seen such a cold, merciless, and fearless person like Chen Xi!

Moreover, he was truly unable to imagine that Chen Xi actually dared mercilessly slaughter all of them who were Spirit God Exalts that came from top powers in the Imperial Region!

How could there be such a person in the world? Gongye Zhefu’s insides had turned green with regret. If it was possible, he would rather have never met Chen Xi, he would rather give up the fortune within the Desolate Manku Ruins, he would rather... not threaten Chen Xi with Zhen Liuqing’s life.

Unfortunately, it was all too late.

It was useless no matter how he regretted it.

At this moment, only he remained in the surroundings, and Chen Xi was walking over, step by step from ahead. Chen Xi was like a god of death that had walked out from a mountain of corpses and an ocean of blood. His blood red eyes were cold and emotionless to the point it was practically suffocating.

Gongye Zhefu shuddered, and it felt like he watching death descend onto him.

He couldn’t help but cry out. “Don’t kill me. I guarantee that I’ll let that woman’s master go.... AH!!”

He hadn’t finished speaking when Chen Xi swung his sword and instantly slashed off Gongye Zhefu’s arms and legs. With the loss of his limbs, fresh blood flowed out like the tide, and it instantly spread out on the ground.

Such sudden and intense pain caused Gongye Zhefu to be unable to refrain from letting out a shrill cry of misery. His voice resounded through the sky, and it was horrifying.

His face had distorted while his silver hair had become dirty from being dyed with blood, and his body that had lost its limbs was trembling violently on the ground.

If it was any other person that witnessed this scene, that person would probably be unable to bear the sight of it.

However, Chen Xi didn’t His expression was indifferent as before, and his blood red eyes still remained completely emotionless. Chen Xi just looked down at Gongye Zhefu who lay on the ground and watched as Gongye Zhefu let out shrill cries while blood ceaselessly gurgled out from the injuries throughout his body. It seemed like this was the only way Chen Xi could vent the sorrow, rage, pain, and hatred in his heart.

Since he’d started cultivating until now, he’d never hated a person like this, nor had he ever tortured any enemy in this manner.

But now, he’d acted in this way, and all of it was because of Zhen Liuqing!

“Chen Xi.... You... you dare to torture me like this? Very good! Hahaha! Very good! The day will come when you’ll pay tenfold for what you’ve done today!” Gongye Zhefu seemed like a madman. His face was savage and distorted, and he roared and howled rapidly. “No matter who you are, no one in this world can continue living after offending my Gongye Clan, no one!”

Swish!

Chen Xi kept the damaged King Xuan Sword away, and then he stretched out his hand and grabbed. A strand of divine light shot out from the palm of his hand, and it enveloped Gongye Zhefu’s entire body.

“You.... What’re you doing? Kill me right now if you have the balls! Didn’t you want to take revenge for that bitch? Come on!” Gongye Zhefu was furious and terrified to the limit, and he roared endlessly in a grim voice.

Bang!

In the next moment, his voice stopped abruptly. At practically the exact same moment, Gongye Zhefu’s soul was forcefully extracted from his body, and it was carried within the divine light while he still continued letting out sharp cries that were filled with rage, roared, and cursed.

Unfortunately, all of this didn’t cause Chen Xi to frown even once. His expression was still indifferent as before, and he withdrew a jade bottle before placing Gongye Zhefu’s soul into it.

“I won’t kill you just like that. That would be going too easy on you.” Chen Xi spoke coldly before he sealed the jade bottle with a secret technique and kept it away.

Rumble!

After that, he flicked his sleeve, and a strand of surging divine flames blazed and instantly incinerated Gongye Zhefu’s corpse into ash that dispersed into the air.

At this point, all the Spirit God Exalts in the surroundings had been annihilated!

...

10 Suncrows resided in the sky while emanating bright golden light, and they dyed the ocean of clouds, mountain peak, and ancient divine temple in an extremely extraordinary and divine golden color.

However, the mountain peak was covered in pools of blood and a scene of desolation. Numerous corpses were scattered all around it, and the air was suffused with a pungent smell of blood.

This divine mountain that had stood towering for countless years and paradise that no one had stepped foot on since the ancient times until now had just greeted its first batch of cultivators today, and it had even transformed into a battlefield and become the burial grounds for numerous Spirit God Exalts.

All of this had occurred because of greed and hatred!

Strands of fragrant specks of light still drifted out from the distant divine temple, but they carried a strange and terrifying aura once they mixed with the dense smell of blood in the surroundings.

Wind was whistling through the mountain peak.

In this expanse of deathly silence, only Chen Xi remained with Zhen Liuqing’s body in his embrace. He sat silently at the peak of the mountain, and he seemed to have transformed into a clay statue.

He just gazed at the woman in his embrace. He gazed at her peerlessly gorgeous and tranquil face, and he gazed at that wisp of a heartfelt grin that was frozen on the corners of her mouth.

In his daze, he seemed to have returned to the past. He’d returned to the Darchu Dynasty, and he’d recalled the scenes when they first met and everything that happened all along the way....

In the end, all of this stopped at the scene before his eyes.

However, she’d already passed away....

Pu!

Suddenly, Chen Xi spat out a mouthful of blood while his countenance suddenly turned pale, and his eyes were filled with pain, sorrow, and frustration.

Earlier, because Zhen Liuqing’s death was such a shock to him, it caused Chen Xi to lose control of his emotions, and he felt into a state of extreme madness.

He’d stopped at nothing to kill his enemies and stopped at nothing to utilize all his strength. Moreover, he’d even caused his vital energy to enter into a violent state. All of this caused his mental state to rise and fall greatly, and it suffered an unprecedented impact that actually injured himself to the point he coughed up blood!

“Buddha be praised. Fellow Daoist, please take care of yourself.” A voice resounded. Along with this voice, Jia Nan arrived swiftly on the mountain peak, and he pressed his palms together towards Chen Xi from afar.

“You’re finally unable to refrain from making an appearance after watching for so long?” Chen Xi didn’t even raise his head, and he spoke indifferently with a hoarse and low voice.

Since the battle began, Chen Xi had noticed a strand of an obscure aura was constantly watching this expanse of the heavens and the earth.

There was no doubt in him that it was definitely Jia Nan, and there was utterly no need to guess the answer.

“Fellow Daoist, you’ve been harmed by the matters of the heart, and your vital energy is in disorder. If this continues, then you’ll probably be at risk of suffering from qi deviation.” Jian Nan seemed to not be surprised that Chen Xi had noticed him since a long time ago, and his expression was tranquil, firm, and composed as it was in the beginning.

“Isn’t that exactly what you want?” Chen Xi finally raised his head and glanced indifferently at Jia Nan. After that he pointed at the divine temple in the distance and said, “The Imperial Sovereign Dao Root is inside there. You can try if you have the ability to obtain it.”

Jia Nan went silent for a moment, and then he raised his eyes to stare at Chen Xi before he said in a serious manner, “I’ve already given up.”

What had he given up?

It was naturally the Imperial Sovereign Dao Root!

This caused Chen Xi to be stunned. His eyes narrowed as he sized Jia Nan up for a long time, and then he said, “Since you’ve given up, then why have you come here?”

Jia Nan seemed to be unsurprised by Chen Xi’s reaction, and he said, “To issue a challenge.”

Chen Xi’s brows raised. “What do you mean?”

Jia Nan said, “I hope that I’ll be able to fight Fellow Daoist head-on in the future.”

Chen Xi said coldly, “Isn’t this a perfect moment?”

Jia Nan shook his head, and his expression remained tranquil and firm while his voice remained calm and composed as well. It seemed as if nothing in this world could affect his heart.

“Fellow Daoist, may I ask if you mind allowing me to take a look at Miss Zhen’s condition?” Suddenly, Jia Nan changed the topic.

A wisp of killing intent instantly arose in Chen Xi’s eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

Jia Nan was stunned, and then he shook his head. “Fellow Daoist, you’ve misunderstood. According to my inference, this Miss Zhen has probably been inflicted with a form of Divine Black Lich Venom by the Gongye Clan. If it’s really as I’ve inferred, then perhaps she can still be saved.”

Chen Xi’s heart shook fiercely, and he suddenly stood up and said, “If you’re able to cure her, then you can have that Imperial Sovereign Dao Root!”

“Fellow Daoist, please avoid being impatient and allow me to have a look.” Jia Nan spoke calmly. Even if he heard Chen Xi’s promise, his composed and firm expression hadn’t changed at all.

Chen Xi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Alright.”

...

At practically the exact same moment.

The Imperial Region.

The sky above an ancient altar that was completely suffused in Chaotic QI was covered in chaos. It seemed like the Heaven Dao had just been formed there, and a grand, brilliant, gorgeous, and magnificent chart floated there.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

It was the Godrank Chart!

At this moment, numerous might and ancient figures were seated cross-legged around the altar with their eyes closed tightly. They seemed like statues that had resided here for countless years.

Om!

Suddenly, the Godrank Chart that was originally floating silently there violently emanated a wave of strange fluctuations and glowed brilliantly to the point it illuminated this entire expanse of the heavens and the earth, and it was dazzling to the extreme.

“Hmm?”

“What has happened now?”

“Unexpected movement in the Godrank Chart has occurred successively. This isn’t something good at all. Quickly take a look.”

All those mighty figures that were like statues as they sat cross-legged before the ancient altar were alarmed by this, and they opened their eyes in unison.

At this instant, it was like numerous overlords of the heavens and the earth had awakened from their deep slumber, and they emanated strands of extremely terrifying might that swept towards the surroundings and shot into the nine heavens!

All of their gazes shot simultaneously towards the Godrank Chart in the sky that was ceaselessly emanating golden radiance.