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Watching Xu Zimo’s back as he walked away and finally disappeared from sight, Bian Wenzhou sighed softly.

“He’s gone. You can come out now.”

From the garden nearby, Bian Shishi emerged. She wore a white robe that accentuated her graceful figure. Her oval face framed by long hair, and her long eyelashes trembled lightly as she blinked.

“Father,” Bian Shishi greeted softly.

“Why didn’t you want to see him?” Bian Wenzhou asked.

“I’m destined to leave anyway. What difference would it make if I saw him? Life is full of regrets. An unfinished ending saves us from greater sorrow, don’t you think?” she replied with a faint smile.

“What exactly is that crystal?” Bian Wenzhou asked curiously.

“In anyone else’s hands, it’s worthless. But in his, it can destroy the entire Inferno Crucible Heaven. What do you think?” she countered lightly.

At those words, Bian Wenzhou froze in place, utterly stunned. Destroy the entire Inferno Crucible Heaven? That sounded absurd. Yet judging from her calm expression, she wasn’t joking.

Bian Shishi merely left it at that, not explaining further.

“If it’s such a thing of value, we should have asked for more in return. Exchanging it for a single Chaos Fire God Realm quota seems far too little,” Bian Wenzhou said regretfully.

“Father, greed consumes men like serpents swallowing elephants,” she said, smiling faintly. “If not for the debt he would owe me, I wouldn’t have asked for even that quota. Giving it to him freely would’ve been fine.”

“Shishi,” Bian Wenzhou sighed. “There are many things I’ve never interfered with. You’ve always known your own mind since childhood. As your father, I only hope you remember, no matter what happens, this will always be your home.”

“Father, let’s not play the emotional card,” she said with a gentle laugh. “Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be wishing I’d left the Black Crow Dao Court sooner.”

She gazed in the direction Xu Zimo had gone, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

Back in his own courtyard, Xu Zimo took out the crystal.

From the memories of the previous Infernal Lord, he knew exactly what this was.

The Celestial Tribulation Crystal.

Before a particle world was destroyed, the previous Infernal Lord had absorbed all the destructive power of its tribulation into this primal crystal. Though the world was ultimately annihilated, the crystal in Xu Zimo’s hands now contained the power that had once destroyed a world.

He formed hand seals, channeling a mysterious series of sigils. As each mark merged into the crystal, faint crackling sounds echoed.

Chains of light began to form across its surface, binding the entire crystal tightly. Then, with a sudden boom, the chains shattered and dissolved into the void.

When Xu Zimo looked again, the crystal had changed completely.

It was a jagged rhomboid, irregular and pulsating faintly. Inside it seemed to lie a world on the brink of destruction.

The heavens within were split open by countless rifts. The earth trembled, the skies darkened, and storms of annihilation raged. The ground quaked endlessly; cities crumbled, and all living things perished.

A world’s destruction was as cruel as it was absolute.

The heavens were gray and heavy, filled with the omnipresent force of tribulation.

Xu Zimo carefully put the Celestial Tribulation Crystal away.

In the memories left by the previous Infernal Lord, this crystal was meant for the final Heaven-Slaying War.

Yet before that war began, the Infernal Lord had given it to a woman. Then, he went alone to confront the heavens, and never returned.

No one knew why. When the Heaven-Slaying failed, all traces of him were erased by the Heavenly Dao itself.

“At least now I’ve got a real trump card,” Xu Zimo murmured.

He glanced toward the courtyard gate, someone was coming.

Stepping outside, he found Bian Yue waiting.

“What did my father say to you?” she asked.

“Just some trivial matters,” Xu Zimo replied with a faint smile.

“What about our marriage?” Bian Yue pressed.

“Do you really want to marry me?” he asked, his gaze deep and unreadable.

“Marrying you is still better than marrying that bastard Mu Zhuo,” she said awkwardly.

“A forced union brings no happiness. Your father won’t pressure you anymore. You can choose whoever you want,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Really?” she asked, eyes lighting up.

“He’s got more important things to worry about now,” Xu Zimo said.

The Chaos Fire God Realm’s quota, the Fire God Race’s origin land, and the increasingly frequent Water Beast attacks, those were enough to keep Bian Wenzhou occupied. Bian Yue’s marriage was the least of his concerns.

“Still, thank you,” Bian Yue said sincerely. “If you ever run into trouble here in Fire Bane City, come find me anytime.”

She patted her chest in promise.

Xu Zimo chuckled softly.

The next few days passed quietly.

He focused on two things. Comprehending the Primal Dao of the Water Beast, and waiting for the next beast siege.

As night deepened, Fire Bane City fell into silence. The citizens, as usual, went to rest early.

In his courtyard, Xu Zimo exhaled slowly and emerged from his meditative state.

With a flick of his hand, a rift opened to the God World, and a colossal figure stepped out.

“Master,” Chaos bowed deeply.

“You’ve reached the Grand Emperor Realm now,” Xu Zimo said. “Keep pushing forward.”

Chaos was his mount from the Primordial Heartlands, but since they came to the Nine Heavens, the beast hadn’t been used much, its power here simply wasn’t as overwhelming.

“Tonight, I have a task for you,” Xu Zimo said.

“Your command, my lord,” Chaos responded immediately.

“Go to the Mu Imperial Clan and kill one man, Mu Zhuo.”

As he waved his hand, Mu Zhuo’s likeness appeared in midair. Xu Zimo had seen him during the Black Crow Dao Court’s celebration banquet, so he remembered his face clearly.

“As you command,” Chaos said.

Its enormous wings unfurled, blotting out the moonlight as it soared into the sky, leaving a trail of light as it flew toward the Mu estate.

Tonight, the Mu Imperial Clan would know no peace.

Though not as powerful as the Black Crow Dao Court, the Mu Imperial Clan’s status had risen greatly thanks to Mu Qingyun. Their estate was vast and grand.

Even at midnight, servants patrolled the grounds with lanterns.

Suddenly, a suffocating beastly aura swept across the entire estate.

A servant looked up and froze. Far off on the horizon, an immense creature was flying toward them at incredible speed.

“Q-Quick! Inform the Patriarch! We’re under attack!” one of them shouted in panic.

“Go tell Young Master Mu as well!” another added, Mu Qingyun was the family’s true war god.

Then a thunderous voice rolled across the night sky:

“By order of my lord, I come for Mu Zhuo’s head! Where is Mu Zhuo?”

Chaos’s deep, resonant voice echoed through all of Fire Bane City.