“Then let’s agree first, if I find the Mother Leaf, you’ll let me go,” the Leaf of Life quickly said.

“Alright,” Xu Zimo nodded.

“Really? You're not lying to me?” the Leaf of Life asked, testing him.

“Do I look like a liar?”

“Yes, you do. Sigh, fine, I’ll search, but don’t drop your pants out of nowhere.”

…

After a long moment of sensing, the Leaf of Life finally said, “There really is a strong aura of the Mother Leaf here. But the trail seems to vanish halfway through.”

“Where did it disappear? Take me there,” Xu Zimo said urgently.

Under the Leaf of Life’s guidance, Xu Zimo arrived at a secluded courtyard.

At the moment, the courtyard was completely surrounded by blue-robed people, not allowing anyone near.

“Who goes there?”

Just as Xu Zimo approached, a few blue-robed men stopped him.

“This is my home. Can’t I return to my own house?” Xu Zimo said with a smile.

The blue-robed guard frowned slightly and signaled to the others, “Take him down.”

Instantly, several of them unleashed their auras, all were at the Paragon Meridian Realm.

They charged at Xu Zimo.

…

Inside the courtyard, three blue-robed individuals were seated in a stone pavilion.

Their robes were clearly different from the others.

The collars of their robes were embroidered with golden trim, and the blue hue was slightly lighter.

That particular blue seemed to carry a strange magic, if ordinary people stared too long, their minds would be drawn in, like being submerged in a blue ocean.

The character “Heaven” was stitched onto the backs of their robes.

“Elder Heaven-Mark, has this courtyard been fully searched?” the man in the middle asked.

“Elder Heaven-Marsh, I’ve already sent people to comb through it multiple times, no trace of them,” said the man named Heaven-Mark, shaking his head.

“Where could they be hiding?” Elder Heaven-Marsh frowned slightly, deep in thought.

The one seated to the right, Elder Heaven-Clarity, the only woman among the three, said, “Could they have escaped already?”

“Impossible. The whole courtyard is sealed off. They’re just at the Desolate Meridian realm, how could they escape right under our noses?” Elder Heaven-Marsh shook his head.

“There must be something we overlooked.”

As the three conversed, a sudden commotion came from outside.

“What’s going on?” Elder Heaven-Mark frowned and was about to head out.

Boom!

The front gate of the courtyard was smashed open, and several blue-robed men were sent flying in.

At that moment, all eyes turned toward the entrance.

Xu Zimo clapped the dust off his hands and walked in with a smile.

“Who are you?” Elder Heaven-Mark asked with a frown.

“I should be the one asking, who are you?” Xu Zimo replied.

Elder Heaven-Mark snorted coldly, unleashing a powerful Imperial Meridian aura, and reached out to grab Xu Zimo.

“You think too highly of yourself,” Xu Zimo chuckled.

With a wave of his right hand, the Power of Creation surged forward.

A sweeping tide of spiritforce pressed down on Elder Heaven-Mark.

Before he could even react, an overwhelming force crashed into him and exploded, sending him flying.

“Elder Heaven-Mark!” Elder Heaven-Clarity cried out in alarm.

She stared at Xu Zimo in shock, not even one move? She and Heaven-Mark were both Imperial Meridian cultivators.

And yet, this young man, who looked barely of age, defeated him instantly.

Elder Heaven-Marsh, standing in the center, looked grim as he slowly released a powerful Empyrean Might from his body.

“Who are you? We don’t seem to have any conflict,” he said cautiously.

Xu Zimo smiled. “Shouldn’t you introduce yourselves before asking others?”

“We are from the Heaven-Severing Sacred Ground of the Middle Continent,” Elder Baize said slowly. “May I know your name?”

“Dead men don’t need to know that much,” Xu Zimo said coldly, drawing out Ba Ying (his weapon).

Hearing the name Heaven-Severing Sacred Ground, Xu Zimo suddenly connected the dots.

Maybe the Imperial Lineage that Yao Shengnan wanted to destroy was this one.

It was a sect that had produced two Grand Emperors, a true Imperial Lineage.

Their origins were extremely mysterious.

When Grand Emperor Jue Tian shouldered the Heaven’s Will, the Heaven-Severing Sacred Ground seemed to emerge out of nowhere overnight.

It took root rapidly and became a powerful force in the Middle Continent.

Yet very little was recorded about the sect or Grand Emperor Jue Tian himself.

…

“You seem a little too confident,” Elder Heaven-Marsh said calmly.

His Empyrean Might intensified, and endless spiritforce raged around him.

Behind him, the faint illusion of a giant tree slowly manifested.

It radiated a powerful aura of life. Its branches were thick and massive.

The tree rose from the earth, towering so high that its peak vanished into the clouds.

Half of its trunk was hidden in a dense fog, only the lower portion was visible.

“The Tree of Life! He’s from the Celestial Race!”

The moment that True Fate appeared, the Leaf of Life in Xu Zimo’s hand cried out.

“Wasn’t the Celestial Race wiped out, except for Yao Shengnan?” Xu Zimo murmured, confused.

Looks like this mysterious Heaven-Severing Sacred Ground is somehow tied to the Celestial Race.

“Perfect. I’ll use you to test my War God’s Nine Transformations,” Xu Zimo chuckled.

In that moment, his aura surged.

Spiritforce roared inside him like a waterfall crashing down.

He unleashed the first transformation, Heaven Break.

Xu Zimo felt his blood boil like a pot at full heat.

Power flooded his entire body. With a single punch, a hurricane of energy tore through the surrounding space.

Elder Heaven-Marsh gathered his aura and met the attack head-on.

Their fists collided.

Boom!

A shockwave exploded outward.

Elder Heaven-Marsh was sent flying.

He got up with a stunned expression, his True Fate, the Tree of Life, rapidly healing his wounds.

“Elder Heaven-Marsh, are you alright?” the others asked in concern.

He shook his head and took a deep breath.

At that moment, the Tree of Life illusion behind him began to sway violently.

Suddenly, the entire tree uprooted and expanded, its colossal trunk enveloping the entire courtyard.

Boom!

Endless divine light burst forth.

The tree descended from the heavens, tearing through layers of void, crashing down toward Xu Zimo.

Its countless branches twisted like demons and monsters, wildly lashing toward Xu Zimo.

Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes.

He struck with his blade, unleashing the Fifth Transformation of the War God.

His aura howled like a tsunami, roaring across the heavens and crushing everything in its path.