Within the Immortal Domain.
Upon the colossal heart, the densely packed eyeballs glared round and wide, rippling with the oppressive spiritual power of the Integration Realm.
Before it, the massive Blood Tree revealed its true form, its branches piercing into the spines of the Li family members.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Old Tree, which had stood silent in the Li family courtyard for hundreds of years, now thrashed its roots against the earth in excitement.
Spiritual power drawn from the darkness flowed through its massive branches and poured into the bodies of the Li clan.
Simultaneously, root after root burst from the ground, skewering the floating bodies of the Zhao clansmen.
These roots clashed with the veins extending from the heart, wrestling for ownership of the blood within the corpses.
Tender, fresh leaves gradually began to sprout upon the Old Tree's previously bare branches.
The Heaven-Piercing Coffin crashed to the ground.
The silver surface of the coffin lid slowly turned the color of blood, deepening until the entire face of the coffin was dyed crimson.
The Heaven-Piercing Coffin began to corrupt the very earth; as the lid opened, a boundless sea of blood spread inch by inch across the land, contaminating the entire Immortal Domain!
Old Tree's excited voice rang out loud and manic within the scarlet Immortal Domain.
"Blood! So much blood! My leaves, my hair—they're going to grow back! Hahaha!"
...
"You wretch! How dare you?! How dare you?!"
The Heart surged with monstrous rage.
It could sense that this tree demon—a mere entity at the Divinity Transformation realm—was utilizing some unknown formation to borrow spiritual power from the people of the Azure Cloud Region outside the Immortal Domain!
This greedy Old Tree was attempting to absorb the blood of the Zhao clansmen!
And that Sea of Blood was also joining in on this feast of "dividing the spoils."
No!
It was not just that!
The members of the Li clan, their spines pierced by branches, hung slumped in mid-air.
Through that formation, they began to accept the influx of external spiritual power, and their strength was steadily climbing.
From the Li family's sword box, a streak of black mist suddenly emerged.
From within that mist radiated an aura that made even the Zhao Clan Ancestor tremble in fear.
Inside this Immortal Domain, the black mist completely disregarded his oppressive might, recklessly piercing through the corpses of the Zhao clansmen.
She was rejoicing!
"It really is that kind of thing! Hahaha! Excellent! Nourishment of heavenly proportions!"
"What is this?!!"
The aura of a Great Demon!
The Zhao Clan Ancestor was seized with terror.
He sensed an aura from this demon that was even more horrifying than the entities that had annihilated the Zhao Clan 160,000 years ago.
This being had already transcended the scope of worldly rules; it was an ancient existence from time immemorial, something completely beyond his comprehension!
"No!"
With every darting movement of the black mist, the Zhao Clan Ancestor felt a surge of panic.
The Heart—which granted him the power to devour destiny and resurrect his offspring—was frantically signaling danger to him, as if it had encountered its natural predator!
Seemingly coveting this feast, more and more members of the Li clan joined in.
Their bodies were suspended in the air, spines pierced by the tree branches.
The influx of external Spiritual power formed a barrier that shielded them from the oppressive might of the Integration Realm; so stable were they that even the Old Tree's excited trembling could not make their slumped bodies sway.
A single figure was lifted right before the colossal heart.
Gurgle...
The dense cluster of eyeballs stared fixedly at Li Yaowen, who had opened her eyes amidst the crowd of Li clansmen.
Her delicate fingers were still deftly manipulating the air, and behind her, the other Li clansmen, who seemed to be in a deep slumber, looked as if they could wake at any moment.
"You are courting death! Courting death!!!"
The roar of the Zhao Clan Ancestor echoed from within the Heart.
He intended to slaughter these ants who dared to share in his blood feast—these fools who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth!
However.
A seal suddenly manifested in the sky, bearing the weight of the Mandate of Heaven.
The veins and vessels of the Heart that he lashed out, seemingly terrifying as they swept toward the Old Tree and the Li family members, turned as soft as cotton the moment they arrived.
Instead, the vessels began to emit multi-colored gases like smoke.
These were absorbed by the seal and then dispersed in all directions, spreading across the entire Duravia Trade Prefecture.
"How is this possible?"
The multitude of eyeballs within the colossal Heart... were trembling in fear!
"It is useless."
Li Yaowen's pure, unblemished eyes looked down upon the Zhao Clan Ancestor.
Her thin lips parted slightly as she spoke, "Long ago, our Old Ancestor discovered that you were stealing the Qi Luck of the people of the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
I did this very same thing many years ago.
Where the Qi Luck of the world resides, so too does the Spirit Qi; and where Spirit Qi is abundant, all living things grow and thrive endlessly."
"You have spent your entire life devouring Qi Luck; that is precisely the ability of that heart of yours.
It consumes Qi Luck, transforming it into the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth, yet it cannot grant you a breakthrough.
This is because, no matter how extraordinary it might be, its primary function is merely the acquisition of Qi Luck."
"It is like a farmer tending his fields.
The seeds, water, fertilizer, and the fertile soil itself—none of these can be eaten raw."
The Zhao Clan Ancestor was incensed.
Those blood vessels continued to lash out endlessly at the Li family members, attempting to kill them, yet their attacks were completely futile.
Li Yaowen continued,
"The flesh and blood of the Zhao clansmen are the seeds.
The Qi Luck of others is the water.
And your heart is the fertile soil.
Time is the fertilizer.
You intend to use all of these to cultivate a bountiful harvest, which you can then devour to grow strong."
"But for you, this heart that can manipulate Qi Luck is the very foundation of everything."
She raised her head, gazing at the seal in the sky.
"And once your heart can no longer manipulate Qi Luck, your hundred and sixty thousand years of preparation will be rendered meaningless, right from the very foundation."
"You have been... targeted."
"No!"
The densely packed eyeballs within the Heart stared upwards.
That seal... was vying with him for the right to control Qi Luck, and he was suffering a crushing defeat.
That seal possessed the authority of a supreme existence he could not possibly resist—an authority that stood high above him.
It was manipulating the Qi Luck of Heaven and Earth, governing the life and death of all sentient beings!
There was only one such existence in the entire Azure Dynasty: the Human Emperor!
The Heart trembled.