Only Evan Chu would dare such reckless madness; one misstep and the consequences would be catastrophic. Ray Lumen's Heaven-Overturning Seal is an extreme-grade immortal treasure, its attack power beyond imagination.
Evan Chu ignored the Heaven-Overturning Seal crashing down toward him, instead rapidly visualizing Star-Cleave in his mind. Instantly, the Stellar Power within him vanished without a trace.
At that moment, the Frostbane Sword erupted with a massive cyan glow. An uncontrolled Star-Cleave burst forth, its power far surpassing the previous clash between Evan Chu and Ray Lumen.
Star-Cleave struck directly at the mountain-sized Heaven-Overturning Seal. Just as the seal hovered a few meters above Evan Chu's head, the overwhelming sword-qi smashed into it, triggering a phenomenon that left everyone stunned.
The Heaven-Overturning Seal was shattered into countless fragments by that single strike—a top extreme-grade immortal treasure destroyed in an instant. Ray Lumen, his spirit severely wounded by the artifact's destruction, vomited three mouthfuls of blood in succession.
Ray Lumen's face turned deathly pale, the agony of spiritual backlash nearly causing him to lose control and plummet from the sky. Evan Chu wasn't spared either; after channeling Stellar Power into his Heart-Sword, his own spirit suffered a significant blow.
A wave of intense pain surged through Evan Chu's head, as if it might explode at any moment. Beads of sweat poured from his forehead, and his face grew as pale as Ray Lumen's.
"Why is this happening?" Evan Chu forced himself to endure the pain and asked his Immortal Infant.
"This is probably the price of borrowing Stellar Power," the Immortal Infant replied. "I'm not entirely sure why it happens, but your method might be flawed—maybe Heart-Sword isn't meant to be used this way with Stellar Power. Next time, don't use it recklessly."
Though frustrated, Evan Chu had no choice but to accept reality as the pain in his mind gradually eased. He turned to Ray Lumen and mocked, "So your immortal treasure is nothing special. If you've got any more tricks, go ahead and use them!"
Ray Lumen could never have imagined that his extreme-grade artifact would be destroyed by a single sword strike, and even stranger, that the blow came from the sky, like an attack from a weaponized treasure. A treasure that could be wielded as a weapon—he’d never heard of such a thing. What level was that sword, anyway? Could it be divine-grade?
In that instant, the urge to flee overwhelmed him. Face was important, but his life mattered even more. He flashed away at top speed, desperate to escape.
"You think you can just run? Not so easy!" Evan Chu barked.
Just then, a streak of golden light flashed in the sky—a massive golden bird appeared before Ray Lumen. "My boss said you can't leave, so you'd better behave and come back!" Goldwing declared, blocking his way.
Goldwing’s huge wings swept out, unleashing several devastating Glasswind blades at Ray Lumen. Ray was dumbfounded—a mere beast could wield such power? Those Glasswind attacks could really hurt him!
Ray dodged to the side as fast as he could, but Evan Chu’s figure appeared right behind him. "Did you really think you could escape? If you’d just handed over the Windfire Sword, you’d have been fine. But you had to refuse a toast and drink punishment instead—don’t blame me for not giving you a chance."
A mid-stage Immortal Emperor—the strongest city lord under Coldshroud Imperial Palace, forced into this state by some nameless youth. Ray Lumen could hardly accept it, but the humiliating reality was right in front of him.
"Don’t get cocky, kid! Even if you kill me today, you won’t live much longer. When Zane Zuo comes back, he’ll avenge me—and you’ll die a miserable death!" Ray Lumen spat.
"Miserable? Maybe, but you won’t be around to see it. With your artifact destroyed and your spirit shattered, you’re at best late Immortal Lord now. Killing you is child’s play. But answer a few questions for me, and maybe I’ll let you live." Evan Chu taunted.
"Dream on if you think you’ll learn Coldshroud Imperial Palace’s secrets from me! If I die, I’ll drag you down with me!" Ray Lumen snarled.
"Thinking of self-destructing? You know that’ll wipe out your body and soul—no chance for reincarnation. Don’t be so impulsive! I just want to know: with so many people at Lumastream City’s auction, why haven’t any top factions’ big shots shown up? Are they late, or already here?" Evan Chu pressed.
"If they’re already here, there’s no way they wouldn’t notice all this chaos in Lumastream. So tell me, what’s really going on?" Evan Chu demanded.
"The more you want to know, the less I’ll tell you! Let you stew in your ignorance. Even if I’m wiped out, as long as you die with me, it’s worth it!" Ray Lumen snapped.
Evan Chu saw Ray’s aura surging—he could self-destruct at any moment. "Hell no, you want to blow yourself up? You think I’m scared? Time to show you what I’m made of!" he cursed.
Evan Chu had no patience for stubborn fools like this. He instantly conjured a ball of white flame—the highest-grade heavenfire from his third-layer Fireshift.
With a thought, he hurled the flame straight at Ray Lumen. Ray was ready to self-destruct and take Evan Chu with him, but when he saw the heavenfire, he was instantly terrified. Locked into detonating his Immortal Essence, he couldn’t dodge the sudden attack.
Heavenfire was dreaded by everyone in the Immortal Realm. Ray never thought Evan Chu would unleash it. Agonizing pain ripped through him, his flesh burning away at a speed visible to the naked eye. If he hadn’t already committed to self-destruction, he could have blocked the flames with Immortal Essence.
All he could do was endure the searing agony. Evan Chu flashed onto Goldwing’s back, and with a streak of golden light, they tore through the sky. Moments later, a deafening explosion shook the heavens behind them.
Ray Lumen self-destructed. Evan Chu’s heavenfire was meant to stop Ray from chasing him, giving him enough time to escape. The self-detonation of an Immortal Emperor was world-shattering. Even with Goldwing’s speed, they barely escaped thousands of miles away, but were still hit by the shockwave—Evan Chu nearly fell off Goldwing’s back.
Luckily, at that distance, Goldwing wasn’t seriously hurt. But the bystanders weren’t so lucky—everyone watching from the sky was wiped out, and countless people on the ground were killed or maimed.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away, Skyshade Hall was ablaze with lanterns and decorations, as if celebrating some joyous event...