Chapter Forty-Six: Visitors from Beyond the Heavens

Shen Fengling stepped forward to the front and denounced, “Shangguan, you old villain! For your own selfish gain, you’ve tried to seize the Serpent Saint Whip, consorted with demonic cultivators, and are even willing to drag the entire city of Youzhou down with you. Truly despicable and shameless.”

His words sent a wave of uproar through the crowd.

“Save your breath, you old scoundrel! Surrender yourself at once!”

“If it’s a fight you want, let’s do it! With so many of us, do you really think we’re afraid of you?”

“Let me have a taste of that monstrous serpent whip!”

...

Watching the scene unfold, a faint smile flickered in Shen Yu’s eyes. As the young man had said, he was not alone—like all cultivators on this continent, he fought to punish evil and uphold justice!

“Hmph!” Ancestor Shangguan snorted coldly. Even faced with the crowd’s overwhelming fury, he gripped the Serpent Saint Whip in his hand, utterly unafraid. The strongest among them, Shen Yu, was no match for him, let alone these rabble. His voice turned chilling. “Very well. Since you’re so eager to court death, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

At his command, the spirit of the Serpent Saint Whip suddenly released the oppressive aura of a beast king. The crowd paled in shock, hastening to strike as chaos erupted all around.

Ke Rongzi turned to Shen Luo and urged, “Quick, get Clan Leader Shen out of here.”

Shen Luo patted Tiger Soul, who instantly understood and swept Clan Leader Shen and the corpse of the Nine-tailed, Three-eyed Silver Wolf onto his back, dashing downward.

Once he had set them down on the ground, Shen Luo said to Tiger Soul, “Go now.”

Tiger Soul shot back up into the sky like a meteor.

While the others struggled against their foe, the pressure suddenly eased. They saw Tiger Soul return, effortlessly luring the Serpent Spirit far away. As the two high-level beasts clashed, dark winds rose and thunderous explosions shook the air. The cultivators scattered in disarray to avoid the shockwaves.

“My heavens, have spirit beasts become this powerful now?” someone exclaimed.

Fear spread among the crowd. A deeper dread crept in—if all spirit beasts surpassed humans in strength... would the Southern Domain become their domain entirely?

That could not be allowed.

In that moment, nearly everyone hoped the two mighty beasts would destroy each other. Then, in the ensuing chaos, they could join forces to wipe them out.

A fierce glint appeared in many eyes.

But these intentions were quickly sensed by the two beast kings.

“So these are the humans you wish to protect?” mocked the Serpent Spirit. “You shield them, yet they fear your power and wish to kill you.” Its words were blunt, leaving some cultivators red-faced with shame.

With a sudden roar, Tiger Soul lifted its head and howled to the sky.

The very air seemed to twist, and those cultivators who were too close felt their breathing grow labored, their hearts churning.

“Hmph, a swarm of ants—I don’t even consider you worth my attention.” Tiger Soul’s voice was arrogant as it lunged forward.

The two beasts fought with such ferocity that the world seemed to dim. Even from the ground far below, the terrifying aura was palpable.

Bluebird clicked its tongue in amazement. “So Brother Tiger is really this strong!”

Su Li nodded; it was hard to reconcile the awe-inspiring tiger in the sky with the one she knew day to day.

After watching intently for a while, Shen Yu suddenly asked, “A Luo, this isn’t an ordinary beast, is it?”

Su Li looked over in surprise.

As the head of a beast-taming family, Shen Yu’s sensitivity far exceeded that of others. He spoke with certainty, “Four golden claws and eyes—more like the legendary divine beast, a true one!”

A gasp ran through those nearby.

Shen Luo glanced at Gu Hongshang. To his own people, he saw no point in hiding the truth and said frankly, “I obtained this Tiger Soul in the Spirit Garden Secret Realm...”

He then recounted in detail how he was captured by the armored octopus, entered a mysterious cave, and eventually obtained a green stone.

Shen Yu and Gu Hongshang listened in amazement, Shen Yu’s expression toward the young man becoming... complicated.

Heh.

Such luck defied the very heavens—no, it completely shattered them!

Anyone who entered the Spirit Garden was lucky to escape with their life, let alone find fortune. Though he was deeply shaken within, Shen Yu maintained a façade of calm and asked, “What kind of stone is it?”

Both the people and beasts nearby were taken aback by his composure.

Without hesitation, Shen Luo produced the Divine Tiger Stone Talisman from his robes and handed it over.

At first glance, it appeared to be an utterly ordinary, slender, bronze-hued stone, with no trace of spiritual energy. After a long examination, Shen Yu’s frown deepened. As he returned the talisman, he said, “I don’t know what it is either, but judging by the broken edge, it seems to be part of something larger. Perhaps, in the future, even greater fortune awaits you. Until you discover its origins, speak of it to no one.”

Shen Luo nodded.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Yu added, “As for Tiger Soul, you can simply claim it’s a contracted beast from our ancestral line. When I return to the clan, I’ll make the necessary arrangements so no one suspects.”

Shen Luo was deeply grateful.

Listening to their conversation, Su Li also felt this was the safest course.

If word of the Divine Beast Stone Talisman spread, would it not trigger bloodshed like today’s battle over the Serpent Saint Whip? The answer was obvious.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of deafening crashes shook the earth, signaling the battle’s climax.

Just then, a subtle spatial ripple appeared. Guided by a beast’s instinctive sense of danger, Su Li was the first to notice the anomaly and focused her gaze.

The sky seemed to tear apart, and suddenly, a man in yellow robes stepped out, hands clasped behind his back, strolling with serene composure.

The sight left everyone aghast.

Tearing through the void—this was a feat only a Nascent Sovereign could achieve!

Their shock was understandable; not only in the Southern Domain, but even on higher continents, Nascent Sovereigns were exceedingly rare—legends, almost. Yet here one appeared before them, on the Southern Domain. How could they not be fearful, not tremble to their core?

Suddenly, the man in yellow moved. A mountain-like pressure exploded forth. In his palm, he held a long whip, coiling like a dragon, striking unexpectedly at the two battling beasts.

The two beasts exchanged a glance, releasing their spiritual power to form a thick protective barrier.

With a tremendous crack, the whip shattered their seemingly impregnable shield, its fierce assault pressing in.

Both beasts unleashed their ultimate skills.

“Mystic Sky Storm!”

“Mystic Tiger Gale!”

A colossal sphere of spiritual energy, wrapped in the image of a giant tiger’s head, tore through all in its path, dimming even the heavens and earth.

The man in yellow stood unmoved, calmly unleashing the Phantom Whip Art. Instantly, countless whips of spiritual energy filled the sky, blotting it out.

Boom... boom... boom...

Tempest winds howled, thunder roared.

The terrifying energy burst through the heavens, raging and surging like a tsunami, swallowing the land in an instant. Mountains were leveled, plains split into countless ravines... the secret realm was utterly destroyed.

The brutal aura alarmed cultivators across the continent; even those in closed-door cultivation rushed toward the chaos.

Inside the secret realm, cultivators plunged from the void; the weaker among them collapsed in a bloody faint from the shock.

On the ground, although Shen Yu cast a protective shield in time, the dreadful pressure still seeped through. Shen Luo felt his organs burning with pain, spat blood, and half-knelt to the ground. Yet his arms remained tightly wrapped around Su Li, and with the last of his strength, he channeled pure spiritual energy from his palms into her body.

His heart gave a violent shudder.