When the blood mist finally dispersed, only the bones and the soul of the figure in the celestial robe remained.

“You’ve declared war on the Heavenly Court!” the soul of the celestial-robed man roared.

“These are the rules of the Mirage Tides Heaven,” the androgynous middle-aged man said calmly. “No one enters or leaves without the permission of the Lord of Death. It makes no difference who you are.”

With a wave of his hand, a chain of black iron shot out, wrapping around the soul and dragging it down.

“Take him to Hell,” the man said faintly.

Several skeletal figures emerged, ignoring the celestial-robed man’s furious struggles, and hauled him away.

The middle-aged man’s figure vanished into the depths of Starhaven Stronghold, and peace once again returned to the Mirage Tides Heaven.

More than a month later, Xu Zimo opened his eyes from meditation, exhaling a long breath of turbid air.

He still felt weak, but much better than before.

Entering his True Fate World, he saw the Dragon Maiden still imprisoned within the Myriad Beasts Realm. With her sealed there, she had no chance to escape.

When she saw him, she asked, “What did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Xu Zimo replied.

“What’s behind that door? What did you all do?” she repeated.

“So, you know quite a bit,” Xu Zimo said. “But before asking others, shouldn’t you tell me what you know first?”

The Dragon Maiden stayed silent, refusing to answer.

Xu Zimo shook his head slightly and walked deeper into the tribe.

“My lord,” Paimon and the others came forward to greet him.

“Everyone unharmed?” Xu Zimo asked.

“A Saint Sovereign cannot truly die. As long as our Life-Death Souls remain intact, you needn’t worry about us,” Paimon said with a grin.

“And the Red-Blade Bull Demon?” Xu Zimo asked.

Paimon pointed with his right hand. The Red-Blade Bull Demon lay unconscious on the ground, the shattered monument beside him.

“What’s his condition?” Xu Zimo asked.

“His soul has been severely damaged and has fallen into a deep coma. It won’t be easy for him to wake,” Paimon answered.

“Any way to help him?” Xu Zimo asked.

“There are two,” Paimon replied. “The first, find his Life-Death Soul and awaken it. But every Saint Sovereign’s Life-Death Soul is hidden and sacred; only the person himself knows where it lies. We can’t find it.”

“The second way,” he continued, “is to find the Nine-Nether God-Grass. With its power, we could awaken him externally.”

“That’s right,” Seven-Face added. “The old bull’s awakening is important. During our long slumber, who knows what’s happened to the Ancient Demon Race in the Nine Heavens? He might know things we don’t.”

Xu Zimo nodded slightly. Finding the Nine-Nether God-Grass would have to be placed on the agenda. But for now, his priority was to fuse Shadow Tyrant with the Grand-Pivot God-Sword.

He walked to the Dragon Maiden and raised his hand, summoning the flame he had obtained earlier, the Fire of Zhurong.

“What do you think of this flame?” he asked.

“So you really destroyed that place,” the Dragon Maiden said, narrowing her eyes. “Aren’t you afraid the Ancient Gods will come for revenge?”

“With both the divine flame and the Deep Sea Black Ice in hand, let’s forge the weapon first,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “As for the rest, I have my own plans.”

The Dragon Maiden thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

She walked to an open space and took the Flame of Zhurong in her palm, merging it briefly with her own spirit energy.

Her whole body ignited in crimson flames.

Above her, Shadow Tyrant and the Grand-Pivot God-Sword floated, as she began to carefully control the temperature of the fire, gradually melting both weapons.

Xu Zimo turned to Paimon and ordered, “During the forging process, no one is to disturb her, or even approach.”

The fusion of two divine weapons was not as simple as melting and reforging.

It required the complete integration of their weapon runes and souls, achieving a power greater than the sum of its parts.

The Dragon Maiden truly was a rare master smith.

With one hand, she controlled the flames; with the other, she traced formations in the air. In moments, several formations spread beneath her feet, the Grand Spirit-Energy Gathering Formation, the Flow Returning Formation, the Cloud Locking Formation, and the Infinite Heaven-Derivation Formation, all of which strengthened the forging process.

Spirit energy gathered rapidly from every direction. The Flame of Zhurong blazed higher, and Shadow Tyrant melted into a pool of black liquid.

Its blade aura still surged, the weapon marks glowing like runes of defiance.

From the molten darkness, the spirit of Shadow Tyrant manifested, a curved blade phantom, roaring silently.

Meanwhile, the Grand-Pivot God-Sword melted into golden liquid.

Sword intent shot upward, its spirit’s cry echoing in the air, splitting the void in half, one side filled with knife intent, the other with sword intent.

The clash between them grew increasingly fierce.

Even the sky itself fractured, torn by the sharpness of their auras.

The Dragon Maiden’s face turned pale, she was burning through her strength fast.

Clapping her hands together, she forced both weapons to respond, their melted forms surging toward each other.

At the instant of contact, an explosion of intertwined knife and sword intent filled the air.

The two powers struggled and merged, piece by piece.

Xu Zimo couldn’t fully understand the forging method she was using, her spirit energy was intertwined with countless weapon marks and formations, stabilizing the volatile fusion.

The Deep Sea Black Ice hovered above, balancing the heat.

Whenever the fire flared too violently, the black ice cooled it instantly.

This would clearly be a long process.

Xu Zimo left Paimon and Seven-Face to guard the area and exited his True Fate World.

The North Sea had finally calmed after the recent upheaval.

Xu Zimo leaped from the water, finding Xie Changliu already waiting for him.

“It’s done?” Xie asked.

Xu Zimo nodded slightly. “Have you heard of the Nine-Nether God-Grass?”

“The one that restores souls?” Xie asked.

Xu Zimo nodded again. The soul and the divine spirit were different things, the soul was difficult to damage unless one used it directly, while the divine spirit of a Saint Sovereign, even if destroyed, would not bring true death.

That was the strength of a Saint Sovereign.

“I do know of one place,” Xie said after thinking for a moment.

“Where?” Xu Zimo asked immediately.

“The Celestial Sage Academy,” Xie replied.

“When I was young, I studied there. Beneath it lies the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss, and because of that seal, the academy produces many soul-restoring elixirs. I’ve seen the Nine-Nether God-Grass there several times.”

“Then that’s our next destination,” Xu Zimo said. “Is it far from here?”

“Follow the source of the North Sea,” Xie explained. “The academy lies at the junction between the Four Regions and the Azure Frontier.”

Xu Zimo nodded. Summoning Chaos, he set off toward the Celestial Sage Academy.

He sat cross-legged on Chaos’s back, continuing to comprehend the Ancient Path of Zhurong he had recently acquired.

The ancient teachings were profound and abstruse, the deeper his understanding, the more complex they became.

Even for him, it was more contemplation than mastery.

Chaos glided over the calm sea, its vast wings carrying them swiftly toward the western horizon.