87: The competition ends

The Ghost Emperor lay weakly in the void, his once formidable aura gone, replaced by frailty.

His shriveled, emaciated body trembled uncontrollably, his eyes filled with terror.

If that previous attack had landed on him, he would have likely been incinerated into ashes by the lava pillar.

"Let me have the final blow!" the Nether Lightning Sky Tiger quickly interjected, afraid that Huodou would strike again.

"Thunder!"

"Thunder, with its sky-reaching cultivation, a heaven-collapsing, earth-shattering purple-gold hammer."

Boom!

In the sky, a thundercloud slowly gathered, lightning flashing, forming a giant hammer radiating purple-gold light, spinning rapidly.

"Old geezer, your time is up; I'll send you on your way!"

"Go!"

The giant hammer, carrying the might to split mountains and cleave the earth, smashed down fiercely towards the Ghost Emperor below.

"No!"

Like a meteor, it crashed onto the Ghost Emperor's body amidst his desperate expression.

A cloud of blood mist erupted in the void, and the Ghost Emperor's aura dissipated between heaven and earth.

"Damn it, finally dealt with that guy," the Heavenly Tiger spat.

Subsequently, the attention of the beasts shifted to the remaining powerhouses from the Sky Serpent and Yellow Lion domains.

As for the black ape under Ji Fusheng, it was blown apart by the Black Flood Dragon's 'Divine Dragon Wags Tail' move.

The malevolent aura on the black ape was almost on par with Ji Fusheng's original, indicating the immense slaughter it had caused.

The leaders of the Sky Serpent and Yellow Lion domains had been sacrificed by the Ghost Emperor, and they knew there was no escape, so they could only watch from the sidelines.

Now, seeing these several monstrous beasts with their terrifying killing intent looking at them, their hearts were filled with dread.

Seeing this, Lin Yan also turned his gaze to Nangong Xiaotian, signaling him to take control of the situation.

Nangong Xiaotian quickly nodded, flew into the void, cleared his throat, and declared loudly:

"I am Nangong Xiaotian, Sect Master of the Chang Sheng Sect in the Eastern Continent. I won't hide it from you all; my sect intends to unify the Qingxuan Domain."

"If you are willing to submit to my sect, we will certainly not mistreat any of you fellow Daoists."

"The ambitions of my Chang Sheng Sect do not stop here; in the future, we will continuously expand into surrounding realms. If you are willing to follow us, in the future, let alone the God-Emperor Realm, even higher realms may not be impossible to reach."

"That's all I have to say. You all can make your own choices. If you are unwilling, my sect will not make things difficult for you."

With that, Nangong Xiaotian quietly watched everyone, awaiting their decision.

All the factions exchanged glances, the words he had just spoken echoing in their minds.

"We are willing to submit to the Upper Sect!" A voice rang out, and everyone turned, somewhat surprised, not expecting the first to speak to be the Tianxuan Sword Sect, a hegemon of the Southern Domain.

Xiao Yiyun, the Sect Master of the Tianxuan Sword Sect, cupped his hands towards Nangong Xiaotian, his tone sincere.

He looked like a mountain farmer, with a pair of eyes that saw through worldly affairs, sparkling with wisdom.

Xiao Yiyun's decision was not out of fear of retaliation from the Chang Sheng Sect if he refused; rather, a persistent thought urged him to agree.

Moreover, he trusted his own judgment. From the strength displayed by the Chang Sheng Sect, conquering all directions would not be difficult, and joining them would be absolutely beneficial without any drawbacks.

The most crucial point was the Old Ancestor of the Chang Sheng Sect; it seemed that in his eyes, nothing in the world could cause him the slightest ripple of emotion.

If he had to use one word to describe his perception of him, it would be: "Immortal!"

Although Xiao Yiyun's cultivation was not high, he knew that there had never been an existence beyond the Emperor Realm in the history of the continent.

But for some unknown reason, he had a strong, inexplicable feeling deep down: if there were an immortal in this world, it would undoubtedly be the person before him!

This was an inexpressible, indefinable intuition. Regardless of the actual level of existence the other party was, he only knew that the sect wanted to continue developing.

Therefore, they must follow behind the Chang Sheng Sect. Whether right or wrong, he would not regret this decision.

Lin Yan noticed the change in his expression and inwardly praised him. If anyone in the Qingxuan Domain, besides the Chang Sheng Sect, had the greatest potential to break through to the God-Emperor Realm, it would definitely be the seemingly ordinary elder below.

His refinement of his state of mind was incomparable to others.

"Our Ji Ye Sect and Bingjing Palace are willing to submit to the Upper Sect!" With the Tianxuan Sword Sect setting an example, the other two hegemonic sects followed closely.

The reason was simple: even a Sect Master like Xiao Yiyun, who usually stayed out of worldly affairs and lived like a carefree hermit, was willing to pledge allegiance.

This indicated that he was very optimistic about the future of the Chang Sheng Sect. By closely following their footsteps, their own sect's development would undoubtedly reach a new level.

Subsequently, countless voices expressing willingness to submit continuously rang out.

Over ninety percent of the sects were willing to pledge allegiance to the Chang Sheng Sect. As for the remaining ten percent, most were originally part of the Huangji Sect's faction.

Nangong Xiaotian nodded in satisfaction at this sight. With this, the matter of the Qingxuan Grand Competition completely concluded.

The entire Qingxuan Domain was now the territory of the Chang Sheng Sect.

He finally turned his gaze to the group from the Sky Serpent Domain and Yellow Lion Domain, his eyes stern, and said in a deep voice: "I will not pursue your past. If you choose to help the Qingxuan Domain conquer your respective realms, you can atone for your past deeds."

"Afterward, you can choose to leave or pledge allegiance to the Chang Sheng Sect."

Upon hearing this, the powerhouses from the two domains looked excited. They had originally thought their fate might be similar to the black ape.

They never expected the other party to be willing to give them a way out. Filled with gratitude, they all shouted in unison: "We are willing to obey the Sect Master's command!"

"Very good," Nangong Xiaotian nodded slightly.

"You all will truthfully report the situation within your respective realms later, and I will make further arrangements."

"Yes!" The group quickly responded.

Since their Old Ancestor did not personally eliminate them, they were likely not truly evil individuals. Moreover, the future sphere of influence would inevitably expand to these two realms.

Having this group to assist would make things considerably easier.

The strength of these individuals was also not weak; many among them were early-stage God-Emperor Realm powerhouses, and the rest were half-step God-Emperor Realm.

In a typical realm, they would be considered top-tier. Being able to bring them under their command was also a force not to be underestimated.

A somewhat ethereal figure flew from a distance. Everyone turned to look, and it was the Qingxuan Old Ancestor who had previously fought Ji Fusheng.

"Cough, cough." The old man's phantom coughed softly, his figure becoming even more ethereal, as if he would dissipate at any moment. The spiritual energy of his remnant soul was almost completely depleted, like a lamp running out of oil.

He bowed deeply to Lin Yan and said earnestly: "Thank you, your sect, for your assistance. The Qingxuan Sect can preserve its heritage."

"It's nothing," Lin Yan shook his head. He could naturally see that this remnant soul had existed for at least tens of thousands of years, and he calmly accepted the other party's gratitude.

Perhaps the Chang Sheng Sect's actions coincidentally helped him, but it also precisely showed that he was not destined to perish.

The old man also understood the other party's meaning, smiled slightly, and a yellowed book appeared in his hand, slowly floating in his palm.

"This is a divine ability I obtained by chance tens of thousands of years ago, named 'Po Jun.' I also wish to find a truly suitable owner for it."

He had just learned from Mu Yunsong the most suitable candidate.

His gaze turned towards Fang Qingshan among the Chang Sheng Sect group.