In an instant, complex, ancient lines spread across the sky.

A massive divine phoenix slowly manifested within the firmament.

Yet, Chu Chen remained completely unperturbed.

He watched as the colossal divine phoenix rose majestically, its powerful light piercing the clouds and illuminating the sky with a blinding glare.

The intense, sacred pressure was so overwhelming that even an existence at the peak of the Great Saint realm would likely be frozen in terror.

But Chu Chen merely looked on with absolute calm.

This Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art seemed to share a deep connection with the Divine Phoenix Treasure Art. In fact, they looked almost identical.

It appeared that the Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art was merely a fragmented branch of the greater technique.

After all, when he obtained the Divine Phoenix Treasure Art within the secret realm, Feng Qing'er had explicitly mentioned that it was the complete, unbroken legacy, whereas the version preserved in God Phoenix Valley-the one her brother practiced-was incomplete.

Wielding the complete Divine Phoenix Treasure Art, suppressing this lesser Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art would naturally be as effortless as turning over his hand.

Chu Chen had no reason to pay it any mind.

Seeing Chu Chen stand unfazed before the terrifying might of the divine phoenix, Feng Tianxiang felt a sudden prickle of unease.

"Under the combined might of my Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art and the Blood Garment Armor Saint King Artifact, I refuse to believe you can withstand this."

"Your final destiny holds nothing but death. Do you understand?"

Feng Tianxiang spoke with ice-cold malice.

Chu Chen merely offered a faint, dismissive smile, entirely untroubled by the threat.

"Haha. It seems you truly have no idea what I obtained within Falling Phoenix Slope."

"To think a superficial Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art could hope to block my path."

"How ridiculous."

Chu Chen's gaze turned patronizing.

He thrust both palms toward the heavens, unleashing a torrential wave of power that instantly blasted away the scattered, blood-red sword streams swirling around him. Soaring into the sky, he looked down upon Feng Tianxiang from above.

For reasons he couldn't explain, a sudden wave of panic gripped Feng Tianxiang's heart.

"What am I afraid of?" Feng Tianxiang muttered to himself.

At that moment, the massive shadow of the divine phoenix in the sky began to recede, forced back as an even more colossal divine phoenix slowly manifested directly before Chu Chen.

Witnessing this, Feng Tianxiang froze in utter disbelief.

"Impossible... This is impossible!"

"How can you possess the Divine Phoenix Treasure Art?"

"How could someone like you possibly know it?"

Feng Tianxiang shook his head repeatedly, frantically rejecting the evidence of his own eyes.

"You see it clearly before you, yet you still refuse to believe it,'' Chu Chen said coldly. "This is the complete Divine Phoenix Treasure Art I obtained within Falling Phoenix Slope."

"The Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art you wield is nothing more than a fractured remnant."

"Divine Phoenix, rise!"

With a sharp command, Chu Chen pointed a single finger toward his phantom construct.

Aoo!

A piercing cry tore through the heavens, echoing across the sky.

Feng Tianxiang's Divine Phoenix Great Derivation Art shattered inch by inch, completely neutralized without producing the slightest effect.

Faced with such overwhelming absolute suppression, Feng Tianxiang knew with stark clarity that he had been utterly defeated.

"Impossible, impossible!"

Feng Tianxiang continued to shake his head, trapped in a spiral of denial.

Falling Phoenix Slope had opened countless times over the millennia, yet throughout history, not a single disciple had ever emerged with the lost Divine Phoenix Treasure Art.

How could Chu Chen enter a single time and claim the ultimate legacy? It defied all reason. Yet, looking at the vivid, lifelike phantom of the colossal divine phoenix soaring through the sky, he could not deny reality.

Chu Chen's fortune was simply too immense-so immense that it fueled a toxic, burning jealousy within Feng Tianxiang.

This outsider had come to God Phoenix Valley and completely ensnared his sister's soul, leaving Feng Qing'er so love-struck that she neglected food and drink. He had gone to the Purple Dragon Pond and claimed a Saint King Artifact. He had entered Falling Phoenix Slope and plundered its greatest treasures.

How could Feng Tianxiang not be consumed by fury? These resources should have belonged to God Phoenix Valley. They should have been his.

Yet now, everything had fallen into Chu Chen's hands.

Why?

By what right did everything belong to Chu Chen?

Even the woman he loved, Lin Shuwang, chose to stand by Chu Chen's side.

What kind of demonic manipulation did this man possess to shatter everything Feng Tianxiang held dear, ruining his ambitions and destroying his dreams?

He refused to accept it. His rage boiled over, hardening into a desperate, murderous resolve.

"Chu Chen, I will tear you to pieces!"

"Undying Divine Phoenix Physique!"

Feng Tianxiang shrieked like a madman, his sanity completely snapping.

A suffocating, violent aura of the divine phoenix erupted, flooding the battlefield and blotting out the sky.

The sheer intensity of the display startled Lin Shuwang.

"Chu Chen, let me fight by your side!"

With a movement of her robe, Lin Shuwang prepared to fly forward to share the burden.

"Stay where you are, I can handle this,'' Chu Chen called out calmly. "His Undying Divine Phoenix Physique is somewhat troublesome, but do not worry. I still have a hidden move."

Seeing Lin Shuwang rush forward out of pure, unadulterated concern for him brought a warm sensation to Chu Chen's heart.

Lin Shuwang trusted him explicitly. Hearing his words, she halted, her eyes fixed entirely on him.

Witnessing Lin Shuwang's deep devotion to Chu Chen caused Feng Tianxiang's heart to shatter completely.

Why?

Why did no one ever look at him that way?

He was the Sect Leader of God Phoenix Valley, a figure of supreme authority who ruled over thousands and held the power to suppress nations. Why was he never enough to earn a single glance from her?

"Die!"

Driven to the brink, Feng Tianxiang unleashed a desperate, forceful palm strike. From the center of his hand, a golden divine phoenix manifested, its wings beating furiously as it streaked toward Chu Chen.

Though the golden bird appeared compact, it carried a dense, concentrated energy capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Chu Chen's expression turned solemn. He could not afford to underestimate this attack. After all, his opponent was the master of a major sect, utilizing the full genetic legacy of the Undying Divine Phoenix Physique.

Spiritual power surged violently around Chu Chen as he channeled the complete Divine Phoenix Treasure Art, invoking a massive spectral phoenix that began to revolve around his form.

At the same time, he thrust the Blood Dragon Spear forward in a rapid succession of strikes. The overwhelming spear-light coalesced into a roaring blood-colored dragon that intertwined flawlessly with his spectral phoenix, charging directly at the enemy.

The immense avian pressure spread freely, establishing a defensive barrier. A moment later, the combined force of the blood dragon and the divine phoenix collided violently against Feng Tianxiang's golden barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A succession of deafening explosions reverberated endlessly through the basin.

Relying on the raw vitality of the Undying Divine Phoenix Physique, Feng Tianxiang locked himself in a brutal, direct clash of power against Chu Chen.

Both combatants had pushed past their limits, fighting with unrestrained fury. The earth fractured and the nearby mountains groaned under the sheer force of the shockwaves.

Massive fissures tore open across the valley floor, spreading like a spiderweb.

"Today, I will show you the true power of the complete Divine Phoenix Treasure Art!"

Flying higher into the atmosphere, Chu Chen gathered a brilliant, concentrated sphere of pure essence in his palm and hurled it downward with crushing force.

With a thunderous roar, the catastrophic explosion of energy proved to be more than Feng Tianxiang could endure.

Bang!

The protective barrier of spiritual power shielding his body shattered instantly. The golden phoenix hovering above his head dissolved into nothingness.

Feng Tianxiang was sent flying like a broken kite, hurtling back several thousand zhang and smashing through three solid mountains before his momentum finally halted.

His blood and qi churned violently within his chest, his internal aura completely derailed. Unable to suppress the damage, he bent forward and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

"To think... this Chu Chen is actually so monstrous..."

"Even at the second layer of the Saint King realm, I cannot suppress him."

"He even mastered the ultimate treasure art of my own valley..."

Feng Tianxiang stared back at Chu Chen, his eyes filled with a dark, venomous hatred.

The fact that God Phoenix Valley's ancestral technique had been taken and perfected by an outsider was a humiliation that burned deeper than his physical wounds.