Immortal of the Ages

In that fleeting moment, a dazzling flash of lightning tore through the dense smoke, issuing a deafening roar as it struck the rear of the azure bird.

BOOM! A heaven-splitting explosion reverberated as lightning and storm collided, creating a wave of azure that swept across the void.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Amid the relentless blasts, the Nine Thunders Divine Ark disintegrated at a visible speed, pulverized between the flashes of lightning, showcasing the formidable defense of the Azure Bird Mystical Array.

Given the size of the Nine Thunders Divine Ark, it happened just as Yun Xiao had predicted, smashing a bright gap in the rear of the Western Kunlun Palace. The remnants of the ark, like severed limbs, crashed into the palace, instantly reducing the once splendid and elegant court to ashes amidst the flashes of destruction.

BOOM! The sound of explosions continued unabated.

“The Azure Bird Mystical Array has collapsed!" the Devil Eye noted with utmost clarity.

With those words, Yun Xiao waited no longer. He, along with Divine Dawn and the War Princess, transformed in an instant into three streaks of light—two white and one red—and surged into the Western Kunlun Palace.

Upon entering, the War Princess sniffed and remarked, "It’s deserted here, hardly a soul!"

"No one?" Yun Xiao's face clouded slightly.

"There's someone here!" Divine Dawn declared, then surged forward, her form engulfed in white lightning, towards a certain direction.

Not to be outdone on her first solo mission requested of Yun Xiao, the War Princess leaped forward, her long legs propelling her through the air, transforming into a welcoming trail of blood. Like a blood dragon, she even managed to overtake Divine Dawn's lightning tiger.

Speaking of which, it seemed both shared a relation to the Six Ancestral Gods—the Primordial Immortal Ancestor and Mortal Dust Devil!

In the eyes of the War Princess, a golden figure was trying to escape.

"It’s a man!"

With a low growl, she charged forward. Her delicate body, forged from Mortal Dust Devil Blood, had often been underused by Yun Xiao in battles. Now, having it to herself—a deviless with a balanced mix of physical prowess, magic, and celestial weapons—proved quite effective.

At the very least, in terms of raw strength, she was stronger than Divine Dawn.

Divine Dawn, despite mastering the Primordial Martial Arts, still bore a human's body. Her strengths lay more in celestial power and dao techniques, harnessing the Primordial Doom Stars mainly through celestial power.

Now, in terms of combat prowess, the Seventh Princess, occupying ninety percent, outshone Lian Xi, who could barely claim ten percent. As for Chen Xi, she was valued more for her brains than brawn...

"Not a man, that's a woman. It's the Combat Sovereign," Yun Xiao cautioned the War Princess from behind.

"No difference!"

In the War Princess’s hand materialized a blood-red war cleaver, the Sanguine Phantom! It was a gift from the Devil Eye, the strongest celestial treasure of Naraka, on par with the four great celestial treasures of the White Emperor.

BOOM! She suddenly reached behind the Combat Sovereign, her saber slashing wildly while her other hand summoned countless blood-red vines from the ground, entangling the Combat Sovereign's legs.

These vines were barbed, endless, and relentless.

On their way here, Yun Xiao had gleaned some secrets of the Celestial Devil Abyss from the Devil Eye, including this Sea of Blood Vines, which the War Princess now wielded with ease.

"Sea of Blood Vines!"

The Combat Sovereign recognized the technique, thinking it was the Devil Eye intervening, which sent a shock through her.

Turning around, she saw not the Devil Eye but a fiery, young female Yin Devil at work!

Yin Devils, highly coveted as elite consorts in the Celestial Court, were a favorite indulgence of the Combat Sovereign, who was herself a woman.

Now, being pursued by a female Yin Devil wielding the Sea of Blood Vines seemed utterly surreal to her.

But she had no time to react. The Sea of Blood Vines enveloped her, trapping her in a bloody inferno. In the next instant, the Sanguine Phantom descended with a tide of blood.

"Hmph, mere showy tricks..." The Combat Sovereign scorned the Yin Devil, typically born to be playthings, and countered with her celestial saber.

However, her expression drastically changed the next moment!

KLANG! The War Princess unleashed a heaven-defying power. The Sanguine Phantom instantly split the celestial saber in two, severing the Combat Sovereign's arm and, as the Sea of Blood Vines acted like venomous dragons, tore into her elegant body, riddling it with holes, making her resemble a honeycombed blood hive.

"AGHHH!" The Combat Sovereign was grievously injured, overwhelmed in a single move, her face pallid as she spat blood, immobilized.

The twisting Sea of Blood Vines now dictated her fate, entirely at the mercy of the War Princess.

"Damn that wretched female Yin Devil..." The Combat Sovereign couldn't finish her curse before the War Princess slashed her mouth wide open, cleaving it to her ear, her tongue hanging out limply.

At that moment, Yun Xiao and Divine Dawn appeared before the Combat Sovereign.

"There's one here." Divine Dawn pointed to the ground nearby.

There lay a man with a dull gaze, devoid of strength even as the power of the Azure Bird Mystical Array faded around him.

It was none other than the once-mighty Crown Prince.

Cao Shuo also realized that the Western Kunlun Palace was deserted. Upon entering and seeing the Crown Prince, she couldn't help but kick him, cursing, "You dog, you got what you deserved! You dared to declare me a major criminal of the Celestial Court, and now your entire clan are the criminals."

The struggle for succession seemed to be over for the imperial family, thanks in part to Cao Shuo's perseverance.

"Only the Crown Prince and the Combat Sovereign left," Yun Xiao frowned, asking the Devil Eye, "Can't you find Lu Fan's location?"

"He must have sensed my presence and erected a soul barrier. It's a bit hard to find him quickly," the Devil Eye admitted with regret.

"Then there's only one other way to find out." Yun Xiao walked up to the Combat Sovereign, staring coldly at the bloodied woman before him.

"Ha!" The Combat Sovereign scoffed disdainfully, her voice chilling. "Forget it. You could kill me a thousand, ten thousand times, and I still wouldn't tell you where he is."

"Just a middle-aged ugly brute. Why do you noblewomen of the Celestial Court love him so desperately?" Yun Xiao asked.

"A man's value is in their capability, what's appearance worth? You, a pretty boy, can't even last a moment in front of a real man like him," the Combat Sovereign sneered.

"Do you even have a brain? I defeated the White Emperor, yet he hides from me, and you still praise him?" Yun Xiao retorted incredulously.

"Lu Fan is supreme, and you're just a street rat..." The Combat Sovereign burst into defiant laughter.

SLASH! Yun Xiao beheaded her with a swift stroke of his sword, ending the tiresome spectacle.

He then used his sword to coax the Combat Sovereign's spirit out, and even in this state, her spirit looked at Yun Xiao with disdain, bragging, "Go on, destroy my spirit! To die for him is my eternal honor."

"She's bewitched." Yun Xiao manifested his own spirit, the Buddha's Treasure Spirit, which appeared before the Combat Sovereign's spirit. He pressed his palm to her forehead.

BUZZ! Inside the head of her spirit, a golden-black lotus flower melted under the influence of Yun Xiao's spirit.

"Uh..." The spirit of the Combat Sovereign suddenly staggered, clutching her throat as if pained, struggling to breathe.

"Understand now?" Yun Xiao asked.

"I understand, I understand..." The Combat Sovereign slowly knelt down, wailing piteously without tears.

"Where is he?" Yun Xiao pressed.

"Stellar Spring of Life. It holds the waters that connect to countless mortal stars, allowing him to rapidly devour the souls of many beings..." the Combat Sovereign said mournfully.

Suddenly, she fell to her knees before Yun Xiao, pleading urgently, "We were wrong! All of us. Please, you must stop him, I beg you! I no longer wish to commit these sins. It must end!"

"Maybe in your next life, you'll have a conscience."

With a press of his spirit, Yun Xiao liberated the Combat Sovereign's spirit.

"Stellar Spring of Life!"

With urgency in his voice, Yun Xiao turned to the Devil Eye.

"This old one knows the place," the Devil Eye hurriedly replied.

Regrettably, the Nine Thunders Divine Ark was destroyed, and the Western Kunlun Palace was unusable.

Fortunately, the Devil Eye mentioned that the Stellar Spring of Life wasn't far!

"What about him?" Cao Shuo pointed at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince opened his eyes, saw Yun Xiao, and tears of complexity streamed down his face as he trembled, "Spare my life, please. I wish to see Lu Fan meet his downfall."

"That's not an unreasonable request," Yun Xiao conceded.

He grabbed the pitiful figure of the Crown Prince, preparing to rush towards the Stellar Spring of Life.

At that moment, an unexpected event occurred!

BOOM! Nearby, the starlight started surging.

Yun Xiao turned to see a giant, colorful magic circle forming in the void amidst dazzling light.

BOOM! A figure radiant with divine light began to solidify within that colorful array.

As this scene unfolded, the Crown Prince shuddered, his eyes widening with manic joy, his voice hoarse as he instinctively shouted, "Ancestor, Ancestor... You've come quickly, haha..."

"Indeed, quite promptly," Yun Xiao murmured, taking a deep breath.

In the next moment, he decapitated the Crown Prince, then said to Divine Dawn, "No matter who arrives, tell him you are the Seventh Princess, the only survivor of the imperial family."