A single melody shook heaven and earth, moving even ghosts and spirits to tears.

In the ruins of Yue Mountain, the sudden surge of power drew everyone’s attention at once. The person had not yet revealed himself, but the aura bursting forth was enough to make hearts tremble.

A deep and resonant voice fell.

“Ten God-Clans, enjoying the show, are you? Have you forgotten the lesson of lips growing cold when the teeth are gone? You plan to just sit there and watch?”

Hearing the voice echoing from the ruins, a soft laugh drifted from the void. The once-calm sky rippled, and a curtain of light rose. Within the shining veil, a hazy figure flickered.

“Lord Yue, don’t be angry. We were merely observing the situation. Besides, your Yue God-Clan isn’t exactly at the brink of annihilation yet.”

The ancient progenitor hidden within the ruins clearly felt displeased. He let out a heavy snort.

“So?” he said. “What do you intend to do next?”

“We Ten God-Clans are naturally one. The True Martial Sacred Ground is the common enemy of all of us.” As the voice from above fell, the indistinct figure in the sky faded. In its place appeared a pair of eyes.

The eyes were pure white, overflowing with the dense aura of samsara. They spun like black holes, endlessly rotating, deep and boundless, as though capable of swallowing the entire universe.

At the sight of these eyes, someone cried out in shock.

“It’s the Infinite-Samsara God-Eye, one of the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures!”

“That should belong to the Dugu God-Clan. The speaker just now must have been Dugu Ling.”

“Correct, the current God Lord of the Dugu God-Clan, and a master who has perfected the Infinite-Samsara God-Eye.”

The crowd whispered among themselves. With the Dugu God-Clan stepping in, the other God-Clans would surely appear soon. After all, the Ten God-Clans were bound together; when major issues arose, they always advanced together.

As the Infinite-Samsara God-Eye opened wide, the sky itself twisted. This was samsara, an entire domain being cycled and shifted. Dugu Ling was trying to use the power of samsara to move this whole region elsewhere.

Under the power of the eyes, the members of the Yue God-Clan began to fade. Their figures turned ghostly. The once-crowded inner city of Yue City seemed, in an instant, completely emptied. Everyone had been pulled into the cycle of samsara.

“So, you intend to flee?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.

“Flee? To deal with an insect like you? Hardly.” Dugu Ling scoffed. He waved his hand, and an image formed in the air.

The projection revealed a barren land. The earth was parched, cracked open by countless fissures. Not a single blade of grass grew. It was a place where nothing living could survive.

The desolation seeped through the image, weighing on the heart, as though this land had remained unchanged for a billion years.

“If you want to fight, come here,” Dugu Ling said coldly. “We of the Ten God-Clans will be waiting. Don’t tell us you’ll lose your nerve.”

“What is this place?” Xu Zimo asked with a frown.

“The Great Beyond,” Dugu Ling replied, his tone flat.

The two words crashed through the world like a thunderclap.

“The Great Beyond, so it really is the Great Beyond!”

“That isolated land that exists alongside our Nine Heavens, yet separate from it?”

“What is the Great Beyond?” someone asked in confusion. “Is it even part of the Nine Heavens?”

“The Great Beyond both belongs to the Nine Heavens and doesn’t,” someone explained. “The so-called Nine Heavens refer to the Mortal Ascension Heaven, the Ghost-God Heaven, the Godfiend Abyss Heaven, the Inferno Crucible Heaven, the Absolute God Heaven, the Mirage Tides Heaven, the Azure Mystic Heaven, the Grand Desolate Heaven, and the Calamity Immortal Heaven. Together, they are the Nine Heavens. But beyond them lies another realm, called the Great Beyond. Some say it is the Tenth Heaven, but more believe it is something apart entirely.”

Someone else asked, confused, “If it exists, why have we never been there? Where is it?”

“The Great Beyond drifts outside the Nine Heavens. There were rumors that our Absolute God Heaven held one of its entrances. I thought it was only legend, but it seems it was true. If Dugu Ling is telling the truth, then the Ten God-Clans must have already found a way inside.”

The crowd grew louder in discussion. The appearance of the Great Beyond was itself a monumental event, its very existence had always been mere myth.

Xu Zimo ignored the commotion. He looked directly at Dugu Ling. “Where is this Great Beyond? Don’t tell me you’re hiding there because you’re afraid I’ll find you.”

“Us? Fear you? Ridiculous.” Dugu Ling scoffed. “The Great Beyond is your burial ground. A place we prepared specifically for the True Martial Sacred Ground.”

“So I still need to go searching for it?” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. “Too much trouble.”

At his words, Dugu Ling formed a seal and tossed him a token. “Follow the guidance of this token and you’ll find the Great Beyond. We will be there waiting to bury you.”

As his final words faded, his figure vanished from the sky. The onlookers felt a slight sense of regret. They had expected a grand battle, but not even the progenitor of the Yue God-Clan had appeared. A single user of the Infinite-Samsara God-Eye had shifted the battlefield entirely.

It also showed that the Ten God-Clans had backed down, for now. And it proved they were treating Xu Zimo seriously. Perhaps the True Martial Sacred Ground was not as weak as it appeared.

Xu Zimo lifted the token. In an instant, knowledge of the Great Beyond’s paths etched itself into his mind. In truth, it was not something he needed to search for. The Great Beyond was everywhere, outside every border of the Absolute God Heaven.

It was vaster than the entire heaven itself. Break through the spatial barrier with the right method, and one could sense it. The token in his hand was precisely such a method.

“Imperial Ancestor,” the Willow Ancestor approached through the air. “What should we do next?”

“We go to the Great Beyond,” Xu Zimo smiled. “It seems the Ten God-Clans have sensed something. They must have been preparing there for a while.”

“Wouldn’t going there put us at a stronger disadvantage?” the patriarch asked.

“The Ten God-Clans must be destroyed,” Xu Zimo replied. “Even if the Great Beyond is a sea of blades and fire, I’ll go. This time, none of you are coming. The spatial storms at the boundary are not something you can withstand.”