Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The karmic fire has been extinguished.

The headless corpse that originally belonged to Xuan Yin Zhenren of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect moved slightly at that moment.

It has no head.

But the flesh at the severed neck began to writhe, and granulation tissue grew wildly, intertwining and weaving.

In just a few breaths, a new head grew out.

The head had a handsome yet eerie face, with one black and one gold eye, exuding a cold indifference that regarded all living beings as worthless weeds.

He is not a monk.

It is not Xuan Yin either.

He is the Phoenix.

It is an ancient evil spirit that has been suppressed for three hundred years and has finally been reborn in another form.

Huang raised her hand and looked at her new body.

"The Great Sage's physical body, though somewhat damaged, is still barely sufficient."

When he spoke, his voice was like two pieces of pig iron rubbing together, extremely harsh.

He turned around and looked at the demons that covered the mountains and plains of the North.

Those were monsters that escaped from the land abandoned by the gods; the Mountain Moving Sect risked their lives to avert a catastrophe.

At this moment, these mindless monsters seemed to sense something, and they all lay prostrate, trembling.

That was a fear that came from the depths of one's blood.

I'm hungry.

Huang said it calmly.

He opened his mouth and took a deep breath towards the north.

call--!

A thunderclap rises from the flat ground.

A terrifying suction force suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The demons lying on the ground didn't even have time to scream before their bodies exploded, turning into streams of pure bloodthirsty energy.

Thousands upon thousands of streams of blood energy converged into a long red river, which then flowed backwards into the phoenix's mouth.

He is eating.

They eat demons, they eat monsters, they eat the resentment of the heavens.

As the blood energy entered her body, the aura emanating from Huang began to rise steadily.

The Great Sage at his peak.

Half-step Quasi-Emperor.

Early stage of Quasi-Emperor!

Boom!

A crack appeared in the sky.

Black lightning rolled in the clouds, a sign of the wrath of Heaven, an rejection of this monster that should not exist.

Huang looked up and glanced at the lightning tribulation above her head.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"roll."

He uttered a single word.

Words become law.

The thunderclouds that filled the sky seemed to have been slapped hard in the face, and instantly dissipated.

Heaven retreats.

At this moment, he is the master of this realm.

Huang clenched her fist, feeling the surging power within her.

not enough.

This body was pieced together, and its soul is also incomplete.

He needs that heart.

That exquisite heart that originally belonged to him.

That was the Dao Fruit left behind by the Phoenix Emperor, the last piece of the puzzle that completed his own life.

As long as he eats that heart and swallows the fox spirit that has fused with the Phoenix True Fire, he can truly step into the Emperor Realm and reshape his true form.

Huang turned her head, her gaze piercing through the vast void, locking onto the direction of Falling Phoenix Slope.

"Found it."

He took a step forward.

The void beneath their feet crumbled inch by inch.

……

Luofengpo.

The golden light had just faded.

Gu Xiang and Su Qing maintained their clasped hands.

Before the joy of surviving the ordeal could even bloom on his face, a suffocating chill instantly enveloped his entire body.

it's dark.

It's not sunset.

It was a foot that extinguished the light.

The once clear sky was instantly swallowed by endless darkness.

The darkness was thick and sticky, like ink, pressing heavily on my head.

There is no wind.

No sound.

Even the air stopped moving.

Tu Ling had just crawled out of the mud pit and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when he was crushed and pinned to the ground.

"puff!"

Tu Ling spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"What...what is this thing...?"

Gu Xiang suddenly looked up.

His seven-aperture exquisite heart was pounding wildly, making loud thumping sounds, as if it were warning him, or as if it were filled with fear.

Su Qing's face turned deathly pale instantly.

She stared intently at the darkness above her head, and a figure was reflected in her newly awakened phoenix eyes.

A man dressed in a black robe with heterochromatic eyes stood in the void.

He just stood there casually.

There was nothing beneath my feet, yet it felt more stable than stepping on Mount Tai.

He lowered his head, looking down at the ants below.

Gu Xiang was very familiar with that look in his eyes.

That's the look a person gives when looking at ants.

There was no pity, no hatred, only indifference.

"Although you have obtained the seed, you have no time to refine it."

The phoenix spoke.

The sound wasn't loud, but it exploded in the minds of Gu Xiang and Su Qing.

Gu Xiang groaned, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.

Just one sentence was enough to shatter his soul.

Although he is not yet an emperor.

But it already carries the title of "Emperor".

It's not a pseudo-realm like Su Qing's, which was forcibly improved by external forces, but an existence that truly controls the power of laws.

The phoenix slowly descended.

For every inch he descended, the surface of Luofengpo sank one inch.

The newly revived phoenix tree creaked under its own weight, its trunk bent and its leaves falling in a rustling sound.

"Give me your exquisite heart."

Huang looked at Gu Xiang and stretched out a hand.

Her hands were fair and slender, but black demonic energy flowed within the lines of her palms.

"I grant you both the right to return to the same place, soul to soul."

"If you don't hand it over, I'll pull out the tendons of this fox, skin her, and eat her piece by piece right in front of you."

The tone was flat.

It's like talking about a trivial matter that's taken for granted.

Gu Xiang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He shielded Su Qing behind him, his spine ramrod straight.

A righteous aura circulated around him, and golden words appeared around him.

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

Each word felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, as if they were desperately bearing the oppressive force overhead.

"Want a heart?"

Gu Xiang smiled.

His smile was somewhat sinister.

"Unless I die."

"Then die."

Phoenix didn't waste any words.

His fingers twitched slightly.

puff!

The golden text surrounding Gu Xiang shattered instantly.

Righteousness and integrity are as fragile as paper, easily torn apart.

Gu Xiang was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the trunk of a sycamore tree.

"Gu Xiang!"

Su Qing screamed.

Her red dress fluttered in the wind, and her long black hair danced wildly.

A crimson feather fan appeared in her hand.

"You dare talk about gods?"

Su Qingjiao shouted.

She stepped forward and stood in front of Gu Xiang.

Although her body was trembling, and although it was difficult for her to even stand under that terrifying pressure, her eyes did not flinch in the slightest.

It is a nine-tailed celestial fox.

Now, it has even been infused with the true blood of the Phoenix Emperor.

Even if I die, I will die standing.

"Get out of here!"

Su Qing suddenly waved her phoenix feather fan.

boom!

A pillar of crimson-gold fire shot into the sky, transforming into a giant fire phoenix, carrying the momentum to scorch the heavens and boil the seas, and rushed straight at the phoenix in the air.

This was her strongest attack.

It burned away the essence and blood, and overdrawn the source of life.

The fire phoenix cried out, and wherever it passed, black holes were burned into the void.

Huang looked at the fiery phoenix rushing towards her.

He didn't even lift his eyelids.

"A trivial skill."

He raised his hand and gently grasped the fire phoenix.

puff.

It's like extinguishing a candle.

The mighty fire phoenix was extinguished instantly in Huang's palm.

Not even a spark remained.

Su Qing's pupils suddenly contracted.

Before she could react, a tremendous force slammed into her chest.

boom!

The phoenix feather fan in Su Qing's hand flew out.

She was like a kite with a broken string, crashing hard into the muddy puddle above.

"puff!"

Su Qing spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs.

She tried to get up.

But that force pressed down hard on her back, making her bones creak.

The gap is too big.

It's so big it's despair-inducing.

In the face of true power, so-called anger and so-called courage seem so ridiculous.

The phoenix took a step forward.

The next moment, he was already standing in front of Gu Xiang.

He looked down at Gu Xiang with a hint of impatience in his eyes.

"A waste of time."

The villain dies from talking too much.

Phoenix understands this principle better than anyone else.

He has lived for countless years and has seen too many fools who have been turned around because of nonsense.

So he didn't want to waste time talking.

He just wants to take back what belongs to him.

Huang raised her hand.

Black energy swirled around his fingertips, transforming into a sharp dagger.

He thrust the needle straight into Gu Xiang's chest.

The actions were simple, direct, and ruthless.

There were no fancy supernatural powers, no earth-shattering phenomena.

It's purely a killing technique.

Gu Xiang watched the falling finger.

He wanted to move.

I want to hide.

They wanted to rebel.

But my body just wouldn't cooperate.

The quasi-emperor's oppressive aura locked down the space around him, preventing him from moving even a finger.

They could only watch helplessly as death descended.

"Su Qing..."

Gu Xiang silently repeated the name in his heart.

He is not afraid of death.

He was afraid that if he died, no one would protect that silly fox.

puff.

Huang's finger pierced Gu Xiang's skin.

Blood splattered.

At this critical moment.

Om-!

A clear, melodious tremor suddenly rang out.

It's not from Guxiang.

It's not from Su Qing either.

It came from that sacred sycamore tree.

The sycamore trees, which had already been bent over by the weight of the trees, suddenly burst forth with a dazzling blue light.

The light was soft, yet incredibly resilient.

It instantly enveloped Gu Xiang and Su Qing.

Phoenix's finger pierced the blue light.

Ding!

A crisp sound.

An attack powerful enough to pierce through the void was actually blocked by that thin layer of blue light.

For the first time, Huang's expression changed.

"Um?"

He wanted to increase his strength.

But the blue light suddenly contracted, carrying Gu Xiang and Su Qing directly into the trunk of the sycamore tree.

The phoenix grasped at nothing.

"Trying to run away?"

Huang snorted coldly.

He raised his palm and slammed it down hard on the sycamore tree.

"Smash it!"

Boom!

The earthquake trembled.

The surface of Luofengpo collapsed by a hundred feet.

But the sycamore tree was completely unharmed.

It stands amidst the ruins, its surface shrouded in ancient runes, exuding an aura that seems to belong to a different era.

……

The space inside the tree.

Gu Xiang and Su Qing fell down.

There is no darkness here, no oppressive atmosphere.

There was only a boundless golden ocean.

The water beneath my feet is golden, and the sky above me is golden.

Warm and peaceful.

Gu Xiang was panting heavily, and the wound on his chest was healing rapidly.

Su Qing struggled to crawl over and hugged Gu Xiang tightly, her whole body trembling.

"It's alright...it's alright..."

Gu Xiang patted her back and comforted her softly.

But the wariness in his eyes did not disappear.

This is where?

Who saved them?

Just then.

A ripple spread across the golden water ahead.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Footsteps sounded.

A person slowly emerged from the depths of the golden light.

The man was wearing a crimson robe, had long hair flowing over his shoulders, and walked barefoot.

I can't tell if it's a man or a woman.

Because that face was beautiful beyond the boundaries of gender.

It possesses both masculine heroism and feminine charm.

She walked up to the two of them and stopped.

Those eyes were pure gold.

It seemed as if an inextinguishable flame was burning inside.

Su Qing looked at this person.

There's a strange sense of familiarity about it.

That is……

The man looked down at the two disheveled individuals.

A gentle smile appeared on his lips.

"Little fox."

"have not seen you for a long time."

"And this young scholar."

The sound was ethereal, like an echo from ancient times.

Gu Xiang was stunned.

Su Qing was also stunned.

They had never seen this person before.

But the tone was like that of an old friend who had known each other for thousands of years.

The man raised his hand and pointed to the sky outside.

"That ugly freak, Huang, is so noisy."

"Since you're here, take a rest."

"You haven't lost this round yet."