Chapter 426: Zongsheng Academy, The Sound of Heaven and Earth

The consecutive fall of two Transcendents was utterly shocking. In any major power, Transcendents are revered as ancestral figures. Even the Transcendent melee two years ago, a conflict unseen in a millennium, which crippled the entire Lingxiao Living Realm, only resulted in the loss of two or three Transcendents from each side.

Today, however, Transcendents from the Coffin Mountain Forbidden Zone and the Sacred Dark Family were utterly powerless against Chan Hai Guanwu, and the Demon Prince couldn't even intervene in time to save them.

Coffin Mountain is situated in the death zone between Coffin Prefecture and the Netherworld of the Departed. The Coffin Mountain Forbidden Zone has long remained elusive, and no one dares to provoke it.

Zuoqiu Xuanming, the Southern Realm's foremost expert, has repeatedly attempted to secretly investigate Coffin Mountain but failed to find any trace, thus daring not to act rashly. This is because, without absolute certainty of locating and eliminating all members of the Coffin Mountain Forbidden Zone, including Xu Fodu and An Xianjing, the retaliation from the Transcendents and Grand Elders would inflict an unendurable cost upon the Zuoqiu Clan.

For centuries, any genuine opportunity to weaken the Zuoqiu Clan would have seen its rivals eagerly providing covert support to Coffin Mountain. In essence, eliminating a Transcendent is an almost impossible feat. Martial cultivators at every level possess their unique methods of survival, their own spheres of influence, and the capacity for counter-deterrence. The interests and security of all forces are intricately interwoven; it's not a simple one-on-one dynamic. Rather, a single action can send ripples through the entire system, maintaining a delicate balance.

Today, however, all balance began to collapse, starting from Lingxiao City.

"Everyone," the Demon Prince declared, his gaze solemn, "let us leave the city and face the Heavenly Sovereign Mist." He observed Chan Hai Guanwu's formidable spiritual energy bolstering the ruined formation. He manifested three Immortal Gates, his armor erupting with four-colored light, and charged forward, fighting to buy time for the others to exit the city.

Despite Chan Hai Guanwu's immense power, he remained fearless, his battle intent soaring and his martial conviction unshakeable. For martial cultivators, one's spirit, energy, and vitality are paramount; they must possess the resolve to overcome all obstacles. Slaying Chan Hai Guanwu would elevate his spiritual presence to an unprecedented peak, allowing him to harness that fighting spirit to challenge the realm of a Martial Heavenly Sovereign.

Above them, Lord Lan, piloting the colossal yellow mud warship, was the first to charge towards the gaping hole in the formation directly above the Luan Terrace. Although the city's defensive formation had been severely damaged by Xian Min, Chan Hai Guanwu's formidable spiritual power, even when utilizing the remnants of the formation, made her combat ability terrifying. Only by exiting the city could they overcome this disadvantage.

Lady Ye ceased playing her zither. As she drove her carriage, a celestial cascade of characters accompanied her as she ascended diagonally, making the very air boil. "Within the city," she stated, "the Heavenly Sovereign Mist is aided by the formation and supported by all the city's martial cultivators. Even if we manage to slay her here, we will pay an enormous price. But once we are outside the city, Lord Lan and I will no longer be restricted, and she will be fighting alone. With this change in dynamics, in less than half an hour, we can reduce the former Heavenly Sovereign to dust, scattering her soul."

"Ye Qing," Chan Hai Guanwu's voice resonated from above the sea of characters, "the Grand Saint Academy Sea is a long journey from Lingxiao, and returning will be difficult. You might as well be buried here, in the Lingxiao Living Realm!"

The carriage curtain fluttered in the wind. Inside the carriage, the woman, who appeared to be in her thirties, was seated with an air of dignified elegance. A floral motif adorned her brow, and an ancient zither rested on her lap. She calmly looked up at Chan Hai Guanwu, who had now disengaged from the Demon Prince's entanglement. She and Chan Hai Guanwu were both prodigies from the same era. The fact that Chan Hai Guanwu remembered her name spoke volumes about her exceptional talent in her youth, marking her as one of the preeminent figures of her era in the vast Yingzhou.

"A thousand years ago, I would have believed such words from you!" she retorted. "But in your current state, any two of us—Lord Lan, His Highness the Crown Prince, Xian Min, or myself—can defeat you. Three of us would be enough to kill you, and with all four of us working together, we could slay you without taking any damage! Chan Hai Guanwu, do not lose yourself in past glories. Misjudging an opponent's strength might still leave you a chance to survive. But misjudging your own strength will lead to your demise, leaving you without even a burial ground."

From Lady Ye's brow, her Mind Realm unfurled, causing space to vibrate violently. A luminous sea of stars materialized before her, vast as the cosmos and resplendent as an ocean of divine blossoms. "Sound of Heaven and Earth: Monarchs and Ministers Resonate." With her fingers, she simultaneously plucked five zither strings. Five distinct forces—representing Sovereign, Minister, People, Affairs, and Objects—surged forth with the strings.

The Third Palace Master, a top-ten powerhouse in the Lingxiao Living Realm, was nonetheless completely suppressed by Lady Ye through the Luan Terrace formation, unable to swiftly activate the Grand Formation of the Nine Heavens. This demonstrated the terrifying extent of Lady Ye's spiritual power. The Five-Stringed Sound of Heaven and Earth, with irresistible force, tore through the Styx River Sword Qi unleashed by Chan Hai Guanwu. Her red-robed body erupted into a mist of blood, leaving behind only white bones, and even the Empty Nether Sword was sent flying.

"No! That wasn't her true body; it was an illusion!" Lady Ye exclaimed, her face suddenly paling. "I was hit by her spiritual attack and exploited!" Lady Ye's expression instantly changed as she recalled the myriad characters that had been floating in the air. The characters swirled back into her eyes. Only then did she realize that Chan Hai Guanwu was currently engaged in combat with the Demon Prince and Xian Min. The Five-Stringed Sound of Heaven and Earth she had just unleashed had struck the colossal yellow mud warship above, piercing its defenses and leaving five deep gouges.

Lord Lan, standing at the prow, wore a solemn expression. The sudden attack from Lady Ye had momentarily led him to suspect a defection within their ranks.

Below, the Demon Prince manifested three Immortal Gates, clashing fiercely with the Thunderstrike Jade as he steadily retreated towards the Luan Terrace. The supreme artifact, unleashing its full power, radiated immense energy. Only the extraordinary might of the three Immortal Gates and the Demon Prince's profound cultivation allowed them to barely hold it back. Furthermore, this was only possible because Chan Hai Guanwu had to divide her attention to contend with other Transcendents, preventing her from fully wielding the artifact.

The Second Palace Master was keenly aware that, unlike the others, she had no room for retreat. Today, her only path forward was to slay Chan Hai Guanwu and seize the Heavenly Elixir of the Other Shore. Therefore, she fully activated the Luan Terrace formation, sending thousands of runes blanketing the sky to press down on Chan Hai Guanwu, aiming to restrain the Thunderstrike Jade.

Chan Hai Guanwu cast a cold glance towards the Luan Terrace, then took a single step, traversing space to appear above the colossal yellow mud warship. Seizing the brief window when the yellow mud warship's defenses had been compromised by Lady Ye, Chan Hai Guanwu unleashed her full power, unleashing the Eight Slashes of the Styx River downwards. Behind her, the towering phantom of the Nether City flashed into existence, then vanished. Sword qi, like a waterfall from the Styx River, cascaded through the sky.

Confronted with this swordsmanship, capable of slaying Heavenly Sovereigns in the past, Lord Lan felt immense pressure. He raised his yellow mud lamp with both hands, proclaiming, "Divine Lamp Illuminates the Sea of Corpses!" A dim, yellow lamplight spread across a thousand miles of void. Within the light and shadow, an endless sea of corpses materialized, akin to the Netherworld engulfing the Immortal Plain of Cloud Sky.

With a tearing sound, the Styx River Sword Qi pierced through the light, causing the sea of corpses to disintegrate in vast swathes. Lord Lan, not daring to be grazed by the Empty Nether Sword, immediately abandoned the colossal yellow mud warship—a precious artifact—and executed an escape technique, vanishing into the sky. The Eight Slashes of the Styx River, once unleashed, were an invincible sword technique that he could not withstand alone. Even as a formidable overlord ruling dozens of prefectures in the Netherworld, he stood no chance.

Chan Hai Guanwu landed on the colossal yellow mud warship, then piloted it in a dive towards Lady Ye below. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Chih Luan and Li Longshu rapidly escaping towards the hole in the formation above. She ignored them.

Lady Ye's composure shifted slightly; she was no longer as placid as before. She unleashed the Five-Stringed Sound of Heaven and Earth once more, and the five zither strings in her hands warped the entire space, pulling it inwards. The Hundred Prisons Wind Chime flew from above Chan Hai Guanwu's head. Propelled by both Buddhist light and Azure Nether radiance, its bells rang out powerfully, making space tremble. Lady Ye's fingers, still gripping the five zither strings, began to bleed from the intense vibrations, and her spiritual power became chaotic. She dared not release her grip. If she did, in her current weakened state, the unleashed power of the zither strings would first inflict severe damage upon herself. This was the cruel reality of a spiritual power duel: the weaker side found itself invisibly suppressed, making it impossible to unleash their techniques.

Chih Luan and Li Longshu, who had fled halfway, saw Chan Hai Guanwu fully preoccupied with Lady Ye. Recognizing a rare opportunity, they exchanged glances. *Whoosh! Swish!* Both unleashed their strongest combat techniques and turned back. "No matter how powerful she is," one of them said, "she is still fighting alone. One strike from us will take half her life."

The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in Li Longshu's hand transformed into a towering giant, resembling a colossal Fiend Pine. Infused with the magnificent energy of seven artifacts, it descended like seven suspended stars, crashing down. "Heavenly Sovereign Phoenix Flame!" Chih Luan spewed forth the Southern Bright Lihuo. The Lihuo transformed into a hundred-zhang-wide river of flames, surging mightily towards Chan Hai Guanwu. Within this fiery river was a breath of Heavenly Sovereign Phoenix Flame from its mother, Flying Phoenix, capable of incinerating all life forms below the Martial Heavenly Sovereign realm.

Chan Hai Guanwu turned her head. Within her Ancestral Field, two Heavenly Elixirs of the Other Shore spun rapidly as she unleashed an endless Styx River with a single sword swing. The Styx River Sword Qi, with overwhelming force, cleaved the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, reducing its branches to splinters and its trunk to rot. Three of its seven artifacts shattered, the remaining four flying away into the distance, falling onto an immortal plain hundreds of miles away.

*Boom!* When the Styx River struck him, Li Longshu screamed as his body erupted into a mist of blood. All his protective artifacts shattered. Half his body reduced to bone, he was sent flying, crashing through the tattered light barrier of the city's defensive formation and plummeting outside the city. He lay motionless, his fate unknown. A mighty Transcendent, alive for two or three millennia, capable of founding a sect and establishing a powerful clan, proved unable to withstand a single sword strike from the Styx River.

Chan Hai Guanwu decisively ceased her attack on Lady Ye and instead surged towards Chih Luan. Spiritual flames erupted from her brow, colliding head-on with the oncoming river of Southern Bright Lihuo, as she rapidly closed the distance to Chih Luan. "A single breath of Heavenly Sovereign Phoenix Flame is not enough," Chan Hai Guanwu declared. Witnessing Chan Hai Guanwu completely ignore both the Southern Bright Lihuo and the Heavenly Sovereign Phoenix Flame, Chih Luan's expression drastically changed. It unfurled its wings, intending to rely on its superior speed to escape.

As Chan Hai Guanwu turned her attack to Li Longshu and Chih Luan, the spiritual pressure on Lady Ye lessened. She immediately released the Five Strings. *Whoosh! Whoosh...* Five layers of string-patterned light waves dispersed all energy between them and pursued Chan Hai Guanwu's retreating figure. Even the colossal yellow mud warship was sent flying by the string-patterned light waves.

Chan Hai Guanwu's long hair billowed, her killing intent fierce. She activated the Hundred Prisons Wind Chime, bracing to withstand the attack pursuing her from behind. She caught up to Chih Luan, incinerating it with spiritual flames erupting from her brow, causing it to shriek incessantly. Unable to escape, Chih Luan desperately summoned tens of thousands of artifacts to defend itself, but they instantly melted into golden droplets, raining down like liquid gold. Its body rapidly expanded, transforming into its massive Luan bird true form. Under the searing flames from Chan Hai Guanwu's brow, in just a few breaths, its feathers were entirely consumed, and its body transformed into a charred black mountain, plummeting from mid-air—its soul utterly annihilated.

Another Transcendent had fallen! The legend of the Phoenix birthing five Luans had endured for thousands of years. From this day forward, the legend of the Five Luans became a thing of the past, with only four remaining in the Demon Race.