Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Yu Girl, what are you doing here? Get back! Now!"

Seeing who had arrived, Ye Lio's expression changed drastically. She abandoned her slaughter of the Immortal Cultivators, and in a flash, appeared at Ye Wanyu's side.

This time, she wasn't mistaken.

It was indeed Ye Wanyu.

"Grandma Lio, what's going on with these people? And you… what's wrong? You're scaring me…"

Ye Wanyu was terrified to see Ye Lio covered from head to toe in blood, her aura unstable and fluctuating.

She could sense that something was terribly wrong with Grandma Lio.

She seemed to be emitting an indescribable aura.

She had felt this way before, when her father was about to pass away.

She had felt the same when her mother was about to leave them.

And Third Uncle, Sixth Aunt, Brother Chengzong, and Third Brother Chengen…

Every person on the verge of death.

Had given her this same feeling.

And now, it was Grandma Lio.

Ye Wanyu felt her entire body begin to tremble.

An endless fear flooded her heart.

She was terrified.

"It's all right, Yu Girl. Look at your grandma now. Don't I seem full of life? Don't I look beautiful?"

Seeing Ye Wanyu trembling in fear, the urgency in Ye Lio's heart vanished. She gently caressed the girl's lovely face and smiled.

But the more she acted this way…

…the more sorrowful Ye Wanyu became.

Because her mother had once caressed her face just like this, telling her that everything was fine.

But in the blink of an eye…

…she was gone.

"What's the matter? Don't I look pretty now?"

Ye Lio feigned a pout.

At the same time, her aura underwent a bizarre transformation.

Ye Wanyu instinctively looked over. She discovered that Grandma Lio, who had appeared so ancient, was gradually growing younger. She transformed from a woman in her sixties or seventies, slowly returning to how she looked in her twenties.

She looked so beautiful.

Her alluring beauty was tinged with a valiant spirit.

So beautiful.

A beauty she had never witnessed before.

"You're beautiful, Grandma Lio. The most beautiful."

Witnessing this baffling scene, the terrified Ye Wanyu calmed under Ye Lio's comforting presence and couldn't help but voice her admiration.

"Really?"

Ye Lio seemed both surprised and shy. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile as radiant as a flower in full bloom.

This woman…

…who had never married, never lived a single day—no, not even a single moment—for herself.

In this instant, she cast aside her responsibilities.

She let go of all her sorrows, all her worries.

She reverted to the young woman she once was: so young and naive, yet pure and kind, without a hint of cunning or a single worldly care.

In this final moment of her life…

…she would live for herself.

"Yu Girl, your grandma is going to kill some people now, to slaughter those dogs of the Immortal Dao. Are you willing to help me guard this gate?"

"Yes, I am!"

Ye Wanyu's tone was resolute.

Ye Lio smiled.

It was a happy and confident smile.

But Elder Xuan, who had witnessed this, had his expression change dramatically.

"Damn it! How can this be? How?! That madwoman, how dare she use such a technique? She's damning herself to eternal oblivion! Flee! All of you, flee!"

Elder Xuan screamed.

He had previously tried everything in his power to keep his men here, because he could see that although the woman was a True God, she was a spent force.

As long as they dragged it out, they could eventually wear her down to her death.

But he had never, ever imagined that this woman would do such a thing.

'To burn her Divine Soul Mark, severing herself from the world, pouring out a lifetime of brilliance just for this final moment… So insane, so absolute. Does she have no attachment to this world at all? She's a True God! As long as her Divine Soul Brand is intact, there's always a chance for revival. But now…'

Elder Xuan's heart trembled.

He led the members of the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect in a frantic retreat.

The others, however, were completely baffled.

They didn't understand what was happening.

That hesitation cost them a precious moment.

And in that moment…

…Ye Lio arrived.

A light, airy palm strike, seemingly identical to the Palm Seals she had used before, instantly filled the world. It sealed every path of advance and retreat, every way forward and every way back, trapping the remaining eighty or ninety Immortal Cultivators from the nine of the Ten Great Immortal Sects and the Lords of the Three Domains—a total of twelve factions.

Whether they were at the Mid-stage Void Immortal realm…

…or faction leaders at the Late-stage Void Immortal Peak, or even beings at the Void Immortal Peak like the Sect Leaders of the Dragon-Slaying Immortal Sect and the Celestial Star Immortal Sect…

…beneath Ye Lio's palm…

…they lacked even the strength to resist.

They were struck by the Palm Seals and, in an instant, utterly annihilated, their bodies and Daos erased.

They turned to nothing.

This was the terror of a True God.

Before a single one of her strikes, any number of Void Immortals were but ants.

Worthless.

Of course, after doing all this, Ye Lio was not faring well herself.

She had burned her Divine Soul Brand in exchange for power she might not have possessed even at her absolute peak.

But the duration was far too short.

Her movements slowed, and her once-solid body began to look illusory.

Ye Lio knew.

Her end had come.

But she had no regrets.

"And you!"

Ye Lio looked at the cultivators of the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect, who had retreated so far they were about to exit the Profound Sun Secret Realm. She sneered and made a grasping motion with her hand.

These powerhouses of the Void Immortal Realm…

…were yanked back as if they were puppets on strings.

This included Elder Xuan, who had been at the Void Immortal Peak for a very long time. He was immensely knowledgeable and, like the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord, had one foot in the True Immortal Realm.

"Was it worth it?"

Elder Xuan asked, looking at Ye Lio.

At that moment, he had a sudden realization.

He recognized her.

She was that mischievous little girl from the Ye Family Main Lineage from over six thousand years ago. Back when the Immortal Dao and the Ye Family were rivals, there had been a brief period of peace. Elder Xuan had met Ye Lio then.

But now, to meet her again under these circumstances…

Despite Elder Xuan's vast experience, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

For himself.

And for Ye Lio.

"Of course it's worth it! As long as I kill you dogs of the Immortal Dao, the last of my Ye Family's bloodline can be preserved! One day, someone from my Ye Family will storm your Vast Heaven Immortal Sect and annihilate you! And those filthy claws behind you, those cowards who dared to violate the Four Saints Covenant to strike at my Ye Family—they will all die! Just you wait!"

Ye Lio snorted coldly.

In her mind, however, the image of Yang Xiao surfaced.

'With him here…'

'…the Ye Family still has hope.'

But upon hearing her words, Elder Xuan's expression turned grim.

Because it was true that the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect had backers. Otherwise, how could the Ye Family Main Lineage, which boasted hundreds of True Gods at its zenith, have been reduced to its current state?

After all, more than ten thousand years had passed since the founding of the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect, since the Immortal Dao began to flourish on the Profound Sun Continent. Yet in all that time, not a single True Immortal had emerged.

Only with the rise of the Vast Heaven Immortal Lord was there any hope of seeing the first True Immortal.

Without the aid of those figures, how could the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect have amassed such power that it nearly controlled the entire Profound Sun Continent?

In fact, Elder Xuan himself was of their bloodline.

He was part of the first generation of Immortal Cultivators to rise up here.

"Since you are so determined, I have nothing more to say. I once had a passing friendship with your father. Today, I will grant you a swift death. Everyone, join me! Form the Mystic Sect's Heaven-Destroying Array! Carry out the Slaying Martial Order! We will kill this woman!"

As his voice fell, the cultivators of the Vast Heaven Immortal Sect—whose strength was perfectly preserved, with not a single one having died—roared in unison.

"As you command!"

At once, the last twenty-one survivors…

…sprang into action.

An incomparably profound Array began to take shape.

The moment she saw the Array, Ye Lio's expression changed.

She recognized this Array!

It had slain far too many of the Ye Family's True Gods.

And now, it had appeared once more.

Even Ye Lio, who had already resolved to die, felt her very soul tremble in shock.

Her confidence shattered, she instantly launched a preemptive strike.

She had to stop them from completing the Array!