The Qiankun Ruyi Treasure Gourd is the sole surviving and perfectly preserved Primordial Treasure left in the world today.
The Dao has yin and yang, matters have right and wrong, people have male and female, and magical treasures have primeval and acquired distinctions.
Magical treasures generally fall into only two categories: primeval and acquired, which are further divided into treasures and spiritual treasures based on their traits and potency. Generally speaking, primeval treasures surpass acquired ones, and treasures surpass spiritual treasures.
Primeval treasures refer to magical treasures that existed before the creation of the heavens and the earth, originating from the treasures on the Treasure-Dividing Cliff of Ancestor Hongjun. Acquired spiritual treasures are those that appeared during or after the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Primeval treasures are exceptionally rare, with precisely four recorded on Ancestor Hongjun's Treasure-Dividing Cliff: the Pangu Banner, the Taiji Diagram, the Chaos Bell, and the Qiankun Ruyi Treasure Gourd.
Acquired spiritual treasures, on the other hand, sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, countless as the hairs on an ox.
The four great primeval treasures represent the pinnacle of all magical treasures and are the strongest in the world. When driven to their ultimate limits, nearly every one of them possesses the power to overturn the heavens and reshape the earth.
Since the opening of the primordial cosmos, the Three Realms have weathered countless great wars. Due to various karmic encounters, the four great primeval treasures gradually faded into obscurity, leaving only the Qiankun Ruyi Treasure Gourd entirely preserved, passed down through generations by the rulers of the Qixian State.
Seething with rage, Dai Qianfan jabbed him viciously in the forehead with a single-finger technique. "Sit on your own corpse, get down!"
The Sevenfold Killing Monarch cried out, "Ouch, go easy, that hurts!"
Yet the expression on his face looked as though he wished the other would jab him a few times more.
With a flick of her finger, Dai Qianfan whipped up a gust of sword wind that swept the Sevenfold Killing Monarch downward with moderate force. Solemnly, she rebuked, "Neglecting your duty! Careful or I'll have you punished!"
Like a withered leaf caught in an autumn wind, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch drifted down from the Qiankun Ruyi Treasure Gourd. The fire-breathing Azure Dragon that had just moments ago been majestic and peerless, lording over the world, was now reduced to a buzzing little bee before the giant beast. Seeing her master in trouble, it swiftly shifted back into an invincible giant sword, flashing to catch her underneath her feet.
Hubalake commanded beasts, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch commanded swords, and Dai Qianfan commanded the Qiankun Ruyi Treasure Gourd. The three of them hung steadily suspended in mid-air, forming a bizarre triangular deadlock.
Seeing the Sevenfold Killing Monarch suffer a setback at Dai Qianfan's hands, Hubalake burst into hearty laughter and taunted, "The passionate suitor presses his warm face against a cold backside, while the Goddess feels no romance and gives you nothing but the cold shoulder! Hahaha!"
This time, the biting sarcasm finally struck home.
Dai Qianfan snapped furiously, "Shut your mouth!"
With a storm brewing across his brow, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch coldly retorted, "You truly refuse to shed tears until you see the coffin!"
His eyes held the glint of knives, his pupils seeming to ignite with a cluster of flames. Tiptoeing lightly upon the body of the invincible sword, he spread his arms and pressed his ten fingers together, rhythmically opening and closing them as an intensely suffocating current of air surged around him.
Without the slightest warning, a bizarre and absolute dead silence spread rapidly from the Sevenfold Killing Monarch as its center, like a drop of thick ink falling into clear water.
Down on the ground, the armored warriors collapsed one by one like puppets under a binding spell, tumbling askew and sprawling across the earth, unable to rise again!
The mountain-sized beast turned into a genuine Mount Tai, crouching flat on the ground and whimpering softly. Its body seemed punctured by countless invisible holes, and the overlapping black snakes kept scrambling about in panic before losing all strength as they tumbled to the earth, piling up into a motionless mountain of serpents.
The canopy of heaven was like a dome overhead. Nine exceptionally bright stars raced across the firmament, moving according to the numerical sequence and palace positions of the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique: counting backward seven places from the Three Bi to reach the Six Bai, counting backward seven places from the Six Bai to reach the Nine Zi, and so on. They shifted across the sky, tracing ring after ring, hexagons, triangles, circles, and a series of massive, flawless patterns.
In an instant, all the violent baleful energy, hostility, resentment, demonic aura, and sinister Qi between heaven and earth were ruthlessly suppressed, freezing motionless in mid-air.
The pattern of the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique in the sky continued to expand. Concentrating his mind and forming hand seals with his palms pressed together and fingers dancing, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch unleashed a cool blue-purple halo from his palms that shot straight up into the highest heavens, striking the ever-expanding pattern in the sky.
This was the true Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique. Utilizing the might of the Golden Crow as a catalyst, it plundered the flourishing Qi of Heaven, Earth, and Man, reshaping all things and purging harmful energies from the universe to forge an unassailable equilibrium of the Three Yuans.
Hubalake turned pale with shock, desperately driving his entire reserve of true essence. Yet his inner true essence felt like a dried-up lump of paste, sticky and stiffly jammed in place.
A layer of frost crystallized upon his eyebrows and hair, while his Qi sea churned like an overturning tsunami. Suddenly, a wave of spine-chilling terror washed over him as he watched the pattern of the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique plummeting straight down from the sky toward the crown of his head. Not only was he unable to cast spells, but even moving a finger proved impossibly difficult.
His first instinct was to abandon his physical body and flee with his Primordial Spirit. Yet no matter how wildly his Primordial Spirit rampaged within his inner sanctum, his physical body felt like an impassable barrier, refusing to break through no matter how hard he tried.
A trace of faint despair welled up in his heart, his lips twitching—when suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.
Just as the pattern of the Seven Star Mysterious Killing Technique came within a foot of his nose, his eyes abruptly cleared. Purity surged through his physical body, and though it was the same vessel, in the blink of an eye he seemed like a completely different person. Eyes swimming with tears, he gazed at Dai Qianfan not far away and cried out with boundless tenderness, "Qian—fan!"
The voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, but those who needed to hear it heard it nonetheless!
Dai Qianfan suddenly surged into action, recklessly hurling herself forward to place herself right in front of Hubalake.
Caught entirely off guard, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch hastily withdrew his hands, curving his palms into eagle claws and desperately wrenching the pattern outward!
With a low, rumbling crash, the Seven Star Mysterious Killing diagram split in two. Half of it plunged directly into Dai Qianfan's body, while the other half was forcibly reeled back by the Sevenfold Killing Monarch!
The true essence within the Sevenfold Killing Monarch's inner sanctum suffered a devastating blow, churning violently like a tempestuous sea. A fishy, sweet taste rushed straight to his throat, and despite trying desperately to swallow it back, a grunt escaped him as he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Dai Qianfan was already severely wounded to begin with; how could she possibly withstand this half of the giant heavenly tribulation thunder? The true essence throughout her body poured out from her limbs and bones like a breached floodgate, raging like a hurricane.
For a moment, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch felt dizzy and disoriented. With a tip of his toes, he reached out and gathered Dai Qianfan into his arms as she drifted backward like a withered leaf!
Her body temperature plummeted drastically, turning as cold as frost in mere moments!
With one hand pressed against her back and the other checking her right pulse gate, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch continuously channeled spiritual energy into her. But at this moment, Dai Qianfan was like a balloon riddled with holes, leaking far faster than it could be filled.
The Sevenfold Killing Monarch's breathing grew increasingly ragged and his panic deeper, a single thought echoing relentlessly in his mind: "Why? Why?"
The heavens and earth turned pitch dark, all creation trembling in dread!
Staring in utter bewilderment at Dai Qianfan's gradually paling face, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch found his vision blurred entirely by tears. His heart felt as though it were being clawed and ravaged by cruel talons, flesh and blood torn to shreds and mashed together, the agony making his upper and lower teeth chatter uncontrollably!
With great difficulty, Dai Qianfan pushed away the hand that kept channeling spiritual energy into her. With equal difficulty, she slid the Nation-Founding Jade Thumb Ring off the ring finger of her right hand, pried open the Sevenfold Killing Monarch's palm, and tremblingly placed the thumb ring right into the center of his hand!
Having finally completed this sequence of actions, Dai Qianfan unconsciously crooked one corner of her mouth in what seemed like a faint smile, then whispered with her dying breath, "Find Daiyue, give it to her, and help me properly mana—"
She no longer had the strength to finish the word "manage," so she could only offer an apologetic smile while crystal-clear teardrops trickled down the corners of her eyes, sliding sideways all the way to her ears.
Her body grew lighter and more radiant. A gentle breeze swept past, and in an instant, she dissolved into countless motes of golden dust.
Her soul drifted into mid-air, only half of its form still visible. Raising his head, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch blinked hard against his tear-blurred vision.
He saw Dai Qianfan extend her left hand as if trying to grasp something, her face tinged with sorrow. But very soon, her soul drifted away with the breeze, dissipating into nothingness!
A dull, agonizing pain gripped the center of the Sevenfold Killing Monarch's chest. Staggering on unsteady feet, he reached out a hand to pull her back, blindly clawing at empty air. A dizzying wave of heartache and nausea struck him, and with a gasp, he vomited another large mouthful of fresh blood!
A brilliant, dazzling star plummeted from the sky, trailing a bright tail across its path before vanishing into the boundless night sky in the blink of an eye.
Deafening battle cries rang out once more among the mountain forests. Black fog and demonic aura flooded the capital city anew, running wild and clawing viciously about!
With his ears ringing and hearing nothing, seeing nothing, the Sevenfold Killing Monarch walked forward mechanically and unconsciously. Within moments, he reached the cliff edge at the summit of the mountain!
Fierce winds surged through the crevices of the cliffside rocks, whipping his hair into a frenzy. Suddenly, with a single leap, he plunged downward without a moment's hesitation!
Hubalake had watched everything unfold with a completely expressionless face. His gaze flickered between light and shadow, the muscles on his face twitching uncontrollably as if enduring some agonizing internal struggle.
On the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month in the first year of Tianhe, the thirty-sixth ruler of the Qixian State passed away, while the designated thirty-seventh ruler went missing. On that very same day, the capital city of the Qixian State, Li Jing, was conquered by the Nether Kingdom, marking the fall of the Qixian State!