Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

Leading the group were two elderly figures, both dressed in black and white robes. Their hair and beards were completely white, and they each held a black and white cane respectively. Despite their extremely aged faces, their eyes were extraordinarily deep, and the faint waves they emitted were enough to make many of the Supreme Beings in the hall change their expressions.

These two elders were Saint-tier Supreme Beings, peak existences who carried the fate of the Maha tribe!

Maha Tian glanced at everyone, then turned to Maha You and said, "Second brother, has the Tai Ling Ancient Clan and the Futu Ancient Clan responded?"

With Maha Tian's question, everyone's gaze in the hall fell on Maha You. Regarding the matter of sending troops to Tian Luo Continent, the elders naturally had divergent opinions. However, with the support of the two Saint-tier elders and Maha Tian, the opposition had no voice.

Jiang Yun, after all, was the Demon Slayer King, renowned throughout the Great Thousand World with his record of slaying the Demon Emperor. To deal with him, Maha Tian naturally had to prepare thoroughly.

The Supreme Beings from various major forces were not his real confidence; his strongest allies were the Futu Ancient Clan and the Tai Ling Ancient Clan.

"Clan leader, the Futu Ancient Clan responded that their elder will come in person. As for the Tai Ling Ancient Clan, they did not give a clear reply," Maha You responded under everyone's gaze, stepping forward slowly.

"Hmph!" Maha Tian snorted coldly in dissatisfaction, "The Tai Ling Ancient Clan are indeed cowards. They are unworthy of being one of the Five Great Ancient Clans, being scared off by a mere lower plane individual."

"Since the Tai Ling Ancient Clan won't act, then I shall trouble the second elder to accompany me!"

He cursed under his breath and then respectfully turned to the two Saint-tier elders. Though he spoke dismissively of Jiang Yun, he couldn't ignore the latter's record of slaying the Demon Emperor. To avoid any mishap, Maha Tian had made thorough preparations, mobilizing two Saint-tier existences and the ancestral weapon Maha Yin-Yang Bottle, equivalent to three Saint-tier powers.

With the elder of the Futu Ancient Clan, this made four Saint-tier experts, enough to confront any force in the Great Thousand World. Jiang Yun was but a mere ascended lowly cultivator, and the Ancient Heavenly Palace had only a few Spirit-tier Supreme Beings—how could they resist such an army?

"Understood, Clan Leader." The second elder of the Maha Clan opened his murky eyes, glanced at Maha Tian, nodded, and saluted.

As fleets of warships flew out from the Maha Clan's territory, the clouds of war quickly enveloped the Tian Luo Continent.

In the Ancient Heavenly Palace of the Tian Luo Continent, Jiang Yun's second self was trying to sense the continent's innate power.

The continent's innate power, nurtured over long ages, was a mystical strength unique to supercontinents of certain scales. This power could enhance one's body, spiritual energy, and soul, remold one's roots, improve one's bloodline, lay a perfect foundation, and even increase one's chances of attuning to Heaven's will, aiding in the breakthrough to Supreme Being.

Besides plane embryos, continent innate power was another top-tier resource that could help one achieve Supreme Being status.

Jiang Yun had already given the plane embryo he possessed to Zi Yan. Meanwhile, among his confidantes, Medusa, Little Medical Fairy, and Qing Lin needed to make breakthroughs to the Supreme Being. To aid them, he relied on the continent's innate power.

Top-tier beings who underwent the continent's empowerment were called Children of the Continent, prospective peak powerhouses of the future. Thus, the quota for the continent's innate power and Children of the Continent was a crucial strategic resource for any super force to cultivate high-level combat power, strictly controlled.

The Tian Luo Continent, being one of the ten supercontinents in the Great Thousand World, possessed vast, pure, and ancient continent power.

Uniquely, after the collapse of the once-unified Ancient Heavenly Palace in ancient times, the Tian Luo Continent fell into fragmentation without a unified leader, and no Supreme Being had descended since, leaving the competition for the title of 'Child of the Continent' unheld for nearly fifty millennia.

The accumulated continent power over nearly fifty millennia didn't dissipate but instead compressed and solidified into crystals, buried deep beneath the continent.

The Tian Luo Continent's vast ocean of accumulated power was immense enough to draw countless eyes, being a power capable of creating multiple Supreme Beings.

As Jiang Yun attempted to mobilize the continent's power, Medusa walked in with a serious expression.

"What's the matter?" Jiang Yun asked, noticing her demeanor. Since the arrival of individuals like Medusa, the structure of the Ancient Heavenly Palace was complete. Mandalore was no longer overwhelmed, and now Medusa oversaw all affairs of the palace, perhaps even more authoritatively than Jiang Yun himself.

"Maha Tian has gathered numerous forces you once expelled from the Tian Luo Continent, totaling thirty-five Supreme Beings, headed here demanding an explanation from you," Medusa said, addressing Jiang Yun. Though the second self had the same aura and appearance as the original, to her, Jiang Yun was singular. Her attitude towards the second self was thus like towards any ordinary person.

"A bunch of defeated foes; they managed to regroup," Jiang Yun replied nonchalantly.

"Still, we need to prepare for the incoming enemy."

With this, he gathered a seal in his palm that shot out like a streak of light outside the palace.

In less than the time it took for tea to cool, a dozen spiritual lights appeared inside the hall, comprising the present top echelons of the Ancient Heavenly Palace. 

After bowing slightly to Jiang Yun and Medusa, they took their seats.

Before Jiang Yun could speak, Zhu Kun solemnly stated, "The Maha Clan is attacking, demanding we return the occupied territories in the Tian Luo Continent and publicly apologize for offending the Maha Clan. Otherwise, they will commence an invasion. You have to decide."

Jiang Yun nodded, then said again, "Heh, it's not so easy to return what we've taken. The previous incident was a result of Maha You's incompetence, and now they're blaming me."

"Since the re-establishment of the Heavenly Palace, we have unified the Tian Luo Continent, regaining some of its former glory. A great battle is precisely what we need, and Maha Tian has come at just the right time."

"Pass the order, prepare for battle. I will deal with the Saint-tier experts they bring, while you tell those invading forces that the Tian Luo Continent is no longer what it used to be. Now, we are the ones who call the shots here."

"Yes." All the Supreme Beings were fired up, shouting in unison before departing to organize and prepare the forces for war. 

Earth and Heaven Supreme Beings also readied themselves for the imminent clash.

The Maha Clan's sudden attack on the Tian Luo Continent spread quickly, and within half a day, the news had reached the entire Great Thousand World, prompting countless forces to send personnel for firsthand intelligence.

Among them were many dressed in black and white robes, their bodies emanating a unique energy interwoven with the secrets of Yin and Yang, hinting at a world-destroying might. These individuals were few, while myriad others in diverse attire gathered in groups of thousands, their combined aura shaking the heavens and splitting the earth.

"Hiss~~"

"The Maha Clan has mobilized two Saint-tier experts and six Supreme Beings, totaling nearly thirty Supreme Beings with forces from other clans!"

"That's the Maha Clan for you. Thirty Supreme Beings is imaginable, but the two Saint-tier experts are truly terrifying."

"This many Supreme Beings could easily destroy a continent. The Ancient Heavenly Palace is in danger!"

"Indeed, with these Saints in play, even the Demon Slayer King Jiang Yun might find it troublesome!"

Amid the chatter of numerous divine thoughts in the void—each with varied emotions of shock, gloating, and grudge—the central fleet's gigantic warship saw many powerful figures encircling Maha Tian and an elder as they walked to the ship's prow.

The auras of the two overpowered the heavens, clearly far surpassing that of Immortal-tier Supreme Beings, reaching another echelon entirely.

"Where is Jiang Yun? Come out to pay respect to the Clan Leader of the Maha Clan!" Maha You stepped forward amidst the crowd, his tone filled with undisguised provocation as he looked towards the Ancient Heavenly Palace.

"Heh, quite a display, Maha Clan. But this is the Tian Luo Continent, not your Maha Continent!" Accompanying the mocking voice, beams of light shot out from the Ancient Heavenly Palace. Leading them, shrouded in spiritual radiance and surpassing the others in speed, was Dragon Eagle Emperor, followed closely by Ziqi Master, Ghost Emperor, and others, whose combined auras rivaled the Maha factions'.

"Impudence!" Maha You stepped forward, unleashing an immortal energy attack instantly. Dragon Eagle Emperor reacted swiftly, sending forth countless golden feathers and intertwining sword energies, their figures turning into light streaks as they clashed in the void.

Maha You and Dragon Eagle Emperor's confrontation sparked the chaos, with each Supreme Being finding their opposite. The once limitless battlefield became constricted under such clashes, with the space above the Tian Luo Continent continually shattering.

"Rumble!"

"Formation, rise!" shouted Medusa from the forefront of the Xuanlong Army. Though she hadn't broken through to Supreme Being, she discovered her talent in war formations. With Jiang Yun's full support and the army's unity, she could fully leverage the army's might.

"Roar!" A lion's roar mixed with a tiger's howl echoed, and a mass of battle energy consolidated into a colossal nine-colored python, exuding a dreadful aura.

"Nine-colored… Nine-colored Swallowing Python!" the spectators exclaimed in horror at Medusa's reveal, twitching with shock at her monumental form.

"This is the Nine-colored Swallowing Python, a divine beast?" 

"Isn't she Jiang Yun's wife? I can't believe such a lower plane even has a Nine-colored Swallowing Python. The Swallowing Continent's forces must be going crazy."

Medusa's manifestation brought widespread disbelief. Even Maha Clan's camp was taken aback, hesitating upon realizing the implications of a divine beast family's involvement.

"Dragon!!" the onlookers gasped anew as Zhukong transformed into a colossal amethyst dragon, wielding spatial blades effortlessly and matching an Immortal-tier Supreme Being.

Further ahead, the sky was slit by the monstrous figure of a nine-headed heavenly serpent, with Qing Lin standing coldly at its head, her green serpent-triple-flower pupils operating at maximum.

"The True Dragon Clan..."

"That's another fearsome divine beast, the Nine-headed Heavenly Serpent."

"Did the Ancient Heavenly Palace become a nest for divine beasts?!"

And more shockwaves followed as the crowd tore their attention to a gigantic tree shadow that materialized.

"Gasp!" The masses echoed with inhalations.

A massive tree shadow loomed, each branch and leaf exuding a radiant light with the power to enlighten.

"Is that the divine tree? The ancient records spoke of its wisdom and illuminating brilliance."

"The Ancient Heavenly Palace seems to hold the favor of the divine lineage."