Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

He immediately shifted his position, his figure flashing above the Fire Phoenix's head, and slashed down with all his might from above.

Although the Fire Phoenix was not proficient in movement techniques, as a level nine divine bird, its physical reaction and movement speed were unparalleled among its peers. With a gentle flap of its wings, it instantly moved more than a thousand feet horizontally, while simultaneously increasing its height to widen the combat distance.

The next second, more than ten beams of divine fire shot out from the phoenix's mouth, sealing off all of Su Mu's escape routes and surrounding him from all sides, leaving him no way out.

There was no way to dodge, no way to avoid it.

Su Mu's gaze was resolute; he didn't retreat a single step, charging straight at one of the divine flames. A myriad of sword lights instantly spread out before him, layer upon layer, neutralizing the power of the divine flames.

A deafening explosion occurred!

The wave of sword light forcibly weakened the power of the divine fire by 70%, but the remaining 30% of the divine fire still instantly shattered the double protective shield of the Imperial Dao Profound Spirit and the purple-gold Profound Fire, and then dispersed the intertwined lightning arcs around it.

At the last moment, the purple silk robe on his body blocked all the remaining damage, protecting Su Mu's physical body and keeping him safe.

Not wanting to be blocked from moving any further, Su Mu stopped holding back and instantly activated the Heaven-Rank Top-Grade Movement Technique, Thunder Flash. His figure transformed into a streak of purple-gold lightning, closing in on the Fire Phoenix once more in an instant.

He wanted to test his full combat strength, so he did not use the anti-air talisman or release the mid-grade Heavenly Rank Qianjin Puppet. This puppet could only contend with early-stage Martial Emperors and early-stage Ninth Rank experts. If it were to directly face a mid-stage Ninth Rank Fire Phoenix, it would be instantly and severely injured.

In the blink of an eye, Su Mu's eyes blazed with divine light, and his Heavenly Illusionary Divine Eyes activated instantly.

The Fire Phoenix's eyes suddenly fell into an illusion, its massive body stiffening and pausing for a moment. That brief opening was fatal enough; Su Mu pointed his fingers like a sword, and the God-Slaying Finger pierced through the air, aiming straight for the opponent's brow.

The Fire Phoenix quickly broke free from the illusion's restraints. Before it could dodge, it gripped its phoenix claws, which were covered in divine fire, and directly confronted the illusion head-on.

The divine fire layer by layer neutralized the soul-destroying power of the God-Slaying Finger. Under the collision of the two powerful forces, Su Mu only forced the Fire Phoenix to retreat slightly, without causing any substantial serious damage.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through his fingertips, and Su Mu was secretly alarmed: a mid-stage level nine divine bird, indeed living up to its reputation.

With a thought, six high-grade Earth-rank flying swords burst forth from his body, circling around him. Su Mu stepped back, his fingertips forming hand seals, and began rapidly constructing the Six Harmonies Sword Formation.

The Heavenly Illusionary Divine Eye controls the mind, and the God-Slaying Finger slays the soul. These two trump cards had been invincible in previous battles, but their effectiveness was greatly reduced against this Nirvana Fire Phoenix.

To truly threaten the opponent, one must unleash their strongest sword technique.

A mid-stage level nine divine bird, its overall combat strength is comparable to a late-stage Martial Emperor among humans. Even though Su Mu consumed an eighth-grade Dragon Essence Pill to amplify his combat power, ordinary early-stage Martial Emperors and early-stage level nine experts would be severely injured if they could not withstand a single God-Slaying Finger. However, it was still difficult to break through the defenses of this Fire Phoenix.

Whoosh whoosh—

The six flying swords changed their trajectories in an instant, forming a perfect closed loop, and the Six Harmonies Sword Formation was fully formed. The fierce sword light that blotted out the sky filled the entire sky, and the sword formation and sword momentum superimposed with Su Mu's Imperial Martial Aspect Domain, instantly maximizing the sense of oppression.

At this moment, the once calm and indifferent Fire Phoenix finally became serious, truly feeling the deadly threat.

"No wonder he's so arrogant; he certainly has some substance."

The Fire Phoenix was filled with astonishment. Its physical body was incomparably strong, with the defense of divine beast bloodline and the protection of its primordial divine fire. Yet, it had been forced back by a single finger from this human cultivator who had just condensed his martial appearance. The claw still stung, as if its tendons and bones had almost cracked.

It instantly saw through the key: this young man cultivated a top-tier body-refining technique, his physical body was only one step away from a divine body, and at the same time, his swordsmanship was far superior to those of others of the same level. This was why he had the ability to fight across major realms.

The Fire Phoenix no longer underestimated its opponent. It flapped its wings wildly, unleashing a torrent of fiery tongues that swept across the sky. Some of the flames rushed straight at Su Mu's body, while others fiercely attacked the flying swords of the Six Harmonies Sword Formation, attempting to forcibly shatter the foundation of the sword formation.

Su Mu skillfully maneuvered his flying sword, using layers of sword light to intercept the flames. At the same time, he used his lightning-fast movement technique to dodge attacks while continuously launching close-range slashes with the Seven Star Dragon Slayer Sword.

Ancient divine bird patterns appeared on the surface of the Fire Phoenix's body. Divine fire and divine patterns merged and condensed into an extremely thick defensive light shield. Su Mu could only barely activate the Seven Star Dragon Slayer Sword at the moment, unable to unleash the full power of this top-grade Heaven-rank longsword. When his strikes landed on the light shield, they could only stir up ripples, unable to break through the defense.

The man and the bird fought fiercely in the sky above the imperial city, their claws, divine fire, sword light, and lightning clashing constantly. The battle was intense, and for a time, it was difficult to determine who was superior.

Inside the palace, Xiao Yunshang, Chai Min, and their group watched the battle with their heads tilted back, their hearts filled with shock and admiration. Su Mu had only recently condensed his Martial Aspect, yet he could go toe-to-toe with a peak level nine mid-stage divine bird—his combat power was already heaven-defying. Everyone knew that intervening in a battle of this caliber would only hinder Su Mu, so they could only watch from the sidelines.

After a long and fierce battle, Su Mu suddenly raised his hand and threw the Seven Star Dragon Slayer Sword into the high sky above the clouds, and loudly recited the true meaning of the sword technique.

"A myriad of swords arise from the heart; the Tao follows its own course!"

"The mighty power of heaven transforms into a thunderous prison!"

As the words fell, dark clouds gathered high in the sky, a howling wind arose, and endless lightning bolts writhed like dragons and snakes, intertwining and merging with the sword light that filled the sky. The power of the Six Harmonies Sword Formation surged several times over, and a terrifying sword pressure enveloped the entire imperial city. The Seven Star Dragon-Slaying Sword, suspended in the sky, shone brightly, dazzlingly bright, like a second blazing sun hanging high in the heavens.

The entire imperial city trembled slightly, and everyone in the city felt their souls tremble involuntarily. Even Chai Min, who was in the late stages of Empress Wu's reign, felt an instinctive fear.

Fire Phoenix was greatly shocked and felt a sense of panic from the depths of her soul: What level of sword technique is this?

"cut!"

With a shout, Su Mu unleashed the full power of the Heaven-Rank Supreme Sword Technique, "Ten Thousand Swords Thunder Prison True Technique".

Rumbling--

The thunderous divine punishment, intertwined with unparalleled sword light, crashed down. Each thunder sword was incredibly thick, covering an expansive area, as if the heavens themselves were personally bestowing their punishment.

The Fire Phoenix let out a fierce cry, unleashing its full power of divine fire. The divine runes on its body intertwined and overlapped, condensing into a dense and thick cocoon of divine fire, pushing its defense to its limit.

The thunder sword bombarded relentlessly, and the divine fire cocoon visibly dimmed and thinned, its divine fire constantly being consumed and dissipated. Yet, even under such ferocious attacks, the Fire Phoenix still had the strength to launch a counterattack.

Su Mu relied entirely on his lightning-fast movement technique to evade combat, and used his sword skills to suppress his opponent without needing to launch any strong attacks himself.

After several rounds of thunder sword attacks, the divine fire outside the Fire Phoenix's body was completely extinguished, and its defensive divine runes were almost shattered, leaving it with no remaining defensive power.

In dire straits, the Fire Phoenix no longer held back. A flash of light appeared between its brows, and a divine feather, entirely crimson and engraved with the patterns of eternal nirvana, detached from its body and soared upwards.

The divine feather, carrying the complete essence of the phoenix, created a phantom that blotted out the sun. With a single strike, it shattered the Seven Star Dragon-Slaying Sword's momentum in the air, dispersed the thunderclouds, and forcibly interrupted the "Ten Thousand Swords Thunder Prison True Technique".

The offensive completely dissipated, and the skies returned to clear skies.

Su Mu gripped the falling Seven Star Dragon-Slaying Sword, understanding dawning on him. Challenging a divine beast of a higher level was already incredibly difficult; he could crush human cultivators of the same level, but against a ninth-level divine bird with a bloodline of extraordinary power, he could at best only contend with it, not achieve a complete victory.

"Young human, your strength and methods have indeed exceeded my expectations." The Fire Phoenix's aura fluctuated, its eyes filled with anger. The Nirvana Divine Feather was its trump card, which it had been forced to use today, resulting in great losses. "But your cultivation is ultimately insufficient. This battle ends here."

It underwent Nirvana prematurely ten thousand years ago. Although it failed to break through to the Divine Realm, it gave birth to a Nirvana Divine Feather, comparable to the natal magic weapon of a humanoid Martial Emperor cultivator, and it can be used repeatedly. However, each activation will deplete its essence, requiring a long period of recuperation to recover.

Su Mu raised his eyes, his expression calm, and quietly took out an anti-flight talisman from the system's inventory: "Indeed, it's time to end this."

"Accept the scorching flames and perish here!"

The Fire Phoenix retracted its Nirvana Divine Feathers, its power surging as it prepared to unleash its ultimate killing move, Blazing Sky. But just as it was gathering its strength, Su Mu activated the divine talisman in his hand.

A vast expanse of silver light swept across the airspace for thousands of miles, causing the entire space to freeze, distort, and boil instantly.

Just as the Fire Phoenix was about to unleash its ultimate attack, its body suddenly froze in mid-air. Its soul, body, power, and divine fire were all imprisoned by the space, leaving it completely unable to move.

The anti-air talisman has a unique power, but it has no restrictions on its user, Su Mu.

Holding his longsword, Su Mu instantly lunged in front of the Fire Phoenix. Under the spatial confinement, the Phoenix was not only unable to move, but its autonomous defenses also plummeted. Without hesitation, he swung his sword repeatedly, slashing at the Fire Phoenix's head.

As several swords fell, the incredibly hard phoenix skull finally cracked open with a deep wound, and golden phoenix blood slowly seeped out.

"The physical body of a mid-stage level nine divine bird is indeed terrifying. It took me several sword strikes to finally break a wound." Su Mu exclaimed inwardly.

He knew that if his swordsmanship was strong enough, he could unleash the Seven Star Dragon-Slaying Sword at full power and severely injure the Fire Phoenix with a single strike. Even though its outer defenses were completely shattered, its remaining flesh and bones were still as tough as divine iron.

Its physical body was immobile, but the Fire Phoenix's inner core functioned smoothly, and its primordial divine fire could still be mobilized normally. It knew that if it continued to passively endure the attacks, it would surely die, and it had to break free from this confining space immediately.

As a top-tier divine bird reborn from the ashes, it possesses its own secret techniques for survival and escape.