All the rebels shall perish one by one at my hands.

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he turned his head almost instinctively.

A blinding crimson stream of light, carrying a terrifying high temperature capable of tearing apart one's soul, shot towards his face at an indescribable speed.

It was that crimson spear!

Is she trying to kill me?

This thought flashed through Su Ji's mind, but he immediately denied it.

No.

There was no killing intent in this spear strike.

However, the terrifying pressure rushing at his face was very real.

Su Ji's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.

There was no time to think, nor did the situation allow him to.

The combat instincts forged and hammered into him over the past four months by being repeatedly pummeled into the ground by that primordial fierce beast completely took over his body at this moment.

Momentum!

That momentum, born from the deepest fear of death and the most instinctive desire for life, explosively erupted from within his body.

He did not even attempt to dodge, because he knew his aura had been locked onto, making evasion impossible.

The only thing he could do was to bring the newly reforged spear from his back and hold it horizontally across his chest at the fastest possible speed.

Boom!

Su Ji's body was struck as if by lightning. He flew backward uncontrollably, crashing heavily into the flowing light of the passage wall.

He only felt a heart-tearing pain coming from his arms. The webs between his thumbs and forefingers instantly split open, dripping with fresh blood.

That absolutely overbearing power transmitted through the spear shaft, madly surging into his limbs and bones, rampaging and colliding within.

His Glazed Dao Platform let out an overwhelmed groan. The Dao Foundation that had just been stabilized actually revealed fine cracks once again.

Pfft!

Su Ji could no longer suppress his churning vitality and blood, opening his mouth to spew out a large mist of blood.

Yet, his eyes remained dead set on the front.

He blocked it.

Although he was in a sorry state, he had indeed blocked it.

However, in the next moment, the relief on his face turned into complete and utter astonishment.

Crack...

A crisp, soft sound, like shattering glass.

That crimson spear, which had accompanied Hui Xing for an unknown tens of thousands of years, actually began to shatter inch by inch from the tip after colliding with Su Ji's new spear.

Ultimately, it transformed into a sky full of dancing, crimson-gold fiery stardust.

I...

Those shattered fiery stardust particles did not dissipate just like that.

As if drawn by some invisible force, they turned into a dazzling firestorm and swept towards the new spear in his hand.

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously wanted to throw the spear away.

But the spear seemed to have grown onto his hand, remaining completely motionless.

Immediately after, an even more unbelievable scene occurred.

The sky full of fiery stardust, like weary birds returning to the forest or baby swallows throwing themselves into an embrace, scrambled to merge into the long spear in his hand.

Sizzle—

The spear shaft was instantly dyed with a layer of eerie crimson.

The dragon scale patterns on the spear shaft seemed to be endowed with life at this moment.

They lit up piece by piece, greedily devouring the fiery stardust. Their color became increasingly profound, resembling flowing magma.

An indescribable scorching heat transmitted from the spear shaft.

Su Ji felt that what he was holding was no longer a spear, but a... living young dragon.

In his palm, it let out a joyous and resounding dragon roar.

On the spear shaft, those crimson dragon scale patterns that were originally just shallowly engraved completely became three-dimensional.

True dragon scales tightly covered the spear shaft piece by piece, flickering with an arrogant treasure light.

The spear tip became more slender and sharper, with patterns running from bottom to top, ultimately converging into a single point of cold light.

The tail of the spear even condensed a cluster of crimson-gold tassels, moving without wind, just like a burning dragon tail.

The aura of the entire spear underwent an earth-shaking transformation at this moment.

If it was a restrained lethal weapon before.

Then now, it was an awakened primordial fierce dragon, ready to devour anyone!

This enmity shall be paid in blood!

This hatred must be cleansed with flame!

The already dimmed starlight will witness the many traitors die one by one in another way!

Then, the voice gradually weakened.

So many people believed in you...

That was absolutely not a mistake...

Meanwhile.

Xiangsi Sect.

Su Jiu stood outside the quiet room, her exquisitely beautiful face filled with lingering irritation.

Four and a half months.

Su Ji had been missing for exactly four and a half months.

There was only one month left until the six-month deadline he had mentioned.

Yet, there was still no news of him.

In these past few months, the changes in the Xiangsi Sect could be described as earth-shattering.

Su Ji's arrogant words of holding a succession ceremony and hosting a banquet for all directions in half a year had long spread throughout the entire Great Xia cultivation world through the mouths of the five elders.

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.

An unknown cultivator actually killed the Great Circle Golden Core Sect Master of the Xiangsi Sect and wanted to replace him?

This was simply a fantasy.

Initially, no one believed it.

Everyone thought it was nothing more than a smokescreen released during an internal power struggle within the Xiangsi Sect.

But as time passed, more and more details were confirmed.

The envoy of the Puppet Heaven Holy Land returned in a sorry state, owing a massive debt of a million high-grade spirit stones.

The five Golden Core elders of the Xiangsi Sect actually publicly announced their support for a young man named Su Ji as the new Sect Master.

All of this plunged the entire Great Xia cultivation world into massive shock.

Countless gazes focused on the Xiangsi Sect.

Everyone wanted to see how this absurd farce would end in half a year.

However, as the time drew closer.

There was no indication from within the Xiangsi Sect.

It was terrifyingly quiet.

Spies from the Blood Fiend Sect and the Joyous Union Sect, like sharks smelling blood, frequently appeared near the sect.

Inside the sect, people were in a state of panic, and the disciples were completely ignorant about this mysterious new Sect Master.

And Su Jiu, as the Vice Sect Master personally appointed by Su Ji, was pushed to the forefront of the storm.

Every day, she had to handle mountains of sect affairs and deal with probing and pressure from all sides.

If it weren't for Li Fan, the newly promoted Sixth Elder, taking the initiative to block most of the trouble.

She would probably be mentally and physically exhausted by now.

But these were not what she worried about the most.

She was worried about Su Ji.

Where exactly did he go?

Did he encounter any danger?

Could he still make it back before the succession ceremony?

Why hasn't there been a single word for four and a half months?

That bastard Su Ji, even if he died outside, he should at least make a sound, right?

If she couldn't still feel the faint connection between them...

Wait...

Did that illusory connection suddenly become clear?

Is Su Ji coming back?

...

On the other side.

Subsequently, the scenery before Su Ji's eyes shifted.

In the next moment, he had returned to that familiar underground lava cave filled with the smell of sulfur and blood.

He still maintained his posture of blocking with the spear horizontally, but there was no longer that petite figure in front of him.

There was only the rolling magma in the distance, making bubbling sounds.

Everything felt like a grand dream.

However, the heavy and scorching texture transmitted from the spear in his hand, as well as the intimate feeling of being connected by blood, clearly told him otherwise.

Everything that had just happened was real.

He looked down at what he held in his hands.

How could this be considered a mere parting gift?

This was clearly the bestowal of their natal artifact, along with every drop of True Dragon essence blood in their body.

This debt of gratitude was simply too heavy.

Su Ji's heart was a tangled mess of mixed emotions.

Alright then.

He was definitely going to be branded with the label of the Great Xia anyway.

They were already enemies to begin with.

Dealing with them would just be a matter of convenience.

"As you wish."

"Those countless traitors shall meet their end, one by one, by my hand..."

Without any warning, a hushed voice drifted over from right beside Su Ji: "Brother, stop howling..."

"Keep your voice down."

"Don't draw them over here..."