From the fake emperor to the concubine

"Unrelated?" Zheng Yi's eyes turned icy. "She was someone I promised to protect. Your son killed her, which is a slap in my face. This is an irreconcilable enmity."

"You madman!" Ning Xiaotian was so angry he almost vomited blood.

Just then, a dignified voice rang out: "Enough! Stop it, all of you!"

Everyone turned to look and saw several figures flying in from afar. The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a golden brocade robe, with a powerful aura; he was actually a mid-stage Integration Realm expert.

"It's Liu Tianxing, the head of the Liu family!" someone recognized the newcomer.

Behind Liu Tianxing were several elders of the Liu family, all of whom were at the early stage of the Integration Realm.

"Brother Liu, you've come at the right time!" Ning Xiaotian saw Liu Tianxing as if he had seen a savior. "Quickly, help me capture this thug!"

But Liu Tianxing did not agree. He looked at the situation on the battlefield, then at Zheng Yi, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

“Brother Ning, this matter is probably not so simple,” Liu Tianxing said slowly. “I have already heard what happened. Your son threatened Fellow Daoist Zheng with a child first, and even caused the child's tragic death. Logically speaking, your son is indeed at fault.”

"Liu Tianxing! What do you mean?" Ning Xiaotian roared. "Are you going to help this outsider?"

“I’m not trying to help anyone,” Liu Tianxing said, “I just feel that this matter should be discussed calmly, not resorted to violence.”

He turned to Zheng Yi, cupped his hands, and said, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, I am Liu Tianxing, Ruyan's father. Today's events were indeed your son's fault. However, Brother Ning is also grieving the loss of his son, and I hope Fellow Daoist Zheng can understand. How about we stop here, and both sides compromise?"

Zheng Yi looked coldly at Liu Tianxing: "Let's each take a step back? Xiaoyue is already dead, how can you expect me to back down?"

"This..." Liu Tianxing was speechless.

"Father!" Liu Ruyan flew out from the crowd and arrived beside Liu Tianxing. "Father, you don't know. Xiaoyue was such a lovely child, only five years old, she didn't understand anything. Ning Zhiyuan captured her to threaten Fellow Daoist Zheng. In the end, a cultivator from the Ning family killed her with a single palm strike!"

At this point, Liu Ruyan's tears flowed again: "Such a young child, died just like that. What's wrong with Fellow Daoist Zheng avenging her?"

Liu Tianxing fell silent.

He looked at Zheng Yi, at the grief and anger in his eyes, and suddenly understood.

This is not a simple revenge killing, but a person's act of upholding a promise and seeking justice for the deceased.

“I understand,” Liu Tianxing sighed. “Fellow Daoist Zheng, I will not stop you. Ruyan, stand with Fellow Daoist Zheng. If the Ning family wants to harm Fellow Daoist Zheng, my Liu family will help him.”

"What?!" Ning Xiaotian couldn't believe it. "Liu Tianxing, are you crazy? You're going to make an enemy of the Ning family for an outsider?"

“It’s not for outsiders,” Liu Tianxing said, “it’s for justice. Brother Ning, your son did something wrong, and he should pay the price. That’s only right.”

"Fine, very well!" Ning Xiaotian laughed angrily. "Liu Tianxing, you'll regret this!"

Just then, several more powerful auras flew over.

The heads of the Zhao, Lin, and even Bai families all came. They had heard that something big had happened in Yunxiao City and rushed over to see what was going on.

"Everyone, come and bear witness for the Ning family!" Ning Xiaotian shouted. "This Zheng Yi killed my son and also killed an elder of my Ning family. I will make him pay for his crimes in blood!"

The heads of the families looked at each other, none of them immediately expressing their opinions.

They had witnessed the battle from a distance. Zheng Yi was fighting against five Nascent Soul Realm experts from the Ning family, not only holding his own but also killing one of them. Such strength was beyond their ability to easily provoke.

Moreover, they had heard some things about Ning Zhiyuan's situation. It was clear the Ning family was in the wrong.

"Patriarch Ning, this matter probably requires further consideration," Zhao Tianyang, the patriarch of the Zhao family, said with a dry laugh.

“That’s right, let’s find out what happened first,” Lin Tianhe, the head of the Lin family, echoed.

Only Bai Changkong stepped forward, sighing, "Patriarch Ning, to be frank, your son did indeed make a mistake. While the little girl's death was an accident, the root cause lies with your son. Fellow Daoist Zheng's act of avenging her is entirely reasonable."

"Bai Changkong! Even you are going to betray me?" Ning Xiaotian roared.

"I'm not betraying you, I'm just being reasonable," Bai Changkong shook his head and said, "Although the cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world, it also believes in cause and effect. Patriarch Ning, I advise you to let this matter rest. Otherwise, the Ning family may suffer even greater losses."

Ning Xiaotian looked around and found that no one was willing to help him.

His heart sank.

The Ning family had operated in the Xuan Tian Domain for many years, believing themselves to have a deep-rooted foundation. But now they realized that their so-called allies were nothing but opportunists. When it really came down to it, no one could be relied upon.

"Fine, very well," Ning Xiaotian sneered. "Since none of you are willing to help me, then I'll do it myself!"

He took out a jade talisman from his pocket and crushed it without hesitation.

The moment the jade talisman shattered, a terrifying aura emanated from the direction of the Ning family. That aura was so powerful that it surpassed the Integration Realm and reached the Great Ascension Realm!
"It's the ancestor of the Ning family!" someone exclaimed.

"The Ning family's ancestor has emerged from seclusion?"

Everyone's expression changed drastically. Ning Wuyai, the patriarch of the Ning family, was a powerful expert at the early stage of the Mahayana realm. He had been in seclusion for hundreds of years, and no one knew whether he was still alive.

Unexpectedly, Ning Xiaotian awakened him today using a secret technique.

A figure flew out of the Ning family mansion and arrived in the sky above Yunxiao City in an instant.

He was an extremely old man, with white hair and beard, and his face was covered with wrinkles, as if he might die at any moment. But his eyes shone brightly, and his aura was unfathomable.

"Ancestor!" Ning Xiaotian exclaimed excitedly, "You've finally emerged from seclusion!"

"What happened? Why did you wake this old man?" Ning Wuyai's voice was hoarse, tinged with displeasure.

"Ancestor, Zhiyuan has been murdered!" Ning Xiaotian exclaimed in grief and indignation. "The murderer is Zheng Yi!"

Ning Wuyai turned to look at Zheng Yi, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"So it was you who killed my great-grandson?"

“That’s right,” Zheng Yi said calmly. “He deserves to die.”

"Damn it?" Ning Wuyai sneered. "Such arrogance. Young man, do you know who you're talking to?"

"Just an old monster in the early stages of Mahayana cultivation," Zheng Yi said. "What's there to be afraid of?"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

This Zheng Yi is too arrogant! How dare he speak to a Mahayana stage expert like that?
"You're courting death!" Ning Wuyai roared in fury.

He raised his hand and pointed, and a terrifying beam of spiritual energy shot out from his fingertip, heading straight for Zheng Yi's brow.

The power of this finger strike is enough to annihilate even a Nascent Soul Realm expert.

But Zheng Yi neither dodged nor avoided the situation.

"Time reversal."

he whispered.

In an instant, the power of spacetime erupted. The spiritual energy that was bound in mid-air suddenly stopped, then slowly flowed back, returning to Ning Wuyai's fingertips.

"What?!" Ning Wuyai exclaimed in shock, "This is... the Law of Spacetime? You actually comprehended the Law of Spacetime?"

"Now you know, but it's too late," Zheng Yi said coldly.

Zheng Yi flashed forward and took the initiative to meet Ning Wuyai.

The power of spacetime swirled around him, forming a faint halo. This halo appeared fragile, yet it contained a terrifying power to distort spacetime.

"Youngster, do you think you can contend with this old man just because you've grasped a bit of the laws of spacetime?" Ning Wuyai sneered. "I've cultivated for eight hundred years; how could you, a mere child, compare?" He formed hand seals, and the spiritual energy around him surged like a raging tide. The clouds in the sky were affected by his aura and began to churn violently, as if a storm was about to break.

"Mahayana Supernatural Power - Heaven and Earth Collapse!"

Ning Wuyai unleashed a palm strike. This strike wasn't aimed at Zheng Yi, but at the earth.

Rumbling--

The entire Cloud City trembled violently. Countless cracks appeared in the ground, and buildings collapsed one after another. Ordinary citizens and low-level cultivators in the city fled in terror, only to find there was nowhere to escape.

"Oh no! He's going to destroy the entire city!" Liu Tianxing's expression changed drastically.

Since Ning Wuyai had already made his move, he wouldn't care about harming the innocent. To a powerful cultivator at the Mahayana stage, the lives of these ordinary people were nothing more than ants.

"Everyone, evacuate the people quickly!" Liu Tianxing shouted.

Although Zhao Tianyang, Lin Tianhe, and the others were unwilling to get involved in the conflict, they could not stand by and watch innocent civilians die tragically. They all took action, using their supernatural powers to protect the nearby civilians and lead them away from the danger zone.

But Ning Wuyai's attacks were too fierce, and they couldn't keep up at all.

Just then, Zheng Yi made a move.

"Space-Time Domain - Expansion!"

Centered on him, an invisible force spread outwards. Wherever that force passed, collapsing buildings stopped falling, flying debris hovered in mid-air, and even the lava gushing from the cracks froze.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Hurry up!" Zheng Yi shouted in a low voice.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Tianxing and his men evacuated the people as quickly as possible.

When Ning Wuyai saw this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned into anger.

"Good lad, you've got some skill. But do you think mere spacetime laws can trap this old man?"

His aura surged once more, unleashing a terrifying pressure that tore a rift in Zheng Yi's spatial domain.

"break!"

Ning Wuyai unleashed a punch that shattered Zheng Yi's spacetime domain.

Zheng Yi grunted and staggered back dozens of feet. His face was pale; clearly, maintaining such a large-scale spacetime domain had taken a heavy toll on him.

"Fellow Daoist Zheng!" Liu Ruyan called out worriedly.

"I'm fine." Zheng Yi steadied himself and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Have the civilians been evacuated?"

"That's about it," Liu Tianxing said.

"That's good." Zheng Yi's eyes turned cold. "Now I can act freely."

He took a deep breath, and the spiritual energy within his body began to circulate wildly. The Time-Space Sword Technique he obtained from the jade slip was now being used to its fullest potential.

"Time-Space Sword Technique - Ultimate Skill - Time-Space Turbulence!"

Zheng Yi unleashed a sword strike.

This sword strike lacked dazzling light and terrifying aura. Only a faint crack appeared between him and Ning Wuyai.

That seemingly insignificant rift contained a power capable of destroying everything. It was a rift in spacetime, filled with chaotic spatial currents. Anything that entered it would be torn to shreds.

Ning Wuyai's expression finally changed.

"Space-time turbulence? You can actually summon space-time turbulence?" he exclaimed in shock. "Impossible! Your cultivation is clearly only at the Integration Realm, how could you possibly master such profound space-time laws?"

Zheng Yi did not answer.

The spatial rift rapidly expanded, sweeping towards Ning Wuyai. Turbulent currents surged out from the rift, shattering the surrounding space.

Ning Wuyai dared not take the attack head-on and quickly dodged. But the crack seemed to be alive, relentlessly pursuing him.

"Damn it!" Ning Wuyai gritted his teeth.

He never imagined that a cultivator at the Integration Realm could force him into such a sorry state.

"Since that's the case, then this old man will not hold back!"

Ning Wuyai stopped dodging, formed hand seals, and began to gather all his Mahayana stage cultivation.

"Mahayana Supernatural Power - Light of Annihilation!"

A blinding light erupted from his body. That light contained the power to destroy everything; wherever it passed, even space itself collapsed.

Light collided with the spacetime rift.

boom--

The sky and earth changed color, and the sun and moon lost their light.

The shockwave from the explosion swept across an area of ​​dozens of miles, reducing countless buildings to dust. Even the cultivators watching from afar were stunned and forced to retreat.

When the light faded, everyone saw that the center of Cloud City had become a huge crater.

At opposite ends of the deep pit, Zheng Yi and Ning Wuyai faced each other.

Neither of them was in good condition. Zheng Yi's robes were torn, and he had multiple injuries, with blood staining half of his body. Ning Wuyai, while appearing slightly better, was pale and clearly exhausted.

"Good lad," Ning Wuyai panted, "I underestimated you. Your strength is already approaching the threshold of the Great Ascension stage. Given time, you will surely achieve great things."

“Unfortunately,” a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, “you’ve offended the Ning family, so you must die.”

Zheng Yi sneered, "You talk as if you can kill me."

“I can’t kill you, but someone else can,” Ning Wuyai said sinisterly.

He took out a blood-red bead from his pocket. The bead exuded an eerie aura that sent chills down one's spine upon seeing it.

"What is this?" Zheng Yi frowned.

"This is the Blood Demon Pearl," Ning Wuyai said smugly. "I seized it from the extraterrestrial demons years ago. Activating it summons a late-stage Mahayana Blood Demon. Although it can only last for a quarter of an hour, that's enough to kill you."

"Are you insane!" Bai Changkong exclaimed in shock. "Summoning extraterrestrial demons is a grave taboo in the cultivation world! If discovered, the Ning family will be besieged by the entire Xuan Tian Domain!"

"Ambush?" Ning Wuyai laughed wildly. "As long as Zheng Yi is killed, who will know it was I who summoned him? Then we can just say that Zheng Yi colluded with the demons and was valiantly eliminated by the Ning family. Not only will we be free of guilt, but we'll also have merit!"

Without further hesitation, he spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the Blood Demon Pearl.

The Blood Demon Bead trembled violently, emitting a blinding red light. A terrifying aura surged from the bead, condensing into a gigantic figure in mid-air.

It was a humanoid monster. Its entire body was jet black, its eyes were blood red, it stood tens of feet tall, and its body exuded an aura of decay. Its cultivation level had actually reached the late stage of the Mahayana realm!
"roar--"

The Blood Demon let out a deafening roar, and its terrifying pressure spread outwards as if it were a tangible force.

The remaining cultivators in Cloud City were terrified and fled in all directions. Even powerful cultivators like Liu Tianxing and Zhao Tianyang, who were at the Integration Realm, felt difficulty breathing, as if they would be crushed by the oppressive force at any moment.

"Go, kill him!" Ning Wuyai pointed at Zheng Yi and ordered. (End of Chapter)