The far west edge of the Great Thousand World.
After countless hardships, he finally found a route out of the Abyss Domain, passed through the Sacred Abyss Continent, and at last reached the border of the Great Thousand World.
Every border of the Great Thousand World was sealed by a world barrier—passage was not something to be taken lightly. Even Liu Xi could not simply break through at will.
If one forcibly tore open a world barrier, the cost would be terrible: the extraterritorial fiends could crawl through the same rent into the Great Thousand World. That was a price Liu Xi refused to pay.
The moment his boots touched Great Thousand soil, a lightness flooded his chest. Despite surviving and thriving in the Abyas Domain thanks to the Nine-Turn Profound Art and his Soul Control Technique, nothing compared to the bright sun, the bluer-than-blue sky, and the ubiquitous Spiritual Energy that filled the heavens here.
He stretched with a satisfying yawn; every tendon and joint seemed to wake.
"The Great Thousand World is where I belong. Time to go see what's become of things," he murmured lazily.
His face then hardened. Years of fierce fighting had soaked his heart in killing intent—this would not vanish overnight.
Liu Xi's senses pricked. The Azure Lotus Cauldron he'd left behind was frantically drawing in Heaven and Earth Energy, sucking the world dry—an act of scorched-earth desperation.
That could not be the will of the Cauldron-spirit itself; someone had forced its hand. Unless compelled, the Cauldron would never act so recklessly.
"Perfect timing, then." Liu Xi's voice was cold.
With a thunderous punch, he tore open the spatial channel, locked onto the Cauldron's coordinates, and shot through like lightning.
…
On the Burning Heaven Continent.
The Azure Flame Curtain above Azure Flame Heaven erupted into madness—every sect and power lifted their gaze. The curtain itself flared as though burning, voraciously drawing Heaven and Earth Energy; the strongest powers of the Great Thousand World immediately sensed the world's vital force draining away.
At the curtain's centre, a tornado formed and swelled with terrifying speed; the aura it emitted warped the very heavens.
Cults and clans exchanged urgent mental impressions.
"Crazy—absolutely insane. If the Burning Heaven Continent's Heaven and Earth Energy is sucked dry, the land will be ruined."
"How did the Azure Lotus Cauldron touch the world like this when it shaped the curtain?"
"That's not the point—if the continent's energy is drained, the extraterritorial fiends will have a straight path into the Great Thousand World!"
Panic spread among the overlords. Even the Ancient Maha Clan's Grand Elder could not hide his shock. Who could have imagined that dealing with a few Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereigns would lead to this?
In that moment, the Grand Elder realised the true danger: the tornado's power came from the world itself. If fully unleashed, it could cleave through even a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign. He swallowed hard.
Maha Tian's brow tightened. Though he had broken through to the Saint Grade realm, this was different. A continent's Heaven and Earth Energy was not something even a Saint Grade could oppose. He remembered the ancient time when the Immortal Emperor created the Great Thousand Demon-Smiting Array and drew on the world's energy to seal away the Heavenly Evil Monarch.
If the curtain continued, Burning Heaven Continent would be ruined—then it would be only a matter of time before the fiends poured through. For them, there was only doom if they pressed on, and humiliation if they withdrew.
Maha Tian hesitated.
The Ancient Maha Clan's ranks were shaken; the tornado's aura made even a Heavenly Sovereign pale. The standoff froze the field.
Yet the gathering of Heaven and Earth Energy did not stop. Power continued to pulse and convulse, shaking space itself. Terror mounted—until space split open with a blinding, golden light, a pillar of brilliance like a condensed ray of heaven.
A golden figure shot out.
At once, the raging torrents of world-energy collapsed and returned to the heavens.
"Ancient Maha Clan, Maha Tian—so it's you again, you insect, the one who never learned his lesson," a voice rang out, cool and murderous, rippling through the sky and sweeping aside pretence.
The first to react were Xiao Yixian, Zi Yan, Qing Lin and Yun Yun. Tears brimmed in their eyes as they squinted toward the golden silhouette. The news of Liu Xi lost in the void had wounded them the most—after all, they had not seen him for ten years. Reunions had been brief; partings had been cruel.
Seeing two Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereigns standing before them, with the Ancient Maha Clan behind, their relief was tempered by dread. The responsibility resting on Xiao Yixian's shoulders was enormous—she alone understood the burden she had to bear.
Maha Tian—who had been struck down by Liu Xi countless times and had since harboured a festering obsession—now saw panic flash across his own normally sombre face.
The golden light dimmed, and Liu Xi himself appeared, upright and indomitable, eyes cold as steel as he looked over the Ancient Maha Clan.
A killing intent rolled off him like a storm.
At last, everyone realised: Liu Xi had returned.
A roar rose up—a hundred thousand voices across the Great Thousand World.
"How Dare You!"
The Ancient Maha Clan Grand Elder bellowed back in fury, smashing the tense quiet. He stepped forward and unleashed his Saint Grade power; a black-and-white giant shadow coalesced behind him.
The Grand Elder understood the predicament. With the true lord present, the Ancient Maha Clan's pretence of moral high ground vanished. Their bid to annex the Burning Heaven Continent had lost any legitimacy. The only approach left was to press Liu Xi—crush his insolence with force, then hand him a face-saving explanation afterwards.
A plan to regain face.
He miscalculated.
Liu Xi stood motionless. A shadow rose under his feet, splitting into six; six mirrored Liu Xis coalesced. In an instant, these six figures swelled until each became a ten-thousand-zhang giant, each suffused with raging demonic energy—like six Heavenly Demon Emperors rampaging into the Great Thousand World.
The titanic silhouettes streaked forward like lightning and swallowed the Grand Elder and his black-and-white colossus whole.
Something wet and tearing sounded—the final, absolute silence.
In a brief instant, the Ancient Maha Clan Grand Elder's presence was utterly gone.
One Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign had fallen.
(End of Chapter)
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