the futuristic wings gleamed with a dazzling brilliance, their rainbow-like hues exuding flamboyant flair.

with a smooth motion, the wings unfolded, and qi yuan’s figure soared into the sky.

golden pill crane''s face displayed utter shock. “what kind of artifact is that?”

he had seen countless artifacts.

he was even an artifact master who had forged many powerful artifacts himself.

in yunxue city, no one could surpass him in knowledge of artifacts.

but this strange winged design was completely beyond his comprehension.

“what artifact? these are flight wings—mecha!” qi yuan outright denied it.

after all, he was in the process of mortal transcendence, not cutting corners.

to prepare for this pivotal moment, qi yuan had carefully equipped himself with numerous technological creations during his journey.

drones, flight wings, and various other high-tech devices filled his arsenal.

the technology provided by zero-one was seemingly limitless: spatial compression, nanotechnology, anti-gravity mechanisms, and more.

of course, qi yuan had used a tiny fraction of his artifact master abilities to craft these technological tools.

but just a fraction! and he had even painted over them!

if some officials could repaint imported cars and pass them off as domestic, surely painting over his creations to call them "technology" wasn’t too much of a stretch.

“i’ve been reasonable,” qi yuan muttered to himself, suddenly accelerating.

“watch my supersonic attack!”

with a loud shout, his speed surged, breaking the sound barrier.

in the immortal world, such speed might not be impressive, but in the divine wood universe, it was enough to make even heaven-tier experts tremble.

“ten times the speed of sound!”

with his powerful fists, resilient body, and supersonic velocity, qi yuan could annihilate a heaven-tier artifact master with a single collision.

“heaven and earth power!”

seeing qi yuan charging toward him, a thorned blood elder hurriedly summoned the power of heaven and earth.

the surrounding forces coalesced into a protective barrier before him, providing a momentary sense of security.

boom!

the terrifying collision shattered the barrier, leaving the elder staring in disbelief.

the power of heaven and earth... was completely ineffective!

but his thoughts went no further as his body disintegrated into a mist of blood.

“how is this possible?!”

“the seventh elder... is dead?”

“you claim to be a mortal, yet heaven and earth yield to you!” golden pill crane roared in fury.

there were rumors of heaven-tier weapon masters so attuned to the power of heaven and earth that they could bypass its resistance.

it was clear the white-haired man before them was one of these rare individuals.

yet despite being undeniably transcendent, he continued to deny it, mocking them all.

“ridiculous! how dare you slander me with such baseless accusations? i’m just... on good terms with heaven and earth—they don’t block me, that’s all,” qi yuan retorted mid-battle.

he sighed dramatically. “unlike you deformed misfits—neither human, beast, nor specter—you wouldn’t understand the burden of being as handsome as i am.

“when you’re this good-looking, you’ll understand how warmly the world embraces us!”

with that, qi yuan launched another supersonic punch.

another thorned blood elder fell.

“e-everyone... u-unite!” stammered one of the thorned blood elders.

qi yuan’s patience wore thin.

“still stammering at your age? what a waste of space. let me clear some memory for the divine wood universe!”

true to his word, qi yuan obliterated the stammering elder instantly.

in mere moments, three thorned blood elders were dead.

golden pill crane’s face was twisted in rage and fear.

“who are you?! this is the territory of the dark-eye god! to offend a god is to court death!”

golden pill crane couldn’t fathom why someone would dare act so brazenly in yunxue city, slaughtering without restraint.

this city was under the rule of the dark-eye god, part of black heaven and black earth’s domain.

even the human enlightenment society’s agents tread lightly here.

and yet, this white-haired man strutted through the city as if it were his own.

moreover, despite his white hair, qi yuan radiated youthful vitality.

the human enlightenment society wouldn’t waste such a prodigy by sending him to an enemy stronghold.

after all, in the divine wood universe, entering enemy territory was a one-way ticket to death.

“dark-eye god? if they dare obstruct my mortal transcendence, they’ll die too,” qi yuan declared nonchalantly.

his sole focus was on achieving mortal transcendence.

anyone who stood in his way was an enemy that had to be eliminated.

“trying to escape? did you ask my wings for permission?”

qi yuan’s speed was unmatched, cutting down all who stood before him.

heaven-tier experts—untouchable to most—were nothing more than fodder.

it was a complete massacre.

hr

“but the universe is vast. even i, despite my lifelong efforts, haven’t explored a fraction of it. absolute prodigies are as numerous as the grains of sand in a river, fleeting as bubbles in a dream.

“without reaching the yang god realm, without ascending to a realm lord’s stature, they remain but transient dust within the cosmos.”

hearing this, xianling yingjun nodded. “thank you, grand elder.”

however, something else lingered in his mind.

“grand elder... do you know the origins of black heaven?”

black heaven’s name carried a weighty and ominous significance. xianling yingjun had heard it countless times, yet its true origins remained a mystery to him.

even within void paradise, no information on black heaven’s origins was available for exchange.

the grand elder shook his head. “with my weak strength and low status, how could i know such secrets?”

xianling yingjun sighed deeply. “it seems only the void lord knows the truth about black heaven.”

in void paradise, becoming the top-ranked participant on the leaderboard allowed one to ask the void lord a single question.

xianling yingjun had once heard that the human enlightenment society had gathered the combined resources of their entire universe to aid a void walker in achieving the top rank.

this void walker had then used their question to inquire about black heaven.

according to rumors, the void lord did reveal black heaven’s origins.

however, mere moments after receiving the answer, the void walker inexplicably forgot everything they had learned.

hr

quijin realm, yunxue city.

blood tiger gang’s leader stood pale-faced, staring at the message on his communication device.

“what happened?”

“lord blood tiger is usually so mild-mannered. why would he curse me like this?”

the words “fuck you!”* had left the gang leader in a state of panic.

“could it be...”

a terrifying thought crossed his mind.

“advisor, where is my mother buried?” he asked hurriedly.

the military advisor replied promptly, “in purple star grove!”

“dig up my mother’s grave and bring her bones here. i will personally offer them to lord blood tiger!” the gang leader commanded gravely.

blood tiger was known for his calm demeanor, akin to a smiling tiger. for him to use such crude language was unthinkable unless... he truly meant it!

“mother, you didn’t enjoy much comfort in life, but in death... i’ll make sure you experience some joy!” the gang leader muttered, consoling himself.

this wasn’t an act of disrespect; it was a display of filial piety.

after all, his mother had always considered it an honor to serve half-human, half-specter beings like the thorned blood members.

in death, she would surely take pride in such a distinguished posthumous offering.

just as these thoughts crossed his mind, his expression suddenly shifted.

“who dares trespass into my blood tiger gang’s territory?”

the voice came from a man shrouded in darkness, exuding an aura of danger.

“i’ve come for one person... where is qi yuan?”

the white-haired cultivator known as qi yuan had become the object of his search.

after receiving wu xiang’s message, the black-clad man had rushed to the blood tiger gang’s base, intending to rescue qi yuan.

initially, he had anticipated a fierce battle.

his plan was to bide his time, wait for an opportunity, and then save qi yuan, hoping to recruit him into the rebellion.

but on his way, he had heard a deafening sound, akin to an earthquake, emanating from the inner city.

he had hesitated to investigate the inner city, fearing unforeseen dangers. after much deliberation, he had chosen to proceed to the blood tiger gang instead.

this decision had led to the current scene.

the gang leader eyed the black-clad man warily. “he’s not here. he went to the inner city. most likely, lord blood tiger has already apprehended him!”

the gang leader had no desire to fight this mysterious figure.

the black-clad man narrowed his eyes, a mix of surprise and disappointment on his face.

“he went to the inner city?”

if qi yuan had indeed gone there, any hope of saving him was likely gone.

“what happened in the inner city?” the black-clad man probed cautiously, though he doubted the gang leader would have an answer.

“i...” the gang leader began, but his advisor’s panicked voice interrupted him.

“bad news, boss! a slaughtering maniac is wreaking havoc in the inner city!”

the advisor had just received a message through his communicator. someone had begun a massacre in the inner city.

“slaughtering in the inner city? that’s a death sentence!” the gang leader declared, his tone unhurried.

the earlier tremors had been alarming, but with the thorned blood clan overseeing the city and the dark-eye god potentially descending at any moment, there was no chance of significant upheaval.

“you’re right. i let my nerves get the better of me. the inner city is impregnable; nothing major could possibly happen,” the advisor said, though he couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t received any updates from his contact.

was the contact... busy bathing?

the black-clad man’s eyes gleamed with intrigue.

someone was causing carnage in the inner city?

who could this be?

after a moment of hesitation, he glanced toward the inner city and made up his mind.

he would sneak over and see for himself.

after all, if a human warrior was about to fall, someone needed to bear witness to their bravery and ensure their sacrifice wouldn’t be forgotten.