Former Enemies

With Ye Xuan’s spiritual power surging wildly into the snow-white flying boat, it let out a roar that shook the heavens and earth.

The prow’s ram exploded with a terrifying black radiance, like a colossal black sword cleaving through the sky and earth, carrying an unstoppable, crushing momentum as it charged fiercely toward the Gathering of Heroes at the Tomb of Heaven Gate!

Ye Xuan’s flying boat showed not the slightest hesitation. Under Ying’er’s trembling yet resolute control, it pierced forward like a lone leaf adrift on the vast sea, plunging straight into the dark, profound portal of the void.

The surrounding sword-wielding prodigies from various sects barely spared a glance at the shabby, worn-out boat. With disdain, they averted their eyes.

In their arrogant minds, this was nothing more than another reckless wanderer or a cannon fodder from some remote, insignificant sect, blindly gambling for luck within the Divine Abyss. Such insignificant ants didn’t even deserve a second look.

The instant the flying boat pierced through the void gate, the surrounding light and shadow were violently torn apart by an irresistible, overwhelming force!

The laws of space here twisted, darkened, and raged wildly, like countless invisible dull blades slicing through everything.

In the next moment, the sensation of weightlessness vanished, and the two of them plummeted into a terrifyingly alien world.

This place was the dreaded Tomb of Heaven Divine Abyss, a realm that had made countless great powers pale with fear.

The sky was no longer a deep, serene blue but instead took on a suffocating, blood-red hue, as if frozen for millennia.

A massive blood-colored dying sun hung low on the horizon, casting rays that carried no warmth—only a bone-chilling coldness.

Beneath their feet, the rolling mountain ranges were not made of earth and stone but were instead the skeletal remains of ancient dragons that had perished countless epochs ago! Their pale, jagged bones pierced the clouds, entwined with withered, twisted, and grotesque vegetation.

The air was thick with a pungent stench of blood and decay, so dense it seemed almost tangible.

More terrifying still was the desolate, malevolent aura permeating every inch of space here.

This aura was like billions of invisible, parasitic sores, greedily clinging to the cultivators’ protective energy shields, emitting a sickening “hiss” of corrosion. It desperately sought to invade their pores and drain their very life essence.

“H-husband… is this really the Tomb of Heaven Divine Abyss?” Ying’er gripped the railing of the flying boat tightly, her clear eyes reflecting this apocalyptic scene.

Her face was pale, her breath rapid. Even with the boat’s protective array, she could still feel a despair that threatened to suck the soul dry.

“Focus your mind, preserve your essence, and do not look at the Blood Sun,” Ye Xuan’s voice was low and cold, like a steady anchor dropped amid a raging storm, instantly calming Ying’er’s wildly beating heart.

He stood with his hands behind his back at the prow, his deep gaze sweeping across this lifeless land.

He could clearly sense the domineering, desolate energy attempting to penetrate his skin and corrupt his blood.

However, with the profound foundation of the Six Paths Reincarnation Scripture and the Devour Heaven Demon Technique, Ye Xuan’s essence had long transcended the ordinary laws of this world.

Beneath his fair skin, a natural, flawless jade-like luster subtly shimmered.

This was the instinctive awakening of the Flawless Dao Body.

Deep within Ye Xuan’s meridians, the hidden art known as the Devouring Heaven Demon Technique stirred like a slumbering abyssal god. Rather than resisting, it opened an invisible, colossal maw, tearing apart and crushing the desolate killing aura that invaded his body. It transformed that barren energy into the purest form of power, feeding it back into Ye Xuan’s dantian.

Just as Ye Xuan quietly circulated his cultivation technique, comprehending the laws of this world, a sudden, wildly arrogant burst of laughter shattered the stillness of the space like a sharp tear in silk.

“Ha ha ha ha! I was wondering which blind fool dared to come here to die. So it’s you, you miserable stray dog!”

Ye Xuan slowly lifted his eyes.

On a towering dragon-bone hillside that pierced the clouds ahead, several beams of spiritual light suddenly descended. The leader stood high above, looking down on them with a gaze filled with cruel amusement, like a cat toying with a mouse.

He was an extraordinarily dazzling young man. Clad in a flowing moon-white robe woven with cloud patterns, its hems fluttering in the chilling wind, the robe was intricately embroidered with the complex “Grasping the Moon from the Nine Heavens” totem in precious crimson-gold threads. Each golden strand radiated a pulse of terrifying spiritual energy.

On his head sat a purple-gold glazed crown, his jet-black hair tied high. His sword-like eyebrows framed piercing eyes that brimmed with authority, a straight nose, and a face so handsome it carried an almost seductive celestial aura.

At first glance, he appeared like a fallen immortal descended into the mortal world—a refined and elegant scion. Yet, in the narrow slits of his eyes, a twisted, arrogant malice churned beneath the surface, utterly repulsive.

This man was none other than Lu Xingchui, one of the Holy Sons of the Nine Heavens Sanctuary!

He was also one of the chief culprits who had once personally cast Ye Xuan into the abyss!

With a sudden movement, Lu Xingchui seemed to teleport, appearing with several elite disciples clad in the Sanctuary’s attire, firmly blocking the path of the flying vessel.

He looked at Ye Xuan standing at the bow of the ship, a wild joy twisting his handsome face almost beyond recognition.

“Ye Xuan, oh Ye Xuan, you’re still not dead?”

Lu Xingchui took a step forward, unleashing a terrifying pressure that rippled like crashing mountains and roaring seas, pushing away the surrounding desolate mist.

Pointing at Ye Xuan, his tone dripped with condescending mockery and false pity: “Do you still remember me, Holy Son? On the Nine Heavens Altar that day, when Bai Ningbing stripped you of your innate celestial bone, the screams you let out were truly pitiful! Even now, that sound is the best seasoning for my wine!”

At the words “stripped of your celestial bone,” a vision of corpses and blood-soaked battlefields churned violently in the depths of Ye Xuan’s pupils.

He said nothing, quietly watching Lu Xingchui put on his performance.

Seeing Ye Xuan’s silence, Lu Xingchui assumed he was scared, and his arrogance swelled further: “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? When you were stripped of your cultivation and thrown into the Burial Immortal Lake like a dead dog, didn’t you still try to curse the Nine Heavens Sanctuary?”

“You pathetic waste who’s only survived by leeching off the Female Emperor, now that she’s cast you aside and you’ve lost your backing, you actually dare to show up here at the Abyssal Heaven Divine Abyss? Do you really think this world still belongs to Ye the Great Genius?!”

Lu Xingchui grew increasingly excited as he spoke, his handsome face twisting with a fierce blend of jealousy and exhilaration.

Once, Ye Xuan was an insurmountable mountain looming over all prodigies, but now, that mountain was nothing more than a stepping stone beneath his feet, destined to be crushed!

“You’re talking about last time.”

Finally, Ye Xuan spoke.

His voice was low, yet cold—like eternal ice from the depths of the Nine Nether Hells—carrying an undeniable authority that towered above all living beings.

He slowly stepped forward, his silver hair whipping wildly in the blood-red wind, his deep eyes piercing straight into Lu Xingchui’s very soul.

Caught in Ye Xuan’s gaze, which was calm yet as heavy as Mount Tai, Lu Xingchui’s heart involuntarily twitched violently.

A strange, creeping fear spread from deep within his bones.

“Playing tricks and putting on airs!” Lu Xingchui snapped, anger and shame boiling over. This fear was a humiliation beyond measure.

He was a proud prodigy of the Nine Heavens Sacred Land, a late-stage Refining Void grand cultivator—how could he possibly be afraid of a useless shell whose bones had been stripped?!

A sharp sword chime rang through the sky! Lu Xingchui suddenly drew his life-bound treasure, the Starfall Sword.

In an instant, starlight burst forth brilliantly, the dazzling sword light tearing the blood-red sky apart. “Since you’re so eager to die, this Holy Son will be merciful today and send you on your way! For the Nine Heavens Sacred Land, I will eradicate you completely!”

“Kill me? With you?”

Ye Xuan’s eyelids lowered slightly, a faint curve tugging at the corner of his lips. His eyes held no anger—only a chilling pity, like a supreme being looking down on an insignificant ant.

He didn’t reach for the sword at his waist, nor did he summon an ounce of spiritual power to defend himself. He simply stood there casually, every inch of him riddled with flaws.

“Arrogant fool! Prepare to die!”

Lu Xingchui was utterly enraged. He roared to the heavens, his handsome face twisted into a terrifying grimace.

He poured every bit of his late-stage Refining Void cultivation into the Starfall Sword, unleashing a dazzling sword aura stretching a hundred zhang—a brilliant star river of sword energy tearing through the void with terrifying power, aimed straight at Ye Xuan’s brow to strangle his soul.

With this strike, he intended to grind Ye Xuan’s soul to dust!

Yet, faced with this world-shattering sword strike, Ye Xuan’s gaze remained as calm and still as a deep well.

Just as the brilliant star river sword energy was about to brush the tip of Ye Xuan’s nose—

An overwhelming, indescribable terror suddenly burst forth from Ye Xuan’s seemingly frail body.

It was a despairing will that transcended the laws of heaven and earth, capable of severing the river of time and erasing all cause and effect!

“The Great Luo Infinite Sword Qi.”

Ye Xuan’s thin lips parted, uttering six emotionless words.

He still did not raise a hand.

A thread of gray sword energy, so fine it was barely visible to the naked eye, shot forth from his brow like the scythe of death—silent, sudden, and without warning.

It was too fast. Faster than the passage of time, faster than the span of space.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no deafening roar.

The hundred-zhang-long, rainbow-like Starfall Sword Qi shattered into nothingness the instant it touched the faint gray thread—like sunlight striking melting snow, it disintegrated inch by inch in midair, vanishing silently without a trace. The exquisite Starfall Sword, forged from Nine Heavens Meteoric Iron, turned directly into a puff of flying ash.

Lu Xingchui’s forward-charging body suddenly froze in midair.

His face, once twisted with arrogance, hatred, and exhilaration, was as if petrified by a spell, utterly immobile. Replacing that expression was a growing, uncontrollable disbelief mixed with an overwhelming terror and despair that expanded in his pupils.

He stared blankly downward.

His so-called invincible Liuyun Brocade Robe, along with the tightly fitted treasure armor beneath, had somehow developed an extremely fine, faint gray crack.

This crack split straight down from the center of his brow, running along his nose bridge, throat, and chest, all the way down to his dantian.

No blood flowed out. No pain was felt.

“How… is this possible… You’re supposed to be… worthless…”

Lu Xingchui opened his mouth, his throat emitting a hoarse, wind-leaking whisper.

His once-proud Refining Void-stage soul was now ruthlessly torn to shreds by a domineering power that clearly did not belong to the mortal realm.

His once-vibrant body was like a withered tree stripped of life, no longer sensing even the slightest trace of spiritual energy.

After absorbing the Tushan demon power, Ye Xuan’s cultivation had reached the mid-Refining Void stage.

Combined with the “Six Paths Reincarnation Heavenly Scripture” to unleash the Da Luo Infinite Sword Qi, killing a late-Refining Void opponent like Lu Xingchui—who relied solely on piled-up resources—was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.

“Bang!”

The next moment, a chilling scene unfolded.

Lu Xingchui’s handsome body was sliced cleanly and smoothly in two along the invisible gray line.

The two halves of his broken corpse crashed heavily onto the parched earth. Only then did the scalding blood and shattered entrails burst forth like a dam breaking, staining the once-luxurious moon-white robe a nauseating dark red.

His primordial spirit didn’t even have the chance to escape his body. As his flesh was split apart, the lingering sword Qi mercilessly shredded it to ashes—his soul truly scattered to the winds!