Chapter 1650: Before The Battle Lines (II)

Boom!

The [Majestic Blossom Pearl] immediately shot upward and squarely intercepted the lightning bolt, erupting into a spray of brown radiance.

Fortunately, Majestic Earth's thunder suppression blunted the attack. Even such a sudden bolt did no more than drain the color from Chengyan’s face. But the heavens seemed enraged. Bolt after bolt crashed down in an unbroken chain, each thicker and more powerful than the last, battering him until he could scarcely endure it!

Yet amid the relentless storm of lightning, Chengyan's expression suddenly changed. Although his divine ability, [Immortal Without Flaw], was not a Fate Divine Ability, it possessed extraordinary mystics. A silent warning arose within it, giving him an instant of insight.

This is bad!

Sure enough, patches of bright light appeared in the great void, revealing that heavenly gate once more. Chengyan no longer cared about the endless lightning and immediately leaped back into the manifested world!

But while Chengyan had been assaulted in the great void, the omen of the solar eclipse in the manifested world had never paused for an instant. The darkness within it had only deepened. Streams of light emerged from its depths, one becoming two and two becoming four as it continued to multiply without end. They spread across the skies like demonic gods rising from the Nine Netherworlds, until they blanketed the entire sky.

Yet that single mote of radiance truly lived up to the flawless Majestic Earth. It proved no less formidable, expanding in tandem until it became a vast expanse of misty, benevolent brown-yellow light that sheltered all beneath it. Yet it was ultimately water without a source. The last trace of mana sustaining the divine ability was drained away almost instantly, and the entire radiance collapsed with a deafening crash!

Boom!

The countless black-and-gold streams of light that had been imprisoned within burst forth all at once, blotting out the heavens as they roamed across the sky. Chengyan had only just maneuvered to freedom before he was forced into the open. His expression changed drastically. After all, he had managed to cast only a single spell art!

He wasn't making empty threats...

For the first time in his life, the Daoist Master felt an overwhelming sense of danger. Faced with the choice between his own life and Changxiao Gate, he did not hesitate for even a moment. He chose himself.

The spirit umbrella that had been shielding the mountain gate from [Deadly Thunder Formation Destroyer] vanished and reappeared in his palm. He opened it at once. Like a duckweed drifting through a torrential storm, it swayed helplessly within [Imperial Divergence Light].

Still, there was not a trace of panic on Chengyan's face. Though everything had unfolded beyond his expectations, he had already sent his spirit artifact into the great void to withstand the lightning. At the same time, a pale-white talisman appeared before him as he cast another spell art.

[Mind-Shifting Form-Scattering Talisman]!

Chengyan had never intended to remain and trade blows with the White Qilin. Neither Li Ximing nor Si Yuanli had shown themselves. If the situation had already reached this point, then nine times out of ten, something truly fatal was about to happen!

The talisman merged with his art, erupting with boundless brilliance in an instant. Even before it fully activated, hazy clouds billowed outward in every direction, seeking to freeze every divine ability and art in place, leaving them unable to move.

Command!

The moment he withdrew, the demonic spectacle of the eclipse-like Imperial Divergence Light was finally laid bare before every disciple of Changxiao Gate. Now that nothing was left to obstruct the sky, Li Zhouwei's lips curved into the faintest smile as an object appeared before him.

It was as perfectly round as a Golden Core, and wrapped in countless golden filaments. Crimson flames danced across its surface, flickering with the radiance of Radiant Fire. It was none other than [Two Bright Rites of Layered Fire].

[Myriad Lights]!

An immense suppressive force fell upon the surrounding heavens. But Chengyan managed to activate the [Mind-Shifting Form-Scattering Talisman] just in time. His divine ability took effect, not only slipping past the countless streams of light filling the sky, but dispersing into drifting Majestic Earth radiance.

Only endless banks of mist remained, spreading through the sky in an attempt to cloud Li Zhouwei's judgment. However, Li Zhouwei's expression scarcely changed. He allowed the Majestic Earth radiance to flow freely across the sky, while his divine ability remained utterly unwavering, suspended high above and poised to strike at any moment, preventing Chengyan from escaping into the distance.

Only his golden eyes brightened slightly as he turned his head and looked coldly toward the left.

"Ridiculous."

Chengyan's art was certainly impressive, but even Helian Wumeng's [Thousandfold Body] had failed to deceive his golden eyes. How could a mediocre talisman hope to fare any better?

Chengyan had been searching for a way out when Li Zhouwei's gaze suddenly fell upon him. A chill swept through his entire body. But it was already too late! He had already made several mistakes in this battle. Though he had suffered no serious injuries, and might still have had a chance to turn the situation around, those mistakes had compounded one another. Together, they were more than enough to prove fatal.

All of a sudden, there was no one beneath the resplendent heavenly gate.

[Sovereign In Peril].

An instant after the young man turned his head, his face was already inches away. Intricate golden markings, layered like scales, glimmered in Chengyan's pupils. He felt his throat tighten as an iron grip clamped around his neck, and a suffocating sense of mortal danger flooded his mind!

Damn it!

A tremendous force yanked him forward. Before the eyes of everyone present, the Changxiao Gate Daoist Master's divine ability was shattered, and he was lifted one-handed into the air!

Chengyan had calculated every possibility, yet even if he had racked his brain a thousand times over, he would never have imagined this. The moment when his art and Purple Mansion Realm talisman were in effect should have been the safest of all... How had he suddenly ended up in someone else's grasp? But no matter how many questions raced through his mind, only icy despair remained.

He had completely lost contact with his spirit artifact, the [Hundred-Ridge Profound Stone Umbrella]!

It was not just his spirit artifact. The instant those fingers closed around his neck, a sharp pain pierced straight into his mind. His vision went black, and his thoughts dissolved into confusion.

The young man's eyes before him blazed with Bright Light, while the radiance between his brows had become almost tangible. Chengyan jolted awake as if from a dream, but it was already too late. Every ounce of his divine ability continued surging toward his neck as he struggled with all his might. Under the crushing suppression of the Bright Yang divine ability and [Myriad Lights], his head tore itself free from his neck without the slightest hesitation!

Back then, Helian Wumeng had possessed a formidable dharma body and excelled in close-quarters combat. Yet even he had escaped in a miserable condition after Li Zhouwei seized him by the throat. Chengyan's strengths lay in his arts, but how much strength did his dharma body truly possess?

Besides... Li Zhouwei was no longer the man he had once been. He had now mastered [Sovereign In Peril]!

No sooner had Chengyan's head flown free than Li Zhouwei's other hand clamped down on the back of his skull. Brilliant heavenly light transformed into endless white radiance, pouring through his eyes, nose, and ears, accompanied by a shrill, grating sound like metal being sliced apart.

Boom!

The severed head let out a pitiful roar as scorching heavenly light erupted from Chengyan's gaping mouth. His body, still trapped in Li Zhouwei's grasp, violently tore itself apart at the chest, attempting to escape into the great void by means of its divine ability!

Li Zhouwei merely held Chengyan’s head lightly in one hand, not even gracing the body with a glance.

In the great void, a colossal heavenly gate was waiting for Chengyan's body. Its massive twin white gate pillars crashed down amid surging purple flames, forcing him back into the manifested world. Every trace of Majestic Earth radiance shattered, and his body was firmly trapped in midair.

A pale-white scroll hung from the heavenly gate, suspended by a slender golden thread. Though it swayed gently and remained tightly rolled, it bound the entire heavenly gate into a single, immovable whole.

Rumble...

Endless white radiance continued pouring from the severed head. Every scrap of flesh had been burned away, leaving behind only a brownish-yellow skull with the luster of polished jade.

Its jaw trembled faintly as it uttered a low plea. "My lord... My lord..."

The young man smiled. "You're too polite, fellow Daoist. So you weren't carrying the [Yongjing Profound Ring] after all. We waited all this time for nothing."

He casually tossed the skull beneath the heavenly gate, then stepped forward. His gaze swept downward, settling casually upon the mountain gate below.

To make three spirit treasures move, to call forth the response of [Deadly Thunder Formation Destroyer], and to have me kill you with my own hands. If there is a next life, that's something worth boasting about.

Changxiao Mountain Gate had fallen into a sea of deathly silence. Tens of thousands stood frozen among the mountains, with the only sound being the rustling of wind through the forest. The silence stretched from the mountaintop to the foothills as not a single person dared take to the air, nor did anyone dare raise their head.

Countless cultivators stood rooted to the ground, heads lowered in terror. Only a single thought remained in their minds.

How long has it been? A dignified Daoist Master... a revered wielder of divine ability... How long has it been?

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