Nuwa's heart was locked in a fierce struggle, and after a fleeting moment of hesitation, she threw out the Mountains and Rivers State Map. The artifact unfurled, rolling up the remaining elites of the Yao Race in a wash of light as she turned and abandoned the field.
A goddess's intuition whispered a warning to her soul: if she persisted in her assault, a cataclysmic event would unfold—an omen of absolute, great misfortune.
In stark contrast, the Wu Clan lacked this spiritual sensitivity; they possessed no understanding of the shifting heavenly secrets, nor did they have the means to seek fortune or avoid disaster.
Ling Xiao's Dharma Image remained a world-shaking titan, standing as tall as the Ancestral Witches themselves. His form was wreathed in raging, solar flames, and he radiated a monstrous Killing Intent as he engaged all six Witches in a brutal, one-against-six confrontation.
The great battle shook the very foundations of heaven and earth. Laws collided in mid-air, and the frequency of the world resonated with the violence.
The Three Immortals Island trembled under the sheer might of the combat, groaning as if the land itself would collapse into the abyss at any second.
The living beings remaining on the island and the few mighty experts watching from the periphery were utterly dumbfounded.
The scene unfolding before their eyes was unimaginable—it was simply too shocking to process.
Ling Xiao had broken through the boundaries of their imagination and the perceived limits of power time and time again.
Just how powerful was this man? Was there truly no end to his depth?
First, he had swept aside the East King Duke and the Queen Mother of the West with a single, casual move. Then, he had led a charge to defeat the unified Three Pure Ones, followed by the systematic dismantling of the Two Sages of the West, Minghe, Kunpeng, and the entire Yao Race host. Finally, it was the Ancestral Witches' turn to be humbled.
These were the top-tier experts of the Great Desolation. Under normal circumstances, defeating just one such figure would be enough to make a cultivator's name famous across the entire land, yet they had all fallen by Ling Xiao's hand. Such a record could only be described as outrageous.
"I declare that from this moment forward, the Three Crows can no longer be ranked alongside the Three Pure Ones—for the Three Pure Ones are no longer worthy of the association!" one creature exclaimed with a fanatical look, his pride swelling as if he were the one who had achieved the feat.
"The Upper Three Crows, the Lower Three Pure Ones—the saying truly lives up to its reputation!"
"Ling Xiao's actions today have offended every one of the heaven-ordained Six Saints and the personal Disciples of the Dao Ancestor. Once those six attain Sainthood in the future, the consequences for him will be unimaginable."
Some beings remained pessimistic, feeling that Ling Xiao's triumph was merely a fleeting moment of glory. Having sparked a blood-feud with the future Six Saints, one could only imagine the terrifying magnitude of the retaliation that would follow once they ascended to their true thrones.
What did "heaven-ordained Saints" signify? It meant those six existences were destined by the Heavenly Dao itself to become the supreme arbiters of reality.
While Ling Xiao was undeniably powerful, he was not a heaven-ordained Saint. Whether he could ever achieve that rank remained a complete unknown.
If one could not become a Saint, no matter how powerful they appeared in the mortal realm, it was all ultimately in vain... Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun were also shocked to the point that their scalps tingled with a cold sweat. They had believed Ling Xiao was strong enough, but they realized they had still grossly underestimated him.
"Yuanzi, when will you ever be this strong? We could form a 'Two Clouds' title so I can bask in some of your glory too."
Hongyun snapped out of his trance-like shock and spoke to the man beside him.
"Get away from me. Is it not because you do not work hard enough yourself? Hurry up! While the three immortal islands have not yet been fully occupied by Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao, let us collect a few more treasures." Zhenyuanzi spoke with a righteous Face, yet his words were somewhat contradictory.
He was annoyed by Hongyun's nonsense. What "Two Clouds" duo? Why not the "Two Yuans" instead?
...Meanwhile, Dijun and Tai Yi, supported by the power of the Hongmeng Cauldron, remained entangled with Ao Zhan and several Dragon Clan experts.
Ao Zhan had been burning with greed, trying desperately to refine the Grand Void Mirror, but how could Dijun and Tai Yi possibly allow him to have his way? With an Innate Supreme Treasure in their possession, the two brothers were incredibly fierce and unyielding.
Ao Zhan was hopping mad with sheer frustration, finding no viable way to deal with the brothers' combined might. Seeing Ling Xiao sweeping through the rest of the battlefield, crushing every opponent with an invincible momentum, he was seized by both anxiety and a mounting panic.
Yet, he refused to abandon his claim to the Grand Void Mirror.
In his distorted view, since the item had appeared on the Three Immortals Island, and the island was birthed from the East Sea, it rightfully belonged to the Dragon Clan; he believed no one possessed a greater affinity for it than his kin.
...Meanwhile, the battle between Ling Xiao and the Ancestral Witches had reached a fever pitch. Ancestral Witches of the same level were significantly more robust than ordinary Quasi-Saint experts.
Ling Xiao's vitality resonated like a drum, and the Laws vibrated as he clashed head-on with the Witches using nothing but the raw strength of his Physical Body.
Ling Xiao was like a Chaos Demon God reborn; his black hair danced wildly in the storm, and his battle Qi soared until it pierced the heavens. Every move he made carried an immeasurable Divine Power, moving with a momentum that suggested he was carving open a new heaven.
Boom!
A peerless punch was launched, and Ju Mang's body was detonated. His entire arm was reduced to a fine bloody mist, and his legendary Physical Body was shattered into jagged fragments.
Ling Xiao condensed five distinct Laws between his fingers and palms. Without a shred of restraint, he drove his strike right through the Witch's chest. The resulting light pierced through Ju Mang's body and shone for hundreds of millions of miles across the horizon before the Witch finally crashed into the sea with a deafening roar.
This single strike had almost completely dispersed Ju Mang's Physical Body, the power of five conflicting Laws destroying him from the inside out.
"Ju Mang!" Seeing this, the other Ancestral Witches' eyes nearly split from a murderous rage as they roared his name in unison.
"When you first made your move against me, you should have expected this outcome," Ling Xiao shouted coldly. He pressed his attack, utilizing the Law of Fire to set Gonggong ablaze.
This was the Law in which his Realm was currently highest, and its absolute power was made evident. Once Gonggong was ignited, he was driven into a state of madness; his own Law of Water could scarcely dampen the flames eating into his soul.
He plunged into the sea with a massive splash, and the entire ocean sector boiled instantly. For a moment, every creature in the surrounding sea area scurried in a panic, unable to bear the searing heat.
"Stop! That is enough!" Candle Nine Nethers shouted. Within his eyes, the years began to flow like a river and time danced in an incessant, backward loop; he intended to use his authority over time to heal Gonggong and Ju Mang.
"The Law of Time... do you truly believe you are the only one who commands it?" Ling Xiao's eyes flickered with a sharp light, and he also unleashed the Law of Time. Instantly, the entire local space-time collapsed into a state of pure chaos, with various threads of time interlacing and knotting.
Candle Nine Nethers' expression changed drastically, his gaze filled with a profound disbelief. Ling Xiao's Law of Time was actually not a shred weaker than his own.
In that moment of the Witch's astonishment, Ling Xiao became an unstoppable force. With his full power unleashed, he struck repeatedly, crushing the remaining Ancestral Witches into the waves.
"Run!"
Candle Nine Nethers roared, fully activating his Law of Time to its limit. Qiang Liang, Houtu, and the other Ancestral Witches who still possessed the strength to move dragged their fallen companions and fled frantically from the battlefield.
Ling Xiao did not bother to give chase. He flew directly to the side of the Grand Void Mirror, utilizing the Space Law to smelt the surrounding Void Realm, and grabbed the Mirror in a single, decisive motion. This time, there was no one left to stop him.
Having successfully collected the Grand Void Mirror, Ling Xiao flickered and reappeared beside Dijun and Tai Yi. He reached out and grabbed the Hongmeng Cauldron, intending to forcefully suppress and eliminate Ao Zhan and the other Dragon Clan experts.
By now, Ao Zhan was in a truly miserable state. He had never expected the Golden Crow to be this terrifyingly fierce. He had entered the fray intending to pick up some scraps from the aftermath, but instead, he was now staring at the impending loss of his own life.
It came without warning, and without any time for preparation.
Just as Ao Zhan was engulfed by despair, the sea surface suddenly surged upward. A gargantuan Dragon head poked out from the water, carrying the crushing weight of the vicissitudes of time—a presence that felt as if all of eternity were an empty vessel before it.
The Aura it radiated was significantly more powerful than Ao Zhan's, saturated with a very ancient, primal scent. In its eyes were the etched marks of countless passing eons.
Ao Zhan was instantly flooded with joy, shouting in the depths of his heart that he had been saved!
"Fellow Daoist Golden Crow... Ao Zhan has taken a wrong step. Please, spare him this once," the old Dragon spoke. Atop the massive Dragon's head stood a shimmering phantom of an Innate Dao Body—the image of an old man with flowing white hair and a long beard.
Ling Xiao looked the old Dragon over with a look of genuine interest. "And who might you be? Candle Dragon? Or perhaps the Ancestral Dragon himself?"
He could sense the true depth of the old Dragon's strength; though the creature appeared aged and fragile, the vast power coiled within its body was definitely not something a mere Ao Zhan could hope to compare to.
This brand of grand, ancient power was something only Dragons of the first, ancestral generation could ever possess.
"That identity is no longer important; it is all a part of the distant past. Fellow Daoist Golden Crow, would you be willing to give me Face and bring this conflict to an end here?"
The old Dragon wore a gentle smile on his Face, appearing very relaxed, with a confidence that radiated from deep within. His weathered gaze carefully sized up Ling Xiao as he continued:
"If I am not mistaken... this is merely a Clone of yours, is it not, Fellow Daoist?"