The myriad birds scattered, and a colossal nine-headed fierce bird emerged.
Eighteen pairs of eyes fixed upon Qing Ling, glowing with an eerie light.
Qing Ling saw the palace on its back, and the prison beneath its claws.
On the cloud bed within the palace, a woman of captivating charm.
In the miserable, sorrowful cage of broken birds below.
To his surprise, his eyes remained devoid of any emotion.
His calmness was terrifying.
Chong Ming paused for a moment, then reminded, "Dao Master Qing Xuan, didn't you once have a deep connection with this rebellious bird?"
Qing Ling chuckled faintly, feigning ignorance. "The world knows my profound relationship with this bird, yet I remain unaware?"
"You..."
"Enough."
A soft, chiding voice emanated from the woman on the grand cloud bed.
Chong Ming trembled instantly, then turned back with a smile, "As the Holy King commands."
"Dao Master Qing Xuan~, this Holy King rather fancies you."
A languid, seductive sound drifted from the cloud bed once more.
Qing Ling chuckled, but his eyes had turned cold.
"A supreme powerhouse, and you yourself have entered the fray?"
"No, this Holy King has merely broken through to the twenty-first heaven."
Qing Ling stepped forward, calmly asking, "Your Excellency, will you advance or retreat?"
The colossal nine-headed bird’s wings flapped violently, causing the surrounding winds to plummet, rushing towards the four realm protector tribes.
"This Holy King has come here, naturally, to break through the dragon!"
"Buzz~"
A faint hum, the sound of a heart trembling.
Black Phoenix Holy King shot out from the cloud bed in an instant, her alluring face contorted with rage.
For with just one glance at him, she had planted a seed within her heart – his seed!
A torrent of black flames raged, incinerating all in its path, an endless aura of death surging forth to engulf the entire Du Guang Wilderness.
Qing Ling waved his sleeve, his movements as effortless as clouds. The Four Seasons turned, and the divine diagram's four powers protected Du Guang.
"Black Phoenix, your time is short."
Black Phoenix Holy King sneered, "But it is enough to suppress you! Black Flame Prison!"
Endless death flames descended, enveloping Du Guang.
The earth became a furnace, the heavens its lid, one domain its vessel, one path its fire.
Between heaven and earth, a bronze furnace formed, all life within its domain to be refined, the great powerhouse reigning supreme, the ants at their mercy.
Supreme powerhouses were the pinnacle of the Primordial World, the highest, most precious, and greatest of all beings.
The Four Seasons Diagram protected Du Guang for a time, but it could not last long. For Qing Ling was at the core of the myriad fires, his location the very center of the heaven and earth furnace.
Qing Ling did not look up, for he was below, and she was above.
To look up was to gaze upwards.
Therefore, Qing Ling looked straight ahead, a level gaze.
The eyes, looking straight ahead, would either look up in reverence or down in condescension.
But the gaze of the line of sight, straight ahead, was the sameness between heaven and earth, all beings, and the dao of ants.
Qing Ling showed no trace of anxiety; he was calm and collected.
Ever since his future self had fallen into slumber, his primordial spirit had grown increasingly rational, bordering on apathetic.
Outside Du Guang, countless birds veered around it, continuing their journey north to the East.
Chong Ming bowed to the Holy King and set off towards Xi Mountain.
As long as Dao Master Qing Xuan was suppressed, the Eastern Wilderness could be breached at any moment!
Within the black flame domain, Qing Ling walked forward unhurriedly, reaching his hand into the Four Seasons Diagram.
Then, he drew out a short saber.
The saber was barely three feet long, entirely black, a simple blade, yet unsharpened.
Black Phoenix Holy King scoffed, "An unsharpened blade, like a bird with unkempt feathers, can it be used?"
Qing Ling's expression was indifferent. "It is perfect to draw your first blood to sharpen it!"
Black Phoenix Holy King's face darkened with anger. She flipped her hand, unleashing three hundred and sixty-five black divine banners, which were planted at various nodes, exerting their divine power.
Within the surging black flames, black giant phoenixes materialized, a thousand of them, accompanied by the terrifying heat, burning Qing Ling’s dao body.
Beneath Qing Ling's feet, a bridge of light rose, standing firm above the sea of fire.
The Four Seasons Diagram gradually dimmed, as it lacked the command of a supreme powerhouse and had to protect the entire Du Guang.
The divine patterns on Qing Ling's brow flashed, and Black Phoenix Holy King's heart suddenly ached with intense pain. A terrifying suction began to ravenously draw away her Quintessence, and even her soul force.
Black Phoenix shook her hand, and a black spiritual pearl dropped into her heart. Black threads seeped into the stem of a blossoming flower bud in her heart, and the disturbance in her heart immediately ceased.
At this moment, Qing Ling’s dao body sat cross-legged on the bridge of light, his primordial spirit detached, hovering above his physical body, like a divine miracle descending.
However, his primordial spirit held a saber, which looked rather unfriendly.
His primordial spirit rose instantly, to the height of the seventeenth heaven, then rose again and again, until it reached the twentieth heaven.
Black Phoenix Holy King's expression jolted, and she exclaimed, "A prodigy of heaven!"
But in the next moment, the prodigy of heaven she spoke of swung the saber towards her.
The light and time of heaven and earth flowed endlessly, the soul of the primordial spirit akin to the intent of a saber.
A half-step supreme powerhouse at the twentieth heaven, integrated with the intent of Jian Mu, returned to the intent of the Earthly Dao, and bolstered by the authority of the Four Seasons God.
He was now supreme!
A divine light flashed across the vast sky, and the eternal night was instantly illuminated!
A lightning bolt flashed through the minds of all beings, like thunder, like an illusion.
The living were silent, only the roaring of their inner voices echoed through heaven and earth.
"Drip~"
A drop of blood fell, onto the blade's edge.
From this day forth, the will of heaven was like a saber, all because of the white-robed figure before them.