Chapter 374: A Tempest of Divine Fury

In a pitch-black void, a dark flame lotus burned in silence.

Where its petals burned, the space twisted and delicate cracks appeared, as if swallowing every bit of light.

Within that dark flame lotus, a graceful young woman emerged—a figure with cascading black hair and eyes as dark as dates—smiling warmly at XiXi.

‘Kill him?’

XiXi blinked once, looking at the elder sister before her and sensing the unyielding certainty in her words.

It was as if killing him were as effortless as squeezing an ant—so bold and overbearing. Could it really be that easy?

Of course—in XiXi’s mind the issue wasn’t whether to kill him but whether she should.

Besides, where was ‘here’? And where exactly was this elder sister? Inside XiXi’s body?

XiXi wasn’t foolish. Just moments ago, she had been high in the sky, battling Zhang Yunlong while entrusting herself completely to the Temple Spirit.

So why was she here now?

Was this inside her own body?

A thought crept into XiXi’s mind—as Zhang Yunlong had repeatedly claimed something strange was hidden within her, demanding she show it to him.

That Zhang Yunlong simply loved to see others’ trump cards. If someone’s hidden potential was inferior to his own, he would beam with satisfaction.

XiXi had once thought there was nothing odd inside her.

But now…

Well, there really was!

“Can you kill him?”

XiXi asked curiously.

“Yes, I can,” replied the long-haired girl with a gentle smile.

“Then go ahead—kill him. Don’t spare XiXi’s emperor!”

Instantly, XiXi grinned broadly, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her little belly.

The girl softly murmured.

Suddenly, the dark flame lotus roared as its petals fell one by one, each transforming into a wisp of dark flame.

High above, wild winds howled!

Raindrops were sliced apart by the overwhelming purple sword aura, bursting into fine powder and prevented from approaching even an inch.

Within only a few feet before XiXi, she was completely clad in purple divine armor. Behind her, Zhang Yunlong was embedded in a divine niche, suspended in midair.

Countless purple feathers merged into wings at his back, slowly unfurling like sharp blades clashing in unison—each feather like an exquisitely honed sword.

Zhang Yunlong seemed assured of victory as he mockingly stared at the little maid who now appeared dazed under his sword intent.

XiXi closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling.

A low laugh escaped Zhang Yunlong: “Is that all you’ve got?”

“Without any mechanism left, you don’t even have a chance to fight me,” he taunted.

Shaking his head in boredom, he revealed his trump card—so domineering and powerful that even Li Nuǎnxi’s best wasn’t enough to stand against it.

Thus, Zhang Yunlong found the contest dull.

He resolved to finish it quickly.

With the power of the Temple Spirit, he would obliterate this little maid…

Though he looked down on XiXi’s trickery, even Zhang Yunlong had to admit that her innate talent was remarkably strong!

Even surpassing him—at six years old, being capable of contesting for the head of the Young Dragon Championship was something he could never match.

Because he couldn’t match it, jealousy surged. And fueled by that jealousy…

He wanted nothing more than to destroy her!

How dare this girl be even stronger than him!

Die!

Kill her!

This so-called Young Dragon Championship would undoubtedly crown him as the victor.

Behind him, the twin purple sword-wing blades suddenly expanded with ferocious sharpness, targeting XiXi.

Then, with a sudden tremor, an overwhelming sword intent swept across the land!

It lunged toward the Mud Pellet at XiXi’s brow with blistering speed, slicing the air so fiercely it seemed to distort reality!

However…

A chill unexpectedly permeated Zhang Yunlong’s aura. His whole body tensed, every muscle trembling.

A massive sense of threat surged through him, shaking every fiber of his divine essence and flesh!

What… what was happening?

Zhang Yunlong’s eyes narrowed.

His formerly unruly smile instantly collapsed.

In his inner vision, XiXi had transformed into a “void,” ravenously devouring everything around her.

Air, divine energy, spiritual qi—all were being consumed, as if the surroundings were collapsing!

Within his bloodlines, the exuberant divine energy of the Temple Spirit surged uncontrollably. In the next moment, the Temple Spirit seemed to regain its will, striving to withdraw.

But—

It couldn’t retreat!

Zhang Yunlong felt as if the Temple Spirit within him was paralyzed by a terrifying presence, completely frozen.

Like a cat faced with a true tiger, he had an urge to bury his head in the ground.

Behind him, scorching darkness burned—the dark flame that consumes all light!

In Zhang Yunlong’s eyes, his forehead’s acupoints trembled ever so slightly as he saw Li Nuǎnxi open her eyes.

In those abyssal eyes burned dark flames.

She stared at him calmly, as though looking upon a corpse.

That gaze…

So different from the frenzied excitement of the earlier assault—it was as if she were an entirely different person.

An icy disquiet spread within Zhang Yunlong’s heart, fear surging from all sides and threatening to engulf him.

“You—”

Zhang Yunlong opened his mouth, but then…

He saw her raise her hand. Her five slender fingers, smooth as silk, grasped his neck without hesitation…

At the very moment his neck was seized—

The divine niche embedded deep in his flesh was forced out by an unseen power.

Every purple tadpole curse mark on his body began to peel away like tide receding.

As the niche was expelled, the forces that had melded with his flesh and blood were violently extracted.

Finally—

All power was drawn back into the niche, stripped from his body.

A profound sense of loss and a staggering fall from grace swept over Zhang Yunlong, making him almost cry out in sorrow.

Yet, he dared not weep.

He stared in horror at the cold, indifferent little maid before him.

Her chubby hand gripped his neck as easily as if she were pinching an ant.

The most terrifying part for Zhang Yunlong was feeling the Temple Spirit—his pride—tremble in the divine niche on his back.

When every bit of the Temple Spirit’s energy left his flesh and blood,

He saw Li Nuǎnxi staring at him with a detached expression.

Slowly, she spoke, “I heard…”

“Are you looking for retribution?”

In Divine Capital Second City,

inside the grand pavilion,

many powerful cultivators tensed as they looked up to witness the spectacle unfolding high above.

They could barely make out the battle between Zhang Yunlong and Li Nuǎnxi.

Zhang Yunlong had surrendered his body entirely to the Temple Spirit, allowing it to alter his flesh with terrifying power.

Under this might, Li Nuǎnxi, whose mastery of explosive mechanisms was exquisite, fell into a disadvantage, completely suppressed by Zhang Yunlong.

Lü Taibai frowned, his eyes hard as he watched.

His silver hair flying, his long sleeves swirling, and the Taibai Sword humming continuously within his robe.

When even his deepest mechanisms could not shatter Zhang Yunlong, Lü Taibai decided to intervene. In fact,

he saw Li Che poised to act.

Knowing Li Che well, he figured that the man cared deeply for his daughter’s safety.

But Li Che did not strike. Instead, a peculiar expression crossed his face.

Then he simply stood still, silently gazing at the thousand-foot sky.

“Hmm?”

Lü Taibai paused, then lifted his gaze to the sky as the divine qi stirred, revealing what had passed.

They witnessed the swirling purple sword aura vanish as if erased, and the overwhelming energy of the Temple Spirit dissipated!

Before Lü Taibai could grasp what was happening, the body of Zhang Yunlong—once possessed by the Temple Spirit—started expelling the divine niche from within.

Then, XiXi stepped through the void. Lifted by two Yulian Fenghuo Jingguang Wheels, she seized Zhang Yunlong’s neck.

With a crisp cracking sound—resonant even in the thousand-foot height—

Zhang Yunlong’s neck snapped.

Not only his neck, but it was as if his very life force was severed in that twist!

Every onlooker’s heart skipped a beat.

They then saw XiXi casually swing his twisted body like tattered cloth, hurling it from the heights.

“Ah?!”

“Junior Brother Yunlong!”

“Ahhh! Junior Brother!”

A chorus of shocked cries resounded from within Purple Mansion Divine Sect!

In an instant, Eunuch Lian of the Purple-Clad Diao Si appeared beside Zhang Yunlong’s unfocused, lifeless body with a snapped neck.

Frowning, he grabbed Zhang Yunlong’s body.

Yet the moment he grasped him, his face contorted as if he were holding something scalding, flinging Zhang Yunlong’s body away.

The disciples of Purple Mansion Divine Sect grew even darker in expression at the sight.

“Sigh…” came a soft lament from the sect leader, Zhang Wuji, tinged with regret.

Soon, cultivators like Zhang Yunhu and Zhang Yunhuang watched as Zhang Yunlong’s body,

while plummeting, burst out dark flames from his nose, mouth, and eyes—like a burned hollow porcelain.

Even as Eunuch Lian flung Zhang Yunlong’s body, he realized his actions might be difficult to justify.

In a flash, he caught up with the falling corpse. A burst of divine energy formed a vast net,

slowly decelerating the body’s descent.

Finally, it gently landed atop the scorched ruins of Jade Plaza.

There, Zhang Yunlong’s corpse was laid flat upon the ground.

A sudden, piercing scream surged from the heights.

It emerged from the divine niche suspended midair—a scream from the Temple Spirit!

A torrent of divine energy surged like a tidal wave. The purple sword aura swirled relentlessly,

merging into a colossal purple greatsword resembling a coiled dragon!

At its tip, black and white beams clashed ceaselessly, causing the air within a ten-foot radius to ripple.

Clang, clang, clang!!!

The sword resounded and trembled, its divine energy surging like a tide!

Ripples shook as black, white, and purple sword light interwove!

Yet,

XiXi’s eyes, as dark as black dates, remained impassive.

With a swift motion of her fingers, the Purple-Flame Serpent Spear Fire-Tipped Spear appeared in her hand.

She gripped it hard—the spear trembling like a drawn bow!

In an instant, the air exploded!

The spear transformed into radiant light, shooting like a barrage of arrows and piercing the divine niche as if drilling through the Temple Spirit!

Immediately, the niche was crisscrossed with the finest cracks!

It plummeted from the thousand-foot height.

With a booming rupture, the Purple-Flame Serpent Spear Fire-Tipped Spear pierced the niche and was lodged in the ground.

The ground sank, and circular fissures spread until they reached the edge of Jade Plaza, halted only by the four great commanders of Divine Capital Xuanwei.

A crisp, snapping sound echoed—like a broken tile or a crumbling pebble.

The niche, riddled with countless minute fractures, finally—

with a cascade of shattering sounds, transformed into thousands of delicate fragments that scattered chaotically across the ground.

The fierce purple sword aura vanished without a trace.

Only the Divine Spear that pierced the niche remained, its form swaying slightly on the ground.

Dead—dead?!

A man is dead and the Temple Spirit… dead too!

At that moment, gasps of cold disbelief echoed.

Eunuch Lian glanced from the Purple-Flame Serpent Spear Fire-Tipped Spear to Zhang Yunlong’s lifeless body, then raised his head.

He saw two Yulian Fenghuo Jingguang Wheels rotating relentlessly, hoisting the six-year-old girl high, her small form floating ten feet above the plaza.

XiXi opened her eyes, her consciousness returning. Instinctively, she folded her arms and puffed out her little belly.

She saw Zhang Yunlong lying on the ground, and the shattered Temple Spirit niche nailed to pieces.

That Temple Spirit—

Was truly dead!

‘Miss,’ she thought, ‘how amazing!’

XiXi took a deep breath.

If she was amazing, then it was because she was amazing!

With arms folded and head held high, her twin pigtails shot straight to the clouds in proud defiance.

Even Eunuch Lian’s expression grew complex.

What on earth was hiding within this little girl?

Zhang Yunlong—you really didn’t have to provoke this, did you?!

Why stir up something that, if bombarded by that terrifying mushroom-cloud mechanism, might only be fatally injured—still clinging to life?

But now…

He’s dead, right?

Eunuch Lian sighed. In the Young Dragon Championship, deaths were not unheard of—past contests had seen casualties.

After all, sometimes even young dragons unleash suicidal explosive feats to summon overwhelming power.

Stone Xuan, for instance, mastered such force—though he refused to use it.

Still, killing people was extremely rare.

In the Grand Heroes Championship, fatalities were more likely; yet among the young dragons,

it seldom exceeded that of a top-tier grandmaster.

Before the eyes of near-invincible great cultivators, causing a death was no small matter.

And yet this season—

In the Young Dragon Championship, someone actually died.

And it was none other than the first young dragon of Purple Mansion Divine Sect!

Boom!!!

“Wretched brat!”

A terrifying aura erupted in an instant, nearly igniting the main banquet area of Purple Mansion Divine Sect.

A figure burst forth, leaving countless afterimages as his sleeves flared, landing on the scorched ruins of Jade Plaza.

He approached Zhang Yunlong’s corpse.

A powerful heavenly sense swept over him—his eyes filled with fury and sorrow, his muscles ballooning as if inflated, his hair whipping and his robe lashing the air.

Staring at XiXi, who floated in the air, his divine sense seemed to summon rolling thunder. The surrounding space twisted, trembling under an oppressive force as countless gales crashed down upon her, threatening to pull her from the heights.

Eunuch Lian’s brows furrowed.

Clad in fluttering purple robes, his slender figure extended his five fingers and struck toward the mysterious Taoist.

“Please, calm down. This is our fault—we failed to stop this deadly calamity.”

Boom!!!

Eunuch Lian’s intervention eased the Taoist’s aggression ever so slightly, as if his status earned him some respect.

But at the moment Eunuch Lian exhaled in relief, the Taoist’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and with a swift motion his hand slammed down. His fingers spread, and golden sword light roared forth like a rampaging dragon toward floating XiXi.

A massive slap of force struck down, as overwhelming heavenly energies swirled in a turbulent surge.

Before Li Che knew it, he had appeared at XiXi’s side.

Activating Fa Tian Xiang Di and Divine Nucleus Technique, he enveloped her completely. With one hand on her shoulder and the other behind her, his ink-black robe adorned with golden lotus tattoo fluttered.

He looked coldly at the Taoist who had struck.

When Fa Tian Xiang Di clashed with the golden sword light, divine energy and blood erupted—but the tremendous aura was quickly suppressed by Eunuch Lian,

and the four great commanders of Divine Capital Xuanwei rushed in.

Their eyes fixed sharply on the black-robed Taoist from Purple Mansion Divine Sect.

The black-robed Taoist’s robe billowed as the black jade hairpin on his head reflected light. His eyes were icy, emanating a murderous intent,

as he glared at XiXi shielded by Li Che’s Fa Tian Xiang Di.

“This little girl… such a vicious method!”

The black-robed Taoist roared with murderous intent.

“Hahaha—”

Suddenly, a terrifying sword intent swept in. A silver light darted across.

The black-robed Taoist felt an immense pressure on his shoulder and looked to see Lü Taibai, silver-haired and majestic, striding in on silver sword light.

He looked at the Taoist as if he were a fool.

“Sacrificing one’s own flesh to feed the Temple Spirit, only to gain unrivaled power from it, and then being killed by my disciple—if your skills pale in comparison, then you deserve your fate! When did a Young Dragon Championship ever come without the risk of death?”

“Every past Grand Heroes and Young Dragon Championship has seen fatalities—what? Your sect’s disciples must be invincible?”

Lü Taibai stood with his hands behind his back, his dominating pressure like a mountain, crushing the black-robed Taoist.

The black-robed Taoist’s face turned red as his divine energy and blood were completely suppressed.

Even standing at Tianmen alongside Divine Register’s top cultivators, he fell short compared to Lü Taibai.

“Zhang Xuanlei, enough—it’s clear that Zhang Yunlong’s techniques were inferior. Retrieve his corpse and come back,”

A calm voice echoed from the main banquet area of Purple Mansion Divine Sect.

The black-robed Taoist named Zhang Xuanlei glared with resentment, his eyes blazing red: “Sect Lord—my son—”

Before he could finish, the Purple-Clad Taoist Zhang Wuji interrupted, “We can afford to lose. Once defeated, it is defeat. Even if Zhang Yunlong isn’t killed by Li Nuǎnxi, his fate will not be any better. Don’t you understand as a father?”

With a flick of his Dust Whip, Zhang Wuji continued, “Normally, I’d have tempered your indulgence, taught him harsh lessons. But now, his arrogance and desperation to forsake all moral limits has cost him dearly.

Though he possessed an incredible talent for nurturing the Temple Spirit, he couldn’t bear even a single failure—choosing instead to let the Temple Spirit consume his flesh in exchange for unmatched power—

and even victory would have turned him into a wreck!”

Zhang Wuji’s rebuke made Zhang Xuanlei tremble in anger, his whole body shuddering.

He said no more, gathering his son’s corpse.

Zhang Yunlong’s body was all that remained—a shell, his bones, organs, and flesh burned to ashes by Yulian Fire.

Had it not been for Eunuch Lian’s timely suppression with divine energy, even this shell might have been incinerated.

Cautiously, Zhang Xuanlei cradled his son’s remains, his eyes burning with murderous intent and deep resentment.

It had all happened too quickly.

Zhang Xuanlei never expected that after Zhang Yunlong sacrificed himself to the Temple Spirit, Li Nuǎnxi could actually kill him.

He couldn’t comprehend it, but his fury at witnessing Zhang Yunlong’s death was undeniable.

“Li Bansheng, you raised such a daughter—accusing my son of abandoning all morals to feed the Temple Spirit…”

“But isn’t your dear daughter the same?”

Fury laced Zhang Xuanlei’s voice as he spoke, causing all the great experts from the Divine Sects and noble families in the pavilion to feel the shock in their hearts.

Li Nuǎnxi nurturing the Temple Spirit?

It wasn’t the method of Purple Mansion Divine Sect, that was clear.

Sitting dignified at the banquet table, Ji Mo Li sipped his wine and smiled lightly, “It seems that within XiXi hides none other than the Eight-Armed Yulian Furious Third Prince of Jingguang Prefecture!”

“What nerve—to nurture a Four Sovereign Temple Spirit!”

“And not fear its backlash!”

“Huang Mei Great Master, isn’t that right?”

Ji Mo Li looked at Huang Mei, who simply pressed his palms together and nodded.

“He sure is bold.”

Clearly, Zhang Xuanlei had purposefully let that slip.

Would anyone ever know if XiXi was truly nurturing a Temple Spirit?

But at the very least, Zhang Xuanlei’s words had made her the target of many.

Meanwhile, Lü Taibai, the sect leader of Qianyuan Divine Sect and a formidable half-step Divine Tribulation expert wielding Tao Calamity Sword, was preparing to enter the next calamity stage.

As for Li Che, as the lesser leader of Qianyuan Divine Sect, nurturing such a powerful Temple Spirit, it was clearly meant to drive a wedge between him and Lü Taibai.

Even if Lü Taibai didn’t mind, all the great cults would remember that Li Nuǎnxi, nurturing a Four Sovereign Temple Spirit, might well become the central pillar of Qianyuan Divine Sect.

That was, Qianyuan Divine Sect would gain unprecedented strength from this four-sovereign asset.

Li Che’s eyes turned cold.

Zhang Xuanlei gave a cold smile, “Li Bansheng, your daughter killed my son. I, Zhang Xuanlei, will remember this grudge—at the Grand Heroes Championship, I’ll be back.”

“The grudges between children are truly our burden as parents!”

Li Che’s aura surged as if a deity had spoken, the sound shaking the very heavens.

“You’re absolutely right,” Li Che replied coolly.

Zhang Xuanlei shot Li Che a long, piercing look. How did Li Che, with his divine transformation of the Temple Spirit, have such unyielding confidence?

With Zhang Yunlong’s corpse in his arms, he trudged back to the main banquet area of Purple Mansion Divine Sect, each step heavy with impending vengeance.

He ignored Sect Leader Zhang Wuji’s presence and sat at his own table, silently caressing his son’s corpse in sorrow.

Old Taoist Zhang Wuji sighed and flicked his Dust Whip, murmuring,

“I know Zhang Xuanlei resents me… But although XiXi killed Zhang Yunlong, he was doomed from the start. After offering himself to the Temple Spirit and wielding power far beyond a young dragon, his fate was sealed.”

Some people say that those who kill, are doomed to be killed in return… and there’s nothing wrong with that.

It seems the disciples of Purple Mansion Divine Sect, empowered by the title of Great Realm and the invincible energy of a Temple Spirit at the same level, have grown too arrogant.

Sighing, Zhang Wuji shook his head.

“Nurturing a Temple Spirit has its pros and cons—”

At this rate, Purple Mansion Divine Sect’s future was uncertain.

Of course—

What troubled Zhang Wuji even more was the vague, burning sensation he felt as his gaze fell upon XiXi, guided by Li Che’s Fa Tian Xiang Di.

In that instant, a bone-chilling cold, like the terror of an abyss opening, emanated with divine potency.

Was that truly the Temple Spirit?!

The Temple Spirit—only the dead can enter a temple.

So, what was hidden within this little girl—

Perhaps a living God?

The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere dissipated as Zhang Xuanlei, still with Zhang Yunlong’s corpse, returned to the main banquet area of Purple Mansion Divine Sect.

XiXi remained where she was as Eunuch Lian from Purple-Clad Diao Si looked on in mixed astonishment and disbelief.

“At six years old, to become the champion of the Peach Festival presided over by the Empress—now that is legendary.”

“Our family has hosted countless Peach Festivals, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a phenomenon—”

Eunuch Lian gazed at XiXi with unabashed surprise.

Despite all the upheavals surrounding her, even when XiXi, riding on the Guanyin Lotus Main Battle Tank during her demonstration before the Emperor and Empress, planted a towering golden mushroom cloud, none had believed she could clinch victory!

Was it true that this little girl was really nurturing a Temple Spirit?

Eunuch Lian exhaled deeply.

He stepped to XiXi’s side and bowed slightly.

Li Che and Lü Taibai exchanged glances, then withdrew, leaving the scene to XiXi—who was now the focal point of Divine Capital today!

“Congratulations to Qianyuan Divine Sect’s first young dragon, Li Nuǎnxi, on winning this Young Dragon Championship!”

“Congratulations—”

“And on receiving the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach!”

Eunuch Lian announced with the voice of thunder, his words echoing like rolling waves across Divine Capital Second City and Third City.

The stunned crowd was shaken as if a golden gong had exploded in their ears!

At the sound, XiXi burst into delight—a smile she could not hide.

Though her face was pale from having her qi and divine energy siphoned by the Guanyin Lotus Main Battle Tank,

nothing could dampen the joy of victory.

Most importantly, she had secured the win and earned the Nine-Thousand-Year Peach for her mother!

XiXi held her head high, her lips curved upward in a triumphant smile.

Eunuch Lian also smiled.

He told her to wait a moment before hurrying toward the main banquet seat of the Emperor and Empress to hand her the reward.

But just as he was about to pass the peach to XiXi,

the Empress reached out and gently pressed her hand.

“I shall present the award personally.”

A gentle smile played on the Empress’s exquisite face.

Her jeweled hairpins clattered as her sumptuous robes fluttered. The Empress raised the peach, preparing to leave her seat.

But—

Just as she stood, a hand seized her porcelain wrist.

The Empress

saw the Emperor, clad in golden robes, slowly rise. His presence was as formidable as a mountain, shaking the very air around him.

Though his face, obscured by qi and divine energy, showed no emotion, his commanding voice declared,

“I will present this award.”