Immortal Refiner

”A Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird? How is this possible? Is a true spirit attacking our Profound Ancient City?”

”How could such an immortal bird appear? That’s a Peng Ancestor from the Flying Spirit Clan, with a trace of Golden-Winged Great Peng True Blood awakened within him. Calling him an offspring of the Golden-Winged Roc wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”

”So it’s an old monster in the body integration realm. Can the city’s grand formation withstand him?”

The city’s inhabitants were on edge, their eyes fixed on the massive Golden Roc soaring above.

The colossal golden bird suddenly swooped down, its claw descending toward Profound Ancient City. A brilliant golden light flashed across the sky.

Boom!

The formation’s spiritual light converged into a single point, meeting the terrifying claw head-on.

Bang!

A deafening roar shook the entire Profound Ancient City, causing the towering outer walls to tremble violently. Soldiers stationed atop the walls were thrown to the ground.

It held!

A collective sigh of relief swept through the city as people witnessed the barrier withstand the initial assault.

”Hmph!”

The Golden Roc snorted coldly, then flapped its wings again and vanished in an instant, leaving the sky above the city clear once more.

But just as many believed the crisis had passed, an even more cataclysmic explosion erupted the next moment.

Boom!

A terrifying shockwave tore through the city. Weak mortals were instantly crushed by the overwhelming force, their bodies pulverized by the aftershocks.

The Golden Roc had soared higher into the sky, then plunged down at breakneck speed, unleashing a second devastating strike upon the city.

”No! Father! Mother!”

A young boy watched in horror as his parents were blasted into bloody fragments. He wailed in anguish, tears of blood streaming down his face.

The Golden Roc’s attack had been too sudden. Even the city’s Sixth-Rank Spirit Formation failed to react in time. The violent tremors nearly collapsed the city walls.

Within the city walls, countless mortals with no cultivation or refined bodies remained.

This single strike proved fatal for them. Even with the formation’s barrier, the residual shockwaves from a body integration realm attack were more than they could withstand.

By the second strike, hundreds of thousands of mortals lay dead, and countless more were critically wounded.

The city reeked of blood. City Lord Lingxu finally couldn’t remain seated. He soared into the air, channeling the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth to fully activate the sixth-tier city defense grand formation.

”Cough... cough... City Lord Lingxu has appeared! Will we be saved?”

City Lord Lingxu was the strongest cultivator in Profound Ancient City, their only hope for survival.

Yet even with his power and command over the Sixth-Rank Spirit Formation, he could only barely resist the onslaught. How long he could hold out remained uncertain.

”Senior Golden Roc,” City Lord Lingxu pleaded, his voice humble, ”please cease this attack. Our human race has already suffered countless casualties. Show mercy and refrain from utter annihilation.”

Outside the city, the colossal Golden Roc slowly retracted its demon bird form, transforming into an elderly man with golden hair and pale golden wings unfurling behind him.

This was none other than the Golden Roc Ancestor of the Flying Spirit Clan. His face remained as still as an ancient well, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if the deaths of hundreds of thousands of mortals had nothing to do with him.

”A blood debt must be repaid in blood,” he declared. ”Hand over all the divine transformation realm human cultivators in the city, and I will spare the rest.”

Demanding the lives of all divine transformation realm humans as compensation, his words made City Lord Lingxu’s expression darken to an extreme.

How could I possibly agree to this? Lingxu thought, gritting his teeth. ”The death of your noble clan’s void refinement realm fellow daoist was not the work of my human race. Does Senior Golden Roc truly believe our divine transformation realm cultivators possess such power?”

The Golden Roc Ancestor replied coldly, ”Even if they were merely accomplices, they must still pay with blood.”

”I do not know which divine transformation realm human cultivator committed this act. But to prevent you from offering up a scapegoat, every divine transformation realm cultivator in this city must die today.”

The Golden Roc Ancestor’s stance was excessively rigid, refusing to yield even an inch.

But how could anyone agree to such a demand? No one in their right mind would accept such a condition.

”The true culprit is Wild Bull Ridge,” City Lord Lingxu said gravely. ”Why, Senior Golden Roc, do you seek to harm the human race?”

The Golden Roc Ancestor’s response was blunt: ”The Flying Spirit Clan will settle accounts with Wild Bull Ridge ourselves. But before that, I will use your human race to establish my authority.”

”Lest any petty villains dare to challenge the Flying Spirit Clan again, forgetting their place in the world.”

”Lingxu, do not bring ruin upon yourself. Open the formation and allow me to capture all the divine transformation realm human cultivators.”

”Otherwise, I will personally break the formation, and the entire city of humans will be buried with my poor disciple. Even you will not escape.”

A body integration realm old monster had every right to make such a threat. With his full power unleashed, no divine transformation realm cultivator could hope to escape his grasp.

Despair gripped the city as countless residents collapsed to the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

”I’ve done nothing wrong. Why must I suffer this fate?”

”I refuse to accept this! I’ve done nothing, yet I’m going to die here?”

”...”

The city echoed with wails of despair as the vast majority of its inhabitants sank into utter hopelessness.

City Lord Lingxu clenched his teeth, his scarlet eyes blazing as he declared in a deep voice, ”This is absolutely impossible!”

The Golden Roc Ancestor was momentarily taken aback by Lingxu’s defiant stance, but he quickly sneered, ”Do you truly believe this formation can stop me? These are mere tricks and gimmicks. How long can they possibly hold me back? Today, I’ll shatter it with brute force!”

Screech!

In the next instant, the Golden Roc Ancestor unleashed his true body—his ultimate form. A terrifying pressure surged forth, golden light piercing the Heavenly Domain.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The colossal golden roc launched a series of devastating attacks against Profound Ancient City in rapid succession, causing cracks to spiderweb across the city walls.

At the heart of the formation, City Lord Lingxu struggled to maintain it, but he was nearing his limit. Even with his full power channeled into the formation, this was all he could manage. There was no way to truly hold back an old monster from the body integration realm for long.

Sensing the formation’s imminent collapse, Li Qing took a deep breath. His gaze swept over the city below, the grim scene piercing his eyes.

More and more weak humans were dying. The onslaught from a body integration realm old monster was simply too terrifying.

The formation was on the verge of collapse, and the lives of everyone in the city were likely to be—

Though Li Qing felt little sense of belonging to the human race of this world, a heavy wave of anger surged within him. He longed to personally leave the city and slaughter that Golden Roc.

”Sigh!”

Li Qing sighed softly. He had already prepared to teleport to the World of Eternal Night to weather this calamity. Once he grew strong enough, he would settle accounts with the Flying Spirit Clan one by one.

But just then, a colossal figure slowly strode into view outside the city walls. This giant’s head towered above the clouds, his mere presence radiating overwhelming pressure.

”Enough, Fellow Daoist Golden Roc. The human race has already suffered countless casualties. Haven’t you killed enough?”

The reinforcements from the Giant Spirit Race had finally arrived!

This giant dwarfed even the tallest Giant Spirit Race members Li Qing had ever seen. The towering city walls barely reached his knees.

Under his immense stature, the entire Profound Ancient City looked like a child’s pile of wooden blocks.

”Brother Gu Tian, I know the human race are vassals of your Giant Spirit Race, but today’s matter cannot simply be brushed aside.”

The Golden Roc Ancestor finally softened his aggressive tone. Facing the giant named Gu Tian, his voice became noticeably more conciliatory.