The City Lord of Sword City wished to kill Bai Di.
And he, Chong Shun, was the sacrificial victim.
Chong Shun was well aware of Bai Di's might.
If Chen Fan were to seek a fight with Bai Di, it would be a suicidal endeavor.
But he couldn't avoid it.
He was merely a first-tier Emperor Venerable, and not even a top-tier one at that.
Though both first-tier and third-tier belonged to the lower ranks, he knew he was no match for Chen Fan.
Certain death.
"Why me?" Chong Shun couldn't comprehend.
Bai Di had so many Emperor Venerables under him, why choose me specifically?
"Oh, my apologies."
Chen Fan always displayed great magnanimity towards those about to die. "It's just because you were closest to me."
"..." Chong Shun.
Being close was a sin.
"So..."
His tone gradually turned cold. "You may die now."
Boom.
The Emperor's Palace was enveloped, and a sword of half-life and half-death rules descended.
A supremely dominant sword strike shattered Chong Shun's Emperor's Palace.
Rules annihilated.
"No..."
Chong Shun despaired.
The Life and Death Sword was too sharp; he resisted with all his might.
But it was useless, even his Emperor's Palace was shattered.
The Emperor's Palace represented rules. With the rules broken, could he rely on his physical body alone? He didn't practice the physical body path.
Chrrk.
The sword light fell, cleaving Chong Shun's body and soul.
It was logical and simple.
Rumble!
Chong Shun's Emperor's Palace was not large and had a singular attribute.
A single-attribute Emperor's Palace pursued an extreme path, vastly different from the Myriad Dao Emperor's Palace.
The most fundamental difference was its weakness.
"Hoo."
The Life and Death Realm, like a beast baring its fangs, devoured everything.
Chong Shun was the wind, and in the wind was a sword.
Even the weakest Emperor's Palace would condense primal energy.
These energies were injected into the Life and Death Realm, and a large star grew instantly.
Simultaneously, a sword-shaped star also absorbed power.
"Thank you, City Lord."
Excited voices emanated from within the Sword Star and the Wind Star.
This power was immensely beneficial to the Emperor's Palace.
Boom.
The fracture of rules was perceived by the Immortal Realm.
Rules dissipated, attempting to initiate the scene of heavens weeping blood, but Chen Fan casually erased it.
The will of the Immortal Realm?
Heh... he didn't take them seriously at all.
Others might not have sensed it, but the Immortal Realm's will certainly had. He wondered what its choice would be.
...
Just as Chen Fan had expected.
The death of Chong Shun was indeed sensed by the Immortal Realm's will.
"Bai Di's subordinate?"
In the River of Primal Chaos, the Immortal Realm's will opened its eyes.
It was the master of the River, the one who commanded it.
No tremor, however small, could escape its gaze.
It had sensed it.
Rising, it emerged from the River of Primal Chaos. At this moment, its gaze seemed to pierce through spatial barriers, observing the scene at the foot of Half-Emperor Mountain.
A Life and Death Emperor's Palace floated there, suspended in mid-air.
Its aura was concealed.
"Chen Fan?"
It recognized the power of the Life and Death Realm.
In the current Immortal Realm, he was the only one who wielded the power of the two extremes.
"Why is he at Bai Di Mountain? Didn't he say earlier that he intended to fight Huang Di?" the Immortal Realm's will mused.
News of his intention to fight Huang Di should have been known only to the Fishermen and a few others.
Yet the Immortal Realm's will knew, as did the Five Heavenly Emperors.
This implied that among those who had sought refuge in Sword City from the Fishermen's group, there was a traitor.
Much like the Son of Heaven, a hidden traitor.
"Heh."
A moment later, a smile of amusement bloomed on the Immortal Realm's will's face.
"Bai Di..."
It murmured to itself. "This is rather interesting. I wonder if he can truly kill Chen Fan."
The Immortal Realm's will was one of the Five Heavenly Emperors, a cooperative relationship.
Yet, each harbored their own hidden agendas.
From a previous conversation with a certain Heavenly Emperor, it understood.
None of these individuals were entirely benevolent.
"It wouldn't hurt to watch the show."
The Immortal Realm's will sat on the edge of the River of Primal Chaos, its gaze shifting between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent.
The battlefield was not confined to a single location; battles were erupting in both the East and West Continents.
Compared to the lackluster Western Continent battlefield, the East Continent was engaged in a brutal war.
"Kill."
The Great Dao collided around the foot of Azure Emperor Mountain.
The flames of war spread only at the foot of the mountain.
"Battle."
Overlord roared.
His physical body rumbled incessantly, locked in combat with a second-tier Emperor Venerable.
With the power of a first-tier Emperor Venerable, Overlord wrestled with a second-tier Emperor Venerable without yielding an inch.
The physical body path was invincible in close combat.
"Come."
On Overlord's fist, a pair of gauntlets appeared.
The gauntlets, covered in thorns, were akin to maces.
Boom.
Overlord fought in a frenzy.
With the gauntlets in hand, his combat power surged.
Pure physical strength began to counterattack his opponent.
"Hahaha."
Overlord's booming laughter was filled with mockery. "Chang Shan Gui, you second-tier Emperor Venerable are too weak, haha..."
Utter contempt.
Chang Shan Gui, a top-tier second-tier supreme, was currently being suppressed by Overlord.
He was enraged.
"You court death."
Chang Shan Gui roared and reached for the sky. "Ghost Realm, descend..."
Boom.
Chang Shan Gui's Emperor's Palace appeared.
It resembled a netherworld ghost realm, incomparably eerie.
Countless specters roamed along the Emperor's Palace walls, their fangs bared and mouths wide, radiating a chilling aura.
"Little ghost of the netherworld," Overlord scoffed.
Yet, deep within his pupils, a profound wariness lurked.
After all, it was the Emperor's Palace of a second-tier Emperor Venerable; no one dared to disregard it.
However, he was fearless.
"Kill."
His vital energy surged towards the heavens.
His fierce vital energy directly clashed with the swarming specters.
Under the scorching heat of his blood, the specters wailed and dissipated.
"Eh?"
Overlord was surprised.
Then, he laughed. "As expected of creatures of darkness, afraid of my hot blood, haha... Let's see what you have to fight me with, kill!"
Overlord laughed maniacally and charged forward.
And this was merely a corner of the battle.
The clash and slaughter between Emperor Venerables echoed throughout Azure Emperor Mountain.
Smoke filled the air, and the flames of war raged.
"Dong."
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the sky above Azure Emperor Mountain.
"Third-tier Emperor Venerable."
Everyone's faces grew solemn.
Third-tier, the peak of power.
Azure Emperor Palace had four third-tier supreme experts, and San Bi Emperor Venerable was one of them.
However, the figure that emerged now was not San Bi Emperor Venerable, but a young woman.
The woman smiled faintly, her smile beautiful.
But deep within that smile, there was a chilling sensation that made one's scalp tingle.
"Poison Scorpion."
The Esteemed One, who had remained uninvolved, spoke the woman's name as she approached step by step.
The name "Poison Scorpion" represented countless acts of mass slaughter.
She had forged her name through killing.
The woman tilted her head and looked at the Esteemed One. "Your aura is so unfamiliar. Who exactly are you?"
The Azure Emperor Palace had long searched for the Esteemed One's identity without success.
"Heh heh."
The Esteemed One calmed down, shaking his head with a smile.
"If you don't want to say, then so be it."
Poison Scorpion licked her crimson lips. "Once I kill you, I'll find out."
"Your opponent is not me," the Esteemed One replied, shaking his head.
"Oh?"
Poison Scorpion's beautiful eyebrows rose. "Do you have a third-tier Emperor Venerable under you?"
The Esteemed One did not respond. He produced a jade box.
Buzz.
The jade box opened, and a curved dragon horn automatically flew out.
The Ancestral Dragon Horn.