<h4>Chapter 1563: The Final Mystery</h4>


    Against Zhang Lie, the eighth Immortal King had been forced to unleash his ultimate strength, pushing his body and soul to their limits.


    Even if Zhang Lie hadn''t continued to attack him, the eighth Immortal King wouldn''t have been able to counterattack, but Zhang Lie still unleashed his [Fifth Form: Obliterating the Stars] to take down the eighth Immortal King.


    This was a measure of respect to the strong, and more importantly, a necessity to prevent any idents.


    After all, no one knew what other safeguards the eighth Immortal King possessed.


    The eighth Immortal King gave him a deathly re. "You better hope I don''t recover and meet you in the universe."


    Zhang Lie scoffed. "With your current strength, you won''t be a match for me in the future."


    "Oh? Are you that certain?"


    The eighth Immortal King opened his mouth. A wisp of his soul emerged and transformed into a sharp de, one that could pierce through Zhang Lie''s head.


    This was the eighth Immortal King''s final trump card, in which he transformed his own soul into a de to pierce his opponents'' body.


    He had used this very same technique against Zhang Yi when he had been badly injured in their fight, allowing him to take over Zhang Yi''s body.


    Shockingly, after all this time, the eighth Immortal King was about to be forced to use the technique again—and on Zhang Yi''s son, no less.


    "I used this technique to steal your father''s body. I''ll use it now to kill you."


    Even though his soul was so tattered it prevented him from trying to steal Zhang Lie''s body, he could still give Zhang Lie a severe spiritual wound.


    The soulde shone with light. Zhang Lie nched, caughtpletely off-guard.


    However, he couldn''t cancel his strike halfway. Silver runes shed and were right about to erupt when they suddenly fizzed. The eighth Immortal King''s motions suddenly grew stiff and abortive.


    His soul dimmed as a formless hand forcibly dragged it back into his body. The eighth Immortal King vomited out blood. "How dare you disrupt me at this critical moment!"


    Zhang Lie activated his dragon''s pupil soulshard. After the eighth Immortal King''s own soul had dissipated, the remnant caged soul was naturally freed.


    That soul fragment was eating at the eighth Immortal King''s soul, destroying his will and corroding his emotions.


    The eighth Immortal King suddenly smiled benevolently. A different voice could be heard from his body. "Lie''er, you''ve grown up."


    Zhang Lie stopped short.


    The eighth Immortal King''s body began to dissipate into mental particles. "I know you have a lot of questions, and I have lots that I want to tell you."


    Clearly, the eighth Immortal King''s dissipating soul was unable to suppress the remnant soul fragments in his body any longer.


    Zhang Lie''s hands shook. His fighting spirit crumbled.


    "But neither of us have any time."


    The eighth Immortal King turned and looked outside the ancient hall, where the heavenly cordon was slowly but surely gaining ground.


    The fighting between Zhang Lie and the eighth Immortal King had almost obliterated the ancient hall—no, they had obliterated it, but Zhang Lie''s reversal of time forcibly restored it. Even so, the ancient hall was battered, and the heavenly cordon would destroy the hall within ten minutes at most.


    The eighth Immortal King''s eyes suddenly grew vicious. His voice was edged with rage and malice. "Zhang Yi, you bastard! I''ll kill your son and destroy your soul fragment!"


    The eighth Immortal King''s gaze then transformed once again into benevolence. He said resolutely, "We''re out of time. His resistance is unexpectedly stubborn. Strike now with your strongest technique. Deeply wound his mental projection and soul!"


    The eighth Immortal King snatched back his body again. "Haha, Zhang Yi''s son, will you really make a move against your father?"


    The eighth Immortal King roared, "Do it, now!"


    Zhang Lie made his move. He couldn''t hold back his [Fifth Form: Obliterating the Stars] any longer, and he didn''t know what other trump cards the eighth Immortal King might have.


    He hadn''t been able to save what seemed like his father''s soul fragment; at the very least, he would end the eighth Immortal King himself.


    The eighth Immortal King shrieked, "Zhang Yi''s son, are you going to kill your father with your own hands?"


    The sword technique resonated with the realm around him. A dragon roared as a frightening surge of gic energy rippled like waves, blowing the entire ancient hall down.


    "You unfilial son!" the eighth Immortal King roared.


    The walls shattered in an instant. That one blow was sufficient to extinguish the stars.


    Moments before his demise, lit by the sharp re of his sword, the eighth Immortal King smiled blissfully. "Farewell, my son. I hope you like the presents I''ve left behind. Beware of Hong Tian—"


    The eighth Immortal King perished in a shower of light, leaving the astonished Zhang Lie behind.


    Hong Tianqi? He hadn''t misheard, had he? Why would his father warn him against Hong Tianqi?


    Wasn''t Hong Tianqi the guardian of China? He and Zhang Lie had cooperated with each other. What could this soul fragment have meant by that cryptic statement?


    Zhang Lie had no time to ponder this revtion in more detail.


    With the ancient hall shattered, the heavenly cordon advanced once more.


    Only the members of Team Zenith were left within the ancient hall.


    Sun Xiaowu smiled victoriously. "It looks like we''ve won."


    "What do we do with this?"


    Zhang Lie came to his senses and turned toward the pir of light that was zing like the sun and glowing with light.


    Yang Ze shrugged. "What else? It''s yours, Captain!"


    Li Feng licked his lips. "This must be an incredible treasure. The eighth Immortal King was a cultivator who dominated the fifth realm in times past. He paid a heavy price toe back, hired the Srvine n head to guard him at great cost, and even gathered the geniuses of the younger generation of the fifth-realm cultivators to take down theirpetitors. All this was for what would be born within this pir of light."


    Sun Xiaowu nodded. "ording to the eighth Immortal King, what lies within this pir is the greatest treasure in the world, thergest mystery of this realm."


    Sun Xiaowu had been inducted into the enemy forces and knew plenty of information that the other members of Team Zenith didn''t.


    Zhang Lie proposed, "Why don''t we consume it together?"


    Sun Xiaowu rolled his eyes. "It''s not like shampoo or anything. How can you share it around? It''s something that only a single cultivator can partake in. That''s what that fellow said."


    Sun Xiaowu''s ''that fellow'' naturally referred to the eighth Immortal King, who had made such a im himself.


    Sun Mengmeng shrugged. "You were able to defeat the eighth Immortal King alone, Captain, so this reward ought to belong to you."


    Zhou Ying nodded. "Without you, Captain, we might not even have made it this far."


    "At any rate, we''ve obtained enough benefits ourselves. Captain, it''s all yours," Sun Xiaowu said.


    Yang Ze jumped in. "No, no! I haven''t obtained enough benefits yet. Don''t lump me in with you. Once we return to the Milky Way, Captain, you''d better treat us all to a feast!"


    Zhang Lieughed. "Very well. I''ll stuff you until you can''t eat anymore."


    Without any further hesitation, Zhang Lie climbed up the tform, onto the shuddering altar, and into the pir of light.


    The pir of light was chained to the naturalw that controlled this realm. An immense quantity of energy was being infused into the pir, causing the light to grow brighter and even more intense.