The moment that wisp of gray light shot from Xiu Fu's fingertip, the light throughout the entire palace dimmed for an instant.
It had not been devoured. It had been suppressed.
That wisp of light was too bright, so bright that everything around it seemed dim.
It was not fast—if anything, it was slow. Slow enough that Chu Tian could clearly see its trajectory—from Xiu Fu's fingertip to Chu Tian's chest, a distance of less than a hundred zhang, yet it took a full breath to travel.
But during that single breath, Chu Tian could not move.
His body had been locked onto—not restrained by force, but locked by some unseen law.
The Lord of the Netherworld's divine soul possessed Xiu Fu's body. That finger contained the Lord of the Netherworld's supreme comprehension of the Reincarnation Dao, as well as a trace of power surpassing the Creation Realm.
That power had locked onto him. No matter where he ran, no matter how he dodged, that wisp of light would catch him, strike him, and kill him.
In Chu Tian's mind, the Mysterious Woman's voice exploded with unprecedented urgency.
"Chu Tian, retreat! You can't withstand this strike!"
Chu Tian did not retreat.
He could not retreat.
Chu Yunshang was behind him. Old Tuo was behind him.
If he retreated, they would die.
He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his body.
Deep within his dantian, that vast and boundless small world was slowly revolving.
Mountains and rivers, suns and moons, stars and all living things—everything moved in orderly cycles.
It had grown alongside him, expanding from a speck of dust into the vast world now spanning billions upon billions of miles.
This world was the deepest foundation beneath him. Unless it was a matter of utmost urgency, Chu Tian