Boom!
Perhaps it was but an instant—
Or perhaps several days had passed.
After that dizzying whirl of heaven and earth, Li Zhexian finally felt his feet touch solid ground.
Landing heavily, his stance still unsteady, he gathered his focus and steadied himself, then raised his gaze to take in his surroundings.
"This is…"
Before his eyes stretched a vast and eerie forest shrouded in sinister gloom.
The sky was blotted out by overlapping canopies of trees.
Their leaves were not the vibrant green of life, but a murky, clotted crimson—like dried, congealed blood.
Faint beams of light struggled through the gaps in the leaves, tinged with an ominous hue that cast the entire woodland in a deeper, haunting shadow.
Each towering tree did not grow straight toward the sun—
But twisted and gnarled upward, writhing as if in agony.
In the air, the scent of decay and blood mingled thickly.
Underfoot, the ground was sticky and sluggish. Looking down, Li Zhexian saw that his boots were mired in dark red sludge.
When he lifted his foot, long viscous strands clung stubbornly, stretching and breaking.
"The Evildemon Forest." The Snow Empress spoke softly, her tone indifferent.
Amid the oppressive darkness thick with corruption,
she hovered three feet above the ground,
her long gown of frost and snow billowing lightly,
flakes of white drifting about her — a presence cold, regal, otherworldly.
Li Zhexian let out a slow breath.
The Evildemon Forest—
separated by ten thousand miles from the Douluo Continent—
was the vastest forest on another continent.
Its ruler, the Evil-Eyed Tyrant, ranked second among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts,
its cultivation nearing eight hundred thousand years,
its nature violent and war-loving.
It had once crossed the sea—
to challenge both the Snow Empress and Di Tian.
The Snow Empress had fought it to a draw,
relying on the terrain of the Extreme North.
Di Tian had barely won,
but was grievously wounded by the creature's "Light of Time and Space,"
requiring a thousand years to recover.
Li Zhexian pressed his hand to the growling Little Yazi,
and suppressed the restless resonance of his Qinglian Sword,
which throbbed with inherited enmity.
He asked curiously:
"Does the Evildemon Forest have an Auspicious Beast as well?"
The Ice Empress replied:
"I told you before—"
"Every great land that nurtures countless Spirit Beasts will give birth to one exclusive Auspicious Beast."
"The Evildemon Forest is no exception."
The Snow Empress extended her slender hand.
The snow around her suddenly gathered toward her palm,
condensing into a crystalline blue sword of frost.
"The Auspicious Beast here is called the Yun Ji Bai Ze (Cloud Scroll White Marsh)."
"It comprehends all living emotions, knows the ways of spirits and gods, and can purify the corruption of its land."
"But, alas…"
"The Yun Ji Bai Ze was born in the wrong place."
"That old demon is filled with wrath and resentment. It loathes fate's restraint, curses the heavens for its bonds, and so—"
"Devoured the Bai Ze."
"Using the bloodline of the Auspicious Beast, it broke past the seven-hundred-thousand-year boundary."
At this, even Li Zhexian, calm as he was, couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
"The Evil-Eyed Tyrant… devoured the Auspicious Beast?!"
So that was it.
The Bai Ze was gone.
A land once blessed by fortune had fallen into corruption and filth.
This also explained why, despite being as vast as the Star Dou Great Forest,
the Evildemon Forest had only one Ferocious Beast among the Ten Greats.
With its Auspicious Beast dead,
its fortune was forever severed.
The Snow Empress raised her delicate hand,
and as the snow whirled and roared,
a glowing ice-blue scrolls materialized before Li Zhexian.
"I know you've reached a bottleneck and require a Spirit Beast to advance."
"The Evildemon Forest lies beyond my dominion of the Extreme North—so long as you act within Heaven's balance, I will not interfere."
"This scroll details the rarest of Spirit Beasts across the lands, particularly suited for Sword-type Martial Souls."
"Take little Yazi and find what you seek."
Li Zhexian accepted the ice-bound scroll—
its touch chilling to the bone.
"And you, Senior Snow Empress…?"
The Snow Empress and Ice Empress stood side by side,
their gazes fixed upon the sea of crimson leaves ahead —
a forest whose canopy stirred without wind.
Her voice was like breaking ice:
"The old demon already knows we are here."
"The grievance of that past invasion of the Extreme North —
shall be repaid today."
Before her voice faded—
"ROAR—!!"
A roar split the heavens,
carrying with it a psychic wave of crimson fury.
The ground shuddered.
Ancient trees splintered like twigs.
Spirit Beasts along the way burst apart into flesh and blood mist.
The terrifying spiritual shockwave surged straight toward Li Zhexian's position.
In unison, the Snow Empress and Ice Empress stepped forward.
A crystalline barrier of ice surged from the ground,
blocking the destructive onslaught in its entirety.
Rustle—
Rustle—
Snow began to fall across the sinister forest once more.
The Snow Empress and Ice Empress transformed into streaks of light, shooting straight into the depths of the forest.
"Li Zhexian—go hunt your Spirit Ring!"
"Understood!"
Li Zhexian seized the snarling, struggling Little Yazi in one motion and darted off in the opposite direction.
"Yiya!"
But the little Yazi suddenly leapt from his arms, landing heavily on the ground.
Its body swelled and expanded against the rushing wind—
in an instant, it had become a massive Spirit Beast several meters tall.
It looked like a white lion,
crystalline dragon horns sprouting from its head,
and a gleaming azure sword gripped in its jaws.
Li Zhexian instantly understood its intent and vaulted onto its back.
"ROAR!!"
The little Yazi's roar split the air.
Its body turned into a streak of white light,
tearing through the forest mists as it raced away from the heart of the Evildemon Forest.
"Truly worthy of a Slaughter Auspicious Beast!"
Wind howled across his face.
The scenery blurred into streaks of shadow and light.
Li Zhexian couldn't help but exclaim—
"This speed… it's nearly on par with the Yazi Sword Rift! "
After galloping for several miles,
Li Zhexian finally looked back—
Across the sky veiled in blood-red clouds,
a monstrous, terrifying creature was battling the Snow Empress and Ice Empress in a cataclysmic clash.
Even from a great distance,
he could still see countless gray, serpent-like tendrils—each stretching thousands of meters—
thrashing and coiling through the blood-soaked clouds.
The entire Evildemon Forest was now buried beneath blinding snow.
Even with his current spiritual power,
just glancing at the battle of those three peerless beasts made his mind spin and his vision blur.
"Little Yazi, let's go!"
"A battle of this level—"
"I can't interfere yet!"
"I still need to become stronger!"
...
Meanwhile—
Spirit Hall, Pope's Palace.
Bibi Dong sat high upon the throne.
Despite recent setbacks, not a trace of her imperial presence had faded.
Her cold, commanding voice resounded through the grand hall:
"Has the decree for the re-selection of the Seven Great Sects been announced to the continent?"
Below her,
a red-robed cardinal prostrated himself until his forehead touched the marble floor,
then replied reverently:
"Your Holiness, the entire continent is aware."
Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment before asking again:
"Any dissenting voices?"
Cold sweat gathered on the cardinal's brow. He stammered:
"But they are merely faithless wretches—ungrateful for the mercy Your Holiness has shown to all Spirit Masters."
"Those rabble have already been dealt with."
"Please be at ease, Your Holiness—the Grand Ceremony for the Reselection of the Seven Sects will proceed as scheduled!"
Bibi Dong said nothing.
From the shadows cast by her throne,
her elegant face was half-hidden—
but her purple eyes gleamed with a chilling, murderous light.
"Li Zhexian…"
Had her original plan succeeded—
The Spirit Hall's Hunting Operation would have annihilated both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan,
granting her yet another hundred-thousand-year SpiritRing.
The re-selection of the Seven Sects would then proceed unchallenged,
and none across the continent would dare voice opposition.
But after two consecutive failures,
the Spirit Hall's prestige had been diminished—ever so slightly.
"Hmph!"
A cold, venomous snarl escaped her lips.
Even so,
the Spirit Hall remained the sacred temple of all spirit masters,
controlling over ninety percent of the continent's awakening resources.
Two failures—
would never shake its foundation.
She exhaled slowly,
and the image of that white-clad youth surfaced once again in her mind.
"Li Zhexian…"
"This Pope will see you dead."
...
At the summit of the sacred mountain—
Within the Worship Hall, embraced by the towering statue of the Angel God,
Qian Renxue sat quietly,
a delicate book held between her slender hands,
her radiant features shifting between anger and longing.
It was the Legend of Sword Wine,
now spreading across the continent.
And she was utterly captivated.