As the Second-Wood Pearl entered the body, the Darksky Tigerâs entire form trembled violently.
The death aura pulling at its soul was completely blocked outside its body. No matter how hard it tugged, it was useless.
âWhat is that thing?â the old woman frowned.
âSeems youâre not up to much after all,â Xu Zimo laughed.
With the death aura no longer restraining it, the Darksky Tiger quickly broke free and once again pounced toward the old woman.
Its massive body surged forward with overwhelming beastly might.
âUnderworld River,â the old woman called out softly.
The river encircling the grand hall began to flow, suddenly expanding dozens of times.
The black river was deep and murky, as if it buried all the worldâs sins.
Thick and pitch black, the sound of the flowing water wrapped around the Darksky Tiger.
The moment its claws touched the river, it felt a rotting aura and quickly withdrew its paw.
âUnderworld Seal!â the old woman shouted again.
The illusion of the ancient hall magnified, spinning in midair and releasing dark energy that enveloped the Darksky Tiger.
Just as the old woman was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a figure suddenly appeared behind her and struck with a palm.
With a loud âboom,â the palm contained immense divine power and overwhelming might.
The old woman was sent flying, black blood spraying through the air.
âGrandma!â the white-dressed girl beside her rushed over anxiously.
âA sneak attack?â The old woman stood up, her gaze dark as she looked over. The attacker was Jiu You.
â...Youâre down before I even acted. Youâre really that weak?â Xu Zimo shook his head.
He hadnât instructed Jiu You to sneak attack; perhaps she was just worried for the Darksky Tigerâs safety.
âDespicable,â the girl in the white dress scoffed coldly.
âWhat? Did you expect me to lay out a ring and challenge you to a fair duel?â Xu Zimo said with a grin.
The girl didnât respond and turned to check on the old woman, asking with concern, âGrandma, are you okay?â
The old woman shook her head and stood up again, eyes locked on Xu Zimo. âYou are far too arrogant, young one.â
Dark gray spiritforce surged around her once more, and the misty grand hall in her hand enveloped Xu Zimo.
Seeing the hall magnify dozens of times and approach him, Xu Zimo just smiled.
He raised his hand and slapped forward.
With a loud âboom,â the hall shattered into pieces.
The entire shop trembled, and the old womanâs face turned pale as she vomited another mouthful of blood.
âYouâŠâ she stared at Xu Zimo in shock.
âA mere half-empyrean dares to challenge me? Who gave you the confidence?â Xu Zimo stepped forward.
He walked up to the old woman and smacked her across the face.
Her body was sent flying again.
âYou want the Second-Wood Pearl? I gave you a chance, you werenât good enough,â Xu Zimo shook his head.
The Darksky Tiger immediately charged forward and stomped down with its claw, crushing the old womanâs body into pulp.
âYou⊠you killed someone from the Underworld!â the shopkeeperâs expression changed drastically as he shouted at Xu Zimo.
âSo what? I canât?â Xu Zimo replied with a smile.
âYouâre finished. She was a direct descendant of the Underworld Godly Monarch. If the Underworld finds out, no one will be able to save you,â the shopkeeper backed away in fear.
âYou think I need someone to save me? A mere Godly Monarchâs descendant dares act arrogant? Iâve already killed plenty of emperor descendants,â Xu Zimo said, waving his hand. âDonât worry, youâll be joining her soon. No need to look so shocked.â
âIf you kill me, the Cang Clan wonât let you go, no matter how deep you hide.â The shopkeeper quickly said, âHow about we make a deal? Let me live, and I promise no retaliation. Iâll even keep this whole matter secret.â
âNo need. Youâre not someone I can trust,â Xu Zimo shook his head.
As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped down hard with his right foot.
With a loud âbang,â a pained scream echoed out, and blood splattered across half the wall.
Xu Zimo turned to look at everything inside the shop.
He shook his head and sighed, âSeriously, I just wanted a wooden box, and they insisted on giving me everything. Not that Iâm complaining.â
With a wave of his right hand, he stored everything in the shop into his God World.
In the blink of an eye, the entire room was empty.
âWhat about her?â Jiu You pointed to the white-dressed girl, who was nearly scared senseless.
Xu Zimo looked at her delicate face and shook his head, âToo innocent. I canât do it.â
He patted Jiu Youâs shoulder and said with a light smile, âIâll leave her to you. After all, when you pull the weeds, you have to get the roots too.â
As Xu Zimo walked out of the shop, Jiu You gritted her teeth in frustration.
...
The doors of the Eternal First Shop closed, never to open again.
Xu Zimo and Jiu You didnât stay long in Bright Flame City and headed straight toward the God-Demon Battlefield.
Once they were far from the city, the void above the shop began to ripple.
Two figures, one large and one small, emerged.
The small figure looked at the wrecked shop and asked, âMaster, why didnât you act earlier?â
âI couldnât see through that young man,â the larger figure replied with a sigh and shake of the head.
âSo what now? The shopâs destroyed, our people are dead, and the Underworld will definitely blame us. She was the Underworld Godly Monarchâs direct descendant,â the smaller figure asked.
âNotify the Underworld. Weâre returning to the clan. Something big is about to happen,â the large figure said before disappearing into the void again.
...
The God-Demon Battlefield was located at the border between the Southern and Western regions.
In the ancient era ruled by gods and demons, this was once the battleground between the two races.
Even after the two races disappeared, it remained one of the most dangerous places on the Eternal Continent.
Many humans still ventured here, seeking traces of the ancient god-demon era and hoping to find lost relics.
Discussions and explorations around gods and demons had never ceased, from ancient times to the present.
Some remnants of the god and demon races still lived in hiding here.
Among the four regions of the Eternal Lands, each had only one teleportation formation that led to the God-Demon Battlefield.
The Southern Regionâs teleportation array was located within Eternal City, the main city under the control of the Eternal God Sect.
Only they had the authority to manage the array, as they were undoubtedly the overlords of the Southern Region.
Xu Zimo and Jiu Youâs destination was Eternal City.
The two traveled through several cities, using various teleportation formations, and finally arrived at Eternal City a month later.
This was the largest and most famous city in the entire Southern Region.
The towering city stood upon the vast land, radiating an ancient and unshakable presence.