Near the imperial palace.

Baangg!!

A figure was thrown away like a kite with broken strings. He was an old man with a sage-like appearance and long white hair.

A small line of blood trickled down the old man's lips after that exchange. He stared at the evil creature hovering not far away from his direction. The evil being was holding a rusted scythe as he stared back at the old man with a mocking look on his decayed face.

"You are quite strong for a newly ascended Nascent God Realm expert, but you could still not defeat me even in my weakened state. If only I had all my powers, then you won't be standing in front of me anymore. Kekeke!" The evil creature laughed in a creepy manner as a cluster of dark and menacing aura enveloped its figure, making it look even more terrifying.

The old emperor merely smiled at this provocation. In fact, the attack earlier did not leave much damage to him. He was just testing the limits of the creature's power and it seemed like he had underestimated its might.

"Enough nonsense you undying piece of trash! Receive the full power of my strike! Sky Rendering Sword Phantom! Exterminate!" Following the old man's voice, a gigantic sword phantom materialized in midair.

This sword phantom looked holy and tangible, giving off vast amounts of righteous power that made the evil creature flinch. It then shot towards the evil creature like a mirage, leaving behind a trail of sword light in its wake.

The two dark embers inside the evil creature's eye sockets flickered with fear when it saw the devastating sword attack shooting in his direction.

"Why can't I control my corpse qi?! His true essence is holding me back from gaining control of my corpse qi?! Impossible!" The evil being shouted in a manic and high-pitch tone before it was cut in half by that huge sword phantom!

Baanngg!!

A deep sword wound that spanned hundreds of meters was left behind along the streets of Beltran City because of that attack!

As for the undead king, the two halves of its body can be seen slowly melting into a puddle of black liquid that slowly seeped through the ground. The black coffin that was hovering in midair also vanished after the death of the undead king.

"Sigh. So this is what it feels like to fight a Nascent God Realm being... That thing was even in its weakened state, but I could only barely defeat it..." The old man shook his head in self-reproach. He then slowly descended to the ground as he looked at the terrible mess they created during that battle.

Half of the imperial palace was destroyed and almost all of the establishments near the imperial palace were reduced into a pile of rubble broken remains. The destruction brought by their battle was already that much despite the number of 9th-rank protective arrays placed all over Beltran City. The old man could even begin to imagine what could have happened if there were no protective arrays placed in Beltran City.

"I should check on Elyk if he's fine. Also, I have to help him increase his strength to the 9th-rank Saint before we depart to the Alliance. I have a few things to discuss with the bigwigs in the Alliance..." The old man muttered before he flew away from the scene.

***

Outside the entrance of 'The Immortal's Wine', Jiu Shen was still seated on his chair with an indifferent look on his face.

"That idiot could have ended the fight sooner if he practiced more on sword techniques. His basic foundation is too shallow and even his sword movements and techniques are full of flaws." Jiu Shen said in disdain before picking up his bottle of wine. He drank its contents down to the last drop and shook his head, looking rather dissatisfied with the taste of the wine.

"Even this Deep Sea Spring Dew could no longer satisfy my wine craving. After my sect's opening ceremony, I should immediately go to the Divine Beast Continent to search for Little Tiger's parents. From the map provided by the system, I can see a lot of high-level spiritual plants in there that I could use as ingredients for my wines." He said as he burned the empty bottle of wine with a small flicker of dark flame.

Not even a single speck of ash remained after he burned the bottle of wine...

Suddenly, a figure that looked rather disheveled came into his view. This was his second disciple, Can Ye, who just came to witness the execution of Xue Tong in front of the imperial palace.

Can Ye's hair was unkempt and messy, even a part of his clothes was torn away. He wore a tired expression as he dragged his slightly injured body to the store.

"Why am I so unlucky especially these past few days? Goddammit!" He cursed under his breath.

Jiu Shen's lips curved upwards when he saw his disciple's current appearance. He had already expected this to happen when he saw the battle between the undead king and the former emperor through his spiritual perception.

"Little Tiger, go inside and call Hestia. Tell her to give the medicines to Can Ye." Jiu Shen said to the little girl in his arms.

Surprisingly, the lazy little girl actually nodded her head and replied in an obedient manner. "Okay. Meow."

She then jumped out of Jiu Shen's embrace and strutted inside the store while holding a huge bottle filled with milk.

"Master." Can Ye greeted his master after arriving in front of him. He sounded weary and weak, but he still bowed at Jiu Shen with respect.

"I assume something great must have happened in the imperial palace for you to look like this." Jiu Shen said calmly.

Can Ye did not know if Jiu Shen was joking or speaking his own thoughts, so he could only smile wryly after hearing that.

"It is as you said, master. Something great indeed happened earlier, but I hope that it won't ever happen again..." Can Ye said with a crooked smile.