Yet before the power of the Chaos Bell, all such resistance seemed futile.
The Xuanhuang ripples swept past. The nine-tiered jade pagoda let out a mournful cry, its runes shattering, its body covered in cracks, all spiritual radiance lost.
As for that primordial chaos realm, it vanished like foam, unable to obstruct them in the slightest.
“Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
The two Immortal Kings were struck as if by a heavy blow. At the same time, they spat out great mouthfuls of blood containing fragments of the Great Dao. The immortal astral defenses around them shattered completely, and their auras plummeted sharply.
Those two Xuanhuang ripples were like the most unbreakable divine chains, binding them tightly from head to toe. Their Immortal King cultivation, capable of reaching heaven and earth, was sealed entirely; even self-destruction had become an extravagant hope.
They were imprisoned in midair by an invisible force, unable to move, with only terror left in their eyes.
Just as Lu Xuan was about to stir the bell waves and grind these two into oblivion as well—
“Fellow Daoist, please calm your anger!”
“Immortal King Lu Xuan, show mercy!”
“Sigh… Fellow Daoist Golden Crow, could you perhaps stay your hand for a moment?”
Several powerful divine thoughts, accompanied by voices, finally ceased hiding and came from every direction of the Immortal Domain.
Immediately afterward, the void rippled, and several figures emanating similarly vast Immortal King auras manifested at the edge of the battlefield.
Four Immortal Kings had arrived in total.
One wore a green Daoist robe, with an ancient, simple countenance and a horsetail whisk in hand. He was Immortal King Qingmu, a figure of considerable virtue and prestige in the Immortal Domain.
One was shrouded in hazy immortal light, her figure graceful, her aura cold and aloof. She was Immortal King Qingwei.
One wore golden armor, his qi and blood soaring to the heavens like a war god descended to the world. He was Immortal King Panshi.
The last was an old man with white hair and the face of a child, holding a gnarled dragon staff. He was Immortal King Xuangui, an extremely senior figure.
These four Immortal Kings had previously been watching coldly from the sidelines.
Now, seeing Lu Xuan slay Ao Sheng with thunderous momentum, then suppress Taishi and Yuanchu with a turn of his hand, the strength he displayed was far too terrifying. At last, they could no longer sit still.
Immortal King Qingmu stepped forward as their representative, cupped his hands toward Lu Xuan, and spoke with a trace of complexity in his tone.
“Fellow Daoist, your divine abilities are peerless. This old man admires you. Fellow Daoist Ao Sheng… has already paid the price for his actions. Though Taishi and Yuanchu cannot escape blame, cultivation is, after all, not easy, and they are among the Immortal Domain’s top combat forces. If they are killed as well, I fear it truly may shake the foundations of the Immortal Domain and give foreign realms or other covetous parties an opportunity. I hope Fellow Daoist will consider the greater picture. Could you… spare their lives?”
Immortal King Qingwei also parted her red lips, her voice clear and melodious.
“We also deeply sympathize with the suffering of the Golden Crow clan and feel profound regret. However, excessive slaughter harms the harmony of Heaven. Since Fellow Daoist has already established your might, would it not be better to have the two of them pay a sufficient price, compensate the Golden Crow clan for its losses, and swear binding oaths?”
Though Immortal King Panshi and Immortal King Xuangui did not speak directly, their stance was clearly inclined toward pleading for mercy as well.
Looking at these four Immortal Kings who had suddenly appeared, speaking again and again of the greater picture and the harmony of Heaven, the corners of Lu Xuan’s mouth curved faintly.
Before he could speak, the Golden Crow clan leader below, who had been stubbornly holding on all this time, suddenly raised his head. In his eyes erupted grief and fury that had been suppressed for far, far too long, and he roared hoarsely:
“The greater picture?! The harmony of Heaven?! May I ask the four Immortal Kings! Back then, when the three of them joined hands to force my clan, sever our ancestral tree, and slaughter my descendants, where was your greater picture?! Where was the harmony of Heaven?! When the blood of my clan’s sons ran dry and wails filled the land, why did none of you come out to uphold justice and discuss the harmony of Heaven?! Now that our clan’s Immortal King has returned, you all come to speak of the greater picture?! Could it be that this greater picture permits only them to kill us, but does not permit my clan to take revenge?! Where under Heaven is there such a principle!!”
The old clan leader’s every word struck at the heart, causing the expressions of Immortal King Qingmu and the other three to shift slightly. For a moment, they were actually left speechless.
Lu Xuan slowly raised his hand, stopping the deeply agitated clan leader.
His calm gaze swept over the four Immortal Kings pleading for mercy, as though it could pierce through all hypocrisy.
“I appreciate your kind intentions.”
His voice remained calm, yet carried a trace of finality.
“But the blood of my Golden Crow clan cannot be shed in vain.”
He pointed toward the suppressed Taishi and Yuanchu. “They must die.”
“As for the greater picture of the Immortal Domain…”
Lu Xuan paused. Suddenly, an even more terrifying pressure than before erupted from his body.
The Chaos Bell hummed in response. On the walls of the bell, the sun, moon, and stars seemed to come alive, releasing a supreme aura that could suppress all the heavens and myriad realms, directly forcing back the combined momentum faintly emanating from the four Immortal Kings!
Word by word, his voice shook the Immortal Domain:
“From this day forth, my will, Lu Xuan’s will, is the greater picture!”
“Who dares refuse to accept it?”
As his words fell, the Chaos Bell’s radiance surged. The two Xuanhuang ripples wrapped around Taishi and Yuanchu suddenly tightened!
Lu Xuan’s words—“My will, Lu Xuan’s will, is the greater picture!”
They were like chaotic divine thunder, exploding in the heart of every Immortal King, shaking their primordial spirits and unsettling their Dao hearts.
Domineering, decisive, brooking no doubt!
He did not care at all about the balance of the Immortal Domain, nor about the so-called danger of the lips being gone and the teeth turning cold.
The blood of the Golden Crow clan had to be repaid with the lives of its enemies!
“No—! Lu Xuan! You cannot!”
Immortal King Taishi sensed the ripples wrapped around his body beginning to emit a destructive aura and screamed in terror, no longer retaining the slightest bearing of an Immortal King.
“We are willing to acknowledge you as our master! We are willing to offer up all our foundations! We only beg you to spare our lives!”
Immortal King Yuanchu also struggled madly. Chaotic qi around him boiled and shattered, yet he still could not shake the suppression of the Chaos Bell in the slightest. He let out a deep, muffled roar.
“Lu Xuan! Excessive slaughter will surely invite heavenly punishment! Are you not afraid that your future Dao path will be tainted and heart demons will arise in droves?!”
“Heavenly punishment?”
Lu Xuan gave a mocking laugh. Golden flames leapt in his eyes, filled with ridicule.
“If heavenly punishment truly exists, the first ones it would strike would be you three base scoundrels who slaughtered the descendants of meritorious heroes!”
He gave the two no further chance. With a thought, he stirred the Chaos Bell.
“Clang—!”
The bell’s sound was no longer clear and melodious. Instead, it became deep and murderous, like a funeral dirge sending off Immortal Kings!
The two Xuanhuang ripples wrapped around Taishi and Yuanchu abruptly erupted with brilliance so dazzling it reached the extreme. Destructive power instantly invaded every particle of their Immortal King bodies, corroding the core imprints of their undying primordial spirits!
“Ah!!!”
Incomparably shrill screams resounded across the universe. The bodies of the two Immortal Kings rapidly dissolved.
Their Great Dao runes wailed as they shattered. Their vast life essence and origins were forcibly refined.
“Fellow Daoist Lu Xuan! Stop at once!”
Immortal King Qingmu’s expression changed drastically, and he could not help but step forward, wanting to intervene.
Immortal King Panshi’s qi and blood also surged forth, his golden armor ringing.
However, Lu Xuan merely glanced at them coldly. Without even making any extra movement, the Chaos Bell hanging high above trembled lightly.
“Buzz—!”
An invisible, majestic force thunderously spread out, sweeping forward like the wall of the universe itself.
The expressions of Immortal Kings Qingmu, Panshi, Qingwei, and Xuangui changed dramatically. They only felt an irresistible force crash toward them head-on. Their protective immortal astral defenses shattered in an instant, and the four of them were actually driven back several steps in unison, qi and blood churning within their bodies, their Immortal King laws thrown into disorder!
A look of horror flashed through the eyes of all four at the same time. The four of them, veteran Immortal Kings, had joined hands, yet they could not even make the other party spare the slightest attention?!
The might of this bell was simply beyond imagination!
In the brief moment they were obstructed, the screams of Taishi and Yuanchu had already come to an abrupt end.
Their Immortal King bodies had completely turned to ash, and their undying primordial spirits had been ground away to nothing.
Only two masses of Immortal King origin containing the Dao fruits of their entire lives were left, casually drawn into Lu Xuan’s hand.
Three Immortal Kings who had awed the Immortal Domain for countless epochs, who had joined hands to coerce the Golden Crow clan and had still been overbearing only moments ago—Ao Sheng, Taishi, and Yuanchu—were now utterly destroyed in both body and soul!
Between heaven and earth, there was dead silence.
All divine thoughts spying on this place froze.
Across the Immortal Domain, who knew how many ancient existences sucked in a cold breath, their hearts and minds shaken violently.
Some Immortal Kings who had originally still harbored other thoughts now extinguished them completely, leaving only deep dread.
This newly ascended Immortal King not only possessed terrifying strength; his methods were even more ruthless and decisive. He would not be swayed by any threat or persuasion.
This was a true baleful star!
Lu Xuan held three masses of Immortal King origin.
He looked down at the shattered ancestral land below, at those clansmen with tears brimming in their eyes, and at last a trace of gentleness flashed through his gaze.
“My clansmen.”
His voice rang out, carrying a power that soothed the heart. “The suffering is over.”
He waved his hand, sending out the three masses of Immortal King origin.
One mass fused into the broken main trunk of the Fusang Divine Tree. One transformed into boundless vitality that rained down upon the scorched earth. The last mass split into two, pouring into the bodies of the gravely injured clan leader and another elder.
“Rumble—!”
A miracle occurred!
Upon the charred land, countless tender green shoots broke through the soil at a speed visible to the naked eye. They rapidly grew into spiritual grasses and immortal blossoms, breathing out dense immortal essence.
The severed Fusang Divine Tree trembled violently. Its charred bark peeled away, and dazzling golden sap flowed out like blood.
New branches shot forth madly, tender leaves unfurled, and pure True Solar Fire ignited upon them. Radiance once again shone over the ancestral land!
The injuries on the clan leader and that elder healed in an instant. Their depleted origins were replenished, and their auras even became thicker and more majestic than before they were injured!
“We thank the Immortal King! This grace of rebirth shall never be forgotten for all eternity!”
The Golden Crow clan leader was the first to bow down, his voice choked with sobs and filled with endless reverence.
“We thank the Immortal King!” All the surviving Golden Crow clansmen knelt in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, filled with the joy of new life and supreme faith in Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan accepted the kneeling worship of his clansmen. This was what he deserved.
He had reforged the clan land and saved the clan. He was worthy of this salute.
His gaze swept over the void once more, looking toward the four Immortal Kings whose expressions kept changing, as well as the gazes hidden in the shadows. His voice returned to its previous indifference and majesty:
“From today onward, the Golden Crow clan is under my protection, Lu Xuan’s protection.”
“Those who offend my Golden Crow clan shall end up like these three beasts!”
As his words fell, he waved his sleeve, sweeping up the remaining clansmen and the reborn ancestral land. With a single step, he vanished into the void, leaving behind only that territory which had been restored yet still bore the traces of the great battle, and the Immortal Kings of the Immortal Domain, whose hearts were filled with shock and who could not calm themselves for a long time.
On this day, the name of the Golden Crow Immortal King, Lu Xuan, carrying the might of the Chaos Bell and using the blood of three veteran Immortal Kings as sacrifice, thoroughly shook the entire Immortal Domain!
The outcome of the battle at the Golden Crow ancestral land stirred unprecedented stormy waves throughout the vast Immortal Domain.
However, compared with the fall of three veteran Immortal Kings, what caused the various powers of the Immortal Domain—especially those peak existences—to feel their hearts palpitate even more was that power which had completely exceeded their understanding!
Some ancient existences who had lived for unknown numbers of epochs and believed they had seen all the mysteries of the Immortal Domain were now awakening from their slumber one after another.
Some walked out from their places of seclusion, their faces filled with solemnity and… a trace of bewilderment.
Within an ancient cave dwelling somewhere, an old man abruptly opened his eyes. Runes flickered wildly within them as he attempted to deduce the origin of that bell.
“Impossible! In the ancient records of the Immortal Domain, in the fragmentary chapters of the Realm Sea, even in the imprints of those buried epochs… there is not the slightest aura similar to this bell?!”
He muttered to himself, filled with disbelief.
“That bell sound… can stabilize earth, water, fire, and wind; can suppress the myriad Daos. Its level is so high that it seems to stand above the Dao as we know it! This is definitely not an object of the Immortal Domain—perhaps it is not even something that should exist in any ancient history known to us!”
“And the divine abilities Lu Xuan displayed—that majestic great sun aura, yet carrying the meaning of the primal beginning of chaos… It is completely different from the current inheritance of the Golden Crow clan. It is more ancient, more… primitive and powerful! Just what did he obtain in the Solar Ancient Cave?!”
The leader of another ancient hidden Dao lineage spoke with a trace of trembling in his voice that even he himself did not notice.
The unknown brought the deepest fear.
They no longer regarded Lu Xuan merely as a powerful newly ascended Immortal King, but as a terrifying existence carrying an unknown variable.
This variable might overturn their established understanding, and even… threaten their own positions and safety.
For a time, many ancient Dao lineages issued orders one after another: withdraw their forces, strictly forbid disciples from provoking the Golden Crow clan, and begin gathering all information about that bell and Lu Xuan’s divine abilities at any cost.
As for the forces under the command of the three Immortal Kings Ao Sheng, Taishi, and Yuanchu, they were no longer merely panicked. They had fallen into complete despair and chaos.
“What kind of bell was that?! The ancestor’s protective immortal treasures, the inherited Immortal King laws—before that bell sound, they were like paper! They could not even struggle!”
“It’s over! Completely over! We do not even know what kind of power the enemy has grasped. How are we supposed to resist it? How are we supposed to resolve it?”
“Flee! Hurry and flee! Leave the core of the Immortal Domain! Go to the borderlands, to those undeveloped chaotic regions! We cannot stay in this Immortal Domain anymore!”
Originally, they had still held a sliver of luck, thinking perhaps they could rely on their deep foundations, clan-protecting grand formations, or alliance with other friendly Immortal Kings to resist or negotiate.
But the wholly incomprehensible and irresistible mighty power displayed by the Chaos Bell completely shattered their psychological defenses.
It was a despair akin to being struck from a higher dimension.
Large numbers of elite disciples began to flee. Resources were frantically swept away. Internally, they even began slaughtering one another for the remaining interests. The scene of a collapsing tree scattering its monkeys played out in every corner.
Those Immortal Kings who had previously watched coldly from the sidelines, and even harbored certain thoughts, now felt emotions complex to the extreme.
King Pan stood in his own medicinal garden, his brows tightly furrowed.
“It is not any artifact known in ancient history, nor does it bear the aura of those dark Immortal Kings on the far side of the Realm Sea… A completely unfamiliar power system, yet so powerful. That Golden Crow Immortal King… cannot be measured, cannot be opposed. Pass down my order: all who belong to my King Pan Manor, upon seeing descendants of the Golden Crow clan, must treat them with courtesy and retreat three she where possible.”