Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Deep within the Valley of Fallen Emperors, the blood energy that had accumulated from countless lives seemed to have been compressed to its limit.

Suddenly, a long, resounding roar came from the depths of the valley, as if some colossal creature that had been sleeping for ages beneath the earth was turning over.

Boom!!

After a loud bang, the ground deep in the valley suddenly cracked open, and scorching air surged into the sky.

A golden coffin flew directly into the sky from the depths of the earth.

The coffin was surrounded by a thick golden mist. It should have been an extremely yin object, but it had no yin energy at all. Instead, it was like a blazing sun, illuminating the entire Royal Fall Valley as bright as day.

The humanoid blood shadow formed from billions of blood beads seemed to be drawn by an invisible force the moment the golden coffin appeared, transforming into a crimson stream of light that poured directly into the coffin.

However, less than ten breaths had passed.

Suddenly, a heart-beating sound came from inside the coffin.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Each time the sound rang out, the land within a thousand miles of Huangyun Valley would shake, and the remaining blood energy in the sky would be wiped away in the tremor.

Boom! !

As the last heartbeat sounded, the coffin lid seemed to be blasted into the sky by a tremendous force, and it shattered in mid-air!

Golden fragments burst forth from the sky, as if a welcoming ceremony was being held.

A majestic figure slowly sat up from the coffin, then took a step and stood directly in the void.

The figure was shirtless, with bronze skin covered in dark gold patterns, and a strange necklace made of nine fist-sized blood-red beads hanging around its neck.

Upon closer inspection, one can discover that each bead seems to contain a small world, within which countless phantoms of living beings struggle and howl.

Her long, dark red hair cascaded down to her waist, and her brows exuded an aura of domineering arrogance, as if she were the only one worthy of respect in the world.

The moment this figure opened his eyes, the world before his eyes seemed to freeze, as if a fragment had been cut off.

The figure took a deep breath, which stirred the dark clouds above, causing them to churn violently and countless crimson lightning bolts to surge wildly.

"This is the Venerable Lan Tianzun..."

"woke up!"

What year is it tonight?

A powerful, suffocating divine thought swept outwards in all directions in an instant!

Wherever his divine sense passed, the aura of all living beings was imprinted in his mind. Twenty breaths later, the divine sense slowly withdrew.

Lan Tianzun's expression also darkened at this moment.

"Um!?"

His brows were furrowed, and a dark rage flashed in his crimson pupils.

"It was only through the sacrifice of billions of my alien race's people, a blood sacrifice, that this Heavenly Venerable was awakened!?"

Lan Tianzun's voice clearly carried a hint of anger. He looked in the direction of Tianyou City, and the coldness in his eyes grew stronger!

There, besides several auras of Saint Realm experts, there was another aura that clearly surpassed the Saint Realm level. Although extremely subtle, he still detected it.

"Are all the kings of this generation useless?! How could they have fallen to such a state?!"

"Wait! This purple-haired youth, could he be...?"

Lan Tianzun's gaze suddenly sharpened, staring intently at the purple-haired figure above Tianyou City.

"Mythical Realm!?"

"During the time I slept, another supreme being of the mythical realm has emerged?"

His long-dormant eyes rekindled with a long-dormant fighting spirit!

"Perfect, let me see just how capable this being at the Mythical Realm truly is."

Lan Tianzun slowly raised his right hand and gently tapped the void in front of him with his index finger.

Instantly, a blood-red river appeared directly beneath his feet!

The blood river was over a hundred feet wide, vast and mighty, like a winding crimson dragon, stretching directly towards the City of Heavenly Nether.

Lan Tianzun took a step forward, and a wave of blood surged from the blood river, like a moving blood-red platform, carrying his body and instantly tearing through the sky. In almost no time, he crossed the tens of millions of miles between Huangyun Valley and Tianyou City, and appeared directly in front of Tianyou City.

"The City of Heavenly Darkness! I never imagined that after all these years, it would still look the same."

"But who on earth had the audacity to destroy this place so horribly?"

His gaze fell upon the back of Aurora King and the others, where the city wall of Tianyou City was already in ruins, and his brows furrowed slightly.

The crimson river beneath their feet resembled a giant, crouching python, coiling around the front of Tianyou City. The oppressive aura emanating from it caused all the surviving members of the alien races below to prostrate themselves, not daring to utter a sound.

It was as if he was the only one left in the entire world.

The eight alien kings, including Aurora King, Stone King, Black King, Yaksha King, and Crimson Halberd, all had their eyes redden instantly when they saw the blood-red river flowing straight from the horizon and the majestic figure of Lan Tianzun appear before them.

Almost without hesitation, everyone simultaneously knelt down and bowed in the direction of Lan Tianzun.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty!!"

"Welcome back, Your Majesty!!!"

Lan Tianzun glanced at them indifferently, neither responding nor reprimanding them. He simply raised his hand slightly, signaling them to stand up, and then turned all his attention to what was ahead.

The purple-haired youth who floated in the void, leaning against the throne.

Xia Jin maintained her languid posture, her eyes scanning Lan Tianzun who had just arrived, a seven-colored light flashing in them.

A slight smile played on his lips as he slowly spoke:

"Oh? You've kept me waiting for so long, so you're the 'Emperor' they've been talking about?"

"It doesn't look... anything special."

This disdainful remark instantly turned the faces of the eight alien kings kneeling below ashen. The Stone King's skin creaked as if he were about to rush forward and tear Xia Jin apart.

But Lan Tianzun did not show any obvious anger.

He simply hovered silently above the river of blood, his dark golden pupils colliding with Xia Jin's gaze in the void, and the space between them began to collapse.

Lan Tianzun sneered and spoke calmly.

"I, the Celestial Venerable Lan, have just awakened from my slumber."

"Although you are at the Mythical Realm, you have offended this Heavenly Venerable... and will be punished accordingly."

The instant the word "punishment" was uttered, Lan Tianzun's right index finger twitched slightly, gently hooking it towards Xia Jin's direction.

Boom!!

Above the sky, the blood-red clouds that had been churning for so long split open from the middle, and a thick, blood-red bolt of lightning roared down from the clouds!

Wherever the heavenly lightning passed, the void shattered into pieces of black fragments. The terrifying aura of destruction caused Aurora King and the others to gasp in shock, and the hairs on their bodies stood on end.

Even though they were all Saint Realm beings, they still felt a deep-seated chill when they saw this heavenly lightning.

Without a doubt, if it were them who were to receive it, they would probably be blasted into ashes in an instant.

Stone King was the first to react, a savage glint of pleasure flashing in his eyes, as he sneered in Xia Jin's direction:

"Hahaha!! This guy is doomed!! Being struck head-on by His Majesty's divine lightning, even a Mythical Realm expert would be torn to pieces..."

However, before he could finish speaking, his words were abruptly stuck in his throat.

What happened next completely overturned his understanding.

Xia Jin faced the crimson lightning bolt, made no other movements, but simply opened her mouth slowly and gently inhaled towards the sky.

The menacing, world-destroying crimson lightning was sucked into Xia Jin's mouth the very moment it was about to strike him!

As the thunder entered her throat, Xia Jin's throat bobbed slightly, and she seemed to smack her lips, as if savoring some flavor.

A moment later, he frowned slightly, revealing a look of disgust.

"This stuff...it's really awful."