The skeletal figure hauled itself fully out of the abyss, its bones gleaming like polished jade under the dim light. Its hollow eye sockets burned with twin embers of blue fire, and as it straightened, the very space around it warped, as if struggling to contain its presence.
"You recognize me, little ghost?" The skeleton's voice was dry, like wind scraping across ancient stone. Its gaze flicked to Tang Wei.
Tang Wei's form rippled as he responded. "You are one of the Door Gods of the Central Chamber—a protector of the Grand Palace's innermost sanctum… Are you Lu Xingzhi?"
The skeleton chuckled, the sound like cracking bones. "Correct. I am Lu Xingzhi, the Watcher of the Origin."
A murmur of terror spread through the remaining survivors. Even Jian Kun and Lan Huiqian paled—Lu Xingzhi was a name recorded in the oldest scriptures, a being who had once stood at the apex of the cosmos.
Yet Yun Lintian remained unmoved.
"Lu Xingzhi, huh?" He tilted his head slightly. "So, you're the one who's been eating all these people?"
Lu Xingzhi's flaming eyes locked onto Yun Lintian. For a long moment, the ancient god simply stared, as if weighing something.
"You." The word was a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a mountain. "You are the one who woke me."
Yun Lintian smiled. "I didn't do anything. You woke up because your little hourglass ran out."
Lu Xingzhi's skeletal fingers flexed. "No. The hourglass is merely a seal. It drains the energy of the unworthy to sustain my slumber. But you…" The blue flames in his eyes flared. "You disrupted the balance. The phantoms you destroyed were not absorbed—their energy was erased entirely. The seal weakened because of you."
Then Yun Lintian shrugged. "Sorry, I guess?"
Behind him, Long Qingxuan let out a soft snort. Even in the face of an ancient True God, Yun Lintian's playfulness never wavered.
Lu Xingzhi did not seem amused. "You carry a familiar aura." He took a step forward, and the ground trembled. "Who are you?"
Yun Lintian crossed his arms. "Just a passing cultivator."
"Liar." Lu Xingzhi's voice turned glacial. "No mere cultivator could erase temporal phantoms so thoroughly. No mortal could force the little Blood Tyrant to his knees without effort." His gaze sharpened. "You bear the touch of the Primordials."
At that, Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So what if I do? You going to bow now?" he asked.
Lu Xingzhi's skeletal jaw clenched. "Impudent whelp."
Space itself shattered as Lu Xingzhi moved. One moment he stood across the hall; the next, his skeletal hand was inches from Yun Lintian's throat, claws gleaming with divine power.
Yet Yun Lintian didn't flinch.
"Senior Yun!" Long Chen shouted in warning.
But it was unnecessary.
Yun Lintian's hand snapped up, catching Lu Xingzhi's wrist mid-strike.
The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the hall, cracking pillars and sending weaker cultivators tumbling to the ground.
"Not bad," Yun Lintian mused. "You've got some strength left after a long nap."
Lu Xingzhi's eyes blazed. "You dare—?!"
Yun Lintian's grip tightened.
A fissure split Lu Xingzhi's wrist bone.
The ancient god recoiled, hissing in what might have been pain—or fury. "You…!"
Yun Lintian didn't give him time to recover.
With a casual flick, he threw Lu Xingzhi across the hall.
The skeleton god smashed through three pillars before skidding to a halt. The survivors stared in stunned silence. Even Meng Xuan, still kneeling, looked as if he might faint.
"He… threw him…" Jian Feng whispered, his voice shaking.
Lu Xingzhi slowly rose from the rubble, his bones knitting back together with eerie speed. The blue flames in his eyes had turned black.
His skeletal frame trembled—not from pain, but from rage.
The moment he fully rose from the rubble, his aura exploded.
A tidal wave of divine pressure crashed through the hall, thick enough to choke the air from mortal lungs. The remaining cultivators—Jian Kun, Lan Huiqian, even the Blood Tyrant Meng Xuan—staggered under the weight. Their faces paled, their knees buckled. Some vomited blood. Others collapsed outright, their bodies unable to withstand the sheer presence of an original True God.
Only one person remained unaffected.
Yun Lintian stood calmly, his robes fluttering slightly as if brushed by a gentle breeze. His expression was indifferent, his posture relaxed.
"Qingxuan," he said without turning.
Long Qingxuan understood immediately. She stepped forward, her draconic aura flaring to life, forming a protective barrier around their group.
"Linlin, Qingqing," Yun Lintian called.
The two small figures on his shoulders leapt onto Long Qingxuan's arms.
"Aww, but I wanted to fight too!" Qingqing pouted, her green twin-tails swaying.
"No playing around," Linlin said calmly, her feline eyes sharp. "This isn't an opponent we can interfere with."
Yun Lintian cracked his neck. "I have been looking for a sparring partner for a while. Now you are here."
Lu Xingzhi's black-flamed eyes burned with fury. "You think you can face me alone, little ant?"
Yun Lintian smirked. "Who said I'm alone?"
Space shattered as Yun Lintian closed the distance in an instant. His fist, wreathed in golden light, shot toward Lu Xingzhi's skull.
The skeleton god sneered and raised a hand.
"Fool. Time does not touch me."
The air around Lu Xingzhi distorted.
Yun Lintian's fist slowed—as if caught in molasses.
But Yun Lintian wasn't surprised. His other hand flicked, and the power of the Seed of Time flared up.
The distorted space snapped back to normal.
Lu Xingzhi's eyes widened—just before Yun Lintian's fist slammed into his face.
The skeleton god was sent flying again, his jawbone cracking.
Yet before he even hit the ground, he vanished.
Yun Lintian's senses flared—
A skeletal hand, wreathed in black flames, thrust toward his spine.
Yun Lintian didn't turn.
Instead, he swung the Heaven Sunderer backward without looking.
Divine steel met bone, and the shockwave ripped through the hall. The remaining pillars trembled, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.
Lu Xingzhi hissed. "That sword…!"
He could recognize the extraordinary of the greatsword directly. It was obviously a Primordial God's weapon.
Yun Lintian grinned. "Like it?"
He twisted, his blade carving a crescent of golden light. Lu Xingzhi barely dodged, but the edge still grazed his ribs, leaving a glowing scar.
Yun Lintian didn't let up.
He exhaled, and his aura shifted.