The Sage Sovereign replied, "That's right! Otherwise, how would we have gotten rid of so many abyssal rulers? Also, if we don't put on such a convincing act, how would we sway all of you and the Holy Spirit Cult into believing us? At the end of the day, all of the deaths are merely the entree before the main course." 

A bone-chilling sensation welled up in Lan Muzi's heart.

This was all an act? And not only was the act being performed for the human army, it was also meant to fool the Holy Spirit Cult as well!

What exactly was the abyssal plane trying to do that would require the sacrifice of so many abyssal rulers?

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Lan Muzi, and he exclaimed, "This must have something to do with the Holy Lord."

"You're very smart!" the Sage Sovereign chuckled, "Of course this is an act being orchestrated by the Holy Lord. Even though he isn't here, everything is still under his control. Ever since we discovered this world, over 6,000 years have passed, and we've prepared far too long for this invasion. The Holy Spirit Cult wants to use us, but we also want to use them. The true secrets of a plane can only be understood by planar rulers, and it's hilarious that Demon Sovereign thinks she knows everything just because she reached the true god level; she's merely another actor in this all-encompassing act."

Lan Muzi was astonished to hear this. "What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

The Sage Sovereign replied, "You already know enough. Your death is inevitable, but I won't give you any chances to transmit information to the outside world through alternative means, so that's all I'm going to tell you. Looks like more and more of them are dying; what a wonderful sight to see."

Lan Muzi couldn't make heads or tails out of what the Sage Sovereign was saying, but he could sense that everything that was being said held significant meaning; he simply couldn't figure out what the point was.

The sudden pause in their battle was very perplexing to all of the spectators outside. They could see that Lan Muzi and the Sage Sovereign seemed to be conversing with one another, but they couldn't hear anything.

All of a sudden, Lan Muzi struggled once more as he slashed his Yang Wood Saber through the air. As he did so, the blade of his saber suddenly turned a bright green color, and strong life energy instantly erupted forth, forming countless projections in the air.

Even though he was unable to escape from the restrictions imposed upon him, he was still able to unleash this attack toward his opponent.

The Sage Sovereign was flashing through the grid like an elusive shadow, and all of the saber projections were immensely powerful, but they were unable to strike him.

All of a sudden, Lan Muzi ceased in his attacks and abruptly turned around before beginning to make a series of hand signs toward the human army through the grid.

However, as soon as he did that, the Sage Sovereign raised his staff, and an energy vortex erupted forth, sending him flying once again and preventing him from completing his sequence of hand signs.

Tang Yinmeng was standing in the Shrek Academy camp, and her hands were balled up into tight fists as she looked on at her husband.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her body was trembling, but she didn't say anything, nor display any impulsive urge to rush toward her husband.

Zheng Yiran was standing beside her with both of her hands on Tang Yinmeng's shoulders, both to lend her strength and to hold her in place in case she tried to do anything reckless, but Tang Yinmeng displayed no intention to move as she continued to stare intently up at the grid that Lan Muzi was situated in.

After being sent flying, Lan Muzi slashed his Yang Wood Saber through the air once again, unleashing a string of powerful attacks such as Threefold Yanghancement and Omen of 106, trying to struggle free from the Sage Sovereign's control.

As soon as he forced back his opponent, he would immediately turn and try to communicate with the human army through hand seals, but his efforts were constantly being thwarted by the Sage Sovereign's energy blasts.

Everyone could tell that the Sage Sovereign had completely dominant control and that Lan Muzi had no chance against him, but at the same time, everyone was very perplexed about why the Sage Sovereign still hadn't defeated Lan Muzi yet.

Meanwhile, the other battles had reached white-hot intensity.

Qiangu Dieting and Harosha were evenly matched. In peak condition, Harosha would hold a slight upper hand, but his snapped Infernal King Sword was impacting him quite significantly, and at this point, both combatants were beginning to accumulate injuries.

Qiangu Dieting's attacks were completely reckless, and he held no regard for his own safety, wielding his Coiling Dragon Staff like an unyielding madman.

Even though Harosha's Infernal King Sword had already inflicted many wounds upon him, Harosha had also been struck by three staff strikes, causing significant damage to his battle armor.

Both combatants' auras were constantly being whittled down, and Harosha was also putting his life on the line in order to attain victory.

After all, only the victor could emerge from the grid alive, so he had no other choice. One deathly sword projection after another was being unleashed by the Infernal King Sword, and the clashes taking place between the two combatants were extremely fierce, to the point that the grid that they were situated in was trembling incessantly.

Qiangu Dongfeng and Dark Blood Demon were also at an impasse. Qiangu Dongfeng's battle intent was far inferior to Qiangu Dieting's as he valued his life far more than his father did.

However, in these Nine Palace Grids, only those who emerged victorious could survive, and thus, his battle intent had been completely ignited.

As a result, he was able to unleash the full power of his Coiling Dragon Staff.

At this moment, his body was completely surrounded by black mist, which stemmed from Dark Blood Demon's Blood Demon Curses, which were constantly weakening him. However, Dark Blood Demon wasn't exactly enjoying himself, either. His melee combat prowess wasn't unimpressive by any stretch of the imagination, but he wasn't purely an assault system Soul Master, so he was being forced back incessantly by the powerful Coiling Dragon Staff.

With one more vicious strike from the Coiling Dragon Staff, Dark Blood Demon was sent flying and crashed into one of the walls of the grid, but at the same time, he instantly made a string of hand seals, landing seven curses on Qiangu Dongfeng in rapid succession.

At this point, Dark Blood Demon's battle armor was already severely damaged, but the condition of Qiangu Dongfeng's four-word battle armor was also constantly deteriorating from the effects of the curses.

Dark Blood Demon wiped the blood from the corner of his lips as he appraised Qiangu Dongfeng with a vicious expression. "Qiangu Dongfeng, even if I'm going to die, I'm going to take you down with me."

Qiangu Dongfeng harrumphed coldly, "How are you going to do that? With those curses of yours? My four-word battle armor is able to withstand the vast majority of your curses, so your attacks are futile. The most you can do is damage my battle armor; you are the only one who's going to die here."

A peculiar look appeared on Dark Blood Demon's face. "Is that so? Have you forgotten that I'm an Evil Soul Master? I'm cruel to all living beings, but I'm even more cruel to myself. Seeing as my fate is sealed, do you think I would be incapable of taking you down with me? Do you think only those from the Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect are capable of sacrificing themselves? Qiangu Dongfeng, it's time for you to die!"

The nine soul rings around Dark Blood Demon suddenly exploded without any warning as he spoke, and as soon as they did so, his entire body abruptly took on a reddish-black color.

An overwhelming sense of fear immediately welled up in Qiangu Dongfeng's heart, and he let loose an alarmed cry as he hurled his Coiling Dragon Staff through the air with all his might.

At the same time, his aura surged in a frenzy as he ignited his own battle armor, preparing to unleash the most powerful attack of his life.

The fact that Dark Blood Demon had detonated his own soul rings was a clear indication that he was about to go all-out, and the fact that he had done this without any hesitation was very alarming to Qiangu Dongfeng.

Under these circumstances, the fear in his heart weakened his Coiling Dragon Staff, which derived its power from unyielding will and fearless resolve.

Qiangu Dongfeng knew that his current state of mind would only serve to weaken him, but this was human nature, and he couldn't control it!

Qiangu Dongfeng had displayed exceptional cultivation aptitude from a very young age, and he had also inherited the Qiangu Family's Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul, so his entire life had been a story of smooth sailing.