The sight of the dimming and wilting Saint lotus bud stupefied the countless onlookers in Cangxuan Heaven, who were also clearly both alarmed and frightened by this development.

In the sky, Zhou Yuan was not overly surprised by this outcome. It had been too negligent of Sheng Yuan to expose his Saint lotus bud. Sheng Yuan had really looked down on Zhou Yuan’s many years of battle experience if he failed to consider that Zhou Yuan would fail to grasp such a chance.

With the Saint lotus bud now sealed, Sheng Yuan was now much weaker than before. It was the best time to take advantage of him in this vulnerable state.

Hence, Zhou Yuan did not hesitate in the slightest. With a thunderous dragon roar, space shattered under his foot as he pounced towards Sheng Yuan.

Sheng Yuan was immediately alerted to Zhou Yuan’s movement, causing his expression to turn ashen as he quickly waved his sleeve. Space warped around him and swiftly swallowed his body.

He naturally understood Zhou Yuan’s intention, but no longer dared to clash directly with Zhou Yuan in his current condition. His priority was to find an opportunity to undo the seal on his Saint lotus bud.

“Where are you going?!”

However, Sheng Yuan’s plan did not work out. An icy chuckle sounded from above as a certain spot nearby suddenly shattered, revealing a night-black brush tip that swung towards him with power that could scatter stars.

Thump!

Space shattered and a figure was thrown out. Who else could it be but Sheng Yuan, who had tried to hide inside of space itself.

Sheng Yuan sternly shouted, “Zhou Yuan, don’t push me!”

However, the laughable threat was completely ignored by Zhou Yuan. In the next instant, millions of Genesis Qi torrents fell from the sky, transforming into giant Genesis Qi dragons that swarmed towards Sheng Yuan from every direction.

Sheng Yuan’s expression darkened as he continuously flicked all ten fingers. Every flick sent out a dot of light that rapidly grew into red scissors as they shot through the air. Different beast runes blossomed from each pair of scissors, accompanied by countless howls.

The many scissors gave off unimaginably sharp auras, easily cutting through even the fabric of space.

“Thousand Beast Flame Scissors!”

Countless glowing red scissors collided with the Genesis Qi dragons.

Boom boom!

Terrifying explosions occured one after another, each accompanied by a thunderous boom.

However, anyone could see that the red scissors were disappearing one by one. Sheng Yuan was clearly much weaker after his Saint lotus bud was sealed.

“Blasted!” Sheng Yuan’s nails dug into his palm as his expression turned frighteningly dark. To think a mighty half-Saint like him, the strongest expert in Cangxuan Heaven, was being forced into such a miserable state by Zhou Yuan.

Sheng Yuan’s eyes rapidly flickered in thought as he growled to himself in a low voice, “No, this cannot continue. I need to think of a way to break the seal!”

However, he had already tried to unravel the seal earlier, but it was extremely sturdy. Even he found himself unable to undo it for the time being.

Ordinary methods were clearly not going to work.

“Do I really have no choice?” Sheng Yuan was silent for a second before a resolute look flashed in his eyes.

Bang!

The space above Sheng Yuan suddenly shattered as an enormous purple-gold dragon fist reached out with deadly killing intent and power that could smash apart stars.

The attack was so swift that it was nearly impossible to avoid.

Sheng Yuan’s expression darkened even more, but made no move to avoid the attack, allowing it to descend towards him. He seemed to have no intention of avoiding it.

Boom boom!

Space exploded along with Sheng Yuan’s body as the sky was dyed blood-red. A rain of blood fell, sprinkling towards the land below.

Countless life forms in Cangxuan Heaven watched this scene in shock, everyone falling deathly silent for a time.

The very same Sheng Yuan, who had brought endless chaos and war to Cangxuan Heaven, had just been killed?

The silence was soon broken by booming mountain-shaking cheers.

Zhou Yuan’s figure appeared in the sky, gazing at the spot where Sheng Yuan’s body had been smashed into pulp. However, there were no signs of joy on his face as his brows furrowed together.

He had sensed a faint, peculiar undulation spread from Sheng Yuan’s body a split second before impact.

Palace master Sheng Yuan was not dead yet.

The Decoder Saint Rune began to revolve in Zhou Yuan’s pupils as he carefully scanned the falling blood. In the next instant, he sensed a pulse of Genesis Qi from the viscous Sacred Blood Reservoir below.

He stared hard at the spot as the blood-water began to converge, gradually turning into the shape of a human.

It was Sheng Yuan.

Sheng Yuan raised his head to meet Zhou Yuan’s gaze and chillingly said, “Do you really believe it is so easy to kill a half-Saint? Naive fool!”

Although he had not been killed, his pale face indicated that he had paid a painful price to avoid death.

The cheering came to an abrupt halt as disappointment filled everyone’s faces.

Zhou Yuan, however, was still very calm. “How many more times can you escape in that condition?”

Sheng Yuan was silent for a moment before he replied, “Zhou Yuan, if you manage to reach the Saint stage, even Cang Xuan will not be able to compare to you.”

By this point in time, even he had no choice but to admit that Zhou Yuan’s threat level was not the least bit inferior to patriarch Cang Xuan at the peak of his power. One must know that patriarch Cang Xuan was a Saint expert that was also the master of Cangxuan Heaven back then. In contrast, Zhou Yuan had yet to even ascend to the Saint stage.

“However, although my mistake allowed you to seal my Saint lotus bud, you still might not be the victor of today’s battle. Remember, you forced me to do this.” Sheng Yuan took a deep breath, his expression resolute as he rapidly made a series of seals before slamming his hands onto the surface of the Sacred Blood Reservoir.

Omm!

An enormous strange rune abruptly expanded from his palms before submerging into the sea of blood.

Rumble!

The blood sea began to roar violently as a strange power began to activate.

Zhou Yuan’s expression changed slightly as he pampered into the depths of the Sacred Blood Reservoir with the Decoder Saint Rune, where he saw an altar. Blood-red halos rose from the altar, giving off a feeling of extreme unease.

Meanwhile the spatial maze within the Sacred Blood Reservoir also began to distort, causing the fighting experts to stop in confusion.

In the different domains, Su Youwei, Wu Yao, Chi Jing and the others cautiously observed the strange spatial activity.

In one of the domains, Liu Lianyi observed the strange phenomenon in alarm before swiftly asking sect master Qing Yang, who had just retreated to her side, “Senior brother, what’s going on?”

Genesis Qi weakly pulsed around sect master Qing Yang, likely due to the battle against Lei Jun. Fortunately, Lei Jun had also sustained substantial injuries.

He had originally intended to settle the battle there and then, but the strange spatial activity around them had ultimately made him abandon the plan.

After all, there were still Liu Lianyi, Ling Jin and the other Cangxuan Sect higher ups around.

Sect master Qing Yang shook his head with a grave expression, implying that he did not know as well, before turning his attention back to Lei Jun, who was also scanning his surroundings in confusion.

It appeared that Lei Jun was likewise in the dark.

Since Lei Jun was not the culprit, that left only palace master Sheng Yuan.

While sect master Qing Yang and the others were bewildered, their hearts suddenly shook and they quickly retrieved the jade tile given to them by Zhou Yuan. Bright light shined from the jade tiles and enveloped their bodies.

It was quickly followed by an eruption of irresistible force as the jade tiles seemed to transform into spatial passages that sucked all of them in.

Outside.

Numerous spatial cracks appeared in the sky, spitting out figure after figure, who were left dazedly standing in the air.

“What’s going on?”

The crowd looked towards Zhou Yuan.

Sect master Qing Yang’s brows were tightly knitted together. Why had they suddenly been brought out just as the battle between him and Lei Jun was about to be decided?

Zhou Yuan gravely stared at the violently burning sea of blood below. Through the Decoder Saint Rune, he could see blood-red tentacles emerge from the strange altar at the deepest depths of the sea and reach into the many domains.

Zhou Yuan said in a low voice, “Sheng Yuan, what are you up to?!”

Above the blood sea, Sheng Yuan sighed in disappointment and frustration before he nonchalantly said, “It’s nothing much, you just forced me to use my final trump card.”

AHHH!

As his voice rang out, countless shrieks suddenly sounded from the blood sea.

As the blood sea churned, everyone could just barely make out the many domains within it. Sect master Qing Yang and the others were finally able to see blood-red tentacles frantically surging into the domains and grabbing the Sacred Palace experts. Anyone who was grabbed would instantly turn into a pool of blood regardless of their cultivation.

In one of the domains, the injured Lei Jun glared at the approaching tentacles and howled, “Sheng Yuan, what is this?!’

Sheng Yuan sighed softly and said, “Brother Lei, did you really believe the altar’s baptism only increased your strength? From the moment you were baptised, a certain brand has been imprinted on all of you...

“I honestly did not wish to use this final card, but who could have expected that Zhou Yuan would force my hand...

“Don’t worry, I will help you fulfil your final wish. When I unify Cangxuan Heaven, I will destroy the Cangxuan Sect so they can accompany you in death.”

Lei Jun’s expression twisted in rage, fire practically spouting from his eyes as he howled, “I would rather self-destruct than help you!”

The Genesis Qi in his body abruptly began to boil as he ignited his Law Domain. In the next instant, dazzling rays erupted from his body like a shining star.

Before he could complete the final step, however, the strange blood-red tentacles arrived and pierced through the dazzling light. The light rapidly dimmed as the self-destruction power was devoured by the tentacles.

In the end, all Lei Jun could do was howl in despair, “AHHH! I refuse to accept this!”

He had clearly failed to even self-destruct in the end.

Above the blood sea, compassion filled Sheng Yuan’s face as he said, “Trying to self-destruct is useless.”

In the sky, sect master Qing Yang and the others watched in shock. Even people like them felt a chill rush from the bottom of their feet to the top of their heads.

In a short few moments, all of the elite Sacred Palace experts...had been killed, without a single survivor.

No one would have ever imagined that the great Sacred Palace army would not die at the Cangxuan alliance’s hands, but the palace master they believed in.

Has Sheng Yuan gone insane?!