He was ultimately still a Saint, and even though he knew he couldn't match Hou Tong's overwhelming aura, he still didn't give up resisting.

Three flames abruptly surged from the Emperor's martial spirit behind him, and in an instant, formed a raging sea of fire in front of him. At the same time, he and the Emperor's martial spirit drew a red longsword, its blade as hot as fire, its Sword Qi fierce like a flame, tearing through the sky and racing forward.

The already roaring sea of fire became several times more violent due to this sword strike. In a moment, the flames, initially only a hundred feet tall, soared several dozen times higher, filling almost the entire Xuanzhu Space. The boundless sea of fire seemed infinite; if not for the Xuanzhu Space's barrier, it would have engulfed a radius of hundreds or even thousands of miles in an instant.

However, even such a powerful sword strike

the moment it clashed in mid-air with Hou Tong's Demon-subduing Staff,

was still, defeated.…

The flames were instantly suppressed, the sword blade was immediately submerged, and more than half of the raging sea of fire was extinguished in a moment. Even the Flame Emperor's martial spirit behind Qin Fan was diminished by more than half, with only about fifteen thousand feet remaining.

And yet, Hou Jing relentlessly pressed his advantage.

Seeing his strike succeed, Hou Tong unleashed a more violent staff attack like a turbulent wave crashing against the shore, bringing gusts of wild winds that shattered collapsing parts of the space, directly hacking toward Qin Fan.

Its momentum was unmatched; "cutting through bamboo" or "sweeping away withered leaves" were insufficient to describe the grandeur of Hou Jing's blow. The long staff first pierced through Qin Fan's martial spirit, completely destroying the half-weakened spirit, then continued toward his body. The immense power of the staff swept through without resistance, directly shattering his protective aura and subsequently destroying his body.

The immense wind from the staff even pierced through the pillars of light of the array, revealing the vast night sky outside.

Qin Fan, Third Villa Master of Qinjian Villa, renowned across the world and a Martial Dao Saint known for many years, now had his body shattered, his soul fragmented, and even the phantom of his martial spirit completely vanished.

The dissipation of a Saint is unlike that of ordinary mortals. At this level, one stands at the pinnacle of the Martial Artist's path. The death of a Saint means the dispersal of a lifetime's cultivation, and after the collapse of the entire array, the whole world's atmosphere was filled with the remnants of Qin Fan's cultivation.

In the final moments of his life force rapidly draining, Qin Fan glanced through the shattered array toward a place not far to the east. His already swiftly fading vitality accelerated.

To the east, not far away, was the location of Jidu.

In his vision, over Jidu's skies, two massive clouds of blood-red aura, spanning several hundred miles, were spreading. He knew well that it was the commotion of two great armies clashing.

With Hou Tong intercepting him midway, it was certain that his ten thousand strong Tianwei Army was already besieging Jidu. He understood what the blood-red clouds represented.

"Great Mansion Master, Second Villa Master, if you don't return, Qinjian Villa's heritage of a thousand years will truly be destroyed!"

A person's dying words are true; Qin Fan had lived over a thousand years. Although he may not have transcended life and death entirely, he had reached a certain level. Even now, he was still concerned about the villa's millennium legacy, which was normal, after spending so many years there. Moreover, the villa housed children of the Qin Family.

Unfortunately, this last hope was completely shattered by Hou Tong's next sentence.

"Even if Zhao Yulong returns, it's useless. Do you know why my ten thousand strong army entered Jidu so smoothly?"

Qin Fan's expression froze, holding his last breath as he looked at Hou Tong.

Hou Tong lightly opened his mouth and said three words to him:

"Li... Ting... Zong!"