The moment Ye Chuan's aura washed over him, Qin Tianya's sneer froze on his face, his pupils contracting to pinpricks.
He could clearly sense the energy erupting from Ye Chuan—undeniably the fluctuations of the early-stage Enlightenment Realm, yet the density and sheer dominance of that aura surpassed his own half-step Great Ascension Realm by several times!
"Impossible!" Qin Tianya blurted out, instinctively unleashing his half-step Great Ascension pressure. Cyan spiritual light surged around him like a tidal wave as his thousand-zhang Dao Manifestation materialized once more. His fists coiled with earth-shattering spiritual power.
"An early-stage Enlightenment cultivator couldn’t possibly possess such an aura! You must be using some demonic trick!"
"Demonic?"
Ye Chuan smirked, too lazy to argue. With a light tap of his toe on the scorched earth—
Spatial Leap.
No grand spectacle, just a faint black afterimage left behind as Ye Chuan appeared directly in front of Qin Tianya. His spiritual sword gleamed coldly, its black sword qi condensed like ink-dark lightning, thrust straight for Qin Tianya’s heart—no flourish, just speed so blinding that even Qin Tianya’s Dao Manifestation couldn’t react in time.
"Block!" Sensing the killing intent, Qin Tianya roared, channeling his spiritual energy frantically. His Dao Manifestation crossed its arms before him in defense.
But the moment the black sword qi struck—
Crack!
A crisp sound split the air. The Dao Manifestation’s arms, forged from condensed heaven-and-earth spiritual energy and capable of withstanding peak Enlightenment Realm attacks, shattered into scattered cyan light, fragments falling like shattered jade.
Chaos Force, kid.
No—old man.
Qin Tianya was sent flying, crashing into a remnant pillar of the Jade Void Sect’s hall. The pillar snapped on impact.
Clutching his chest, he coughed up blood, eyes wide with disbelief. "Your sword… how could it break my Dao Manifestation?"
All traces of his earlier arrogance had vanished, replaced by sheer shock.
Just…
What kind of monster is this?!
"Because your Dao Manifestation is trash in my eyes." Ye Chuan flickered again, appearing above Qin Tianya. His sword swept horizontally, a river of black sword qi slashing down!
Qin Tianya barely rolled aside as the sword energy grazed his shoulder, cleaving a thousand-zhang chasm into the bedrock behind him, debris exploding outward.
"Nine Heavens Azure Lock—rise!" Cornered, Qin Tianya’s hands flew through seals. Countless cyan runes erupted from the ground, attempting to shackle space once more.
Yet the runes barely formed before Ye Chuan ignored them entirely. Empowered by Chaos Force, he swatted them into dispersion!
"No! This formation can’t even be broken by peak Enlightenment cultivators!" Qin Tianya’s voice cracked with panic. His proud trump card had crumbled like paper before Ye Chuan.
He spun to flee—only to find space itself locking around him, his feet leaden and immobile.
Ye Chuan materialized before him, the tip of his spiritual sword resting against Qin Tianya’s chest. The icy touch made Qin Tianya tremble.
None of his techniques had worked. Not a single one.
"You love ambushes, don’t you? Called me an ant shaking a tree?" Ye Chuan’s eyes held laughter—and a bone-deep chill.
"Half-step Great Ascension? Mover of mountains? How about handing over your life instead?"
"Hao Tianhuang, I’m the Qingyun Sect’s patriarch! Kill me, and the sect will hunt you to the ends of the earth!" Desperate, Qin Tianya played his final card.
"Qingyun Sect?" Ye Chuan scoffed, nudging the sword forward. The blade pierced skin, a trickle of blood staining Qin Tianya’s robes.
"After I finish with you, I’ll pay them a visit."
Seeing the unwavering killing intent in Ye Chuan’s eyes, Qin Tianya gritted his teeth. "Spare… spare me! I’ll give you the Qingyun Sect’s treasures! I’ll serve you!"
Ye Chuan’s sword loosened slightly. "Treasures."
Qin Tianya exhaled in relief.
"You—"
Thunk.
The next instant, Ye Chuan’s sword plunged deep. Black sword qi detonated inside Qin Tianya’s body, annihilating his meridians and flesh in an instant.
"Sorry. I’d rather vent some rage for my Qian Shuang." Ye Chuan smiled.
Qin Tianya didn’t even have time to scream before his body disintegrated into dust.
Even in death, his pride as a half-step Great Ascension cultivator couldn’t comprehend how an early-stage Enlightenment Realm had crushed him so utterly.
Only a wisp of soul remained. Ye Chuan reached for his Soul Banner to devour it—when the remnant soul suddenly exploded, fracturing into hundreds of fragments that scattered in all directions.
"What?" Ye Chuan blinked. This was new.
He summoned the Soul Banner instantly. A thousand-zhang domain erupted around him, space sealing completely. From the void, countless black chains surged forth, their surfaces etched with soul-devouring runes, barbed tips like starving vipers lunging for the fleeing fragments!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The chains struck with unerring precision. The first wrapped around a fragment, hooks piercing deep as runes flared. In a breath, the fragment was consumed, leaving only a wisp of smoke.
The second, third—each chain hunted with predatory intelligence, ensnaring and devouring.
Qin Tianya’s soul fragments shrieked, but escape was impossible. Ye Chuan’s domain suppressed all soul escape techniques, and the chains’ runes were their bane.
Within moments, over ninety percent were gone. Only three remained, fleeing madly.
"Think you can run?" Ye Chuan willed three thicker chains to pursue.
Two were caught at the domain’s edge, swallowed instantly.
But the last—cunning—dodged, veering suddenly into the abyss and vanishing beyond even Ye Chuan’s spiritual sense.
"Whatever. With ninety-nine percent gone, he’ll never recover his strength."
After finishing Qin Tianya, Ye Chuan examined his Soul Banner. Empowered by the devoured soul, its aura had grown fiercer.
"Not bad loot." He nodded in satisfaction.
Maybe I’ll wipe out the entire Qingyun Sect next?
Though… that old coot’s still there. Who knows what level those ancient freaks have reached.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
