Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

Jiang Yun stretched out his finger and gently pointed in the air, speaking slowly, "Emperor Lotus Purifies the World!"

An endless sea of fire appeared in the sky, and the vast ocean of spiritual power began to burn as well. At the center of the sea of fire, a magnificent multicolored fire lotus slowly rose.

The fire lotus radiated dazzling colors, each representing a different type of strange fire, each possessing terrifying power. An indescribable wave of energy emanated from the fire lotus, causing numerous powerful individuals to change their expressions.

Amid countless astonished gazes, the gigantic fire lotus slowly ascended. With a push of Jiang Yun's hand, the fire lotus shot out, rapidly approaching the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor. The fire lotus continuously bloomed, releasing an immensely powerful destructive force.

"Boom!"

The river and the fire lotus collided violently in the high sky, causing the space to collapse continuously. During the clash, the face of the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor changed instantly, feeling that no matter how his Nether River corroded, it couldn't extinguish the terrifying destructive force of the fire lotus.

Conversely, the purifying force of the fire lotus caused his Nether River to start crumbling, with countless corpses emitting screams, all rotting away.

"Boom!"

The violent shock waves spread, and within just a few seconds, the Nether River of the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor was completely defeated.

"Damn it!"

The Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor's face darkened as he glared at Jiang Yun. Upon calming down, he realized that Jiang Yun had reached the celestial rank. Unlike before, Jiang Yun's divine abilities had reached a peak level.

Reluctantly admitting it, he realized that Jiang Yun now had the strength to stand on equal footing with him. The thought of himself, a dignified Heavenly Devil Emperor, being matched by a celestial rank "ant" made him furious and somewhat fearful of Jiang Yun's talent and future potential.

"No, this is impossible. I will not accept it!" Feeling a trace of fear rising in his heart, the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor roared in anger.

"Heavenly Corpse Demon Image!"

In the next moment, he clasped his hands like embracing the sun and moon then suddenly shook them. An endless demonic aura swept out, gradually forming a gigantic demon image behind him that towered to the heavens.

The demon image was shrouded in death energy, with countless ferocious faces on its body. Its shrieking echoed through the heavens and the earth, and the mere sound was enough to cause spiritual power within people to backfire and bodies to explode.

A terrifying demonic might radiated from it, causing the land beneath to tremble.

"To force the Black Corpse to use this move, the opponent must be tricky," the slightly lagging Slaughtering Heaven Demon Emperor said with a surprised expression upon sensing the power in the distance. He then decisively transformed into a stream of light, rushing towards the battlefield.

The Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor stared menacingly at Jiang Yun, his body slowly rising before merging with the Heavenly Corpse Demon Image.

Buzz!

The demon image opened its giant eyes suddenly, demon light splashing like tearing through the world, infused with infinite killing intent, echoing through the heavens and earth.

"Jiang Yun..."

"Today, you must die!"

Facing the roar of the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor, Jiang Yun raised his head, stared at the giant demon image, and then revealed a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Black Corpse, you truly are formidable. I can't win against you. I'll see you another day!"

With that, Jiang Yun transformed into a stream of light, tearing through space towards the direction of the Great Thousand World.

Jiang Yun's decisive "admission of defeat" caused the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor's figure to freeze. He had never considered Jiang Yun would escape, likening it to getting ready for a battle only to be told there was no interest, causing immense frustration.

"Damn it!!!" The Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor was visibly enraged, feeling utterly played by Jiang Yun, which was the greatest insult to him.

Boom!

With mighty demonic energy rising, the giant demon eyes of the towering demon image exploded with cold demonic light. Then, its giant hand formed an eerie seal, gathering demonic energy.

On the demonic hand, numerous sinister patterns formed, each exuding a terrifying power enough to make ordinary celestial rank experts shudder.

"Heavenly Corpse Ghost Devil Seal!"

The cold voice echoed, as the Heavenly Corpse Demon Image formed a punch seal and blasted towards Jiang Yun's fleeing silhouette.

"Wooo!"

Once the punch seal was released, it conjured billions of corpse shadows, howling sharply and flying around the seal, spreading an endless chill that turned the earth into icy frost.

All life was stripped away under this chilling force. This punch seal seemed like a mark of death, isolating life and death.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yun moved swiftly, and the punch seal couldn't catch up with him, landing on a continent below, breaking it into pieces with its terrifying force.

"Keke, boy, do you think you can come and go from my Demon Domain as you please?"

Just as Jiang Yun was about to cross the boundary between the two worlds, a demonic blade cut off his path, accompanied by a piercing laughter.

The demonic blade floated in front of Jiang Yun, its power unfathomable, exuding an intimidating deadly force.

In the next second, the long blade slashed out sharply, sending a blood-red light soaring into the sky. Around it, space seemed to collapse, and one world after another perished under this blade.

Even Jiang Yun couldn't help but be taken aback by this strike. The opponent was undoubtedly formidable, truly refining worlds into this blade, forming this terrifying weapon of slaughter.

Combined with the opponent's terrifying power, this strike could absolutely kill any celestial rank emperor.

However, regardless of your myriad means, I shall remain unyielding!

With the Uninhibited Domain activated, Jiang Yun instantly traversed space, crossing the boundary between the two worlds. The terrifying blade light failed to halt his steps for even a moment.

Boom!

The blade light struck the continent below, causing the earth to shake, countless beings to weep, and the space to shatter, unleashing a spatial storm as everything seemed to head towards destruction.

In the next moment, the figure of the Slaughtering Heaven Demon Emperor emerged slowly. He looked at the devastation beneath his feet, with a bewildered look, recalling the fleeting golden light.

For that split second, he sensed everything melting away—a power that defied reasoning, unbreakable no matter how mystical one's abilities.

"This divine ability is indeed terrifying. It seems we need to strategize with the Holy Heaven. This child mustn't be allowed to grow any further!"

Having experienced it himself, the Slaughtering Heaven Demon Emperor concluded that to kill Jiang Yun, someone with formidable physical strength must act directly or wait until Jiang Yun exhausted his spiritual power and died of fatigue.

"Roar!"

A distant roar echoed as the Black Corpse Heavenly Devil Emperor charged over furiously. He swore he had never seen the Black Corpse this angry before.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yun had already fled, and even if they pursued, it would be futile.

"Extermination Monarch."

As soon as Jiang Yun crossed the boundary, a voice of astonishment came from ahead. Lin Jingtian looked at the returning Jiang Yun with joy.

"Let's go!"

Before Lin Jingtian could speak further, Jiang Yun grabbed his shoulder and sped towards the branch of the Great Thousand Palace in the Red Flame Continent. Lin Jingtian had no power to resist this entire process.

Like a chick in Jiang Yun's grasp, Lin Jingtian realized the terrifying power of Jiang Yun. Under his hand, he had no ability to resist whatsoever, no wonder Jiang Yun was able to break out from the Demon Domain.

In no time, Jiang Yun brought Lin Jingtian to a border city, where he was surrounded by numerous celestial rank experts.

"Greetings to the Extermination Monarch!"

"Fortunately, you're back from the Demon Domain safely. Otherwise, our Great Thousand would have suffered a great loss!"

"All hail the Extermination Monarch for rescuing billions of lives in the Red Flame Continent. Truly a blessing for the Great Thousand!"

Numerous celestial rank experts greeted Jiang Yun. They already heard of Jiang Yun's astonishing deeds. At this moment, they couldn't help but acknowledge Jiang Yun's qualification to stand on equal footing with celestial rank experts. This young man in his thirties had become someone they all looked up to.

Looking at the dozen celestial rank experts around, Jiang Yun nodded. These were unfamiliar faces, but based on their auras, none were at the celestial rank.

Jiang Yun stepped into the main hall of the Great Thousand Palace branch and sat at the central seat, remarkably, no one thought it inappropriate.

"We pay our respects to the Extermination Monarch."

As Jiang Yun sat, the celestial rank experts all bowed. As the Extermination Monarch of the Great Thousand Palace, his status surpassed even some celestial rank experts. Coupled with his astonishing combat record, even without reaching the celestial rank, he commanded enormous respect.

In the Great Thousand Palace, Jiang Yun's prestige was such that he was seen as a leading figure, and in this world where strength spoke volumes, his accomplishments had earned unprecedented respect.

"Why are there no celestial rank experts from the Great Thousand Palace here?" Jiang Yun asked as he gently raised his hand, lifting the experts with a gentle spiritual force.

The celestial rank experts, feeling both awed and tense, were speechless until an old man stepped forward and replied, "Extermination Monarch, after the battle at Sacred Abyss, to prevent external evil races from acting, the celestial rank experts of the Great Thousand Palace have been stationed at various borders. We rushed here first because the Northern Borders naturally have a presence comparable to a celestial rank sitting among them, so..."

Jiang Yun nodded, understanding the Red Flame Continent's safety due to the presence of the legendary flame. No five Demon Emperors could breach it, and while the Great Thousand Palace had many priorities, this place wasn't a prime concern.

Realizing this, Jiang Yun's eyes flashed. Initially, he intended to search for the legendary flame but now, thanks to the Flame Demon Emperor's actions, he didn't need to.

"Though our Great Thousand suffered losses, we killed a Heavenly Devil Emperor and several Demon Emperors, honoring the fallen spirits!"

Hearing Jiang Yun's calm declaration of killing a Heavenly Devil Emperor, everyone trembled, followed by a wave of flattery.

"The enemy's invasion was unexpected, but fortunately, the Extermination Monarch's timely support saved the Northern Borders from devastation."

"War always involves sacrifices. The Great Thousand and the evil races are mortal enemies; casualties are inevitable."

"Indeed, though we sacrificed some, the Extermination Monarch's defeat of several Demon Emperors, including a Heavenly Devil Emperor, is our greatest victory in millennia."

On and on, praises chorused without anyone doubting Jiang Yun's words. Such a strong figure's word was his bond, with the blood and aura surrounding him upon return proving undeniable.

In ancient times, while invading the Great Thousand World, the external evil races were led by the celestial rank Evil God. The unprepared Great Thousand World faced continuous defeat until the appearance of the Immortal Emperor, the first to make the Heaven Ranked List. He led the resistance, eventually sealing the Evil God in Northern Wilderness Continent at the cost of his life, creating a balance.

Over forty thousand years, countless skirmishes ensued between the Great Thousand and the evil races. Although maintaining a tenuous peace, the Great Thousand remained at a disadvantage, always on defense and never daring to invade the Demon Domain until now, where Jiang Yun turned the tables.

His victory and escape from the Demon Domain, along with killing a Heavenly Devil Emperor, was an unprecedented triumph, stirring awe and respect among all.

"Now, I'll use this branch of the Great Thousand Palace to unify the Red Flame Continent, establish a force, and anchor here against the external evil races, preventing any advance!"