Not even someone in the King’s Body Realm could directly withstand the collision of two worlds being pulled together like that.

All in all, the Domain’s disappearance was a good thing.

From the Domain’s descent, Gu Zheng had harvested a total of over 159,800 Demon Points. Added to what he already had, his total now just surpassed 160,000!

He had now gathered four-fifths of the 200,000 Demon Points needed for his next breakthrough.

He only needed another 40,000 Demon Points to break through to the second stage of the King’s Body Realm.

’But who in the world destroyed the Rule Array Hub?’

As Gu Zheng descended toward Taiping City, lost in thought, his gaze swept over the city below.

Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from the imperial palace.

It was immediately followed by the sounds of a fight.

HISS~

BOOM!

Two beams of crimson light shot out from one of the palaces, piercing through the air.

The searing light distorted the space it passed through, leaving two distinct trails in its wake.

SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng’s figure flashed as he immediately flew toward the imperial palace.

While in mid-air, he concealed his form.

...

"Aargh!"

"Get out of the way!"

"He ate an Exotic Technique Source Fruit! Damn it, that’s the Red Sun’s Eye!"

"..."

The imperial palace was in an uproar. Shouts, screams, and roars echoed ceaselessly.

Members of the Imperial Guard scurried about, driven by a dozen or so different groups to relentlessly attack Emperor Zhou.

In the spacious palace, the floor was littered with bodies—palace maids, eunuchs, attendants, and officials.

Emperor Zhou’s aged body now erupted with formidable power. Each palm and fist unleashed ferocious force, and he was also imbued with the Divine Wondrous, causing the air to crackle around him.

He wielded two Spiritual Soldiers: one was a shield, half a man’s height and carved with a coiled tortoise and snake, and the other was a Double-Bladed Axe.

A shield in one hand, an axe in the other.

Emperor Zhou carved a bloody path through the Imperial Guard, fighting his way out of the palace and onto the grand plaza, leaving mangled corpses in his wake.

The dozen or so groups urging the Imperial Guard onward from behind were small, but every one of their members wore a grim expression.

"Damn it! If we don’t take down Emperor Zhou soon, our plan is ruined."

Within the All Gods Organization’s contingent, a bald man spoke in a low, grave voice, a flicker of apprehension in his eyes.

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to glance around, even up at the sky. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"It’s already ruined."

Jiang Hanshan sighed softly. "Emperor Zhou’s luck is just too good. He’s consumed at least three Source Fruits. Not only did he gain the Red Sun’s Eye, but he also obtained two Marvels. That axe and shield are both Marvels—one for defense, one for offense. The shield can withstand the full might of a Heroic Body’s attack, and the axe can kill anyone at that level. Getting close to him is a death wish."

A silence fell over them.

"We were waiting for Emperor Zhou to die of natural causes," a woman in a long purple dress said softly. "Who could have predicted a Domain would descend?"

And on top of that, Gu Zheng actually came to Taiping City!

She didn’t say this part out loud.

But everyone else present understood the implication.

Compared to the incredibly lucky Emperor Zhou, Gu Zheng was the greatest variable!

It wasn’t just the All Gods Organization driving the Imperial Guard to attack Emperor Zhou. The Eight Great Vassal Kings and the other three major organizations had also revealed their forces, which had been lying in wait within Taiping City.

Each faction controlled a part of the Imperial Guard.

They had originally kept each other in check, waiting to make a move after Emperor Zhou died of natural causes.

But now that Emperor Zhou had this burst of power, they couldn’t wait any longer.

The only good news was that Gu Zheng seemed to have gone to the mountain range overhead and wasn’t in Taiping City.

They had to seize this opportunity to kill Emperor Zhou.

But Emperor Zhou, with his shield and Double-Bladed Axe, possessed terrifying combat strength. This forced the dozen or so groups to stay back, sending only the Imperial Guard to their deaths in the hopes of draining the Emperor’s stamina and depleting his Divine Wondrous.

As Emperor Zhou fought, his eyes shot crimson beams of light into the sky.

At first, none of the groups thought anything of it, but then someone had a sudden, alarming realization.

"Oh no! He’s signaling Gu... Gu King! He’s trying to lure Gu King back to the city!"

What?

The dozen or so groups were stunned.

A moment later, realization dawned, and they were filled with shock and fury.

That was it. Emperor Zhou had been shooting his Red Sun’s Eye into the sky all this time.

He was clearly sending a signal!

But to whom?

To Gu Zheng, who was up in the Inverted Mountain Range, the domain of the Demon Realm!

"Everyone, stop waiting! Attack together and kill him now!"

HISS~

HISS!

A crimson beam suddenly swept across the area in a wide circle, forcing the groups that were about to charge to either duck or leap into the air to evade it.

"Hahaha!"

Emperor Zhou’s eyes blazed red as he roared with laughter. "You mongrels, you realized it too late. Gu King is already back!"

THUD~

As he finished speaking, Emperor Zhou slammed his massive double-bladed axe and shield into the ground.

He then turned to face the southeastern sky and bowed deeply. "Wu Sanli greets Gu King!"

Huh???

The assembled groups, including Jiang Hanshan, froze in astonishment.

One of the groups, surprised to see Emperor Zhou lower his Spiritual Soldiers, seized the opportunity to attack from behind. A long saber in one man’s hand slashed out, creating a Sword Gang.

WHOOSH~

PUFF!

The Sword Gang tore through the air, only to suddenly explode mid-flight and vanish into nothing.

HISS!

A beam of light followed immediately after, streaking through the void. It flashed across the attacker’s throat, severing his head from his neck.

Blood sprayed high into the air.

"Aargh!"

The crowd cried out in alarm. The attacker’s teammates scrambled backward.

Jiang Hanshan reacted the fastest. He copied Emperor Zhou, facing the southeastern sky and bowing deeply in salute.

"Jiang Hanshan pays his respects to Gu King!"

"...We pay our respects to Gu King!"

The others, realizing a moment later, quickly followed suit and bowed in unison.

To kill someone in the Heroic Body Realm—even if only the first stage—in an instant and without even showing oneself... Only someone in the King’s Body Realm possessed such power.

Clearly, Emperor Zhou hadn’t been bluffing. Gu Zheng had indeed returned from the mountain range overhead.

And his first move was to execute a Heroic Body.

The dozen or so groups, along with the few remaining Imperial Guard scattered around the periphery—all terrified into silence—left the entire plaza and its surroundings deathly still.

"What’s going on here?"

After waiting a moment, Gu Zheng revealed himself and spoke calmly.

As he spoke, he turned to Emperor Zhou and asked, "You were able to detect my presence?"

"Haha, I could only sense you vaguely before. But after eating a Source Fruit, my Wu Family’s Sensing Secret Technique was enhanced. Now I can discern Gu King’s approximate location even while you’re concealed."

Emperor Zhou grinned. "I hope you’ll forgive the offense of pointing you out, Gu King."

"..."

Gu Zheng stared at Emperor Zhou, who met his gaze calmly, without a trace of fear.

"There’s no offense to speak of."

Gu Zheng paused for a moment before speaking softly. "Tell me. Why are they attacking you? What do they want?"

"What else could it be? My Wu Family’s Ancestral Land key, of course!"

Emperor Zhou raised his hand and pointed at Jiang Hanshan and the others, one by one. "These mongrels have been after my Wu Family’s Ancestral Land key for a long time. They were planning to wait for me to die of old age before making their move. But then I consumed the Source Fruits and wasn’t going to die anytime soon, so they decided they couldn’t wait."

"So every last one of them came rushing out, trying to be the first to snatch it. A pity for them, I’m afraid. I’ve already destroyed the key to the Ancestral Land."

Huh??

Everyone present was stunned once again.

’The key was destroyed?’

That’s right.

Their entire reason for driving the Imperial Guard to attack Emperor Zhou was to obtain the key to the Wu Family’s Ancestral Land.

A Noble Ancestral Land is typically opened and closed with a key.

This ’key’ isn’t necessarily a traditional one; it could be a sword, a saber, or even a stone.

Gu Zheng had only been able to enter the Changsheng Clan’s Ancestral Land by sheer luck. The Changsheng Clan had lost their key, leaving the entrance to their Ancestral Land permanently open.

But the Wu Family’s Ancestral Land was different.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had existed for a millennium, and the Wu Family had benefited the most from the last millennial upheaval.

All of those treasures were hidden away in the Wu Family’s Ancestral Land.

Now that the Great Zhou was on the verge of collapse and the Wu Family was all but extinct—with only Wu Sanli remaining—the treasures in the Wu Family’s Ancestral Land had naturally become a coveted prize.

The Eight Great Vassal Kings and the Four Divine Organizations all wanted to get their hands on the treasures hidden by the Wu Family.

And yet, Wu Sanli claimed he had destroyed the key to the Ancestral Land?