Space around him trembled.
It wasn't a violent quake. It was more like the surface of a quiet pond touched by a fingertip. Invisible ripples spread out in all directions, brushing against mountains, cities, and hidden caves as if the world itself were made of water.
Deep within Ling Feng's Inner Void, the Soul Chaos Emerald pulsed once.
Soul. Consciousness. Causality imprint.
Behind it, four more emeralds began to rotate—space, power, energy, time. Five alien stars circling in the darkness, like fingers closing into a fist. As they resonated, the Chaos Force gathered and pushed outward.
High above, the firmament of the Mortal Emperor World—which usually only responded to Immortal Emperors and Heaven's Will—suddenly felt something tap on it from outside.
Not a respectful salute.
More like someone knocking on a door they already owned.
Ling Feng drew a slow breath.
When he spoke, his voice wasn't loud.
But it stepped directly onto the Dao.
"Listen up," he said casually.
The words left his lips and turned into a vast resonance that rolled through the Eastern Hundred Cities like thunder.
In the Eastern Hundred Cities, countless cultivators froze mid-cultivation.
On distant peaks, ancient bells trembled without being struck. In city plazas, banners snapped and writhed as if caught in a storm that had no wind. Wandering cultivators, hidden old undyings, proud young geniuses—everyone instinctively circulated their merit laws, hearts pounding, eyes lifting toward the sky.
"An Emperor's proclamation…?"
"No… Heaven's Will hasn't descended…"
The voice did not come from any specific direction. It came from above the Dao, so every direction became its echo.
In the Bao Clan's ancestral city, elders who had just received word of Tiger Emperor Citadel's calamity staggered to their feet, faces draining of color.
"That aura… again…!"
Their blood and bones still remembered that earlier step—that invisible pressure that had crushed Tiger Emperor Citadel like rotten wood. Now it returned, brazen and unrestrained.
In Lion's Roar, beneath the carved stone lions of the ancestral temple, old statues trembled faintly. A venerable ancestor who had once glimpsed an Immortal Emperor's shadow in his youth clutched his chest, his old blood boiling in his veins.
"This is clearly below Immortal Emperor…" he whispered hoarsely. "Yet why does it… feel so close…"
His voice shook not from fear alone, but from confusion. The world had rules. Realms, stages, gaps. The aura in the sky laughed at all of them.
...
Far away, in the Grand Middle Territory, the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect stirred like a sleeping beast waking up.
Within the ancestral ground, inside the great hall built above Min Ren's legacy, Su Yonghuang sat straight-backed on the sect master's seat, going over jade scrolls. Today, Chen Baojiao, Xu Pei, Li Shuangyan, and Bai Jianzhen were not at her side. They were in the Hundred Cities.
With him.
The hall should have been quiet.
It wasn't.
A weight fell from the heavens—an invisible pressure that passed through the sect's protective formations as if they were mist. Every lamp flame bent in the same direction, bowing low, their light stretching toward the same invisible point.
Su Yonghuang's phoenix eyes snapped up.
"Ling Feng…?" she whispered.
At that moment, the air above the sect rippled like water.
A screen of light unfolded across the sky, spanning from mountain peak to mountain peak.
It was not a simple projection from an ordinary Heavenly Mirror. This was a Chaos-refined reflection anchored directly to the world's soul web, tracing along every karmic vein that touched Cleansing Incense, its enemies, and its future. The fabric of space seemed to thin, becoming a translucent membrane on which the image burned.
Disciples in the outer courtyards raised their heads and cried out.
"Sect Master, look!"
In that sea of light, a figure appeared.
Gray robes. Loose black hair. A cloak fluttering in an imaginary wind that the mortal eye could not feel.
Ling Feng stood above a ruined mountain range, five Chaos Emeralds turning slowly in the darkness behind him like five miniature worlds.
He smiled directly at them, as if he could see through the screen and into their hearts.
Su Yonghuang's fingers tightened on the armrest without her realizing it. The Solar Immortal Physique within her flared instinctively, then stilled—quietly settling under a warmth that had nothing to do with fire.
"…You really…" she murmured, half exasperated, half helpless.
...
It wasn't just Cleansing Incense.
Similar curtains of light opened all across the Mortal Emperor World.
Above the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom, in the depths of its imperial capital where ancient dragon veins coiled under jade palaces, the sky tore open like silk. Imperial guards and court experts who had been discussing Tiger Emperor Citadel's fall suddenly felt their bodies go cold.
A gray-robed youth's silhouette appeared in the heavens, casual and relaxed, standing above a destroyed citadel they recognized only from old records of the Terra Root.
"Who… who is that…?"
"His aura… it's not Immortal Emperor, but…"
In the Brilliance Ancient Kingdom, the empire of a hundred races, immortal lights that always shone above its core suddenly dimmed. A huge Heavenly Mirror that normally only responded to the kingdom's Immortal Emperor legacies flared by itself, forcibly dragged into resonance. In its polished surface, Ling Feng's figure appeared, hands tucked into his sleeves, gaze indifferent and distant.
At the Divine Sword Sacred Ground, where sword peaks pierced through clouds, countless swords buzzed in their sheaths, their points tilting minutely toward the figure in the projection.
At the Ice Feather Palace, the snowstorm that forever circled its floating palace froze mid-swirling. Tens of thousands of snowflakes hung motionless in the air, each one reflecting that same young man's face.
Space Trample Mountain's rugged ridges shuddered; fissures that had not moved for ages deepened by a hair's breadth.
Heaven Suppression City's towering divine walls hummed, the ancient suppression stones embedded within them faintly ringing in response to some unknown, external vibration.
In Eternal River School, its endless river dao suddenly slowed for a single breath, the current bowing as though yielding passage to a greater tide.
In Heavenly God Sect, the Heavenly Jewel Mortal King was speaking with old ancestors when the air in the ancestral hall went stiff. A young disciple ran in, eyes round, voice cracking.
"Lord Mortal King! Outside— in the sky—!"
At War God Temple, battle drums that had not been struck in many years vibrated on their own. A low, dull rumble echoed through the halls, making old war banners tremble.
Within Nine Saint Demon Gate, elders in secluded cultivation opened their eyes one after another. It felt as if someone had knocked politely on the doors of their hearts, then stepped inside without waiting for permission.
Even beyond the Mortal Emperor World.
In a minor world sealed off from the Nine Worlds, Soaring Immortal Sect's ancient altars flickered. The dimensional path that linked them faintly to the Mortal Emperor World trembled as if something had tugged on it from the far side. A distorted, half-faded projection forced its way through that veil, like a shadow pressing against frosted glass.
Deep in the Heavenly Dao Academy's ancestral ground, where even Supreme Elders tread lightly, a faintly glowing figure stood alone.
Magu lifted her gaze.
Through layers of time, space, and protective formations, she looked up at the same distant youth.
"That aura…" she murmured softly.
For the first time in many eras, even she did not immediately understand.
Everywhere the light fell, Ling Feng's figure appeared.
Not as a towering phantom, not dressed in Immortal Emperor armor, not surrounded by a sea of stars.
Just as he was.
Calm. Relaxed. Hands at his sides.
His aura, however—
It pressed on the world like an invisible mountain.
Many old undyings, cultivators who had once seen Immortal Emperors cross the sky, shuddered with instinctive fear.
"This… this momentum…"
"Has an Immortal Emperor come out of seclusion?"
"Impossible… Heaven's Will hasn't descended…"
They did not understand.
They only knew that being looked at by that youth made their souls want to bow.
...
High above Tiger Emperor Citadel's ruined mountain range, Ling Feng tilted his head slightly, watching countless projections unfold in his soul sense.
Cities, sects, kingdoms, sacred grounds, forbidden lands—their images bloomed like flowers along the soul web that crisscrossed the Mortal Emperor World. Threads of causality glowed faintly, connecting him to each place that had his wives, his allies, his enemies, or simply his interest.
His eyes were half-lidded, as if he were simply appreciating a painting.
"Alright," he said, voice easy. "Now that we're all here…"
He smiled.
"Let's talk."
His words rippled through every screen of light at the same time, like stones tossed into a thousand lakes.
"If any Ancient Kingdom or Immortal Emperor lineage thinks they can hide in the dark," his tone stayed casual, but each syllable dropped like a hammer, "and scheme against my wives, against the clans backing my wives, or against my Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect where my sect master—" his lips curled, "and future wife—sits…"
His eyes sharpened, the warmth receding, something cold and bottomless surfacing beneath.
"Then the consequences," he said softly, "will be very unpleasant."
The words "very unpleasant" felt like a joke, but every living being who heard them felt their scalp go numb.
A pause.
He lifted his hand.
"Let me show you why."
The Chaos Force surged.
It did not erupt outward in a blinding pillar. It flowed down his arms like water, quiet and controlled.
In his Inner Void, the five Chaos Emeralds spun faster.
Space folded… Time thinned… Energy and power condensed to an indescribable density… Soul-and-causality lines stretched out like an invisible net.
Ling Feng's perception stepped past distance and peered directly into two specific nodes in the world's soul web.
Azure Mysterious.
Brilliance.
On the screens of light floating above countless sects, people saw him simply raise both hands, palms facing downward, as if ready to press gently on a table.
To those standing near him, that was all it looked like.
To the Mortal Emperor World—
Two titanic palms appeared in the sky.
...
Above the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom, clouds exploded outward as if struck from above. Thunder vanished; the wind died. All sounds dulled beneath a buzzing that only the soul could hear.
A vast, translucent hand descended from the heavens.
It was not made of light. It was something deeper—a hand formed from compressed law-lines and Chaos soul patterns, each finger inscribed with complex Dao that the local Heaven's Will could not read.
The sky's usual order rejected it instinctively—but like a strange, higher-ranked law, it simply overrode the local rules.
Wherever its shadow passed, Heaven and Earth's spirit energy fled.
"The heavens… The heavens are collapsing!"
"No—that's not Heavenly Punishment—!"
Panic erupted in the imperial capital.
Inside the deepest forbidden ground, where ancient dragon veins intersected in a sea of blazing azure light, an old existence stirred.
The Divine Beast Guardian of the Azure Mysterious Ancient Kingdom—a Heavenly Guardian venerated across eras—opened its eyes.
Dragon roars and bestial cries overlapped in that gaze. It was not simply a beast; it was a symbol of an Immortal Emperor lineage's dignity.
Divine power surged.
A bestial roar shattered dozens of defensive formations by accident. A colossal beast shadow rose from beneath the capital—its exact form obscured by radiance, but its presence undeniable. True God-level dao swept through the kingdom, making countless cultivators kneel uncontrollably, foreheads striking the ground.
"Heavenly Guardian!"
"The Divine Beast Guardian has awakened!"
Around it, Virtuous Paragon ancestors shot up into the air, Fate Palaces blazing, Life Wheels spinning madly. They no longer dared to hold anything back. Imperial merit laws inherited from Immortal Emperor Qing Xuan and Immortal Emperor San Dao erupted at once; formation diagrams carved into their bones lit up like burning constellations.
"Who dares!" an ancient Paragon roared, burning Longevity Blood. "Who dares to attack our Heavenly Guardian from afar?!"
They formed a joint formation, their bodies turning into pillars of light that shot into the guardian beast's body, enhancing its power. The Divine Beast Guardian roared again. Its True God aura erupted like a tidal wave, rushing to meet the descending hand.
In the sky, its divine power and the Chaos palm collided.
For a brief instant, those watching felt they were seeing what True God power truly meant.
The void cracked in rings. Ancient Dao runes left behind by emperors and kings flashed in the air, trying desperately to stabilize reality. The eastern horizon dimmed, as if someone had painted over part of the sky with ink.
Even outside Azure Mysterious, wandering experts felt a suffocating weight and turned ashen.
"This aura… a Heavenly Guardian has made a move!"
"Which madman provoked Azure Mysterious to this level?!"
The Chaos palm did not waver.
Within that palm, obscure patterns lit up—the lines of the Soul Chaos Emerald weaving themselves through every strand of hostile power. The wild True God energy that slammed into it did not blast it apart; instead, it sank into those lines like a stone falling into bottomless water.
Ling Feng's voice floated down, soft and almost bored.
"Die."
The Chaos palm closed its fingers.
The world shook.
The Divine Beast Guardian's roar cut off as if someone had severed its throat. Its titanic shadow flickered. The Virtuous Paragons channeling power into it screamed as the divine force they had sent out was yanked back and smashed into their own meridians.
Several old Paragons spat blood on the spot, their divine rings cracking like old porcelain. Bones shattered; meridians burst. One after another, they plummeted from the sky like dumplings tossed out of a pot, crashing through palace roofs, breaking jade tiles and ancient beams.
"No—!"
"The Heavenly Guardian—!"
The colossal guardian beast struggled madly. True God laws burned, attempting to slash apart the invisible chains wrapping around its essence.
Under normal circumstances, killing a Heavenly Guardian of this level required either Immortal Emperor methods or a price beyond imagination.
These were not normal circumstances.
The Soul Chaos Emerald tightened its grip.
It did not attack the Divine Beast Guardian's flesh directly.
It reached past, into its soul and True Fate.
'Your kingdom is too damn annoying,' Ling Feng's voice murmured—not in the air, but directly in the guardian's collapsing consciousness. 'Consider this a sample for what's to come.'
The Chaos hand squeezed.
In the capital, countless cultivators watched in horror as their invincible guardian—their faith, their confidence, the pillar that had supported Azure Mysterious through countless eras—froze mid-roar.
Fine cracks spread through its divine shadow.
Then—
Silence.
The guardian's divine body did not explode in a grand, fiery death.
It simply disintegrated.
Starting from the head, its form turned into grains of ash-light that blew away on an invisible wind. The True God dao that had once oppressed heaven and earth was crushed into soul fragments and swept up into the Chaos palm like dust being wiped from a table.
Deep in Ling Feng's Inner Void, a new soul-ring formed.
Thick and heavy, saturated with imperial dragon vein killing intent and True God divinity, it clicked into place in orbit around the Soul Chaos Emerald like a newly captured star.
Below, the divine veins under Azure Mysterious's capital howled. The entire kingdom's defenses trembled in sorrow and rage.
"Heavenly Guardian…"
"It's impossible… impossible…"
Old undyings spat blood, their Dao Hearts shaking violently.
An Immortal Emperor lineage that had once looked down on the Grand Middle Territory now clutched at its chest like a dying mortal.
...
The same catastrophe unfolded beneath another sky.
Above the Brilliance Ancient Kingdom—the Hundred Races Kingdom—immortal lights shook as a second Chaos palm manifested.
The empire of a hundred races had barely had time to cry out when the translucent hand spread across their heavens, its fingers blotting out constellations.
The Brilliance Ancient Kingdom's Divine Beast Protector, its Heavenly Guardian, emerged from slumber in a blaze of multicolored splendor. Divine radiance swept the land; mountains bowed, rivers trembled, seas of qi boiled as a hundred bloodlines resonated in unison.
"Divine Beast Protector, please protect the kingdom!" countless voices shouted hoarsely.
The guardian did not respond to them.
Its eyes were fixed on the Chaos palm.
Within those ancient pupils, for the first time in ages, a hint of unease appeared.
True God power crashed into Chaos soul law.
"A Heavenly Guardian…" in faraway lands, old monsters watching through Ling Feng's projections trembled. "Two… he's attacking two at once…"
At War God Temple, battle-hardened generals gripped their weapons so tightly that their knuckles whitened.
At Heavenly God Sect, some old ancestor's teeth chattered uncontrollably, even as he tried to steady his breath.
At Soaring Immortal Sect's minor world, distant Immortal disciples felt only a blurred echo of the pressure and still went weak in the knees, legs quivering.
The Brilliance guardian roared and unleashed its full might.
Immortal Emperor legacies—those of Yao Guang and Fu Mo—resonated faintly. Their preserved auras flickered deep in the kingdom's ancestral ground, just enough to keep reality from being ripped apart by the collision above.
Even so—
The Chaos palm pressed down.
Ling Feng's voice came again, unhurried, as if he were simply continuing a conversation.
"Die."
The hand clenched.
The divine beast's body shook violently. Its many racial daos—beast, human, spirit, demon, and more—spun into a single terrifying tide of power and slammed against the closing fingers.
From below, it looked like a mountain of light being crushed between two plates of glass.
Cracks appeared, radiance leaking from them in sharp, agonized flashes.
Ancient beings supporting it through formations coughed blood one after another, their divine rings dimming, their vitality draining away like water from broken jars.
Inside the guardian's essence, the Soul Chaos Emerald slipped hooks of soul-law into its True Fate and wrenched.
The Brilliance Ancient Kingdom's Divine Beast Protector, a Heavenly Guardian that had lived since the distant Emperors Era, that had weathered countless calamities and suppressed countless enemies—
It had never met something that treated its existence like this.
Its soul howled silently as it was torn away from its dao foundation, compressed into a shrieking mote, then swallowed whole.
In Ling Feng's Inner Void, a second massive ring formed—this one carrying a kaleidoscopic hundred-races dao, sharp and domineering, like a crown forged from the bones of many tribes.
The Brilliance capital went dead silent.
The Heavenly Guardian's aura vanished as if it had never existed.
Countless proud experts who had always believed Brilliance to be invincible felt their knees weaken.
"The Heavenly Guardian… is gone…"
"Our True God…"
"What… what kind of monster…"
...
All of this—from the moment Ling Feng raised his hands to the moment the two Heavenly Guardians died—happened within only a few dozen breaths.
The watching world didn't even have time to fully comprehend.
They only felt the staggered impacts.
In Azure Mysterious, ancestral temples shook; incense burners cracked down the middle; protective statues crumbled along their edges.
In Brilliance, divine flames on the ancestral altar flickered and nearly went out. Across the Hundred Cities, legions on distant frontlines trembled inexplicably. Soldiers standing in formation suddenly felt their blood run cold, spears shaking in their hands without knowing why.
In between those two kingdoms, old powers that had planned to sit on the mountain and watch tigers fight suddenly realized—
The tiger on the mountain had already been skinned.
And the hunter standing above the corpse…
Still wasn't even breathing hard.