Chapter 678

The heavens and earth seemed to collapse at that moment, indescribable waves of destruction raging wildly—even the sturdy space of the Ancient Realm cracked open numerous pitch-black fissures.

Two colossal entities slammed violently together high above the Nine Heavens, then each disintegrated within the raging storm.

Both great arrays were imperial-grade sealing arrays, their power no weaker than the Pure Lotus Demon Saint's Refining Heaven Ancient Formation.

"Puchī!"

As the ancient mirror shattered, countless Gu Clan elders spat out blood; from the black-mist-filled space fissures came a chorus of agonized screams—clearly, this total war between the two clans had inflicted heavy losses on both sides.

The Destruction Storm raged across the sky, halting the entire battlefield; the Three Immortals of Gu Clan and the Four Soul Sovereign Demons all withdrew in fear, for anyone pulled into that storm—even at their strength—would likely perish; only Hun Tian Di and Gu Yuan remained unharmed amid the devastation.

The Gu Clan elders gazed at the destruction surging like a mad roaring dragon far above, their faces grim—was this the power of an entire clan's united assault? That previous strike was surely comparable to a full-force attack from a Nine-Star Dou Sheng Peak; when numbers reach a certain threshold, they trigger qualitative change.

"Where is the Ancient Jade?"

Lei Ying's grim expression lasted only an instant; his gaze suddenly shifted, finally settling on a patch of Destruction Storm in the sky, where a faint red glow flickered faintly.

As Lei Ying spotted the Ancient Jade's location, Void Swallowing Flame instantly transformed into a stream of black flame, shooting toward the Ancient Jade at light-speed.

"Stop him! He's seizing the Ancient Jade!" At this sight, everyone's faces changed; they cried out urgently.

Lei Ying and Yan Jin gritted their teeth, their bodies lashing out in a violent surge.

"Thunder Punishment Palm!"

"Meteor Fire Mystic Finger!"

Both unleashed their Heavenly Rank Advanced Battle Arts at full power; the terrifying might of these arts shook heaven and earth, making the Heavenly Energy tremble.

A brilliant thunderous palm of light and a blinding streak of fire flashed through Space at speeds invisible to the naked eye, hurtling toward Void Swallowing Flame!

"Hng!"

Facing their fierce assault, Void Swallowing Flame's expression turned icy, yet he made no move to dodge; his body trembled, and countless black hole vortices erupted around him in Space.

"Pēng! Pēng! Pēng!"

The devastating attacks struck instantly; the dense black hole vortices exploded in rapid succession, but though they momentarily slowed the assault, it was only a temporary measure—once all the black holes shattered, the thunder palm and fire finger struck Void Swallowing Flame's back directly; the immense force blew open his back, scattering black flame.

Struck hard by Lei Ying and Yan Jin, even Void Swallowing Flame's formidable body staggered under the twin Heavenly Rank Advanced Battle Arts, suffering damage to his Flame Essence, his form growing significantly more ethereal.

Using that very recoil, his body flashed once, appearing at the red glow's location; he swept out his hand, and black flame surged like a ravenous tiger, swallowing the Ancient Jade into the Void Space.

With the Ancient Jade in hand, Void Swallowing Flame burst into loud laughter; the Four Soul Sovereign Demons swiftly converged, surrounding and shielding him, eyes alert as they watched Lei Ying and Yan Jin charging after them.

"Hehe, did you enjoy the fight? Don't worry—I'll collect this palm tenfold next time!" Void Swallowing Flame sneered coldly at Lei Ying and Yan Jin.

Lei Ying and Yan Jin's faces darkened terribly—they had not expected that even together, they failed to stop Void Swallowing Flame, and worse, let him seize the Ancient Jade.

"Go!"

With the Ancient Jade secured, Void Swallowing Flame wasted no time; his body surged toward the space fissure.

"Stay!"

As Void Swallowing Flame moved, Space rippled—Gu Yuan appeared, his expression slightly grim; but before he could act, Hun Tian Di, clad in gray-white robes, materialized before him, reversed his hand, intercepted Gu Yuan's attack, then floated back; behind him, the black-mist-filled space fissure churned with dark energy, and a massive Void Black Seal reformed.

Seeing the forming Void Black Seal, Gu Yuan froze; below, the Gu Clan elders immediately reassembled the ancient mirror, preparing to defend against the Soul Sovereign's destructive assault.

"Gu Yuan, I told you—when Xiao Xuan fell, your clan lost its best chance to oppose my Soul Sovereign," Hun Tian Di said calmly, smiling at Gu Yuan's darkening face.

His eyes flickered faintly toward the direction of the Heavenly Tomb, revealing a meaning-laden smile.

A thousand years ago, the grand design was already settled!

"The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion will ultimately fall into my Soul Sovereign's hands. Gu Yuan, I will reach that level!"

"The Ancient Jade is split into eight pieces—even if you possess the Gu Clan's piece, you haven't gathered them all. Don't get so cocky!" Lei Ying snapped coldly.

"Is that so?" At this, Hun Tian Di's face twisted into a strange smile; he murmured softly, "The clan leaders of the Lei and Yan clans have left their territories—do you think my Soul Sovereign would miss such an opportunity?"

"What?!" Hearing this, Lei Ying and Yan Jin jolted violently.

The Four Demons and Void Swallowing Flame were right here—how could the Soul Sovereign possibly have sent other strong warriors to attack the Lei and Yan clans?!

Did the Soul Sovereign still conceal strength—striking the Gu Clan while simultaneously attacking the Yan and Lei clans?!

Seeing their shock, Hun Tian Di merely smiled faintly, slowly retreating with Void Swallowing Flame and the others into the space fissure; under the threat of the massive Void Black Seal, even Gu Yuan could not stop them.

In the end, they could only watch as Hun Tian Di and the others vanished completely into the space fissure.

Gazing at the slowly healing space fissure above, the Shan Mai fell into eerie silence; many Gu Clan elders wore grim expressions—though the Gu Clan had not been crushed like the Ling Clan, they had still lost the Ancient Jade; in a sense, this clash with the Soul Sovereign was a defeat for the Gu Clan.

The countless light screens across the mountains slowly retracted, finally dissolving into nothingness; fortunately, command had been well-executed, or else the entire Shan Mai would have been reduced to ashes in battle—a heavy loss for the Gu Clan.

Not long after the Soul Sovereign vanished, rings on Lei Ying and Yan Jin's fingers suddenly glowed; a soul-wave carrying information flashed into their minds; upon receiving it, their faces turned icy.

"The Lei Clan's Ancient Jade is gone."

"Ours too."

"The Ancient Jade of both clans were stored in the most heavily guarded locations—how could the Soul Sovereign have sent forces to strike them while launching a full assault on the Gu Clan?" Gu Dao couldn't help speaking up.

"According to the reports, one of our own Elders suddenly betrayed us, stole the Ancient Jade, and fled—later intercepted by Soul Sovereign warriors, two of whom reached Star Eight Dou Sheng," Lei Ying's face was terrifyingly dark—he never imagined such treachery could occur within the Lei Clan.

"Same in our Yan Clan—two Soul Sovereign Star Eight Dou Sheng warriors intercepted and took the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade," Yan Jin growled bitterly.

"We underestimated the Soul Sovereign," Yan Jin said slowly; the power displayed by the Soul Sovereign weighed heavily on everyone.

Hearing this, the Three Immortals of Gu Clan twitched involuntarily—the Soul Sovereign had four Star Eight Dou Sheng warriors!!!

In Gu Yuan's eyes surged a hint of shock—the Hun Tian Di had not lied; while attacking the Gu Clan, they had also struck the Lei and Yan clans—the Soul Sovereign possessed strength to fight three clans at once!

Destroy four clans, gather eight jades!

On this day, the Soul Sovereign gathered all eight Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jades!

Even Lei Ying and Yan Jin, who had weathered a thousand years of storms, now wore expressions of bewilderment—given the Soul Sovereign's ruthless nature, if Hun Tian Di became Emperor, would their three clans even have a chance to survive?

Lei Ying's face hardened with cruelty; his voice was grim: "The only option now is to unite the three clans' forces and attack the Soul Realm! If we can destroy even one Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade, Hun Tian Di cannot open the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion!"

At Lei Ying's words, every eye sharpened—they were preparing for a last-ditch, all-or-nothing strike!

The Soul Realm would be filled with deadly dangers; the three clans' forces might walk straight into a tiger's mouth, with little chance of survival—and the Soul Sovereign still had four Star Eight Dou Sheng warriors; even combined, the three clans might not win!

Gu Yuan shook his head: "This won't work. With Void Swallowing Flame present, he can simply swallow the entire Soul Realm. An Imperial Soul like his can vanish—even I cannot find him."

Hearing this, Lei Ying and Yan Jin frowned; for some reason, the three of them glanced involuntarily toward the Heavenly Tomb—perhaps, as Hun Tian Di had said, a thousand years ago, when Xiao Xuan was still alive, was the only chance to defeat the Soul Sovereign.

Hun Tian Di's opponent has always been only Xiao Xuan!

A month later, in the Yao Realm, a terrifying Soul Storm raged across the entire Yao Realm.

At that moment, from Xiao Yan's third eye, Soul Force surged violently outward; a three-headed, six-armed shadow, hundreds of zhang in size, enveloped Xiao Yan's body. The appearance of this three-headed, six-armed shadow was identical to Xiao Yan's own — also seated in lotus position.

Terrifying Fused Strange Fire began to seep from within the massive soul shadow, until eventually, it completely transformed the three-headed, six-armed Asura Soul Shadow into a figure of fire. Intense heat permeated this space.

At that moment, the Soul Storm around Xiao Yan roared like a tidal wave. A vortex a thousand zhang wide formed beneath him. Vast amounts of Soul Power, as if violently pulled, transformed into hundreds of zhang-long Spiritual Pillars, continuously slamming into the massive soul shadow.

The Yao Spirit's beautiful eyes, pale with shock, gazed at the figure in the sky. Her Special Physique had vanished entirely, and even her Soul Force had plummeted significantly.

In exchange, some surviving Yao Clan members and descendants had at least preserved their lives. Aside from being unable to leave the Yao Realm and potentially becoming sacrifices to the Soul Sovereign at any moment, their livelihoods were now secured.

"Imperial Soul," the Yao Spirit murmured.

Xiao Yan's massive soul shadow sat upon the Nine Heavens. Thick clouds obscured the entire Yao Realm. The soul shadow grew increasingly solid, until finally, it resembled a true, three-headed, six-armed Asura giant hundreds of zhang tall — clearly a greatly enlarged version of Xiao Yan himself!

His breath sounded like thunder; thick clouds surged into his nostrils like dragon clouds. His hair flowed like a thousand-zhang waterfall. His robes stirred, stirring terrifying waves upon the sea. Faintly, a presence as if ruling over Heaven and Earth slowly emerged from that colossal soul body.

That presence was like the sovereign of souls!

Originally, after mastering the complete Imperial Soul Scripture, Xiao Yan's Soul Power was already immensely strong; what he lacked to break through to Imperial Soul was merely a catalyst and vast amounts of Soul Energy.

Another month passed. Suddenly, the space of the Yao Realm violently trembled. A fluctuation, as if that of a master of Heaven and Earth, rapidly spread outward. Wherever this fluctuation passed, every Yao Clan member and every Soul Sovereign enforcer monitoring the realm could not help but kneel prostrate. That pressure was irresistible!

Hun Feng, kneeling on the ground, trembled uncontrollably. He had felt this sensation only before on Hun Tian Di and Xu Wu Tian Yan!

"Imperial Soul! It's Imperial Soul! He truly broke through!!"

The thousand-zhang three-headed, six-armed figure stood as if supporting Heaven and Earth. Beneath that divine figure, everyone in the Yao Realm shivered uncontrollably. That terrifying pressure nearly burst their bodies and extinguished their souls.

Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, and instantly, all Soul Power withdrew and released at will.

Gazing into the distance, a strange state of mind arose within him. That feeling was as if the entire Yao Realm space lay under his control.

"This is Imperial Soul? Heavenly Realm is as high as Heaven — Imperial Soul towers above Heaven and Earth." At this moment, Xiao Yan's only sensation was that the entire Yao Realm rested in the palm of his hand.

Heavenly Realm Soul Force and Heavenly Rank Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques could harness Heaven and Earth Power. But Imperial Soul could control everything. Xiao Yan had no doubt that, right now, with a single thought, he could command the Heaven and Earth Power of the entire Zhong Zhou.

Imperial Soul and Heaven Realm Great Perfection were separated by only a step — one was Heaven, the other Earth.

Between them, there was no comparison whatsoever. Only by truly experiencing the might of Imperial Soul could one understand why this barrier of the heavens, even after a lifetime of effort, could never be crossed — because between them...

One was a god. One was mortal.

Xiao Yan slowly rose, his eyes fixed on one direction, and said softly: "You've gathered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade?"

Space slowly twisted, and the figure of a white-robed man with a smile appeared before Xiao Yan. Who else could it be but Hun Tian Di? Having reached Imperial Soul, Xiao Yan could even perceive faint traces of Soul Force and Dou Qi aura emanating from Hun Tian Di.

From these destructive Dou Qi auras, Xiao Yan could glimpse scenes — the battle between Hun Tian Di and Gu Yuan two months ago!

He had gathered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade!

(End of Chapter)