The lower three heavens shuddered violently.

  Countless cultivators from high-martial worlds stood in awe, gazing beyond the skies. At the edge of Yuan Magnetic Heaven, a massive rift had been torn open.

  Beyond that chasm lay the vast upper realm continent.

  Streaks of light streaked across the lower three heavens. Cultivators brimmed with vigor and battle intent, charging toward the upper realm.

  Lu sat calmly on the Thousand Bladed Chair, as if invisible.

  He had placed his piece and torn open the passage to the upper realm, yet he did not enter himself.

  One cultivator after another—celestials from Five Phoenix—rushed past him.

  None seemed to notice his presence.

  Streams of light flashed by. Human immortals and true immortals shot forward at blinding speed, descending upon the upper realm continent.

  If slaying enemies could earn merit and boost cultivation, who would fear battle?

  "Blind development isn't Five Phoenix's style. Grow when needed, but strengthening through combat... that's always been our way."

  Lu's eyes gleamed as he leaned back in the chair, gently stroking the Stealing Heaven Tower.

  He reflected on Five Phoenix's journey: from a low-martial world facing wanderers, rising through endless wars to mid-martial, then clashing relentlessly with the high-martial Buddhist realm.

  At the high-martial level, it was even more intense.

  The cultivators of Five Phoenix had fought every step of the way.

  From the Great Tournament of the World to invasions of the upper realm—it was all battle.

  They had long since lost any fear of fighting.

  "Let battle announce Five Phoenix's rise."

  "Make these upper realm saint clans understand: in the Nine Heavens, Five Phoenix is no longer prey to be bullied."

  Lu chuckled softly.

  ...

  As cultivators from Five Phoenix and the lower three heavens descended upon the upper realm, shrouded in fortune...

  Many experts from the Dao Clan and Cloud Clan jolted awake.

  "What is happening?"

  "An enemy attack? Are other saint clans invading?"

  "No... these foes are coming from below. The lower three heavens dare assault the upper realm? Have they lost their minds?"

  Cultivators of the saint clans were baffled and disbelieving.

  What kind of trash were the lower three heavens?

  Barely any transformed immortals, let alone ancient immortals.

  How could such a place muster the guts to attack the upper realm saint clans?

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor opened his eyes in his ancestral ground, filled with shock and suspicion.

  "These... carry the aura of Five Phoenix cultivators!"

  "How audacious. Do they think losing our imperial weapon makes the Cloud Clan easy prey?"

  "A bunch of ants daring to provoke us!"

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor spoke coldly.

  Rage boiled within him. The fall of his imperial weapon had already fueled endless fury. Now, these lower realm scum dared strike first.

  He issued orders.

  Soon, Cloud Clan powerhouses assembled.

  Ancient immortals, Primordial Unity experts, and numerous great beings gathered on ancient bronze warships, looming over the upper realm.

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor's severed lower body had regenerated over three years—not fully healed, but no longer a hindrance.

  "Where is the Cloud Saint Ancestor?!"

  A stern voice thundered.

  Lu Jiulian sensed the blazing aura of the Cloud Saint Ancestor and charged ahead. He stepped through the void, fortune swirling around him like a surging river, his eyes burning brightly.

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor was somewhat surprised.

  "Not Gu Mangran, nor Lu Ping'an..."

  "Who do you think you are to challenge me?"

  His expression grew colder as he stared at the defiant Lu Jiulian.

  He felt insulted.

  If Gu Mangran and Lu Ping'an had come, he would accept it—both possessed saint-level power.

  But who was this Lu Jiulian?

  He remembered the man: talented, holding his own against Cloud Clan Primordial Unity experts in past battles, even defeating them.

  But talent aside, he was still just Primordial Unity.

  A mere Primordial Unity daring to shout at a Saint Ancestor?

  "Since Five Phoenix sent you to die, none of you leave today."

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor declared.

  His palm slammed downward.

  Boom!

  His aura soared, shaking mountains and rivers, like an ancient god-demon awakening.

  In the void, Lu Jiulian felt immense pressure.

  But more than that—excitement.

  The deeper the Cloud Saint Ancestor's killing intent toward Five Phoenix, the greater the fortune involved.

  Lu Jiulian believed: slaying this Saint Ancestor would let him prove the Mysterious Immortal realm!

  Hum...

  He dared not underestimate his foe. His fortune was not yet river-like; as half-step Mysterious Immortal, facing a Saint Ancestor meant fighting above his level.

  He had to give everything.

  An illusory green lotus bloomed in the air around him, every vein on its petals crystal clear.

  Vast fortune amplified his offensive power.

  With a flick, a five-colored lotus drifted forward.

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor shot skyward, his body expanding to ten thousand feet, a towering giant.

  The lotus approached; he swept his sleeve.

  Boom!

  It exploded!

  Terrifying shockwaves roiled above the upper realm continent.

  "Die!"

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor sensed the blast's power and was mildly surprised, but still dismissive. The gulf between saint and Primordial Unity was insurmountable.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  His form blurred into afterimages.

  Before they faded, he appeared above Lu Jiulian.

  His palm crashed down.

  Energy in the area vanished in an instant.

  Dong!

  Ripples exploded outward, layer upon layer, like raging waves.

  Lu Jiulian's body shot downward like a cannonball, smashing craters into the ground, cracking the earth, kicking up clouds of dust.

  That single strike carried chilling killing power.

  A Saint Ancestor was a Saint Ancestor, after all!

  In one blow, Lu Jiulian was buried deep in the earth, his aura seemingly vanished.

  On the Cloud Clan side...

  Cultivators burst into laughter. As expected—a Saint Ancestor struck, how could lower realm trash resist?

  In the Nine Heavens, becoming a Saint Ancestor marked the pinnacle.

  Lu Jiulian, not even saint-level, dreaming of slaying one—utter arrogance.

  He would pay dearly.

  "Kill them all! Anyone who dares enter the upper realm dies today—not one spared!"

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor hovered in the void, hair whipping wildly, eyes sharp with murderous intent.

  Bound by void heaven rules, he couldn't invade Five Phoenix. But now its cultivators came knocking—seeking death?

  "Kill!"

  Cloud Clan Primordial Unity experts soared upward, immortal qi surging around their strongest.

  Ancient immortals rose too, charging the invaders.

  Warships groaned; artifacts filled the skies.

  Yet the ancient immortals from the lower three heavens and Five Phoenix celestials met them fearlessly, eyes blazing.

  Boom!

  The earth exploded.

  Lu Jiulian burst upward, battered but with a spinning green lotus above his head—the spiritual tool forged from scavenged imperial weapon fragments at the Heavenly Gate.

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  With ringing sounds, the lotus transformed into a three-foot green sword.

  Lu Jiulian gripped it, stepping forward, eyes filled with resolve and battle lust as he charged the Saint Ancestor.

  This was his toughest foe yet—the hardest battle of his life.

  But he had no regrets, no retreat.

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor stared icily.

  "Court death!"

  Saint-level battles could collapse mountains, shatter continents, wipe out life.

  His power was beyond what a Primordial Unity could withstand.

  Failing to kill Lu Jiulian surprised him, but it wouldn't happen twice.

  Boom!

  His massive form reached out, saintly might surging in his palm, shattering void inch by inch—a strike to erase mountains and rivers.

  Lu Jiulian charged with sword raised.

  Puchi!

  The collision shook the void.

  Suddenly, a furious roar erupted, followed by the sound of flesh tearing.

  The Saint Ancestor's palm was slashed open by Lu Jiulian's sword, blood spraying.

  Under his saintly might, Lu Jiulian counterattacked, piercing straight through.

  But what enraged the Cloud Saint Ancestor...

  Was the vast imperial might emanating from Lu Jiulian's sword!

  That was why his saintly suppression faltered.

  "Imperial weapon?!"

  He demanded incredulously.

  Lu Jiulian said nothing, drawing his sword and attacking again.

  Explosions rippled outward, cracking the earth.

  Such a battle would devastate the lower three heavens.

  Even the sturdier upper realm continent suffered massive destruction.

  No wonder saint battles were confined to outer voids.

  "Not a full imperial weapon—the might is too weak! A weapon forged from fragments..."

  "This familiar imperial aura... the Dao Clan's Heavenly Evolution Mirror?!"

  The Cloud Saint Ancestor's eyes narrowed; he inhaled sharply.

  The Heavenly Evolution Mirror lost at the ascension Heavenly Gate—shattered?

  Even Gu Mangran couldn't break an imperial weapon.

  Was it the great terror within the gate?!

  His heart trembled. Then his Cloud Clan's Supreme Furnace... might suffer the same?

  His gaze flickered as he surveyed the crumbling continent.

  To learn the truth, he had to capture this man.

  Roaring, he punched through the void and stepped in.

  "If you dare... follow!"

  Hair flying, he glanced back coldly at Lu Jiulian.

  "Outer void battlefield..."

  Lu Jiulian hovered, breathing heavily, murmuring.

  Saint experts were strong.

  His fortune neared river-like; half-step Mysterious Immortal, yet he felt mountains of pressure against the Cloud Saint Ancestor.

  But...

  His eyes flashed. Why had he been born into this world?

  A prodigy, his path smooth—no obstacles, no bottlenecks.

  He believed his existence was to pursue the true essence of cultivation.

  How could he retreat in fear?

  He raised his hand, gently stroking the green lotus sword. Its three-foot blade gleamed like a mirror, faintly reflecting his life.

  Fearless, he tore the void and charged into the outer battlefield.

  Cloud Clan ancestral ground.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Pillar-like fortune crashed down.

  Overlord laughed wildly, sweeping his great axe. Terrifying axe light carved deep gouges into the continent.

  "Come on!"

  Demonic qi coiled around his demonic frame, towering like a devil god.

  Several Cloud Clan ancient immortals attacked, remembering his grueling fight against one years ago.

  Surrounding him should end him.

  But to their horror...

  One swing—and a five-qis ancient immortal was cleaved in half, primordial spirit crushed!

  Instant kill!

  Effortless!

  Ancient immortals were no match for Overlord now!

  Cloud Clan Primordial Unity experts rushed in.

  Yet with his unyielding dao intent, Overlord suppressed multiple attackers alone, leaving them terrified.

  "Impossible! Three years ago, he barely matched an ancient immortal. How can he dominate us now?!"

  "Five Phoenix had a time array, but three years there is only thirty for them... thirty years is nothing to ancient immortals! How this leap?!"

  "His technique changed! Vaguely... we're fighting the Heavenly Dao itself!"

  They didn't know Lu had pushed the time array to its limit, accelerating flow vastly.

  The Primordial Unity experts felt the suppression from Overlord's Heavenly Dao aura—chilling.

  After Primordial Unity, the goal was saint realm: commune with Nine Heavens' Dao, temper the body with its power, derive personal saintly might.

  That was saint cultivation.

  But now... Five Phoenix cultivators had a method to commune with the Dao early?

  It was like starting saint training ahead!

  Not just Overlord—every Five Phoenix cultivator shone brilliantly!

  The upper realm continent turned into a bloody battlefield.

  Nie Changqing strode through the chaos, eyes sharp.

  Pillar-like fortune enveloped him.

  He drew his blade.

  Blade light flashed—mountains and rivers split, like a coiling dragon decapitated!

  Puchi!

  Blood soaked the earth; an upper realm ancient immortal fell, head soaring skyward.

  Nie Changqing smiled lightly, white robes unstained.

  He remembered the warships descending years ago, crushing Five Phoenix in terror.

  Now... it was smoke in the wind.

  Five Phoenix was no longer the timid world it once was.

  Sima Qingshan sat cross-legged in the void, scroll unfurled. Sleeve rolled, brush fell—moving mountains, shifting peaks.

  Ancient immortals coughed blood under sudden ink-wash summits; some crushed to pulp.

  Upper realm forces tried forming arrays, but ink mountains tore them apart!

  Bai Qingniao perched on Little Phoenix Nine's back, a peerless goddess.

  Flames roared around her; phoenix cries shook the heavens.

  Eight fire phoenixes swept through, burning mountains, razing rivers—even Primordial Unity experts couldn't withstand.

  The upper realm army retreated under their onslaught.

  One person... an army unto herself!

  Kong Nanfei stood hands clasped behind, reciting. Vast righteous qi fused with fortune, rolling down to suppress the enemy!

  Three years in the upper realm.

  Three hundred in Five Phoenix!

  How the tables turned—not in three years, but three hundred!

  Cloud Clan cultivators were horrified. Five Phoenix celestials far exceeded expectations.

  Even their Primordial Unity felt powerless.

  Most shocking: the lower three heavens' ancient ancestors—once groveling before them—now blazed like Five Phoenix cultivators.

  Pillar fortune; mountains crumbled.

  The Cloud Clan... began to rout!

  ...

  Lu sat calmly, unfazed.

  The Spiritual Pressure Chessboard floated before him. Sleeve rolled, piece placed.

  He did not intervene, merely observing.

  Five Phoenix needed this battle. The lower three heavens' ascendant ancestors did too.

  Originally, Lu planned to crush the Cloud Ancestor himself.

  But Lu Jiulian's arrival changed that.

  As one of his avatar fruits, Lu Jiulian was now truly alive.

  Lu could barely see him as a mere avatar anymore.

  He had emotions, desires, pursuits.

  Now, Lu Jiulian sought to tear open his path by slaying a Saint Ancestor.

  So Lu chose to let him.

  Watching flames of war erupt across the upper realm continent...

  Five Phoenix celestials and lower three heavens ancestors suppressing upper realm forces with fortune cultivation—Lu smiled.

  This battle proved it.

  Five Phoenix was no longer a weak, bullyable high-martial world.

  Of course, that wasn't his focus.

  He cared about Zhulong's fight with the Dao Saint Ancestor.

  His little cotton-padded jacket—naturally, he kept a close eye.

  ...

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Terrifying auras erupted, shattering mountains and rivers, churning the earth.

  Dao Clan powerhouses were stunned.

  Oppressive saintly might suffocated them.

  What had provoked their ancestor?!

  Zhulong stood serenely in the void like an autumn leaf, eyes closed.

  The Dao Saint Ancestor stared at her armor. He had planned to stall calmly, but could no longer.

  "Imperial Heavenly Evolution Mirror aura..."

  "Our clan's imperial weapon... how tragic!"

  He wailed, emotions exploding uncontrollably.

  Not only destroyed—dismantled by Five Phoenix cultivators into artifacts.

  A million years of accumulation... shattered!

  "I... will kill you! To appease our imperial weapon's spirit!"

  "I will annihilate Five Phoenix, slaughter the Cloud Clan... you bullied the Dao Clan! This hatred is irreconcilable—even if it costs every last drop of Dao blood, Five Phoenix falls!"

  His anguished cry pierced the heavens!

  Dao Clan cultivators' eyes reddened instantly.

  Facing the enraged clan, Zhulong tilted her head slightly.

  Boom!

  The Dao Saint Ancestor struck instantly, crossing the void.

  His palm slammed out, collapsing space inch by inch.

  Full power from the start.

  Hatred for the imperial fragment armor boiled his killing intent.

  Zhulong felt the pressure.

  She grew serious.

  A Saint Ancestor... was indeed strong!

  Facing the palm, she threw a punch.

  Dong! Dong! Dong!

  Her soft, delicate fist met his palm.

  Centered on them, the world dimmed. Terrifying explosions rippled outward.

  The Dao ancestral ground nearly turned to ruins in that instant!

  Zhulong flew backward.

  The Dao Saint Ancestor stared coldly, killing intent raging.

  "Body tempered by Heavenly Dao, infused with its power—a half-saint! Besides Lu Ping'an, Five Phoenix hides another prodigy! Immense talent... pity Gu Mangran and Lu Ping'an are fools to send you to die!"

  "After you, I'll slay Lu Ping'an!"

  He declared icily.

  Dao robes fluttering, he charged weaponless.

  His saint dao weapon lost in void heaven, imperial weapon gone—lesser artifacts felt awkward, better none.

  But his words...

  Made Zhulong's expression freeze cold.

  Slay Lu Ping'an?

  This man... wanted to kill her father?!

  The best father in the world!

  Energy boiled around Zhulong.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Vast fortune surged.

  Her long lashes trembled; endless rage and power seemed to force her eyelids open.

  Behind her, energy formed a vision.

  A primordial beast with human head and serpent body loomed, blotting the sky.

  The Dao Saint Ancestor sensed danger.

  His heart pounded in dread!

  Rumble...

  He looked up, vaguely feeling the Nine Heavens Dao approaching.

  This girl... could summon it?!

  Sizzle...

  Her lashes fluttered; eyelids lifted slightly. Through the slit, terrifying energy shattered void.

  "Whatever grudge you have—come at me!"

  "Threaten my father... and I'll end you!"

  Zhulong said icily.

  Her eyes snapped open.

  Left eye pitch black, right eye blinding white.

  Day and night inverted endlessly across the upper realm.

  Black and white yin-yang qi churned behind her.

  Killing intent flashed—heaven and earth overturned!

  "Divine... ability?!"

  The Dao Saint Ancestor's pupils contracted.

  He had merely threatened—and she unleashed a divine ability?!

  Next moment, his body was enveloped in a black-white millstone!

  All he heard...

  Was the grinding sound.

  Da da da da da da...