“God Lord, you should understand the consequences of playing the Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon. Once you perform it, it’s no longer just a simple immortal melody,” Axe-Halberd Saint Sovereign said.

“I know. But the Progenitor has secluded himself for ten million years, comprehending his own Dao,” the Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch replied. “If every little matter requires the Progenitor to emerge… Infinite Dao enemies, fine. But a mere Sage Monarch? Are we saying that our mighty Yue God-Clan is powerless against him? Forget the Progenitor’s fury, this would make the entire Absolute God Heaven laugh at us.”

“That may be true,” Axe-Halberd sighed, “but this is just our misfortune. This person is unnervingly strange. Invincible among peers… how long has it been since we last saw such a thing? Or rather, who would have thought that at the Saint Sovereign realm, someone so invincible could still exist.”

The Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch said nothing. He slowly closed his eyes and adjusted his state to its peak. In that moment, his heart grew silent. The shouting, the explosions, the battle cries around him faded away.

What he heard was only the beating of his own heart.

Thump… thump… thump…

After a long time, he suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp glint shot from his gaze.

Boom… boom…!

Behind him, the mountain silhouette began to twist and reshape. Ultimately, it transformed into the outline of a massive drum. The Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch raised the drum mallet and struck.

BOOM!

A single drumbeat, vast and overwhelming. It suppressed every sound in heaven and earth. The entire world seemed to fall silent. Everyone felt as if they had gone deaf, because under this massive wave of sound, all other noises were drowned out.

Xu Zimo looked up. The Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch had clearly entered a special state. The other Saint Sovereigns watched quietly as well. To the Yue God-Clan, the Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon was not merely one of the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures, it was their signature divine ability. One could even say the Ten God-Clans existed because of the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures.

Legend said that long ago, a mysterious being passed down these ten arts. Formed from the primordial laws of heaven and earth, they represented the most extreme, ultimate forces. Afterward, each of the Ten God-Clans obtained one, passing it down through the generations.

Although the Ten God-Clans appeared harmonious, often allied, seemingly united, each clan guarded its God-Scripture fiercely. They strictly forbade teaching it to outsiders. Every practitioner was implanted with a vicious curse in their God-Soul. If anyone leaked the art, they would be barred from samsara for eternity. Even the nether realms would reject their dead soul, leaving them to scatter into oblivion.

As the Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch struck the drum again, a second colossal shockwave spread. On the third beat, many spectators clutched their chests; some with weaker cultivation died instantly as their hearts stuttered. Even strong cultivators turned pale, their minds shaken.

“Seal your hearing! This melody isn’t something we can withstand!” someone shouted.

“Good thing the score isn’t aimed at us,” another gasped. “Otherwise we’d already be corpses.”

Then came the fourth strike. This drumbeat was unlike the previous ones. When it landed, the entire world seemed ready to collapse. Endless space shattered. Heaven’s mighty pressure descended.

The fifth strike followed. This time, not only did the void shatter, but even the sky split open. The vast Yue City below was destroyed, temples toppled, billions of miles of surrounding land split with countless fissures. Even Yue Mountain in the distance trembled as if about to crumble.

Only now did many onlookers understand why Axe-Halberd had hesitated. The power of this Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon was too overwhelming. Once unleashed, even the Yue God-Clan themselves couldn’t control it. Everything around would be flattened. Yue City destroyed. Yue Mountain collapsed. Nothing would remain.

After the first five devastating beats, the Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch’s drumming grew faster.

BOOM BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM BOOM!

A score that crushes rivers and mountains. A score that shatters heaven and earth. A score that kills all things. When the melody ends, so does the world.

The origin point of this Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon was none other than where Xu Zimo stood. Sound, formless, intangible, destroyed everything. It sought to annihilate his body, soul, and true fate.

Rumble… rumble…!

Like divine fury, like gods howling.

Yet at the center of this cataclysm, Xu Zimo remained calm. As if untouched. No matter how fiercely the Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch beat the drum, nothing happened to him.

“How… how is this possible?!” Even the Yue God-Clan members were shocked. Never before had such a thing happened. Under the Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon, who could remain unaffected?

“What sorcery are you using?!” Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch shouted.

“Heh... Sorcery? Shouldn’t you be more familiar with this?” Xu Zimo smiled slightly. He closed his eyes, listening to the drumbeats, then slowly opened them again.

“Your drumming isn’t bad. And since courtesy goes both ways… I have a piece as well. Would you like to hear it?”

He waved his right hand. Sound twisted and condensed into a long flute. He raised it and began to play.

The flute’s voice rolled like a vast ocean, waves crashing on cliffs, blades striking shorelines, flames sweeping across plains. Countless sounds of the world merged into the melody.

The flute and drum collided. Power rippled between them.

Members of the Yue God-Clan stared as if they’d seen a ghost.

“The Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon?!”

“How does he know it? He isn’t one of us!”

“Impossible! This must be fake! Our Yue God-Clan’s Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon can’t be leaked!”

Panic filled the crowd.

The Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch and Xu Zimo played the same Infernal-Creation Eternal-Canon, but their strengths differed vastly. When the melodies clashed, the drumbeats collapsed instantly, crushed to pieces. Power surged toward the Primordial Mountain Sage Monarch.

Seeing this, his face changed drastically. Unable to hold on, he cried out, “Progenitor, save me!”

The moment he shouted, a single zither note rose from the ruined Yue Mountain. Then, the sun and moon lost their light.