The Black-and-White Empress truly hadn't anticipated such a dire situation, nor could she fathom how Lu could possibly turn the tide. Breaking out of this deadlock seemed almost impossible.

  The God-Demon Clan had mobilized the entire Elemental Realm to wage war. They had even manipulated countless rogue gods and demons to breach the human ancestral lands before turning their sights on the Five Phoenixes. For the Five Phoenixes, this was an existential crisis.

  In terms of raw power, the God-Demon Clan utterly outclassed the human race. Only if every race in the Primordial Starry Sky united might they stand a chance against them.

  But such unity was practically unthinkable.

  The God-Demon Clan already commanded numerous vassal races across the Primordial Starry Sky. The fact that those races weren't joining the assault on the Five Phoenixes was mercy enough.

  "For the Elemental Gods to launch such a brazen attack on the human ancestral lands without fearing the might of saints... there's only one explanation: a God-Demon Emperor is pulling the strings from the shadows."

  "As expected, with the end of an era approaching, chaos reigns."

  The Black-and-White Empress shook her head. Who knew how many lives would be lost this time?

  Yet this catastrophe had nothing to do with her. As one of the pinnacle existences in the Primordial Starry Sky, she had long grown accustomed to the cycle of life and death.

  Birth and death, endless reincarnation—everything would eventually return to its origin.

  Even if the Primordial Starry Sky fell silent, as long as chaos endured, vitality would one day flourish again.

  The Black-and-White Empress would not intervene. Even if the Five Phoenixes faced annihilation, unless a God Emperor made a move, she would never lift a finger.

  She had no reason to, and she couldn't.

  At most, she would take Zhulong with her—and perhaps Lu, if the opportunity arose.

  Everyone else was irrelevant to her.

  Call her cold or heartless if you will; this was simply her principle.

  She turned to glance at Zhulong, who sat cross-legged, black-and-white profound energies swirling around her as her strength surged rapidly.

  Having received the empress's inheritance, Zhulong's power was undergoing a brief but qualitative leap.

  After a moment's thought, the Black-and-White Empress raised her delicate hand and gently beckoned.

  In the next instant, a barrier isolated the Five Phoenixes from Buzhou Peak, completely enveloping the mountain.

  "No distractions from the outside world should interrupt your inheritance," she said softly.

  She would soon depart, so the inheritance she left for Zhulong could not be compromised.

  As for Zhulong herself, she remained oblivious to everything, fully immersed in the inheritance, her mind soaring through a vast starry sea.

  ...

  Atop the Great Snow Mountain.

  Kong Nanfei stood in tattered scholarly robes, his figure solitary against the wind. Behind him, three thousand Confucian scholars sat in silent meditation.

  All wore scholarly robes and blue headscarves, exuding an air of refined serenity.

  "Teacher, are we ready? It's time to set out," Meng Haoran said from behind him.

  Kong Nanfei's cultivation had reached the pinnacle of Ninth-Turn Golden Immortal, while Meng Haoran's had also advanced to the same realm. Together, they formed the backbone of the Haoran Sect.

  "This is a true battle for survival—far more perilous than any before."

  "As Confucian scholars, we have no right to retreat in the face of such calamity. With our righteous haoran qi, we shall restore clarity to the heavens and earth."

  Kong Nanfei laughed boldly, his voice echoing as the snow on the mountain seemed to melt away.

  One by one, the Haoran Sect disciples rose, their robes fluttering and headscarves dancing in the wind. Chanting the Song of Righteousness, they formed ranks like an army and soared into the sky.

  In the Demon Royal Court, the Golden Crow Emperor rallied every demon clan member. He knew ordinary demons would be of little use in this war, but defeat meant extinction for all.

  Thus, he mobilized every powerhouse, every Demon Emperor and Demon Saint.

  "Though we demons are not human, the Five Phoenixes are our shared home."

  "In the past, we warred against the Witch Clan, but now... our true enemy is the God-Demon Clan!"

  Transformed into human form, radiant golden light haloing his body, the Golden Crow Emperor's voice boomed across the court.

  "War!"

  Roars erupted from every demon as they brandished their weapons, their resolve unbreakable.

  Warships thundered into the void as the Demon Royal Court's elites boarded and departed for the Primordial Starry Sky.

  Meanwhile, the Witch Clan needed few words. The Twelve Heavenly Witches led their forces straight into the cosmos— for them, action spoke louder than anything.

  Under Gu Mangran's command, the Sea Clan mobilized as well.

  This was a total mobilization sweeping the entire Five Phoenixes.

  Lu Jiulian led the human immortals, while Tantai Xuan commanded the underworld armies...

  All forces stood ready.

  Though internal rivalries existed within the Five Phoenixes, with a common enemy at the gates, unity prevailed.

  High in the heavens, Old He's figure flickered.

  "As long as we quasi-saints still draw breath, there's no need for you all to throw your lives away recklessly. If the Five Phoenixes truly fall, then fight to the death."

  "The human race... fears no war!"

  "We would rather die than yield!"

  Old He declared.

  Across the Five Phoenixes' starry sky, every powerhouse roared in defiance.

  Without lingering, Old He vanished into the Void Abyss.

  This was the other passage into the Five Phoenixes, long sealed by Tonggu Daoist.

  But such seals always left vulnerabilities—if searched carefully, flaws could be found.

  Vigilance was essential, which was why Tonggu had stationed Old He here.

  Old He sat before the sealed passage, drawing a deep breath.

  To be safe, he would guard this place.

  The battle at the Ninth Heaven passage relied mainly on defensive formations, but combat was inevitable. Old He hadn't wanted to come, but this location was no less critical.

  If the interior fell, the consequences would be catastrophic.

  As his primordial spirit swept outward, it soon brushed over the star where the Immortal Array Tower stood. A flicker of hope lingered in his heart, wishing for some sign of activity.

  But the tower remained silent, shrouded in deathly stillness.

  The tension felt like waiting for the school bell while barely starting an exam.

  Old He sighed. Deciphering a saint-level killing array so quickly was indeed far harder than imagined.

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  Could the human race survive this tribulation?

  His gaze drifted to the three Beast Ancestor statues.

  The humans had finally acquired three—enough to fuel their rise, nurturing more Heavenly Emperors and even quasi-saints.

  Yet the God-Demon Clan couldn't allow it. They refused to let the humans grow strong.

  Old He slowly closed his eyes.

  Memories surfaced: Xiaoyao Zi, Lei Hongfeng, and Yue Feng's final stand.

  "One day, the human race will rise to true power and usher in the golden age you dreamed of!"

  He murmured.

  ...

  On the Ninth Heaven battlefield.

  The fighting was utterly brutal.

  To the God-Demon Clan, rogue gods and demons were expendable—chaos birthed them endlessly, so their deaths meant nothing.

  The elite gods and demons from the Elemental Realms, however, were not treated as mere fodder to wear down human formations.

  Even with the Fire Elemental God fallen, the survivors in the Fire Realm remained elites. Though used as cannon fodder now, they ranked below the rogues in priority.

  Flesh tore and blood sprayed endlessly.

  The Starry Chaos Array was a defensive formation, one of the humans' trump cards. Regrettably, it wasn't a true saint-level killing array, so its offensive power fell short.

  Yet "short" was relative—against Elemental Gods or Heavenly God-tier foes. Against Immortal or Dao-tier gods and demons, it dominated.

  Blood and bones littered the starry void.

  The pale immortal clouds seemed stained crimson. In that moment, countless Immortal-tier gods and demons became ash.

  Elder Xuan Cang remained expressionless, steadily channeling the array.

  He needed to buy time—for the formation masters back in the Five Phoenixes.

  The massed armies of the Elemental Realms watched coldly.

  The Elemental Gods' eyes sharpened.

  After a long stalemate, the Gold Elemental God halted the rogue assaults.

  It was enough. Further waste was unnecessary.

  Xuan Cang's energy was fluctuating—that alone met their goals.

  With a wave, the rogues nearly wept in relief, spared from suicidal charges.

  Human formations were renowned throughout the Primordial Starry Sky. Protected by the Starry Chaos Array, the Five Phoenixes were an impregnable fortress.

  "Send in the Heavenly God-tier forces," the Water Elemental God ordered coolly.

  "Continue draining Xuan Cang's spirit."

  First came the Heavenly God-tier from the Fire Realm, followed by those from the other four Elemental Realms.

  Each Heavenly God-tier equated to a quasi-saint.

  Despite heavy losses in the ancestral lands, over a hundred remained across the realms.

  Boom!

  Over a hundred Heavenly God-tier gods streaked across the void like meteors, threatening to shatter space itself.

  They arrived before the Starry Chaos Array.

  Tonggu Daoist opened his eyes, raising his hand. Space ripped open, forming a long sword of spatial fissures.

  "Hold on, Xuan Cang."

  "Old friends... it's our turn."

  The other four human quasi-saints laughed freely, rising from the formation.

  "It's been ages since these old bones saw action..."

  "Even if we fall, let it be in glory—a warrior's death and a quiet rest."

  Boom!

  The five human quasi-saints, Tonggu included, charged out laughing, meeting the nearly hundred Heavenly God-tier assailants.

  This was no even match.

  Yet the human quasi-saints' momentum never wavered.

  The Starry Chaos Array hummed, empowering all five.

  Their combat strength surged.

  With a palm strike, Tonggu grievously wounded a Heavenly God-tier...

  Weakened enemies, empowered allies—the battle deadlocked.

  ...

  The four Elemental Gods observed calmly.

  They took no risks; the Fire Elemental God's fate lingered in memory.

  None wished to die first—death meant their realm's ruin, or worse, puppetdom under the Gold Elemental God.

  Something none could tolerate.

  "Where could the Gold Source, Fire Source, and Wood Source Beast Ancestor statues be? They weren't in the ancestral lands or Hunyuan Immortal Domain..."

  "Very likely in this newborn immortal-martial world..."

  "We'll confirm with the statues we hold."

  The Gold Elemental God spoke, a thought sparking.

  The others agreed without objection.

  They hadn't attacked unprepared; they came with Beast Ancestor statues in tow.

  Only the Water Source and Earth Source remained in their possession.

  They hadn't deployed them in the Hunyuan domain, unaware the others were missing from the ancestral lands.

  Had they known, they would have targeted the newborn world from the start.

  Now, they sought confirmation—to prevent hidden resurgence.

  With statues, the resilient humans could rise swiftly.

  Failing to crush them utterly meant perpetual threat.

  Boom!

  The Water Elemental God's eyes flashed; azure light surged around her.

  Waters churned in the void as a miniature Kun Realm Beast swam forth.

  Under her will, it opened its maw.

  A colossal statue emerged from its belly realm.

  A beam of Water Source profound energy shot out, rippling like sound waves.

  In the Five Phoenixes' starry sky, the Gold Source, Fire Source, and Wood Source planets' statues reacted, emitting faint glows.

  Subtle, yet enough.

  Excitement lit the Elemental Gods' faces.

  "As expected—the Beast Ancestor statues are indeed in this newborn world..."

  "These humans are bold, leaving such treasures here instead of securing them in the ancestral lands..."

  The Water Elemental God said, thrilled.

  The Gold Elemental God's eyes darkened—his Gold Source statue...

  "Attack!"

  At his command, Heavenly God-tier from the Gold Realm struck—chains lashing toward the array.

  Tonggu and the four quasi-saints fought like madmen.

  Blood-soaked despite the array's boost, pressure mounted.

  Yet they held, buying precious time.

  ...

  The Earth Elemental God led an elite squad through the starry void: two Heavenly God-tier, ten powerful Dao-tier—the rest of his forces engaged frontally at Ninth Heaven.

  Using his innate divine ability, he sensed faint spatial fluctuations—subtle, easily overlooked without deliberate search.

  "Tonggu's handiwork... So there truly is another passage to the newborn world."

  His eyes narrowed.

  He could already picture tearing it open and rampaging within.

  With human quasi-saints tied at Ninth Heaven, the rear lay defenseless.

  One Elemental God plus elites—utter domination.

  The despair on those quasi-saints' faces fueled his excitement.

  "Found it."

  A sandy eye locked coordinates.

  The Earth Elemental God's mountainous form erupted with terrifying aura.

  Sand and stone coalesced behind him into a star-sized fist.

  He smashed it into the coordinates.

  Space exploded into chaos.

  In the Void Abyss.

  Old He, seated in concealment, unleashed his aura.

  "They really came!"

  Killing intent blazed.

  Thankfully Tonggu stationed him here—otherwise, breach would spell disaster.

  Old He rose, aged body radiating sky-piercing might.

  In the abyss, allied forces from the Five Phoenixes and ancestral lands tensed, battle will burning.

  All eyes fixed on the sealed passage.

  Creak...

  The long-closed passage tore open!

  Ancient Primordial aura flooded in.

  As it did, the massive sundial overhead contracted—the Time Array no longer encompassing the full starry sky and Ninth Heaven.

  It shrank to cover only the Five Phoenixes continent.

  In the Immortal Array Tower.

  The formation masters slumped, defeated...

  Many ceased work, clutching hair in frustration and regret.

  Xuan Yue stared blankly at the torn passage.

  "The God-Demons have come... and I haven't cracked the saint killing array."

  "It's too hard... far too hard."

  "Master, your disciple has failed..."

  Tears streamed down her face. She had tried—mobilized every human formation master—yet failure.

  Li Sansui watched the masters' despair, sighing softly.

  After years in the tower, she understood their burden.

  "Is success truly impossible?"

  She murmured.

  She had glanced at the rubric once—her primordial spirit nearly shattered.

  These masters were stronger than her, yet helpless.

  The truth: not weakness, but the array's insurmountable difficulty.

  Like mathematicians facing an unsolvable millennial problem in mere days—lost, regretful, hopeless.

  Yet...

  Li Sansui turned toward the continent.

  Perhaps Young Master Lu could...

  Though dubbed the Five Phoenixes' top formation master—apprenticed to Qi Liujia, talent monstrous, surpassing her master—she knew the true genius was always him.

  That peerless Young Master Lu.

  Amid others' despair, she clung to hope.

  "No... we need more time. Just a little more."

  Xuan Yue wiped tears, hair disheveled.

  Her primordial spirit enveloped the tower, carrying it into the Time Array's protected continent.

  It crashed down.

  Many masters gave up.

  But the obsessive ones persisted.

  Until the final moment—hope for a miracle.

  At the Void Abyss passage.

  A sandy palm ripped it wider.

  Old He faced the Earth Elemental God, gravity filling his eyes.

  An Elemental God himself had found and breached it.

  Old He felt dread—his strength inferior to Tonggu or Xuan Cang. Facing this foe alone was daunting.

  Yet no choice—fight.

  "You..."

  "Didn't you flee the ancestral lands? A deserter..."

  The Earth Elemental God mocked.

  Old He's eyes burned with killing intent.

  "Deserter?"

  "The human race has no deserters."

  He said icily.

  Boom!

  The Earth Elemental God crossed arms; rolling sands surged, forming a massive maw engulfing Old He.

  "You can't stop me."

  He sneered.

  Earth Source Domain!

  Old He's face flushed crimson.

  Too late—trapped.

  He had to break free.

  Pinned here, the passage exposed—with two Heavenly God-tier underlings!

  Unimaginable slaughter if they entered.

  And so it unfolded.

  "Enter the passage. Leave none alive."

  The Earth Elemental God's cold command echoed.

  The elites—two Heavenly God-tier, ten Dao-tier—charged, laughter arrogant.

  The passage shuddered.

  Soon, the two Heavenly God-tier tore through.

  Terrifying quasi-saint-level auras flooded the abyss.

  Faces paled across the allied forces.

  How to resist Heavenly God-tier invaders?

  ...

  On the lake heart island.

  In the pavilion.

  Lu slowly opened his eyes.

  Ripples spread across the water. Dazed, he rubbed his temples.

  Headache.

  The saint killing array was too complex, too profound...

  The chess game grew harder, pressure mounting.

  He paused not from being stumped, but sensing Heavenly God-tier auras in the Five Phoenixes' starry sky.

  "The Void Abyss passage?"

  He realized.

  His gaze fell on the black-and-white beast sleeping on his lap.

  He pinched it awake.

  "Go block them."

  The beast's eyes widened.

  It was the mighty Black-and-White Beast—not some thug!

  Lu offered no explanation. Normally he might coax it, but time was scarce.

  He raised his hand; a miniature five-colored wrath lotus appeared.

  Expressionless, he slowly clenched—as if to crush it.

  The beast shuddered, outraged.

  Threats? Shameless!

  What about room and board?

  No perks—now errands as muscle?

  It roared inwardly.

  Yet outwardly, it cooed cutely.

  "Whimper!"

  It shot off like light, teleporting toward the Void Abyss.

  The great Black-and-White Beast yielded again!

  Its fury demanded release!

  Watching it charge angrily, Lu's lips curved.

  He summoned the Five Phoenix Bow.

  "Time's tight—might as well loose one arrow."

  Seated on the Thousand-Bladed Chair, he drew the bow full.

  A five-colored arrow infused with innate purple qi spiraled forth, whistling away.

  At the Void Abyss passage.

  The two Heavenly God-tier laughed maniacally, reveling in anticipated massacre—humans dying beneath them.

  Suddenly.

  One's laughter cut short by a heaven-shaking roar.

  The Black-and-White Beast, mountain-huge, swiped a claw!

  The strike seemed to shatter the firmament.

  The pair never expected quasi-saint-level resistance in the Five Phoenixes!

  "The Black-and-White Beast! That chaos creature's pet from the Boundary Ruins?!"

  "Why is it here?!"

  Boom!

  The attack collapsed void in a massive crater.

  But the two remained unfazed.

  Strong as the beast was, it equated to an ordinary quasi-saint. Against the empress herself, they'd flee instantly.

  Against merely the beast? Fightable.

  Without her fame, it held little deterrence.

  The beast sensed their lack of fear.

  Insulted.

  Enraged!

  Yet space warped.

  The clawed Heavenly God-tier's face twisted in horror!

  A five-colored arrow, silent, trailed the beast.

  It pierced one's brow.

  Boom!

  The arrow detonated.

  The Heavenly God-tier shattered to pieces!

  Fresh into the Five Phoenixes...

  One Heavenly God-tier...

  Felled by Lu's opportunistic arrow!

  Dead!