Pingyang Heaven, bordering the Void Heaven among the Nine Heavens, had gained the advantage in location, timing, and harmony for this Grand Tournament.

  Many experts from high-martial worlds within Pingyang Heaven who had failed internal selection gathered at the border to watch the Void Heaven’s matches.

  Yet no one had expected the tournament to descend into such chaos.

  Terrifying auras crisscrossed the Void Heaven, stirring the sea-like laws into murderous storms.

  BOOM!

  Experts fled the Void Heaven in fury.

  The omnipresent laws forced them to restrain their power, lest they attract the blades of law and be shredded—flesh and primordial spirit alike.

  Countless cultivators watching from Pingyang Heaven were horrified.

  What had happened?

  Why were so many powerhouses suddenly fleeing?

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Once back in Pingyang Heaven, they no longer hid their auras.

  “Lu Ping’an of the Five Phoenixes—the Upper Realm envoy is dead! You will die too!”

  “The Blood-Robed General has returned! The Void Heaven will change masters! Everyone he killed back then will come for his debt!”

  “Hahaha… The Blood-Robed General was hiding in the Five Phoenixes! That world must be destroyed! It will be destroyed!”

  In Pingyang Heaven, Ascended Immortals no longer concealed their presence.

  Their bodies towered ten thousand zhang, radiating brilliant light.

  Like true immortals standing above the heavens.

  Countless cultivators in Pingyang Heaven were terrified!

  What?

  The Blood-Robed General had returned?

  Those unaware asked others.

  Soon, the name of the ancient killer, the Blood-Robed General, spread once more.

  But beyond his return, the most shocking news was—the Upper Realm envoy was dead!

  These fleeing experts were Ascended Immortals from Fifth-grade worlds. Though not Saint Lords, their strength was undeniable.

  They would not lie!

  The Upper Realm envoy had truly perished!

  The Heaven and Earth Grand Tournament had fallen into chaos!

  BOOM!

  Some roared in fury.

  But the Void Heaven seemed to come alive. Law-blades slashed through.

  The experts turned and fled, streaks of light vanishing into the distance.

  In Pingyang Heaven, cultivators trembled.

  In moments, news of the tournament’s collapse spread like wildfire.

  …

  PFFT!

  Du Longyang’s aura pierced the stars. Black robes whipped as his pitch-black Martial Emperor Spear thrust forth, carving a ravine in the earth.

  Young Master Tianxu, Ni Chunqiu, and Jiang Li formed the blood-colored war god. Ye Shoudao swung his single arm—myriad blade lights shredding the seasons!

  The sole Tribulation Transcendent from North Wind turned ashen.

  He had become everyone’s target!

  Terrifying attacks rained down—he was nearly blown apart!

  North Wind was only Eighth-grade. They had no military formation like the Five Phoenixes’ monsters to leapfrog realms.

  Blood stained the battlefield…

  North Wind’s team battle contestants surrendered very sensibly.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  Jiang Li’s strikes cratered the blood-colored ground.

  Du Longyang planted his spear. Ye Shoudao chuckled, blade light fading.

  The Five Phoenixes won the second match effortlessly.

  “Not bad. The Five Phoenixes truly have magnanimous hearts. Once surrender is declared, no further strikes…”

  Above the heavens—

  Lu Fan leaned on the Thousand-Blade Chair, one hand propping his chin, the other toying with the Dao Derivation Mirror. He smiled lazily.

  His words drifted out, pointed and mocking.

  Clearly aimed at the late Star-Moon Saint Lord.

  “Five Phoenixes versus North Wind—team battle, Five Phoenixes victory.”

  Lu Fan announced.

  His primordial spirit surged. The mirror stripped ten strands from North Wind and transferred them to the Five Phoenixes.

  Beyond the Five Phoenixes, aboard North Wind’s spirit vessel—

  Their Saint Lord slammed the railing in grief-stricken.

  They had once mocked the Five Phoenixes.

  Now they were the joke.

  But he could only swallow the loss.

  With the Blood-Robed General backing the Five Phoenixes and the unfathomable Lu Ping’an—he dared not act.

  “Victory!”

  On the blood-colored battlefield, the moment the Five Phoenixes won—

  A hundred thousand iron riders clashed armor and roared.

  Hot-blooded cries soared to the heavens.

  Jiang Li, Du Longyang, and the others descended the plaza.

  Cultivators and troops cheered as if to overturn the sky.

  They welcomed the victors—those who fought for the Five Phoenixes!

  Lu Fan smiled.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  His eyes gleamed.

  For the individual battles, Overlord took the stage. Lu Fan enthusiastically “helped” North Wind stake another ten strands.

  North Wind’s Saint Lord nearly charged out in rage.

  But reason held him back.

  Compared to the team battle, individual battles were even less suspense-free.

  Overlord Xiang Shaoyun—the genius who had comprehended third-sequence Dao Intent, capable of slaying Transcendents, rivaling Upper Realm heaven-defying prodigies.

  How could North Wind compare?

  Overlord fought two rounds, ending both with two axe swings.

  Hummm!

  Individual battles concluded. North Wind’s twenty staked strands transferred to the Five Phoenixes.

  The Five Phoenixes gained another twenty strands.

  Total inscribed dao essence: 79!

  BOOM!

  Above the heavens, thunderclouds gathered again—though weaker this time.

  Who was it?

  Beyond the Five Phoenixes, experts’ expressions turned complex.

  This dao essence… came too easily, didn’t it?

  Lu Fan faced this tribulation as if it were nothing.

  The tribulation brewed for a day before descending.

  As it fell—

  Lu Fan’s primordial spirit entered the mirror.

  “No need to mind me. The Heaven and Earth Grand Tournament continues…”

  He said.

  Light flowed from the mirror. Every expert beyond the Five Phoenixes locked their gazes on it.

  Finally, the mirror projected an image.

  A crab-like small world.

  “Pingyang Heaven, Eighth-grade Heavenly Crab Small World.”

  Aboard warships and spirit vessels, many eyes lit up.

  Saint Master Tuoba’s gaze flickered.

  “Heavenly Crab is arguably the weakest world in this tournament.”

  If Tuoba’s world faced them, they could easily earn dao essence.

  But…

  The next moment, Tuoba’s face froze.

  Not just him—every expert beyond the Five Phoenixes stiffened.

  Even the most composed Saint Lords couldn’t help cursing!

  The second beam projected a familiar world.

  The Five Phoenixes.

  “Shameless!”

  “Utterly shameless! Three matches in a row for the Five Phoenixes—why are the last two against the weakest Eighth-grade worlds?!”

  “Rigged! Absolutely rigged!”

  Experts roared in fury.

  Worlds like Heavenly Crab were rare treasures in the tournament—free dao essence, just like the early Five Phoenixes.

  BOOM!

  Above the heavens, tribulation struck instantly.

  The white-robed youth seated in the Thousand-Blade Chair rolled up his sleeve and flicked the armrest.

  Phoenix Feather Sword soared!

  A true phoenix seemed to spread its wings.

  A true phoenix seemed to spread its wings.

  A shrill phoenix cry tore the sky!

  The tribulation was annihilated.

  It even slashed into the clouds, cleaving them apart!

  Another domineering way to transcend tribulation.

  The clouds dispersed.

  Phoenix Feather Sword disassembled into nine swords, floating beside Lu Fan.

  He toyed with the Dao Derivation Mirror, looking puzzled at the crowd.

  “Any objections?”

  The noisy voices quickly quieted.

  Those who had raged about rigging shut their mouths.

  They finally understood—Lu Fan taking over the tournament was solely to farm dao essence for the Five Phoenixes, to drain the mirror dry!

  They were speechless.

  Earlier they had mocked the Five Phoenixes.

  Now they could no longer laugh.

  “Hmph… Once the Eighth-grade worlds are eliminated, the Five Phoenixes will face Seventh- and Sixth-grade worlds again!”

  “When Upper Realm experts arrive, everything the Five Phoenixes swallowed will be spat back out!”

  “Even if they win everything, ten victories advance to the finals—then they face Upper Realm teams! The Five Phoenixes struggled against Seventh-grade. Against Upper Realm teams? Certain defeat!”

  Experts fumed.

  They had never encountered such shamelessness.

  The grand Heaven and Earth Grand Tournament had become a dao essence farm for the Five Phoenixes.

  They were furious and jealous!

  Lu Fan ignored their emotions, enthusiastically staking twenty strands for Heavenly Crab.

  Heavenly Crab’s Saint Lord could only bleed in silence.

  The battle’s outcome was no surprise. Heavenly Crab, even weaker than North Wind, was crushed.

  The Five Phoenixes gained another twenty strands!

  Total: 99!

  Tribulation came again. Lu Fan cleaved it effortlessly.

  Many were speechless.

  Was this tribulation fake?

  The earlier one had been terrifying, stirring law-blades across the Void Heaven.

  Now it was like a drizzle.

  With 99 strands, the Five Phoenixes teetered on ascension.

  100 strands to reach Seventh-grade.

  Lu Fan was in no rush. After shattering the tribulation, he selected another weak Eighth-grade world.

  He had originally planned to brute-force shatter the mirror, but it was a high-grade Heaven-tier artifact…

  Too tough. He couldn’t break it yet.

  So he settled for boiling the frog slowly.

  After another victory…

  The Five Phoenixes ascended.

  119 strands—Seventh-grade!

  BOOM!

  Lu Fan’s mind was instantly drawn to the origin.

  In the vortex origin zone, the galaxy-like origin slowly rotated.

  Strands of dao essence inscribed themselves on the three origin orbs.

  The origin grew stronger.

  Infinite white light filled Lu Fan’s eyes.

  Origin qi stormed.

  Above the Five Phoenixes, radiant clouds bloomed. Countless lights fell. Dense origin qi gathered in the clouds, forming auroras of five colors.

  Then—origin rain poured down in a vast deluge.

  Spiritual qi grew denser. The Five Phoenixes’ land, mountains, lakes, and seas expanded visibly.

  Many beings bathed in the rain and broke through bottlenecks.

  Even the Great Dao’s sound seemed to resonate, as if gods and demons played zithers, filling the air with enlightenment of the Dao.

  Before the Dao Stele in the Ninth Prison Secret Realm—

  Many cultivators comprehended Dao Intent as if flowers bloomed in their minds.

  The dao essence earned through the tournament now fed back to the Five Phoenixes’ cultivators.

  Under the origin rain—

  Cultivators across the Five Phoenixes broke through madly!

  On the blood-colored battlefield—

  Many sat cross-legged as energy rumbled within them.

  The overall cultivation level of the Five Phoenixes leapt forward in quality.

  Beyond the Five Phoenixes—

  Aboard warships, spirit vessels, and beast backs, experts watched the ascension with complex, envious expressions.

  How difficult was ascension for a high-martial world—they knew best.

  Why did they participate in the tournament?

  To gamble origin dao essence for profit, to increase their world’s foundation.

  But even participating was difficult and risky.

  Yet the Five Phoenixes soared on the wind, fattening absurdly!

  But no world could replicate this path.

  Even Fifth-grade worlds couldn’t.

  Perhaps only the Upper Realm, who originally controlled the tournament, could.

  The Five Phoenixes had ascended.

  Lu Fan, seated in the Thousand-Blade Chair, was in a good mood.

  A thought.

  He checked the rewards for reaching Qi Refinement Layer 7.

  After entering Layer 7, Lu Fan no longer knew how strong he was. The explosive growth in primordial spirit and Chaos Energy made his power hard to gauge.

  “A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. Congratulations, Host, on reaching Qi Refinement Layer 7. Continue striving—life never stops, nor does Qi Refinement.”

  “Congratulations, Host, on obtaining rewards: Indestructible Demon Body (Incomplete) ×1, Heavenly Immortal Wine ×1 pot, Random Divine Herb Seed ×1…”

  Lu Fan looked at the rewards and paused.

  As Qi Refinement layers increased, rewards grew simpler.

  Now only three items—even oddities appeared.

  Indestructible Demon Body wasn’t surprising—he had received fragments before. He only wondered how many pieces remained.

  Random divine herb seed—no surprise.

  But Heavenly Immortal Wine?

  Lu Fan laughed helplessly.

  Had the system become a gourmet system?

  A thought.

  A gilded wine pot floated before him. Just the pot alone seemed extraordinary.

  Carved with myriad divine beasts.

  Lu Fan’s eyes narrowed, feeling vast, mysterious aura.

  But he didn’t drink. He was still hosting the tournament. If the wine had side effects, things could go wrong.

  So he decided to wait until everything was over, return to Lakeheart Island, lean on the railing, and savor the Heavenly Immortal Wine.

  He stored the gilded pot.

  His mind returned.

  119 strands inscribed—Seventh-grade.

  From Seventh to Sixth required one thousand strands—a significant leap.

  If Lu Fan could drain all the origin dao essence from the mirror, the Five Phoenixes might reach Sixth-grade.

  But that was ideal—unlikely.

  The rules stated ten victories advanced to the finals.

  The Five Phoenixes couldn’t fight endlessly in the preliminaries.

  Thus, rapid ascension would be difficult in the short term.

  So Lu Fan lost interest in continuing to host.

  A thought. He transmitted to Qi Liujia.

  On the blood-colored battlefield, Qi Liujia vanished in confusion, reappearing beside Lu Fan.

  “I give you control of the Dao Derivation Mirror. Host the rest of the tournament…”

  “Do as you see fit. Just make sure the Five Phoenixes profit.”

  Lu Fan said.

  Qi Liujia nodded, still dazed.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”

  Lu Fan, white robes fluttering, patted Qi Liujia’s shoulder.

  The next moment—lightning arcs flashed. He vanished.

  Aboard the warships around the Five Phoenixes—

  Seeing Lu Fan hand tournament control to Qi Liujia, a mere Unity expert, many nearly exploded with rage.

  Lu Ping’an truly looked down on them!

  But with Lu Fan behind Qi Liujia, many swallowed their anger.

  Qi Liujia continued hosting.

  He calmed down.

  His primordial spirit entered the mirror, arranging matchups based on the remaining worlds.

  For the next match, he did not schedule the Five Phoenixes.

  He pitted two Sixth-grade worlds against each other.

  This stunned the experts beyond the Five Phoenixes.

  They had thought they would be ignored.

  Now they too had a chance to fight. Qi Liujia’s hosting… wasn’t bad.

  On the blood-colored battlefield—

  The new emperor led his officials back to the Great Xuan imperial capital.

  Though the tournament was fascinating, he still had a dynasty to govern.

  Not just the emperor—many cultivators left as well.

  Many sensed the Five Phoenixes’ remaining matches would be easy, so they returned to cultivate.

  Cultivation was, after all, the priority.

  Nie Changqing took Nie Shuang away.

  Sima Qingshan left. Bai Qingniao carried her chicks and drifted home.

  With no danger left in the tournament, they returned to the Five Phoenixes to cultivate.

  …

  Pingyang Heaven, Little Thunderclap Buddha World.

  Endless Buddhist light shone.

  With the Great Venerable trapped in the Void Heaven, the Transcendent left guarding the Buddha World felt constant pressure.

  Suddenly—

  The venerable striking the wooden fish in the ancient Buddha tower trembled.

  He looked up.

  Outside the tower, terrifying winds howled.

  Above the Little Thunderclap Buddha World, the sky was torn open like an axe had split it in two—brutal, unreasonable.

  The Transcendent’s body shook.

  The wooden fish before him exploded into splinters.

  His pupils filled with terror.

  Through the massive rift—

  He saw only neat, endless ranks of murderous armies, killing intent chilling the soul!