Silence fell over the surroundings. Liu Wuxie's reply had left everyone from the Grand Unity Sect completely speechless.

The Grand Unity Sect had declared war first, and by now, it was far too late for them to stop it.

An elder of the Grand Unity Sect stepped forward and declared in a righteous tone, "Liu Wuxie, how many humans have you devoured over the years? You're a complete demon! Our Grand Unity Sect upholds heavenly dao to purge heretics like you, but it's a pity that we fell one step short."

"You uphold heavenly dao? Then tell me, what is heavenly dao?" Liu Wuxie asked with a mocking laugh.

His voice boomed across Indigo Bamboo Star and drew even more spectators over until they had gathered within a radius of thirty thousand miles around the Grand Unity Sect. His question stumped everyone from the Grand Unity Sect.

Even Liu Wuxie himself knew only fragments of heavenly dao, let alone mortals like them. No one spoke. Even the cultivators in the surroundings began discussing it quietly among themselves.

"Then let me tell you what heavenly dao is," Liu Wuxie continued after seeing that no one could answer.

Everyone held their breath, unwilling to miss even a single word. Though Liu Wuxie appeared young, his talent and insight had already surpassed even quasi-immortals.

"A kind father and a filial son, an affectionate elder brother and a respectful younger brother—that is heavenly dao."

"When vitality arises with spring, allowing all grasses and plants to grow; when autumn arrives, and all things ripen and come to fruition—that is heavenly dao."

"When the night recedes, and dawn arrives—that is heavenly dao."

"The alternation of yin and yang, the cycle of karma—that is heavenly dao."

"......" Liu Wuxie spoke with passion for fifteen full minutes before finally stopping. In essence, everything in the world had its own dao and circulation. The world had its own rules, heaven and earth had their own course, and all beings existed within that natural order. That was heavenly dao.

Whether a human, a beast, a ghost, an immortal, or a buddha, all lived within that order. That meant that as long as they could not transcend it, they would remain bound by heavenly dao. Only those who surpassed heavenly dao could rule over it or create it anew.

Many listened, but not all of them could fully grasp the meaning. Only those who were quick-witted and perceptive benefited from his words, and both their cultivation and mental state began rising rapidly.

Though not everyone could comprehend the deeper truths, they understood the broader meaning, like the alternation of yin and yang, and the cycle of karma. The Grand Unity Sect had sown the cause, so naturally it now had to bear the fruit, whether bitter or sweet. That was the cycle of heavenly dao.

Since the Grand Unity Sect had tried to kill Liu Wuxie and planted an evil cause, it naturally had to bear the consequences of its actions.

Everyone from the Grand Unity Sect turned grim. They knew they had already lost, whether in righteousness or in morality.

"Do you still have anything to say?" Liu Wuxie asked, murderous intent radiating from his eyes. The two teams had already spread out on either side, which meant battle was inevitable.

"If you want a fight, then fight!"

Nothing more remained to say at this point, and no one yet knew who would survive to the end.

Although Liu Wuxie was protected by an immortal artifact, the Grand Unity Sect had countless experts and didn't fear him. They stood ready to kill Liu Wuxie even if the death toll rose higher.

"Do you think you can stop me with this spiritual array? What a joke!" Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade and swung it through the sky.

With a deafening rumble, Liu Wuxie tore apart the spiritual array like it were paper, despite it being strong enough to keep even ordinary immortals out. The formation shattered into pieces. During the fifteen minutes he had preached, he had identified every flaw in it. In the end, he had needed only those fifteen minutes to find them all.

"Kill!" The two teams had already lost their patience and wanted to compete with one another to see who could slaughter more people.

That, however, had been Liu Wuxie's intention from the very beginning. Competition drove growth, and no one wanted to fall behind.

After defending True Martial Star and receiving the planet's blessing during its ascension, many of them had broken through to the Quasi-Immortal Realm, and their number now exceeded one-third of the two teams.

The power of such armies was unimaginable, and the moment they moved, they struck like thunder.

Liu Wuxie remained high in the sky and simply watched. The two teams were more than enough to wipe out the Grand Unity Sect. Ruins would be all they left behind in their wake, while the ordinary disciples had already fled deeper into the sect.

"Intercept them!" The Grand Unity Sect had also formed several teams of its own, mimicking Liu Wuxie's methods.

When the quasi-immortals coordinated with the Heaven Gaze Realm elders, they had a powerful impact, finally making Liu Wuxie's teams feel some pressure. With that, the battle officially began.

Liu Wuxie ignored the fighting below, unbothered about the casualties, as Nightmare City was protecting them. He swept his gaze across the battlefield before finally fixing it on Venerable Grand Unity.

The two of them had met only once at Vermilion Star's auction, and neither was unfamiliar with the other.

Liu Wuxie shot toward Venerable Grand Unity in a blur. If he could kill the sect master, the Grand Unity Sect would collapse on its own.

"Stop Liu Wuxie!" a quasi-immortal elder roared as a group of experts charged at him, trying to prevent him from approaching the sect master. They had to ensure the sect master's safety at all costs.

"Great Five Elemental Immortal Art!" Liu Wuxie struck with one palm and killed two charging quasi-immortals instantly, turning them into blood mist. A black hole then appeared in the sky, devouring their laws and energies and funneling everything into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

With his current strength, he slaughtered quasi-immortals like livestock. Then he accelerated again, killing anyone who dared to stand in his path.

Meanwhile, Venerable Grand Unity formed seals with both hands, and space rippled before a strange mirror appeared.

That gave Liu Wuxie a sense of foreboding. The mirror looked unusual, though he could not pinpoint exactly why. Moreover, he had already understood the Grand Unity Sect's current foundation, as all of its experts had now gathered there.

The Great Divine Sun Bell had been damaged in the last battle and could no longer fight. That meant the only real threat left was the immortals, yet the Skyfall Realm had not opened. Thus, immortals should not have been able to descend directly. That was why Liu Wuxie had dared to attack the Grand Unity Sect so boldly.

As he closed in, Liu Wuxie summoned the Heavenbound Immortal Finger and crushed it down toward Venerable Grand Unity.

But then, without warning, the mirror before Venerable Grand Unity released dazzling light and fired a golden beam straight into the sky.

"He's communicating with the celestial realm!" Liu Wuxie's expression changed instantly. He had not expected the Grand Unity Sect to possess a method that could communicate directly with the celestial realm.

On the battlefield below, the two teams had already gained the upper hand, and tens of thousands had died on the Grand Unity Sect's side. The sect’s upper ranks had been all but wiped out.

Cultivators at the Void Realm, Earth Immortal Realm, Heaven Gaze Realm, and Quasi-Immortal Realm were all falling in waves.

The spectators gathered around them stood at the very summit of the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, yet even they could not help feeling dread as they watched so many experts perish.

"Everyone, return to Nightmare City!" Liu Wuxie roared, ordering the two teams back at once.

The two teams had still been happily slaughtering their enemies, but they did not dare to disobey Liu Wuxie's order and immediately returned to Nightmare City.

Everyone watching was instantly baffled and began wondering whether Liu Wuxie had suddenly shown mercy. After all, he would have needed only another fifteen minutes at most to destroy the entire Grand Unity Sect. Why had he stopped now?

But they all knew Liu Wuxie couldn't become merciful all of a sudden, not with his temperament.

"Nightmare City, protect me!" Liu Wuxie roared after the two teams returned. Torrential golden radiance erupted from Nightmare City and wrapped around him.

The warning from the Heavenly Dao Book grew frantic, and the cracks across it began spreading even more wildly. Something like this had never happened before.

The golden beam shot into the sky by the mirror suddenly vanished, and then a phantom stepped out from within the mirror. The moment that figure emerged, heaven and earth began trembling, along with Indigo Bamboo Star itself.

The instant the spectators saw that figure, their eyes widened in terror. They could sense boundless immortal energy gushing from that phantom and sweeping across a distance of thirty thousand miles.

"It's an immortal!" Many spoke in trembling voices, afraid that even a slightly louder tone might enrage the immortal.

The phantom swept his gaze across the surroundings before finally fixing it on Liu Wuxie, murderous intent radiating from his eyes.

"So, you're Liu Wuxie?" the phantom asked, and the surrounding space collapsed beneath the force of his voice.

Liu Wuxie studied the phantom and confirmed that the other party had indeed come from the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm, based on the laws radiating from him. The phantom also possessed monstrous cultivation at the fourth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm.

This phantom was only an avatar projection, which meant its owner's cultivation was far higher, well beyond the Heavenly Immortal Realm. After all, if the projected figure were too strong, the passage between the celestial and mortal realms would become unstable and be torn apart by heaven and earth. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Heaven and earth had their own order, and even immortals did not dare to violate it casually. This was just like when Liu Wuxie had once returned to the True Martial Continent. If his cultivation had been too high at that time, it would have destabilized the passage and torn everything apart.

"Greetings, Ancestor! This person is Liu Wuxie," Venerable Grand Unity reported as he bowed.

"A bunch of trash. You can't even kill a mere Heaven Gaze Realm cultivator, and you had to summon me? Do you even know the cost of traveling between the two realms?!" the phantom said, his tone dripping with displeasure.

Venerable Grand Unity dared not speak and could only endure the reprimand in silence.

Buzzing sounds spread, and countless spectators stared in stunned disbelief, unable to believe that an immortal from the celestial realm had actually descended into the mortal realm. Even an avatar projection of an immortal was enough to shake them.

The strange mirror before Venerable Grand Unity turned out to be a treasure capable of communicating with the celestial realm and allowing experts there to project an avatar into the mortal world.

"Ancestor, you're right, but this brat is too cunning. Not only did he damage the Great Divine Sun Bell, but he even destroyed the sect. I beg you to eliminate him!" Venerable Grand Unity said through clenched teeth.

Liu Wuxie had already raised his guard in silence. He knew he had no chance of fighting someone at the fourth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm directly. Only Nightmare City could contend with the avatar projection.

He felt fortunate that this was only an avatar projection. If its owner had descended, then even ten of him together would not have been enough to put up a fight.

"Brat, do you want to end your life yourself, or do you want me to send you on your way?" the avatar asked, radiating immense power. The fourth-level Heavenly Immortal aura alone had already suppressed the surrounding laws.

Without the support of those laws, Liu Wuxie's combat strength would drop significantly.

"So what if you're at the fourth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm? You're only a projection, and you have a time limit. I don't believe you can keep attacking forever," Liu Wuxie said with a cold smirk.

"You're right. I do have a time limit, but it's still more than enough for me to kill you," the phantom replied before attacking Liu Wuxie with a simple palm strike.