The tide of battle was ever-changing.
The Star Palace side deployed the [Supreme Law Fate-Deciding Dao Chapter], while Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue set up the [World-Cleansing Radiant Dao Fruit]. Mighty power at the level of Great Perfected Lords surged endlessly within the light sea.
Exalted One Hao Yuan naturally wanted to erase Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue's influence. However, although Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue was alone, she forcefully pinned her Dao Fruit above the Celestial Court. The profound wonders resonated, dropping boundless streams of iridescent light like rivers and waterfalls. They encircled the Celestial Court, connected end to end, forming the very image of [Ravine Stream Water].
"We can't break it."
Exalted One Hao Yuan frowned upon seeing this. "In that case, we can only send people out. Stalemate is not a solution; our lifespans are limited after all..."
It was true that Lu Yang had given them tens of thousands of years of lifespan.
However, without the Dharma Body Dao reappearing, the rate at which these lifespans drained was actually very fast. Therefore, the time they could remain in the present world at their peak state was limited.
And it was precisely to eradicate this hidden danger from the root that they targeted the Celestial Court. Only by conquering the Celestial Court and re-establishing the Dharma Body Dao could they truly return to their peak. So in this war, the Star Palace was actually the more anxious side. They had to fight a quick battle to force a quick decision; otherwise, it would be tantamount to defeat.
Thinking of this, Exalted One Hao Yuan immediately spoke:
"Let the Star Lords enter the battle. Let's see if we can wear down these Immortal Nexus Perfected Lords."
As his words fell, the Star Palace's massive camp immediately sprang into action. Large swarms of Dao Soldier fleets roared out, and the various Star Lords aggressively pressed towards the Celestial Court.
Almost simultaneously, Immortal Venerable Taiyin also waved her large hand:
"Attack!"
A second later, streaks of radiant light similarly rose from within the Celestial Court. It was precisely the group of Immortal Lords of the Celestial Court; their levels were about the same as the Star Palace's Star Lords.
Rumble.
For a time, countless streams of iridescent light collided and surged like crashing rivers, then exploded outwards. It stirred up storm-like brilliance, churning the light sea in all directions. It was like splashing ink to paint a picture on a blank piece of paper; the winner would be the one whose colors were superior.
However, right at this moment.
Among the twelve divine lights within the Celestial Court, one suddenly separated. It crashed straight into the light sea, charging into the boiling colors.
This divine light was black on the outside.
Wherever it passed, the Star Lords of the Star Palace simply had no power to resist. A few outstanding ones only managed to hold on a bit longer before they too were forced to retreat one after another.
The divine light then faded, revealing a beautiful, slender silhouette with skin as delicate as pearls and jade. Her expression was as gentle as water, making one unable to help but feel pity for her. Yet her actions lacked the slightest hesitation. With a twist of her slender waist, she transformed into a heaven-covering wave of demonic qi that swept outwards.
It was Great Sage Ming Zhu.
"Strike!"
A voice like silver bells echoed out. Demonic qi fluttered, and the profound barrier filled the realm, instantly melting away the surrounding light and colors, turning heaven and earth into an ink wash painting.
Seeing this scene, Exalted One Hao Yuan immediately looked at Lu Yang:
"Fellow Daoist, it's your tur—"
Before he could finish, a streak of brilliance had already leaped out ahead of him, blocking the monstrous demonic qi and preventing the profound light from spreading further.
Following that, the brilliance took form. A square-faced middle-aged man wearing ancient robes paced out, his face filled with unconcealed disgust:
"A beast with fur and horns dares to participate in this battle?"
With that said, the middle-aged man pointed a finger. A glazed orb flew out from his sleeve, instantly expanding against the wind. It grew to the size of a star and crashed down with a loud boom:
"[Star-Sinking Orb]!"
This orb flashed with blinding light. Unerringly, it smashed directly onto the top of Great Sage Ming Zhu's head, causing a hazy, confused look to instantly surface in her beautiful eyes.
Thump!
In an instant, accompanied by a muffled sound, Great Sage Ming Zhu's delicate body plummeted immediately. The demonic qi and profound light surrounding her entire body were nearly beaten into dispersion by this single orb!
Seeing this scene, Exalted One Hao Yuan frowned slightly.
"Shen Shao... was too impulsive."
The person who attacked was named [Shen Shao]. Although his status among the Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords wasn't as high as [Zhen Gao], he was still considered one of the better ones.
The [Star-Sinking Orb] was even more extraordinary. It wasn't a formation treasure Dao Soldier, but a treasure Shen Shao had deployed using his entire spiritual power and lifeblood. It looked like a mere orb, but it actually contained his life's worth of spiritual power. When facing an enemy, a single smash carried the might to shatter both the person and their methods; it was absolutely not something ordinary means could suppress.
"Hao Yuan, there's no need to worry."
The other Great Perfected Lords chuckled lightly upon seeing this. "Our people have to make a move eventually. Anyway, with the Netherworld absent now, why be so apprehensive?"
"Besides, it's not like you don't know Shen Shao's temperament."
"Back then, he was the most radical human-supremacist cultivator. He usually resents those of alien origins the most. Now that he sees an Immortal Nexus demon race member, how could he just sit by and watch?"
Meanwhile, above the light sea.
Shen Shao held his hand seals steady, firmly pressing the [Star-Sinking Orb] down on Great Sage Ming Zhu's head. He sneered coldly, "Little demon, why don't you quickly reveal your true form?"
"Demon race?"
Great Sage Ming Zhu struggled to look up, her beautiful face slightly contorted. "You rogue cultivator from the outer heavens, you can't even enter the gates of the Immortal Nexus, yet you dare mock my race?"
Originally, Shen Shao wouldn't have cared no matter what Great Sage Ming Zhu said, treating it merely as a wild dog barking. However, Great Sage Ming Zhu's words were simply too vicious. The moment the phrase "rogue cultivator from the outer heavens" popped out, his face instantly turned red. His gaze turned chilling, wishing he could flay Great Sage Ming Zhu alive on the spot.
"Shameless!"
"When my Spiritual Power Dao established its sect in the Immortal Nexus, you rogue cultivators of the demon race were still rushing to be our servants. Now you actually falsely accuse us of being rogue cultivators..."
Before Shen Shao could finish speaking, Great Sage Ming Zhu, as if receiving some sort of instruction, suddenly twitched her red lips and revealed a mocking smile.
A second later, brilliant light erupted from her entire body.
Rumble!!!
Boiling colors roared outwards, instantly breaking through the suppression of the [Star-Sinking Orb]. Rolling like mountains and surging like waves, it crashed heavily onto Shen Shao!
She brazenly self-detonated!
"Not good!"
Almost simultaneously, the expressions of the previously confident Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords changed drastically. Great Sage Ming Zhu's brazen self-detonation brought back memories of the past.
Quickly, memories overlapped with reality.
The self-detonated Great Sage Ming Zhu did not die from this. Barely a breath later, before the aftershock of the self-detonation had even dissipated, Great Sage Ming Zhu had already reappeared.
As soon as this Great Sage of the demon race appeared, her gaze landed on Shen Shao, who had been left in quite a sorry state by her self-detonation just now. Her red lips curled up, and then she formed hand seals. The starlight transformed from [Abyssal Sea Gold] above her head grew increasingly bright, and a profound wonder was immediately augmented onto her body.
"[Pearl Hidden in the Abyss]!"
Abyssal Sea Gold: A treasure trove Dragon Palace, where pearls nurture dragon treasures; to forge an artifact, one must borrow the power of fire. As the name implied, this was also an auxiliary profound wonder used for nurturing and accumulating.
However, unlike [Gaining Momentum].
Although [Abyssal Sea Gold] also possessed the virtue of nurturing, it favored roaring fire. Therefore, things nurtured by [Pearl Hidden in the Abyss] complemented the profound wonders of the Fire Element perfectly.
But having wielded this Dao Fruit for many years, Great Sage Ming Zhu had long since figured out a method entirely her own. [Abyssal Sea Gold] favored fire, and when a Perfected Lord self-detonated, using their true body as firewood and igniting it with spiritual power, wasn't that the most roaring fire in the world? It just so happened to perfectly complement [Pearl Hidden in the Abyss]!
In other words—
'This profound wonder can massively increase the power of a self-detonation!'
In an instant, the power of a self-detonation containing the profound wonder of a Dao Fruit surged forth. The roaring light and flames reached a whole new level, instantly submerging Shen Shao's figure within it.
"Not good! Quickly, go rescue him!"
"The Netherworld... the power of the Netherworld is far away in the Immortal Nexus, how could it appear here!?"
"A miscalculation..."
At this moment, dozens of Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords simultaneously made their move. However, Exalted One Hao Yuan and the other five Great Perfected Lords were blocked by Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue and Immortal Venerable Taiyin.
Therefore—it was too late.
Having finally seized an opportunity in battle, how could Great Sage Ming Zhu not press her advantage? By the time the Star Palace Perfected Lords' reinforcements arrived, she had already self-detonated a full eighteen times in succession!
And when Shen Shao was dragged out of the stormy self-detonation flames, half of his body had already been reduced to a charred state. If he hadn't protected himself with the [Star-Sinking Orb], he would likely have been reduced to ashes long ago. One must know, there was no such thing as being immortal and indestructible for Spiritual Power Dao Perfected Lords; death meant true death!
Meanwhile, Great Sage Ming Zhu's figure condensed once again.
Under the effects of the [Supreme Law Fate-Deciding Dao Chapter], Shen Shao's entire spiritual power had already been squeezed dry by her and instead augmented onto her body, causing her aura to flourish greatly!
"Heh, this is the consequence of looking down on my race."
A gentle, mocking laugh drifted over. "What's wrong with the demon race? The demon race are also demons of the Immortal Nexus; we're still much stronger than you people from the outer heavens!"
At this moment, Exalted One Hao Yuan hesitated no longer:
"The enemy used some unknown method to channel the power of the Netherworld here. They are immortal and indestructible, completely unafraid of casualties. Fighting them head-on is too disadvantageous for us."
With that said, he looked at Lu Yang:
"Fellow Daoist, please make your move."
Sure enough, we still have to use someone from the Immortal Nexus to defeat the people of the Immortal Nexus.
Hearing this, Lu Yang, who had been accumulating momentum for a long time, finally stood up. He nodded slightly without a word and directly walked out of the Star Palace camp, pacing towards the Celestial Court.
Boom!
This time, his aura was completely unconcealed, piercing straight into the heavens. Like an invisible mountain, it instantly quelled the aftershocks of Great Sage Ming Zhu's self-detonations.
Wherever he passed, the light sea parted in all directions, actually revealing an open space.
Before the person had even arrived, the massive Celestial Court was already trembling. It seemed to feel the weight transmitted by Lu Yang's stature; mountains and rivers shifted, and rivers and seas flowed backward.
Lu Yang just stood there in the light sea. He held the Tribulation Wave in his hand, the Yellow Court hovered three inches above his head, the Righteous Dao Banner howled behind him, and his true body bloomed with four colors. The [Divine Firmament Thunder] emitted thunderous claps. His gaze bypassed Great Sage Ming Zhu, who was looking at him with extreme wariness, and landed directly on the ninth tier of the Celestial Court.
A second later, his resonant voice echoed out, heard by all living beings:
"Who dares fight me?"