A thunderous roar shook the heavens.
Ten zhang in front of the black-robed young man, a colossal crystalline barrier shimmering with seven-colored radiance materialized out of thin air.
The thunder-ball sun crashed into it with a howling shriek, and countless arcs of green lightning ricocheted outward. Over a dozen suns detonated on contact, their combined force surging skyward as if seeking to tear apart and devour everything in its path.
Yet under such terrifying power, the seven-colored crystal barrier merely flickered once before absorbing the full brunt of the assault without so much as trembling. Not a shred of the onslaught reached the black-robed youth standing behind it.
Instead, at that very moment, the entire sky abruptly dimmed. A titanic, nearly translucent glazed hand tore through the void and appeared in an instant.
The sky-bridging hand was smooth and crystalline throughout, its surface covered in countless golden runes that flowed and shifted ceaselessly. When its five fingers spread apart and clamped downward, the whole sky shuddered, shrouded beneath an indescribable force.
With a muffled *pop*.
Several thousand zhang away, space rippled, and the big man's Nascent Soul stumbled out of the void in a panic.
Having already fled to such a great distance, the Nascent Soul had been forcibly yanked back from its teleportation by the sudden eruption of power, dragged out of the void against its will.
The moment it appeared, the Nascent Soul's face was a mask of fury and alarm. Before it could even attempt another spell to plunge back into the void, the giant hand overhead blurred — and in the next instant, it had materialized directly above the Nascent Soul's position. A single finger as massive as a sky-pillar tapped down with a light touch.
With a soft *squelch*, the Nascent Soul burst apart and vanished without so much as a whimper, utterly unable to withstand even a single tap from that finger.
The giant hand inhaled the scattered motes of spiritual light left behind, then swayed in the wind and dissipated into nothingness.
The black-robed youth waved one hand, and the crystal barrier before him shattered on its own, crumbling into nothing. Yet strangely, he did not depart upon the Blood River beneath him. Instead, he turned and cast two casual glances in another direction, then spoke in an even tone:
"You two have been watching this little performance for quite some time now. Don't you think it's time you came out?"
That direction remained utterly silent, without the slightest disturbance.
"Hmph, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
The black-robed youth's brows snapped upward. He extended one finger and flicked it with apparent nonchalance.
A flash of crimson light burst forth in that patch of sky, and a bolt of scarlet lightning cleaved downward. As the electric arcs crackled, the surrounding void rippled and swayed.
"You knew we were here all along." A startled voice immediately rang out from what had appeared to be empty space.
Then a crystalline, frost-cold glint flashed, and a man and a woman appeared one after the other.
Both wore white robes. The man had silver and gold spirit patterns inscribed along both sides of his face, and his features bore a faint but unmistakable resemblance to Han Li.
The woman was strikingly beautiful and cold, her skin pale and luminous, giving off an aura of bone-deep chill.
These two were none other than the Six-Winged Frost Centipede in its white-robed young man form, and the Ice Phoenix whom it had coerced into traveling alongside.
They should have been far away on the Thunder Continent, yet somehow they too had arrived in Blood Heaven.
"To think you believed such paltry concealment could escape my notice — you underestimate me. Still, you two are somewhat interesting. Both of you carry the mutated true-spirit bloodline of ice-attributed creatures, which is quite rare even in the Immortal Realm. Very well, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your lives. From this day forward, you will follow at my side and serve as my spirit slaves. I've descended to the lower realms and happen to be short a pair of errand-runners." The black-robed youth studied the two of them, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes, then issued his command in a flat tone.
"The Immortal Realm… spirit slaves. You're a True Immortal from the upper world? That's impossible! Since ancient times, all the lower planes have lost contact with the True Immortal Realm. How could a True Immortal possibly descend directly?" The young man transformed from the Six-Winged Frost Centipede, despite his characteristically deep and cautious nature, couldn't help but cry out in shock upon hearing those words.
The Ice Phoenix's beautiful face drained of color as well, her expression awash with alarm and disbelief.
"Hmph, 'all planes'? The only ones who truly lost contact are your little cluster of realms. And it's not that the True Immortal Realm cannot reconnect with your group — it's simply that the cost far outweighs the benefit, and those old fogies can't be bothered." The black-robed youth snorted dismissively.
The Six-Winged Frost Centipede, hearing this, felt a chill run through his heart. Combined with having already witnessed the youth's terrifying power in casually slaying three Mahayana cultivators, he now believed the claim of True Immortal identity by more than half.
But as for serving once again as someone's "spirit pet" — no matter how great the other party's background, he would absolutely, categorically, never agree.
"I'll give you ten breaths to consider. If you refuse, heh heh…" As the Six-Winged Frost Centipede's expression shifted between light and shadow, the black-robed youth grinned and issued his threat.
"I don't need ten breaths. I can give you my answer right now. Your spirit slave? Stop daydreaming. Even if you got down on your knees and kowtowed three times, there wouldn't be the slightest chance." The young man transformed from the Six-Winged Frost Centipede murmured briefly, then suddenly revealed a mocking sneer and delivered his refusal.