Chapter 436: The Yao Shi Kunpeng Appears; Su Chen Uncovers the Diversion Strategy

A pitch-black spatial rift stretched across the nine heavens.

The blood-red clouds above Duanhun Mountains were forcibly torn apart by an invisible force.

A low, rumbling roar emerged from deep within the rift; the spatial barrier could not withstand this power, its edges continuously peeling away and dissolving into nothingness.

A colossal shadow, too vast to measure, slowly emerged from the darkness.

The shadow bore the blue sky on its back, its wings hanging down like they obscured the sun and moon.

The overwhelming aura of a Zhen Sheng was unleashed without restraint.

In Duanhun Mountains, the surviving demonic clans knelt trembling on the ground under this pressure, daring not to lift their heads.

The massive shadow rapidly condensed in midair, and a middle-aged man clad in ink-black robes stood upon the void.

The man’s face was sinister, his eyes narrow and elongated.

Where he stood, the surrounding space automatically warped, forming patches of vacuum.

“Zhen Wu, you have overstepped your bounds!”

The middle-aged man spoke; his voice was not loud, yet it echoed clearly throughout Duanhun Mountains.

Above, Zhenwu Emperor’s colossal divine form rippled slightly under this pressure, the nine-colored divine light swirling across his form flickering.

Zhenwu Emperor stabilized his divine form, raised his head, and gazed directly at the ink-robed man before him.

“Yao Shi Kunpeng,” Zhenwu Emperor gripped the Damo Sword tightly, his voice cold and deep, “I, this Emperor, act by the Heavenly Court’s decree to guard the Northern Ju Lu Continent and purge all demons. You have allowed your subordinates to destroy the earth veins, attempting blood sacrifices to shatter the foundation of this world. It is you who has overstepped.”

Facing Kunpeng, a peak Zhen Sheng, Zhenwu Emperor did not retreat an inch.

The Damo Sword let out a piercing sword cry; its tip pointed directly at Kunpeng, and a vast Damo Sword intent erupted from its blade, aimed squarely at Kunpeng.

Kunpeng looked at the Damo Sword, a flicker of disdain passing through his narrow eyes.

“The Heavenly Court?” Kunpeng sneered. “The Heavenly Court has no authority over internal affairs of our demonic race. Moreover, my actions require no explanation to the Heavenly Court.”

Kunpeng took a step forward; ripples spread across the space beneath his feet, and spatial laws under his control reached out to strike Zhenwu Emperor’s divine form.

The nine-colored divine light surrounding Zhenwu’s divine form remained utterly unmoved by the ripples, unaffected.

“You have slain two of my demonic Luo Jinxian,” Kunpeng’s voice turned icy. “Today, I shall destroy your divine form as interest.”

Zhenwu Emperor’s expression grew solemn; he understood the fundamental gap between peak Luo Jinxian and Zhen Sheng.

It was a difference in mastery over the Dao’s laws.

But he could not retreat—if he retreated, how could the Heavenly Court suppress the Three Realms and earn the faith of all beings?

“Today, I shall test the Yao Shi’s supreme art.”

Zhenwu Emperor gripped the sword’s hilt with both hands; his Luo Dao Guo within began to pulse. His colossal Zhenwu divine form, drawing upon the Heavenly Court’s divine path and cosmic order, ascended another tier—reaching the Zhen Sheng level.

Upon the lone cliff.

Gales whipped up shattered stones, striking Su Chen’s blue robe.

Su Chen stood unmoved, bearing the pressure of two Zhen Shengs clashing.

His Hunyuan magic power flowed silently, dissolving entirely the aura radiating from both sides.

He did not look at the two figures locked in combat above, but lowered his head in thought.

In his consciousness, the images just revealed by the Tianji Treasure Mirror still flickered.

In the vision, Kunpeng’s true body was advancing through the Void Storms of the Star Shattered Abyss beyond the realms.

Su Chen lifted his head, his gaze piercing through layers of space, returning to the ink-robed man above.

“His aura is Zhen Sheng, his pressure is Zhen Sheng, even his law fluctuations show no flaw,” Su Chen calculated swiftly in his mind. “Had it not been for the Tianji Treasure Mirror’s flawless prediction, even I would believe this is Kunpeng’s true body.”

He connected the scattered clues in his mind into a clear chain of reasoning.

Kunpeng sacrificed two Luo Jinxian and created a cataclysmic disturbance—destroying the earth veins, enough to annihilate all life in this region—his sole purpose was one.

To draw attention.

Though Zhenwu Emperor intervened, Kunpeng had clearly anticipated this. At the moment the two Luo Jinxian were slain, one of his avatars had already descended, continuing the conflict.

Kunpeng, as an ancient peak Zhen Sheng, was far beyond Zhenwu Emperor’s match.

Once the Heavenly Court sensed Zhenwu’s divine form was in peril, they would surely send more powerful beings—even mobilize the Heavenly Court’s deepest reserves—to suppress the situation in the Northern Ju Lu Continent.

At that moment, all powerful beings across the Three Realms would fix their gaze upon this battlefield in the Northern Ju Lu Continent.

Everyone would believe Kunpeng intended to launch a grand war against the Heavenly Court here.

Meanwhile, the real Kunpeng—the true body far away in the Star Shattered Abyss—could move freely to seize what he truly desired.

This was the strategy of feigning construction of a plank road while secretly marching through Chen Cang.

Su Chen looked at Kunpeng’s avatar above and felt a flicker of admiration.

This ancient monster, who had survived since antiquity, was not only ruthless but also favored meticulous planning before action.

Had it not been for the Tianji Treasure Mirror, Su Chen would have remained in the Northern Ju Lu Continent, seeking to profit from this chaos for the Demon Alliance.

But now, through the Tianji Treasure Mirror, he had seen through Kunpeng’s scheme and escaped his trap.

“The Northern Ju Lu Continent is merely bait. His true target is the Star Shattered Abyss. I cannot waste time here,” Su Chen concluded.

He did not care about the standoff above; though Zhenwu Emperor faced dire odds, this was only a divine form carrying a portion of his origin.

Even if shattered by Kunpeng’s avatar, Zhenwu’s true body would not perish—only require longer recovery.

Moreover, Zhenwu Emperor was an Imperial Sovereign of the Heavenly Court; the Heavenly Court would never allow his divine form to be destroyed by Kunpeng.

He must hurry to the Star Shattered Abyss beyond the realms. Kunpeng had paid such a heavy price for this diversion—the thing hidden within the Star Shattered Abyss must be worth more than a primordial spiritual treasure.

Perhaps, even connected to the Hunyuan Dao.

Su Chen activated the Chaos Bell in his consciousness, using its power to conceal his form and avoid detection by Kunpeng.

Then, using the Chaos Bell’s spatial laws, he opened a spatial passage aimed beyond the Three Realms.

He was about to step into the spatial passage.

Above, the clash of laws between Kunpeng and Zhenwu Emperor had ignited real fire.

Kunpeng’s avatar had never intended to debate with Zhenwu Emperor upon arrival.

His sole purpose was to create commotion—to draw the gaze of the entire Three Realms.

Now, he would make the commotion even greater—he was about to strike for real.