The second to fall was the Mirage Pavilion Grand Elder battling Yi Xian’er. Corroded by baleful qi, he grew weaker with every exchange until the baleful qi within him finally erupted, shattering his heart meridians. He perished on the spot, his divine soul corroded into nothingness.
The third was Cai Lian’s opponent, who had transformed into a lifeless stone statue suspended in midair.
The last one was beaten into a swollen pig’s head by Long Ying. His entire body puffed up like a balloon as he slipped into unconsciousness. With a life-saving medicinal pill, he might recover; without it, one could only prepare for the funeral feast.
In total, two dead and two teetering on the brink.
It had to be said that the snake girl and the baleful girl struck with the most vicious hands—even the demoness paled in comparison.
Once the four women had dispatched their foes, they rushed to support Yan Zhen.
No matter how one looked at it, challenging a Supreme as a mere Mystic Ancestor was too much of a stretch, even with secret arts to bolster him.
This was nothing like his duel with the Spirit Mountain Ancestor. The Mirage Pavilion Old Pavilion Master wouldn’t politely wait for Yan Zhen to unleash a powerful Mystic technique. That earlier sword strike had exploited the old man’s careless underestimation. Had he known from the start that Yan Zhen could pierce his domain, he would have launched an assault the instant the sword was raised.
The four women unleashed their attacks in unison, making the Mirage Cloud Domain tremble violently.
The Old Pavilion Master was momentarily distracted, and Yan Zhen seized the opening to counterattack. The old man retreated in disarray, releasing Yan Zhen from his domain.
For a Supreme powerhouse to falter within his own domain—if word got out, he’d be nailed to the pillar of shame among Supremes, the butt of jokes for at least two and a half years.
There was a saying among Supreme powerhouses: “Within my domain, I reign supreme.” Even a Half-Saint overpowering a Supreme had to shatter the opponent’s domain first.
To stumble in one’s own domain could only mean it was riddled with flaws.
At that moment, guests streamed from the other islands of the Shimmering Mirage Dragon Archipelago, watching from afar in stunned awe. First, they were shocked that the Mirage Pavilion Old Pavilion Master had advanced to Supreme. Then came even greater astonishment at this black-robed prodigy defeating the strong with the weak—a Mystic Ancestor battling a Supreme and even repelling him from within his domain!
Someone had already produced a Reflecting Light Mirror to record this historic moment.
Yan Zhen retreated to the center of the four women, his Mystic Venerable cultivation slowly receding back to his original Three-Star Mystic Ancestor level.
A fierce glint erupted in the Old Pavilion Master’s eyes.
“Haha! Forcing a surge in cultivation with a secret art is mere child’s play—it’s not true power, and you can’t wield it properly… Allow this old man to teach you what a Supreme truly is!”
Boom!
Mystic power surged from his body, faintly forming an ocean behind him. Supreme might swept across the entire island, leaving all the guests uneasy, their festive moods shattered.
Yan Zhen snorted lightly. He gripped the Great Extreme Tyrant Sword in his right hand and flipped open his left palm to activate the Yin Mo Death Seal, summoning the black cubic Death City Core.
“External power is still power. Let’s see if you can handle it! Pursuing the Great Dao relies on oneself, but in battle, anything goes—use every trick in the book. Cai Lian, Long Ying, Xian’er, Jiuyou—hold him off for a bit and buy me ten breaths’ time.”
The four women nodded and charged forward, each unleashing their divine abilities to stall the Old Pavilion Master.
Yan Zhen stowed the Great Extreme Tyrant Sword. As he drew power from the Death City Core and summoned the Three Extreme Flames to fuse them, a ripple of spatial fluctuations suddenly washed over him. Yu Shizun’s ethereal, fairy-like figure appeared at his side.
She wore a watery palace gown with a blue shawl draped over her arm, her face veiled in mist—perfectly matching Yan Zhen’s ideal of an immortal maiden.
“Don’t push yourself with that move again,” Yu Shizun said coolly. “Leave it to me.”
“Ah?”
Yan Zhen blinked in surprise.
“Lady Chen Xi told me everything about your previous life… I know you want to avenge yourself personally, but there’s no need to harm yourself over trash like this.”
Yu Shizun walked slowly toward the Mirage Pavilion Old Pavilion Master. Unbeknownst to anyone, fine rain threads had begun to fall from the sky, enveloping the main island—her domain, Rain Falls Over the World.
At the Supreme Ninth Grade, the first three grades focused on perfecting one’s domain, while the fourth through sixth involved condensing a Domain Heart. From the seventh to ninth, one expanded the domain’s scope.
Once a Domain Heart formed, the domain became flawless and impervious. Even cracks from battle would swiftly mend.
Yu Shizun had been stuck at Third-Grade Supreme for years. Unable to advance, she had endlessly refined her domain. Now, upon breaking through to Fourth-Rank Supreme, it rivaled that of a Sixth-Rank Supreme!
The Old Pavilion Master’s Mirage Cloud Domain was instantly overlaid by Yu Shizun’s rainy domain. Without the mirage clouds to conceal him, the old man revealed himself, his face etched with panic.
“You—you are…”
Yu Shizun advanced step by step. Cai Lian, Long Ying, Xian’er, and Jiuyou tactfully withdrew. She formed a sword with her fingers, holding it vertically before her chest, and said softly:
“Silken Thread Rain.”
At her words, rain threads bound the Mirage Pavilion Old Pavilion Master’s limbs, rendering him utterly immobile.
Yu Shizun continued:
“Pear Blossom Rain.”
Within the domain, all the rain threads converged on the Old Pavilion Master, forming a massive vortex of rain silk. Razor-sharp threads like sword qi pierced his frail, aged body relentlessly.
Amid agonized howls, the Mirage Pavilion Old Pavilion Master vanished from head to toe without a trace.
Yu Shizun withdrew her domain, and the falling rain threads gradually dissipated into the sky.
The onlookers in the distance stared in horror. Even Yan Zhen gulped, thinking he really ought to apologize to Yu Shizun when they got back. Lately, he’d grown too arrogant, forgetting how ruthless she was in his previous life—or rather, in the script. She killed without mercy, striking fear into Demon Domain evil cultivators, let alone ordinary folk.
Yu Shizun ignored the others and returned straight to Yan Zhen’s side. She said to him:
“If you had a target in mind, why not tell me beforehand? The Jialan Holy Land never trusted the Mirage Pavilion—we merely relied on it to maintain order overseas. If problems arose, we could eliminate it anytime and prop up another faction.”
Yan Zhen scratched his cheek.
“I was just worried it’d tarnish the holy land’s reputation.”
“The Jialan Holy Land is a place of cultivation, our creed to give every citizen of the continent a chance to become strong, our goal to claim first among the Seven Continents Holy Lands—that’s all. We act openly and upright, shunning filthy deeds, but that doesn’t make us paragons of justice. No need to set ourselves so high we can’t step down.”
Yu Shizun went on:
“The Mirage Pavilion discovered a massive opportunity like the Thousand Illusions Grotto-Heaven. By our old alliance pact, they should have reported it for equal division. For them to hoard it alone, the Jialan Holy Land has every right to strike. As Saint Son, the proper course was to lead forces here to demand justice. If they refused to yield, wipe the sect out outright—no need for these roundabout games.”
Yan Zhen broke into a slight sweat.
Supremes rarely spoke so much at once; clearly, she disapproved of his methods.
That said, sect exterminations—he’d only done it twice in his previous life. Once against Cloud Heaven Palace, once against Peacock Demon Palace, both driven by seething hatred.
He wasn’t quite that ruthless toward the Mirage Pavilion… He simply hadn’t yet adapted to the moral compass of this xianxia world.
“You’re right, Yu Shizun. I’ll learn gradually. I hope you’ll continue to guide me.”
Seeing his meek compliance, Yu Shizun didn’t press further.
“Try to extract the location of the Thousand Illusions Grotto-Heaven. Unless necessary, avoid soul-searching—it might pollute your sea of consciousness.”
