Xu Yunfan shook his head slightly. ’Mituo Temple’s Vajra Indestructible Body and Yijing Marrow Cleansing Skill are both marvelous techniques, but the temple focuses more on cultivating the True Intent of Buddhist Dharma. Its monks can make great vows to temper their will, seek a Heart Spirit Vajra, and attain the state of an Arhat—in other words, the Land Immortal Realm.’

’The eastward spread of the Buddhist Sect must be the great vow of some old fellow from Mituo Temple.’

Early the next morning, leaden clouds hung low over Jade Capital City, as if the very sky was pressing down on the thousand-year-old Imperial City.

The Spirit Suppressing Jade Array surrounding the Martial Arts Arena had been shattered by the aftershocks of Xu Yunfan’s fierce battle the day before. Though traces of the Ministry of Industry’s overnight repairs remained, they couldn’t conceal the feeling of violent, tattered ruin.

Xu Yunfan glanced at the arena from a distance, then leaped deep into the Great Zhou Imperial Court. When he finally stepped onto the Martial Arts Arena in the rear, the green bricks beneath his feet cracked without a sound.

His gaze swept over the empty viewing stands. There was no ambush from the Five Great Sects, no Iron Armor from the Imperial Guard, and even the officials from the Observatory had vanished without a trace.

Only at the far end of the Martial Arts Arena, a stooped figure leaning on a Bone Staff stood amidst the morning mist.

Behind the Martial Arts Arena, the complex of Imperial City buildings that should have been resplendent in gold and jade now appeared as dim and desolate as a ghostly realm.

Withered vines crawled over the vermilion-lacquered pillars, ashen moss coated the glazed tiles, and even the nine-tiered, dragon-patterned imperial path—a symbol of the sovereign’s majesty—was fractured with a web of fissures.

A glint appeared in Xu Yunfan’s eyes. He could see clearly that this decay wasn’t the work of time but the result of some sinister Cultivation Technique that had drained the Vitality from the Earth Vein.

"My Imperial Palace. Is it not a beautiful sight?"

A hoarse voice drifted out of the mist.

The Empress slowly raised her head. Her white hair hung like withered grass, and two murky eyes were embedded in her wrinkled face. Only the smear of scarlet rouge at the corners of her lips held a remnant of her past ruthlessness.

The bright yellow Dragon Robe hung loosely on her frame, and her exposed wrists were a grayish-blue, like those of a desiccated corpse.

"Just you?"

Xu Yunfan studied the Empress for a long moment, never having imagined she would be a decrepit old crone who looked as if she could drop dead at any second. The image of the Empress from the books of his past life shattered instantly.

His fingertips traced the patterns around the dragon’s maw on his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace.

He sensed that there were truly no other living things for hundreds of feet around—not even a sparrow.

The Bone Staff struck the ground with a THUD. The Empress sneered, "Did you really take me for some street-performing monkey?"

Her rotten-flesh-like cheeks trembled as she spoke, looking as if they might flake off, but she paid it no mind. "Back when I used this Dragon Devouring and Life-Devouring Technique to sacrifice three hundred members of the Royal Family, your grandfather was still grubbing for food in the dirt."

The tip of his mace scraped across the green flagstones, kicking up a shower of sparks. Xu Yunfan simply nodded, his expression unchanged. "Is that all for your last words, Old Witch?"

"You ignorant brat! A commoner by birth, yet so arrogant and conceited! You have no idea of your own insignificance!"

Her murky old eyes narrowed to slits as she stared at the Ten Extremes True Qi beginning to ripple around Xu Yunfan.

"You are my subject. You ought to be my strength, yet you rebel against me. That is treason."

"Treason?"

Xu Yunfan chuckled. "You really think too highly of yourself. The world is consumed by the flames of war, and I’d say you’re responsible for eighty percent of it. Eighty percent of the people have risen up in rebellion, and for that, you can take ninety percent of the credit."

The moment his words landed, the Empress erupted. The Purple Gold Pill embedded in the tip of her Bone Staff burst with a blinding light.

Her stooped body snapped straight in an instant. Dark golden True Qi surged from beneath her decaying skin, transforming into nine ferocious dragons that coiled around her.

The Nine Dragon Prison-Suppression Skill, a secret art of the Great Zhou Royal Family.

Xu Yunfan narrowed his eyes. He recalled his detailed conversation with Li Haomiao, who had mentioned that the Empress’s Martial Arts was an Ultimate Skill created by the Grand Ancestor of the Great Zhou. It was cultivated using Dragon Qi, and no one outside the Royal Family—specifically, an Emperor’s Son—could even begin to learn it.

The Empress’s first strike tore through the air.

As the Bone Staff swung down, the nine streams of draconic True Qi twisted into a raging torrent, pulverizing every flagstone in its path.

Xu Yunfan blocked with a horizontal swing of his mace. Potent Ten Extremes True Qi erupted from him, fueling the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace’s crimson flames as they crashed against the Dragon Qi. The resulting shockwave instantly blasted outward, shearing clean through all the Spirit-Suppressing Jade Pillars at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.

"Interesting."

Xu Yunfan took three steps back to disperse the force, only to discover that Ice Crystals had formed on his mace.

His gaze fell upon the Bone Staff in the Empress’s hand.

"What is that weapon?"

The Bone Staff was clearly crafted from a human leg bone, and it possessed a malevolent aura that could freeze True Qi.

The Empress’s withered fingers slowly caressed the dark golden patterns on the Bone Staff’s surface, a cold sneer pulling at her decaying lips. "This is the ’Celestial Pillar Bone’ of the Grand Ancestor of the Great Zhou. When he entered his final nirvana, his very skeleton was tougher than any Divine Weapon. I am merely putting it to good use."

Xu Yunfan remarked with a sigh, "How utterly sacrilegious. Digging up your own ancestor’s grave... Oh, wait. You’re not of the same blood, are you?"

The Empress’s assault was relentless. The shadow of her staff fell like a torrential downpour, each strike accompanied by a draconic roar.

Her aging body clearly couldn’t withstand such an explosive output of power, and blood began to seep from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Yet, her laughter only grew more frenzied. "Peasant! Do you know the meaning of the Emperor’s Martial Arts?"

The winds stirred by her staff changed abruptly. The nine streams of dark golden Dragon Qi began to devour one another, finally coalescing into a nearly tangible, massive purple-gold blade.

This was "Nine Five Nirvana," the ultimate killing blow of the Nine Dragon Prison-Suppression Skill, a move that required one to burn their own qi and blood to activate.

Xu Yunfan’s expression finally changed. In that critical moment, he unleashed the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Mace Technique to meet the attack head-on. The instant mace and staff collided, the entire Black Tortoise Martial Arts Arena collapsed, sinking thirty feet with a deafening BOOM!

Amidst the dust and smoke, the Empress staggered back. The front of her Dragon Robe had been shredded by the True Qi backlash, revealing a Purple Crystal Stone embedded in her chest. It was the very Celestial Demon Purple Gold Pill Dugu Jiu had told him about.

She gave a strange, chilling laugh. "Boy, don’t I remind you of all those old geezers you sucked dry?"

Xu Yunfan didn’t bother to reply. As he moved to press his attack, he saw an unnatural purple light flare within the Empress’s murky eyes.

The Purple Gold Pill trembled violently. Her shriveled body swelled as if being inflated, her white hair instantly turning a deep purple. Ghastly white barbs sprouted from the tip of her Bone Staff.

’Just as I thought...’

Xu Yunfan was already on guard, his Ten Extremes True Qi churning into a vortex within his meridians.

He had seen long ago that the Empress was no longer truly alive; she was relying entirely on that Purple Gold Pill to sustain herself. It was obvious she was now about to risk it all.

The Empress’s voice was no longer human; it sounded like millions of insects screeching in unison. "I will become a Celestial Demon if I must, just to drag you down to the grave with me!"

The next instant, the Purple Gold Pill shattered completely. A viscous purple mist shot out from every pore of her body, corroding everything it touched into a honeycomb of holes.

The Bone Staff twisted and deformed as if it were alive, finally transforming into a Spinal Sword covered in eyeball-like protrusions.

The purple mist shrouded half the Imperial City, and the Empress’s style of attack had completely transformed.

Each swing of the Spinal Sword left a viscous, purple-black trail in the air.

Caught off guard, Xu Yunfan was struck. For the first time, cracks appeared on his Dragon Scale Armor. The purple mist was actually devouring his Ten Extremes True Qi!

"Can your Absorption Demon Skill even compare to that of an Outer Heaven Demon?"

The Empress laughed wildly as the Spinal Sword suddenly went limp as a whip, coiling around Xu Yunfan’s left arm like a viper.

The purple mist surged into him at the point of contact, and in an instant, a spiderweb of purple lines crawled across his entire arm.

At this critical juncture, a smirk touched Xu Yunfan’s lips. He let the purple lines creep up to his neck, but his right hand suddenly formed the hand seal for the Pure Yang Three Forms—a Sword Technique taught to him by Bi Yuan.