The Imperial City's Sovereign

The hazy figure from the Imperial City was calm and composed. He was like a lord surveying all living things, a sovereign descending upon the world, looking down upon the eight wastes. Even with powerful enemies surrounding him, there was not the slightest ripple of emotion.

He vanished from where he stood in an instant, moving with such extreme speed that he broke the shackles of the world's origin divine principles. Time and space could not block or imprison him.

Zhenmu Nüsheng's divine consciousness was vast as an ocean, firm and unyielding. In that moment, her stone body sensed a world of annihilation approaching. She made a blade of her hand and slashed to her left.

"Boom!"

Before her, a starry sky appeared. Countless stars gleamed within it, dots of light against the black curtain of night, shining like gems.

It was a real great world trying to envelop her. Zhenmu Nüsheng's blade-finger slashed into it, indestructible as divine punishment descending. Large swaths of stars turned to ash, and the dark world rapidly dimmed.

With a turn of the hand, clouds rose; with a turn of the palm, rain fell. Such was Zhenmu Nüsheng's terrifying strength—with a casual strike, she forever darkened countless stars in a world.

But within that dark universe, the hazy figure from the Imperial City stood like an immortal sovereign. The heavens could grow dim, the stars could be shattered, the seas could turn to dust—he remained eternal and unshakable.

"Crack."

A faint, almost imperceptible sound came from Zhenmu Nüsheng's stone blade-hand. No one noticed except her, but a barely visible crack had appeared on it.

She recoiled as if stung by a viper or scorpion, her body flying backward like a startled swan. Shock was written on her face.

The hazy figure from the Imperial City stood within a three-zhang radius, starlight gathering around him like a gauze woven from constellations. He took a step forward, but not in pursuit of Zhenmu Nüsheng.

Instead, he appeared before the colossal city of the Eternal King Meng Degang. A giant hand reached out, covering the sky, encompassing all of heaven and earth within its grasp! It was boundless. Between the fingers, great clouds swirled, blanketing everything below. The momentum was vast and terrifying.

The earth below groaned and began to crack under the immense pressure. The great hand descended slowly, containing endless Dao rhythm, trying to lift the towering city Meng Degang had condensed.

It was a shocking scene. Though the giant hand descended slowly, it sealed all escape routes. The originally mountain-like demon city now seemed tiny within those fingers.

"Rumble!"

In the distance, the endless death mountain ranges could not bear the pressure. A vast range stretching thousands of li collapsed in an instant, turning to ash.

In the sky, Meng Degang's colossal city shook violently, and the southern gate tower shed rubble before it finally broke free.

It seemed as though each side was testing the other; no group battle erupted at this moment.

The hazy figure from the Imperial City struck a third time. He stepped upward and charged toward the Upper Ancestral God who had just arrived.

He waved his hand casually, like a supreme king looking down upon the world. The vast firmament trembled, and a boundless starry sea descended. Rivers of stars hung down like great waterfalls—the condensation of real stars, connecting heaven and earth.

The Upper Ancestral God was engulfed within.

Yet, though ten thousand Star Rivers raged, they could not destroy the Otherworld Upper Ancestral God seated cross-legged in the void. His hands formed a seal, motionless like a mountain, firmly rooted at the edge of the sky.

This leading figure among the Otherworld Upper Ancestral Gods was truly beautiful—enough to make women jealous. His skin was like snow, as white as congealed fat, shimmering with a crystalline luster.

His hand seals were like a dream, his ten slender fingers extraordinarily agile, tracing profound trajectories. With a series of sharp sounds, blades of light ten thousand zhang long burst forth, shattering the rivers of stars.

This Upper Ancestral God was unfathomably powerful. Throughout, his eyes remained closed, his figure unmoving.

Long, curved eyelashes rested like a sleeping mermaid. Water-blue hair cascaded naturally to his waist, as if carved from sapphire.

The brief probing ended. The hazy figure from the Imperial City stood in the sky, looking down upon the host of gods. Zhenmu Nüsheng and the Eternal King Meng Degang exchanged glances, both revealing shock. They had both suffered slight losses just now, only the Upper Ancestral God's situation remained unclear.

Meng Degang and Zhenmu Nüsheng positioned themselves one before and one behind the hazy figure, trapping him between them.

"Bo Linqu, let us join forces and kill him," Zhenmu Nüsheng said to the strikingly handsome man. "After we breach the Seven Demon Cities, you can have two of them to refine into the supreme treasures of an Upper Ancestral God."

That Upper Ancestral God sat cross-legged in the void, silent, and nodded.

His hands formed a seal, as if he were a divine Buddha with the divine charm of a flower. Dustless, pure white robes drifted lightly, making him seem like one who ate no mortal fare, ethereal and transcendent.

Thus, the three peak experts finally joined forces.

A fierce battle erupted suddenly! In the dark heavens, the deathly demon clouds completely shattered, revealing a brilliant starry sky. But the boundless killing aura shook the Star River and made the universe tremble.

The Upper Ancestral God Bo Linqu, Zhenmu Nüsheng, and the Eternal King Meng Degang formed a triad, attacking the hazy figure. They fought until the heavens collapsed and rivers flowed backward.

Countless stars turned to ash, then phantom cycles of birth and death followed, as if eons passed in a single moment, experiencing endless reincarnation within.

At this moment, all powerful beings deep within the Death World were stirred. Some in the shadows stirred restlessly, eager to strike.

Xiao Chen and his group waited for their opportunity. The more fiercely the two sides fought, the more advantageous it was for them.

Just then, two incomplete Stone Men from the Otherworld also shot into the sky, joining the battle. Though they were not as profound as the three peak experts, they were still formidable combatants.

Nearby, the host of gods also struck in unison. They dared not approach, but they could unleash divine spells and laws. Thousands of layers of divine light and myriad beams of radiance surged forward.

Though the hazy figure from the Imperial City was incomparably powerful, he could not gain the upper hand against the siege of so many gods. He seemed on the verge of being suppressed.

At that moment, a clear cry erupted from his mouth, shaking the Death World.

The seven demon cities within the deadly formation began to shake violently.

"Rumble!"

Seven figures shot into the sky—seven incomplete Stone Men soared up from the ground into the heavens. The combined power they wielded shattered mountains and opened the sealed light curtain in the sky.

The moment had come. Xiao Chen used the Eight Aspect Worlds to carry several companions, following them up and breaking free of the sealing formation.

At the same time, the seven Stone Men all charged toward Zhenmu Nüsheng and her allies.

The situation immediately tilted. Although these seven Stone Men were all failures who had not taken the final step, their combined strength was enough to defy heaven! With the seven Stone Men appearing, heaven and earth lost their color. The powerful divine energy fluctuations shook the vast heavens, causing meteors to fall continuously, smashing into the Death World's earth and shaking it violently.

The Otherworld gods turned pale, feeling immense pressure. Even the three peak experts could no longer remain calm.

At that moment, that beautiful—almost unreal—Upper Ancestral God finally spoke for the first time.

"Seven Stone Men, where are your true hearts? You were refined by others, yet you remain unaware. Awaken!"

His voice was like a morning bell or evening drum, echoing across heaven and earth. Seven sound waves condensed into tangible beams, surging toward the seven Stone Men, trying to awaken their consciousness.

The seven Stone Men shook violently, as if they were about to awaken.

But the hazy figure in the sky merely let out a cold snort, interrupting the Upper Ancestral God Bo Linqu's incantation. The seven Stone Men received it like a thunderbolt, and they were once again subdued.

"I retrieved you from the ancient battlefield, helped you be reborn, granted you a second life. Now I need you to fight." The moment the hazy figure from the Imperial City finished speaking, the seven Stone Men hesitated no longer. They all struck fiercely, temporarily trapping the Eternal King Meng Degang, Zhenmu Nüsheng, and the Upper Ancestral God Bo Linqu in the center.

Meanwhile, the hazy figure took the opportunity to charge out, savagely attacking the surrounding ancestral gods.

"Puff!"

Blood spattered. He quickly punched through one of them, his fist passing straight through the body. He seized the fleeing divine soul in his palm, and with a gentle squeeze, it shattered completely.

This was a battle of unequal strength! The hazy figure from the Imperial City's dominance was manifest without doubt.

"A Stone Man King... he is a Stone Man King!" Zhenmu Nüsheng was shocked.

The Eternal King Meng Degang quickly sent a telepathic message: "All of you, retreat! Things have exceeded our expectations. The figure from the Imperial City seems to have reached the realm of a Stone Man King."

"Why is he so powerful? Could it be the return of the ancient Heavenly Emperor?" At that moment, the silent, stunningly beautiful Upper Ancestral God Bo Linqu suddenly spoke.

The host of gods was stunned.

"Bang!"

At that instant, the hazy figure, comparable to a Stone Man King, borrowed the path of the two Otherworld incomplete Stone Men and ruthlessly slammed down a massive palm.

In the violent clash, a crisp sound rang out. The Stone Man that had earlier had its hand shattered by the Stone Man King puppet was now smashed into pieces by the overwhelming force.

"Dong!"

Beside him, another incomplete Stone Man also took a heavy blow. His chest was slashed by the palm, collapsing inward. Over a dozen terrifying cracks appeared on his upper body.

But these two were still Stone Men after all. Though they had not taken the final step, they were far superior to ordinary ancestral gods. Despite suffering severe wounds, they still managed to escape.

The hazy figure from the Imperial City's eyes shot two beams of piercing cold light. He struck toward the distant sky, hitting the last Otherworld ancestral god. That god, struck as if by a ten-thousand-jun heavy hammer, coughed blood and shattered in the sky. His soul was forcibly seized back and crushed in a single hand.

In the shadows, Xiao Chen was deeply shaken. This person was too powerful—he truly rivaled a Stone Man King! The hazy figure turned and charged toward the three peak experts. As soon as he joined the fray, he tore off a city gate from the Eternal King Meng Degang's city, fearless and unstoppable.

"Shua shua shua!"

At that moment, several figures rapidly appeared in the sky, suddenly striking out to deal with the hazy figure from the Imperial City.

Xiao Chen's heart tightened. Those few were definitely not ordinary beings—otherwise, how would they dare to attack the master of the Imperial City, who was so overwhelmingly powerful, at a time like this? "Powerful creatures from the depths of the Death World..." Yingxiong muttered, because he saw a demon covered in fine silver scales with a single horn. It belonged to the same great race as himself.

That was definitely a demon at the Upper Ancestral Lord level.

"An undead... and another undead!" Sha Polang also drew in a cold breath. That undead had no ordinary deathly aura; instead, it seemed sacred, its body formed from holy light. It rode a ground-demon dragon king, and its strength had reached a level where an undead was extremely terrifying—its soul power surging, causing palpitations even from a distance.

Among them were also figures of Stone Men. Several beings with power so great they instantly shifted the battle situation, forcing the master of the Imperial City to struggle.

Clearly, these people were all at the Stone Man level or the Upper Ancestral God level.

At this moment, Xiao Chen did not want to strike. The people in the melee were extremely dangerous. He needed to wait for the ruins. He had already aimed at the Eternal King Meng Degang's colossal city.

But it seemed that no result would come for a while. He did not delay. He quickly chased in the direction the Otherworld gods had retreated.

He wanted to use this time gap to eliminate some future enemies.

Shortly after Xiao Chen left, three more powerful beings arrived before the Seven Ancient Demon Cities, rushing from the very depths of the Death World.

These were three sinister-looking skeletons, completely different from ordinary fire-seed beings. Within their sacred eye sockets flickered cunning light.

They skulked in the distance, assessing the combat strength of both sides, seemingly muttering to each other.

Unfortunately, Xiao Chen had already left the area and did not see these three peculiar skeletons.

Now, Xiao Chen flew using the Eight Aspect Worlds—the fastest divine technique in the world. Traveling through the eight worlds was superior to simply traversing space. In a single breath, he had covered over two hundred thousand li.

In the distance, he saw several figures. Keke's big eyes flashed with anger. It quickly shot out of the Eight Aspect Worlds and rushed ahead to block their path.

The Little Defiant Dragon, worried, followed.

Tianwaitian and the others, now controlling the body of the Great Might Nether King and equivalent to a powerful Sixth Heaven War Ancestor, naturally followed without fear.

Among those they pursued were an incomplete Stone Man whose right hand had been shattered by the Stone Man King puppet, a super ancestral god, and two ordinary ancestral gods. (The host of gods had scattered in flight; many had already disappeared into other regions.)

"I thought it was that Heaven-Emperor-like fellow chasing us," said one ordinary ancestral god, who had never realized the true strength of the pursuers and had not spotted Xiao Chen's trace. With a Stone Man on their side, he felt secure. "So it's you, the little beast of the Heaven-Defying Clan. Your blood has extraordinary effects. I've desired it for ten thousand years. Now I can finally have my wish."

"Ya ya..." Keke fumed. The little creature had suffered so much in the past and was now being humiliated to its face. Even with its innocent nature, it burned with anger.

The Stone Man among them, however, looked grave. He felt the pressure.

Just then, terrifying footsteps came from behind. The Stone Man King puppet appeared, step by step drawing closer.

Seeing the Otherworld expert spout arrogance and insult Keke, Xiao Chen was enraged. Without a word, he activated the Stone Man King puppet and locked onto that Stone Man.

He himself also materialized and pressed forward toward the Otherworld ancestral god who had spoken rudely.

The Stone Man among them grew fearful. He had suffered from the Stone Man King puppet before and knew it well. He sensed that his end was near.

"You... I..."

That Otherworld ancestral god who had insulted Keke suddenly turned pale.