Imperial Might

The moment the beam of light fell, the entire plaza fell into a dead silence.

Countless gazes stared fixedly at the figure at the top of the heavenly ladder, completely submerged in golden light. They watched as the golden chains extending from the stone coffin wrapped around Ye Chuan's limbs and torso like poisonous snakes, locking him firmly in place without leaving him the slightest room to move.

"Oh no! It's possession! Xuan Qiong isn't dead at all! He wants to possess Sacred Lord Ye's physical body!"

Master Taichu was the first to react. As he roared fiercely, the Ascension Realm Dao principles around him erupted with full force. The azure Taichu Sword instantly took shape and, carrying a world-destroying might, slashed ruthlessly toward the light curtain at the top of the heavenly ladder!

"Sacred Lord Ye, I'm coming to help you!"

The Sword Master also moved at the exact same time!

Seven ancient swords left their sheaths simultaneously. Their sharp sword intent converged into a river of swords that pierced through heaven and earth, following closely behind Master Taichu's sword light to slash at the light curtain!

The full-force strike of two Ascension Realm mighty figures was enough to shatter a hundred thousand miles of mountains and rivers. Yet, the golden light curtain enveloping the stone coffin and the top of the heavenly ladder only swayed slightly.

"Get lost!"

A cold, furious shout from the mighty Xuan Qiong came from within the light curtain, and an invisible shockwave of Dao principles exploded outward!

Master Taichu and the Sword Master's sword lights instantly shattered. The two of them were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer. They spat out mouthfuls of blood in unison, their bodies flying backward from the heavenly ladder like kites with broken strings!

"Patriarch!" Ji Lingxuan's expression changed drastically. He instantly rushed over to support Master Taichu, his eyes full of horror.

Two Ascension Realm mighty figures had joined forces, yet they were heavily injured by the opponent's casual strike?! Just how terrifying was this mighty Xuan Qiong's strength?!

The cultivators in the plaza completely panicked. Their previous fanaticism and greed vanished instantly, leaving only extreme fear.

"A trap! It really is a trap! The mighty Xuan Qiong isn't dead at all! He wants to use all of us as sacrifices!"

"It's over! Even Patriarch Taichu and the Sword Master are no match for him. We are all going to die here today!"

"He wants to possess Sacred Lord Ye! Sacred Lord Ye is the only person in our Heavenly Profound Realm who can contend with him right now! If Sacred Lord Ye is possessed, none of us will survive!"

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos. Countless cultivators turned and tried to run, but the grand array of the entire plaza had already been fully activated. An invisible barrier enveloped the whole area, and no matter how they attacked it, they could not break through even a bit.

Below the heavenly ladder, Bai Qianshuang stood in place, looking up at the figure shrouded in golden light at the top. However, her face showed no trace of anxiety or panic; instead, she was unusually calm.

The surrounding Danxia Valley disciples were pacing around anxiously. Elder Hongluan hurriedly approached Bai Qianshuang, her voice trembling, "Fairy Bai! Sacred Lord Ye... he's being possessed by the mighty Xuan Qiong! What should we do?!"

"Relax, he will be fine." Bai Qianshuang gently shook her head, her eyes filled with complete trust.

"This much is not enough to hurt him."

She knew Ye Chuan's true capabilities all too well.

Moreover, Ye Chuan had realized right from the start that something was wrong with that ladder.

Meanwhile, within Ye Chuan's sea of consciousness.

A completely golden divine soul phantom was laughing wildly, roaming freely in the boundless space of the sea of consciousness.

This phantom was none other than the divine soul of the mighty Xuan Qiong. As he looked at this vast, limitless sea of consciousness shrouded in chaotic mist, his eyes were filled with extreme greed and ecstasy.

"Good! Excellent!!"

"Ten thousand years of waiting, and I have finally found such a perfect vessel!"

Xuan Qiong's divine soul phantom roared crazily, his voice full of irrepressible excitement.

"A supreme physical body inherently attuned to the Great Dao! And this vast, boundless sea of consciousness, several times stronger than even my peak state! No wonder a mere Tribulation Crossing Realm junior like you could slay someone in the Ascension Realm!"

"With this body, I will definitely be able to break through the immortal path and truly ascend to the upper realm! I will become the one and only immortal throughout the ages!"

He had lived for ten thousand years. Back then, he failed to assault the immortal path, and his physical body was destroyed. He could only seal his divine soul in the stone coffin, relying on this small world to constantly absorb the divine souls and origin essence of invading cultivators to survive.

He set up this heavenly ladder trial not to choose some successor, but to filter out a sufficiently strong physical body to serve as a vessel for his possession and rebirth!

And Ye Chuan was the most perfect target he had waited ten thousand years for!

"Junior, thank you very much!" Xuan Qiong's divine soul phantom fiercely charged toward the divine soul core in the deepest part of the sea of consciousness, his voice full of cold greed.

"Your physical body, your divine soul, from now on, they are all mine! Go in peace. Your name will go down in history alongside mine for all eternity!"

The golden divine soul phantom crashed toward Ye Chuan's divine soul core like a meteor. But just as he was about to touch that divine soul wrapped in chaotic mist, an extremely terrifying rebounding force exploded!

"Pfft—!"

Xuan Qiong's divine soul phantom was instantly blasted away, and the phantom even became somewhat transparent. He let out a scream of disbelief, staring fixedly at that cluster of chaotic mist, his eyes full of shock and incredulity:

"Impossible!! This is impossible!!"

"How could the divine soul power of a mere Tribulation Crossing Realm junior be stronger than mine?! This is absolutely impossible!!"

But from that rebound just now, he clearly felt that the divine soul of this junior before him was as vast as a universe, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, tens of millions of times more terrifying than his peak state!

At the very moment he was overwhelmed with terror, in the deepest part of Ye Chuan's sea of consciousness, a ray of light suddenly illuminated the boundless darkness.

A supreme throne entirely forged from chaos slowly emerged from the darkness.

On the throne sat a man dressed in a profound black imperial robe adorned with dragon patterns.

His ink-black hair cascaded down, and his face was hidden within the chaotic mist, making it difficult to see clearly. Yet, just by sitting there, an imperial aura that looked down upon the ages and dominated the heavens swept across the entire sea of consciousness like a tsunami.

He slightly raised his eyes, his gaze falling upon Xuan Qiong's divine soul phantom. It held no emotion, yet it carried a supreme majesty that could make heaven and earth submit.

A plain voice, yet carrying the weight of a Heavenly Dao decree, echoed in the sea of consciousness:

"Heh, interesting."

The moment his words fell, that imperial aura crashed down!

Xuan Qiong's divine soul phantom was instantly crushed to the ground, prostrating without the slightest room to move. Dense cracks immediately covered his divine soul. His divine soul origin, condensed over ten thousand years, was like paper before this imperial aura, beginning to disintegrate inch by inch!

"Emperor...?!!"

Xuan Qiong let out a scream of utmost terror, his divine soul trembling madly. He finally understood exactly what kind of existence he had provoked!

He... he was the reincarnation of some Great Emperor?!

He wanted to flee, but under this imperial aura, he could not move his divine soul even a fraction. He could only watch helplessly as his divine soul continuously disintegrated and melted away under the other party's presence, leaving not even a sliver of a chance for reincarnation.

"No!"

"I don't want this!"

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!"