271: My connection with this land has come to an end today.

Xiao Hei slowly withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and felt the aura of this homeland. Although it was in decline, the blood feud that had entangled him for ten years was finally avenged.

An indescribable complex emotion surged in his heart: elation, relief, and a hint of the melancholy that things were no longer the same.

However, at this moment, the entire palace, inside and out, fell into an extreme silence, which then transformed into complete collapse and chaos!

All the Yao Beasts and minor Yao Beasts who had originally served around, offering blood sacrifices to the Dark Phoenix, froze in place, as if frozen by an invisible chill!

The fawning, reverence, and even the greed for blood sacrifices on their faces completely solidified, turning into an incomprehensible, extreme fear and bewilderment!

The Dark Phoenix's invincible strike was casually crushed, and mentioning the name of a Forbidden Zone Supremes only brought ridicule.

Even the Supreme rune death ray, which was enough to make their Souls tremble, rebounded and annihilated them, body and Soul! This process was so fast that their minds completely stalled.

"Your Majesty is dead?!"

A Saint King-level Black-Scaled Violent Bear was the first to react, letting out a terrified, distorted roar, its massive body trembling uncontrollably.

"Impossible! This is impossible! Your Majesty is invincible!!!"

A two-headed Demonic Eagle shrieked, its two heads filled with fear and confusion.

"Run! Run quickly!!!"

Panic, like a breached dam, instantly swept across the entire plaza!

The Yao Beasts shrieked and wailed, scattering like headless flies, wanting only to escape the terrifying existence that had obliterated their ruler with a mere lift of a hand!

And many more Yao Beasts, especially those old Yao who had survived the upheaval ten years ago, after the initial extreme fear, stared intently at Xiao Hei's stern face and unique posture.

A figure that had been sealed for ten years, almost too fearful to recall, gradually merged with the invincible existence before them!

"That figure, that aura, could it be..."

An ancient Black Tortoise, its shell covered in scars, spoke with a hoarse, trembling voice.

"It's him! It's the peng emperor! It's the Golden-Winged peng emperor!!!"

Another old rhinoceros, with a broken horn and a decaying aura, suddenly stood upright, letting out an excited, tearful cry that broke its voice!

"The peng emperor has returned! The peng emperor has returned!"

"Oh Heaven! The peng emperor isn't dead! He's back! He's back for revenge!"

These old retainers and former subordinates instantly burst into tears!

They pushed aside the chaotic, fleeing Yao Beasts around them, prostrating themselves excitedly towards Xiao Hei, bowing with all their might, their voices choked and hoarse from extreme emotion and ten years of grievances!

Xiao Hei's gaze swept over these excitedly kneeling, scarred former subordinates, seeing the fear and indignation accumulated over ten years.

A ripple stirred in his heart, and his eyes moved slightly.

The next moment, those minions who were frantically fleeing and whose Karma was profound, stiffened abruptly and silently turned into dust.

The rest of the Yao Beasts, most of whom were merely forced into submission with shallow Karma, as well as those excitedly kneeling old Yao, were lifted by a gentle yet irresistible force and gently moved to a safe distance.

Xiao Hei's gaze swept over these excitedly kneeling, scarred former subordinates.

Those weathered faces, full of wildness and loyalty, were once the most vivid imprints of this Yao land in his memory.

Watching the fire of hope, which almost threatened to drown him, rekindle in their eyes, a sense of reluctance and bitterness from deep within his Bloodline surged into his heart.

This place held the glorious years of his dominance over the starry sky.

These powerful Yao Kings and their followers had once fought alongside him across the lands, and now, because of him, they had endured ten years of suffering.

He slowly raised his hand, and an invisible yet immense Yao power swept across the plaza, gently lifting all those who were prostrating.

"All rise."

His voice was low, with a barely perceptible hoarseness.

Xiao Hei's voice was low, with a barely perceptible hoarseness.

"The Dark Phoenix has been executed. You are free to live. My Karma with this homeland is settled today."

He looked at the rekindled flames of hope in the eyes of his former subordinates, hardened his heart, and shook his head slightly:

"I will not stay here any longer."

At these words, the entire place erupted in an uproar.

Disbelief was written all over the faces of the Yao, and pleas instantly rose in a chorus.

"Our Emperor! Where are you going?"

"peng emperor! The Ancient Demon Star of Heaven cannot be without you!"

The old rhinoceros with the broken horn let out a cry that was almost a vow: "Our Emperor! No matter where you go, this Ancient Demon Star of Heaven will always be your homeland! We old bones will always follow you! One year, ten years, ten thousand years... we will wait!"

"We swear to follow the peng emperor to the death!" The sound, like a mountain tsunami, carried tragic determination.

Xiao Hei's heart was heavily struck by this profound loyalty.

Just then, he subconsciously looked at Gu Changge beside him. Gu Changge merely stood calmly, yet he seemed to be the center of the entire world.

It was this figure who had given him new life and pointed him towards the true Dao.

An incredibly strong sense of belonging and clarity overwhelmed his attachment to his homeland.

Compared to following the person before him and exploring the Supreme Dao, the imperial power of his homeland had become a past that could be relinquished.

His gaze became incredibly firm again, with a hint of resolute majesty, and he said in a deep voice:

"The old evils have been purged, and you are free. The future of this Ancient Demon Star of Heaven is for you to decide."

"Take care."

After a brief silence, the wave of pleas and excitement did not surge again; instead, it was replaced by a deeper, dead silence mixed with despair and bewilderment.

All the Yao Beasts' gazes involuntarily shifted from Xiao Hei to the silently standing white-robed man beside him.

That existence, who had stood quietly by all this time, with an aura as ordinary as a Mortal, yet was impossible to ignore.

His Majesty the peng emperor had returned for revenge, his power reaching an unimaginable Realm, but at this moment, after making such a resolute farewell, his gaze ultimately fell upon this person?

"Is it because of him..."

The old rhinoceros with the broken horn was greatly shaken; a thought that made its Soul tremble uncontrollably arose.

"His Majesty the peng emperor is going to follow... this person?!"

"Who exactly is this person? How can he make His Majesty the peng emperor abandon his homeland and subordinates, and willingly follow him?"

The ancient Black Tortoise was inwardly horrified; it tried to recall, but there was no impression of such a person in its memory.

To be able to command such respect from the Golden-Winged peng emperor, who could slay the Dark Phoenix with a mere lift of a hand and whose strength was unfathomable, and whose very existence seemed out of place with this Heaven and Earth – what kind of terrifying existence must this be?

An indescribable reverence, mixed with a great sense of loss, spread among the surviving Yao Beasts.

They realized that His Majesty the peng emperor's departure was a foregone conclusion, and the key, perhaps, lay with that mysterious white-robed man.