Drawn upon them were savage exotic totems, emanating dark fluctuations that corroded the mind.
The vanguard was cannon fodder composed of various fallen races. Behind them came dark knights clad in heavy armor, exuding an ominous aura.
Farther back, indistinct amid the shadows, was a vast army of immortals, along with strange beings who rode upon colossal skeletal beasts.
Yet what inspired the greatest dread was not this boundless dark legion, but the several figures suspended above the army, towering and unmoving like ancient demonic mountains.
They had not fully revealed their true forms, only manifested vague dharma images that stood between heaven and earth, yet their pressure alone already made the Imperial City’s protective light curtain ripple violently and groan as though it could no longer bear the weight.
The one at their head was none other than Chi Wang!
Though he had once suffered grievous injuries, the dharma image he manifested at this moment still propped up heaven and earth. Fragments of time whirled around him like a storm.
Scenes of the past and future arose and perished within them. His tyrannical gaze was like two blood moons, fixed dead upon the Imperial City.
Merely being watched by that gaze made the souls of many True Immortal-level defenders atop the city walls stab with pain, as though they were about to split apart.
Beside him stood Wushang, whose aura was like eternal ice.
His dharma image was calm and heavy, without any dazzling phenomena, yet it gave off an absolute sense of being immune to all arts and imperishable through the ages, as if any divine ability or law that landed upon him would automatically lose effect.
Farther behind, the figure of Pu Demon King flickered in and out amid the shadows of demonic sunflowers, giving off a strange aura of corruption and temptation.
Blade King held a saber of law in his arms, his eyes closed in repose, but that faint, almost imperceptible wisp of imperial might was more oppressive than any flamboyant display of power.
A full four Immortal Kings had come in person!
Among them were even giants such as Chi Wang and Wushang, as well as the unfathomable Blade King!
Such a lineup had already surpassed any ordinary provocation. It could be called an extremely severe show of military intimidation!
Above the Imperial City, the atmosphere had grown heavy to the extreme.
Pan Wang, who held command here, wore a solemn expression. Hunyuan Immortal King had also rushed over from the depths of the Immortal Domain. The two Immortal Kings stood shoulder to shoulder, and behind them were numerous True Immortals and quasi-Immortal Kings of the Immortal Domain’s side, each of them tense, as though facing a great enemy.
“Chi Wang! Wushang! What are you intending to do? Do you wish to reignite the flames of war?!”
Pan Wang’s voice rang like a great bell, filled with boundless vital essence, stabilizing the wavering morale of their side.
Chi Wang let out a sneer, his voice like metal scraping against metal, carrying the discordant noise of disordered time. “War? If we truly wished for war, it would not be just the few of us who came.”
Wushang slowly spoke, his voice icy cold and devoid of the slightest emotion.
“We heard that the Immortal Domain’s Eastern Emperor has created a world-shocking method, one that can help others break through into the King Realm. The sons of our domain yearn for it, and have come especially to ‘seek guidance.’”
Pu Demon King added darkly.
“Indeed. We have long heard that the Immortal Domain and the Ancient Realm are abundant with geniuses, and now that they have been nurtured by the Eastern Emperor’s wondrous method, their Dao arts must surely be profound. Our domain also has no small number of quasi-Immortal Kings stuck at bottlenecks. Their hearts itch unbearably, and they are willing to exchange pointers and discuss the Dao with the peerless talents of your side at the ‘Martial Stage’ in the Boundary Sea, so as to verify each other’s Great Dao!”
Blade King did not speak, but the saber of law in his arms hummed faintly. A sharp saber intent had already locked onto the Imperial City. Its meaning was self-evident—accept the challenge, or bear more direct consequences.
This was an open scheme!
The foreign domain did not intend to immediately launch an all-out war. Instead, with four great Immortal Kings holding the field, they were forcing the Immortal Domain to send out quasi-King-level cultivators for a “spar.”
Their goal was clearly to witness with their own eyes and personally experience the profundity of the “Severing the Three Corpses” method, and to attempt to carry out their plan of sabotage in the midst of battle.
Pan Wang and Hunyuan Immortal King exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes. In an instant, they understood the foreign domain’s calculations.
If they agreed, they would fall right into the other side’s trap, and the geniuses of their side cultivating the Severing the Three Corpses method would be exposed to danger.
If they refused, the other side would have an excuse to exert pressure, and might even truly trigger a localized conflict. With four great Immortal Kings present, the pressure on the Imperial City was immense.
“What? Is there no one in the Immortal Domain? Or is the Eastern Emperor’s so-called wondrous method nothing but an empty reputation, incapable of producing disciples who can fight?”
Chi Wang mocked, his voice spreading in all directions, attempting to shake their morale.
Just as Pan Wang was pondering and preparing to stall for time, a peaceful voice imbued with supreme dignity rang out.
It came from the direction of the Golden Crow Clan’s territory, resounding clearly before the Imperial Pass:
“Since the fellow Daoists of the foreign domain are in such refined spirits, then our Immortal Domain shall accompany you.”
As the voice fell, a golden path of light extended over from the Immortal Domain and arrived at the Imperial Pass in an instant. When the light dispersed, three figures were revealed.
The one at their head was precisely Lu Xuan’s Good Corpse incarnation!
He was still dressed in a moon-white Daoist robe, his countenance compassionate and serene, holding the Glazed Heart Lamp in his hand. Around him spread a Dao rhythm that soothed the heart.
Yet as his eyes opened and closed, they carried an unquestionable majesty.
Behind him followed two people. One had dark golden flames restrained around his body, his gaze sharp as a blade—it was Lu Yan, who had initially separated out his Evil Corpse, his aura having become even more dangerous and condensed!
The other was a quasi-Immortal King from another faction of the Immortal Domain. His aura was steady, and he was clearly also someone who had made progress after cultivating the Severing the Three Corpses method.
The Good Corpse incarnation’s gaze swept over Chi Wang, Wushang, and the other Immortal Kings, calm and unruffled.
“Juniors sparring and verifying the Great Dao is, in itself, a fine thing. However, blades and swords have no eyes. If there are deaths or injuries, each shall accept their own fate. Do you dare swear a Great Dao oath that in this battle, only quasi-Kings may enter the game, and Kings may not interfere?”
He directly laid down the rules, limiting the contest to the quasi-King level and forcing the other side to swear an oath, preventing Immortal Kings from acting in secret or retaliating afterward.
A fierce light flashed in Chi Wang’s eyes, and he had just been about to say something when Wushang spoke first. “Agreed.”
He agreed cleanly and decisively, clearly knowing the purpose of this trip with extreme clarity. As Wushang’s words fell,
the four Immortal Kings simultaneously drew upon their own Great Daos, and a dark Great Dao oath rune containing terrifying binding power condensed into form in the void.
The Good Corpse incarnation likewise represented the Immortal Domain’s side and condensed the corresponding Great Dao oath.
Once the oath was established, the rules were set.
Chi Wang snorted coldly and waved his hand.
Immediately, from the depths of the foreign domain’s army, three figures shrouded in dense dark aura flew out.
The pressure they emitted had astonishingly all reached the absolute peak of quasi-Immortal Kings, and their auras were strange. At a glance, one could tell they were troublesome opponents carefully selected specifically to deal with the Severing the Three Corpses method!
One of them was shaped like a shadow, as if it had no physical body, specializing in corroding the soul and thoughts.
Another had a powerful physique, covered in bone armor, seemingly possessing extremely strong physical defense and resistance to arts.
The last was a bewitching woman. As her eyes shifted, they were filled with endless temptation and the power of corruption. She was clearly the type who excelled at stirring heart demons and bewitching people’s minds.
Three against three!
In the Boundary Sea, an ancient battlefield that had been temporarily cleared and enclosed with barriers had already taken shape.
A quasi-King-level contest concerning the prestige of the Severing the Three Corpses method, and even more so the future fortunes of both sides, was about to erupt with a roar outside this Imperial Pass, under the gazes of the four great Immortal Kings and the many experts of the Immortal Domain!
Lu Yan stepped forward. Dark golden flames of destruction rose from his body as his gaze locked onto the bone-armored quasi-King of the foreign domain, battle intent soaring to the heavens. “Who comes to receive death?!”