Not even the Star God Clan members, but even the Three Beautiful Masters were surprised, because this wasn’t as agreed upon—Yan Zhen wasn’t supposed to make a move here.
But Chen Xi could sense the Precious Disciple’s mood.
He was very angry, angry for her sake.
“Zhen’er…”
The armored Yan Zhen strode past the Beautiful Female Master and stood before her. His right hand gripped empty air, and his Natal Artifact, the Extreme Emperor Sword, coalesced into form. The space around the blade couldn’t withstand its sharpness and shattered on its own, forming a ring of pitch-black blade light.
Yan Zhen gripped the Extreme Emperor Sword and pointed it at the Star God Clan’s Old Clan Leader:
“Old geezer, step forward and meet your death!”
The Old Clan Leader was like facing a great enemy. Yan Zhen’s aura was about the same as his—both Seven-Star Mystic Saints—but his might rivaled a Nine Star Great Saint. And as a former Nine Star Great Saint himself, he recognized it: Heaven’s Mandate Power was flowing around Yan Zhen’s body!
Heaven’s Mandate Power could only be sensed by Nine Star Great Saints and invoked by gods!
If he could refine that Heaven’s Mandate Power for himself, perhaps he could restore his former Nine-Star cultivation!
Though he didn’t understand how Yan Zhen had suddenly become so strong, the Heaven’s Mandate Power truly moved the Old Clan Leader’s heart. Facing Yan Zhen’s provocation, he also released his Saint Dao Pressure. Star Mystic Power surged forth, transforming into seven large stars orbiting around him.
“Little brat, don’t think that using some trick to boost your strength makes you comparable to a true powerhouse!”
The Old Clan Leader couldn’t wait to obtain the Heaven’s Mandate Power, but he struck first with a preemptive move, immediately unleashing his signature Mystic Technique.
The seven large stars orbiting his body slowly fused, forming a gigantic Seven Star Sword as brilliant as fireworks, aimed straight at Yan Zhen.
“Seven Star Evil Exterminating Sword, go!”
The Seven Star Great Sword shot out like an extreme beam of light, piercing through space with a boom. In less than the blink of an eye, it appeared before Yan Zhen, emitting seven-colored radiance that sealed off all his escape routes, leaving him nowhere to dodge.
This was an unavoidable strike.
Yet Yan Zhen had no intention of dodging. He thrust out his empty left hand to block in front of the sword tip, igniting Eight Extreme Flames in his palm simultaneously, forming an eight-colored flame vortex that firmly locked the great sword’s tip, halting it dead in its tracks.
Whoosh!
The momentum of the eight-colored Extreme Flames spread upward, gradually engulfing the entire great sword, incinerating it into nothingness amid a series of explosions. Space tore inch by inch, and even the ground below cracked open!
The Four Holy Star Lords and others behind were stunned. The Old Clan Leader’s Seven Star Evil Exterminating Sword was a Saint Mystic Technique that could even pierce a Mystic Saint Expert’s Cave Heaven World. In the divine war a thousand years ago, it had forced back a berserk Mystic Saint from the Evil God Clan, its deterrent power self-evident.
Yet such a terrifying sword strike had now been crushed single-handedly by Yan Zhen. Clearly, from his aura, he was also a Seven-Star Mystic Saint!
How could two powerhouses of equal cultivation clash so one-sidedly, resolving the opponent’s move so effortlessly?
The Old Clan Leader fell silent too.
Though this strike had been somewhat probing, it had used seventy percent of his power, while Yan Zhen’s casual demeanor suggested he’d used less than half.
Yan Zhen merely said indifferently:
“That’s it?”
The Old Clan Leader snorted coldly, straightening his slightly hunched back as he reformed seven large stars orbiting his body.
“Star God Bloodline!”
He held nothing back any longer. The power of his Star God Bloodline erupted fiercely, lighting up the acupoints on his body, with a star chart emerging around him.
As his aura climbed, the Old Clan Leader even condensed two smaller Mystic Power stars.
As a former Nine Star Great Saint, even after his realm drop, he could unleash peak-period power through his bloodline.
Even if just one move, it was enough—without gods or Emperors present, a Nine Star Great Saint could domineer and crush everything unreasonably!
“Let you witness the might of a Nine Star Great Saint!”
The seven large stars and two small ones converged, outlining a majestic stellar palace.
“Nine Yao Immortal-Suppressing Palace!”
The Star Lords and Star Officials behind had their eyes light up slightly. This was the pinnacle Saint Mystic Technique bestowed by the Star Gods, which had even slain an Eight-Star Mystic Saint from the Evil God Clan during the divine war. The Old Clan Leader had finally unleashed it in full!
“Suppress and slay!”
With the Old Clan Leader’s deep shout, the majestic stellar palace pressed down, its powerful sealing force completely enveloping Yan Zhen.
Even the onlookers outside the range felt their Mystic Power hard to circulate, as if they’d instantly lost their cultivation and become mortals.
This was terrifying for Mystic Cultivators.
Though Chen Xi, the Evil Consort, and Jialan Fairy believed Yan Zhen would be fine, they still circulated their Mystic Power, ready to act at any moment.
However, Yan Zhen’s reaction was the same as before—no dodge, no evasion. He simply raised his empty left hand to support the descending stellar palace.
Buzz!
Vast sealing power poured down, attempting to seal Yan Zhen’s power and suppress him to death. But Yan Zhen was now wielding Heaven’s Mandate Power—the supreme, absolute force that was utterly unaffected by the seal.
To him, this stellar palace was just a vast sea of Mystic Power—heavy, sure, but nothing more. Compared to the Xuan Huang Dual Qi Flame, it was still lighter.
Left hand raised high, virtually propping up the stellar palace; right hand gripping the sword, tip upward. The blade ignited with eight-colored Extreme Flames, channeling the sword momentum of the Flame Extinction Ashless Slash taught by the Beautiful Female Master, piercing it with one sword.
Boom!
Eight-colored Extreme Flame sword qi erupted, piercing the stellar palace while blasting open the firmament.
The Star God Clan’s sky was broken.
Every Star God Clan member felt something in their hearts shatter along with it.
At the instant the stellar palace shattered, the Old Clan Leader spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura slowly waning from Nine Star Great Saint equivalence back to his original Seven-Star Mystic Saint level.
“Old geezer, my turn!”
Before he could catch his breath, Yan Zhen charged with sword in hand, slashing down.
Protective stellar bodies automatically emerged to block the Extreme Emperor Sword.
The Extreme Emperor Blade, sharp enough to shatter space on its own, effortlessly sliced through the protective stars, tearing into the Old Clan Leader’s aged body and drawing a spray of blood shimmering with starlight!
The Old Clan Leader cried out in pain and retreated in panic, trying to say something, but Yan Zhen had already swung the Extreme Emperor Sword, unleashing another Mystic Technique:
“Flame Extinction, Ashless Slash!”
A hundred-zhang gigantic Extreme Flame sword qi howled forth, its power a thousand times stronger than the strike he’d used against the Shen Star Official earlier!
The Old Clan Leader immediately drew on his Ninth-Order Pill Refiner’s powerful Spiritual Power, mobilizing every ounce of power he could to form a spatial barrier.
Boom!
The instant the sword qi sliced through the spatial barrier, it detonated. The Old Clan Leader fled the explosion range in disarray, shouting:
“Four Holy Star Lords, heed my command—quickly summon the Star God Artifact!”
The Four Holy Star Lords’ hearts jolted. Reacting, they exchanged glances and then silently formed seals in unison, summoning the core of the Star God Artifact—a model resembling the Main Star.
At the same time, an aura belonging to a god spread out. Above their heads, the night sky twinkled with stars, gradually forming a brilliant star chart.
The Star God Artifact, Great Circumpolar Star Chart!
With the divine artifact manifest, the Old Clan Leader’s confidence surged:
“Follow me into the formation!”
