Immortal God Millman looked into the skies, only to have his expression change. Whether it was the beast or the fact he could see Nazaire standing atop of it, either one was enough to make him feel a deep sense of foreboding. His mind was in such a mess that he didn't even seem to notice that Dyon was the one standing at the forefront while Nazaire had simply taken a backstep.

'Where the hell is Crane? What kind of beast is that? Is this some sort of hidden trump card of Pill Sword Mountain? That's impossible! We've had control of the sect for the last several billion years. Nazaire became nothing but a figurehead long ago due to his obsession with alchemy. Unless!'

Millman felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

He suddenly remembered that there was exactly one hidden secret of the sect that they had no opportunity to delve into precisely because of an oath sworn by a sect master of long ago. Then, he remembered that Nazaire had just led that boy into the depths of Peak Mountain.

At first, he thought that it was because the boy wanted to use his reward to exchange for a right to cultivate within the environment of the spirit vein. This was a rare opportunity, but it was sometimes given to elders who had contributed greatly to the sect. So, other than being a bit jealous of Dyon, he hadn't thought much about the trip they took at all. In fact, he felt that it was extremely convenient as it was a chance to get rid of Nazaire with ease.

But, who knew that this was never their goal at all?

"Hm, not bad."

Dyon tossed the formation core in his hand up and caught it a few times. Then, he grasped onto both sides with the tips of his fingers as though he was splitting an orange in half.

In that moment, the formation core suddenly expanded. All of the complex illusory gears and runes hidden within became a whole expansive world. It felt almost as though a whole universe was being projected between Dyon's palms. The sight was almost as mesmerizing as Little Gold herself.

Dyon frowned. "The structure is sound, but it's too rigid. Things will be a bit difficult like that. But, I can make do. First, though Give me all you got, Little Gold."

QIII QIIIIII

Little Gold flapped her wings and soared into the skies like a bullet on a railgun.

The activity of the lightning skyrocketed. From below, it sounded as though the roars of countless beasts were resounding through the skies. Thick pillars of lightning snaked through the clouds, converging toward Little Gold at faster and faster speeds.

Dyon's eyes flashed with a ferocious light.

In that moment, a golden dragon formed of lightning appeared to his back. Like a mighty eastern dragon emperor, it dwarfed even the skies it flew through.

"[Devour]!"

The mouth of the golden dragon opened wide, swallowing everything it came into contact with, not sparing even the faint traces of violet-gold lightning that had tried to stop Little Gold from awakening.

At that moment, Crane stumbled toward the battlefield, dragging his half-dead body toward Millman. He looked like a man who was ready to die, but refused to do so until he could accomplish just one last goal.

His state was ghastly.

His body suffered a vertical cut that stretched from his collarbone to his hip. It cut his body completely in half, leaving him with just one leg. It would have been possible to see his inner organs at this point, if it wasn't for the fact the open wound was completely seared shut. The disgusting scent of burning flesh hung in the air as he struggled to drag himself through the air.

'I need to inform' Crane's floating figure wavered, the light in his eyes dulling.

It seemed that he might die at any time, but he bit his lip hard. Unfortunately, even that jolt of pain didn't seem to have much of an effect. How could it when his body was in such a state?

"Oh, you're still alive?"

The voice drifted to Crane's ears. It sounded quite soft and even somewhat comforting, but all Crane felt was an endless fear.

"I'm impressed. You Sapientia are quite sturdy."

"You !"

Crane choked on his words, falling from the air and scraping his wounds against the ground. The sudden abrasion cut his closed wounds open again, causing what remained of his blood to bubble out and pool on the ground around him.

"You can be the first." The voice continued. "I'll send your fellow clansmen to follow in your footsteps soon. In your next life, be a little smarter. Trying to sneak around someone who's surpassed Ninth Grade Spiritual Sages is a bit too foolish, don't you think?"

A piece of Pill Sword Mountain's ancient formation suddenly vibrated, exiting its invisible state to form a beam of energy that penetrated Crane's head, leaving him to die confused and aggrieved.

At this moment, Dyon, who had just casually killed Crane, was still madly eating away lightning with his golden dragon vajra body.

All of the lightning was directly taken into his inner world connected to his main body. There, it would split in two. Half of it would go toward tempering his body, and the other half Well, let's just say he was tired of an Empyrean Grade soul.

The breakthrough couldn't have been smoother. The entry of someone into the God Realms should have come with a tribulation, even if it was just the soul. This was the difference between mortals and Immortals. Here, there were tribulations for the body, soul and energy. Yet, Dyon faced none of them.

'Not quite.' Dyon thought to himself, a cold light flashing in his eyes. 'My body isn't ready to leave the Empyrean Grades just yet. But that's fine'

The pressure emitted from Dyon's clone multiplied several times over. He felt that his soul was much freer. Even though he didn't have even a fraction of his previous strength back, this was enough to wreak some havoc.

A billowing roar left the mouth of Dyon's golden dragon vajra body.

In the next moment, it swooped downward, crashing into Dyon's back. Yet, he seemed completely unaffected. Let alone unaffected, his body was soon wrapped in a magnificent golden arm pulsing with golden arcs of lightning and just the faintest hints of violet hidden within.

In eight corners of Pill Sword Mountain, the phantom images of eight different colossuses began to slowly form.

They were split into four groups, forming pairs that seemed to be two sides of the same coin.

These pairs stood tens of kilometers apart, each taking control of a corner of the formation all to themselves.

Dyon pressed his fingers together, forming a triangle with his thumbs and forefingers. Then, he drew a circle in the air with both his palms, the formation core hovering before him while emitting an ever brightening light.

Millman's eyes widened.

"Form up! Forget the plan! Form up!"

His roar thundered across the battlefield, shocking the Sapientia who were still biding their time. But, when they looked up into the skies and saw the situation, their expression changed.

How was this possible? Why was the Formation still within the enemy's hand? But, even if it was still in the enemy's hands, why would Millman say to form up? Wasn't it even more important now that they continue to remain hidden?

"I said FORM UP!"

Millman's commanding tone left no room for questioning.

They couldn't feel it, but he could. He could feel that someone had seen right through him. It was a feeling he couldn't put a finger on, nor prove, but his years of experience left his hair standing on end. Just how powerful was this person to hide himself so perfectly from them.

In the skies, Dyon's lip curled. 'He's quite sharp. It seems my soul is a bit too weak to hide myself perfectly from Peak Immortal Gods. But, this is fine too. He's still a bit too slow to realize the person he's looking for is right above him.'

Dyon's hands clapped together forcefully, causing all eight colossuses to open their eyes in unison.

All qi seemed to still, becoming thick and hanging in the air as though it had morphed and become an ocean of liquid.

The Immortals below found that their control over atmospheric qi plummeted in an instant, causing them to shake in fear. Without such control, their battle prowess would plummet by at least 50%, and that was a conservative estimate.

Dyon raised a finger slowly, his features serene and his eyes calm and without ripple.

Millman watched on in horror. He felt as though his life was no longer in his control.

**

If one could see the situation on the mortal plane now, it would be shocking indeed.

The Mortal Empire had faced the joint attacks of several powers in the last several hundred years, yet its capital still stood tall and firm, just as majestic as the day it was left by Dyon. In fact, it had been so peaceful that the citizens of the Empire were still unaware of Dyon's disappearance.

On the Throne, Madeleine sat in silent meditation, only for her eyes to suddenly open, a slight frown marring her delicate brow.

'It's finally waking up?'

She looked off into the distance toward a place with a familiar green and blue planet. Earth had begun to move. Though it was slight, it didn't escape her notice.