Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

「Holy Celestial Continent」

「Shenghua Palace」

A magnificent figure descended upon the palace.

His arrival instantly alerted every being on the Holy Celestial Continent at or above the True God realm.

Wherever his aura swept,

all the True Gods prostrated themselves.

They cried out in unison,

"We welcome the return of the Lord Divine King!"

His presence was overwhelming, like that of the Dominator of heaven and earth, his authority absolute and unyielding.

But after Elder Long sensed the aura, he relaxed.

'He's just an ordinary Divine King, a far cry from a Peak Divine King. It looks like this will be easy to resolve.'

When Divine Kings fought, just like ordinary people, they first assessed their opponent's strength.

The Divine King Realm was not divided into early, middle, and late stages, because everyone who ascended to this realm had already reached the absolute limit of the True God path.

The only thing that differentiated them was their Combat Power.

Based on their Combat Power, Divine Kings were roughly divided into four tiers.

Ordinary Divine King, Peak Divine King, Top-tier Divine King, and Supreme Divine King. The gap in combat power between each tier was immense.

Elder Long was a Top-tier Divine King.

Ao Shengtian, however, was merely an ordinary Divine King.

There were two tiers separating them.

Naturally, Elder Long wasn't concerned about him.

Ao Shengtian had returned full of aggression and murderous intent.

However, when he sensed Elder Long's aura—which seemed faint but was in fact immeasurably stronger than his own—his expression changed instantly.

He strode forward and bowed respectfully. "May I ask where this Dao Brother has come from, and what business brings you to my Holy Celestial Continent?"

"Royal Father..."

Ao Yuhua, who had been ecstatic at the Holy Celestial Divine King's appearance and thought she could finally have her revenge, paled when she saw this.

'She knew her father's temperament well. For him to treat this old man with such deference, the man's strength must far surpass his own.'

'Otherwise, why would he act this way?'

'It looks like I won't be getting my revenge anytime soon.'

Ao Yuhua was filled with bitter resentment.

She shot a venomous glare at Elder Long's will-formed clone.

"Hmph! How dare you! You wretched girl, harboring hatred for this Dao Brother? Are you courting death?"

The Holy Celestial Divine King raised his hand and sent a palm strike flying toward his daughter.

The color drained from Ao Yuhua's face.

She no longer dared to show the slightest hint of resentment, prostrating herself on the ground and repeatedly begging for mercy.

"Enough. There is no need for such anger, Dao Brother. Your esteemed daughter offended me and has already been punished. Her Divine Foundation is destroyed, and fair compensation was given. It is only natural for her to harbor resentment. You need not punish her further."

At Elder Long's words...

"This... Thank you for your magnanimity, Dao Brother."

As he spoke, Ao Shengtian immediately withdrew the palm he had aimed at Ao Yuhua.

The strike and retraction were perfectly smooth. Needless to say, the seemingly ferocious palm strike was just for show.

Although Elder Long was powerful, Ao Shengtian wasn't truly afraid. He was merely making a show of deference.

At the same time, he was also protecting his daughter.

He did it to prevent the old man from seizing the opportunity to actually kill his precious daughter.

If that happened, Ao Shengtian would be in an impossible situation.

Despite having lived in seclusion in the Lu Family's Secret Realm for years, Elder Long was not as naive as the sheltered members of the Lu Family.

He had, of course, seen through Ao Shengtian's intentions at a glance.

He didn't care.

He had never intended to kill the woman in the first place.

Otherwise, she would have been dead long ago.

Why wait until now?

He had only stayed behind to gauge Ao Shengtian's strength. Now that he had, and the other man had sized him up in return, Elder Long felt there was no need to linger.

After all, he was a Top-tier Divine King, while Ao Shengtian was merely an ordinary one.

Elder Long doubted Ao Shengtian would dare attack him, so long as Ao Yuhua remained unharmed.

Next, Ao Shengtian put on a show of forcing Ao Yuhua to apologize to Elder Long.

After scolding her a few times, he took all the responsibility upon himself.

He exhausted all pleasantries.

Elder Long listened with waning interest.

"Since this matter is settled, I shall take my leave. No need to see me out, Dao Brother."

With that, Elder Long vanished.

The moment he was gone, the warm expressions on the faces of Ao Shengtian and his daughter turned cold and grim.

"Worthless!"

Ao Shengtian snorted in anger, shooting a cold glance at Ao Yuhua.

He had once held this daughter in high regard, but now, she was worthless.

Worse still, she had ruined his plans.

This, of course, enraged him.

At his words, the legs of the Eldest Princess—a woman who could once command the winds and rains across the entire Holy Celestial Continent—went weak, and she nearly collapsed in terror. Even after Yang Xiao had stripped her of the Enchanting Demon Pattern, she still possessed strength somewhere between Demigod Peak and the True God realm. Yet a single, powerless word from Ao Shengtian terrified her to this extent.

This showed just how deep-seated Ao Yuhua's fear of her father was.

"I tolerated your willfulness and let you increase your strength only because you possessed the Enchanting Demon Body. I even arranged a great opportunity for you on this trip abroad. And what happens? You go and get yourself crippled. What use are you to me now?"

Ao Shengtian's face was a mask of cold indifference.

It was as if she were not his own daughter, but a tool to be discarded without hesitation now that she had lost her value.

His attitude sent another shiver of fear through Ao Yuhua's heart.

And her hatred for Yang Xiao reached its absolute peak.

But at that moment, she didn't dare utter a single word.

"Enough. It's too late for scolding to change anything. My original plan was for you to be with Nangong Xinghui, the third young master of the Star Emperor's direct lineage. With your Enchanting Demon Body and my influence, becoming his favored concubine would have been simple enough. But looking at you now, this task can only fall to Yushuang."

"As for you... you will go to the Star God Continent. Xing Hanzi, the Vice Dean of Star God Academy, has a powerful background. Don't be fooled by his cultivation—he may only be a Tier Three True God, but he wields significant authority and is highly respected at the academy. If you become his official wife, he will surely be ecstatic."

After saying this, Ao Shengtian strode away without giving Ao Yuhua a single glance.

Ao Yuhua was left completely stunned.

She collapsed limply to the floor.

'So, she could have been paired with a Great Emperor's Direct Disciple,' she thought. 'But now she was being sent to a mere Tier Three True God—an old man whose potential was already exhausted.'

The difference between the two was like the heavens and the earth.

Even if one position was for a concubine and the other for an official wife, the gap between their statuses was simply too vast.

An endless tide of hatred for Yang Xiao surged through Ao Yuhua's heart.

'It's all your fault! You're the one who brought me to this! I will have my revenge! I *must* have my revenge! No matter the cost, I, Ao Yuhua, will make you pay!'

She roared inwardly.

But deep down, Ao Yuhua knew that at her current level, she would likely never get the chance.

「Meanwhile, far away on the Profound Sun Continent」

Yang Xiao frowned.

He had run into a problem.

A huge one.