The Saint lotus bud slowly rose into the air. When it appeared, all sound seemed to disappear, leaving only the noise of Genesis Qi humming strangely as if in worship.

An indescribable presence spread from the saint lotus bud. In this moment, every living thing in Cangxuan Heaven felt an indescribable feeling of heaviness.

The saint lotus bud had become the focal point of the entire Cangxuan Heaven.

Zhou Yuan’s expression had turned grave and wary. At his current cultivation level, the Saint stage was no longer that mysterious to him. Hence, he understood what this saint lotus bud represented.

There were three levels to the Saint stage, each differentiated by the number of lotuses.

This lotus referred to the Saint lotus, which was the final form of one’s entire Genesis Qi cultivation. Only by creating a Saint lotus would one have properly stepped into the Saint stage.

Palace master Sheng Yuan had been half-Saint in the past, but his strength had clearly grown over the years. Hence, although he had yet to create a true Saint lotus, he had already formed a Saint lotus bud.

This was the precursor to the Saint lotus. Once the bud fully blossomed, Sheng Yuan would step into the Saint stage and no longer be a half-Saint.

One could say that creating a Saint lotus bud meant that Sheng Yuan was one step closer to the Saint stage.

However, one would never casually bring out the Saint lotus bud because it needed to be continuously nourished by one’s essence and forged by Saint force. If this process was interrupted, flaws might appear.

Hence, suddenly summoning his Saint lotus bud showed that Sheng Yuan had been genuinely angered and intended to use it to end this battle.

Sheng Yuan’s murderous gaze locked onto Zhou Yuan. Anyone could see that he was seeing red. After all, it was completely out of his expectation for the battle to have lasted so long.

Moreover, using the Saint lotus bud was not without consequence.

However, Sheng Yuan understood the importance of this battle. It was of utmost importance to slay Zhou Yuan and seize the other part of the Cangxuan Saint Stamp. As long as he could complete the mission given to him by the Sacred Race, the rewards he received would far surpass a few small flaws in his Saint lotus bud.

These thoughts made intensified the murder in Shegn Yuan’s eyes. With a thought, the brightly shining Saint lotus bud began to vibrate.

Strands of divine light flowed on the lotus bud before abruptly shooting forth.

A beam of divine light dashed in the sky. In the next instant, dusk descended upon the land, making it seem as if the beam was the only light left in the entire world...

Countless gazes were bewitched by the divine light. It seemed to contain an indescribable charm that could belong only to the ultimate power of this world.

It was the goal countless practitioners spent their entire life stubbornly pursuing, the apex of Genesis Qi

The divine light mercilessly washed down towards Zhou Yuan. As it descended, the space around Zhou Yuan was completely sealed, making him feel as if he was a bug trapped in amber, unable to escape.

Danger bells loudly rang in Zhou Yuan’s head, causing him to act immediately. A low dragon-like roar sounded as the eight silver arms crossed above him, forming layers of indestructible defenses.

Swoosh!

The divine light flowed past. There was unexpectedly no earth-shaking noise from the impact, dazing the countless onlookers, who clearly could not understand what had happened.

However, Zhou Yuan’s expression turned rather ugly. As the divine light washed across him, he could clearly feel four silver arms rapidly turn dim and mottled...

Moreover, the Genesis Qi surging around him began to weaken, making him feel as if something vital was now missing.

It felt as if the divine light had shaved away his Genesis Qi foundation...

“What a tyrannical Saint lotus divine light!” The wariness in Zhou Yuan’s eyes grew. Was this the power of a Saint expert? Even though Sheng Yuan had not properly advanced to the Saint stage, his Saint force and Saint lotus divine light possessed magical power that surpassed one’s imagination.

An ordinary third stage Law Domain expert’s Genesis Qi would have likely been completely washed away by the divine light, turning him into a lamb for the slaughter.

In contrast, Zhou Yuan had only lost a small portion of his Genesis Qi due to his resistance. Of course, it was also because his Genesis Qi was extremely high quality. Even though there was a gap between his grade 9 Saint Dragon Qi and Saint force, it was still not easy to deal with.

Sheng Yuan indifferently observed Zhou Yuan’s darkening expression while being inwardly astonished. The compactness of Zhou Yuan’s Genesis Qi had likewise exceeded his expectations.

However, he was only a little astonished. Since a single wash could not cripple Zhou Yuan, how about another or even ten more!

Before Sheng Yuan could act again, however, Zhou Yuan had already begun to attack again. A punch rumbled through the air, accompanied by Genesis Qi in the shape of a giant dragon as it ferociously attacked Sheng Yuan.

Sheng Yuan merely chuckled. With a thought, divine light charged out of the Saint lotus bud and rushed towards the giant-dragon-like fist.

The Genesis Qi fist disappeared as divine light washed across it. The remaining light continued along its path, passing straight into Zhou Yuan, who was unable to avoid it. Another layer of Genesis Qi was shaved away, causing the silver runes on his body to gradually dim as his several-dozen-foot tall body began to shrink inch by inch.

The countless onlookers in Cangxuan Heaven began to realize that Zhou Yuan was in a pinch. Anyone could see that Zhou Yuan was now at a complete disadvantage.

Zhou Yuan was unable to avoid the waves of divine light, and could only allow it to land on his body and shave away at his Genesis Qi.

The atmosphere of the entire Cangxuan Heaven began to turn rather stifling.

...

In a certain domain within the viscous sea of blood below.

Plumes of berserk Genesis Qi rapidly rose like smoke as two armies clashed in cruel combat.

Two Law Domains collided, an azure sun and blood lightning dancing maniacally.

Sect master Qing Yang stood in the air, his face frosty as he stared at Lei Jun some distance away. Blood lightning twined around Lei Jun’s body as a torrential fiendish aura spread from him.

Both parties were covered in wounds, a sign of how intense the battle had been.

Lei Jun wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and raised his head. His gaze pierced through the domain, seeing the apex clash in the outside world as he icily chuckled and said, “Qing Yang, the alliance chief you’ve placed your hopes in, seems to be at the end of his rope.”

Sect master Qing Yang also shifted his attention to the outside world. Soon after, he calmly said, “You should worry about yourself. Zhou Yuan is the person chosen by teacher, and teacher’s judgement has never been wrong.”

Lei Jun laughed mockingly. “Do you still feel that Cang Xuan has good judgement while standing before me?”

Sect master Qing Yang slowly said, “That is why I will kill you here, erasing the only person teacher has ever been wrong about.”

Though his tone was calm, the killing intent within made the surrounding space distort a little.

“What a good disciple.” Lei Jun displayed a chilling smile. “Unfortunately, when Zhou Yuan is killed, your Cangxuan alliance will crumble. Don’t worry, when the Sacred Palace is in power, I will take over the Cangxuan Sect. However, I might have to change its name...

“How does the Leijun Sect sound to you?”

A giant azure sun suddenly rose into the sky as a wave of azure flames erupted and swept towards Lei Jun.

“Why so angry? But what can you do?” Lei Jun laughed loudly. He took one final look at the one-sided battle on the outside world before directing boundless blood lightning to meet Qing Yang’s furious offensive.

...

Swoosh swoosh!

Wave after wave of divine light continuously descended from the sky and washed over Zhou Yuan’s body.

The Genesis Qi around him had already become extremely faint, and the silver rune battle armor extremely dim.

The several-dozen-feet tall body had also returned to its original size.

“Zhou Yuan...you’ve lost.”

Palace master Sheng Yuan indifferently gazed at the weakened Zhou Yuan. The victor was already clear.

It was no longer possible for Zhou Yuan to threaten Sheng Yuan in his current state.

However, Sheng Yuan did not stop his assault, maintaining his cautiousness as he sent down another wave of divine light.

As the final wave fell, the last bit of Genesis Qi around Zhou Yuan disappeared.

In the Cangxuan alliance, countless people’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

Was the battle to decide the fate of Cangxuan Heaven going to end like this?

Crack!

The silver rune battle armor on Zhou Yuan’s body dimmed fully before beginning to disintegrate, turning to countless specks of silver light that rose into the sky.

When the silver rune battle armor disappeared, however, Sheng Yuan’s pupils suddenly shrank. The inside of the armor was empty!

All he could sense was a slowly dissipating wisp of Spirit power. Zhou Yuan’s body was not inside the armor, but a Spirit double?!

Then his true body...

Sheng Yuan abruptly raised his head to find a small area suddenly shattering open, revealing the small domain hidden within.

A figure’s cold gaze had locked onto him from the small spatial crack!

Zhou Yuan!

Sheng Yuan’s expression changed drastically.

Zhou Yuan’s five fingers were curled like a claw as a seal formed at his fingertips. Dark-red runes slowly spread from his palm, forming a pattern that gave off a sensation of dread.

Zhou Yuan displayed an eerily chilling smile at Sheng Yuan.

“Sacred lotus bud huh?

“It is indeed formidable...however, since you dared to take it out, I will make it impossible for it to blossom in the future!”

The strands of hair across his forehead turned snow-white as a beam of dark-red poured out from his palm like a furious dragon.

Amidst the dark-red light, one would see glimmering mysterious patterns.

The beam of red pierced through the air and enveloped the Saint lotus bud. Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan’s voice seemed to echo all around.

“This is...the Forbidden Saint Sealing Script!”