Fist and palm collided, shattering the void as thunder roared.

That massive hand grabbed Nine Howls Progenitor’s body, pulling him back at great speed.

Xu Zimo did not pursue, he simply stood there calmly, watching.

The figure of Nine Howls Progenitor was tossed aside, and all eyes turned upward.

From the depths of primal-chaos, a figure appeared, each step he took shattered mountains and rivers across millions of miles. Beside him walked a green ox, pacing steadily.

This figure was a young man.

He wore a straw hat, holding a wooden flute in hand.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, he looked toward the crowd.

Overwhelming, sky-shaking imperial might radiated from his body.

Though he appeared only as a youth, not a single soul dared underestimate him.

The surrounding ancestors were trembling, faces filled with excitement as they fell to their knees.

“Paying respects to our Ancestor!”

“Paying respects to our Ancestor!” Dongfang Li and the elders, along with all the disciples of the Dao Court, bowed low.

This was their forebear, the true ruler of Thousand-Ox Dao Court.

Even the cultivators of Nether Bone Dao Court bowed slightly, greeting, “Greetings to the Hidden Ox Emperor.”

Such honor belonged only to a Grand Emperor.

The Hidden Ox Emperor waved his hand gently, releasing an invisible force that lifted all those kneeling back to their feet.

He then turned toward Xu Zimo, smiling.

“Fellow Daoist, what business do you have with me?”

“Our Ancestor addresses him as ‘Fellow Daoist’? Could it be…?” someone murmured in disbelief.

The next moment, imperial intent erupted from Xu Zimo’s body, surging into the heavens.

That mighty force swept across like crashing waves, like a boundless divine tide rising and falling.

His imperial might clashed against that of the Hidden Ox Emperor.

One man suppressed one half of the heavens.

The entire sky split into two, their figures facing one another from afar.

When imperial power spread outward, all living beings were crushed like ants.

Dongfang Li and the others, who had been floating in the air, were forced to the ground.

Now, the void held only Xu Zimo and the Hidden Ox Emperor.

“He… he… he’s also a Grand Emperor?!”

“Good heavens…” Lin Yunhen collapsed to the ground, muttering in disbelief.

From not far away, at Lonely Cloud Peak, Xiao Buhui, who had only recently awakened, stared at the sight, his face contorting as though he had swallowed a fly.

He had actually offended a Grand Emperor....

Even the disciples of Thousand-Ox Dao Court were shaken.

When their Ancestor descended, they thought victory was certain, each brimming with confidence.

But no one had expected that their opponent was also a Grand Emperor.

Emotions shifted, faces turning complicated.

“Fellow Daoist, why have you come here?” the Hidden Ox Emperor asked again.

“You should already have guessed,” Xu Zimo replied.

“Best not to speak in riddles, Fellow Daoist,” the Hidden Ox Emperor chuckled.

“You and I are strangers. Though the Mortal Ascension Heaven has hundreds of Grand Emperors, you are not among them.”

“Haven’t you been waiting for me?” Xu Zimo smiled. “If I am not of the Mortal Ascension Heaven, then surely you understand.”

As he spoke, Xu Zimo no longer concealed his Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique.

Vast infernal energy spread around him, like thick black fog, blanketing the skies for ten thousand miles.

The demonic qi wailed in the void, clouds of darkness drifting like falling meteors.

From afar, it seemed as though the entire region of Thousand-Ox Dao Court was drowned beneath demonic haze.

“You… you are…” The Hidden Ox Emperor fell silent for a long while.

“So many years have passed, I almost forgot. I have been waiting for someone. You’ve come for the Infernal Heart, haven’t you?”

“Will you hand it to me, or shall I take it myself?” Xu Zimo asked coldly.

His brows furrowed slightly.

For when he first awakened the Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique, he had faintly sensed the heartbeat of the Infernal Heart.

But now, there was no trace of it.

“Since I was commanded to guard the Infernal Heart, naturally I will not give it up so easily,” the Hidden Ox Emperor laughed lightly.

“You cannot stop me,” Xu Zimo said flatly.

“Whether I can or not, only strength will tell,” the Hidden Ox Emperor answered with equal firmness. “Besides, this Dao Court of mine is only your starting point in the Nine Heavens. It is destined to be the first stop on your conquest.”

“To think, a mighty Grand Emperor reduced to a lapdog of the Heavenly Court,” Xu Zimo shook his head faintly.

“The Heavenly Court granted me kindness. I guard the Infernal Heart only to repay that debt,” the Hidden Ox Emperor explained.

“In that case, the Heavenly Court must have informed you of my arrival in the Mortal Ascension Heaven,” Xu Zimo said.

For when he descended to the Mortal Ascension Heaven, the Heavenly Court would find it difficult to locate him, like searching for a needle in a vast sea.

The Mortal Ascension Heaven was too vast, if he chose to hide, no one could track him.

But there were places he was destined to go.

The Hidden Ox Emperor frowned slightly, turning to Dongfang Li.

Dongfang Li quickly answered, “The Heavenly Court did send word, but at the time you were in seclusion, so I dared not disturb you.”

The prosperity of Thousand-Ox Dao Court in recent years had given Dongfang Li an illusion, he believed that with himself and the ancestors, they could manage the situation.

“Enough,” the Hidden Ox Emperor shook his head.

With a wave of his right hand, the wooden flute in his grasp erupted with terrifying might.

Brilliant seven-colored radiance burst forth, flowing like silken rainbows.

Beside him, the green ox bellowed, its calls rising higher and higher, like the sound of the Grand Dao, shaking the soul.

The seven-colored light grew brighter, dazzling to behold.

Holding his flute, the Hidden Ox Emperor said calmly, “The Hundred-Life Flute, ranked thirty-second among the Grand Thousand Treasures.”

Xu Zimo smiled, his blade Shadow Tyrant trembling in his grip.

“My blade may not be among the Grand Thousand Treasures, but it has accompanied me in my growth. It is no weaker than any so-called divine weapon.”

The Hidden Ox Emperor raised the Hundred-Life Flute and began to play.

In that instant, heaven and earth collapsed, the skies plunged into darkness.

Two blood-red suns appeared in the void.

Those twin suns shattered rivers and mountains, almost crushing billions of miles of space, floating at the Hidden Ox Emperor’s sides.

From within the suns, endless bloodlight surged forth, forming rivers that roared toward Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo gripped his blade, ascending step by step into the sky.

Each step shattered layers of void beneath him.

“Slash!”

His curved blade fell, and countless strands of bladeforce swept across, colliding with the rivers of blood, annihilating them in place.

The flute’s song grew stronger, the blood suns ever more sinister.

The raging rivers surged violently once more.

As the torrents swept across, Xu Zimo leapt into the void, suppressing them.

He sat cross-legged upon the raging river itself.

In his hands appeared another jade flute.

He played one of the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures, Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon.

Wild and violent infernal energy roared into the heavens.

This was a contest of music.

Centered on Xu Zimo, countless demonic beasts took form.

Yet they did not attack the Hidden Ox Emperor.

Instead, they danced.

One million beasts danced. Then a billion.

More and more gathered.

At first, the sight seemed bizarre, even unsettling.

But as the numbers grew, the sheer force of their dance became overwhelming, an unstoppable tide.