As the purple mist roiled, the Spinal Sword slithered past the Dragon Scale Armor like a living thing. The moment it twisted into Xu Yunfan’s flesh, a blinding golden light burst from his right fingertips.

The first of the Pure Yang Three Forms, "Burning Sea," detonated from within his very flesh. Blazing Sword Qi transformed into nine fire dragons that surged back up the Spinal Sword, incinerating the Empress’s sword-wielding right arm to charcoal.

The Empress shrieked, her Purple Gold Pill vibrating frantically within her chest. Gushing True Blood, mingled with regenerating flesh, surged forth. From the stump of her severed arm, three scale-covered tentacles erupted and lashed toward Xu Yunfan’s face.

"You monster."

Xu Yunfan sneered.

On his left arm, the demonic purple markings had crept like a spiderweb to his collarbone, yet they were held at bay, unable to advance another inch under the suppression of his Ten Extremes True Qi.

Within his flesh, True Qi raged like a torrential river, forcibly driving back the purple mist that had been eroding his very marrow. It finally coalesced in his palm into a single, venomous Purple Bead that pulsed with an eerie light.

The purple mist churned within, its deadly poison desperate to escape, but he kept it firmly sealed, unable to break free!

The Empress’s pupils contracted as towering waves of shock crashed through her mind.

’She had never imagined that someone in this world could use such a domineering method to forcibly expel the purple poison from their body!’

The sheer depth of his Ten Extremes True Qi was like an abyss, and the pressure of it alone made her breath catch in her throat.

"This... How is this possible?!"

Her fingertips trembled slightly, and the purple glow on the Spinal Sword dimmed for an instant.

Seeing his chance, Xu Yunfan crushed the Purple Bead. A cloud of poison billowed back toward the Empress’s face, and as her vision was obscured, he unleashed the second form of the Pure Yang Sword Technique: "Sky Splitting Vault."

It was as if a golden fissure had been torn between heaven and earth.

Xu Yunfan formed a sword with his fingers. His Ten Extremes True Qi, compressed to the absolute limit at his fingertips, formed a three-foot-long Pure Yang Sword Gang that descended with mountain-cleaving force.

The Empress frantically tried to block with her tentacles, but the Sword Gang sliced through them as if they were rotten wood. Its remaining power struck her squarely in the torso.

The Purple Gold Pill flared in response. True Blood gushed from within her like a spring, solidifying around her waist into a crude suit of Flesh Armor.

"True Blood?"

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow. "I almost forgot. Your Royal Family possesses True Blood, capable of regenerating flesh."

The power of True Blood was originally a Cultivation path from the Northern Daqian Dynasty, which used the Essence Blood of Demon Fiends to temper one’s body, cultivate a vicious aura, and become a member of the bloodline aristocracy.

The True Blood found within the Great Zhou, however, was entirely different.

It originated from the extraordinary essence that coalesced within the bodies of their ancestors upon ascending to the Land Immortal Realm, and it had been passed down through the bloodline for generations.

However, worn down by the ages, the True Blood of the present day was incredibly diluted, possessing less than a tenth of its original power. The True Blood lineage of some great clans was nearly broken, with only a faint trace of its former Spiritual nature remaining.

The Sword Gang penetrated three inches before being stopped. The Empress grinned ferociously. "My True Blood is endless! You—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Xu Yunfan had already closed in on her.

The purple markings on his left arm suddenly shattered. His Ten Extremes True Qi activated its "Absorption" effect, devouring the corrosive power entirely and feeding it back into his own reserves.

Then, with a grasp of his right hand, the dissipating Pure Yang Sword Gang reconverged, enveloping his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace and transforming it into a solid Red Gold Giant Sword.

This was the third form: "Demon Suppression."

Ancient proverbs inscribed by the Taoist Sect’s Ancestral Master Chunyang materialized on the blade, each stroke radiating the majestic power of the heavens used to suppress evil.

"True Blood? It’s nothing more than fuel!"

With a thunderous roar, Xu Yunfan thrust the giant sword through the Empress’s chest. The power of the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace erupted, pinning her to the Dragon-Embossed Stone Pillar in the center of the Martial Arts Arena.

The instant the Sword Gang touched her Purple Gold Pill, the Empress’s body swelled grotesquely. Her True Blood proliferated out of control, transforming her into a monster thirty feet tall.

Her head was still human, but her body extended segment by segment like a centipede, each segment sprouting a maw that spewed corrosive purple mist.

Xu Yunfan was so shaken by the sight that he couldn’t help but stumble back several steps before catching himself.

The Empress’s rapid transformation reminded him of the old monk back in Beiye City, the one in the Thousand Buddha Temple who served as a Tributor to the Three-headed Power Awakening Bodhisattva in his quest for a Divine Weapon.

Xu Yunfan brought his palms together. Ten vortexes of True Qi manifested around him, completely devouring and refining the purple mist.

He strode through the air, each step shattering the ground tiles in a thirty-foot radius below.

The monster slashed at him with its hundred legs, but he neither dodged nor evaded, instead merging the three forms of the Pure Yang Sword Technique into one.

The fire dragons of "Burning Sea" entwined the blade, the piercing intent of "Sky Splitting Vault" tore through its carapace, and the proverbs of "Demon Suppression" locked onto the Purple Gold Pill.

The giant sword suddenly multiplied into a thousand blades that rained down, riddling the monster until it looked like a sieve.

The Empress’s head let out an inhuman howl as her Purple Gold Pill gave a loud CRACK. The Demon Qi that leaked out was instantly burned into wisps of green smoke by the Pure Yang Sword Qi.

In its death throes, the monster swept its tail with enough force to scatter an army, sending half of the Martial Arts Arena flying.

Xu Yunfan snorted, pouring his Ten Extremes True Qi into his right leg. Using his leg as a hammer, he stomped down with "Mountain Collapse," a move from the Eight Desolates Dragon Fall Hammer Technique.

The shockwave erupting from the sole of his foot crashed down like a falling star, crushing the monster’s lower body into pulp.

The Empress’s True Blood tried to re-form, but Xu Yunfan had already raised his twin hammers. His Ten Extremes True Qi began to draw in Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi from all directions, like a great whale swallowing the sea.

Within the Empress’s mangled remains, the True Blood churned and the flesh twisted like a living creature, attempting once more to reassemble.

But would Xu Yunfan give her a chance to breathe?

He held his twin hammers high as his Ten Extremes True Qi swept out like a raging tidal wave. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi trembled in response, gathering above the Martial Arts Arena into a vortex visible to the naked eye.

"Bind!"

Following the thunderous shout, nine brilliant, golden-flamed chains suddenly appeared from the void, piercing the Empress’s monstrous remains like spears of Celestial Punishment.

The chains were inscribed with ancient Dao Patterns, every line flowing with the radiant, heavenly might of Pure Yang True Gang. Xu Yunfan had forged them using the Wonderful Technique of Qi Cultivation and Transformation, fusing his power with the distant might of the Magic Altar from the Luotian Grand Sacrifice atop Qingwei Mountain, thousands of miles away.

The golden flames instantly flared, turning the Empress’s remains into a human-shaped torch.

A shrill scream echoed from within the inferno. Under the searing heat of the Pure Yang True Gang, the fractured Purple Gold Pill began to crackle and break apart, leaking wisps of Celestial Demon Purple Qi that were instantly incinerated into green smoke by the golden flames.

The Empress’s head twisted in the fire. "I am the Mandate of Heav—"

"Annoying."

Xu Yunfan pointed, and a final strand of Pure Yang Sword Qi shot through the center of her forehead.

The Purple Gold Pill completely shattered. The Demon Qi was burned away, and her remains turned to charcoal.

The Empress’s charred remains collapsed to the ground. With a loud CLANG, the Spinal Sword embedded itself in the cracked Dragon-Embossed Stone Pillar.

Amidst the embers, the Spinal Sword hummed incessantly, half of its length buried in the stone.

"That old witch..."

Staring at the pile of charred flesh on the ground, Xu Yunfan slowly straightened up and exhaled a long breath. A glint flickered in his eyes. ’I only just used my Ten Extremes True Qi, and I didn’t even exceed eighty percent of my strength. I wasn’t even close to using my full power.’

’Now that the Empress is dead and I’ve reached the Peak of the Ninth Realm... I wonder if I’ll be able to break through my bottleneck and reach the Land Immortal Realm if I undergo the baptism of Profound Yellow Qi again?’

As this thought crossed his mind, the entire Jade Capital City began to tremble, as if a great dragon were stirring deep beneath the earth.

The sky suddenly darkened. Six Profound Yellow Qi Pillars, each as thick as a mountain, erupted from the ground of the Great Zhou Six Dao Core Prefectures. Tearing through the clouds like frantic dragons, they surged toward the Black Tortoise Martial Arts Arena.

He tilted his head up slightly, his gaze as sharp as a torch, and stared directly at the nine Profound Yellow Qi Pillars that pierced the heavens and shook the earth.