Her beauty was like an impossibly pure lake, unmarred by any trace of impurity. Her smile seemed to reflect her innermost heart, so pristine and flawless that any stray thought felt like a sacrilege.
Quinn Shepherd withdrew his gaze, grinning from ear to ear, forcing down his pounding heart. He mused, "She’s even more formidable than the previous cult master, Evan Lixian, that wicked genius. When it comes to playing with people’s hearts, Evan is still a rookie. If I hadn’t met Absolute Dust, I might’ve really had my soul hooked by her. This woman only has one flaw—her chest isn’t quite big enough…"
Waves surged across Jade Sea, terrifying roars echoing nonstop. Two god-demons hid in the darkness, their divine arts clashing in secret, making the Jade Sea outside the winding corridor pavilion feel like a world on the verge of destruction.
Quinn turned and walked into the pavilion, smiling. "Liam, things are only going to get livelier here. Since we’ve got nothing better to do, why not let me break your bloodline curse while we have the chance?"
Liam Cloud hurried after him, and the two entered the seaside pavilion of the winding corridor. Quinn sat down and asked, "Who’s that god-king up in the sky? Do you recognize him, Liam?"
Liam Cloud replied, "That’s just a manifestation, not his true face. But you can tell who he is from his divine arts—beings like him are easy to recognize. He’s the Southern-Flare God-King, one of Heavenly Court’s Four Heavenly Kings. The one in the sea is the Northern Emperor Black Tortoise. Southern-Flare Thunder-Fire versus the Five Great Cloud-Thunders. Even hiding their faces, they can’t fool each other."
Quinn’s third eye in his brow opened, activating the Tawei-Sky Divine Sense Canon to mobilize his god-sense. In an instant, his divine sense became incomparably powerful!
Buzz—
Within the diamond-shaped pupil of his third eye, Quinn’s god-sense shot out as a ray of light, shining straight onto Liam Cloud’s brow!
Just then, a dim sun appeared in the sky, the sunlight filtering through layers of mist and looking unusually bleak.
But then, with a gentle flicker, that sun multiplied—countless suns appeared in the blink of an eye, one after another, hanging in the sky and hidden behind the clouds.
Next, endless black Three-Legged Sun-Crows flew out from those suns, darting through the storm clouds and swooping down into the darkness of Jade Pool!
The sky rang with piercing cries as countless Three-Legged Sun-Crows, trailing blazing fire, charged toward the pavilion by the winding corridor—blotting out the sky and sun!
Liam Cloud couldn’t help but glance outside, his voice hoarse: "It’s the Great Sun Star Lord!"
Annie, Dragon-Qilin, and the others hurried over, reaching the pavilion. Suddenly Annie transformed into a Dragon-Sparrow, wings spread, perching atop the pavilion’s peak, eyes tense as she watched the incoming Sun-Crows.
Cyrus Qi was about to rush over when Elaina Cloud smiled, "Master Qi, that’s a dangerous place—why risk your life?"
Cyrus Qi’s gaze was gentle. "Staying by your side is even more dangerous. You’ve shaken my Dao-heart." With that, he headed toward the pavilion where Quinn sat.
Elaina Cloud puffed her cheeks and stomped after him.
Suddenly, dim and indistinct stars appeared in the sky. The constellations began to tremble, as if time and space were unstable—one after another, stars fell, plunging into Jade Sea with thunderous booms.
The falling stars pierced the heavy storm clouds, trailing long tails of fire. When they crashed into Jade Sea, the surface erupted, and ancient, towering gods slowly rose from the darkness, reaching out to snatch the swirling Sun-Crows from the air.
Giants filled the sea, Sun-Crows filled the sky, locked in battle—making it impossible for anyone to approach the pavilion by the winding corridor.
Quinn was tracing the source, his god-sense following Liam Cloud’s bloodline to hunt down the root of the bloodline curse—finally locating the hidden spell within the blood itself.
Just then, a furious roar echoed from the sky—a colossal hand parted the suns, stars, and storm clouds, descending straight toward the pavilion!
As the hand tore through the air, it ignited into blazing fire, threatening to crush the island and burn it all to ashes!
Suddenly, a golden chime rang out—the western side of the island erupted with light as a round ball of brilliance rolled rapidly overhead, coming to a stop above the pavilion.
The golden light spun furiously, and within it, a White Tiger could be seen leaping and frolicking. Countless golden sword-qi shot upward, and in an instant, the blazing hand was riddled with holes!
A cold snort echoed from the sky, followed by a sudden burst of flame—a golden pillar plunged down, stabbing straight into Jade Sea, impossibly tall, and began to churn the waters around the pavilion, stirring up chaos!
The golden ball of light hovered above the pavilion, radiating brilliance as Dao-sound reverberated. The White Tiger inside pounced, blocking the golden pillar again and again.
The pillar shrank rapidly, turning into a golden needle—appearing and vanishing unpredictably, until even the golden ball of light struggled to hold it back.
At that moment, a golden list flew in from the night, fluttering in the wind. The golden needle stabbed into the list with a sharp ding, barely escaping.
The collision between the golden list and golden needle unleashed a terrifying power—everyone on the island felt a chill in their bones. If any of those attacks landed here, the island and everyone on it would be wiped out, not even their souls left behind!
Even Annie, at her Lingxiao Realm, couldn’t possibly withstand it—death would be certain!
"Liam, don’t get distracted."
Quinn sensed Liam Cloud’s scattered god-sense and reminded him, "Your mind is wandering. It’s interfering with my efforts to purge your bloodline curse."
Liam Cloud couldn’t help but say, "Can a Heavenly Venerable really stay so calm? Aren’t you afraid? If your protectors can’t hold out, any one of those divine arts could kill us a thousand times over!"
Quinn’s god-sense surged into Liam’s Spirit Embryo Treasury, a golden flood crashing into his spirit platform and forming a radiant altar. Quinn smiled, "Of course I’m afraid. But they know what they’re doing. Those who want me dead won’t tear things apart completely—if they do, it’ll mean ripping Heavenly Court in half. Those who want me alive will protect me at all costs. That’s where hope lies. Haven’t you already prepared yourself for death, Liam? Why be afraid now?"
Liam Cloud’s Primordial Spirit gazed at the altar in his Spirit Embryo Treasury—Quinn’s god-sense had solidified into something tangible. Such overwhelming god-sense, he’d never seen before.
"I’m not afraid of death because the bloodline curse means I’ll never reach godhood. But when death really comes, I’m still scared." He couldn’t help but laugh.
Outside, an even more terrifying shockwave erupted—flames soared from nowhere, like a colossal firebird racing through the darkness.
Atop the pavilion, Annie—now a chubby Dragon-Sparrow—cheered and bounced around, nearly collapsing the pavilion with her excitement.
The chaos intensified, with ever-stronger beings joining the fray.
From the darkness, a Mingdu Heaven Gate slowly rose from Jade Sea, and a Book of Life and Death flew out, shining its light toward them.
As soon as the Book of Life and Death appeared, a massive dragon head emerged behind the island, its long neck arching overhead and blocking the pavilion from the book’s glare.
The dragon exhaled, unleashing thunder that blasted into the Mingdu Heaven Gate.
Suddenly, an ancient tree crashed down from the sky, slamming into the dragon’s head and pinning it into Jade Sea. The dragon rolled its body, dodging the island to avoid crushing those on it.
The dragon coiled around the tree, locking it in place. The tree’s roots exploded in size, climbing the dragon’s body as they rolled and battled through sea and clouds.
Liam Cloud, Cyrus Qi, and the others watched, dizzy and awestruck. The island was far too dangerous—any moment, they could all be reduced to dust.
Even so, those fighting weren’t the strongest—Heavenly Court’s true powers are the Ten Heavenly Venerables!
Those ten are the most powerful beings in all history!
The diamond-shaped pupil in Quinn’s brow grew ever brighter as he fully activated the Taichu Primal Stone. The golden altar he’d set in Liam Cloud’s Spirit Embryo Treasury sprang to life!
The curse within Liam Cloud’s bloodline was drawn out by the altar, thread by thread.
At that moment, the sky thundered and Dao-sound erupted, overwhelming all the hidden combatants in Jade Sea.
Such power was so terrifying, so overwhelming, that it crushed any will to resist.
Not only were those on the island shocked—even the terrifying combatants quieted down.
In an instant, Jade Sea became calm. Giants hid their faces in the clouds, while suns and moons rose from the sea and hid behind storm clouds.
Stars drifted up into the sky and vanished.
Golden light fled, the golden list withdrew, white banners disappeared, the golden needle flew back, the divine dragon dove into the sea, the black tortoise escaped—only a peaceful Jade Sea remained, as if the near world-ending battle had never happened.
The sky was still shrouded in dark clouds, no sun in sight, plunging Jade Sea into deep darkness—only the pavilion remained brightly lit.
Then, a figure walked across the sea’s surface, radiating an aura beyond the Emperor’s Throne Realm, startling everyone.
He truly possessed such power.
If he wanted to kill, no one in Heavenly Court could stop him!
He was here to kill!
He still concealed his face, not wanting anyone to recognize him.
After all, his target was Shepherd Heavenly Venerable—a Venerable who taught the path to godhood and brought the divine realm into the world.
He wanted to leave no trace, lest someone use it to suppress or eliminate him.
Now, there were no more obstacles in his way.
He was already very close to the pavilion.
Liam Cloud turned quickly, his voice hoarse: "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable!"
Quinn was still focused on extracting the bloodline curse, saying calmly, "Don’t worry. That was just the prelude—the real show begins now."
Cyrus Qi’s forehead was slick with sweat, despair creeping in. Annie flew back to the pavilion, nervously fluffing her feathers and holding a lantern, trembling all the while.
It was a lantern given by Moon Heavenly Venerable, imbued with her divine art. But Annie wasn’t sure it could really save them.
Only the Dragon-Qilin lay napping at the pavilion’s foot.
At that moment, a light shone from beneath the sea.
The man suddenly stopped and looked down at the sea.
Beneath his feet, a paper boat sailed along, mirroring his movements. On the boat, an old man held a lantern.
The man stopped walking, and the paper boat stopped too.
Inside the pavilion, Quinn laughed, "Would you like to see two beings at the Maimed Heavenly Court Realm clash?"
"No!"
Cyrus Qi answered flatly, "Not even if you kill me! Things are already out of hand!"
Sweat poured down his forehead, despair overwhelming him.