Su Bai had long known that inside her dwelled a parasitic rat. There was no other reason—the Extermination of the Nether Alliance had expanded too rapidly, mixing the good with the bad. She had flagrantly acted out of self-interest, suppressing countless voices to forcibly rename the Extermination of the Nether Alliance as the Azure Emperor Divine Palace.
If it weren’t for the [Heavenly Sovereign Spirit-Sealing Formation], which replaced heaven itself by monitoring myriad cultivators, combined with the opening of the secret formation arts for Core Formation previously strictly controlled in the Immortal Alliance era to rally the vast majority of cultivators, her position would have been far less stable—everyone would have been calling for her downfall.
What is done in secret will fail when words are leaked.
In fact, half a year ago, Su Bai had already broken through to the Divine Transformation realm. She did not undergo the Spirit Transformation tribulation, nor did she activate the 129,600 grotto-world formations scattered throughout Zhongzhou. Instead, she quietly chose the Hundred Flowers Valley of the Three Mountains Sect, newly expanded, to silently draw the marrow of heaven and earth, silently refine it, and silently possess the power of the Divine Transformation Celestial Venerable.
Because she did not follow the orthodox cultivation path of the Longsheng Realm, this Divine Transformation Celestial Venerable was somewhat irregular, with average strength—but no matter how weak, a Divine Transformation is still a Divine Transformation.
As long as she could wipe out this rebellious faction in one fell swoop with no worries behind, at worst she could use the [Supreme Primordial Classic] to dissolve her cultivation, then reactivate the grotto-world formations, achieving a perfect Divine Transformation and a half-step Harmonizing Dao!!
At this moment, when Su Bai revealed her Divine Transformation cultivation, the Azure Emperor’s chamber fell into complete silence.
“This is impossible!” Xiong Jia, a Nascent Soul cultivator, exclaimed. “To prove oneself a Celestial Venerable, one must connect heaven and earth and pass through the Spirit Transformation tribulation. For nearly a hundred years, no trace of heaven and earth’s anomaly has appeared!”
“Remember the day the Xuanming Celestial Venerable and Five Elements Celestial Venerable fell in the same place, two suns in the sky, nine suns unceasing!! Heaven and earth sent them off!!”
“You absolutely cannot be a Divine Transformation Celestial Venerable!!”
“This woman is a demoness, deceiving everyone! Attack together!” a Nascent Soul sword cultivator snorted coldly, raising his sharp sword, a fierce killing intent surging directly toward Su Bai’s brow.
Su Bai’s eyelids lifted slightly, her gaze flashing like lightning. She clapped her palm in midair. “Boom!” A verdant thunderbolt shot forth from between her fingers, striking the Nascent Soul’s body directly.
In an instant, he was blown apart, reduced to dust, his Nascent Soul dissipated along with it.
A dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch who had lived for two thousand years was thus casually annihilated by Su Bai, leaving not a single bone behind.
The righteous heroes, the Nine Nether Demon Cultivators, and the remnants of the aquatic tribes all trembled in fear, their eyes wide in disbelief.
She—was she really a Divine Transformation Celestial Venerable?!!
“Ha ha ha!!” Su Bai laughed wildly toward the sky, eyes shining with exhilarating delight. “A mere simulated NPC dares to contend with me? In this lifetime, I possess not only the Three Treasures of the Human Sovereign, but am also a supremely noble second-run player. The trend of heaven and earth has long been in my grasp…”
“Hm?!”
Her words suddenly stopped. The Empress frowned, pressing her jade hand lightly to her fragrant forehead. A strong unease rose in her heart. Something was off. When did she become so arrogant? This was unlike herself.
No matter, no matter—the priority was to utterly destroy this rebellious faction, especially that ungrateful scoundrel who dared betray and slay his master!
Hmph! Last life, because the power gained from sacrifice was short-lived, she failed to properly punish that scoundrel. This life, she would surely torment him thoroughly. After wiping out the other rebels, she would give him the Yin Transformation Pill alone, then… heh heh heh!!
Thinking this, Su Bai relaxed her hand, her gaze sweeping toward the center of the Nine Nether Demon Cultivators—but she did not see the man in the black robe holding the black spear.
Huh?
Where was Su Xiaohei?
Had he fled?
Impossible! That golden light formation could only be broken by a Divine Transformation. And the rest of the nine great generals under her banner outside still remained…
Something was wrong, very wrong…
Su Xiaohei had disappeared.
Neither the righteous heroes nor the Nine Nether Demon Cultivators noticed.
Recalling carefully, it seemed that since he stabbed her with that spear, he had vanished without a trace.
However, what Su Bai did not expect was that at the very moment she recalled the scene of Su Xiaohei stabbing her…
Something unexpected happened.
In her memory, the stone spearhead that had pierced through her Dantian suddenly stopped. Su Xiaohei slightly raised his head, his deep, abyssal eyes staring intently at her.
In that instant.
Even a self-proclaimed noble second-run player, Su Bai felt a chill rise in her heart!
In her memory, that was supposed to be an established fact that had already occurred. Yet now, it was changing!
According to her original memory, he should have pierced her Dantian with one thrust—not stopped to stare!
What kind of joke was this?!
Could her memory have been tampered with?!?
N-No way!
Could the other party have infiltrated her memories?!
Even more impossible!
Suddenly, Su Bai seemed to find the key. A dark-colored precious mirror emerged from the void, directly entering her sea of consciousness.
……
“Zhuo, I didn’t expect this little bastard to be a mole!! And a Nine Nether Su Lord at that!!”
“Hahaha! It worked! Finally achieved Divine Transformation, heh heh heh! Keep it quiet for now, test my little pet. Hopefully, I didn’t raise it wrong.”
“Got things today, back to official business~~”
Countless pieces of information poured in densely, transforming into a series of images: a black-robed Daoist rushing forward toward the core, with fleeting, blurry images rapidly flashing before his eyes like passing lights.
Booming!!!
Like a mountain collapsing and sea crashing, terrifying and violent cosmic waves surged, overturning thousands of miles of earth, flinging ancient mountains, overturning sun, moon, and stars, churning the eight directions of the heavens.
“Have I been discovered?” the black-robed Daoist stopped and whispered to himself.
If one looked closely, they would notice his right hand clenched tightly, as if holding something important.
Suddenly, he was violently swept away by the waves.
Then, something strange happened.
Su Bai’s memory returned to normal. The black spear pierced through her lower abdomen, and at the center of the original Nine Nether Demon Cultivators, an extra person appeared. Just as no one noticed his disappearance, no one noticed his arrival.
Except for Su Bai!
Black Daoist robe, wielding a black spear, handsome features, right hand grasping at something invisible—if it wasn’t Su Xiaohei, then who else?
“Divine Transformation?” Su Bai frowned at such a strange ability.
Su Xiaohei shook his head.
“Fifth realm, Feathered Ascension, but I prefer calling it Corpse-Release Immortal.”
“Corpse-Release Immortal?”
Su Bai’s interest was piqued. She gestured for the [Divine Emperor Soldiers] and the nine great generals who had just entered the chamber not to rush the battle.
Everyone was busy with Harmonizing Dao and Longevity. Then you come out with ‘Feathered Ascension’ and ‘Corpse-Release Immortal’—you can’t help but make people curious.
Su Xiaohei seemed in no hurry to fight either. He softly began to chant.
“Refining the body with the Great Yin, mastering the Nine Revolutions Pill. Form dignified and solemn, complexion like spiritual clouds. Ascending to the Supreme Ultimate Palace, recorded as an immortal…
“…Death through the Great Yin, temporarily passing three barriers… Supreme One guards the corpse, three souls manage bones, seven spirits attend the flesh…”
“…Fearless of the Great Sun burning the body, corpse-release and feathered ascension on the path to immortality!”
The lingering resonance drifted through the air like a tangible presence. Among both righteous and demonic cultivators, many showed expressions of enchantment, their minds clear and refreshed, immersed in it as if enlightened.
“Interesting,” Su Bai clapped her hands in praise. “This method is indeed a new cultivation path distinct from the traditional Harmonizing Dao of Longevity.”
“I cultivated by extracting the marrow of heaven and earth, an alternative Divine Transformation. You perform Feathered Ascension and Corpse-Release Immortal. Both wield the power of Divine Transformation Celestial Venerables. It seems this match, and even the surname of the next great cultivation era, will be decided between us.”
Su Xiaohei nodded. “Indeed.”
“Master is right. The biggest truth is having the strongest fist.”
“And today, I’ll show Master my fist!!”