! Besieged by Four Saint King Realm Experts

At the absolute center of the Divine Flame Emperor Palace, atop its highest and most majestic peak.

The Empress's imperial palace sprawled like a slumbering behemoth of the Desolate Ancient Continent. It exuded an ancient aura that swept across the four directions, suppressing the eight wastelands with absolute majesty.

Yet at this moment, the void surrounding the imperial palace rippled with continuous, invisible fluctuations.

Like a tranquil lake suddenly disturbed, the ripples spread from near to far, expanding outward without end.

As time passed, these ripples entirely enveloped the Empress's palace, locking it down completely.

Then, they began to seep into the palace's depths...

The Dao of space was inherently profound. Even Saint-level experts could only claim to have scratched the surface. To truly manipulate it required the power of a Saint King.

And the strongest guard stationed around the palace was merely the Saintess Zhang Ke'er. She was only at the Spirit Communication Realm, having yet to ignite her Divine Flame.

Since she had not even stepped into the Saint Realm, Zhang Ke'er naturally could not detect the invading spatial ripples. Nor could she sense the Saint King experts hidden within the boundless void...

They had already made their move.

Within the boundless void, a Saint King presided over each of the four cardinal directions-east, west, south, and north.

These four Saint King experts were:

East Palace Lord, Tuoba Kuang!

West Palace Lord, Chou Rang!

South Palace Lord, Bai Yu!

North Palace Lord, Geng Yan!

Of the five great branch palace lords of the Divine Flame Emperor Palace, all had gathered here-save for the Central Palace Lord of the Red King Palace, Qi Lao'er.

"I say, Geng Yan, the four of us have gathered here to pry into the Empress's palace. Kicking up such a storm, have you thought about how this ends?"

Tuoba Kuang, a towering mountain of solid muscle, glared at Geng Yan with eyes the size of bronze bells.

"According to the rules, none may approach the Empress's palace without a summons."

"If this goes south..."

Before Tuoba Kuang could finish, Geng Yan rolled her eyes, interrupting him with a cold snort:

"If what?"

"We are all Saint Kings, yet we must bow to the whims of a little girl who is merely at the Great Saint Realm. You might stomach it, but this old mother refuses!"

"They say the East Palace Lord Tuoba Kuang is the most untamed of us all. Yet looking at you now, you're not even a match for a weak woman like me~"

Geng Yan sneered. With a flip of her hand seals, the invisible spatial ripples intensified, relentlessly drilling deeper into the palace.

Just as Tuoba Kuang was about to erupt, the South Palace Lord smiled, lazily waving a folding fan:

"If you, North Palace Lord Geng Yan, are considered a weak woman, then there isn't a single tigress left on the Desolate Ancient Continent."

Geng Yan let out a coquettish hmph, casting him a highly flirtatious glare.

"Bai Yu, you are insufferable~"

"Calling me a tigress... If you weren't so handsome, this old mother would have sought your life long ago~"

West Palace Lord Chou Rang remained deadpan. Ignoring their banter, his falcon-like eyes remained locked onto the depths of the Empress's palace.

Unfortunately, the palace was guarded by countless Formations that blinded the heavenly secrets. Even as a Saint King, his sight alone could not pierce the veil.

Though the four palace lords bickered incessantly, their hands never stopped moving.

As Saint Kings, dividing their attention was as simple as breathing.

Through their shifting seals, wave after wave of spatial ripples continuously surged forward, crashing against the palace as if weaving an inescapable net.

An airtight, unbreakable snare.

After a long while, Chou Rang reluctantly withdrew his gaze. Looking at his bantering peers, his voice was heavy:

"Geng Yan, are you absolutely certain your information is true?"

"I refuse to believe the Empress would surrender her God Phoenix Feather-a treasure she can only condense once in her lifetime-for a man. Let alone the very man who once defeated her."

The moment those words fell, Bai Yu's playful demeanor vanished. His refined aura crumbled into a dark scowl.

"Losing the God Phoenix Feather would not only cripple her cultivation realm but permanently destabilize her foundation, forcing her into emergency Secluded Cultivation."

"I do not believe anyone in this world could be so foolish! I especially do not believe our exalted Empress could be that stupid!"

Chou Rang was usually a man of few words, but speaking of the Empress's sacrifice seemed to loosen his tongue. A mocking, contemptuous smirk curled his lips.

"Believe what you want. This old mother knows what she knows."

Geng Yan flashed a meaningful smile, followed by a cold snort:

"Look at her. She has been in Secluded Cultivation for days with the Saintess standing guard as her Dharma Protector. If her realm hasn't fallen and her aura isn't unstable, then why the sudden seclusion?!"

"I will even tell you this: we all know the Empress's little lover. He is Ye Chuchen, the former Holy Son of the immortal Ye Clan."

"Three years ago, he shattered his divine body and severed his own Dao to defeat her. Who would have thought he'd actually dare crawl back to the Divine Flame Emperor Palace just to confess his love?"

"The brat is undeniably lucky. Openly shielded by that old fossil Qi Lao'er, secretly propped up by the Empress... Word has it he is thriving in the Red King Palace. Not only was his severed cultivation path reforged, but he shattered several realms in a single day."

Geng Yan clearly hoarded secrets, speaking with absolute certainty.

Tuoba Kuang nodded. This time, he didn't argue. He only rumbled:

"Even if Geng Yan is wrong, it matters little."

"Given the Empress's monstrous talent, if we don't strike now, we will never get another chance. Once she breaks through to the Saint King Realm, unless we pool our strength, which of us could possibly stand against her?"

At this, a dead silence smothered the void.

These four Palace Lords had cultivated for hundreds, if not thousands of years to reach the Saint King Realm. But what of Lin Shuwang?

Barely thirty years on the path of cultivation, and she was already a Great Saint.

Barring any unforeseen calamities, her ascension to the Saint King Realm in a few years was virtually guaranteed.

"Do not forget, the moment she achieves the Saint King Realm, she will gain the full recognition of our Divine Flame Emperor Palace's Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon. By then..."

Geng Yan licked her lips, her peach-blossom eyes glinting with venomous malice.

"Will we even have a path to survive? If we do not spark this palace coup today, that wretched girl will undoubtedly slaughter us in the future!"

"..."

"..."

The other three Palace Lords drew sharp breaths of cold air. They loathed to admit it, but they knew her words rang true.

"Speaking of which, where is the Central Palace Lord, Qi Lao'er? Why isn't he here?"

Tuoba Kuang's gaze crackled like lightning, piercing the void toward the Red King Palace.

"The five Palace Lords share in glory and ruin alike. We ignite a rebellion today, yet Qi Lao'er is nowhere to be seen?"

A palace coup was no trivial matter; every variable had to be accounted for.

Beneath the Elder Council, the five Palace Lords wielded supreme authority. Qi Lao'er's absence made Tuoba Kuang, whose rough exterior hid a meticulous mind, deeply uneasy.

"Ignore that old fossil. Ever since he took Chu Chen as his disciple, it seems he finally found a reason to keep breathing."

Geng Yan scoffed, clearly already aware of Qi Lao'er's whereabouts.

"He is likely still scouring the Heavenly Demon Gorge for the Immortality Elixir. Hmph! Does he think an Immortality Elixir is so easily plucked? It is a supreme treasure that even a Quasi-Emperor cannot touch. What right does that rotting corpse have to dream of living a second life~"

Hearing that Qi Lao'er was trapped in the Heavenly Demon Gorge and couldn't interfere, the other three lords finally exhaled in relief.

Seeing that the spatial web still needed time to fully solidify, Geng Yan glanced at Bai Yu's ashen face and couldn't resist a jab:

"Our exalted Empress truly is a lovesick fool. Swayed by a few cloying, sweet words, she tosses away her God Phoenix Feather and gambles her very life."

"Look at yourself, Bai Yu. You've groveled at her feet like a dog for years, and she won't spare you a single glance. Yet that boy..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Boom!!

The normally elegant Bai Yu flushed crimson with unadulterated rage. Unable to restrain himself, his aura detonated violently.

The resulting shockwave violently disrupted the subtle spatial ripples, tearing a gaping hole in the supposedly airtight net.

Guarding the palace gates, Saintess Zhang Ke'er sensed the fluctuation and instantly went on high alert.

"Not good! Activate the Formations!!"

Firing a beam of Spiritual Qi into the air, Zhang Ke'er triggered hundreds of Formations inside and outside the palace. The arrays roared to life, aggressively grinding down the encroaching spatial ripples.

"Bai Yu, did you really need to lose your temper?!"

"All our efforts, wasted! Wasted! We were mere breaths away from perfectly sealing the palace, and you..."

Seeing their cover blown, Geng Yan screeched in frustration. But before she could finish berating him, Tuoba Kuang summoned his Saint King artifacts-a pair of massive, blood-thirsty war axes-radiating pure Killing Intent.

"Since we are exposed, we butcher our way in before the Elder Council arrives!!"

Seeing this, Geng Yan and the others drew their own Saint King weapons, preparing to storm the imperial palace.

The full-frontal assault of four Saint Kings was an apocalypse no one could withstand.

Not to mention that Empress Lin Shuwang was still trapped in Secluded Cultivation...

Staring at the four Palace Lords descending from the sky, Zhang Ke'er's pretty face drained of all color.

She could only desperately pump energy into the Formations while drawing her longsword, resolving to die protecting her Master.

Stepping onto the void, Geng Yan sneered, looking down at Zhang Ke'er as though inspecting a squashed insect.

She plucked the Saint King artifact, the All-Heavens Star River Hairpin, from her hair. With a casual swipe, a vast celestial river woven from billions of stars manifested from thin air...

The terrifying Pressure of a Saint King suffocated the realm. Beneath this crushing weight, Zhang Ke'er and the disciples were instantly paralyzed. They couldn't even twitch to resist, let alone flee.

Step!

At the razor's edge of life and death, a figure in a black Daoist robe arrived at the palace gates. Chu Chen.

With serene calm, he extended a single hand, shielding Zhang Ke'er and the dozens of female disciples behind him.

Standing entirely alone against the crushing galaxy.

He flashed a wide grin.

......