Chapter 5940

A heavy silence fell over the roof of the Five Elements Hall. Chen Ping’s gaze didn’t waver as he stared east, where the Nine Nether Palace’s black demonic auras coiled like storm clouds, thick with menace and power. The dragon-slaying sword in his hand hummed faintly, as if it could sense the titanic battle brewing far beyond sight.

Li Baichuan’s claws clenched the armrest of the beast-bone throne, his three Flame Lion Kings growling low in warning. “Blood Nether…” His voice was rough with suppressed fury. “That old devil… ten thousand years ago, he could challenge the fourth rank of the Immortal Realm. Even if his lifespan wanes, don’t underestimate him.”

Jin Buhuan’s face was pale, the usual calm behind his eyes replaced by the weight of calculation. “With the Nine Nether Palace pledging themselves to the Evil Path Hall… Zhan E now commands at least six upper-rank Immortal Realm forces. And us?” His voice was dry. “Three.”

Chen Ping remained silent, a pillar of composure amid the brewing storm. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the warmth of the five-colored lines on his hand, the rotation of the Origin Star in his dantian, the harmony of five elements flowing through him. No fear, no doubt—only the bottomless calm of one who had mastered the Great Way.

The silence pressed down, thick and suffocating. Every member of the alliance could feel the sudden shift in the balance of power. What had already been a delicate standoff now teetered on the edge of chaos.

A thunderous sound tore through the quiet—the report from the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts. The beast master landed hard, claws scraping stone, talisman clattering to the floor. “Urgent news from Lord Li Gu!”

He spat out the words, trembling with urgency. “Seventeen small and medium sects have fallen to the Evil Path Hall! The ancestors of six of them are peak ninth-rank Heavenly Immortal Realm cultivators, their lifespans almost spent—they all… believed the lies of the Gate of Reincarnation!”