46: The Celestial Phoenix is ​​not to be trifled with; the target is Wanbao City.

Early morning, sunlight spilled through the window lattices onto the soft couch of the Purple Heaven Palace.

Bai Lingxi leaned lazily in Su Xuanchen's arms, one hand gently stroking her slightly bulging lower abdomen. Her large, deer-like eyes, moist and bright, were filled with the innocence and curiosity of a first-time mother.

"Husband."

She tilted her head back, her eyelashes fluttering.

"I heard that giving birth is very painful... where does he come out from? Will he burst my belly?"

Su Xuanchen was peeling a crystal-clear grape; hearing this, his hand paused, and he almost burst out laughing.

This girl was sometimes so naive it made one want to sin.

"Silly girl."

He fed the grape into her mouth and lightly scraped the bridge of her nose with his fingertip.

"We are Cultivators; we have Spiritual Qi protecting our bodies, so it won't hurt."

"As for how he comes out..."

Su Xuanchen smirked and leaned in to whisper a few words into her ear.

"Ah!"

Bai Lingxi's face instantly flushed red, making her look like a cooked shrimp. She dove into the covers, leaving only her eyes visible as she glared at him in embarrassed indignation.

"Husband, you're so bad! You're just lying to me!"

"Heh."

A cold snort came from the side.

Gu Lingshuang was sitting at the dressing table, watching the overly affectionate couple behind her through the bronze mirror. She held a Phoenix hairpin in her hand, her gaze cool.

"Su Xuanchen, is this all the ambition you have?"

"Bullying an innocent little girl like Lingxi all day long."

She turned around, the Phoenix hairpin spinning deftly between her fingers, her black-gold eyes carrying a hint of warning.

"Also."

"That Ji Luanxi—you'd better not touch her."

Su Xuanchen raised an eyebrow, let go of the "ostrich" in his arms, and walked behind Gu Lingshuang. He skillfully took the Phoenix hairpin and helped her tie up her long hair.

"What? Is my wife jealous?"

"Jealous?"

Gu Lingshuang sneered, meeting his eyes through the mirror.

"I'm afraid you'll choke yourself to death."

"The Nine Phoenix Sacred Body, a pure-blooded True Phoenix descendant."

"That Ji Luanxi looks like a proud little peacock, but in reality, she's a deeply calculating person."

"She is Great Emperor Yongyao's most beloved daughter; the Karma tied to her is too great."

"The current Su Family, although it has some of the atmosphere of an Ancient Clan, is still far from comparable to the Imperial Court."

"If you touch her now, that Great Emperor would likely come charging here personally with his emperor weapon."

"When that happens, let alone this Tianyan City, the entire Sacred Ruins Continent would be sunk."

Su Xuanchen's hands didn't stop as he steadily inserted the Phoenix hairpin into her hair bun.

He looked at the peerless female emperor in the mirror, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Don't worry."

"I'm not some fool driven solely by lust."

"That little Phoenix is bait for fishing, and also a springboard for the Su Family to enter the Imperial Court in the future."

"Before I have absolute certainty, I'll only flirt; I won't 'eat' her."

Gu Lingshuang's expression softened slightly upon hearing this.

"At least you still have some brains."

She stood up, straightened her skirt, and regained her high-and-mighty demeanor.

"Alright, enough with the sentimentality."

"Jingyuan has been kneeling outside the hall for half an hour already."

"The Su Family has expanded too quickly recently; the small pond of Tianyan City can no longer hold the Dragon that is the Su Family."

...Su Family Main Hall.

Su Jingyuan was kneeling in the center of the hall, holding a thick roll of maps, his expression anxious.

"Old Ancestor!"

Seeing Su Xuanchen enter, he hurriedly kowtowed.

"We can't go on like this!"

"This month, three more Eternal Realm Loose Cultivators have brought their skills to join us, and the number of newly emerged Geniuses in the clan has doubled!"

"Our Tianyan City's Spiritual Veins are already overloaded; even three Spirit Gathering Arrays have burned out!"

"If we don't expand, the clansmen won't even have a place to Cultivate!"

Su Xuanchen sat on the main seat, took the map, and spread it out casually.

Indeed.

With the constant distribution of System rewards and the Su Family's soaring reputation, the current Su Family was like a glutton who had overeaten, desperately needing more territory to digest its gains.

His gaze swept across the map.

Finally.

It settled on an area marked in red.

It was located in the central heartland of the Sacred Ruins Continent, where nine massive mountain ranges, like nine giant Dragons, guarded a majestic city.

Wanbao City.

"Here."

Su Xuanchen pointed his finger firmly.

Su Jingyuan leaned in to take a look, and his face instantly changed.

"Wan... Wanbao City?!"

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"Old Ancestor, that's a tough nut to crack!"

"Buried beneath Wanbao City are nine top-grade spiritual mines and even a legendary top-level source mine! It's the largest treasure bowl in the entire Sacred Ruins Continent!"

"But that place... is the territory of the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage!"

"That old monster is a powerhouse at the Fifth Heaven of the Saint realm, with a solitary and violent personality. He wields a quasi-emperor weapon, the 'Sky-Rending Halberd,' and his combat power is extremely terrifying!"

"Even the Lingxiao Sword Sect of back then didn't dare to provoke him easily!"

Su Xuanchen leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

"Fifth Heaven of the Saint realm?"

"A quasi-emperor weapon?"

He laughed.

His laughter was somewhat contemptuous.

If it were half a year ago, he might have had to weigh his options.

But now?

"Jingyuan."

Su Xuanchen spoke indifferently.

"Have you forgotten what our Su Family's status is now?"

"A Quasi-Ancient Clan."

"A loner who occupies a treasure land without doing anything useful—is he worthy of blocking my Su Family's path?"

He waved his sleeve, and a black token flew out, landing in front of Su Jingyuan.

On the token, a blood-red character for "Jie" was carved.

"Pass my command."

"The whole clan is to prepare for battle; the target is Wanbao City."

"Also, have Su Jie go along."

"Tell that old thing Myriad Dust."

"Either submit and become the Su Family's dog."

"Or die and become fertilizer for the Su Family's foundations."

Su Jingyuan looked at that "Jie" character, and his pupils shrank violently.

Su Jie!

That was the mysterious powerhouse the Old Ancestor had brought back half a year ago. Usually, he guarded the Forbidden Ground like a shadow, never speaking and never taking action.

But the aura on him made even Su Jingyuan, a First Heaven Saint, feel his Soul tremble.

"Yes!"

Su Jingyuan grabbed the token, the fear in his eyes instantly turning into fanaticism.

"I respectfully obey the Old Ancestor's decree!"

...The next day.

Just as dawn broke.

"Rumble!"

A world-shaking roar broke the silence of the Sacred Ruins Continent.

Above Tianyan City, countless formation patterns lit up.

Giant Divine Boats rose into the air one after another, blotting out the sun.

Over a hundred bronze chariots crushed through the sky, the exotic beasts pulling them letting out ear-splitting roars.

Banners fluttered.

Every Su Family disciple's face was filled with soaring Battle Intent.

"Is that... the Su Family's army?!"

"My god! Such a large formation? What are they going to do?"

"Looking at the direction... is that Wanbao City?!"

The surrounding forces were awakened by this grand display of power, and countless scouts frantically sent out messages.

The news spread across the entire Sacred Ruins Continent as if it had grown wings.

"Is the Su Family crazy?!"

"They're actually going to attack Wanbao City?"

"The Myriad Dust Ancient Sage is not someone to be trifled with! When that old madman goes berserk, even a Sixth Heaven Saint has to avoid him!"

"Although Su Xuanchen is powerful, he is young after all. How can his foundation compare to the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage, who has been famous for thousands of years?"

"Now there's a good show to watch! The Su Family has become arrogant and is about to kick a steel plate!"

Mockery, doubt, and schadenfreude rose one after another.

No one favored the Su Family.

After all, the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage's fierce reputation was built upon countless corpses... Wanbao City.

The city walls were a thousand zhang high, cast entirely from obsidian, emitting a cold metallic luster.

Inside the City Lord's Manor.

An old man in a gray robe with messy hair and beard was sitting cross-legged amidst a pile of top-grade source stones, inhaling Spiritual Qi in large gulps.

Suddenly.

He snapped his eyes open.

Two beams of literal fierce light shot out, piercing directly through the roof.

"The Su Family?"

The Myriad Dust Ancient Sage stood up and took a step forward, instantly appearing above Wanbao City.

He watched the rolling iron torrent approaching in the distance and felt the undisguised intent of aggression; the wrinkles on his face instantly twisted together.

"How bold!"

"A mere upstart who just emerged dares to stretch his claws into my territory?"

"Do you really think I've been a pushover for these thousands of years?!"

"Boom!"

A terrifying Saint Might erupted from his body.

The Spiritual Qi within a ten-thousand-mile radius instantly went into an uproar.

A halberd, entirely crimson and emitting an aura of destruction, appeared in his hand.

The quasi-emperor weapon—Sky-Rending Halberd!

The Myriad Dust Ancient Sage held the halberd and stood in the air, looking like an ancient demon god.

He let out a thunderous roar toward the approaching Su Family army:

"Su Xuanchen!"

"Take your whelps and get lost!"

"Dare to take one more step forward, and I'll wipe out your entire army, staining the sky with your blood!"

The sound waves rolled, causing several Divine Boats at the front of the Su Family's line to shake violently.

However.

The one who responded to him was not Su Xuanchen.

It wasn't even any of the Su Family's Elders.

Instead, it was a figure as black as ink.

"Shua!"

That figure appeared without warning a hundred zhang above the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage's head.

No nonsense.

No fancy Divine Abilities.

He simply raised a hand.

It was a hand that was pale and slender, yet seemed to contain the weight of the entire firmament.

He pressed down.

" Buzz!"

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The Myriad Dust Ancient Sage's originally overbearing expression instantly froze on his face.

His pupils contracted violently, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

"This aura..."

"Ninth Heaven... Saint?!"

"No!!!"

He let out a scream of despair, his Spiritual Qi burning madly as the Sky-Rending Halberd in his hand erupted with brilliant blood-light, trying to block the descending palm.

However.

Before that pale palm, all of his resistance appeared so laughable.

It was like an ant holding a toothpick, trying to block a falling mountain.

"Crack!"

The quasi-emperor weapon, the Sky-Rending Halberd, shattered into iron scraps the moment the palm touched it.

Immediately after.

It was the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage's arms, shoulders, head... "Bang!"

A dull explosion sounded.

This Myriad Dust Ancient Sage, who had awed the Sacred Ruins Continent for thousands of years and terrified countless forces.

He didn't even withstand a single move.

His entire being was slapped into a mist of blood, and even his Divine Soul was completely annihilated under that terrifying palm force.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Whether it was the Cultivators inside Wanbao City or the scouts from various forces watching in secret, they all had their mouths wide open, their jaws nearly hitting the ground.

That one palm.

Not only had it slapped the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage to death.

It had also shattered everyone's worldview.

"Gulp."

Someone swallowed hard, sounding particularly piercing in this deathly silent world.

"Who... who is that?"

"To slap the Myriad Dust Ancient Sage, who held a quasi-emperor weapon, to death with one hand?"

"Ninth Heaven Saint... definitely a Ninth Heaven Saint!"

"The Su Family... actually hides such a monster?!"

At the very front of the Su Family army.

On the deck of a luxurious Divine Boat.

Su Xuanchen held a cup of wine, watching the blood rain falling from the sky, and took a light sip.

His expression was calm.

As if the one slapped to death was just an annoying fly.

"Su Jie."

He spoke indifferently.

That pitch-black figure instantly appeared behind him, kneeling on one knee like the most loyal death soldier.

"Your subordinate is here."

"Clean it up."

Su Xuanchen pointed to Wanbao City below.

"From today on."

"This place belongs to the Su Family."

"Yes!"

As Su Jie stood up, a monstrous Evil Qi swept through the entire city.

The Su Family army roared in unison, their voices shaking the Nine Heavens:

"The Su Family is mighty!"

"The Old Ancestor is invincible!"

This day.

The Sacred Ruins Continent was shaken.

The Su Family took Wanbao City without shedding a drop of their own blood.

What was expected to be a fierce battle between a dragon and a tiger had turned into a one-sided slaughter.

Everyone understood one thing.

That once third-rate Family had now completely grown into a man-eating beast.

Its rise was now unstoppable.