The heaven-shaking display from **Vast Sea Dust True Monarch**—**Refining Heaven and Earth** and **Extracting Essence**—had shaken the **Heart and Spirit** of every **Foundation Establishment Master** present, leaving them unable to regain their composure for a long while.

The might of a **True Monarch** was truly beyond their comprehension.

As the **Cyan Sect** **True Monarch** led away the **Zombie Alliance**’s **Shiyi Realm** being as if he were merely leading a sheep, the immense pressure blanketing **Heaven and Earth** slowly receded like a tide.

Everyone understood. The largest, most succulent prize in this gluttonous feast had been devoured by the **Cyan Sect**, thanks to its unfathomable power and the boldness to strike first.

What remained were the scraps left for others to divide.

But even scraps were a rare opportunity for the entire **Northwest Cultivation Realm**.

BOOM—!!!

Just then, the thousand-zhang **Magic Sword** that had pinned down the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin** fulfilled its final duty. It abruptly transformed into an azure rainbow that stretched across **Heaven and Earth**, vanishing into a crack in the sky with a single flash, dissipating along with its master’s will.

Freed from the **Magic Sword**’s suppression, the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin**—already grievously wounded, its core pierced by the blade—could no longer maintain its form.

It let out one last, unwilling cry.

Then, it violently collapsed and disintegrated!

Like a colossal pillar supporting the heavens had crumbled, the enormous coffin shattered with a deafening shriek, breaking apart into innumerable fragments of all sizes that pulsed with a dark, eerie light!

Like caged beasts set free, they erupted from the **Broken** coffin, transforming into streaks of black and gray light—some thick, some thin—and shot out frantically in all directions, trying to escape the site of their destruction!

"The **Mountain-Suppressing Artifact** has shattered!"

"Quick, after them! Those are all **Supreme Treasure**s!"

"The components of a **Mountain-Suppressing Artifact** are, at the very least, **Magical Artifact** prototypes at the **Foundation Establishment Realm**."

It’s unclear who cried out first, but the excited shout instantly ignited the eyes of every surviving **Foundation Establishment Master**!

When faced with the intact, sinister **Black Coffin**, they had been terrified and hadn’t dared to get close.

But now that the **True Monarch** had dismembered the **Black Coffin**, it was a heavenly windfall!

"SWOOSH!" "SWOOSH!" "SWOOSH!"

In an instant, streaks of multicolored **Escape Light** shot out from all directions like arrows loosed from a bow, fearlessly charging toward the disintegrating, scattering fragments of the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin**!

The scene instantly devolved into utter chaos!

In the scramble for the scattering fragments and wisps of essential light, the "comrades-in-arms" who had just fought side-by-side against the **Black Coffin** now turned on each other without mercy!

The roar of **Magical Power** mixed with enraged shouts and curses filled the air.

Everyone’s eyes turned red with greed. They pushed their **Body Skill**s to the limit, their **Divine Sense**s sweeping wildly, refusing to let even a single valuable streak of **Flowing Light** escape.

No one was willing to give up even the smallest fragments, as they might still bear the original runes of the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin**.

By studying them, one might obtain a powerful **Artifact Refining Method** or a **Secret Technique**.

Over the scorched earth, still reeling from the **True Monarch**’s power, a chaotic battle and frantic chase erupted, far more intense than anything that had come before.

But this time, the prize wasn’t some illusory opportunity, but the tangible, physical remains of the **Mountain-Suppressing Artifact**!

Feeling a familiar thrum of energy from all around, **Qi Yun** stretched lazily. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as his wide sleeves billowed!

"BOOM—!"

The still figure in the cyan robe suddenly swelled and dispersed!

In that instant, an endlessly churning storm of crimson-gold **Nanming Li Fire** erupted from him, sweeping outward!

Rolling clouds of fire blotted out the sky!

Nearly half the sky was dyed a blazing vermilion-gold!

Within the clouds of fire, countless fine streams of **Sword Aura** flickered in and out of existence, roaring with power!

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!!!!

The **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** became like a massive fortress, bristling with countless sword emplacements!

Countless streams of **Vermilion Sword Gang**, condensed to their absolute limit, shot out from the depths of the fire cloud with a deafening roar. Though they varied in thickness, they all possessed the same tyrannical, unrivaled power, like a billion fire dragons obeying a single command!

These **Vermilion Rainbow**s seemed to possess their own **spiritual nature**, weaving through the air on unpredictable trajectories. Their speed was so immense it tore at the void, each one carrying the absolute will to pierce through all things and incinerate the **Ten Thousand Laws**.

They precisely intercepted the wisps of origin light and core fragments of the **Black Coffin** as they tried to escape!

BOOM!

HISS—!

A beam of annihilating black light as thick as a bucket was struck head-on by several converging **Vermilion Rainbow**s.

From within the **Hundred Li Fire Cloud**, a great banner suddenly emerged. It was **Profound Black** with flowing golden patterns, and it fluttered menacingly in the wind—it was none other than the **Human Emperor Banner**!

This great banner swelled to a hundred zhang in size. The phantasmal images of mountains and rivers on its surface seemed to come alive. It snatched the spoils with unerring precision, pulling them instantly into its inner space to be suppressed!

**Qi Yun**, one man and one banner, had transformed into a **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** **Sword Domain**!

He used the endless **Nanming Li Fire Sword Gang** as his net and the **Human Emperor Banner** as his hand to gather the spoils!

On this utterly chaotic battlefield, he had forcibly cordoned off a massive section of the sky for himself.

He greedily devoured the scattering treasures!

Such a domineering display naturally drew the shocked and angered gazes of the other **Foundation Establishment Masters**.

"Fellow Daoist, be careful you don’t bite off more than you can chew!"

A nearby **Loose Cultivator Master** snorted. He was surrounded by nine **Ice Chi** formed entirely of **Profound Ice**. Each one was a hundred zhang long, with menacing scales, and radiated a chill so intense it seemed to freeze space itself.

The nine **Ice Chi** roared in unison, bringing with them a blizzard of ice crystals as they tried to force their way into **Qi Yun**’s **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** and snatch a core fragment of the coffin that had been cornered by the **Sword Gang**.

"Hmph!"

A cold, indifferent snort came from **Qi Yun** within the fire cloud.

The next moment, the **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** churned violently. At its center, a terrifying beam of **Sword Gang** condensed—ten times thicker than any before, resembling a divine pillar of vermilion-gold.

It swept out, simple and brutal, toward the area where the nine **Ice Chi** were.

CRACK—BOOM!!!

Wherever the **Sword Gang** passed, the **Cosmic Jade Space** rapidly twisted and shattered.

The extreme cold—enough to freeze entire rivers and lakes—instantly met its nemesis upon contact with the **Nanming Li Fire Sword Gang**. It rapidly melted and vaporized!

The nine hundred-zhang **Ice Chi** didn’t even last a single second.

With cries of despair, they were sliced in half, shattered into a cloud of ice dust, and then instantly vaporized by the intense heat!

The **Loose Cultivator Master** reeled as if from a heavy blow, spraying a mouthful of blood as he was thrown back several hundred zhang.

His eyes, fixed on the **Hundred Li Fire Cloud**, were filled with horror and terror. He didn’t dare take another step forward.

The other **Master**s who witnessed this couldn’t help but chuckle.

’You dare pick a fight with a **Holy Sect Master**?’

’A **Loose Cultivator Master** with no **Sect** backing is no match for a **Master** from one of the four great powers.’

’That **Loose Cultivator** could only have forged a **Lower Grade Dao Foundation** at best!’

’But that young Daoist... he’s from the **Holy Sect**. He almost certainly has an **Upper Grade Dao Foundation**.’

’A dog fighting a tiger for scraps... ridiculous.’

At this moment, the entire sky had become a battlefield where the **Foundation Establishment Masters** displayed their various **Divine Techniques**.

A **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** burned the heavens, endless **Sword Gang** tore through the air, and a **Profound Black Banner** swept across the sky. There was a surging **Nether River**, a disorienting **Red Dust Illusion Barrier**, a **Divine Bird** soaring... All sorts of grand, magnificent phenomena clashed and intertwined. The aftershocks of **Magical Power** once again ravaged the already **Broken** land below!

Every **Foundation Establishment Master** unleashed the full, immense power of their **Dao Foundation** and **Divine Power Techniques** without reservation.

With a mere wave of their hand, they could affect areas of dozens or even hundreds of li, alter the weather, and make the very **Law**s of the world hum with power!

As he refined more and more origin fragments from the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin**, **Qi Yun**’s **Magic Technique Panel** reappeared before his eyes, shimmering with light.

[Magic Technique auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. The following Magic effects have been adjusted:]

[**Human Emperor Banner** 2.0: Number of **True Spirit**s within the banner increased.]

**Qi Yun**’s eyes flickered. He immediately sent a wisp of his **Divine Sense** into the **Human Emperor Banner**’s inner space.

He saw that the number of **True Spirit**s, once orderly and fixed at eight hundred, had begun to increase at a visible rate!

New figures, each with the same clear intelligence and solid aura, were condensing and taking form within the banner!

In the blink of an eye, the number of **True Spirit**s in the banner had doubled, surging from eight hundred to sixteen hundred!

They were a vast and mighty host, and their collective power had risen accordingly.

’Doubling the number of **True Spirit**s will be a huge boost to the power and coverage of **Grand Array**s like **Taiyin Refining Form** and **Black Coffin Burial Destruction**. It will also help with comprehending that abstruse **Blood Spirit Scripture**, and even increase my efficiency in mass-producing **Talisman**s... Excellent, truly excellent!’

**Qi Yun** nodded in satisfaction. He felt a sense of contentment as he sensed the **Human Emperor Banner**’s newfound strength.

The rolling, **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** roared with even greater intensity as it shot off in pursuit of several distant **Black Coffin** core fragments that pulsed with especially potent auras.

’If I can scavenge enough of the **Black Coffin**’s origin essence to let the **Human Emperor Banner** update a few more times, then this trip to the **Zombie Alliance**’s territory won’t have been for nothing,’ **Qi Yun** mused.

...

「Not long after Qi Yun’s departure」

In an inconspicuous, scorched-black corner, half-buried under collapsed rock, the dust and ash on the ground began to stir.

Then, countless fine, ochre-colored grains of sand began to seep from the surrounding cracks, slowly converging at a central point.

As more sand gathered, it gradually formed a humanoid silhouette that grew increasingly solid.

Finally, the sand receded, revealing a figure whose aura was drained to an extreme degree. His form was illusory and unstable.

It was none other than **He Sha**, who had been dragged into the **Chaotic Heaven Black Coffin** by its chains!

But now, he was in a truly wretched state.

His once-portly figure was now shriveled, as if a vast amount of his **Essence Qi** had been extracted. Half of his face had transformed into that of a rotting corpse!

His skin was a deathly blackish-blue, the flesh beneath it atrophied and festering. His white cheekbone was visible, and one of his eyes was completely dull and lifeless, leaving only an empty socket that radiated a thick aura of death and resentment.

**Vast Sea Dust True Monarch**’s sword strike, which had pierced the **Black Coffin**’s body, had not only grievously wounded the **Mountain-Suppressing Artifact** but had also inadvertently freed **He Sha**, who had been on the verge of being consumed by its **Refinement**.

**He Sha** struggled to lift his head. He stared venomously in the direction **Qi Yun**’s **Hundred Li Fire Cloud** had vanished, his voice raspy like a broken gong as he spoke with utter hatred:

"You little bastard... Just you wait!

**I** will return to the **Holy Sect** at once and report this to **Senior Brother Black Mountain**!

I’ll see you charged with the heinous crime of harming and ambushing a fellow disciple!"

However, before the words had fully left his mouth—

WHOOSH—!

A dark red mist—formed from countless fine motes of **Red Dust Evil Mist** and hazy, illusory light—surged up behind him without warning. With a sudden swirl, it completely enveloped and imprisoned his weakened body!

"Who?!"

**He Sha**’s face went pale with shock. His one remaining eye blazed with a mixture of fury and alarm as he violently twisted his half-rotten neck to look behind him.

Within the dark red mist, a tall, slender figure slowly materialized.

The person’s face seemed to be veiled by a layer of rippling water, constantly distorting and changing.

One moment it was a charming woman, the next a stooped old man, then an innocent child.

**Thousand Transformations**! It was utterly bizarre!

But as **He Sha**’s gaze locked onto the ever-changing face, he instantly recognized the unique aura and **Dao Rhyme**. He snarled:

"**Qian Xin**?! It’s you!"

Hearing **He Sha**’s blustering question, the figure’s constantly shifting features finally slowed and settled into a fixed form.

He had handsome features and his eyes held their usual shrewdness, but now they contained a chilling killing intent that was not normally there.

It was none other than **Qian Xin Master**!

Watching **He Sha** struggle within the **Red Dust Evil Mist**, his face a mask of horror, the **Holy Sect Master**’s lips slowly curled into a smile. It was completely unlike his usual expression, carrying a bone-chilling coldness as he spoke softly:

"It’s nothing."

"I just want to see..."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze like two daggers of ice, piercing into **He Sha**’s very **Heart and Spirit**.

"If I really slaughter a vicious dog like you...

what exactly can he, **Black Mountain**, do to me!"

...