A suffocating silence instantly gripped the entire Sky Moon Tree square. The statement, delivered in a tone as flat as still water, exploded like thunder in the minds of every practitioner present.

  "W-what did he say? The Fifth Envoy?!" screamed a core disciple from an outer sect, his face turning deathly pale. "Isn't he supposed to be dead in Yao Gu? How is it possible for that legendary figure to be standing here?!"

  "Look at his aura... there is no leaking Weaver fluctuation, yet why does my soul feel as if it is being suppressed by an ancient mountain?" whispered another practitioner whose teeth began to chatter involuntarily.

  On the guest of honor stand, the elders of the Ancient Zhu and Hua Clans stood up in unison. Their usually stiff faces were filled with undisguised shock.

  "Zhi Xuan... he really is that boy!" murmured a Great Elder of the Zhu Clan, his voice trembling with emotion. "Three hundred years, and his sharpness has only become more terrifying. Look at the way he gazes at that Star Domain, as if he is merely looking at dust on the street."

  Zhu Yanghai, sitting in the front row, grinned so widely his eyes narrowed. "Hahaha! Finally! You’ve shown yourself, brother-in-law. Let’s see if this 'star' from the West can survive beneath your sky."

  Meanwhile, in the center of the altar, Wan Xing’s face turned crimson with a mixture of fury and disbelief. His Ten Thousand Heavenly Stars Domain vibrated violently, its radiance seemingly shrinking every time Zhi Xuan took a breath.

  "What kind of nonsense is this?!" Wan Xing roared, his voice shattering the silence. "Just because you carry a junk sword and wear strange robes, you think you can deceive me? The real Silver-Haired Devil has been buried by time! You are nothing but an impostor seeking fame atop the grandeur of my Dao Discussion!"

  He turned toward the western stand, shouting at the other geniuses. "Lie Huo! Silent Hermit! Why are you just standing there? Will you allow a clown to desecrate our dignity as practitioners of the West and East?!"

  Prince Lie Huo of the Eastern Mountains stepped forward to the edge of the stand, his burning eyes staring at Zhi Xuan searchingly. "If you truly are the legendary Fifth Envoy, show us! The Central Continent has boasted of an invisible name for far too long!"

  The Silent Hermit of the Red Desert also stood up, his withered yet deadly aura beginning to spread. "Prove it... or let the desert dust bury your lies right here."

  Zhi Xuan merely gave a low snort, a sound like the friction of a sword against marble. He reached for the Heavenly Sword on his back. The white cloth wrapping the Heavenly Sword unraveled one by one, sliding down like funeral petals blown by the wind. Each time a wrap came undone, a heavy thrum of energy oppressed the area around the Sky Moon Tree.

  "Look! That... this resonance, it’s an Eternal Treasure!" shouted an old practitioner from the east, his voice shrill with horror. "The Heavenly Sword... the Heavenly Sword has returned!"

  "Look at that blade! Black like an endless hole and those pulsing red runes... isn't that the same sword from hundreds of years ago?!" a practitioner cried out, his body trembling at the sight of the massive blade.

  "I only saw it once in my grandfather's paintings," replied the practitioner beside him, his face deathly pale. "Seeing it in person is terrifying. He... he really is the Sacred Fairy's Dao Protector!"

  Zhi Xuan finished removing the white cloth and levitated the Heavenly Sword to stop in front of Zhu Qinglan. The Heavenly Sword seemed to soften in the presence of the Sacred Fairy, as if it recognized its mistress. Zhi Xuan took two steps back and folded his arms across his chest, as if wagering that if he lost, he would surrender the Heavenly Sword to the winner.

  "This Dao Discussion," Zhi Xuan said flatly, with a hint of subtle condescension. "I stake my Heavenly Sword on the line if anyone can replace me. Sacred Fairy Zhu herself shall be the witness."

  The entire Sky Moon Tree square seemed to lose its weight. The stakes Zhi Xuan threw down were not just a relic, but the dignity of the Hongmeng Empire and the most coveted position in all the plains. The Heavenly Sword standing firmly before Zhu Qinglan radiated a darkness so thick it contrasted with the Holy Fairy’s divine light, creating an unforgettable sight for all who beheld it.

  Wan Xing stared at the Heavenly Sword with eyes filled with uncontrollable greed. However, beneath that thirst for treasure, his instincts as a Weaver screamed in warning. The sword did not radiate ordinary spiritual energy; it radiated a will of slaughter that seemed capable of severing fate itself.

  "How dare you!" Wan Xing roared, trying to banish the fear creeping into his heart. "You think by placing that junk sword before the Sacred Fairy, you can intimidate us? Fine! If you wish to surrender your weapon so willingly, I shall accept it after I break every bone in your body!"

  Zhi Xuan did not budge. He glanced briefly at Zhu Qinglan, who watched him with a deep gaze—a mixture of concern and unwavering trust. Qinglan slowly reached out her hand, her fingertips nearly touching the hilt of the Heavenly Sword standing before her. She could feel the pulse of life within the blade, a loyalty intended for only one master.

  "The Dao Discussion begins," Zhu Qinglan’s voice echoed, clear and cold, slicing through the suffocating tension. "Whoever feels capable of surpassing this Dao Protector, please step forward."

  Hearing the Sacred Fairy’s permission, Lie Huo of the Eastern Mountains could no longer contain himself. His body exploded in flames of reddish-orange as he lunged from the western stand. "I, Lie Huo, wish to see if this Legend is mere talk or reality!"

  Immediately, flashes of different colored lights soared upward as Zhi Xuan faded into a shadow. Moments later, the elders and involved practitioners appeared atop towering cliffs. Before them lay a vast expanse of massive stones floating above the clouds at a considerable distance. Zhi Xuan appeared on one of the stones, dozens of zhang away from where Lie Huo emerged.

  The air above the floating stones instantly became a silent yet deadly battlefield. The clouds, originally pure white, were now split by clashing auras; on one side was a heat wave that scorched energy, and on the other was a suffocating silence, like the depths of an ancient tomb.

  Lie Huo stood firmly on a giant granite rock. The fire across his body blazed more wildly, until the stone beneath his feet began to glow red and melt. "In the Eastern Continent, I am known as the Reincarnation of the Black Crow. Whatever you bring before me, I will ensure it becomes ash beneath my feet!"

  Lie Huo spread his arms, and from behind him, a True Domain manifested. The sky around him turned dark and orange. From the background, giant dead trees of pitch black emerged. On every tree, thousands of fire-eyed black crows perched, looking like tens of thousands of pairs of eyes capable of devouring everything.

  "The Sun Crow Fire Forest," hissed one practitioner, feeling the heat accompanied by a haunting aura hitting his robes. "This True Domain can at least burn a field as far as five li at half its power!"

  "A battle between Weaver Transformation practitioners is exactly as it should be," said the practitioner beside him, his eyes sparkling with admiration. "Prince Lie Huo, as his name suggests, is a Divine Enlightenment that birthed a True Domain."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Zhi Xuan stood on the quietest floating stone fragment, his black-and-white robe only billowing slightly from the heat blowing from Lie Huo's direction. He drew no weapon, nor did he form any protective mudras. His sapphire eyes remained calm, reflecting the thousands of fire crows now beginning to circle the sky, turning the heavens into a giant furnace.

  "Sun Crow Fire Forest," Zhi Xuan muttered, feeling the name of the True Domain. He smiled faintly and slowly spread his arms. "Six Paths of Reincarnation Disk."

  Instantly, behind Zhi Xuan’s back, space seemed to be torn apart by invisible hands. A giant ring of light divided into six sections began to manifest. The light was not bright, but a pale gray that carried the scent of graveyard soil, mixed with a pure golden radiance and the deepest darkness.

  WUUUUNG—!

  The aura around the Domain immediately formed six gates, each colored in harmony with the Six Paths of Reincarnation. In the center, the brightest was the Human Path, glowing white and making Zhi Xuan look like a Great God descending from the heavens.

  The shockwave produced by the appearance of the Reincarnation Disk was far more terrifying than any energy explosion the practitioners below had ever witnessed. If Lie Huo’s Domain was about the destruction of matter through fire, Zhi Xuan’s Domain was about the order of existence itself. The previously scorching air suddenly became neutral, as if the natural laws of heat and cold had been abolished by a higher authority.

  "Six... Six Paths of Reincarnation?" Lie Huo's voice trembled, his ferocity momentarily halted by the sight before him. "That is a forbidden Heavenly Law! How can a Weaver practitioner touch the essence of Reincarnation?!"

  "The essence of Reincarnation?" Zhi Xuan repeated with a small chuckle. "No, I even doubt Reincarnation exists. That is why this Domain was born."

  "Eternal Protector!" shouted a practitioner, immediately forming a shield around himself against the suffocating clash of the two True Domains. "Reincarnation Domain! Protect your Divine Souls!"

  The Soul Transformation experts immediately formed protection around themselves, accompanied by Divine Transformation Elders who surrounded the combat area with a formation dome to isolate the influence of the two True Domains.

  "Truly rare," said Zhu Yanghai, his eyes radiating deep respect as he watched from the cliff. "A Reincarnation Domain... even I did not expect my brother-in-law to weave a Domain like this."

  The battle between these two opposing natural laws created a terrifying yet unforgettable sight. On one side, the horizon blazed with dozens of greedy ancient fire trees, while on the other, a sacred six-colored gate separated life and death.

  "Sun Crow, Annihilate Life!" Lie Huo roared.

  He stomped his foot, and instantly those tens of thousands of fire crows shot out like an inverted meteor shower, diving sharply toward Zhi Xuan. Every flap of their wings left a trail of fire that scorched the air, creating a vacuum that sucked the surrounding spiritual energy.

  Zhi Xuan only tilted his chin slightly. The disk at his back spun with a sound resembling the hiss of thousands of whispering souls. "Hungry Ghost Path, Swallow All Thirst."

  Suddenly, the dismal gray section of the disk glowed dimly. A giant vortex appeared in front of Zhi Xuan, as if the mouth of a starving monster from the deepest hell had opened. From within, thousands of vengeful hungry ghost figures emerged.

  The tens of thousands of fire crows carrying the sun's fire collided directly with the thousands of ghost figures from the Hungry Ghost Path gate, creating explosive spiritual waves. Every time a crow was swallowed by a ghost, the ghost would also explode from the purifying sun fire, causing a chain reaction of explosions that shook the surrounding stones.

  "Ten Thousand Daos, Asura Path."

  From the blood-red gate, a dominant aura swung open. Unlike the Hungry Ghost Path that released starving spirits, the Asura Path released a red mist that blanketed the surroundings, causing whatever inhaled it to be instantly overcome by the ferocity, jealousy, and war-lust of an Asura, scrambling all clarity of thought.

  The red mist overflowing from the Asura Path gate crawled like a flood through the air, swallowing every inch of space between the floating stones. The practitioners watching from behind the protective dome felt their hearts race wildly. Some began to grip their weapons with trembling hands, while others had to close their eyes to resist the surge of rage suddenly burning through their sanity.

  "What kind of pressure is this?!" screamed an elder from the Southern Continent, spitting out a mouthful of blood due to the shock to his Dao Heart. "Just by looking at that mist, my killing intent is almost uncontrollable! This isn't just spiritual energy; this is the coercion of the Asura realm!"

  "Look at Lie Huo’s Domain!" another shouted, pointing toward the horizon.

  In the midst of the red mist's siege, Lie Huo’s Sun Crow Fire Forest exploded even more violently. As if provoked by the battle-lust of the Asura Path, the dead trees now spewed pitch-black fire that licked the sky. The remaining thousands of fire crows no longer attacked blindly but formed a horizon formation resembling a giant sun disk.

  "Zhi Xuan! Do not underestimate my fire!" Lie Huo roared, his face now covered in bulging veins, his eyes blood-red as he was infected by the Asura's ferocity, yet it only strengthened his resolve. "My fire comes from the pure essence of the sun! Even if you bring all of hell here, I will burn it to nothingness!"

  The clash of the two Domains created a strange phenomenon; wherever the red mist and sun fire met, the field there was continuously destroyed and restored. The thundering sound was no longer like an explosion, but the roar of thousands of warriors mixed with the shriek of a divine bird.

  Lie Huo withdrew his Domain for a moment, pressed his palms together in front of his chest, and instantly, those thousands of black fire crows merged into a single giant entity—an ancient sun bird whose wingspan covered the entire floating stone horizon. From behind his body, a Divine Soul appeared, carrying a giant sun orb behind it.

  The ancient sun bird let out a screech that shook the surroundings. The heat radiating from it was so extreme it left the air dry and deadly. Lie Huo’s giant Divine Soul, appearing like a glowing war god, raised the giant sun orb high, ready to drop fire judgment upon Zhi Xuan’s head.

  Zhi Xuan also withdrew his domain and spun momentarily before his Divine Soul appeared behind him. At that moment, once again, the practitioners were stunned and awestruck to see the dual wings of Zhi Xuan’s Divine Soul—wings of darkness with an eclipse pattern that looked like a fallen angel from heaven. From its hand, a small dark vortex appeared, forming a black hole.

  "What is that?!" screamed the Silent Hermit, his usually flat voice now high-pitched. "That is no ordinary technique... that is a vortex of laws! He is trying to swallow the natural laws themselves!"

  Lie Huo ignored all warnings. His consciousness had merged completely with his Divine Soul. With a roar that shook the foundations of heaven, he swung both hands downward. "Sun Sets on the Eastern Horizon! Annihilate Everything!"

  The giant sun orb hurtled down, burning clouds to nothingness and causing the floating stones beneath it to instantly evaporate. The pressure of the giant Sun Orbs was so great that the protective dome made by the Elders began to crack slightly, making a screeching sound that pierced the ears.

  Zhi Xuan looked up, his dark purple hair billowing wildly, yet his eyes remained sapphire pools untouched by emotion. "The sun you boast of... is nothing but a firefly. Eternal Star."

  Zhi Xuan’s Divine Soul pushed the black hole upward. As the two giant entities touched, there was no deafening explosion. Instead, there was silence for the duration of one breath. The orange light from the sun orb began to twist, dragged into Zhi Xuan’s dark vortex like silk thread being pulled by force.

  WUUUUUUUUM—!

  Instantly, space at the point of impact warped violently. Lie Huo’s sun orb, which had been as large as a mountain, began to shrink rapidly, sucked dry into the black hole vortex in the hands of Zhi Xuan’s Divine Soul. Lie Huo’s eyes widened; he felt his spiritual essence being drained as if he were trying to fill a bottomless ocean.

  "Impossible! My sun's power... how can it disappear?!" Lie Huo coughed blood, his Divine Soul beginning to dim and crack.

  Zhi Xuan closed his palms. "Everything Returns to the Origin."

  The black hole exploded, but it did not release fire; it released a wave of pure energy that was cold and neutralized everything. Lie Huo was thrown back violently, his body slamming into a rock cliff with force that shattered the stone structure. His Fire Forest was extinguished instantly, leaving only weak, rising black smoke.

  Zhi Xuan slowly landed on the remaining floating stone fragment. His twin-winged Divine Soul faded, leaving behind a dark light that slowly absorbed back into his body. He did not appear out of breath; his breathing remained steady, as if the battle that had just shaken natural laws was merely light morning exercise.

  Wan Xing, who had been watching with a pale face, felt his legs tremble slightly. The sight of the sun orb being swallowed by the black hole had etched a deeper fear into his Dao Heart. However, the shame of having boasted in public was far greater than his fear.

  "You... you used a forbidden technique!" Wan Xing shouted as he jumped forward, landing on the expanse of stone still emitting hot steam. "Swallowing natural laws? That is the path of a devil! You are no Dao Protector; you are a curse upon the Xing Luo Plain!"

  "That's not all," added the Silent Hermit, his teeth chattering. "What kind of Divine Soul is that? Having dual wings? I have never seen anyone possess a Divine Soul like that!"