As the two exchanged blows, the scholarly man was pushed back a hundred meters while coughing up blood.

Jian was startled. He glanced at the Vanquisher of Evil and then back at the man. “Taking an all-out blow from me, you’re not bad! Your sword is even better! State your name. As an opponent worthy of respect, I will remember you after I slay you.”

The scholarly man wiped the blood from his mouth. “This sword is Teia, the Emperor’s sword. Now that the son of heaven has sacrificed himself for the people, I shall take up this responsibility. My title is Riverglance. I’ve forgotten my name, but my surname is Ji!”

Jian felt solemn respect for this person. “Very well!”

He charged forward with his blade toward Riverglance. It was only at this point that he put his skills on display. His moves were bold, powerful, and backed by strong momentum. In terms of swordsmanship, he was even stronger than Xu Ran.

It was just that Lord Riverglance was also a master of the blade. Although he had yet to become a heavenly monarch, he was able to keep up with the injured enemy. Teia erupted with a blinding radiance as it slowly overpowered the Vanquisher of Evil.

The two entered a stalemate, with Lord Riverglance barely holding out. It did seem like he would be defeated any moment.

At this moment, Qianye exhaled deeply, saying, “Emissary Xu, looks like it’s our turn.”

Xu Ran sneered, “I still have my treasures, let’s see what aces you have up your sleeve!”

Qianye simply stood in the air without uttering a single word. He then pointed upward at the sky.

A clap of thunder ensued, and the sky tore open to reveal a raging river.

This was the River of Blood—its arrival signified its first appearance in the Evernight World since time immemorial.

Xu Ran shuddered. “So you are the one who can summon the river!”

“You only just figured that out? Too late.”

Following a gesture, a bolt of dark lightning appeared from the depths of the river. It traversed the chaotic time and space to strike Xu Ran!

The River of Blood ran through countless worlds, and this thunderbolt was akin to the combined power of several worlds combined. Xu Ran’s hair immediately stood on end!

At this point, he finally realized why Qianye had been holding back all this time. He was afraid that the attack would be absorbed by a life-saving treasure. Thinking back to the arrow he had fired at Empress Li, he couldn’t help but feel regret and heartache.

The most important thing right now was to preserve his life! With a loud roar, he burned the talisman and tossed it at the lightning.

The dark lightning quietly struck the talisman. All of a sudden, the flames burst into the sky! The aura emanating from those flames exceeded even the supremes!

Attracted by this aura, the dark lightning snaked into the raging blaze. The fire turned black while the lightning lost its target, causing it to circle about in the air before dispersing.

Qianye coughed a couple of times, and his face flushed red momentarily. “An immortal life-saving treasure is indeed extraordinary!”

Xu Ran gritted his teeth hatefully. “It wasn’t supposed to be used like that!”

The talisman was an extremely valuable item, but the emissary had no choice but to use it to block the lightning. This doubled his hatred of Qianye, but he really had no choice since the lightning far exceeded his expectations. Even a supreme would fall if they were to meet it head-on.

Qianye didn’t look dejected after missing the shot. “The Empire and Evernight lost so many heroes because of you. I can’t let you keep your life.”

Xu Ran glanced at the River of Blood and laughed wildly. “The river is pretty calm now. Looks like you’ve used up most of its powers. Can you deliver a second blow?”

Xu Ran wore a fervent expression all the while. The River of Blood was still in its primitive state, yet it could deliver such power in Qianye’s hands. If he could refine it for a thousand years, how powerful would it be?

At this point, both the Empire and Evernight had lost many of their top experts, and many others had been drained. Moreover, his subordinate Ye hadn’t made her move yet. The advantage he held was apparent. The only thing unfortunate was that the sun could no longer enter its intended orbit. This world was probably done for.

Qianye produced the Red Spider Lily and took aim at Xu Ran. This time, there was a pair of wings on it.

The emissary sneered. “Do you think I’ll fall for it a second time?” He waved his long sleeves, producing numerous mirrors around him. He had been relying on powerful treasures all along; this was the first time he had deployed his own ability.

“My eighty-one exquisite mirrors are sentient. They can assess the threat and decide how many of them are needed to protect the owner. I often use this to assess how powerful an attack is. Looks like you’ve been preparing this shot for some time. How about it, dare you give it a try?”

Qianye said nothing as a black feather shot out from the gun!

The feather stirred almost all of the mirrors into action.

Xu Ran was flabbergasted. Most of the mirrors merged together to block the feather, which vanished quietly upon contact. Several dozen mirrors were also shattered from the impact, leaving no more than twelve intact.

Xu Ran had never imagined that a skill he was so proud of would be mostly destroyed.

The cry of a phoenix echoed through the air at this point.

Xu Ran looked up and saw countless experts on the Sacred Mountain. Although they were all ordinary experts below the duke rank, they numbered in the thousands.

Xu Ran sneered. “What’s the point of summoning all these ants? Do you want to bite me to death?”

The experts stood there without the slightest movement, but Xu Ran felt that something bad was coming.

All of a sudden, flowers of blood bloomed all over the Sacred Mountain, all over these experts.

A bird leaped out from the sea of flowers, chirping as it landed on one of the experts’ head. Countless birds heeded the call, appearing one after another from the sea of flowers until they formed a massive dark cloud over the Sacred Mountain.

This flock of birds turned toward Xu Ran and charged!

The emissary soon found himself surrounded by a flock of birds. The mirrors killed countless incoming birds, but they also crumbled in the process. Finally, the man was drowned by the deluge of avians.

“Insolence!” An angry roar erupted from the flock of birds. Countless beams of gold shot out from within, destroying all of the birds around the source.

Countless experts collapsed to the ground, withered and unconscious as they were drained of all origin power.

Xu Ran appeared once more. His robes had been reduced to rags at this point, and notably, his long sleeves were gone. It would seem those sleeves were protective treasures as well.

Xu Ran was somewhat stunned as he glanced at the dark-haired lady atop the mountain. Instead of attacking, he asked, “Who are you?!”

All of a sudden, he saw his own figure in the lady’s eyes!

Xu Ran was shocked out of his wits as he felt a sharp pain on his forehead. It was during this moment of distraction that he saw a gun appear in the lady’s hand. Soon, a stream of flowing light assailed him. It dispersed into specks of light akin to flowing waters and passing years, something that would never return once gone.

Xu Ran’s golden hairband broke apart, causing his hair to hang loose over his shoulders. A stream of blood flowed down from his forehead.

“Good, good, good!” Xu Ran uttered with a sinister expression. “I’ll make you wish you were dead once you fall into my hands!”

He roared harshly, “Jian, what are you waiting for? Use the medicine!”

Jian fished out the red medicine and finished it in one go. All of a sudden, the veins on his forehead began to bulge. He let out a bestial roar!

Xu Ran, on the other hand, picked up the jade piece from the altar, bit his finger, and drew some runes on it with his blood.