An immense surge of Source Energy poured into the Crystal Pillar, and the Cloud Mist Patterns seemed to come alive.

Shu Feng’s consciousness plunged into the Crystal Pillar, as if he had become Ling Zhaokong, beginning to comprehend the True Intent of Clouds step-by-step by following Ling Zhaokong’s path of growth.

This time, Shu Feng’s Intelligence of 4,000 points finally showed its power, and he began to absorb and fuse with the wisps of the True Intent of Clouds.

The Flame Desert of the Black Tortoise Realm was a remote, desolate wasteland. It never rained in this desert, which stretched for a thousand li in every direction, and almost no living thing could survive within it.

A peerlessly beautiful woman in black strolled through this desert like a Ghost. With every step, she reappeared a hundred li away, as if by teleportation.

In just a few steps, the peerlessly beautiful woman in black appeared in the center of the Flame Desert.

The peerlessly beautiful woman in black said faintly, "Gu Wu! I’ve found you!"

"Dark Princess, I’ve been on the run for a hundred thousand years, and still, you found me. Can’t you just turn a blind eye and let me live?"

The innumerable grains of sand in the Flame Desert roiled, forming a giant face a kilometer in diameter. It stared intently at the woman who had once traveled with Shu Feng as Miss An, its voice deep and resonant.

The Dark Princess said faintly, "You stole my Father Emperor’s supreme treasure, and he was furious! He sent my sisters and me to hunt you down. One hundred thousand years, and I’ve finally found you. Gu Wu, surrender, and I will spare your life. I’ll take you back and let Father Emperor decide your fate."

"Surrender? If I surrender, that’s a guaranteed dead end! If I fall into His Majesty’s hands, I’m afraid I’ll be left begging for both life and death in vain!"

"Dark Princess, since you refuse to spare me, then you can die!"

An unbelievably terrifying aura, one that seemed capable of ending the world, erupted from the Flame Desert.

The thousand-li expanse of the Flame Desert churned, and the entire desert rapidly converged, condensing into a terrifying Sword of Sand that slashed madly toward the Dark Princess.

A cold glint flashed in the Dark Princess’s beautiful eyes. A suit of black battle armor inscribed with countless Profound Mysterious Curse Seals appeared on her body, and she slashed out with a black Magic Sword in her hand.

A black Sword Aura tore through the void, slashing toward the Sand Divine Sword that had been formed from a thousand li of desert.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of terrifying, earth-shattering booms erupted, spreading out in all directions.

Within a thousand-li radius of the Flame Desert, the earth cracked open, and lava spewed forth.

Beyond the thousand-li boundary of the Flame Desert, terrifying storms raged and earthquakes struck repeatedly. The effects spread across the entire world, like a natural disaster.

Atop the walls of War Immortal City, the number one city in the Black Tortoise Realm, an old man opened his eyes. He had a white beard and hair, stood only 1.6 meters tall, and his face was covered with wrinkles and age spots. He looked so ancient it seemed he could die at any moment. He gazed toward the Flame Desert, his eyes shining brightly, a grave look passing over them. "Divine Spirit Level experts! How dare they descend upon the Black Torto ise Realm?"

"No, this power! They must be experts beyond the Divine Spirit Level! How terrifying! I don’t have the slightest confidence in victory! To think such terrifying monsters were hidden here in the Black Tortoise Realm!"

The old man looked toward the Flame Desert, a flicker of fear in his eyes. Ever since he had taken up his post guarding War Immortal City, this was the first time he had sensed an existence in the Black Tortoise Realm that he could not possibly defeat.

This incredibly ancient old man, who looked as if a gust of wind could topple him, was Wei Tuxian, the City Lord of War Immortal City, the world’s number one demon-suppressor.

"Master, what happened?"

A tall, gray-haired old man in green robes approached and asked. This was Wei Tuxian’s third Direct Disciple, Anyang.

Wei Tuxian had accepted a total of ten Direct Disciples. In the past hundred years, seven of them had either betrayed him or died in battle. Only his third Direct Disciple, Anyang; his eighth, Zhao Tiannan; and his tenth, Wei Feng, remained.

Anyang and Zhao Tiannan were already experts of the Martial Saint Realm, and the tenth Direct Disciple, Wei Feng, was an expert of the Grandmaster Level.

Wei Tuxian said slowly, "There are God-Demon Level experts fighting in the Flame Desert!"

Anyang was shaken and cried out, "What? How dare they enter the Black Tortoise Realm? Aren’t they afraid of falling here?"

Anyang had also experienced the holy war on the Black Tortoise Realm’s Void Demon Battlefield. The memory of the terrifying power displayed by the Void Demon Dukes during the assault on the Void Demon Celestial Pillar was still fresh in his mind, and he remained utterly terrified of it.

At that time, the Martial Saints from the great powers of the Black Tortoise Realm were like ants in the hands of those Void Demon Dukes, easily crushed to death. Even the top ten experts in the world were no match for them.

God-Demon Level experts were terrifying existences that surpassed even the Void Demon Dukes. Those incomparably arrogant Void Demon Dukes were merely subordinates of the Divine Spirit Level Void Demon Kings. Their power could not be mentioned in the same breath as that of the Divine Spirit Level Void Demon Kings.

If those Divine Spirit Level Void Demon Kings were to force their way into the Black Tortoise Realm, they too would be terribly suppressed and weakened, and could even be surrounded and killed by the realm’s united Martial Saints.

It was precisely for this reason that God-Demon Level Void Demon Kings would not rashly send their true bodies to descend upon Little Worlds like the Black Tortoise Realm or Blue Star.

"Anyang, I must leave War Immortal City for a time. If the Void Demon Clan attacks in force, take everyone and retreat!"

With those faint words, Wei Tuxian took a step and vanished, leaving the War Immortal City he had guarded for a century.

"Yes, Master!"

Anyang watched Wei Tuxian’s departing figure, a complex look in his eyes. He felt as if he had lost his backbone, and his heart filled with dread.

As the strategic pass between the Void Demon Battlefield and the Black Tortoise Realm, War Immortal City had not seen a large-scale war in decades. This was all because Wei Tuxian, the world’s number one expert, stood guard here.

Although Anyang was a Martial Saint Level expert of immense power, he had no confidence that he could defend War Immortal City.

Atop a Spirit Mountain in the Star Sacred Land of the Great Song Empire.

"Those are God-Demon Level experts fighting!"

A middle-aged man wearing a Star Robe, with long black hair, an incomparably handsome face, and a refined demeanor, stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He quietly gazed toward the Flame Desert, a grave look in his eyes.

This middle-aged man was the Star Saint Master, ranked eighth in the world.

In the Black Tortoise Realm, the Martial Saint stage was, in fact, divided into three realms: the Sensing Realm, the Celestial Heart Realm, and the Celestial Realm.