Even at the moment of her death, the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady was still deeply in love with Emperor’s Throne, still thinking only of him. In fact, everything she had ever done was for Emperor’s Throne!
The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s dedication moved even Lan Yunzhu. Although she disapproved of the Phoenix Lady’s actions, her courage was still worthy of admiration.
"Impressive. A remarkable woman, indeed. It’s a shame you chose to be my enemy." Li Qiye gently shook his head and spoke slowly, "End it yourself. I will grant you a death with dignity." As he spoke, he released the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady.
After steadying herself, the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady couldn’t help but gaze toward the Earth Realm, her heart filled with reluctance. Finally, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. With a soft POP, her whole body shuddered violently. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she slowly crumpled to the ground.
And so, a Heavenly Pride Girl of her generation was ultimately forced to take her own life. She was truly a remarkable woman, but alas, one wrong step led to losing everything. Even with all her schemes, she could not stop Li Qiye’s invincible advance.
Watching the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady take her own life, even the experts of the Ghost Race couldn’t help but sigh softly. Though it was said she had brought this upon herself—had she not relentlessly pursued Li Qiye, she would not have met such an end.
However, one had to admit that the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady was an incredible woman. Even at the very end, she remained fearless in the face of death. Perhaps, in taking this path, she had already prepared herself to die.
In truth, the moment she tried to suppress Li Qiye in the name of the Ghost Race’s righteous cause, this outcome was sealed. She had vowed to eradicate Li Qiye for the good of the Ghost Race. If she had fled, all her efforts would have been in vain, damaging not only her own reputation but also that of Emperor’s Throne and the Ten Thousand Bones Throne.
Thus, after this disastrous defeat, death was her only choice. The Shen Ran Phoenix Lady was mentally prepared for this; she had no intention of escaping. In this deadly gambit, it was either Li Qiye’s death or her own.
With her death, the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady upheld the righteous cause. At least, to outsiders, it would seem she had died for the Ghost Race!
"No—!" After the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady took her own life, a peerless man within the Celestial Tomb in the Earth Realm suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. In that instant, he knew what had happened and let out a furious roar. As his grief turned to rage, the sky darkened as if a violent storm was brewing.
"What a waste..." Li Qiye murmured, shaking his head as he looked at the Shen Ran Phoenix Lady’s corpse. He then looked up at the Five-cornered Copper City and immediately walked toward the Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM! The entire Five-cornered Copper City was shaking violently, as if it were about to be torn apart. Amidst the continuous bombardment, the sound of cracking could be heard.
There was no doubt that the seal of the Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects could not hold for much longer under the assault of the Ju Que Holy Land’s Elder Ancestor and his Emperor Artifact. It was only a matter of time before he broke through.
For this very reason, Li Qiye immediately walked over, intending to use this opportunity to trap and kill the many experts and Elder Ancestors from the Ju Que Holy Land. Li Qiye absolutely had the means to slay them, even though the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land was a powerful Great Sage!
’What kind of treasure is this?’ Even though the Five-cornered Copper City was about to shatter, many of the spectators were still shaken. Even the hearts of the Great Sect Ancestors sank.
After all, the Ju Que Holy Land had sent many experts this time, including Saint Emperors and Saint Venerables. More frighteningly, their own Elder Ancestor was trapped inside, and he was wielding an Emperor Artifact.
An Elder Ancestor wielding an Emperor Artifact—what terrifying destructive power, what frightening offensive might was that? Yet, in this short period, the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land had still failed to break through the Five-cornered Copper City.
An Emperor Artifact was supposed to be an Invincible Weapon, yet it couldn’t break the Five-cornered Copper City in such a short time. One could only imagine how terrifying this city was.
Just as Li Qiye was about to suppress the Ju Que Holy Land experts inside the Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects, a sudden BUZZ of Immortal Sound rang out, and endless Immortal Light shot toward the heavens.
At that moment, strands of Immortal Light suddenly erupted from the center of the water pool. Like Divine Swords, they shot straight into the Celestial Vault, where they intertwined to form a vortex.
"What’s happening?" The sudden change startled everyone present, and they immediately looked toward the depths of the water pool.
Li Qiye glanced back, his gaze sharpening at the sight of the Immortal Light soaring into the sky. As the light formed a vortex in the sky, a whirlpool also appeared in the center of the pool with a ROARING splash.
The moment Li Qiye saw the whirlpool, he abandoned his plan to suppress the Ju Que Holy Land experts. He turned, rushed over, grabbed Lan Yunzhu’s hand, and said, "Let’s go." With that, he dashed to the edge of the pool.
With a heaven-shattering BOOM, the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land finally broke out of the Five-cornered Copper City. A huge hole had been smashed through the massive fortress.
An Elder Ancestor wielding an Emperor Artifact—what a terrifying aura! Emperor’s Power raged like a furious Divine Spirit. It was no wonder he was so enraged; as an Elder Ancestor of an Emperor Immortal Gate, being trapped by a junior while holding an Emperor Artifact was an absolute humiliation.
With a BUZZ, seeing that it could no longer contain the people from the Ju Que Holy Land, the Five-cornered Copper City vanished. The Five Heaven-Sealing Daoist Sects flew back into Li Qiye’s Life Palace.
"Little beast, I will never forgive you!" Having broken free, the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land roared in fury, his voice powerful enough to shatter the Void.
"Hold on tight!" Li Qiye ignored the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land and shouted to Lan Yunzhu. In the next instant, he plunged into the pool.
Lan Yunzhu held on tightly to Li Qiye. As he pulled her into the water, the scene before her eyes shifted constantly. One moment, they were falling into a world of countless erupting volcanoes; the next, into a prosperous mortal realm teeming with life; then, into a desolate world of dead silence and endless despair...
One step, a new world. In the blink of an eye, countless realms flashed before Lan Yunzhu’s eyes. It was as if she had traversed the Three Thousand Worlds in a single instant.
This pool was not so easy to enter; one could say that every step led to a different world. And yet, for Li Qiye, it was as easy as a stroll in a quiet courtyard.
In fact, this was not surprising. Tian Lunhui had once comprehended a Great Dao at the Other Shore, allowing him to take more than a hundred steps, perhaps even more. But the Great Dao Tian Lunhui comprehended was vastly inferior to the one Li Qiye had grasped at the Other Shore.
If Tian Lunhui could manage over a hundred steps, then it was only natural for Li Qiye to traverse it with the ease of a leisurely stroll.
"Little beast, I’ll hunt you down and kill you even if you flee to the End of the Earth!" the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land roared, having rushed to the edge of the pool where Li Qiye had vanished.
The Elder Ancestor didn’t just want revenge; he had to reclaim the Ju Que Holy Land’s Tuo Mountain Bell. If he lost it, he would become a sinner to the Ju Que Holy Land.
In the blink of an eye, Li Qiye brought Lan Yunzhu to the deepest part of the pool. The area had now become a whirlpool, which spun slowly with an indescribable rhythm amidst the roaring water.
Li Qiye stared at the spinning whirlpool before him, his expression growing grave as he watched the water swirl.
"What is it?" Lan Yunzhu asked with concern, seeing his solemn expression. She rarely saw him look like this.
"The greatest opportunity here might be about to appear," Li Qiye said. He paused for a moment, then added, "However, that’s not important. What’s important is that the secret of the tomb is about to emerge."
"The secret of the tomb?" Lan Yunzhu was shaken. She could guess how astonishing such a secret must be.
Staring at the swirling pool, Li Qiye said, "That’s not the point. It doesn’t matter whether this place’s greatest opportunity appears or not. What matters is that a flower will emerge soon. You wait for it, and the moment it appears, you must act immediately!"
"Is this flower the secret of the tomb?" Lan Yunzhu asked, her heart stirring. "Is it something like the Five Immortal Phoenix Ginseng?"
"It’s not a True Immortal Medicine, nor is it an Immortal Elixir. It is an extremely special flower—one that is perfectly suited for you," Li Qiye said, his eyes fixed on the whirlpool. "I never expected it to appear in this lifetime. It seems you’ve really hit the jackpot to be here for its reappearance!"
"Can I really do it?" Lan Yunzhu’s heart pounded with excitement, but thinking of the Five Immortal Phoenix Ginseng, she felt uncertain. Even though the Five Immortal Phoenix Ginseng was a True Immortal Medicine, it was absurdly powerful by itself.
"Don’t worry, you absolutely can," Li Qiye said. "The Heavenly Destiny Secret Skill you cultivate, River of Fate Celestial Return, is the most suitable technique. Back then, your Qianli Immortal Emperor created this Heavenly Destiny Secret Skill due to a significant karmic connection with this very flower. It’s a shame he was just a bit unlucky and failed to obtain it, but he still benefited greatly from the encounter. Once the flower appears, just use River of Fate Celestial Return."
"How do you know that?" Lan Yunzhu was stunned. He spoke of her ancestral Immortal Emperor’s past as if counting family treasures. The Qianli River sect had no records of this, yet Li Qiye knew it all in perfect detail.
Li Qiye refused to answer the question. Of course, he couldn’t tell her that he was the one who had brought the Qianli Immortal Emperor here all those years ago. At that time, the Immortal Emperor had encountered this flower and used incredible means just to stabilize it. Unfortunately, he was still a bit unlucky and failed to obtain it. Nevertheless, because of this flower, the Qianli Immortal Emperor comprehended a Great Dao—a truly heaven-defying gain.
"What’s going on?" While Li Qiye stared at the whirlpool, the countless Cultivators present rushed to the edge of the pool. Many were eager to jump in, but they were also afraid of vanishing without a sound, disappearing forever.
"Hmph!" The first to plunge into the pool was the Elder Ancestor of the Ju Que Holy Land. He not only wanted to enter the water to seize the legendary opportunity, but he also needed to catch Li Qiye and reclaim the Tuo Mountain Bell.