Ancient Emperor Takes Action

"It's over..."

Gu Fang watched helplessly as that palm descended. His soul, nearly at the Heaven Realm, could clearly sense the strike, yet with only the strength of a Dou Shi, he was powerless.

He could neither resist nor evade!

Under such peril, Gu Fang's mind seemed to be squeezed into a tiny corner. Endless, terrifying pressure stimulated every inch of his nerves.

Driven to the absolute limit, it was as though a massive explosion had occurred...

Gu Fang's soul suddenly burst apart, rapidly spreading outward. Countless emotions drilled into his soul.

That was right—drilled in...

They flooded uncontrollably into Gu Fang's mind, emotions of every kind.

It was as if a thousand years had passed in an instant.

Gu Fang could feel the shock and disbelief of Gu Qingyang, Gu Yao, and the others around him. He could sense the astonishment of Great Elder Gu Mo.

As well as the complex emotions of his father, filled with worry.

Beyond people, there were plants, trees, all kinds of hidden beasts, and countless other things!

At that moment, Gu Fang's soul power broke through its limits and reached the Heaven Realm. But even so...

The gap between a Dou Shi and a Battle Saint was simply far too vast. Even Heaven Realm soul power could not possibly bridge that terrifying, insurmountable chasm.

All Heaven Realm soul power could give Gu Fang...

Was to infinitely stretch out the instant before death!

Within that instant before death, countless thoughts howled through his mind, eventually turning into a single unwillingness...

Having transmigrated into this world...

How could he lose his life so meaninglessly, without accomplishing anything?

"Die...!"

The drawn-out emotion came howling in. It was Gu Yang's inner thought. "So what if you have divine-grade bloodline? So what if you can eventually reach the peak of the Battle Saint realm? Right now, you are nothing more than a tiny ant!

"I can destroy you with a wave of my hand!"

"I refuse to accept this!"

Gu Fang roared inwardly. His Heaven Realm soul power mobilized the Dou Qi within his body and in the outside world, instantly gathering it into a barrier of Dou Qi.

But that barrier, formed from the Dou Qi of a mere Dou Shi...

Was so fragile before Gu Yang's strike that it began shattering inch by inch before it could even fully take shape.

"It's over!"

"It's finished!"

"Gu Yang, you deserve to die!"

All kinds of emotions howled through the hearts of Gu Yang, Gu Fang, Gu Mo, and Gu Yuan. Yet no matter what, Gu Yang's strike had already descended beyond dispute.

It was about to crash down upon Gu Fang.

This strike would not only kill Gu Fang, but Gu Qingyang and everyone else as well!

"Cough!~"

An abrupt sound seemed to come from the heavens. It was soft, yet it clearly entered the ears of everyone present...

No, not their ears. More accurately, it entered their souls!

An invisible force suddenly bloomed, rippling outward like waves caused by a stone falling into water—only countless times faster.

And the power contained within it was something water ripples could never compare to.

Wherever that force swept through, all Dou Qi came to a halt, completely controlled by those ripples. Even the attacks that Gu Yuan and Nihility Devouring Flame were about to collide with...

Were instantly reduced to nothing and scattered beneath those ripples!

"How is that possible?"

Nihility Devouring Flame felt the attack in his hand dissipate, and his heart was filled with shock. But the moment he carefully sensed that undulating power...

The shock on his face instantly turned to terror. His condensed physical form began trembling from boundless fear...

"A Dou Di... a true Dou Di with consciousness?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

In contrast to Nihility Devouring Flame's panic, Gu Yuan, standing opposite him, was overwhelmed by indescribable joy after his initial shock...

The stirrings of his bloodline told him...

That the Dou Di who had appeared was the ancestor of their Ancient Clan...

The Ancient Emperor!

Meanwhile, Gu Yang's attacking palm had already landed atop Gu Fang's head. However, the Dou Qi within that palm had dissipated beneath the spreading ripples.

This palm now contained no Dou Qi at all, only pure physical strength.

"Boom!"

The palm struck Gu Fang's head, producing a horrifying sound like a great bell tolling. Gu Yang could sense the Dou Qi in his attack vanishing, and he could feel the tremor transmitted from his body to his soul.

But he did not know what had happened. He had originally been a member of the Soul Clan, his soul merely transplanted into this body by Nihility Devouring Flame.

Even with the bloodline's stirrings and the dissipation of his power, he only believed it to be Gu Yuan's doing!

"Even with only physical strength, this strike of mine can still shatter a Dou Zong or a Dou Zun. What can a puny Dou Shi like you use to fight me?"

Gu Yang laughed maniacally within himself, but his madness...

Was completely shattered by the terrifying rebounding force transmitted from Gu Fang's head!

That strike of his—the strike he had been absolutely certain of...

After a resounding explosion, had not caused Gu Fang even the slightest injury.

It was as though a clay ox had entered the sea, completely swallowed by Gu Fang. Gu Fang, whom he had believed would be reduced to a pile of flesh beneath that strike...

Was now merely blinking his eyes.

Let alone dying, he had not even shown the slightest expression of pain.

"How is this possible?"

Gu Yang's heart was filled with horror. He simply could not understand why Gu Fang had been able to block his strike.

"Gu Yang, you deserve to die!"

Gu Mo roared thunderously. By now, he had realized that Gu Yang was a traitor and attacked without hesitation.

"You brat, count yourself lucky!"

Gu Yang's eyes were like blades as he glared fiercely at Gu Fang, then immediately tore open space to flee.

Gu Yang knew very well that his sudden attack earlier had been his best chance to kill Gu Fang. Yet even with such an opportunity, he had failed to injure him.

Though he did not know what method Gu Yuan had used to disperse his Dou Qi, one thing was certain...

The operation had failed.

The only path before him now was escape. After all...

He was weaker than Gu Mo, and if Gu Mo managed to hold him back until the other experts of the Ancient Clan arrived, he would undoubtedly die!

However, just as Gu Yang harbored such thoughts...

He suddenly discovered that his body could not move at all, as if countless spiderwebs had fixed him in place. The same was true of the Dou Qi within him.

The Dou Qi he had cultivated for hundreds and thousands of years seemed to have rebelled, refusing to obey his command in the slightest.

"How is this possible?"

Gu Yang roared inwardly and struggled desperately, but it was futile. He could only watch helplessly as Gu Mo's attack approached.

Bang, boom!

With an explosive sound, Gu Yang was sent flying into the sky without the slightest suspense.

Gu Mo raised his eyes and glanced at Gu Yang, but he did not pursue him. Instead, he retreated half a step and guarded Gu Fang's side.

One mistake was enough. If it happened again, Gu Mo feared he would have to kill himself to atone.

Anyone could pursue a Five-star Battle Saint, but if Gu Fang was injured again because of his inadequate protection, he would truly become the eternal sinner of the Ancient Clan!

"Gu Fang, are you all right?"

Gu Mo asked, still shaken with lingering fear.

"I'm fine."

Gu Fang shook his head. His face held both lingering fear and shock. The fear was because of Gu Yang's earlier attack, while the shock was because of...

The power that had protected him earlier.

It was an indescribable power, a power that ruled over everything—an existence even more terrifying than the power possessed by his father.

With those complicated emotions, Gu Fang turned his gaze toward Gu Yang.

Gu Yang's face was twisted like a blooming chrysanthemum. He gritted his teeth as spatial passages opened one after another around him. They belonged to other Ancient Clan experts who had arrived to pursue him.

Assassination failed. I need to leave first, or I will surely die!

Gu Yang sensed the Ancient Clan experts appearing around him and thought inwardly.

But just as he was about to tear open a spatial passage and leave, suddenly...

Countless pure white chains emerged from the void and directly bound his limbs. Just as Gu Yang was about to struggle, and the Ancient Clan experts surrounding him were shocked by the chains...

All the chains abruptly tightened. Then, in the next instant...

Something none of them had anticipated happened!

Bang! Accompanied by an explosive sound!

Gu Yang—the late-stage Five-star Battle Saint Gu Yang—was shattered inch by inch beneath those countless pure white chains, utterly unable to resist. Only his soul survived!