The Summons
"In this Xuanming City, I am the supreme ruler! You, a mere brat, will not be allowed to run wild!"
Boom!
The Profound Nether City Lord stomped his foot and pressed his palm down hard.
The ground of the entire main city suddenly trembled violently, and the Protective City Formation was fully activated at that moment!
Endless Earth Vein Yin Fiend surged forth from the depths of the earth, transforming into countless jet-black Blackwater Giant Pythons that instantly destroyed the dome of the main hall!
Bricks and stones crumbled, and dust billowed into the sky!
The entire City Lord's Mansion was reduced to ruins in an instant, and the commotion alarmed hundreds of thousands of cultivators and civilians throughout the city.
Countless people looked up in horror, only to see Blackwater surging upwards above the main hall, instantly condensing into a massive phantom of the Black Tortoise Divine Beast, which was two hundred feet tall!
The snake's tail coiled, the tortoise shell blotted out the sky, and the heavy Gravity Domain pressed down like a meteorite, crushing the stone slabs of dozens of surrounding streets into dust!
"Profound Nether World-Subduing, kneel down before me!!"
The Profound Nether City Lord stood atop Black Tortoise's head, his hair and beard bristling, and with the power of the entire formation and the city's earth veins, he forcefully pressed down!
The enormous Black Tortoise foot, carrying immense power, tore through the sky and stomped down on Chen Fan!
Faced with this terrifying blow that could shatter mountains, Chen Fan, standing in the center of the ruins, did not use the Broken Saber behind him.
He simply exhaled, his body slightly slumped, and in an instant, his entire body erupted with a violent roar!
The immense Qi and Blood of the Eighth-Order Late Stage, mixed with the True Meaning of Life and Death, transformed into a rotating Gray Millstone behind him.
He met the descending, colossal palm head-on, his feet shattering the earth, his entire body like a cannonball hurtling upwards, as he fiercely threw a punch!
There are no fancy spells, only pure, unadulterated physical strength and Will of Destruction!
Thump!!
A deafening roar exploded in mid-air, the sound waves transforming into a tangible ring of gale that swept across several miles, tearing off most of the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.
The seemingly indestructible hundred-foot Black Tortoise foot trembled violently the moment it made contact with the boy's fist.
Immediately afterwards, spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from the point of impact!
"Broken."
Chen Fan's expression was icy, and he uttered a single word before unleashing his second heavy punch without hesitation!
Boom!!
The enormous, mountain-like phantom of Black Tortoise let out a mournful cry, its entire shell shattering into pieces under the violent force of the fist, turning into countless fragments of black, malevolent Stream of Light!
The Protective City Formation Hub was smashed through by this punch, and the Underground Spirit Veins let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain. The backlash surged into the Profound Nether City Lord like a tsunami.
"Puff!"
As if struck by a heavy blow, the Profound Nether City Lord spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs. His body plummeted straight down from the sky like a kite with a broken string, crashing through three underground chambers and creating a huge crater dozens of feet in diameter in the center of the ruins!
Smoke and dust filled the air, and the entire main city was deathly silent.
Countless Various Sects' Cultivators who had rushed over were suspended in mid-air, staring at the collapsing hundred-zhang Black Tortoise Dharma Form. They were so frightened that they dared not even breathe.
Step, step, step.
The sound of footsteps echoed clearly through the silent ruins.
Chen Fan floated down from mid-air and stepped onto the edge of the deep pit.
At the bottom of the pit, the Profound Nether City Lord lay disheveled, his chest caved in, slumped among the rubble, his eyes filled with disbelief, terror, and despair.
He borrowed the power of the entire Protective City Formation!
He couldn't even withstand two punches from this boy?!
Don't look at me like that.
Chen Fan jumped into the deep pit, looking down at him from above, his tone calm and even.
"I gave you a chance to share the meat with your deskmate, but you insisted on weighing it yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Fan suddenly stretched out his right hand, his fingertips wrapped in black and white Dao Life-and-Death Dao Mark, and pressed it against the Profound Nether City Lord's forehead with lightning speed!
"Soul-Searching and Spirit-Detaining; life and death are in my own hands."
"Ah!!"
The Profound Nether City Lord let out an extremely shrill scream, desperately trying to muster his remaining Divine Sense to resist.
However, the Divine Thought within Chen Fan's body was transformed from the Martial God Dao Fruit, as vast as Star Sea, and in an instant, it shattered his Sea of Consciousness defenses with overwhelming force.
A Palm-Sized Black Millstone Phantom was deeply imprinted on the Origin Source the old man's Divine Soul.
If Chen Fan were to even slightly change his mind, the Life-and-Death Slave Seal could instantly shatter his Dao Fruit, beyond even the help of a deity.
The screams stopped abruptly.
Within the deep pit, the tyranny and terror on the Profound Nether City Lord receded like a tide, replaced by a tremor and absolute obedience emanating from the depths of his soul.
He struggled to his feet, ignoring his broken ribs and gushing blood, and knelt shakily on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold gravel.
"This old servant... pays respects to his master."
His voice was hoarse, yet it conveyed an unwavering subservience.
Chen Fan withdrew his hand, bent down, and took a Tiger Tally Seal, forged entirely from Deep-Sea Black Iron, from the waist of the tattered Battle Armor.
The City Lord's Seal grants supreme military power over the Profound Nether's 300,000 Iron Cavalry and the Twelve Guard City Defensive Lines.
Chen Fan casually tossed the seal in his hand, turned around, and took a step forward, his figure already standing atop the dilapidated tower.
The morning breeze howled, stirring the boy's clothes, which were slightly stained with blood.
Holding the seal of the Profound Nether City Lord, he faced the rising sun, his gaze coldly fixed on the northern horizon.
In the far distance, towards the Red Rock Main City, crimson smoke billowed into the sky, obscuring most of the dome.
The boy's lips slowly parted into a cold and arrogant smile.
"Red Rock City... did you wash your neck clean?"
"Beat the drums."
Chen Fan tossed aside the Xuan Tie Tiger Talisman in his hand, his tone indifferent, as if he were merely instructing the steward to order the kitchen to add a pot of warm wine.
The Profound Nether City Lord trembled violently, and in his once turbid old eyes that had intimidated tens of thousands of miles around, only a deep-seated awe remained.
He dared not wipe the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and with a forced breath of his remaining True Essence, he stumbled and rushed up the ruins of the remaining Generals' Assembly Platform.
Thump!
A dull, loud noise shattered the morning's tranquility.
Immediately afterwards, the violent sound waves of the Nine Heavens Cloud-Splitting Drum transformed into a visible gale, sweeping wildly in all directions in circles!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The thirty-six drumbeats are the supreme Generals' Assembly Order that has only been sounded in the three thousand years since the founding of Profound Nether Main City, when the city is threatened with destruction or when a bloody battle is launched.
The entire main city was in an uproar. Stone roof tiles fell from the houses on both sides of the street, and countless martial arts practitioners who had been in seclusion were awakened from their caves and looked in horror toward the direction of the City Lord's Mansion.
"Nine Heavens Cloud-Splitting Drum? Thirty-six strikes?!"
"Something's happened at the City Lord's Mansion! Go quickly!"
The sound of air being torn apart was sharp and piercing, and powerful Escape Light shot up from the depths of the courtyards of various forces, heading straight for the ruins of the City Lord's Mansion.
Zhao Qianjue, the Blazing Sun Sect Master was the first to arrive, stood in mid-air. His gaze swept over the mess below, and he was greatly shocked.
The once majestic city lord's palace had been reduced to rubble and scorched earth, and the core spiritual veins of the Protective City Formation were cracking inch by inch. When his gaze fell upon the Generals' Assembly Platform, he was struck as if by lightning and frozen in mid-air.