The Northern Emperor's disciple had already had his physical body severed by Dao Lord Lucas Lin's sword, leaving only his Primordial Spirit to flee. The disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors, meanwhile, had been gravely wounded under Lucas Lin's sword.
At this moment, none of the three could evade the divine light shot from Quinn Shepherd's third eye!
Within Quinn Shepherd's third eye, layer upon layer of heavens fully opened—nine heavens in all.
This was the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art taught to him by Grandpa Blind. Previously, Quinn Shepherd could only open the Divine Firmament Heaven Eye, but now he could fully activate all nine heavens!
These nine heavens manifested as concentric rings of formation patterns within his third eye—nine layers in total. At the center of the eye, stars swirled together to form a star river, and at its core floated a great sun, rising and falling uncertainly. Quinn Shepherd's vision was now vastly different from before.
Grandpa Blind's Ninefold Heaven Eye Art had absorbed the dual sun-and-moon pupils of Lady Azure, the number one divine eye goddess of the Pioneer Era, and was further improved. At the time, Grandpa Blind had only acquired the sun pupil formation, so when he passed it on to Quinn Shepherd, it was just the sun pupil.
Later, Grandpa Blind supplemented it with the moon pupil, but Quinn Shepherd, always running about, never had the chance to learn the Moon Pupil Divine Eye. If the sun and moon pupils were united, the power would be even greater.
Now, Quinn Shepherd was using his third eye to activate the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art, which differed somewhat from Grandpa Blind's original method—in his eye, the star river encircled a black sun.
The third eye on his brow was not an ordinary eye, but a mark of his identity as the Netherworld Divine Son—just like the vertical eye on Tu Bo’s brow, it was a demonic eye forged from the Dao of Youdu, the Eye of Perdition, able to drive away or slay gods and ghosts alike.
Originally, Quinn Shepherd’s third eye had been sealed by Tu Bo, but when he accidentally released his elder brother-self, Qin Fengqing, the third eye finally awakened.
At this moment, he transformed into his three-headed, six-armed battle form. Three beams of light shot forth, each tracing a straight, pitch-black line through the air.
The disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors weren't far from him and had no time to dodge—the black lines pierced straight through their brows. The Northern Emperor's disciple, slain by Lucas Lin, had only his Primordial Spirit left and had fled the battlefield, so he was farther away.
But the black light was far too swift—before he could react, it had already pierced straight through him.
His Primordial Spirit was the Black Tortoise—black light shot through its hard tortoise shell, then pierced the coiling Teng Snake. Wherever the black light struck, darkness spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire Primordial Spirit. Both tortoise and snake were stained pitch black.
Bang.
His Primordial Spirit exploded, scattering into countless grains of soul-black sand. The wind of Azurecloud Heaven swept them away, and they vanished swiftly, invisible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, the disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors each crashed down from the sky near the Dao Palace—one sprawling out and transforming into a hundred-zhang-long Azure Dragon, the other into a radiant White Tiger.
The two giant beasts struggled to rise, roaring twice, but suddenly their breath ceased. Their bodies rapidly petrified, turning into two lifelike stone statues—still frozen in their final, desperate postures.
On the other side, the Southern Emperor's disciple let out a piercing scream, her body flickering as she transformed into a Vermilion Bird and fled, leaving a trail of fire across the sky.
Below, Lucas Lin called out loudly, "Miss, Cult Master Quinn said he has old ties with your master—he won't kill you!"
The woman in red ignored him completely. As a Vermilion Bird, she sped straight toward Azurecloud Heaven’s gateway; when she reached the blue light, she dove in headfirst. But the azure glow churned—she crashed directly into a net, getting caught fast.
The Vermilion Bird struggled desperately in the net, but could not break free. Around the net stood four old Daoists, each gripping a corner, keeping her firmly trapped.
Dao Lord Lucas Lin opened his Yin-Yang Dao Eyes and examined the net’s construction. Its structure was exquisitely intricate, containing truly profound numerological skill; he couldn’t help but marvel again and again.
"Azurecloud Heaven specializes in macro-scale numerology—their mastery at this level far surpasses Everpeace Dao Gate."
Delighted, he turned to Daoist Chaz and said, "Our Dao Gate, on the other hand, has unmatched expertise in the Grand Micro Numerology Canon. If we could combine the two, it would be a stroke of great fortune for Everpeace Dao law!"
Daoist Chaz hesitated, probing, "Dao Lord, it’s still hard to say whether Azurecloud Heaven is friend or foe. Are you so sure they’ll help our Dao Gate? After all, Everpeace Dao Gate was founded by Heavenly Court Dao Gate’s abandoned disciples…"
"Cult Master Quinn will definitely handle it!" Lucas Lin said, brimming with confidence.
Daoist Chaz scratched his black-and-white hair, thinking to himself, "Are you the Dao Lord, or is he? You sure have a lot of faith in the Heavenly Demon Cult Master…"
High above, Quinn Shepherd and Sterling Xiao soared ever higher. Sterling’s prowess was extraordinary, and his mastery of numerology was truly terrifying.
After all, he was Dao Ancestor’s disciple and the true heir of Heavenly Court Dao Gate. Even though Dao Ancestor hadn’t personally guided him, his achievements were still remarkable.
He wasn’t using swordsmanship.
Everpeace Dao Gate’s signature technique is the Dao Sword Fourteen Chapters, the sect’s foundational sword art which every Dao Lord must study and master. Their core cultivation method is the Innate Arcane Canon, originally incomplete—until Daoist Chaz brought back Pioneer Era Dao Gate methods and helped complete it.
But both the Dao Sword Fourteen Chapters and the Innate Arcane Canon are just two among countless arts and methods of Heavenly Court Dao Gate.
Dao Ancestor founded Dao Gate with the aim of using numerology to interpret the universe, the Dao of heaven and earth. The Dao Sword is but one technique, the Arcane Canon but one method—neither is the most supreme of the emperor-level arts.
Even so, Dao Lord Lucas Lin is considered one of Everpeace’s most outstanding geniuses, with only a handful of peers who can match his strength among the younger generation.
Sterling Xiao, however, had learned the most orthodox and complete techniques of Heavenly Court Dao Gate, with the best teachers and a bloodline second to none—son of the Moon Goddess, a high-born demigod. His power among Heavenly Court’s peers was exceptional, outstripping even the Four Emperors’ disciples.
The two of them maneuvered in the sky. Sterling Xiao’s techniques fascinated Quinn Shepherd—behind the young Daoist, a Divine Bridge floated in midair, connecting to the void, with his Primordial Spirit standing atop it.
His Primordial Spirit was a frog-shaped god-demon, standing upright—one hand held a medicine-pounding pestle, the other a wood-chopping axe, and a wooden stick was clamped in its mouth.
This god-demon Primordial Spirit stirred the Dao of heaven and earth, causing the stars of Azurecloud Heaven to blaze ever brighter and further amplify his spell power.
In just moments, Sterling Xiao unleashed hundreds of divine arts from different systems, dazzling Quinn Shepherd!