With that palm strike, Treasure Daoist’s figure was sent flying backward.
The brilliance of several treasures around him dimmed and fell: a great cauldron of violet-green light, a divine sword radiating sharpness, and even a statue infused with the ferocious might of a sacred beast.
Yet all these treasures, without exception, were annihilated within Xu Zimo’s palm strike.
At this moment, Xu Zimo’s body had expanded to thirty-three thousand meters in height, like a god-demon suppressing the world. His eyes glowed with piercing radiance, his shoulders seemed to carry the heavens, and the boundless might in his palm pressed down unstoppably.
Another strike came crashing down, shaking heaven and earth; the skies darkened, the land quaked and split open.
Countless fissures spiderwebbed across the ground, bottomless abysses spreading beneath his feet.
Even the towering, majestic Immortal Mountain crumbled violently.
From within came endless roars of rage, rumbling like thunder.
That mountain, which had stood silent for countless eras, nearly symbolizing the very pinnacle of the Sacred Ground, was finally reduced to rubble.
The jagged stones, strange winds, wondrous sceneries, jade pavilions, and waterfalls descending into the mortal realm, all seemed to vanish together with this colossus that had ruled countless ages, dissolving into the storm.
The disciples of the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground were all bloodshot-eyed with grief. Some old ancestors, even with grievous injuries and regardless of life or death, charged madly toward Xu Zimo.
This mountain represented everything to them.
It was like their home.
The immortal mists dispersed, yet Xu Zimo stood tall in the void, utterly unafraid.
His gaze swept across everything, taking it all in. Looking toward the binding Power of Order that trapped the God Emperor, he said: “You from inside, and I from outside, we’ll attack together and break this open.”
“Very well,” the God Emperor nodded solemnly.
Xu Zimo raised his right hand high, thunder and wind trembling in his palm. Boundless spiritual energy poured down like rain, condensing into spiritual liquid, rivers hanging upside down, the heavens collapsing.
With Shadow Tyrant in his grasp, he struck downward with immense force.
At the same time, the God Emperor stood solemn and firm, divine might surging, his own force clashing against Xu Zimo’s strike.
The God Dao, the Power of Order, and infernal force interwove in an instant.
With a deafening “boom,” the void imprisoning the God Emperor exploded completely.
Moments later, divine might erupted. The God Emperor emerged, stepping into the void, his gaze sharp as he swept across the battlefield.
The great battle gradually ceased.
Both sides separated, retreating to their positions.
In the void, the Supreme Ancestor of the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground struck out with one palm, turbulent space currents raging past him, yet he was forced back several steps.
Looking at the Sky Shroud War God opposite him, he let out a deep sigh.
“Sky Shroud… you have won.”
“From the very start, victory was never yours,” Sky Shroud War God said calmly. “You thought we relied on the God Emperor. In truth, no, he was never the protagonist.”
“With this youth here, what meaning does this so-called Battle for Heaven’s Will have?”
His eyes pierced the endless void, landing on Xu Zimo’s figure.
Xu Zimo stood like a god-demon, his aura world-shaking.
“Why… why was such a monstrous talent not born into my Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground?”
“Such is time, such is fate.” The Supreme Ancestor sighed again.
From his mouth, to declare that the Heaven’s Will struggle no longer mattered, showed how highly he regarded Xu Zimo.
Throughout history, the battles for Heaven's Will had always been filled with controversy.
No one ever fully accepted another as the rightful bearer.
After all, was not every contender a heaven-defying genius?
There was even the Heaven’s Pride Ranking, where people voted for their chosen prodigies.
Every generation had countless bearers of Heaven's Will, and upsets were frequent.
But this time, the Supreme Ancestor had a premonition, this era’s Heaven's Will struggle might be the least suspenseful of all.
Perhaps only if every Heaven’s Pride joined forces to eliminate Xu Zimo early would there be the slightest chance.
His mind swirled with countless thoughts.
Yet no matter what, the fate of his Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground was already sealed.
“Sky Shroud, may we speak of terms?” the Supreme Ancestor asked.
“Discuss them with him,” Sky Shroud War God replied, looking down at Xu Zimo. “This time, I am not the one in charge.”
Xu Zimo looked at Ji Ruobing before him.
As the Saintess of the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground, the two had once been friends. After parting ways in the Land of Destruction, he hadn’t expected their reunion to be like this.
“Must it really come to this?” Ji Ruobing asked in confusion, her eyes lost. This mountain was her home, filled with countless memories.
“It already has,” Xu Zimo replied.
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Ji Ruobing said. “I advised the sect not to interfere in your affairs. But Lu Changhen’s faction insisted on using this to boost their prestige.”
Xu Zimo understood.
The Sacred Ground had long been split into two factions, one led by Saintess Ji Ruobing, and the other by Holy Son Lu Changhen.
The two had always contended in the shadows. Lu Changhen’s faction likely saw this matter as a way to increase influence and suppress Ji Ruobing’s side.
Originally, the script was written, across the continent, so many imperial lineages wanted Xu Zimo dead. His death should have been inevitable.
But who could have foreseen that a Grand Emperor still lived? The fall of Baili City, imperial lineages apologizing en masse, and countless others fleeing in terror.
And now, the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground had provoked this colossal disaster.
Xu Zimo had even given them a chance, Lu Changhen’s head as recompense.
Yet the sect refused. They would not bow.
Perhaps it was because this great sect of five Grand Emperors had never bowed its head to anyone.
“You still don’t understand?” Xu Zimo asked, looking at the dazed Ji Ruobing.
“This is my era. I will not permit any force to oppose me. Your Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground has only two choices, tuck your tail and submit, or be destroyed by me. Unfortunately, you failed to grasp this truth. Or perhaps you understood but refused to accept it.”
Ji Ruobing took a deep breath, unable to refute.
“And where is Lu Changhen?” Xu Zimo asked with a cold smile. “After all this fighting, the so-called protagonist hides like a turtle in its shell.”
As his words fell, Feng Tianya arrived, escorting Lu Changhen at his side.
This was Xu Zimo’s first face-to-face with Lu Changhen.
Yet the young man before him lacked all the lofty arrogance of the Holy Son of the Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground. Instead, he seemed timid, unable even to meet Xu Zimo’s eyes.
“Weren’t you going to eliminate demons and uphold the Grand Dao?” Xu Zimo mocked. “Here I am before you. I’ll give you that chance.”
“This… this is a misunderstanding, Holy Son Xu,” Lu Changhen stammered.
“Enough,” came a sigh nearby.
The Supreme Ancestor and Sky Shroud War God descended side by side.
For figures of their level, a single battle was not decided so quickly.
“Holy Son Xu, may you spare our Immortal Extinction Sacred Ground a single thread of life?” the Patriarch said directly. “Name your conditions. As long as we can meet them, we will surely agree. If in the future you ascend to the Outer Heavens, take it as a favour from our Sacred Ground.”