Esteemed You's Shock

After finishing all this, Chen Lin's figure flickered, moving like a ghost to appear before Esteemed You.

A flash of madness flickered in Esteemed You's eyes; he knew he had no way out.

His entire body suddenly erupted with towering black flames—the price of burning his lifespan!

He roared, pushing the Nine Nether Heavenly Art to its limit. The space behind him twisted, and a terrifying Dharma Idol several zhang tall abruptly materialized.

That Dharma Idol wore a Nether Imperial Crown, was draped in a robe soaked with the weeping blood of ten thousand ghosts, and gripped a giant sword entwined with countless wailing Vengeful Souls. It was like a tyrant from the Nine Nether Hells descending upon the mortal world with world-ending fury!

"Die for I, the Venerable!"

Esteemed You bellowed. The Dharma Idol swung the giant sword, and in an instant, ghosts wailed and wolves howled, the entire space dyed pitch-black.

Where the blade passed, light seemed devoured, even space rippled, as if it would cut Chen Lin and everything around him into eternal darkness!

But Chen Lin only let out a light laugh, tinged with disdain: "Showing off your trivial skills before a master. How dare you put on airs in front of I, the Venerable."

He raised his right palm lightly. Nothing appeared in his palm at first, but the surrounding air seemed to grow viscous.

Then, nine spinning Nether Vortexes slowly emerged, each one as deep as if it could devour souls.

Unlike Esteemed You's power, which was filled with sinister ghostly energy, these vortexes contained the purest, most primordial Nine Nether power—the Nine Nether Sky Palm having already reached Great Perfection!

"Boom—!"

Chen Lin's palm pushed out slightly. It wasn't a earth-shattering strike, more like an eruption of formless force.

His palm print swelled as it met the wind, instantly transforming into a massive black hand that enveloped Esteemed You's Dharma Idol.

This was the ninth form of the Nine Nether Sky Palm, "Nine Nether Annihilation"!

Within the palm, a miniature phantom of the Ghost Gate, symbolizing death and the end, suddenly materialized, radiating a pressure that made souls tremble!

The moment the two terrifying forces collided—

Esteemed You's Dharma Idol's giant sword shattered inch by inch, scattering into flying ash!

His Imperial Crown, symbolizing supreme authority, exploded into fragments, littering the ground!

Finally, even the several-zhang-tall Dharma Idol itself was struck kneeling by that palm, letting out a strained wail as if it had aged a thousand years in an instant!

"Pfft—!!"

Esteemed You sprayed a massive mouthful of blood, staining the ground beneath him. He stared in disbelief at his shattered Dharma Idol, his eyes filled with despair and incredulity.

"This... how is this possible?!" He had burned his lifespan, staked his life on this, and still he was so pathetically powerless!

Chen Lin stood with his hands behind his back, robes fluttering. The nine Nether Vortexes in his palm slowly faded, as if the earth-shattering clash just now had been nothing but a leisurely stroll for him. "Not bad strength,"

he said calmly, his tone as flat as if he were evaluating something trivial. "Pity you ran into I, the Venerable."

Before his words faded, Chen Lin's right palm had already pressed against Esteemed You's chest like a shadow following its form.

There was no earth-shattering sound, only an overwhelming, irresistible force instantly transmitted into the other's body.

The last glimmer of light in Esteemed You's eyes dimmed. His body went limp and collapsed, completely losing consciousness.

This scene struck terror into the hearts of everyone watching. Shock and fear spread like a tide through each person's mind.

Even Ling Xiao, who had already been wary, couldn't help but contract his pupils.

One palm. Just one palm had utterly crushed Esteemed You, a Sixth Level Dharma Idol?

This Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign's strength was simply unfathomable, terrifying beyond measure!

And Chen Lin was very satisfied. Truly worthy of a Heaven Tier Great Perfection technique, along with his terrifying physical body.

Coupled with the fact that he himself was at Dharma Aspect Second Level, suppressing a Sixth Level Dharma Idol was as easy as reaching into his pocket.

Inside the main hall, the crowd exchanged glances, none able to guess whether this Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign was holding back or had already used his full strength.

After all, the measure of his power seemed to rest entirely in his own hands.

Even the well-traveled Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master had now put away all his contempt, his eyes filled only with solemnity.

"Your Highness," Chen Lin turned to Ling Xiao, his tone flat but carrying an undeniable urgency, "if we don't hurry, it really will be too late."

With that, he grabbed the unconscious Esteemed You with one hand, and the next instant, both of them vanished from the spot.

But in the moment he grabbed him, he had already swiped Esteemed You's Storage Ring.

Just a matter of convenience.

Ling Xiao's face turned extremely ugly. Before even reaching the Imperial Capital, he had lost a capable general!

And who was this person?

Not only did he know his identity as the Divine Son, he even knew Esteemed You was a venerable of the Nine Nether Sect, and was fully aware of the secret mission to send Shen Changqing to the Heavenly Origin Sword Sect!

In front of this man, he seemed to have no secrets at all, everything laid bare.

A chill rose from the depths of Ling Xiao's heart. He cast a wary glance toward the direction of the Taoist Temple, where the suffocating aura of the Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign still seemed to linger.

He forcibly suppressed the storm in his heart and gave a cold order: "All troops, hear my command! Follow me to the Imperial Capital at once! The humiliation of today will be repaid a hundredfold in the future!"

The soldiers, still shaken, their faces etched with fear, dared not delay. They quickly mounted their horses and followed the grim-faced Ling Xiao as they retreated like a receding tide.

Thinking back to how high-spirited they had been when they arrived, now they fled in such a wretched and terrified state...

The disciples within the Taoist temple watched the departing figure, their hearts still shrouded in immense terror, unable to calm for a long time.

Chen Lin tossed the unconscious Esteemed You to the ground, his fingertip flicking lightly. A faint yet precise mental force entered the other's body, and Esteemed You slowly came to.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the surrounding crowd's gazes—some shocked, some indifferent, some scrutinizing. Especially when his eyes swept over the imposing middle-aged man seated in the main position, his pupils sharply contracted—Ling Tian!

The Crown Prince! No, now he should be called the deposed Crown Prince!

His heart churned with shock and doubt. Why was the First Prince here?

Then, his gaze rapidly swept across the entire scene. Besides that mysterious, unfathomably powerful Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign and this First Prince, the people standing around were all, without exception, experts of the Dharma Aspect Realm!

The Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master, the West Mad Heavenly Disciple... these names, like thunder to the ears, were also prominently present!

He was, after all, a well-traveled Esteemed One of the Nine Nether Sect, and he quickly matched these people's identities with the rumors he'd heard.

But when he tried to sense the Dragon Tiger Heavenly Master's aura, preparing to analyze the power comparison, a wave of energy—vast as the ocean, deep and unfathomable—flooded his perception. The color drained from his face, turning instantly deathly pale!

"Damn it! Seventh Level Dharma Idol!"

Esteemed You's mind exploded with shock, terror overwhelming him.

He carefully traced back. When... when had this deposed Crown Prince gathered such terrifying power around him?

Seventh Level Dharma Idol, Dharma Idol Fifth Layer, and that mysterious Myriad Law Heavenly Sovereign.

"Holy shit..." He felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head. This deposed Crown Prince's hidden foundation was beyond imagination, bottomless!

This time, he'd kicked an iron plate—one so hard it was unimaginable!

No, not him.

It was the Divine Son.

After all, he wasn't the one vying for that position.