After suppressing the intrusion from the Forbidden Timeline, Hundun shifted its focus entirely to the ceremony.

This anomaly had gone too far.

It would not risk a second breach.

Without warning, Hundun altered the formation.

Across the realm, the trillions of spatial nodes trembled violently.

Their flickering paths toward infinite timelines destabilized.

Then, in a blinding surge of brilliance, they collapsed inward.

Not randomly.

Deliberately.

Countless branching possibilities folded into a single, condensed structure.

A singular axis.

A narrowed path.

The structure solidified.

And then struck Yu Xuan directly.

The impact was not physical.

It was conceptual.

For a brief moment, the unbearable mental pressure vanished.

Silence filled Yu Xuan’s mind.

Then.

Something abstract collided with his consciousness.

And the pain returned, sharper and more focused than before.

Not the pain of infinity pressing inward.

But the pain of compression.

"...!"

Yu Xuan tried to scream.

But no sound came out.

He had no energy left.

He felt himself being compressed.

His memories.

All collapsing into something denser.

Then he blanked out.

Outside, the grand structure stabilized.

The Future Blessing Ceremony, which originally sought to observe and compare all possible futures across timelines.

Had been forcibly restricted.

It no longer scanned infinity.

It no longer bridged outward.

It now focused on only one trajectory.

This Yu Xuan’s future.

If he possessed no bright path ahead.

The ceremony would locate the endpoint of his life.

His death.

His ceiling.

If he ascended to immortality.

The ceremony would halt at the moment just before that ascension or at a random point before it.

It searched.

Rapidly.

Precisely.

Then.

It found an anchor.

Not at death.

Not even at ascension.

But at a threshold.

Just before Immortality.

The ceremony locked onto that point.

Yu Xuan was shoved into a mysterious light.

And began experiencing something with terrifying clarity.

Not a possibility.

Not a fragment.

But a future.

That felt vividly real.

***

A Lower Realm was collapsing.

CRACKLE! THUD! BOOM!

Stars dimmed and shattered like brittle glass.

Spiritual energy between Heaven and Earth thinned rapidly, as if siphoned by an unseen mouth.

An unknown darkness had spread across the entire realm.

It was not shadow.

It was not night.

It was a living, breathing darkness.

It moved with hunger.

It did not distinguish between living and non-living.

Planet or asteroid.

Everything it touched.

Was consumed.

And across the Lower Realm, wars erupted.

Not between factions.

Not between rival clans.

But against one single enemy.

Banners fluttered in ruined skies.

At the forefront stood the Yu Clan.

Behind them marched the Ming Clan, Huan Clan, Xing Clan, Wuxing Clan, Lei Clan, and Chun Clan.

Seven pillars.

Hundreds of Half-Immortal ancestors were deployed across key regions, to conquer this place.

And yet.

The Nine Pinnacle Heavenly Worlds within this realm remained untouched and existed as anomalies themselves.

Because a Lower Realm was not supposed to have that many Pinnacle Heavenly Worlds.

It was an eye within the storm.

At the very center of the collapsing realm.

Another confrontation unfolded.

It was not battle.

Not yet.

It was dialogue.

Suspended in the Void was a colossal continent forged entirely from rare treasures and void-resistant materials.

Mountains were carved from divine metals.

Rivers shimmered with condensed spiritual essence.

Entire forests consisted of herbs extinct elsewhere.

At its center stood a palace.

A structure so extravagant that it appeared as though its owner had robbed multiple universal-level powerhouses and used their legacies as decorations.

Inside.

Upon the Emperor’s Throne.

A man slept.

Outside, a voice rang out.

The first two words were intentionally thunderous.

"MY EMPEROR! We have reached the outskirts of the Nine Heavenly Worlds!"

The man’s eyebrow twitched.

He stirred.

"...Damn it. These bastards won’t even let me finish dreaming about my Demon Queen."

He rose lazily from the throne.

Long black hair streaked with white fell over his shoulders.

He wore loose custom-made pajama, utterly inappropriate for Cultivation World.

With a casual wave of his hand.

Imperial robes enveloped him instantly.

Majestic.

Domineering.

Ridiculously dramatic.

He adjusted the sleeves slightly, as if preparing for a role.

Then he spoke.

And his voice did not travel through air. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

It resonated through the entire realm.

"People of the Veiled Azure Realm. I, Yu Xuan, have come to settle an old grudge with your current Emperor."

His tone was calm.

"If he continues to refuse handing this realm over to me, then the only remaining Nine Heavenly Worlds will be destroyed. And the Path to Ascension will be severed."

Silence fell across all the battlefield.

Across the darkened skies.

The living darkness paused.

Listening to Yu Xuan’s command.

"But if your Emperor surrenders and dies by my hand..." he continued lazily.

"I may consider sparing this realm."

The words had barely finished echoing when.

Three overwhelming auras erupted beyond the boundary of the Nine Heavenly Worlds.

Space groaned under their arrival.

Even the Half-Immortal Ancestors present felt their scalps go numb.

Yu Xuan raised a brow.

"Well, well... what a surprise."

He stepped forward.

And vanished.

In the next instant, he appeared outside the Nine Heavenly Worlds, facing the three descending powers directly.

The first was a colossal phoenix, its wings stretching across layers of space.

Each feather burned with primordial flame capable of incinerating spatial fabric itself.

Its aura was sovereign, ancient and proud.

The second, was an Ancient Demon.

Or rather, the reincarnation of one.

Its body radiated heavy demonic energy as demonic patterns flowing across its skin.

Its presence was oppressive.

The third was an anomaly rejected by the Laws of Heaven themselves.

Yu Xuan folded his arms casually.

"Phoenix, I didn’t expect you to ally yourself with that thing."

His eyes slid toward the anomalous entity.

"Are you truly a phoenix anymore?"

"SHUT UP!" the phoenix roared, flames erupting violently.

The Ancient Demon’s expression darkened.

Even he felt an urge to curse the man in front of him.

But this bastard was just too shameless!

Yu Xuan laughed.

"Old Demon, it seems you learned nothing from your previous defeat."

Veins bulged along the demon’s temples.

His aura flared, devouring nearby starlight.

"Today, I will definitely kill you!" the Ancient Demon growled, voice shaking the void.

Yu Xuan smiled faintly.

Across worlds, the living darkness churned.

And the Lower Realm trembled.