All races revere me as the Heavenly Emperor, solely because of my nine disciples!

This place is called Cape Continent, a continent floating on the edge of the Chaotic Star Sea, not a planet!

Standing on this continent, everyone looked up and saw a colossal gate, tens of millions of feet tall, standing at the end of the continent.

Above the giant gate, the plaque boldly displays three enormous ancient characters: “South Heavenly Gate,” each as large as a small mountain!

Clearly, this is the South Heavenly Gate Realm, one of the four major realms in the east, west, south, and north that Zhou Hai mentioned!

Before everyone's eyes, the Southern Heavenly Gate shimmered with various aurora lights, giving people the feeling that entering it was like entering a supreme heavenly palace.

However, there was not a single person coming or going at the magnificent gate, and no one was even stationed there!

"Hehe... See that? That's luck!"

"Eight million years have passed, and this sea of ​​stars has been hidden deep within the universe by the Demon Emperor. Even the Celestial Venerable probably can't find it. It's been so long since any outsiders have come that there's no need to guard the gate anymore. This makes it convenient for us to go in!"

Chu Chen let out a strange laugh, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They were genuinely afraid of the situation Zhou Hai described, where they would be turned away by the people of Tianhuang Xinghai.

Seeing that the city gate was open and unobstructed, it was indeed as Chu Chen had said, which made things convenient for them.

"Don't let your guard down, take a look around first!"

"See this void? It seems like there are no city walls, but in reality, the entire Heavenly Phoenix Star Sea is a grand formation. Countless aurora borealis condenses from the star sea, forming an endless killing field, a city gate!"

"If we don't go through this gate and rashly rush into that killing field, we will only face certain death!"

Zhou Hai did not order anyone to make any rash moves. Instead, he raised his hand and pointed, and everyone looked intently at the spot, only to be greatly surprised.

On either side of the gate, it appeared to be an empty space, as if one could break in at any time.

At first glance, the aurora borealis seemed indistinguishable, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that each aurora was a rune, intertwined with each other, comparable to the ultimate truth.

Once touched, it will inevitably bring an attack comparable to that of a supreme being; it's incredibly dangerous.

Just as Zhou Hai said, this place is indeed fraught with danger.

"Looking at the gate again, it seems there are no guards. But those two stone lions are just sleeping; they are not dead, nor are they mascots guarding the gate!"

"These are stone spirits that have cultivated, and each one possesses the cultivation level of a Great Sage. They were subdued by the powerful beings of the Heavenly Phoenix Star Sea and used as puppets to guard this place."

"With them guarding this place, we won't even have the slightest chance to enter the Heavenly Phoenix Star Sea!"

When Zhou Hai spoke again, everyone's expression immediately changed.

At this moment, the arrival of the crowd seemed to have disturbed the two stone lions.

"Roar……"

"Roar……"

Two roars came in succession, and everyone saw the two stone lions rapidly grow larger.

In an instant, the two stone lions grew to a thousand feet tall. They were still made of stone, yet they could move freely and were incredibly agile.

Their stone eyes emitted two beams of golden light, enveloping everyone inside.

"Outsiders, die!"

The two stone lions did not speak, but their divine thoughts conveyed their meaning to everyone.

Everyone tensed up immediately.

Chu Chen, Prince Tianpeng, and others all felt unprecedented pressure.

It felt as if the sky had collapsed, suffocating them. Cold sweat quickly seeped from their bodies.

This is indeed a Stone Spirit Beast of the Great Sage level, and a ferocious one at that; there's absolutely no reasoning with it.

You can't even ask them to make an exception. They will only carry out their mission: to prevent any outsiders from entering the Tianhuang Star Sea, and even to kill any outsiders!

"Junior Uncle, what should we do?"

Cai Xuan came to Zhou Hai's side and was somewhat dumbfounded.

"What else can be done?"

"Break in!"

Zhou Hai's eyes flashed with anger, and he suddenly rushed out, heading straight for the gate.

At the same time, he used the Hundred Refinement Emperor Fist in his left hand and the Battle Emperor Fist in his right hand to directly attack the two stone lions.

"I'll hold them off, you guys wait for your chance..."

Zhou Hai roared, as if to say, "I'll hold them off, you can break in when you get the chance!"

Before he could finish speaking, the two stone lions moved with incredible speed, suddenly raising one leg and striking down at him.

Even with the Great Sage's Truth activated within his fist, his fist imprint was still shattered the moment it touched him.

A violent force swept over, and Zhou Hai's expression changed drastically. He suddenly realized that the ones attacking him were not two Great Saint-level stone lions, but two Supreme-level unparalleled experts.

"Boom boom boom..."

The instant his fist imprint shattered, his physical body also crumbled.

The first parts to explode were his hands, followed by his arms, and then his entire upper body.

"I rely on..."

Zhou Hai shouted and, without thinking, used his extreme speed to retreat.

Even so, after retreating a certain distance, his body completely exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, he did not let that power be completely extinguished, otherwise he felt that it would be difficult for him to be resurrected.

At this moment, as the blood mist surged, his body quickly solidified and reappeared before everyone.

With a flick of his sleeve, he led everyone directly behind him.

At this moment, the group of geniuses were already stunned.

The Imperial Tutor, whom they considered invincible, couldn't even defeat two gatekeeper mascots—this scene was too fantastical.

Moreover, they themselves had felt that power just now.

It not only contained the cultivation power of the two Stone Spirit Demons, but also borrowed the power of the entire Star Sea City, making it comparable to a Supreme Strike.

With this level of protection, who could possibly break in?

"kill!"

However, before one problem could be solved, another arose. Before everyone could react, the two stone lions roared and sent out their divine senses, charging directly towards the group.

The speed was so fast that the group of geniuses had no chance to react at all.

"Damn it, they don't give anyone a chance to negotiate at all!"

Zhou Hai roared, grabbed everyone, turned and fled, disappearing directly into the Chaotic Star Sea behind them.

Strangely enough, although the two stone lions were very fast, almost giving Zhou Hai no chance to escape, they stopped after reaching the edge of the continent floating in the void.

Then it transformed into two beams of light and returned to the South Heavenly Gate, becoming a mascot guarding the gate.

Seeing this, everyone, including Zhou Hai, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Junior Uncle, you were absolutely right. They don't welcome outsiders at all!"

Bai Shushu blinked and looked at Zhou Hai, still feeling lingering fear.

"Yes, Imperial Tutor, this is more than just unwelcoming; there's no room for negotiation whatsoever. Having two puppet stone spirits guarding the area means certain death if you go up there!"

"Imperial Tutor, what should we do next? Are we going to be unable to even enter the Heavenly Phoenix Star Sea?"

The others also looked on in surprise, all turning to look at Zhou Hai.

"Damn it, are they trying to force me to use that move?!"

Zhou Hai did not answer. Instead, with a gloomy face, he raised his hand and a precious tree appeared in his palm.

Around this precious tree, space distorted, as if countless worlds were being born. However, due to the depletion of its origin, these small worlds could not take shape and constantly collapsed.

This is none other than the spatial divine tree of the Sumeru Path, also known as the World Tree.

Its essence had already been absorbed over millions of years in the hands of the Venerable Sumeru. Later, after it fell into Zhou Hai's hands, its essence was also absorbed during the great battle.

After all that turmoil, it's lucky this tree didn't die.

Although it is now considered miraculous, it has actually lost all its divine power.

Moreover, sensing that Zhou Hai had sacrificed himself, the divine tree, being sentient, immediately shook and made a rustling sound, as if warning Zhou Hai not to act recklessly, as if it had already been drained dry.

Fortunately, even such a divine root has the limitations imposed by the Heavenly Dao, preventing it from developing great intelligence or cultivating. Otherwise, it would probably be cursing Zhou Hai to death right now, or even fighting him to the death.

Its instinctive emotions made those around it look strange.

It's unimaginable what Zhou Hai did to this tree trunk.