Divine Emperor of Death

Walls of earth and water rose, defending against Shirley's icefire.

As for the toad himself, he vainly tried to ram Shirley with his rhinoceros horn as he yanked her close with his tongue, only to be covered in the same crimson-blue flaming wisps that instantaneously materialized into painful crystals that brought forth terrifying pain.

It was as though his blood itself crystallized as it ruptured, but it continually went through the torture of being frozen and burned, becoming numb, making him feel hell under the heavens as his face, arms, and body burned.

Shirley was pulled, but she used that to her advantage and smashed her leg at Fanwain.

*Bzzz!~*

But abruptly, light shone from him as a barrier appeared.

'Defensive Talisman…'

Shirley could swiftly tell, and even though she knew she wouldn't be able to put a crack in it, she punched out with her frail hand. Yet, it soared with a blazing swirl of icefire wisps that shredded everything in its path and burned.

Unfortunately, it was unable to break the barrier, but Fanwain watched in horror, unable to believe Shirley's prowess was eleven levels higher with this strange energy she released.

Barely three seconds passed when all of this happened.

Shirley dropped to the ground, feeling the pill remain safe in her hands, yet in front of her, Fanwain had gone missing.

He had used the Escape Talisman to leave, causing Dewzai to appear in her vision.

She appeared to be safe between the icefire that diagonally scoured the crystal land, causing the crystalline ground to shatter as it left a two-way trench.

Dewzai looked at Shirley with complicated emotions. The moment she was thrown at Shirley, she was afraid that she'd cause her to lose something more important than her own life, but Shirley simply patted her soul wisp down and pushed her back before pouncing straight towards them.

At that moment, Shirley's speed was simply extreme in her eyes as Shirley turned into ice and reappeared near the Gilded Realm Ascendant Pill, catching it before anyone else could. This meant she planned for this to happen while enduring all the attacks that would be thrown at her.

However, Dewzai had underestimated her prowess.

Shirley had simply overpowered everyone present, causing Dewzai's eyes to tremble.

"Watch out!"

However, the battle didn't end as greed seemed to fuel the other four inheritors as they rushed at Shirley, causing Dewzai to scream out.

The two inheritors who were sent flying by Fanwain came back.

Dark clouds rumbled above as they began casting their Divine Techniques. Following them the other two also began casting Divine Techniques with their feet since their arms were too damaged to cast any techniques.

It seemed to imply some kind of kick technique.

*Rumble!~~~*

The dark clouds shuddered, but the Empyrean Beasts above roared, attacking the dark clouds.

However, the dark clouds themselves were just a phenomenon and had nothing to do with the technique. They gathered enough energy, launching four different types of Divine Techniques at Shirley in a ruthless manner. Their undulations flooded the area, brimming with Level Six Immortal Emperor Stage undulations, densely concentrated with a prowess of eight levels higher.

Shirley was at Level Three Immortal Emperor Stage, and the seventh step's seal had shattered after her completion of the Ninth Hidden Pagoda. She raised her hand and simply waved, causing icefire wisps to spread out.

"Alter Moon Explosion Sword!"

A brilliant crescent-shaped energy blade formed in a white-robed man's hand, glowing with an intense, silvery light.

"Mega Lightning Blade Storm!"

Dark clouds gathered overhead, swirling ominously as thunder rumbled around another inheritor. He was clad in lightning, his expression furious over being sent flying by Fanwain, but he returned, striking Shirley with relentless fury and greed in his eyes.

The blade she summonsed in the grasp of his hands sent jolts throughout the space.

"Great Pentagram Earth Descent Drop!"

"Moon Shattering Divine Kick!"

The two people who got their arms destroyed by Shirley as crimson-blue crystals tainted their shoulders, still causing them pain, leaped into the air, channeling earth and ice energy respectively as they sent their attack.

The four attacks came from all four directions, targeting Shirley yet as she spun, it dazzled Dewzai's eyes as she noted that Shirley wasn't scared at all. Instead, she even saw utter calmness, the type that arises before the storm.

*Booom!~*

The Alter Moon Explosion Sword exploded on Shirley into a silver crescendo of hundreds of swords, each crescent wave creating a small but powerful concentrated explosion that would make mincemeat out of anyone in the Immortal King Stage, shredding everything in its path.

The Mega Lightning Blade Storm struck Shirley as it sent sizzles of lightning energy jolting throughout the area, scorching the crystal ground and creating a tempest of crackling lightning searing through everything in its path.

A five-point star appeared in the air before a kick unleashed a tremendous wave of earthen energy downwards, converging towards Shirley as it tried to crush her underneath the Great Pentagram Earth Descent Drop's supreme might. The crystal ground was scorched not only from the previous attacks but also sank lightly, leaving a devastating impact, especially when another kick landed in the same space.

Upon the last kick, ice overwhelmed the field and explosively shattered, sending shards flying inwardly as it tried to skiver Shirley into hundreds of mangled flesh pieces. The sheer cold of the kick froze everything it touched, and the force it shot down with almost didn't lose out to the Great Pentagram Earth Descent Drop's might.

The small patch of the area was quickly covered in devastating strikes combined with sword, lightning, earth, and ice, becoming a hellish place that would leave a target overwhelmed and dead within a second.

"…!"

Dewzai was horrified.

She could quickly tell she wouldn't survive those terrifying attacks. Although she wouldn't put them on par with her Divine Techniques or Shirley's, they had become truly terrific after four of them hit at the same time.

She doubted if Shirley was still alive.

Shirley didn't have the Defensive Talisman, as she had used it against her. She was starting to feel responsible when she saw the undulations of the attack recede, the lightning swaying into the disappearance, only leaving ice frozen around the area.

Yet, there was a mound of icefire crystals remaining in the middle, looking damaged yet unpierced.

The four inheritors looked at this scene carefully, wondering what's going on as it was difficult to detect anything in that hellish place where undulations became chaotic.

Suddenly, the crimson-blue crystal mound's surface broke, and a white-robed woman appeared, causing their expressions to churn.

"You're still alive…!"

The sword cultivator roared and attacked the fastest.

He shot like a grasshopper, quickly appearing before Shirley as he slashed her head. However, she moved her head out of the way as she inclined and stabbed with a crystalline crimson-blue spear that appeared out of nowhere.

*Puchi!~*

It stabbed that sword cultivator and quickly engulfed his body in crimson-blue flames before his blood ruptured all over into crimson-blue crystals, freezing him and burning him at the same time.

He didn't even have the chance to escape as he looked at Shirley's reaction time in shock, his vision overlapping with crimson before he felt even his soul rupture into a crystal, ending his life.

"Who was that who used that earthen Divine Technique?" Shirley clenched her teeth, blood leaking from her lips, "That hurts, dammit!"

She had just declared when that person appeared above to smash her head with a kick packed with a hammer of earth energy.

Shirley turned towards the opposite direction, blocking an icy kick with the crystal icefire spear before the right side of her arm abruptly ruptured and burst into a giant phoenix crystalline wing, smashing toward the earthen cultivator who tried to attack her head.

"Wha-"

The earthen cultivator spurted a mouthful of blood as he was repelled and injured. The ice cultivator also looked dumbfounded.

It was unbelievable to them she blocked both of them and even critically injured one of them while still being a Level Three Immortal King Stage cultivator. Even if her prowess was extremely high enough to battle them, her body shouldn't be this strong to withstand the impact of their attacks.

Weren't they on the losing side, contrary to their expectations?

However, there was still the inheritor who used lightning attacks. Just when they were waiting for his attack to drop, he seemed to have escaped using the chaos to even become elusive from the Empyrean Stage Beasts, causing them to turn furious.

"Die!"

Shirley cut off her arm to separate herself from the rupture of her own blood before turning around and pouncing towards the earthen inheritor, stabbing the crystalline crimson-blue spear towards him.

He swung his leg up, forming an earthen wall as a defense as he took out his Escape Talisman but a burst of crystalline spear broke through the wall and stabbed right into his forehead, causing his soul to rupture and turn into a crimson-blue crystalline mound all over his head before trying to spread all the way down.

Swiftly, Shirley formed another crystalline spear and lunged after the ice cultivator, but she was one step too late.

That person used an Escape Talisman to leave the area, disappearing from the scene.

Shirley flew to where the ice cultivator had been but dropped to the ground and knelt as she stabbed the spear into the crystal ground.

Icefire energy spread from the crimson-blue crystalline spear, causing the crystal ground to shatter bit by bit. It didn't even serve as a foothold, causing Shirley to sway and smash her into the surface.

"S-Shirley…"

Dewzai called out, wondering if Shirley had fainted.