Puff!
Yang Cheng raised his finger and struck out.
The Sect Master of the Bian'an Divine Sect didn't even have time to react—his head was pierced clean through in an instant.
With a dull thud, his body toppled backward and hit the ground.
The scene sent chills through everyone present. Their faces turned pale as death.
Earlier, some had been whispering to each other, wondering whether Yang Cheng had already reached his limit—whether the pressure he exuded toward Lin Chang was just a bluff to mask his exhaustion.
But now, after seeing him instantly kill the Sect Master of the Bian'an Divine Sect, no one doubted anymore.
Yang Cheng wasn't pretending to be strong.
He truly was that strong.
Even after slaying Qin Mingcheng, his power remained terrifying beyond comprehension.
Clearly, Yang Cheng's strength had already surpassed what any of them could imagine.
Yang Cheng's cold gaze then turned toward the Emperor of the Great Zhao Empire.
The emperor trembled, his face ashen. "My Great Zhao Empire admits defeat," he said hoarsely. "However, I only hope that all the blame for this may fall upon me alone."
The members of the Great Zhao royal family, including Nangong Wan, all turned pale.
They had thrown their full support behind Qin Mingcheng and the Ning Clan—not only because they saw Yang Cheng as an enemy, but because they trusted Qin Mingcheng too much.
It had never even occurred to them that Qin Mingcheng might lose.
After all, Qin Mingcheng had been famous across the realm as a formation master whose arrays could rival even the mightiest Yin God experts.
In their minds, even if Yang Cheng had truly destroyed the Ouyang Clan, that only meant he could fight someone at the Insight God level—but he was still worlds apart from a Yin God.
Yet now, the unthinkable had happened—Yang Cheng had killed Qin Mingcheng.
"Your life isn't worth that much," Yang Cheng said indifferently.
The emperor shuddered, his voice hoarse and trembling. "May I ask, what does Your Highness intend to do?"
"The Great Zhao Empire's decision to support Qin Mingcheng in killing me wasn't yours alone," Yang Cheng said coldly. "It was a decision made collectively by your empire's ruling council. Your life isn't valuable enough to bargain with me."
As he spoke, he opened his mouth and breathed out a wisp of black-and-white true fire.
The flames swept over the emperor's body in an instant.
Within moments, the emperor's figure disintegrated completely—reduced to ashes.
The mighty Emperor of Great Zhao, a Martial Emperor-level powerhouse, died just like that.
"Father!"
Nangong Wan's cry pierced the air. Her face twisted with grief on the surface, but deep within her heart, a surge of dark joy bubbled up. She laughed inwardly, 'Hahaha… old fool, even you have your day!'
She had loved Nangong Yi, yes—but that didn't mean she didn't hate her father.
Yang Cheng's cold eyes shifted toward her. "I see hatred in your eyes," he said calmly. "You are guilty, but not enough to die. Your life will be spared—but your cultivation shall be abolished."
He flicked his finger.
A stream of power struck Nangong Wan, and in an instant, her cultivation was shattered.
Her aura vanished completely—she was now nothing more than an ordinary mortal.
Nangong Wan collapsed to the ground, her face pale as snow.
"The Great Zhao royal clan has made themselves my enemy. They must perish."
Yang Cheng struck out again and again, his movements as effortless as breathing.
In just a few breaths, more than half of the Great Zhao royal family's upper ranks had been annihilated.
"Prince Yang, must you cause such bloodshed?"
A deep, calm voice echoed from the heavens.
No one had expected this.
A masked figure descended from the sky, landing softly between heaven and earth.
Yang Cheng's gaze turned cold. "I plan to erase the Great Zhao Empire," he said. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Yes," the masked man replied, his tone utterly steady. "I do."
A murmur swept through the crowd.
After witnessing Yang Cheng's devastating might, who would dare to stand against him now?
Yet this man had done exactly that.
Yang Cheng's voice dropped several degrees colder. "I do not kill nameless men," he said. "Who are you?"
The masked figure clasped his hands behind his back. "I am Dao Wuyin, Sect Master of Mount Reincarnation."
Gasps spread through the onlookers.
But Yang Cheng's eyes flashed with faint amusement.
This "Dao Wuyin"—was none other than his own external incarnation.
It was all part of a plan Yang Cheng had laid long in advance.
He intended for Divine Mountain to expand its influence into the Great Zhao Empire—and to do so, he needed a foundation to build upon.
Thus, he had decided to annihilate the Bian'an Divine Sect, devastate the Great Zhao royal family, and then have his external incarnation appear at the perfect moment… to "save" them.
That way, Mount Reincarnation could seamlessly replace the Bian'an Divine Sect as the new hidden power supporting the Great Zhao throne.
And once that happened, both the royal family and the people of Great Zhao would see Mount Reincarnation as their savior—and revere it with gratitude for generations.
"I've never heard of it," Yang Cheng said flatly.
Around them, many nodded in confusion. None of them had ever heard of such a sect either.
Dao Wuyin's tone remained calm. "Mount Reincarnation is but a humble, nameless force," he said lightly. "It is only natural that His Highness, the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, has not heard of it."
The external incarnation spoke calmly.
"Humph, if you wish to speak with me," Yang Cheng said coldly, "first prove you have the ability."
Without hesitation, Yang Cheng unleashed his sword.
In response, his external incarnation drew his bow and executed the Archery Technique · Shooting the Sun.
Yang Cheng rarely used a bow himself, so having his external incarnation wield it made their duel appear genuine and distinct.
And the incarnation's strength was in no way inferior to Yang Cheng's.
Of course, this entire battle was a performance—one that Yang Cheng had orchestrated deliberately.
In an instant, both sides clashed fiercely, their powers evenly matched.
"Unexpected," Yang Cheng said with a faint sneer between strikes. "I didn't think such a powerful figure existed in this Wasteland Realm. Very well—on account of your face, I'll spare the Great Zhao Empire today."
He let out a cold snort, then turned and left without another word.
The Great Zhao crowd stood frozen at first, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Then, all at once, tears of relief welled up in countless eyes.
For the surviving members of the Great Zhao royal family, that moment was salvation itself.
They rushed forward, bowing deeply before the external incarnation.
"Thank you for sparing our lives, Your Excellency," they said with heartfelt gratitude. "The royal family of Great Zhao will never forget your grace."
Nangong Wan dropped to her knees, her voice trembling. "May I ask where Mount Reincarnation lies? Nangong Wan wishes to bow and ascend your mountain in person."
The external incarnation replied simply, "The Ancient Desolation Mountain Range."
With that, his figure turned into a long rainbow of light and vanished into the distance.
At the same time, Yang Cheng himself had already arrived at the Bian'an Divine Sect.
Tens of thousands of Great Zhou soldiers, along with the Blood Shadow Guard and the Divine Machinery Battalion, had long been waiting in ambush outside the mountain.
The instant Yang Cheng appeared, they launched their full-scale assault.
Without their Sect Master's support, the Bian'an Divine Sect was completely defenseless.
They couldn't possibly resist such a devastating onslaught.
That very day, the Bian'an Divine Sect was declared annihilated.
Most of its disciples were slaughtered; only a few managed to escape into hiding.
Meanwhile, news of the battle at Jinbian Lake spread rapidly across the entire Wasteland Realm.
Shock.
That was everyone's first reaction.
"Qin Mingcheng was killed by Yang Cheng?"
"That's unbelievable!"
"But it's true—tens of thousands saw it with their own eyes! Afterward, Yang Cheng even killed the Sect Master of the Bian'an Divine Sect and the Emperor of Great Zhao!"
"Just how strong is Yang Cheng? I heard Qin Mingcheng's formations had reached the pinnacle of the Yin God level, and Jinbian Lake was his chosen battlefield—his home ground!"
A collective sense of awe and fear swept through the realm.
"Could it be… Yang Cheng's power has reached the peak of the Yin God realm as well?"
"Not quite," someone replied. "According to eyewitnesses, Yang Cheng also commands formations himself—his mastery is said to rival Qin Mingcheng's."
"Hiss… that's monstrous. He's mastered Sword Dao, Blade Dao, Fist Dao, and Alchemy Dao, and now even Array Dao? He truly is a saintly prodigy born with innate knowledge."
Clearly, Yang Cheng's earlier manipulations had paid off.
Now, whenever people heard of his unfathomable feats, though they were astonished, they could rationalize it—believing that everything stemmed from his "innate divine wisdom."
But there was another piece of news shaking the world even further.
During that same battle, another mysterious figure had appeared.
After Yang Cheng killed Qin Mingcheng, the Bian'an Sect Master, and many members of the Great Zhao royal family, he had originally intended to completely exterminate the Great Zhao line.
But a mysterious man calling himself Dao Wuyin, the Sect Master of Mount Reincarnation, appeared and stopped Yang Cheng's slaughter.
The two fought a fierce battle—one so intense that neither could gain the upper hand.
In the end, Yang Cheng chose to withdraw, sparing the remaining members of the Great Zhao royal family.
From that day onward, both Mount Reincarnation and Dao Wuyin entered the world's gaze—and the name of this mysterious mountain began to spread like wildfire.