After finishing all this, Chen Lin's figure swayed, and he instantly appeared before Esteemed You like a ghost.
A flash of madness flickered through Esteemed You's eyes. He knew he had nowhere left to retreat.
Black flames erupted from his entire body, soaring skyward. This was the price of burning his lifespan!
He roared as he pushed the Nine Nether Heavenly Art to its limits. The space behind him twisted, and a terrifying Dharma Aspect several yards tall suddenly appeared.
The Dharma Aspect wore the Imperial Crown of You Ming and a robe drenched in the blood of ten thousand weeping ghosts. It gripped a Giant Sword wreathed in countless shrieking Vengeful Souls, like a tyrant of the Netherworld descending upon the mortal realm with the fury to destroy the world!
"Die by my hand!"
Esteemed You roared. The Dharma Aspect swung its Giant Sword, and in an instant, ghosts howled as the entire space was dyed black.
Where the blade passed, light seemed to be devoured. Even space rippled, as though it would cleave Chen Lin and everything around him into eternal darkness!
Yet Chen Lin merely chuckled, his voice edged with disdain. "A clumsy imitation, and you dare put on airs before me?"
He raised his right palm slightly. Nothing appeared in it at first, but the air around them seemed to grow viscous.
Then, nine swirling Netherworld vortices slowly emerged, each one so unfathomably deep it seemed capable of devouring souls.
Unlike Esteemed You's power, which was saturated with sinister ghostly energy, these vortices contained the purest, most primordial Nine Netherworld power—the Nine Nether Sky Palm, which had reached Great Perfection!
"Boom—!"
Chen Lin gave a slight push with his palm. It wasn't an earth-shattering strike so much as the eruption of an invisible force.
His palm print swelled with the wind, instantly transforming into an enormous black hand that enveloped Esteemed You's Dharma Aspect.
This was the ninth form of the Nine Nether Sky Palm: Nine Nether Annihilation!
Within the palm, the phantom image of a miniature Ghost Gate suddenly appeared, symbolizing death and the end. Its oppressive might made souls tremble!
The moment the two terrifying forces collided—
Esteemed You's Dharma Aspect Giant Sword shattered inch by inch, turning into flying ash!
The Imperial Crown of You Ming, a symbol of supreme majesty, exploded into fragments that scattered across the ground!
Finally, even the Dharma Aspect itself, several yards tall, was struck to its knees. It let out a groan under the unbearable weight, as though it had aged a thousand years in an instant!
"Pfft!"
Esteemed You spewed a huge mouthful of blood, staining the ground beneath him red. He stared at his shattered Dharma Aspect in disbelief, his eyes filled with despair and incredulity.
"This... how is this possible?!" He had burned his lifespan and fought as if his life depended on it, yet he was still so utterly powerless!
Chen Lin stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering. The nine Netherworld vortices in his palm slowly faded away, as if that earth-shaking display had been nothing more than a leisurely stroll. "Not bad,"
he said, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on something insignificant. "Too bad you ran into me."
Before his words had even faded, Chen Lin's right palm had already pressed against Esteemed You's chest, following him like a shadow.
There was no earth-shaking commotion, only an irresistible force that instantly surged into the other man's body.
The last glimmer in Esteemed You's eyes dimmed. His body went limp and collapsed, and he completely lost consciousness.
The sight left everyone around them petrified. Shock and terror surged through their hearts like a tide.
Even Ling Xiao, who had long been wary of him, couldn't help his pupils from contracting.
One palm—just one palm—and he had completely crushed Esteemed You, a Sixth Level Dharma Idol expert?
The strength of the Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign was unfathomable, terrifying beyond measure!
Chen Lin was quite pleased. No wonder the Heavenly Tier cultivation art had reached Great Perfection—and he had a terrifying physical body to boot.
On top of that, he was at the Dharma Aspect Second Level. Of course suppressing a Sixth Level Dharma Idol expert had been a piece of cake.
In the main hall, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. No one could tell whether the Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign had held back or already used all his strength.
After all, the only standard by which they could gauge his power seemed to be the one he set himself.
Even the well-traveled Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master had put aside all his contempt. Only solemnity remained in his eyes.
"Your Highness," Chen Lin said, turning to Ling Xiao. His tone was calm, but carried an urgency that brooked no argument. "If you don't hurry, it really will be too late."
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the unconscious Esteemed You with one hand. The next moment, the two of them vanished from where they stood.
But the instant he grabbed him, he had already slipped Esteemed You's Storage Ring off him.
It was no trouble at all.
Ling Xiao's expression instantly turned extremely grim. Before even reaching the Imperial Capital, he had already lost a trusted subordinate!
And who was this opponent?
Not only did he know Ling Xiao's identity as the Divine Son, he also knew that Esteemed You was a venerated elder of the Nine Nether Sect. He even knew the secret that Ling Xiao had secretly sent Shen Changqing to the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect!
Before this man, Ling Xiao seemed to have no secrets at all. Everything lay exposed.
A chill rose from the depths of Ling Xiao's heart. He glanced warily toward the Taoist Temple, where the suffocating aura of the Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign seemed to linger.
He forced down the turmoil in his heart and issued a cold command: "All troops, heed my order! Follow me to the Imperial Capital at once! Today's humiliation will be repaid a hundredfold someday!"
The soldiers were still shaken, their faces filled with fear. They didn't dare delay for an instant. They quickly mounted their horses and followed Ling Xiao, his face dark, as they retreated like a surging tide.
They had arrived in such high spirits, but now they fled in such a sorry, terrified state...
The disciples inside the Taoist Temple watched the retreating figures. A great sense of horror still weighed upon their hearts, and for a long time, none of them could calm down.
Chen Lin tossed the unconscious Esteemed You onto the ground. With a slight flick of his finger, he sent a faint but precise thread of spiritual power into Esteemed You's body, and the man slowly woke.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the people around him watching with expressions of shock, indifference, or scrutiny. When his gaze fell upon the distinguished middle-aged man seated in the place of honor, his pupils abruptly contracted—Ling Tian!
The Crown Prince! No, he should be called the deposed Crown Prince now!
Suspicion and unease churned in his heart. Why was the First Prince here?
Then his gaze darted around the entire hall. Aside from the enigmatic, unfathomably powerful Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign, there was also the First Prince—and every person standing around them was an expert of the Dharma Aspect Realm!
The Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master, the West Mad Heavenly Disciple... Figures whose names rang like thunder were all there!
As a well-informed venerated elder of the Nine Nether Sect, he quickly matched their faces to their identities and the rumors surrounding them.
But when he tried to sense the Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master's aura and assess the balance of power, a vast, unfathomable energy washed over his senses. The color drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale!
"Damn it! Seventh Level Dharma Aspect!"
A storm erupted in Esteemed You's mind. He was horrified beyond belief.
He racked his brains. When... when had such terrifying power gathered around this deposed Crown Prince?
Seventh Level Dharma Aspect, Fifth Level Dharma Idol, and others—not to mention the enigmatic Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign.
"Fuck..." A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp. The deposed Crown Prince's hidden reserves were beyond imagination, unfathomably deep!
This time, he had probably kicked an iron plate—one harder than he could possibly imagine!
No, not him.
The Divine Son.
After all, he wasn't competing for that throne.
Before you continue