The Six-Winged Guardian, after completing its final task, faded completely. The statue on the basalt cliff returned to being a cold stone carving, that majestic ancient will vanished, leaving a heavy silence broken only by the roar of the bluish-white magma below.

  Zhi Xuan stood tall. He felt his Sea of Consciousness swelling, filled with the boundless knowledge of the Ancient Heaven Clan. The information was not in the form of ready-to-use cultivation techniques, but rather a profound understanding of the universe, ancient astronomy, and the science of refinement that transcended everything in the mortal realm.

  He turned to the side. Ao Sheng stood in a daze, his eyes radiating deep fear. The experience of witnessing the refinement of an Immortal Artifact and the pressure of the Ancient Will had shaken the Pure Golden Dragon's Primordial Golden Core.

  "Senior... You?" Ao Sheng's voice caught; he was trembling slightly because of that Heavenly Calamity. Despite this, he looked up to see Zhi Xuan smiling thinly at him.

  "Calm down," Zhi Xuan replied calmly, reaching out his hand and touching Ao Sheng's forehead to channel his spiritual essence. "Do not believe everything you see; even I do not fully believe what I have witnessed."

  Zhi Xuan allowed his Pure Lightning Law to channel a bit of tranquility and pure Yang into Ao Sheng's Sea of Consciousness. The touch was not merely soothing; it also acted as a spiritual shield, extinguishing the remnants of the Ancient Will's pressure still lingering in the air.

  "Your sword," Ao Sheng whispered, his voice now slightly more stable. He pointed toward the Heavenly Sword that now floated gracefully beside Zhi Xuan, its dark blade enveloped by a softly pulsing aura of Immortal Lightning.

  Zhi Xuan smiled thinly, a smile that showed a combination of arrogance and relief. He gripped the hilt of the Heavenly Sword, and the sword resonated in his hand, feeling like a natural extension of his Lightning and Devil Blood Dao. The dark blade radiated an unmatched purity of destruction.

  "This is the Heavenly Sword, an artifact forged under a Heavenly Calamity," Zhi Xuan explained, his tone flat yet informative. "Do not worry, we gained more than we staked. However, we will not be safe after this. We will go to the Heavenly Lotus Sect and hand over the Fire Heart Fruit, then I will take you to the Northern Continent."

  Ao Sheng nodded, ignoring his remaining fear. He trusted the Devil who now held an Immortal Sword in his hand. He knew that with Zhi Xuan's newly acquired power, they had a much greater chance of survival.

  WHUSHH!

  Zhi Xuan wasted no time. He channeled the Pure Lightning Law into the Heavenly Sword. The sword roared, no longer with the sound of a rumble, but with the majestic sound of thunder. The purple-blue flash enveloping them was now much faster and denser. He gripped Ao Sheng's shoulder and soared upward, leaving the bluish-white magma abyss with a speed that surpassed his previous limits.

  They moved through layers of blood-red mist. Zhi Xuan used the Heavenly Sword as a conductor for Pure Lightning, burning the toxic spiritual mist before them. The sword, carrying the weight of a Heavenly Calamity, caused the wailing souls in the upper mist to fade in terror.

  In a few breaths, they emerged from the Devil Fire Abyss. The air above ground felt cold and clean, contrasting with the suffocating heat below. However, as they landed on the barren plain bordering the bamboo forest, Zhi Xuan's Divine Sense caught rapid movement.

  In the distance, he saw several Luxury Boats radiating the aura of strong spiritual protective formations—the remnants of the Shi Clan Auction Caravan he had detected when the Heavenly Sword was forged. The boats were no longer retreating; they were now racing toward the source of the Heavenly Calamity at full speed.

  "Ao Sheng, enter the Cauldron," Zhi Xuan commanded, his tone calm and efficient, devoid of excessive arrogance. He did not want Ao Sheng to be a burden in the midst of the coming fight.

  Ao Sheng nodded quickly. He did not argue; he activated his Golden Core, and his body shrank, transforming into a dense essence of the Pure Golden Dragon, and shot into the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron which now shrank back to the palm of Zhi Xuan's hand.

  Zhi Xuan stood alone on the barren plain. He stored the Cauldron, letting the Heavenly Sword float beside him. He channeled the Pure Lightning Law and the Devil Blood Law, enveloping his body in a cruel purple-blue aura. He did not hide his realm or his aura; he allowed himself to be the perfect bait.

  WHUSHH! WHUSHH!

  The Shi Clan Caravan arrived. Three Luxury Boats, each guarded by at least two Five Element cultivators and led by a Soul Transformation Elder, stopped sharply in the air. They immediately formed a siege formation, their oppressive spiritual auras enveloping Zhi Xuan. The Soul Transformation Elder, an old man in silver robes with gray sideburns, stepped forward to the bow of his boat. His face was filled with greed hidden behind the stiffness of formality.

  "Daoist below!" the Elder roared, his voice filled with authority borrowed from his realm. "We are the Shi Clan from the Zhao Kingdom. We have come to inquire about the origin of the Immortal Heavenly Calamity that just occurred in the Devil Fire Abyss. We suspect that Calamity was triggered by a treasure stolen from our Clan!"

  Zhi Xuan looked up. He saw six Five Element cultivators and three Soul Transformation experts surrounding him. A troublesome number, but he had faced worse situations, and he would use this to test the Heavenly Sword that was said to surpass even the Heaven-grade level.

  "The Shi Clan," Zhi Xuan repeated in a condescending tone, unsheathing the Heavenly Sword enveloped in lightning flashes. "You mean the Shi Clan that oppresses the blood of the Golden Dragon and that rotten Heavenly Mirror Lake?"

  Zhi Xuan's words cut deep, tearing away the veil of formality and piercing the core of the Shi Clan's atrocities. The face of the Soul Transformation Elder—known as Elder Shi Tian—instantly turned dark. Mentioning their crimes so openly in public was an unforgivable insult.

  "Insolent Devil!" Elder Shi Tian roared, his aura exploding. He no longer cared for formalities. "You carry a Devilish aura and speak of our Clan's secrets! Hand over the artifact you stole from that Heavenly Calamity, and we will grant you a swift death!"

  The three Shi Clan Luxury Boats immediately activated their attack formations. Pillars of spiritual light shot from the decks, merging into three giant spiritual spears targeting Zhi Xuan. The Five Element cultivators immediately channeled their Five Element techniques, sending waves of fire, water, and earth to block Zhi Xuan's path.

  Zhi Xuan smirked coldly. His smile was now full of a Devil's madness for destruction and the arrogance of a newly crowned King. He knew that fighting nine high-level cultivators, especially three Soul Transformation experts, required wit, and perhaps a bit of foolishness would make them get carried away without him even moving.

  Zhi Xuan lowered his sword and suddenly bowed to offer a greeting, as if his previous insult toward the Shi Clan was merely a passing wind. He clasped his hands in front of him and stabbed the Heavenly Sword into the ground.

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  "I beg the Elders to remain calm," Zhi Xuan said in a pleading voice, looking up and making a strange face. "I was just possessed by an ancient Spirit, causing me to go mad for a moment. I beg the Elders to understand."

  Zhi Xuan's actions and words caused the Shi Clan's tight siege formation to suddenly halt. Elder Shi Tian and the other cultivators were shocked; the spiritual spears prepared in the air froze for a moment, their spiritual auras rippling in confusion.

  Of course, for orthodox sect cultivators accustomed to the arrogance of experts, seeing a Devil who had just insulted them suddenly bow and act like a fool was unexpected.

  "Ancient Spirit?" Elder Shi Tian hissed, his sharp eyes narrowing. "What nonsense is this, Devil! You think we will believe your cheap lies?"

  "Truly! Elder!" Zhi Xuan exclaimed, now standing tall with the Heavenly Sword stabbed into the ground. He scratched his head with a forced, innocent look, exactly like his most annoying and childish behavior. "You see, I just came out of the Devil Fire Abyss. There are many evil ghosts there. This sword is a gift I received from a kind Divine Statue, a broken artifact that was repaired and returned to me! I did not steal it!"

  "Divine Statue?" The Shi Clan cultivators looked at each other, their expressions filled with doubt. This story was too strange to be a lie, but too crazy to be true.

  Elder Shi Tian snorted coldly. Although skeptical, he had to admit that the Devil Fire Abyss was indeed an exceptionally strange place where ancient relics often appeared. However, he would not let a Devil with an Immortal Artifact escape so easily.

  "You think a Divine Statue would give an Immortal Artifact to a lowly Devil like you?" Elder Shi Tian sneered. "Lower your defenses, hand over that artifact, and we will investigate your claim. If it is proven true, the Shi Clan will give you proper compensation."

  Of course, that was pure nonsense. Proper compensation from the Shi Clan was a swift death, and the Heavenly Sword would soon become their Clan's treasure. Zhi Xuan smirked coldly in his heart, acknowledging the inevitable greed of the great sect Elders. He exhaled, putting on a forced expression of resignation.

  "Very well, Elder. If that is the Will of the great Shi Clan," he said. "I cannot fight so many experts. I will hand over this Sword. But, allow me to say goodbye to the Artifact that just saved my life."

  Zhi Xuan stepped toward the Heavenly Sword, his movements slow and full of forced sorrow. He placed both hands on the hilt of the Heavenly Sword stabbed in the ground. A faint flash of Pure Lightning passed from his hands to the hilt, an action undetected by the greedy cultivators above.

  "Heavenly Sword," Zhi Xuan murmured, holding the hilt with a pathetic tone as if he were a child losing a toy. "I will miss you; I hope you live well with the Shi Clan."

  ZZZTT! ZHINGG! SRAKK!

  Suddenly, the forced sorrowful expression on Zhi Xuan's face vanished, replaced by the most annoying and mischievous Devilish smirk. His movements, which were previously slow and dramatic, turned into an explosive flash of Pure Lightning. He did not pull the Heavenly Sword from the ground; he used it as a fulcrum, channeling the Pure Lightning Law and the Devil Blood Law simultaneously into the blade.

  The Heavenly Sword roared with joy, as if it were sick of its master's pathetic acting. The dark blade radiated a majestic aura of destruction, and in a split second, Zhi Xuan unleashed an absurd upward slash. HEAVEN-SPLITTING SLASH!

  No, it was not the Sea-Breaking Thunder Slash. It was a new Slash born from the understanding of the Ancient Heavens and Immortal Lightning. The slash shot into the air, no longer purple-blue, but a dense crimson blade enveloped by a web of Pure Lightning pulsing with gold. That slash was the manifestation of pure destruction, a blend of Devil Blood and Pure Lightning Law pushed by the weight of an Immortal Artifact.

  BOOM! KRAKK!

  The crimson slash struck right at the heart of the Shi Clan's siege formation. The three giant spiritual spears already prepared suddenly vibrated violently and shattered into pieces, releasing wild spiritual energy. The dense waves of fire, water, and earth released by the Five Element cultivators were instantly evaporated and burned away by the Immortal Lightning from that Slash.

  The Shi Clan cultivators staggered, completely shocked. They did not expect the Devil who had just bowed and acted like a lost child possessed by a ghost to unleash a Slash capable of matching the combined attack of nine experts! Especially the three Soul Transformation Elders—Shi Tian, Shi Kuang, and Shi Luo—who immediately took action. They roared, channeling all their spiritual essence to reinforce the boats and create layered spiritual shields.

  "Protect the boat! Do not let him run!" Elder Shi Tian roared, his face now red with rage and humiliation. He realized he had been played by a Devil who wore a sorrowful face but harbored an undetectable cunning.

  The crimson slash, though stopped by the layered shields of the three boats and the screams of nine cultivators, did not disappear. It pressed the Shi Clan's boat defense formations downward, forcing them to exert all their strength just to hold back the hovering Slash.

  While the chaos unfolded, Zhi Xuan did not waste time staring at his handiwork. His pretense was finished. He pulled the Heavenly Sword from the ground, sheathing it into his storage bag with a swift motion. Then, he took out the Seven-Star Boat from his storage bag. He jumped onto the boat, while his gaze still turned toward the desperately struggling Shi Clan.

  "Thanks for the attention, Elder Shi!" Zhi Xuan shouted with a forced, crisp laugh, exactly like a naughty child who had just thrown dirt in an Ancient Elder's face. He did not launch the boat into the air; he channeled the Pure Lightning Law into the base of the Seven-Star Boat. The artifact roared and sped across the ground at an unimaginable speed.

  WHUSHH! ZZZT!

  The Seven-Star Boat sped straight through the gap between the Shi Clan boats that were forced down by the pressure of the Slash. He casually bypassed the chaos with a Heavenly Sword that not even all Soul Transformation experts possessed.

  "Dammit! He's running!" Elder Shi Kuang roared, barely believing the sight before him.

  "Stoooooop!!!" Elder Shi Tian screamed, his voice cracking with rage.

  Zhi Xuan, racing past them, did not forget to give a farewell that would haunt the memories of those arrogant cultivators forever. He waved his hand in the air, as if waving to an old relative.

  "See you later, kind Elders! Don't forget, that Divine Statue is in the Abyss! Maybe he still has other Immortal Artifacts for you!" Zhi Xuan shouted, his voice echoing with mockery, while the Seven-Star Boat sped rapidly toward the North.

  The scene was truly ridiculous. The three luxury boats of the Shi Clan, carrying nine elite cultivators, were now only able to hold back the Red Lightning Slash hovering before them, while a cunning and strange Devil sped past them in a small boat, shouting mockery about Divine Statues and artifacts. Elder Shi Tian, whose face was already crimson, roared with a fury that transcended the limits of Soul Transformation. His eyes almost spat spiritual fire.

  "HIM! HE IS AN ACCURSED DEVIL! DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE! CHASE HIM!!! CHASE HIIIIIM!!!"

  But it was too late. By the time they managed to destroy the Red Lightning Slash, the Seven-Star Boat was already a purple-blue dot in the distance. Zhi Xuan, now far away among the forested hills, laughed heartily and freely, showing no cold or cruel nature atop the Seven-Star Boat.

  His innocent act had successfully caused the Shi Clan to lower their guard due to their greed for the Heavenly Sword, and the unexpected attack of his Heavenly Sword had given them unforgettable humiliation and trauma. The fact remained that a Shi Clan auction caravan had been suppressed by a single slash of the Heavenly Sword.

  Zhi Xuan, laughing loudly, let the hot wind brush his face. The Seven-Star Boat sped with a velocity almost invisible to mortal eyes, driven by the Pure Lightning Law that had been stabilized and strengthened by the Ancient Heaven Legacy. He soon calmed himself and cleared his throat, then released Ao Sheng from the Cauldron.

  "Ao Sheng," Zhi Xuan called, having calmed down slightly, his long black hair fluttering gently in the air. "Look, sometimes fighting is not about who is strong or weak, but about who has wit and who does not."

  Ao Sheng, returning to the form of a youth with dragon horns, stood beside Zhi Xuan. His golden eyes still radiated shock. Although he did not witness the fight directly, he felt the wave of Immortal Lightning that exploded from the Heavenly Sword and the angry shouts of the Soul Transformation cultivators accused of believing in a Divine Statue.

  "Senior Zhi Xuan, you... you are truly a genius at playing them," Ao Sheng said, his tone full of pleasant disbelief. "I did not expect you to bow and act like a fool possessed by a ghost. You even stabbed the priceless Heavenly Sword into the ground!"

  Zhi Xuan shrugged, a small smile filled with hidden meaning playing on his lips. "The Heavenly Sword, however grand, is ultimately just a piece of iron reinforced with wood. But Devil Blood and Cunning—those are priceless treasures. Why should I waste my Devil Blood on nine greedy flies if I can make them suffer a far more painful humiliation?"

  He looked back, toward the point where the Shi Clan was likely still roaring in desperation.

  "Greedy, Golden Dragon. Greed is a black hole for every cultivator. I gave them bait, and they allowed themselves to be pinched by the nose. Why did they not attack immediately? Because they wanted me to surrender. They wanted that Sword to fall without a flaw, without a fight, so they could claim it at the cheapest price: my death."