If Young Master Cyrus Qi hadn't gotten carried away and insisted on attacking both Quinn Shepherd and Zechariah Lee at the same time, he would have smoothly defeated Zechariah and avoided his current predicament.
Both Quinn and Zechariah knew just how terrifying Young Master Qi's divine arts were. So when he went for both of them at once, they immediately struck back and heavily wounded him. After that, Young Master Qi became little more than a side dish between the two, while Quinn and Zechariah fought on. Eight thousand flying swords and countless saber-lights clashed in a rainstorm of steel.
Young Master Qi found himself trapped in the middle of their battlefield, surrounded by Quinn and Zechariah's sword and saber strikes. Whenever he tried to break out, both would attack him together—a situation he had never imagined.
Quinn and Zechariah moved with blinding speed, sometimes close, sometimes far, dueling mainly with saber and sword, mixing in spells and divine arts, occasionally even clashing with pure physical might.
Zechariah gradually began to lose ground. Sensing an opportunity, Young Master Qi seized the moment when Quinn attacked Zechariah, and struck at Zechariah himself—trying to team up with Quinn to take Zechariah out first.
But just then, a chill ran through his chest. He looked down and saw the tip of a sword protruding from his body.
At the same moment, Zechariah was blasted away by the combined force of Young Master Qi and Quinn, rolling and tumbling for over ten li before finally stopping, badly wounded.
All nine of Young Master Qi's heads turned in unison, just in time to see Quinn Shepherd's face break into an utterly harmless, innocent smile.
Quinn struck out with an open palm, fingers splayed—a move he learned from the Third Human Emperor: the Heaven-Turning Yin-Yang Palm. Mixed into his five fingers was the Fifth Human Emperor’s Five-Thunder Heaven-Lifting Bell.
Ten li away, Zechariah had just managed to steady himself when the force of Quinn’s palm arrived. His body flew up like a rag doll, frozen into an ice sculpture by pure yin force. At the same time, a Five-Thunder Heaven-Lifting Bell appeared above his head. If its bell rang, it would shatter him from his frozen state into dust!
Meanwhile, Quinn’s other hand gripped the sword formed from his Sword Pill—a weapon made of eight thousand swords. His magic power surged into all eight thousand blades, each tiny flying sword brewing its own sword move, some even sending sword-light into Young Master Qi’s Divine Treasuries!
Sword Diagram, Second Form—One Sword Opens the Pioneer Era, Blood Like an Ocean!
Blood-red light surged around Quinn, flooding out like a vast ocean, swallowing him whole. The smile on the youth’s face was painted with blood, turning weirdly sinister—enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
"I've never lost a group brawl..."
Young Master Qi shivered at Quinn’s words. At last, the power of One Sword Opens the Pioneer Era, Blood Like an Ocean erupted, and the Five-Thunder Heaven-Lifting Bell enveloped Zechariah. The bell sounded!
These two young prodigies—both about to die at his hands!
But at that moment, the bell shattered. Furylo’s vast power crashed down, smashing the Five-Thunder Heaven-Lifting Bell. Meanwhile, Lady Lurien tapped the sword tip protruding from Young Master Qi’s chest, and the eight thousand flying swords shot back out of his wound!
Butcher drew his saber, Grandpa Blind gripped his spear, and the Mute Smith’s furnace roared to life behind him. Each took a step forward. Crippled Joe grabbed Quinn and retreated at lightning speed, flickering in and out of sight until they reappeared behind Butcher and the others!
Furylo and Lady Lurien each rescued Zechariah and Young Master Qi, but neither pressed the attack. Lady Lurien laughed, “Young Master Qi, you’ve spent too long in the Heavenly Court. You know nothing of the lower world’s treacherous human hearts. Learned your lesson yet?”
Young Master Qi was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m willing to join forces with the marshal.”
With a thought, Furylo dispelled the pure yin energy from Zechariah Lee’s body ten li away, freeing him from his frozen state.
Zechariah was still shaken when suddenly the earth folded beneath him. In the blink of an eye, without taking a single step, he found himself transported from ten li away to Furylo’s side—obviously Furylo had folded space itself.
Butcher and the others felt a chill—Furylo’s power was far deeper than they’d expected. This level of strength was more than just a True Demon!
Furylo’s leftmost face looked at Zechariah and said calmly, “Victory and defeat are the norm in war. Real winning and losing is about life and death. As long as you’re alive, you haven’t truly lost. Understand?”
Zechariah sheathed his demon saber on his back and bowed, “I understand, Master.”
Furylo nodded with satisfaction. “With this tempering, your dao-heart will one day surpass even Logan Cross.”
Behind Butcher and the others, Crippled Joe was overjoyed, clapping Quinn Shepherd hard on the shoulder. “Good job, Quinn! You didn’t embarrass Grandpa Cripple. That move was deliciously sinister—smiling while hiding a knife, stabbing from the shadows. Just what I taught you! When I saw your smile, I couldn’t help but shiver!”
Quinn quickly answered modestly, “It’s all thanks to Grandpa Cripple’s teaching. Without you, I’d never have won. If we ranked sinister arts like stabbing from the shadows, I’d only be second—Grandpa Cripple is still number one under heaven!”
Crippled Joe stroked his goatee and laughed heartily, utterly pleased with himself.
Deaf snorted, “People’s hearts aren’t what they used to be…”
Lady Lurien ignored the tense faces of Butcher and the rest, gazing instead at Deaf’s painted divine city. Suddenly she smiled, “Furylo, can you see through the illusion yet?”
Furylo turned his three faces toward the divine city, each gazing at it for a moment. Then he said, “I can’t see through it. Please enlighten me.”
Lady Lurien laughed, “Look at the souls of the gods and demons in the city.”
Furylo was surprised and humbly asked, “How do you observe souls?”
Butcher, the Mute Smith, Grandpa Blind, and the others sensed trouble and began to slowly retreat.
Deaf’s face changed slightly—he realized Lady Lurien had seen through his illusion, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His paintings could recreate worlds and seamlessly link illusion to reality, leaving no flaws visible.
But he couldn’t recreate souls.
This Lady Lurien was clearly a Youdu expert, with profound mastery over soul arts—she could see the secrets hidden in Deaf’s paintings.
Everyone’s palms were slick with sweat as they crowded around Quinn, retreating toward the divine city. The sense of unease grew stronger by the moment.
But Furylo and Lady Lurien acted as if they hadn’t noticed, letting them retreat as they pleased.
Lady Lurien turned around, raised her slender jade hand, and drew a circle in the air. Light spilled from its edge and formed a mirror—a dazzling, floating disk. “Sovereign King, please look at the scene within the mirror.”
Furylo gazed into the mirror. It reflected the magnificent divine city, along with Butcher, Quinn Shepherd, Granny Sue, and the others in front of it—their souls clearly visible in the glass.
Some souls stood at the South Heaven Gate of the Heaven Palace, some on the Divine Bridge, and one in the Life-and-Death Treasury, with the darkness of the Netherworld beneath their feet.
But the strange thing was, in the mirror, the divine city was just a vast abyss. The city itself didn’t exist—nor did the gods, demons, or the million-strong army upon its walls!
Yet as Butcher and the others retreated toward the city, their souls appeared clearly in the mirror. Furylo glanced at his own reflection and saw his true three-headed form standing in the demon palace!
He was a demon god with three heads—his three faces were a mere illusion, forged by refining all three heads into one body.
Furylo looked at Young Master Cyrus Qi’s reflection next. In the mirror, Qi appeared as a nine-headed phoenix, bathed in blazing golden light and divine fire—radiant and sacred.
Zechariah Lee’s mirror image was that of a normal human youth, but his demon saber behind him was illuminated by the mirror’s light, revealing a demon spirit—a one-eyed beast, crawling in a cloud of sinister demon qi. It was terrifying!
But the most terrifying reflection in the mirror was Quinn Shepherd!
In the mirror, Quinn had three blood-red eyes, immense and monstrous. All three eyes stared straight at Furylo, as if aware of his gaze.
Furylo felt his soul shudder and his chest ache faintly.
Lady Lurien quickly turned the mirror away from Quinn and the others, then asked, “Do you understand now?”
She aimed the mirror toward the demon camp. The demon experts behind them peered at the glass, seeing the souls of the demon gods and clansmen within their camp.
Furylo’s disciple Shuye was startled to see one demon soul in the camp that looked strange.
That soul was actually standing inside the Heaven Palace!
Moreover, the soul was ragged and patched together, as if stitched from countless other souls!
Just as Shuye tried to look closer, Lady Lurien put the mirror away.
“Did my eyes deceive me?” Shuye wondered, puzzled.
Furylo shivered, his voice hoarse: “Those three eyes…”
“Sealed by Tu Bo.”
Lady Lurien smiled, “Don’t bother with him. Your true goal is High-Emperor Heaven.”
Furylo steadied himself and said gravely, “I finally see the truth of the divine city. Illusions bloom from the void, reality is recreated, falsehood masquerades as truth, painting becomes the boundary—illusion and reality entwined, impossible to distinguish. This is the pinnacle of painting arts, creating gods and demons and all things from brush and ink.”
His voice reached Deaf, Granny Sue, and the others: “You managed to fool me and hold back my demon army for days, giving High-Emperor Heaven precious time to prepare. Even if you die here, you can be proud.”
Granny Sue and the rest turned pale. Space twisted all around them—though they kept retreating, they only drew closer to Furylo!
“We’re doomed, we’re doomed…” Crippled Joe muttered, his face ashen.
Libationer Barrett’s Jadehide Ox roared and charged toward the divine city. But the faster it ran, the farther it got from the city—and the closer it drew to Furylo!
The Jadehide Ox stopped abruptly, not daring to move.
Lady Lurien smiled, “Sovereign King, I only want Quinn Fengqing. Give him to me, and I’ll hand you High-Emperor Heaven!”
“Don’t worry. Now that I see the truth, there’s no way they can escape.”
Furylo stepped forward. With a single stride, space twisted violently, and everyone was drawn inexorably closer to him.
Butcher roared, slashing at sky and earth, trying to sever the twisted space. But each blade-light was warped and vanished without a trace.
Suddenly, the sky shook violently. Furylo halted, looking up in astonishment.
Lady Lurien also looked up, her face filled with shock and uncertainty.
From the heavens, colossal beams of light pierced down, humming as they joined earth and sky—then the light turned to surging blood-red!
A massive, shattered planet burst through space, appearing above High-Emperor Heaven!
Then a second ruined planet, and a third—one after another!
An astonishing sight unfolded in the sky—a vast continent pressed down atop the sudden cluster of stars, looming over High-Emperor Heaven!