The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

This should have been kept quiet and unnoticed.

But the moment the fingertips touched the void, the entire southern border lost its color!

The clouds above the swamp froze instantly, the swirling miasma became still as a painting, and even the wind stopped moving.

Time seemed to be held in the grasp of an invisible hand, no longer moving forward.

The demonic claw that Taotie had raised halfway froze in mid-air.

His pupils constricted sharply, and he desperately tried to move, but found he couldn't even blink! His demonic power was completely frozen, his soul felt like it was trapped in quagmire, and even his thoughts became sluggish!

"who.......?!"

He struggled to turn his eyes and look up at the sky.

Then, he saw—

On the Rainbow Bridge, there stands a figure with his hands behind his back.

His green robe fluttered in the wind, his black hair was as black as ink, his face was as calm as an ancient well, and his eyes were as indifferent as if he were looking at ants.

That's Chen Xuan's true form!

"No...it's impossible..."

A storm raged within Taotie's heart. "That avatar just now... wasn't his full power?!"

Chen Xuan did not look at him.

His gaze fell on Wu Minghuang.

Wu Minghuang also looked up, staring blankly at him.

Tears blurred her vision, but she desperately tried to open her eyes wide, wanting to see that face clearly.

That face, blurred in my memory for three hundred years, yet appearing countless times in my dreams.

"Holy...Master..."

Her lips trembled, and she made a faint sound.

Chen Xuan looked at her blood-stained body, at the dim phoenix mark between her brows, and at the last glimmer of unyielding light in her eyes.

He remained silent for three breaths.

Then, open your mouth.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap from the heavens, exploding in the ears of every living being within a thousand miles:

"You dare touch my people?"

Taotie trembled violently!

He wanted to say something, to beg for mercy, to explain himself, but he couldn't even open his mouth!

Chen Xuan raised his hand and pressed down with his palm.

It's the same action.

But this time, it's his real body making a move!

The moment the palm struck, the space within a hundred miles collapsed inward!

It's not squeezing, it's not compression, it's true spatial collapse.

Just like a piece of paper being crumpled into a ball, all the matter in this area was forcibly crumpled into a ball!

The Taotie screamed in agony as its body was twisted, torn, and crushed in the collapsing space!

He wanted to detonate his demon core and perish together with others, but he found that even the "thought" of self-destruction was frozen!

"No!!!"

The final scream.

The leader of the four ancient ferocious beasts, Taotie, was forcibly "grinded" into a black bead the size of a fist.

Those were the remaining demon core and fragments of his soul after he was compressed to the extreme.

Chen Xuan flicked his finger.

The black bead shot towards the Taotie.

Taotie wanted to hide, but where could it find refuge?

The bead struck precisely between its eyebrows and disappeared into them.

The Taotie's pitiful howls came to an abrupt halt.

The black bead, formed from the compressed soul of the Gluttonous Demon Core, exploded violently inside its skull!

"Bang!"

The tiger-bodied, human-faced head of the Taotie exploded inch by inch, its flesh, bones, and soul all turning into pitch-black ashes! Before the ashes even hit the ground, they were completely wiped away by an invisible force, leaving not even a trace.

Taotie, one of the Four Fiends of Antiquity, was also known as Yun.

With that, all four villains were wiped out.

From the moment Chen Xuan descended on the rainbow to the moment the four villains perished, the entire process... took less than five breaths.

There were no earth-shattering collisions, no back-and-forth battles.

Only absolute, overwhelming annihilation—like a giant casually swatting a few noisy flies.

The world fell into a deathly silence.

Above the swamp, the rainbow bridge slowly dissipated. Chen Xuan stepped into the void, descending step by step from the towering sky, his blue robe spotless, his expression as calm as a deep, ancient well.

With each step he took, a phantom of a blue lotus appeared beneath his feet.

As the lotus blossoms, a pure aura rises, purifying the miasma and poisonous fog within a ten-mile radius. Even the putrid swamp begins to emit a faint lotus fragrance.

Her every step was like a lotus blossom, a graceful figure of an immortal.

Taiqingzi slumped in the mud, looking up at the scene, tears streaming down his face: "Every step brings forth lotus blossoms... This is the ancient, lost technique, the 'Azure Lotus Sky-Treading Step'!"

"This old Taoist priest... In my lifetime, I have actually been able to see the true face of the Holy Master with my own eyes!"

Pei Hanchuan stood leaning on his sword, gazing at the figure descending from the void with a complex expression.

In his previous life, at the foot of Tianmen Mountain, Chen Xiang arrived by stepping through the air and defeated him with three swords.

In this life, her charm remains unchanged, and she may even surpass her former glory.

"gentlemen........"

Pei Hanchuan lowered his head and sighed softly, "Even after reincarnation, you are still so unfathomable."

Chen Xuan landed, his feet firmly planted on the solid soil.

The surrounding swamp, ten feet wide, had been completely purified by the pure energy he emitted when he stepped on the lotus, turning it into a pure land.

His gaze swept across the battlefield.

Taiqingzi had five deep claw marks on his chest, revealing bone, his Daoist robe was stained with blood, and his golden elixir was cracked.

Pei Hanchuan's blue robe was tattered, his left shoulder was a bloody mess, his sword intent was disordered, and his soul was damaged.

Finally, their gaze fell upon Wu Minghuang.

Wu Minghuang, leaning on a blood-red spear, knelt on the ground, her body covered in blood, her armor mostly shattered, revealing her blood-stained clothes underneath.

The wound in his left abdomen was still bleeding, his right arm was shattered, his breath was weak, and the phoenix mark between his eyebrows was as dim as a candle flickering in the wind.

But she looked up at Chen Xuan without blinking.

Tears fell silently, mingling with the blood on her face, leaving two clear streaks.

Chen Xuan remained silent for three breaths, then raised his hand and lightly tapped with one finger.

A gentle breeze brushed against Wu Minghuang's body.

This time, it was not an illusory avatar, but the real body that made the move.

The wounds on Wu Minghuang's body healed and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Broken bones regenerate, shattered internal organs are restored, and depleted vital energy is replenished!

Even the lifespan that had been burned up was forcibly retrieved and replenished!

Three breaths later, all her injuries were healed, and even her clothes were restored to their original state.

The Crimson Gold Phoenix Flame Armor was intact, her long hair flowed like a waterfall, and the Phoenix Seal once again radiated a blazing golden light!

It's as if I've never been hurt.

Taiqingzi was utterly shocked: "Life-giving supernatural power... this is a supernatural power that touches upon the Great Dao of Life!"

Wu Minghuang stared blankly at her perfectly intact hands, feeling the overflowing true energy within her body, and the blazing, sun-like bond pulsating between her brows.

She looked up at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan was also looking at her.

Eyes facing each other.

Time, waiting, and the separation of life and death are all contained in this single glance.

Wu Minghuang's lips trembled; she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Tears welled up again, this time not from sadness, but from an indescribable mix of grievance and joy.

Chen Xuan sighed softly and finally spoke:

Why be so stubborn?

The voice was very soft, yet it completely broke Wu Minghuang.

She dropped the spear, staggered towards Chen Xuan, hugged him tightly, buried her face in his chest, and burst into tears:

"Sir... I've waited for you for three hundred years... three hundred years..."

"I knew you would come back... I knew..."

"But why... why did you only come now..."

The cries were heart-wrenching, carrying three hundred years of grievances, loneliness, despair, and perseverance.

The empress, who was so majestic and domineering in front of others, was now like a lost child who had finally found her way home.

Chen Xuan's body stiffened slightly. He looked down at the trembling figure in his arms, remained silent for a long time, then raised his hand and gently patted her back.

The movements were very light, and somewhat clumsy.

He hadn't comforted anyone like this in a long time.

Taiqingzi silently turned his head and wiped away his tears. Pei Hanchuan also shifted his gaze to the distant mountains, but his grip on his sword tightened slightly.

The medical team sent by Lingxiao had just arrived at the edge of the battlefield when they saw this scene and were all stunned.

Their imagined reunion between the Holy Master and the Empress should be solemn and respectful, a meeting of ruler and subject, something else entirely... it shouldn't be like this.

The holy master who had swept away the four evil spirits and whose every step was like a lotus flower was now somewhat at a loss.

The ruthless and powerful empress, who once dominated the southern frontier, was now crying like a little girl.