Three months later.

In the boundless sea of stars outside the fiend world.

"I want to see who it is that foiled my plans." Fiendcelestial Empyrean Lord Kuifu led more than ten Skyfiends as they flew to the periphery of the fiendcelestial world. Not long after they flew into the void–

"Stop!"

Empyrean Lord shouted. The Skyfiends under him carefully surveyed their surroundings in shock.

"Come on out." Empyrean Lord stared into the distance.

"Whoosh."

A figure appeared in the distant void before splitting into two. The two figures were identical in appearance.

One of them was a purple-robed Daoist while the other was a blue-robed Daoist. Both of them were Ancestral Master Zhang.

"Whoosh." Streams of lightning flew out of the purple-robed Daoist and went in every direction. They were the twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends, who had floated around them with lighting sparking across their bodies. All of them had stout bodies and coldly stared at the Empyrean Lord and his Skyfiends.

"Empyrean Lord, long time no see." The purple-robed and blue-robed Daoists spoke in unison.

"It"s you. The Great Chang world"s Daoist Divine Firmament?" Kuifu scanned his surroundings and laughed. "What happened? There"s only you, a second Essence Soul, and twelve Capital Heaven G.o.dfiends? You plan to deal with me using only that?"

"Precisely." Ancestral Master Zhang nodded slightly.

"It looks like you are filled with confidence after breaking through to the sixth firmament Skyimmortal realm. Perfect. I happen to be a sixth fiend Skyfiend myself," said Kuifu with a faint smile. "Let me see how powerful you Daoist Green Touring Palace disciples are!"

Kuifu was confident but the Skyfiends that accompanied him were extremely nervous.

Ancestral Master Zhang"s true body and his second Essence Soul bellowed simultaneously, "Come, lightning!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Instantly, thousands of bolts of lightning gathered and tore through the starry cosmos.

The twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends formed an array formation and, with his own body as a catalyst for the Divine Firmament Dharmic powers, he guided the lightning forces through the void. Instantly, thousands of terrifying lightning bolts struck down, turning the region into a sea of lightning! Kuifu was left stunned. He quickly conjured his Skyfiend Dharmic powers to protect his subordinates but, amid sizzling sounds, the barrier formed by his Skyfiend Dharmic powers was torn apart by the surging lightning bolts.

"Ah!"

"Save me!"

"Empyrean Lord!" These Skyfiends were panicking as they tried their best to resist. However, they were pulverized by the sea of lightning. Even if more than half of them cultivated their bodies, none of them could withstand the terrifying lightning.

The surroundings calmed down.

The lightning emanated, leaving Kuifu with not even a single subordinate around him. His face took on an ugly expression.

The strongest thing about him was his physical body. A layer of sanguine light enveloped the surface of his body, allowing him to resist the lightning.

"What an impressive lightning array formation," said Kuifu through clenched teeth. "Ordinary fifth or sixth firmament Skyfiends would be dead if trapped inside it."

"Empyrean Lord, you are a child of a huge family clan in the Tenebrous Fiend Abyss. You cultivate in a great divine power and, in terms of strength, you can match the eighth to ninth firmament Skyfiend realm. How can this bit of strength injure you? All I did was rid us of those Skyfiends so we could face each other in quiet." Ancestral Master Zhang"s true body and avatar remained very calm.

Kuifu"s expression changed.

Daoist Divine Firmament was still so confident despite knowing his strength?

"There is talk that Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasure"s newly-recruited disciple, Daoist Divine Firmament, is extremely weak. Despite cultivating for thousands of years, he remains stuck at the third firmament Skyimmortal realm," said Kuifu. "I never expected you to be keeping a low profile all this time. The last time I saw you, you vanquished many of my guardians, exposing your strength to be that of a sixth firmament Skyimmortal. Your present strength is nearly at the ninth firmament. Why have you been keeping a low profile despite having such mighty strength?"

"It was not me keeping a low profile," said Ancestral Master Zhang with a smile. "It"s quite embarra.s.sing, actually. Just a few years ago, my strength was indeed only that of a sixth firmament."

"You became that much stronger in a few years? Do you think me a fool?" Kuifu sneered.

"It"s precisely because of your threat that I was forced to use the Myriad Dharma Pool ahead of time. I was lucky to be able to get to my present state," said Ancestral Master Zhang. "Empyrean Lord Kuifu, I can spare you this time as long as you answer my question honestly."

Kuifu frowned. "You think you have what it takes to kill me? As for the question, why don"t you just say it?"

"Empyrean Lord, why did you pay such a tremendous price to occupy my Great Chang world?" Ancestral Master Zhang looked at him.

Kuifu"s heart jolted.

The reason… was his greatest secret!

"Hahaha, do I need a reason for conquering a world?" Kuifu scoffed. "I"m a Skyfiend. The more worlds I conquer, the more the Heavenly Dao bestows upon me."

"Back then, the Boor Ancestral Sect array formation had only been in its nascent state. If you had set it up completely, the price paid would be ridiculous. You even sent more than a hundred fiendcelestial guardians despite lacking the confidence just to maintain that sliver of hope," said Ancestral Master Zhang with a smile. "You can honestly tell me there"s no special reason even though you were willing to pay such a heavy price?"

"I"m a fiend. I do whatever I want." Kuifu scoffed. "I"ve given you the answer. I wanted to conquer your world so I attempted the conquest. That"s all. Do you still want to continue this fight?"

"Empyrean Lord, you really think of me as a fool. Fine, since you wish to die, I will fulfill your wish," said Ancestral Master Zhang.

A Dao talisman phantom appeared behind his actual body.

As for his second Essence Soul, a huge seal appeared in his hands.

"Go."

The purple-robed Daoist cast lightning while the twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends aided him. The Daoist phantom condensed a bolt of lightning that contained a nebulous aura of Chaos. It was released with its horrific and cold might.

"Go."

The blue-robed Daoist threw out the huge seal which expanded as it flew out. It transformed into a tiny mountain as the seal became covered in dense lightning patterns. On it were the tiny, faint words—"Lightning Division Five Three Envoy."

Empyrean Lord"s expression changed drastically upon seeing this turn of events. "Chaos Divine Lightning? The Heavenly Courts" Lightning Division"s supreme-grade Numinous treasure seal? s.h.i.+t!"

…

This terrifying bout continued for a few moments.

"Boom!" Empyrean Lord"s body was severely injured by a blow and he was trying hard to recover from it.

"I have already said that you can be spared if you answer me honestly." Ancestral Master Zhang shouted.

"Hahaha… I already told you but you refuse to believe me."

Kuifu roared with laughter. "Daoist Divine Firmament, you are truly ruthless. I never expected you to force me to do this."

"Time to leave."

Suddenly, a blob of white mist rose and enveloped Empyrean Lord. His body began to dematerialize as his figure turned faint.

Sou!

He quickly charged out the twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends" barricade. His speed was so fast that even Ancestral Master Zhang"s Lightning Dharma, which he was most adept in, was far from comparable. Kuifu escaped far into the distance. Without the repression of the twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends array formation, Kuifu engaged in Void Transference and completely vanished.

"Darn it."

Ancestral Master Zhang"s expression turned nasty. "I never expected him to have something so rare. He actually managed to escape my array formation."

"He is willing to use such a precious item to flee for his life rather than tell me his reason for conquering the Great Chang world." Ancestral Master Zhang"s expression turned heavy. "It looks like there"s real trouble brewing."

"However… I"ll kill as many fiendcelestials as they send to the Great Chang world." Ancestral Master Zhang flicked his sleeve as the twelve Lightning G.o.dfiends transformed into streams of light and entered his body.

Whoosh.

Ancestral Master Zhang and his second Essence Soul were immediately covered in a blurry light as they rapidly departed.

******

That day in the Great Chang world. Grand Dominance City"s Qin Manor.

Qin Yun sat across from Ancestral Master Zhang while Yi Xiao sat at their side, pouring their tea.

"You failed?" Qin Yun was alarmed. "You failed to kill that Fiendcelestial Empyrean Lord, Kuifu?"