"Luohu, you are truly seeking your own end."
A figure slowly stepped out from within the River of Time, eyes filled with icy fury.
After so many struggles, to be blocked once again made their hearts burn with bitterness and rage.
Luohu, instead of being shaken, merely laughed softly. Her gaze swept across the Innate Sacred Beings one by one.
"In every world the rule is simple: the victor becomes the sovereign, the defeated is nothing more than a bandit.
You, of all beings, should understand this.
And besides… do you even dare to kill me? Do you still have the strength?"
Her voice drifted like fragrance through the air, a mocking smile curving her enchanting features.
Power suddenly surged forth, vast as a dark tide.
The world-ending black light she had unleashed earlier had not come from her own Origin, but from the Origin of the World-Extinguishing Black Lotus. The treasure had been damaged… but she herself was nearly unharmed. Faced with the Sacred Beings gathered here, she felt not the slightest fear.
Silence fell. None of the Sacred Beings dared take that final step.
They knew their Origins were tied to this Heaven and Earth; striking Luohu now would stain them with dire Karma, cost them Fortune and the favor of the World—a poison to their cultivation.
Luohu walked toward Hongjun. Her breath brushed the air like an orchid.
"Daoist Shijie, among all of them, you are the one I value most. Submit to me. When I attain the Dao, your benefits will be without limit."
Hongjun was briefly stunned. The offer sounded more like a veiled threat. The Path she cultivated was Ruin and Dissolution. "Benefits," she said? More likely a quiet ending within the void of her Dao.
His lips twitched—then he sensed something. He glanced at the River of Time and sneered:
"Speak of the future once you've settled the present."
Foreboding struck her heart. A colossal claw suddenly burst out from the current of time and descended upon her.
"Beast Emperor… impossible!"
The Black Lotus rose, but its extinguishing radiance shattered under the blow.
Incarnations from innumerable pasts leapt forth to block the attack.
Luohu turned pale; the Beast Emperor's power surpassed anything an Innate Sacred Being could bear, and ambushed like this, the price was unavoidable.
Hongjun watched, solemn. The first time, he had thought it was merely a decoy. But now he could see: the Beast Emperor had truly perished… and yet was reborn. In the River of Time, a vicious innate beast had taken his throne, his form, his memories — as if the Emperor could not be killed so long as the lineage of Innate Fierce Beasts existed.
As long as even one such creature survived, the Beast Emperor would return.
Silently, he summoned the supreme Heaven-opening treasure within him: the Pangu Banner. It was his turn to act.
The Sacred Beings were drained; two cycles of annihilation had gnawed at their very foundations. Hongjun took a step, and violet Zixiao lightning descended, restraining the Beast Emperor to protect the others.
"Fellow Daoists," he said calmly, "this mission has failed. Remain, and you will be crushed. Go. I will hold him back."
He stepped into the River of Time. The others hesitated no longer and scattered into the Void. Even Yang Mei fled—staying would only worsen matters.
Luohu cast one last glance.
"If you survive… I will await our battle."
Then she vanished toward Mount Sumeru.
Within the River of Time, the Beast Emperor roared:
"Futile! I am indestructible! I am death itself!"
Hongjun smiled faintly.
"Then let us prove it."
He raised his hand.
"Come… banner."
A small banner flew out from within him, radiating a power of creation ready to confront destruction itself.