Spiritforce surged around Dark River as he slammed his palm down, sending several Undying Race members flying.

Their bodies exploded with flesh torn and blood gushing. Under normal circumstances, they should’ve been dead.

But these Undying Race puppets felt nothing. Even as they bled, they continued to charge forward, unbothered.

Xu Zimo frowned slightly and swung his sword Shadow Tyrant in a mighty slash.

One puppet’s head was completely severed, yet it still didn’t die.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

Inside the True Fate World, Chaos explained:

“That’s a trait of the Undying Race. Their life core is a crystal. True Undying beings are extremely hard to kill. The crystal flows with their blood, making it very hard to locate. But these are puppets, their crystals are fixed in their hearts. Destroy the heart, and they’ll die.”

Hearing this, Xu Zimo infused Shadow Tyrant with lightning and pierced the puppet’s chest.

The thunder obliterated its heart, finally silencing it.

“The heart,” Xu Zimo told Dark River.

“No need for all that,” Dark River replied coldly.

Above him, his True Fate appeared, blood-red rivers covered the entire city.

The river howled like a dragon, surging down from the heavens, forming a towering tidal wave.

All the Undying puppets were swept up and instantly obliterated, not even ashes remained.

Dark River was a God Meridian Realm cultivator. The strongest puppets here were at most Imperial Meridian Realm.

Naturally, they stood no chance.

But Xu Zimo still sensed the horror of this race.

Had they been on equal footing, this would’ve been a far tougher fight.

As the puppets fell, Xu Zimo noticed strange blackish worms wriggling on the ground.

Plump and squishy, they didn’t appear threatening, at first.

But inside the True Fate World, Chaos was shocked.

“Undying Worm!” Chaos exclaimed.

“What’s an Undying Worm?” Xu Zimo asked, puzzled.

“A cruel parasite, banned by the Undying Race since the Desolate Era,” Chaos explained. “There are mother and child types. Child Worms burrow into human hosts and slowly siphon off their life force, transferring it to the Mother Worm. They don’t drain everything at once. They leech just enough to keep the host alive while feeding steadily.”

“And then?” Xu Zimo asked.

“They’re extremely contagious and lethal. Infected hosts either become puppets of the Mother Worm… or just die,” Chaos finished.

Xu Zimo frowned.

“But this kind of thing goes against heaven’s order. The Undying Race banned it ages ago. So why is it showing up now?”

“Let’s deal with the puppets first,” Xu Zimo said.

With a wave of his hand, Chaos’s massive form appeared from the void.

There were still thousands of residents pouring out of Yellow Spring City.

Dark River swept the crimson river across them.

Chaos flapped its thin, insect-like wings and rose into the air.

The slaughter was completely one-sided.

The puppets were weak, but they kept coming like ants.

After a prolonged battle, the entire city lay in ruins.

…

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

It felt as though something ancient had awakened.

A terrifying chill filled the air.

Dark River frowned and looked at Xu Zimo.

“Do you feel it?” he asked. “Something… is watching us.”

Xu Zimo nodded.

“Something terrifying,” Dark River muttered.

Although the fighting continued, both remained alert for whatever was hidden in the shadows.

A barrier had sealed Yellow Spring City.

No way in. No way out.

Dark River had tried to break it, to no effect.

…

“Look up!” Dark River suddenly shouted.

Xu Zimo turned his head,

The sky had turned a dark yellow.

The moon disappeared. The stars retreated.

A massive vortex hovered in the heavens.

From within it, a bearded man in a yellow robe slowly stepped out.

The Path of Immortality has Five Steps:

This yellow-robed man was radiating the immense pressure of a Third Step Immortal Sovereign.

His aura surged like hurricanes and tsunamis, vast, unstoppable.

The entire city seemed like a leaf in a storm, ready to be crushed at any moment.

“Welcome to Yellow Spring City,” the man laughed from above.

Dark River narrowed his eyes and shouted, “Senior… are you the True Immortal of Yellow Spring?”

“Oh? After all these years, someone still remembers me,” the man chuckled.

As he slowly descended, everyone in the city bowed to him.

“The True Immortal of Yellow Spring… of course!” Dark River sighed. “I should’ve guessed.”

“Who is he?” Xu Zimo asked.

“A few thousand years ago, during the Mortal Emperor’s era, before I was born, there was a notorious villain in the Holyflower Region,” Dark River explained.

“His name was the True Immortal of Yellow Spring. He slaughtered entire cities just to cultivate his wicked arts. Eventually, the Immortal Mortal Sacred Ground sent elders to hunt him down. After that, he vanished. Everyone thought he died… or escaped the domain. But no, he just went into hiding. And used Yellow Spring City to secretly continue his evil cultivation.”

“This city falls under Heaven Ascension Holy Mountain’s territory,” Xu Zimo frowned. “Why didn’t they intervene?”

“There’s probably more to this than we know,” Dark River replied calmly.

…

“A God Meridian cultivator… a peak God Meridian beast… and a little brat,” Immortal Sovereign Yellow Springs said lightly. “You’re really putting me in a tough spot.”

“Oh? What’s the dilemma?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Do you want to live… or die?” Yellow Spring Immortal smiled.

“You’re all such fine specimens. It would be a pity to kill you.”