Tens of thousands of ancient ghostly soldiers formed ranks, neat and uniform. Many of these ghostly soldiers had become legends, passed down through generations, and were truly powerful.

Later, they all became defeated subordinates under Zhu Tian.

If Zhu Tian didn’t possess real abilities, he wouldn’t have dared to claim the title of emperor.

The phoenix transformed from the Nirvana True Fire had a temperature comparable to the sun. Demon City was cast from metal, yet even the metal walls showed signs of melting under such a terrifying temperature, not to mention the cultivators below.

They say cultivators aren’t affected by cold or heat, but if the temperature gets this high, they can only use their cultivation level to withstand it.

Those with elders to protect them are in a relatively better situation, capable of holding on. For someone like Kong Hao, who traveled to Demon City alone, the only option would be to flee from the city and watch the battle from further away.

"Go!" Zhu Tian ordered, and the ghostly soldiers marched and formed an array in the sky, a dark and oppressive mass carrying a terrifyingly cold aura, bearing down on Jiang Lianyi.

"Explode." The Nirvana True Fire phoenix spread its wings and soared high, hot as the blazing sun, hurtling forward with a whoosh, as fast as lightning.

When the two sides collided, it was like yin meeting yang, forming a giant Tai Chi pattern in the sky.

Immediately after, the Tai Chi pattern exploded, with the phoenix turned into sparks scattering across the sky.

Yet, most of the ghostly soldiers remained.

Seeing this, Zhu Tian burst into loud laughter.

"Condense!" Jiang Lianyi remained unfazed, softly chanting, and using the power of the Initial Form of Immortal Dao Fruit to control the Nirvana clone and reassemble it.

The Nirvana clone charged into the ghostly army, exploding once more.

"Condense!"

Zhu Tian was dumbfounded. He had never heard of someone’s clone exploding and then reassembling, only to explode again repeatedly!

Wait, this technique seemed somewhat familiar. He had encountered it in ancient times. Who was it again?

Witnessing this scene, Lu Yang’s eyelid twitched involuntarily. This technique was indeed familiar; wasn’t it the favorite battle method of Fairy Eternity?

Lacking the Initial Form of Eternity Dao Fruit, the Initial Form of Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit was used to control the situation instead.

"It seems that Lianyi, despite her memory loss, has not forgotten the teachings of this Immortal."

Boom—

The Nirvana clone exploded on Zhu Tian, raising a cloud of dust, leaving Zhu Tian in a pathetic state, with even his wings scorched.

Zhu Tian sang the Song of Spring, quickly recovering his condition before the next wave of attacks.

"Condense!"

The Nirvana clone reassembled, Zhu Tian readied himself for battle, and as the Nirvana clone approached, Zhu Tian manipulated space, creating a barrier to block the next explosion.

Suddenly, the space behind him rippled, and Jiang Lianyi moved through the space, arriving behind him.

"Not good!"

Behind Jiang Lianyi, a giant phoenix shadow emerged, surrounded by countless avian illusory shadows – the Vermilion Bird, Blue Luan, Chongming, Bifang...

"The Worship of Ten Thousand Birds! That’s the legendary Worship of Ten Thousand Birds!" a great demon exclaimed from below.

"The Phoenix Ancestor subdued all birds, they revered the Phoenix Ancestor as their sovereign, hence the saying that the phoenix is the king of birds in later generations!"

The giant phoenix shadow spread its wings, the myriad birds turning into feathers, becoming part of the phoenix.

The phoenix shadow soared into the sky, diving down swiftly, and Zhu Tian, looking up, saw what seemed like a fire-bathing phoenix bursting from the sun, an intimidating sight.

Zhu Tian wanted to dodge, but suddenly everything around him, including himself, slowed down.

"Spatial lockdown… No, this is time stopping!"

Zhu Tian wore a look of disbelief; he hadn’t expected that Jiang Lianyi’s Initial Form of Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit could even freeze time!

She had never exerted her full strength from beginning to end!

Time stopped, and Zhu Tian lost his ability to perceive the outside world. When time began to flow again, the phoenix silhouette was already too close for him to avoid.

Boom—

The phoenix’s beak pierced through Zhu Tian’s body, nailing him to the ground!

"What just happened? Why did Zhu Tian suddenly stop moving?" Lu Yang wondered. With the distance just now, Zhu Tian could have evaded, but he remained immobile as if fixed to the spot by a spell.

Fairy Eternity saw through the technique: "It wasn’t that he didn’t move; it was that everyone stopped moving for a moment in time. Lianyi controlled time, causing it to halt."

"With this fairy present, you can see the whole process of the battle. To others, it looked as though the phoenix silhouette suddenly jumped in front of Zhu Tian, and he was struck because he failed to dodge in time."

"Time stopping? Elder Lianyi can even do that?!" Lu Yang was astonished.

"The Playing Dead Technique is about seeking life in death, deceiving time, and in a sense, defeating time, so she can stop time. However, this unconventional manner of defeating time is not the right path, which is why she can only stop it for a breath or two."

"Were it the Time Immortal, stopping time for a thousand or eight hundred years wouldn’t be an issue."

In a battle between Semi-Immortals, a mere breath or two can determine victory or defeat.

"As for why she didn’t use it before, she probably wanted to hide her skills. Revealing one’s trump card under the watchful eyes of many isn’t a wise move. Not to mention, have you seen her use an Immortal Artifact from beginning to end?"

When Lu Yang thought about it, it was true; Elder Lianyi surely had an Immortal Artifact refined by the Yingtian Immortal, but she hadn’t used it, which was telling.

"Victors reign, losers suffer. Zhu Tian, do you admit defeat?" Jiang Lianyi transformed back into her human form and, looking down at the severely wounded Zhu Tian on the ground, asked coldly.

Zhu Tian, dejected, also understood the crux of the matter. He completely accepted his defeat in this battle. Even if it were to happen again, the outcome would still be a loss.

"I admit defeat."

Jiang Lianyi said nothing more. She brought her index and middle fingers together, lightly touched Zhu Tian’s forehead, and activated the Initial Form of Immortal Dao Fruit, forming a master-servant imprint on Zhu Tian’s body.

Survival of the fittest, victory and defeat, were truths both of them adhered to, otherwise, they would not have the Initial Form of the Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit.

During the Ancient Times, Jiang Lianyi had already defeated Zhu Tian, but at that time, the four immortals governed the world, and there was no need to control Zhu Tian.

Today was different. An unchecked Zhu Tian could very well resort to sneaky tactics.

Moreover, Zhu Tian now knew she could stop time; this knowledge could not be leaked.

"Your establishment of the Demon Nation is beneficial to the Demon Race; I won’t obstruct it. The Phoenix Tribe may also join the Demon Nation."

With the master-servant imprint in place, Zhu Tian was nominally the ruler of the Demon Nation, but Jiang Lianyi was the true sovereign.

"You act ostentatiously, always in the spotlight. If you continue this way, you will drag the Demon Race into an abyss from which there is no return."

Not to mention anything else, the mere fact that Zhu Tian wanted to attack Great Xia was a path to certain death.

Jiang Lianyi heard from Fairy Eternity that there were immortals in Great Xia, and not just one.

Zhu Tian obviously wasn’t convinced, but as the loser, he had no choice but to listen to whatever Jiang Lianyi said.

As the dust settled, onlookers saw Zhu Tian on the ground admitting defeat, and Jiang Lianyi, the victor, still with her expression cold.

In the presence of the deterrence of two Semi-Immortals, no one dared to approach.

"Senior Brother."

Jiang Lianyi approached Lu Yang, respectfully calling him Senior Brother. Everyone spontaneously cleared a path. Fortunately, Lu Yang was prepared and kept his composure, nodding steadily, embodying the poise of a Young Sect Master.

Even as Lu Yang walked ahead, Jiang Lianyi half a step behind, their respective statuses were clear.

Lu Yang cast a glance at Zhu Tian and said indifferently, "Let’s go. The Demon Nation is nothing special."

The two of them left the Demon City, and amidst the awe and respect of the powerful beings, they vanished into thin air, mysterious and unfathomable.