Chapter 551: Ascension
"Huoluan Ancestor Shaman!"
In the clouds above, the faces of Chu Emperor and the others turned solemn.
They hadn't expected that little girl from the Huoluan Clan could actually summon the Ancestor Shaman. To wield such a figure as her avatar meant she carried extraordinary aspirations and had become the clan's beacon of hope.
"She was once an Immortal Emperor, but fell ten thousand years ago—long before the Ancient Demon invasion. She perished during the Broken Realm War."
Tianzhao Emperor spoke softly. The stories of the Huoluan Ancestor Shaman had long faded into obscurity, but the Immortal Dynasty emperors still remembered those buried chronicles. That was a time marked by another cataclysmic war.
After the Ancestor Shaman fell and vanished, the Huoluan Clan began to decline. Later, they found refuge under Tianyang Immortal Emperor's command and were greatly valued by him.
But once Tianyang Immortal Emperor fell during the Ancient Demon war, the Huoluan Clan gradually vanished from the True Realm, their name dragged through the mud.
Among the Hundred Clans of the True Realm, nearly all had once birthed an ultimate existence at the peak of their golden age.
"Who would've thought... After all this time, a trace of the Ancestor Shaman still lingers. Then again, she reached the Immortal Emperor Realm. To erase her presence from history entirely would require not only exterminating the Huoluan Clan, but removing the Dao of Calamity from the source of the Heavenly Dao itself. That's impossible..."
The Yuanzun Empress murmured.
Both conditions were nearly unattainable. It might be possible to wipe out the Huoluan bloodline if all powers allied together, but to strip the Dao of Calamity from the Heavenly Dao's source? Even Immortal Emperors couldn't do that.
And that's exactly why Immortal Emperors earned eternal reverence—their legacies could never be fully erased.
"It seems that little girl is the Huoluan Clan's new shaman."
Chi Emperor said.
Beside him, the Qin Emperor of the Wangqin Immortal Dynasty, clad in black robes, remained silent.
As Yue Xi summoned her avatar, countless hidden elders across the South Domain opened their eyes, surprised.
Memories buried deep within them resurfaced.
"The Huoluan Ancestor Shaman... Could a great calamity be approaching again?"
"That's the Ancestor Shaman of Calamity—the founder of the Dao of Calamity..."
On the mountain peak, Li Tiemu stared at Yue Xi's avatar with growing confusion.
"Her avatar… Why is it this one?"
He had seen Yue Xi's avatar before—it didn't look like this. Now, her avatar had completely changed?
Da Meng Master's pupils contracted slightly. She never imagined that this little girl from her own sect carried the Huoluan Clan's shaman bloodline.
No wonder Yun Wumian, master of the Sword Abyss, once said he sensed a wisp of Ancestor Shaman power on that girl when she approached the Imperial Sword.
At the time, it seemed like a hallucination—but it was real.
"This is…"
Li Hao recognized the veiled, black-robed woman and recalled seeing a statue of her in the Tianyang Imperial Palace—one among several.
Back on the emperor's platform, Yue Xi's eyes turned pitch black, the whites completely vanishing. She looked eerie, but her presence became vast and overbearing.
Her immortal Power surged outward like countless ribbons. But instead of pure silver radiance, it now turned into pitch-black fog, swirling like smoke.
"Hmm?"
Qin Xiangyu's expression changed slightly. She felt a wave of unease.
But she quickly calmed herself and charged forward, spear in hand.
"Let me break this calamity!"
She murmured, her spear igniting with dark light. It flashed like a black thunderbolt, crushing the air as it shot forth.
Yue Xi's eyes glinted with cold rage. The strength now coursing through her body was beyond anything she had ever known. Her plea from the depths of her heart—it felt like her ancestor had truly answered.
If the Ancestor was willing to grant her power, how could she not be worthy?
"If I am calamity, then so be it! Stand against me, and your doom is sealed!"
Her black eyes gleamed with a timeless, domineering light. In that moment, she stopped defending herself, stopped explaining. If the world insisted on branding her a curse, then let them watch clearly.
Her sword swung, casting forth a storm of black shadows like thousands of crows. The black sword lights merged into one, imbued with the Dao of Calamity. The space surrounding the platform became infused with its aura.
This Dao could distort other Dao sources—including time and space!
In an instant, Qin Xiangyu's spear strike shattered. Black tendrils surged forward like countless vines, wrapping around her body and draining her immortal Power, cutting off her ability to absorb more from the void.
Qin Xiangyu's eyes went wide in disbelief. Her Xuannü bloodline erupted, and her avatar released a divine radiance that barely shielded her body from the invasive calamity.
Then she moved like a blur, splitting into hundreds of afterimages. They all rushed Yue Xi at once, ten directions converging, no way to evade.
"Calamity Unbound!"
Yue Xi whispered, guided by instinct.
The calamity around her condensed into a black cyclone that surrounded her completely. It surged violently and devoured all of Qin Xiangyu's copies in a flurry of shadows.
Qin Xiangyu's true body charged into the storm with her spear, only to meet a sharp sword light. Steel clashed as her spear path collided with Yue Xi's sword Dao. The blow tore through the air, dimming the sword light by three inches—only for it to burst forth again and drive back her spear.
"You're borrowing the Ancestor's power—how can this be truly yours?!"
Qin Xiangyu fell back, shaken. The change in Yue Xi's aura, her eyes—it all felt like a different person. A presence that sent shivers down her spine.
She had faced many battles and killed plenty of Ancient Demons. When had she ever feared anything?
Yet now, she trembled.
"If I wield it, then it is mine!"
Yue Xi replied softly, her gaze unwavering. Sword light erupted—this was her Sword God Art, now fused with the power of calamity. It was like a Dark Sword God Art.
Kill!
Her sword light tore through layers of space. Her extreme Dao force became visible, and in a blink, she reached Qin Xiangyu.
Qin Xiangyu slashed with her spear, but it was stripped of its power by the calamity within the sword light. Her spear path faltered. Yue Xi's relentless attacks pushed her toward the edge of the platform.
"Impossible!"
Qin Xiangyu was both furious and terrified. She could sense that Yue Xi's sword Dao and other Daos weren't as refined as her own. But this calamity power disrupted all her foundations, even shaking her mind.
Fear led to weakness. The longer they fought, the worse it got. She was completely overwhelmed.
Within the Wangqin royal family, everyone was stunned. Qin Xiangyu was one of their top talents. Even if she couldn't reach the top ten, she should've made it into the top twenty. And yet—she was about to lose?
Boom!
A slash of sword light shattered her spear glow into particles of dark light. Qin Xiangyu was slammed into the barrier at the edge of the platform.
She coughed up blood, glaring at Yue Xi in disbelief.
Yue Xi stared coldly at her opponent and walked forward, sword in hand.
"Defeated? No, I can't be defeated!" Qin Xiangyu's heart pounded wildly, but her eyes were filled with stubbornness and desperation.
"I'm a royal descendant! I climbed sacred peaks, bowed to renowned masters, slew three thousand Ancient Demons, trained through the nine extremes of the seasons—how could I lose to you?!"
"I still have to help my mother ascend—I can't afford to lose!"
Her silver teeth clenched, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes sparkled like stars as she released the surging Xuannü bloodline. The nine-petal immortal Mark on her forehead spun, blooming like a lotus.
"I can't lose!!"
She roared and charged, driven by her own reason to fight.
She had traveled across countless miles to reach the South Domain Tournament. She wanted glory. She wanted all of Wangqin Immortal Dynasty to remember her name.
As her bloodline surged, the nine-petal immortal Mark cracked slightly, releasing immense immortal Power. It condensed into a spear and exploded forward.
The power of calamity around Yue Xi eroded the spear, but the force behind it was so strong that, even as it was stripped away, it still carried crushing strength.
Boom!
Yue Xi's sword was knocked aside, and the spear pierced through her chest.
But she didn't retreat. Instead, she struck with her palm, shattering the spear embedded in her body. Then, with a flick of her hand, she unleashed another sword strike, refusing to dodge.
Qin Xiangyu didn't back off either. The glow of her spear surged again as she launched another attack.
They pierced each other's bodies, both grievously wounded—but neither took a single step back.
Their brutal, no-holds-barred duel left the audience stunned into silence.
No one expected these two women to fight more fiercely than even the men—like they'd staked their very lives.
"Xiangyu…"
In the royal palace of the Wangqin Immortal Dynasty, a noble and elegant Xuannü woman wiped away tears.
Deep in a remote mountain range, countless members of a powerful clan let out cries of grief.
Those voices—thousands of them—seemed to cross time and bloodlines, reaching the ears of the girl on the platform. The black light in Yue Xi's eyes deepened, the aura of the Ancestor Shaman around her thickened, and a black domain formed.
She released her Dao Domain, enveloping Qin Xiangyu within it.
In the pure black domain surged the powers of destruction, death, decay—all calamity.
Qin Xiangyu's flesh began to rot away. Her armor could no longer be maintained by her immortal Power and was starting to vanish.
She raised a trembling hand and cut across her forehead, drawing out golden Xuannü blood. It ignited into golden flames, opening a path before her.
"Die!"
She roared, ignoring her shattering immortal Mark as she poured everything into a single strike. All her Dao arts were condensed into that one spear.
Yue Xi unleashed several sword strikes to intercept—but they were all shattered. The spear pierced her chest and sent her flying across the platform. Her Dao Domain crumbled.
Watching this, Li Tiemu and Da Meng Master felt their hearts shatter. They knew Yue Xi had given it her all. But the raw power gap was just too great—Qin Xiangyu had the nine-petal immortal Mark. Her immortal Power alone was several times greater than Yue Xi's.
"Did she win?"
"Of course. The nine-petal immortal Mark is terrifying."
"I can feel the calamity from here. It's like something world-shaking is about to happen."
"Who would've thought the Huoluan Clan had such a powerful genius?"
On the mountaintop, in every corner of the South Domain, countless spectators stared at the girl pinned to the ground by a spear, shocked and speechless.
No one expected the Huoluan Clan to be this terrifying.
Even though she lost, many saw the clan's strength clearly.
Across from her, Qin Xiangyu stood drenched in blood, her hair in disarray, breathing heavily. Her wounds healed slowly—the calamity Power still in her body was halting her regeneration. Even her near-immortal physique, capable of rebirth, was struggling.
Just as everyone thought this deadly match was over, thick black mist surged from Yue Xi's chest.
She suddenly yanked the spear from her body, dashed forward, and in an instant, appeared before Qin Xiangyu. She swept the spear sideways, knocking her to her knees.
In her hand, the spear turned into a blade of sword light. With a flick, it stabbed toward Qin Xiangyu's forehead.
The sudden reversal shocked everyone. No one had time to react.
Not even Qin Xiangyu. Her eyes went blank. She could only watch as that sword light grew in her vision, filling her world.
But then—the sword stopped.
It hovered at the tip of her nose.
The raging murderous aura faded. Yue Xi's pitch-black eyes were ice-cold and emotionless.
"You lost."
Three words. Calmly spoken.
Qin Xiangyu trembled. Staring at the shimmering sword light, she knew—if that strike had landed, she'd have been torn apart. With the power of calamity, she wouldn't have time to regenerate. She'd be annihilated completely.
Even a body that could revive from a single drop of blood wasn't invincible. As long as the enemy could delay the healing and destroy every piece of flesh and blood quickly, death was absolute—and such techniques were not rare.
Qin Xiangyu lowered her head, silent. Tears slipped from her eyes, though she quickly wiped them away.
She had fought so hard, yet lost in the first round of the top hundred.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
She asked quietly after a long pause.
The sword light in Yue Xi's hand faded. The blackness in her eyes receded, white returning to her gaze. Her face now showed signs of fatigue.
"I wield the power of calamity. I also choose its target."
She left those soft words behind and turned away.
Though spoken softly and privately, the words echoed across the South Domain through the projection stones and into the skies above countless immortal cities.
In that moment, countless people were shaken.
That one sentence struck like a hammer against their souls.
Deep in the remote mountains, within the Huoluan Clan, countless people wept. Her words voiced their buried truth once again.
Qin Xiangyu stood frozen. Watching Yue Xi's retreating figure, she suddenly realized—perhaps everyone standing on this imperial platform bore unseen burdens.
A strange peace came over her. She smiled bitterly and whispered an apology, then turned and walked away.
The barrier opened. The Immortal Guard Commander announced the result—Yue Xi advanced to the top fifty!
As his voice rang out, Da Meng Jiu Yuan erupted into cheers.
On the other side, the Wangqin royal family's faces were cold as ice.
Watching Yue Xi return, Gu Yan's eyes sparkled. It was like he was seeing his senior sister for the first time. Though proud to a fault, he now held a quiet respect for her. Until now, only Li Hao had earned his recognition. But today—she did too.
"You fought well."
Li Hao smiled gently, noticing the fatigue on her face.
Yue Xi gave a tired smile to Li Hao and Gu Yan. But as the bloodline power of calamity receded, a deep exhaustion sank into her bones.