Of course, not everyone was blindly optimistic.
The Demon Ancestor continued to confront the Heavenly Emperor from a distance, keeping each other in check, but both simultaneously observed the movements of the Lord of Greed and Han Xuanji.
"It's up to you, Fellow Daoist Han..."
The Heavenly Emperor said silently in his heart.
He also had no idea of Han Xuanji's true strength, but since Han Xuanji hadn't left, he must have a chance of winning.
"Hmph... this Xuantian Dao Venerable does have some confidence."
Within the Demon Ancestor's pitch-black, pupil-less eyes, Han Xuanji's figure was reflected.
"Using the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm to weaken Tao... quite a clever calculation. It seems this youth cannot be underestimated either."
He felt little sympathy for the Lord of Greed's setbacks; instead, there was a cold "as expected" quality to his gaze.
The more the Lord of Greed was thwarted, the angrier he would become, and the harder he would fight, better testing Han Xuanji's full hand and depleting the strength of both Han Xuanji and the Immortal Realm for him.
"However... a 'grave'? He certainly talks big."
The Demon Ancestor sneered inwardly.
Although the Lord of Greed was suppressed, his Foundation at the fourth layer of Limitless Primordial remained, making him far from an easy opponent.
If Han Xuanji truly thought he could secure a victory simply by relying on the home-field advantage, he would likely suffer a great loss.
"This seat shall see what other trump cards you have... ideally, both sides will suffer."
The Demon Ancestor thought to himself.
He quietly adjusted the forces of the Demon Race, preparing for the critical moment—whether to deal with the Heavenly Emperor who might intervene or to "harvest" the battlefield where both sides might be injured—to ensure he would be the ultimate winner.
Inside the Lingxiao Palace, some experienced and prudent immortals, or those who already harbored doubts about Han Xuanji, furrowed their brows again after the initial surprise.
"Are the Great Heavenly Venerable's words... perhaps too boastful?"
An Emperor who commanded the authority of the stars still looked solemn, gazing at the Lord of Greed in the light screen, who remained terrifyingly powerful even while suppressed.
"That is a Chaos Demon God who has devoured worlds! Even if suppressed by the Immortal Realm, his strength is likely still above that of the Great Heavenly Venerable. To provoke the opponent like this, if..."
"Perhaps the Great Heavenly Venerable truly has a trump card we are unaware of?"
Emperor Yisheng said musingly; though he was also excited, as a general leading troops, he valued practicality more.
"His protective grand Formation's power is not inferior to our Heavenly Court's, which shows that the Great Heavenly Venerable's mastery of Formations and layouts is unfathomable.
From what I see... there should truly be a chance of victory?"
Other immortals whispered privately with a hint of doubt:
"Both are Limitless Primordial! How long has it been since the Great Heavenly Venerable ascended?"
"I wonder if His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor can lend a hand..."
While everyone had their own thoughts.
On the other side, the Lord of Greed was furious upon hearing Han Xuanji's words.
"Arrogant!"
"A mere junior, how dare you speak such bold words! When this seat was devouring worlds, you were still being nurtured in some unknown corner of the Chaos!"
The Lord of Greed's voice was filled with the rage of being slighted; he couldn't see through Han Xuanji's Origins, but he assumed he was nothing more than a Chaos creature. Yet, there was a trace of shock and doubt in his voice that even he was unwilling to admit.
Because he did feel that something was wrong; since stepping into the Immortal Realm, the rejection and suppression from the entire world followed him like a shadow, but what made him even more uneasy deep down was a sense of threat.
From Han Xuanji, for some reason, he felt a sliver of fear.
That was an emotion that hadn't appeared in him for countless years.
"The Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm... the Immortal Ancestor's legacy... and that strange dao-rhythm on this kid..."
The Lord of Greed's countless greedy eyes flickered wildly, locking onto the small but eyesore-like figure atop the Xuantian Dao Palace.
Han Xuanji's composure gave him a sense of irritation from losing control.
"Hmph! Blustering! This seat shall see what you can do to me!"
The Lord of Greed no longer hesitated, his figure completely squeezing into the Immortal Realm.
His originally massive figure seemed to shrink slightly, yet it was still countless zhang tall. His shadow covered hundreds of millions of miles, casting a gloom over the entire Xuantian Dao Domain and seemingly severing the connection with the power of the Myriad Stars.
He decided to crush this ignorant junior with thunderous momentum and devour his Dao Fruit.
He no longer wasted breath and summoned his life-bound treasure; a pot-shaped phantom suddenly condensed in the sky.
The body of the pot displayed an absolute darkness that devoured all colors, and the mouth of the pot swirled with a force that could draw in Major Thousand Worlds and the ten thousand Laws, turning them into the purest nourishment.
Just a hint of its power being revealed caused countless people to feel panic.
Li Taiqing and the others felt as if they couldn't even stand and were about to be completely sucked into the pot, but fortunately, Xiao Hong stepped in to block this powerful suction.
The living beings of the entire Xuantian Dao Domain felt even more despair; such power was beyond anything they could imagine.
After all, who could have imagined that a mere pot would seem to absorb the entire world?
"Junior! Enter my treasure pot and become my nourishment!"
The Lord of Greed roared, his eyes full of ferocity.
The treasure pot suddenly tilted, its mouth aimed at Han Xuanji, and a terrifying suction that surpassed all energy and even began to pull at the Karma of fate erupted.
Above the Xuantian Dao Domain, space completely vanished, as if turning into a bottomless abyss connected to the Origin of Greed, threatening to swallow Han Xuanji along with the continent beneath him, the Dao Palace behind him, and even the entire Thirty-Three Heavens.
Countless immortals witnessed this scene, their minds nearly collapsing.
Lingxu Heavenly Palace.
The various Peak Masters were also watching this scene, their hearts filled with extreme tension; no one knew if Han Xuanji could handle all of this.
If it weren't for their weak strength, they would have gone up to assist no matter what.
Zixiao Peak, within the Cloud Mirage Dao Arena.
Yunmiao Immortal Venerable was deeply worried.
The power of that treasure pot exceeded his understanding of "Magic Treasures"; it was the manifestation of the Great Dao of Greed, a violent application of Limitless power.
"Good luck... my disciple."
Yunmiao Immortal Venerable said silently in his heart.
Beside him, many of Yunmiao Immortal Venerable's disciples were also filled with mixed emotions.
One of them was shocked: "Is this for real?"
Zhou Li never expected that after his Ascension, the famous Demon-Slaying Sword Venerable would have already become a Supreme Celestial Venerable. This speed made him doubt himself.
He had always thought he had some great secret and didn't dare to be ostentatious.
In fact, not only the Cultivators and ancient immortals of the Immortal Realm, but even the Heavenly Emperor felt his heart skip a beat with nervousness. However, he remained calm and composed on the surface, appearing to trust Han Xuanji completely.
The Demon Ancestor, looking on as if watching a play, spoke up:
"Hmph, when this junior dies, I wonder if you can continue to maintain this facade?"
"It remains to be seen who will emerge victorious."
The Heavenly Emperor responded calmly, looking confident.
This appearance also restored some confidence to the countless Cultivators of the Immortal Realm.
At this very moment.
Facing this world-swallowing strike, Han Xuanji only slightly raised his eyes.
"The pot is good, but unfortunately, the person using it... is too crude."
His voice was flat, as if he were critiquing a clumsy piece of handicraft rather than a world-destroying ultimate move.
Before his voice had even faded, a flash of clear light appeared behind his head, and a simple, ancient long banner quietly emerged.
The banner incorporated Han Xuanji's own Chaos Limitless true intent, displaying the mysterious scene of the beginning of Chaos and the evolution of the ten thousand Daos. The banner pole seemed to possess the power to prop up the heavens, and as the tail of the banner drifted, it seemed able to demarcate the Chaos. This was the xuantian banner!
"Xuantian sets the order; ten thousand Laws cannot invade."
Han Xuanji shouted softly, and the xuantian banner moved without wind, shaking gently.
A force of "order" and "stability," seemingly originating from the root of the Great Dao, spread out silently.
The violent, extreme devouring force triggered by the Treasure Pot of Greed was like crashing into an insurmountable dam before this power. Its momentum suddenly stalled, and the Great Dao suction that pulled at all things was seemingly smoothed over by an invisible hand, dissipating into nothingness!