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"Now is the time, everyone attack and destroy him together!" The Golden Crest Grand Prelate seized the opportunity and shouted loudly. The gathered warriors immediately focused their strength, preparing to decisively eliminate this great enemy of the Sanctuary.

Yet at this moment, Chen Xuanfeng, the target, showed no sign of tension. His expression was peculiar—a mix of bewilderment and mockery—as if he had discovered something bizarre yet amusing. He watched with a faint smile as the Sanctuary's top experts charged toward him through the tide of flying skulls.

"Hah, I knew something was off, but I never expected it to be like this..." Chen Xuanfeng muttered to himself with a half-smile, allowing countless skulls to weave layer upon layer of nets around him, completely sealing off his range of movement. His actions left Xi Luo and the three Holy Grail Knights, who had been bracing for his final counterattack, momentarily stunned.

Within moments, the bone prison thickened to over ten meters, reinforced by layers of Divine Light Power. Even a Sword Saint would find escape impossible. Though Chen Xuanfeng wielded the Sword of Divine Punishment, breaking free from this rapidly regenerating prison would require another dual-blade strike.

But the Sanctuary would never give him that chance.

"The supreme will of light ignites the sixth night’s shrouded morning star. At the end of all darkness, riding the tides of the Milky Way, unseal the judgment and unleash the boundless radiance of truth." The Four Grand Prelates, backed by the infinite Divine Light Power of the Eternal Heroic Cycle, chanted in unison, their incantation swift and profound. "Divine grace like the sea, divine might like the mountains—Fourfold Holy Seal Mode—'Great Judgment' combined attack—Gate of Judgment—Hammer of Verdict—Activate—"

As their voices echoed, a golden hammer the size of a carriage materialized in the air, crashing toward Chen Xuanfeng with world-sundering force. The bone prison standing between them offered no resistance—like shadows slipping past—allowing the condensed attack to pass through unimpeded. The combined might of the Four Grand Prelates, amplified by countless Sanctuary spirits, concentrated into this strike with crystalline intensity. Even Orc King Samanda might struggle to withstand it, let alone an exhausted Chen Xuanfeng.

With a thunderous "BOOM!", the golden hammer, capable of leveling a mountain, smashed down upon—

An obsidian-purple sphere of dark energy.

This was a sphere formed purely of dark magic. Its surface shimmered with eerie, deep purple radiance, its abyssal power as vast and unfathomable as an ocean. The colossal golden hammer pressed against it but could not advance an inch. Instead, it was gradually crushed as the expanding obsidian-purple sphere pushed back.

"What... what is this? It's even stronger than the Great Judgment!" Xi Luo exclaimed in shock.

At the same time, the most learned of the Four Grand Prelates, the silver-haired grand prelate, gasped, "That's... that's the Archdemon King Barto's ultimate technique, Doombirth. How did that lycan acquire it? And in this space saturated with holy power, not only dark magic but even non-light spells should be completely nullified!"

His words sent a jolt of horror through the Golden Crest Grand Prelate, who suddenly paled and shouted, "No! Quickly, withdraw the spirits' remains—!"

But before they could react, the anomaly unfolded. The bone prison surrounding Chen Xuanfeng twisted violently, as if drawn by an immense force, collapsing toward the obsidian-purple orb. The bones shattered midair, their hidden energies—like homing birds—devoured by the dark orb. Empowered, the sphere expanded faster, already crushing a quarter of the golden hammer.

Now, everyone realized the horrifying truth: the energies seeping from the bones were pure dark magic.

"How... how is this possible? The spirits' remains should be purely light-aspected! Why is there dark power?!" one Holy Grail Knight cried in disbelief.

"Hah, why? Haven't you ever wondered?" Chen Xuanfeng's voice echoed lazily from within the obsidian-purple sphere. "The lingering essence of over a hundred thousand spirits is vast, but it's only equivalent to tens of thousands of elven mages combined. If that alone could lift Saint Spirit Mountain, then why, in the elven empire's tens of thousands of years of history—with nearly a million elven mages at its peak—was there only ever one Floating Citadel, and one powered by the Golden Tree at that? Ever since I heard of this 'Eternal Heroic Cycle,' I suspected something else was at play. But... it wasn't until just now that I understood."

Before his words faded, the obsidian-purple sphere swelled violently, shattering the golden hammer completely. As the dark power lifted, it revealed the silver-haired lycan within, now raising the Tiger Bone Blade high. The blade and the obsidian-purple sphere merged seamlessly—the opening stance of the martial-magic fusion technique, Chaos Sundered: Crimson Calamity.

"This Tiger Bone Blade once devoured part of Archdemon King Barto's power and soul, granting me the ability to wield his ultimate technique. However, Doombirth consumes immense energy—I had to pour all my strength into it to activate it. Fortunately, there's another way: absorbing sufficient dark energy from the outside." Chen Xuanfeng smirked, gesturing at the shattered bones with the Sword of Divine Punishment in his right hand. "When I shattered countless bones earlier with my dual-blade strike, I discovered the vast, refined dark power hidden beneath the Divine Light Power. Only when my attack was strong enough to disperse the holy energy completely did it reveal itself. And what's fascinating is that the dark magic's nature perfectly matches that of my Tiger Bone Blade. Do you understand the implications?"

"In other words, this 'Eternal Heroic Cycle' is just a facade—a shell to manipulate and conceal the true source of power. The infinite magic driving this city's flight comes from the sixth layer beneath us—the imprisoned essence of Archdemon King Barto, sealed by elven mages." By now, Chen Xuanfeng's aura had peaked. With a battle cry, he roared and swung the violet greatsword downward, unleashing Chaos Sundered: Crimson Calamity at full force upon the stunned defenders.