Luo Xiu couldn't hear Su Shenyun's cries. From this distance, he could only see her tear-streaked face.

At last, under Fei Xiao's cover, Luo Xiu charged to the foot of the mountain.

"A fine kill, brother!" Yue Yong praised. Without hesitation, he quickly opened a gap in the barrier.

Luo Xiu darted inside and sprinted toward the mountaintop at top speed. Fei Xiao remained behind to block the gap, helping Yue Yong and the others hold back the Demon Army.

BOOM!

A sudden, deafening explosion resounded. The entire mountain-protecting barrier shattered instantly! The giant hand descending from the sky had struck. Its five fingers merely curled slightly, and the protective barrier popped like a bubble.

As he raced forward, Luo Xiu felt an immense weight crash down on his body. An invisible pressure pinned him in place, his feet feeling as though they had grown into the earth, making it impossible to move. He looked up toward the mountaintop temple at Su Shenyun, who was also immobilized. His own blood-soaked face was a mask of such urgency that it looked almost ferocious.

At that same moment, Su Shenyun was looking down at Luo Xiu from the temple. Their eyes met across the vast distance. It was as if they were within arm's reach, close enough to embrace, yet also separated by an insurmountable chasm, forever unable to meet.

She shook her head, her face streaked with glistening tears, signaling for him to flee.

He gritted his teeth and struggled with all his might, but he couldn't break free from the invisible pressure. All he could do was roar at the sky in defiance.

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble! A few meters in front of Luo Xiu, a fissure split the ground, revealing a bottomless chasm. Amidst the violent tremors and under the indescribably terrifying pressure, Luo Xiu could only watch as the fissure widened, transforming into an abyss that separated him from Su Shenyun.

On the other side of the abyss, the entire landmass was slowly rising, as if it were about to detach from the world itself. As time passed, Su Shenyun's figure grew smaller and smaller in Luo Xiu's vision, becoming ever more blurry.

The entirety of Mount Green Hills—an area hundreds of miles in radius, demarcated by that abyss—was being ripped from the earth by an unimaginable power, flying straight toward the palm of the giant hand! The giant pink hand seized the entire Mount Green Hills region and slowly retracted high into the sky, drawing the mountain into the spatial rift as easily as plucking an item from a bag.

This soul-shaking scene silenced everyone. Only Luo Xiu continued to howl in despair. He watched, powerless, as Mount Green Hills was snatched into the Void, as the woman he loved vanished before his very eyes.

At that moment, inside the Gilded Imperial Carriage, Zhong Mudao's expression was grave as he muttered, "To reside beyond the stars yet disregard spatial distance, to tear the Void with one's bare hands and snatch a territory hundreds of miles wide from the Lower Realm... Is this... the power of a Great Emperor? No wonder she could single-handedly slaughter everyone on the Lingtian Plateau."

Tang Ao, his face pale, stammered, "Master, should we retreat? This is too terrifying!"

"No!" Zhong Mudao declared. "That was merely a wisp of her aura projected into the Lower Realm, not her true self descending. The purpose of that aura was simply to take Mount Green Hills, likely to protect her kinsmen or to save that Pureblood Nine-tailed Fox."

As he spoke, a glint of madness shone in Zhong Mudao's eyes. "Since she has taken the Pureblood Nine-tailed Fox, then... our only option now is to kill the reincarnation of the Azure Emperor and seize the Emperor's Blood! You have just witnessed the power of a Great Emperor... Soon, I, too, shall possess it!"

「...」

「...」

As the pink hand withdrew into the spatial rift, peace quickly returned to the world. The torn space healed itself, as if nothing had ever happened.

「At the foot of Mount Green Hills」

Luo Xiu knelt powerlessly on the ground. His shoulders shook gently, and his reddened eyes brimmed with tears of bitterness and rage. A few meters in front of him was now a cliff plunging hundreds of meters deep. Below it stretched a basin hundreds of miles wide. Just moments ago, this basin had not existed. Before him had been picturesque, rolling green hills.

Now, the scenic hills were gone, and his beloved had vanished along with them, leaving only a vast, dead emptiness and a lingering aura of terror.

"AAARGH—!"

A shrill scream suddenly snapped Luo Xiu back to his senses. He turned his head just in time to see the Fire Dragon's enormous body falling like a meteor. Its gushing blood rained down, drenching the earth in a torrential downpour. Clearly, Yao Ritian had defeated the Fire Dragon.

Seeing Zhu Hui fall, the remaining soldiers of the Demon Army lost their pillar of strength and scattered in all directions. The once-crowded battlefield quickly became desolate, leaving only corpses strewn across the ground.

Luo Xiu gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure the pain and exhaustion, and rose to walk toward the battlefield. The Demon Beast army had fled, but the members of the Heavenly Moon Cult were still there!

BOOM!

Yao Ritian suddenly descended from the sky, landing in front of Luo Xiu.

"Supreme King, my time is up."

"You've worked hard," Luo Xiu said. "Go back."

Yao Ritian looked at him with concern. "Supreme King, the Great King and I are about to enter the Ancient God Ruins. If you are also going... we will meet again there."

"Alright."

Yao Ritian dissolved into a wisp of white mist and vanished.

At the same time, Luo Xiu felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His head spun, and his body swayed before he collapsed powerlessly to the ground. Summoning Yao Ritian had already consumed a great deal of Luo Xiu's Divine Sense. Afterward, he had used the Elysian Nether Earth to resurrect seven powerful experts, depleting it even more severely.

Now that the Demon Army had retreated, Luo Xiu dispelled the Body of the Dark Land from Lu Songtao, Fei Xiao, and the Four Spirit Generals. He immediately recalled the souls of the Four Spirit Generals and Lu Songtao, leaving only Fei Xiao.

Fei Xiao walked up to him. "Are you really letting me go?"

"I gave you my word," Luo Xiu replied.

"Thanks."

The Body of the Dark Land swiftly crumbled, and Fei Xiao's soul became a wisp of light smoke that drifted away. Soon, his soul would dissipate between heaven and earth—a true death that was, for him, a complete release.

Powerless, Luo Xiu remained seated on the ground, staring at the mound of dirt before him. Inside was only the withered Flower Demon Clone. He let out a long breath and slowly leaned back, lying flat on the ground. He closed his eyes, too exhausted to move another muscle, wanting nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep.

Just then, a hair-thin strand of pink light emerged from the ground and quietly burrowed into his chest, but he was completely unaware.

「...」

A few moments later, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence. Dozens of disciples from the Heavenly Moon Cult rushed forward, completely surrounding Luo Xiu.

Zhong Mudao and his disciple Tang Ao flew out from the Gilded Imperial Carriage. They hovered in mid-air, looking down on Luo Xiu as he rested on the ground. After observing for a moment, Zhong Mudao confirmed that Luo Xiu was utterly exhausted. Furthermore, Luo Xiu's cultivation aura was only at the Void Refinement Realm.

He breathed a sigh of relief and commanded in a deep voice, "Execute him on the spot!"

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, a spatial portal materialized in the air beside Luo Xiu, instantly emanating a powerful aura! The disciples of the Heavenly Moon Cult who had been about to strike were stunned and froze in their tracks.

A figure emerged slowly from the portal. "Elder Zhong, it's been a while."

Zhong Mudao stared at the figure, his brow furrowing slightly. "An Shanhai, what is the meaning of this?"

An Shanhai gave a wry smile. He glanced at Luo Xiu, who was still lying on the ground, his eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and helplessness. He was the seventh person Luo Xiu had resurrected with the Elysian Nether Earth! Luo Xiu had kept him hidden in the Land of Lawlessness. And he was the trump card Luo Xiu had been saving to deal with the Heavenly Moon Cult!

Zhong Mudao said indifferently, "My Heavenly Moon Cult and your Swordfire Divine Sect have always kept to our own affairs. Young An, do you truly intend to stand in my way?"

An Shanhai's gaze hardened. "Draw your sword!"

"Heh." Zhong Mudao sneered with disdain. "Among the younger generation, you are indeed an exceptional talent. However, as you are now, you are not worthy of making me draw my sword!"

「...」

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