"Bang!"
Feeling the intense heat wave rapidly approaching from behind, Ge Xiantong channeled his energy and activated the five-foot-long Arrogant Dragon Whip in his hand. Immediately, dense scriptures appeared on the golden whip, radiating a brilliant golden light.
He turned and swung the whip, unleashing a massive wave of golden light.
The dozens of seven-clawed flame dragons pursuing him exploded one after another, transforming into fiery rain that scattered in all directions.
The golden energy was incredibly powerful, spreading hundreds of meters up the jade steps towards the mountain peak.
Ge Xiantong clearly saw the woman resembling "Mist Heavenly Emperor" standing still; the golden energy automatically parted and flowed around her when it reached her.
Li Weiyi did not use his more advanced psychic power. Instead, channeling energy to his legs, he employed a profound movement technique, his body like a wisp of smoke, covering dozens of jade steps.
In an instant, he appeared behind Ge Xiantong, forming a hand seal and pointing a finger forward.
"Whoosh!"
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Ge Xiantong sensed immense danger and immediately unleashed his Dao Heart Manifestation.
The space behind him became bizarre, chaotic, and void.
A sun and a moon rose into existence.
The sun and moon revolved continuously, transforming into a swirling vortex of energy that resisted Li Weiyi's lightning-fast finger technique.
Li Weiyi let out a soft exclamation. He felt his finger, arm, and entire body being pulled by the vortex, and his sleeve ripped into shreds.
"Bang!"
A powerful, domineering beam of light erupted from his fingertip, shooting into the sun-moon vortex.
The sun-moon vortex crushed the finger-force, but the residual energy made Ge Xiantong tremble. Losing his balance, he stumbled forward and fell back onto the jade steps from two zhang above the ground.
The heavy impact of his fall caused numerous array patterns to emerge on the jade steps.
Li Weiyi also landed on the jade steps, looking at his slightly sore arm and torn sleeve. "Old Ge, not bad at all. You've quietly broken through to the sixth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm."
Their positions had reversed, with Li Weiyi now below, his back to the palace gate, blocking Ge Xiantong's escape route.
Covered by an array formation, the outside world could not sense the activity within the Phoenix Pavilion.
Ge Xiantong calmed the surging energy within his body, his face filled with surprise and doubt. "Did you only use martial arts power just now?"
"Don't you have immortal eyes? Can't you tell?" Li Weiyi replied.
Ge Xiantong said, "But you're only at the fourth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm."
At the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, everyone believed Li Weiyi had defeated Luan Sheng Lin You, who was at the Great Perfection of the Seventh Sea, with a cultivation level that had just entered the Sixth Sea.
At that time, although Li Weiyi still had a considerable gap compared to Luan Sheng Lin You, he was already capable of exchanging blows. When he teamed up with the severely injured Zuoqiu Hongting, they could contend against Luan Sheng Lin You at her peak.
To cross one realm and fight a young genius to such a standstill shocked the world. If they were at the same realm, he would have undoubtedly crushed her.
However, no one knew that Li Weiyi was actually at the Fifth Sea cultivation level back then, effectively fighting across two realms.
This was the fundamental reason for Ge Xiantong's shock at that moment!
Li Weiyi's victory over Xie Chucai primarily relied on his psychic power.
Ge Xiantong calmed down and quickly analyzed the situation. "I don't care how you two got in here or what sinister intentions you have, but the Phoenix Pavilion is my domain. I know all the array formations here by heart, and activating any one of them can kill you. For the sake of our past acquaintance, both of you should leave. I'll grant you safe passage."
Li Weiyi chuckled, "Do you think we're that easily fooled? If you want to activate an array, go ahead and try."
Ge Xiantong had been stalling for time, continuously channeling energy into the Arrogant Dragon Whip while speaking with Li Weiyi.
"Whoosh!"
Li Weiyi saw through his intentions and charged out first, darting left and right, leaping quickly, constantly shifting his position.
Ge Xiantong raised the Arrogant Dragon Whip and struck the ground with it. The golden whip transformed into a golden pillar dozens of meters high, erupting with surging waves of energy that rushed in all directions.
The sound of wind whistled in his ears.
He suddenly looked up.
He found that Li Weiyi was descending from above the golden pillar, stomping down with one foot.
Ge Xiantong no longer had time to swing the Arrogant Dragon Whip and change his move. He could only mobilize all his energy, gather the power of the sun and moon, and strike upwards with a palm.
The force and wind of his palm strike caused the air to bulge and burst, creating an arc-shaped energy barrier.
Li Weiyi's stomp unleashed a gigantic and mysterious radiant image of a jade cauldron, which collided with the sun-moon palm force.
Ge Xiantong felt an immense weight descend. The cauldron above his head, resembling a real one, forced him to take a step back, his body sinking as he exerted all his strength to withstand it.
Li Weiyi was now at the peak of the fourth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, and his physical strength far surpassed Ge Xiantong's, giving him a complete advantage.
"Boom!"
Ge Xiantong's arm traced an arc, pulling back to dissipate the formidable power of Li Weiyi's "Jade Cauldron Shakes Mountains and Rivers." He then shifted his body, turning halfway to retrieve his Arrogant Dragon Whip.
Only with the Arrogant Dragon Whip did he have a chance to win.
"Old Ge, impressive! Your combat power is no less than that of a martial cultivator at the seventh heaven of the Dao Seed Realm!" After Li Weiyi's foot landed on empty air, his body shot forward like a released bowstring, colliding with Ge Xiantong to prevent him from retrieving the Arrogant Dragon Whip.
"Bang! Bang..."
The two exchanged dozens of palm strikes, then simultaneously retreated.
Ge Xiantong's face was purplish-red, and his throat tasted coppery sweet. He could no longer suppress a mouthful of fresh blood, and it finally gushed out.
Zenhai Guanwu said, "Stop wasting time. Let's finish this quickly."
Ge Xiantong turned and fled, leaping like a large bird towards a grand hall, intending to activate the array formations around it.
However, Zenhai Guanwu was a step ahead, gracefully descending below the hall, her red robes fluttering, her form like a painting.
"Good!"
Li Weiyi's body shimmered with light. He instantly covered a distance of several dozen feet, reaching above Ge Xiantong, and, using his finger as a sword, struck downwards with a several-zhang-long "Ocean-Splitting Sword Qi."
"I'll fight you two to the death..."
Ge Xiantong gritted his teeth and launched both palms, simultaneously blocking the "Taiyi Ocean-Splitting" Sword Qi. At the same time, two distinct powers erupted from his pupils, and countless mysterious scriptures emerged from deep within them.
"Bang!"
The palm force and sword qi dispersed simultaneously.
A talisman script for a "Body-Fixing Talisman" flew out from between Li Weiyi's eyebrows and struck Ge Xiantong.
Immediately, Ge Xiantong froze, his hands in a lifting posture.
The scriptures in his pupils faded away.
Li Weiyi quickly stepped forward, landing beside Ge Xiantong. He immediately sealed the energy pathways around Ge Xiantong's ancestral field and then took out a chain artifact to bind him into a human stick.
Zenhai Guanwu walked over and raised her right arm. Spirit light appeared at her fingertips, shining closely into Ge Xiantong's eyes as she carefully observed. "The moon pupil is Yin-aligned, covered with scriptures, and thick with death energy, like a bottomless abyss of corpses and ghosts. A transcendent Nirvana Heavenly Pill has merged into it."
Longevity Realm magnates cultivate "Golden Pills."Upon reaching the Nirvana Realm, these transform into "Heavenly Pills."
Ge Xiantong, immobilized, could not speak. His eyeballs rolled, filled with shock and bewilderment.
Only now did he realize that something so terrifying had merged into his pupils... a Nirvana Heavenly Pill. How was that possible?
How could he possibly bear the energy of a Nirvana Heavenly Pill?
Nirvana Heavenly Pill, death energy...
Li Weiyi's heart stirred. "Ge Xiantong was brought back to Empyrean City by the Great Palace Master twenty-two years ago. This timeframe largely overlaps with when the Great Palace Master brought back the Mother-Child Spring. This Nirvana Heavenly Pill might belong to the Sacred Infant."
"There's a possibility."
Zenhai Guanwu's fingertip glowed with spirit light, illuminating Ge Xiantong's other eye. "The sun pupil's origin seems even greater, possessing a certain immortal charm, used to balance the deathly Yin energy of the moon pupil."
Ge Xiantong stared intently at Zenhai Guanwu, his mind full of questions. Not only were his eyes wide with shock, but his heart was also churning, yet he couldn't speak, which was excruciatingly frustrating.
Li Weiyi sighed, "Every young Heavenly Child truly hides great secrets and possesses opportunities beyond ordinary imagination. His dual pupils have such powerful energy; his magic power should be immense. Why does he seem to struggle with using it?"
Zenhai Guanwu gently shook her head. "He's a good seed! If his pupils truly contain the Sacred Infant's Nirvana Heavenly Pill, then he must be the contingency plan left by Yuyao."
Li Weiyi glanced at Ge Xiantong, seeing his obvious distress. He then clapped his hand, shattering the Body-Fixing Talisman.
Ge Xiantong's gaze remained fixed on Zenhai Guanwu. "Who are you? Who exactly are you? You can't be Zuoqiu Hongting!"
Li Weiyi said, "You are our captive now. Answer our questions first. Is that truly the Sacred Infant's Heavenly Pill in your eye?"
"How would I know? There's a seal placed by my master in my pupils. I can only draw upon some of its power for cultivation and combat."
Ge Xiantong's heart was anything but calm, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise, disbelief, hope, excitement, and apprehension.
Zenhai Guanwu asked, "You also cultivate the 'Empty Nether Art,' don't you? Who has been teaching you martial arts all these years?"
Ge Xiantong sensed a unique aura from her and quickly replied, "After Master sealed the palace, whenever I had questions about martial arts, I would ask the Second Palace Master. How do you know we cultivate the 'Empty Nether Art'? This is a secret of Empyrean Palace; very few people know about it."
"Empty Nether! Empty Nether! Buddhist and Nether cultivation combined, sharing the lifespan of heaven and earth."
Zenhai Guanwu walked aside, took a sword from her sleeve, and gently caressed it.
Ge Xiantong recognized it as his master's supreme artifact, the Empty Nether Sword.
He stood stunned, his emotions surging. An uncontrollable outburst of feeling made his eyes moist, and countless words seemed stuck in his throat, yet he didn't know how to begin speaking.
Li Weiyi stepped in front of him and asked, "What exactly is the situation in the Western Territory right now?"
Ge Xiantong replied, "In the evening, battle reports reached Empyrean City: Zhu Province, where the Vermilion Gate is located, was breached, and all three provinces have fallen. What's infuriating is that after the war broke out, the Zuoqiu Clan and the Snow Sword Tang Clan only launched symbolic small-scale attacks. They stood by and watched, utterly failing to grasp the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold.'"
"Even more despicable, the Snow Sword Tang Clan took advantage of the chaos to seize Feng Province in the Northern Territory."
Li Weiyi did not believe that the Zuoqiu Clan, after learning of the demon race and Rice Sect's plans, would not communicate with the Vermilion Gate's transcendents.
The human race's transcendents must have their own plans.
Li Weiyi asked, "What are the casualties like among the Vermilion Gate's transcendents and Longevity Realm magnates?"
"It's said that after Zhu Province's capital city was breached, the Vermilion Gate's remaining forces and defeated generals were absorbed by the West Sea Slaves. They should now be at the first stronghold of the Western Territory, Shenming Pass. Specific battle reports haven't come back yet," Ge Xiantong said.
Li Weiyi looked at Zenhai Guanwu. "I expect the Vermilion Gate certainly knew they were no match for the demon race, so they deliberately collapsed, and most of their elites probably withdrew. This also gives them an opportunity to heal old wounds and purge the hidden ash spirits, undead, and cult spies within their clan."
Ge Xiantong shook his head vigorously. "That's impossible! No one would willingly abandon their ancestral lands and people; that's three entire provinces!"
Li Weiyi said, "What if the Vermilion Gate knew all along that the Zuoqiu Clan and the Snow Sword Tang Clan wouldn't come to their aid?"
Ge Xiantong immediately understood. "If those two clans wouldn't help, then the Imperial Court and the Thundercloud Sect certainly wouldn't act rashly either. In such a desperate situation, the Vermilion Gate had no choice. But... why? The Zuoqiu Clan and the Snow Sword Tang Clan shouldn't be so short-sighted..."
Li Weiyi said, "Because the demon race's true target, from beginning to end, has always been Empyrean City."
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