Yan Zhen and Chen Xi heard these words and immediately departed the Fire Refining Starry Sky, returning to the chamber.
The Evil Consort and Jialan Fairy had already put away the chessboard and were sitting primly on their stools.
Moments later, a rift tore open in the space of the hall. Zixiao Saint Lord stepped out slowly, a kindly smile on her face.
“You’ve been kept waiting.”
Chen Xi’s heart sank slightly.
“How did it go? What did Zi Tianjun say?”
Zixiao Saint Lord replied indifferently, “The Clan Leader is still in seclusion. This matter was discussed among us Nine Heavenly Saint Lords, and we unanimously agreed that Zi Ji cannot marry outside the clan, no matter what… If Jialan Holy Land wishes to form a marriage alliance with the Heavenly God Clan, we have other proud daughters of heaven within our ranks. Given Holy Son Yan Zhen’s talent and strength, I’m sure plenty of girls would be willing.”
“You’ve taken it upon yourselves after all,” Jialan Fairy sighed softly. “Dismissing us with words like that—don’t you think that’s rude?”
“Jialan, I’ve already been quite accommodating,” Zixiao Saint Lord said with a frown. “Anyone else, and I would’ve thrown them out long ago.”
“In that case, there’s nothing left to discuss,” the Evil Consort said coldly. “Bring out Zi Tianjun.”
Her imperious, commanding tone irked Zixiao Saint Lord.
“The Clan Leader is in seclusion and likely won’t emerge until before the Goddess Grand Ceremony. If you want to see him, you’ll need to wait a while longer.”
The Evil Consort’s gaze sharpened fiercely.
“Didn’t you understand This Palace? This Palace said you have no right to converse with me! A trifling Half-Saint, an ant of a thing—where do you get the nerve to prattle on in front of This Palace!?”
As she spoke, a majestic Saint Might exploded outward, instantly sweeping across the entire Heavenly God Clan.
Zixiao Saint Lord’s face drained of color in an instant. The terrifying Saint Might bore down on her like a mountain, weighing her shoulders down. In her daze, visions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood materialized before her eyes. The Evil Consort sat enthroned atop a pile of bones, gazing down imperiously and filling her with the illusion of utter insignificance, as if she were an ant that could be crushed underfoot at any moment.
Though she was a Nine-Turns Half-Saint, infinitely close to the Mystic Saint realm, she had yet to truly step into sainthood. The gulf between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
Zixiao Saint Lord staggered back three steps before steadying herself. She stared at the Evil Consort in abject terror, seized by the urge to flee the scene. But then she remembered this was her own territory—what was there to run from? That would be far too humiliating. Steel yourself, she thought, and forced out the words:
“What do you think you’re doing, Evil Consort? This is the Heavenly God Clan, not your Dead City. Don’t you dare act so brazenly!”
Her words had barely left her mouth when the Evil Consort’s palm lashed out—and she couldn’t muster the slightest response.
Because the Evil Consort was a Four-Star Mystic Saint!
Among Mystic Saint experts, a single star’s difference equated to a thousand years of lifespan.
Back then, even to battle the Five-Star Peacock Heavenly Monarch, the Evil Consort had been forced to ignite fully ninety-nine percent of her Evil God Bloodline just to close the gap.
Against such a Four-Star Mystic Saint, Zixiao Saint Lord—a mere Nine-Turns Half-Saint—faced a disparity of five thousand years. Under that overwhelming difference, she had only one possible outcome: utter annihilation.
With a single slap, the Evil Consort sent Zixiao Saint Lord hurtling away like a cannonball. She smashed through layer upon layer of array formations and restraint seals, carving a path across half of Cloud Firmament Palace before slamming into the palace wall. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her injuries severe.
This was the result of the Evil Consort holding back. If she had wished otherwise, that one slap could have left a Nine-Turns Half-Saint crippled—and a second would have ended her life right there.
The Evil Consort’s expression remained utterly indifferent.
“Don’t think that because you’re a Saint Lord of the Heavenly God Clan and can speak as equals to Jialan, you stand on the same level as Mystic Saint experts. This Palace could slap you flying, and so could Jialan or Chen Xi. They’re merely polite to you. This Palace, however, doesn’t know the meaning of politeness!”
Though Chen Xi had only recently entered the Saint Realm, her Mystic accumulation allowed her to contend with a Two-Star Mystic Saint. Coupled with her Technique Refining cultivation, already perfected to the Saint Realm, she could match a Three-Star Mystic Saint.
Jialan Fairy needed no mention—a Five-Star Mystic Saint whom even Peacock Heavenly Monarch dared not provoke.
Panic flickered in Zixiao Saint Lord’s eyes as she beheld the scene of devastation before her. At last, she recalled the yawning chasm between herself and true Mystic Saint experts.
Zi Tianjun had assigned her to handle the handover with Jialan Fairy precisely because they were both women—far more convenient for such dealings between their sexes, and nothing more.
In truth, protocol called for dispatching a fellow Mystic Saint Saint Lord for the task.
But Jialan Fairy’s gentle demeanor had caused her to forget her place: toward Mystic Saint experts, one must always maintain at least three parts deference.
Zixiao Saint Lord felt a twinge of regret. Yet after being slapped without warning, she found this humiliation hard to swallow.
“You—you dare strike and injure someone! Evil Consort, don’t think the Heavenly God Clan can be bullied so easily!”
The Evil Consort took a single step forward, hovering high above Zixiao Saint Lord.
“This Palace won’t say it twice. Bring out Zi Tianjun. A pathetic little Half-Saint like you has no right to speak to This Palace!”
“You—”
Zixiao Saint Lord was both shocked and enraged. She herself was a proud daughter of heaven; otherwise, she could never have reached the Nine-Turns Half-Saint realm. To suffer such humiliation at the hands of another woman of her generation—how could she endure it?
The massive commotion drew crowds of people, who soared into the air from the various palaces one after another. They beheld a supremely powerful female Mystic Saint suspended in the sky, while Zixiao Saint Lord appeared utterly disheveled. Shock rippled through them.
—When had a Mystic Saint powerhouse visited the clan, only to clash with the Saint Lord?!
Soon, the Heavenly God Clan’s guard unit—the Heavenly God Guards—rushed to the scene en masse. They formed a human wall to shield the wounded Zixiao Saint Lord. The captain of the Heavenly God Guards and the marshal of the Hundred Battles Legion were both Half-Saints. The Hundred Battles Marshal was an Eight-Turns powerhouse, while this Divine Guard Captain was merely Seven-Turns.
Even with his Seven-Turns Half-Saint cultivation and the bolstered strength of his Heavenly God Guards, he felt crushing pressure before a Mystic Saint.
The Divine Guard Captain did not recognize the Evil Consort, but he could discern her origins from the Evil God Clan.
The once-mighty Evil God Clan had fallen so far that it boasted only one Mystic Saint: this very Evil Consort!
“Might I ask if it is the Evil Consort herself before us?”
The Evil Consort replied coldly, “What, do you think you can bar This Palace’s path as well?”
The Divine Guard Captain broke out in a cold sweat.
“Why has the Evil Consort flown into such a rage within our Heavenly God Clan? We can discuss this calmly—no need to escalate matters like this.”
The Evil Consort flipped her jade hand over. Dense Death Mystic Force gathered in her palm, suffusing the air with a chilling aura of death that sent shivers through all present.
“The Heavenly God Clan is quite something— even some random underling dares lecture This Palace on what to do. It seems you need a reminder of your place!”
She flicked the ultra-compressed orb of Death Mystic Force straight at the Divine Guard Captain.
A chill raced down his spine. He instantly manifested his Law Domain in an attempt to block the strike.
Half-Saint powerhouses could manifest laws within their domains to form a Law Domain.
Once laws fully enveloped the domain, it became possible to draw upon a thread of Origin Source power and forge a Cave Heaven World.
Yet this Law Domain, renowned for its absolute suppressive might, proved laughably fragile against a true Mystic Saint. The Death Mystic Force effortlessly corroded it before slamming into the Divine Guard Captain. His figure disintegrated into ash in an instant—only to reform moments later. Clearly, he had expended a precious life-saving treasure.
The Evil Consort sneered.
“This Palace wonders just how many such treasures you have.”
The Divine Guard Captain’s scalp went numb. From the distance, a furious shout rang out:
“Evil Consort, stay your hand!”
