Before Saint-Falling Mountain, Slaying a Dou Zun to Establish His Might! (Two-in-One Chapter)

After more than three months of bloody tempering in the Black Demon Domain, Lin Chen's cultivation had stabilized at Eight-Star Dou Zong.

The Twelve Blood God Children's clones had been condensed into solid forms, and his coordination with the Blood Sea Domain had reached perfection.

He did not linger. Taking Medusa and Zi Yan with him, he transformed into three streaks of light.

They headed straight for Saint-Falling Mountain, the region that had stirred the winds and clouds across the Central Plains.

The closer they drew to Saint-Falling Mountain, the more violent and chaotic the energy around them became.

Even space showed faint, unstable ripples.

They encountered more and more experts along the way. Most were hurrying along, their auras powerful.

Clearly, they were all headed for the ancient ruins that were about to open.

Several days later, the outline of a vast, towering mountain range appeared on the horizon, seemingly reaching all the way to the heavens.

A layer of translucent energy barrier, visible to the naked eye and constantly twisting and rippling, shrouded the sky above the mountains.

The barrier radiated an ancient pressure that made the heart tremble.

That was Saint-Falling Mountain, and the barrier was precisely what kept experts above Three-Star Dou Zun from entering.

The enormous plain at the foot of the mountain was already teeming with people.

Streaks of light kept shooting in from every direction and descending there.

Powerful auras interwove and clashed, making the air in the area feel much heavier.

The arrival of Lin Chen and the two women did not draw much attention.

After all, countless experts came here every day.

Medusa's Three-Star Dou Zong aura was hardly the strongest around.

Zi Yan had suppressed most of her aura as well.

Lin Chen had suppressed his own aura to the level of someone who had just entered the Dou Zong realm, making himself seem unremarkable.

However, just as they landed and were about to find a place to rest while they surveyed the situation—

"You little bastard! I've been waiting for you!"

A furious shout, brimming with thunderous rage, exploded like a bolt from the heavens.

It instantly drowned out all the noise on the plain!

Boom!

A terrifying pressure far beyond that of most people present descended with the force of a towering mountain.

It locked firmly onto Lin Chen!

In the sky, wind and lightning converged wildly, and serpents of electricity danced through the air.

The figure of a middle-aged man slowly appeared. He wore a silver lightning robe, his face was stern, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

Thunder coiled around him, seeming to contain the might of heaven and earth.

The power of that thunder made every living thing within several thousand zhang tremble with fear!

"It's Thunder Venerable of the Wind Lightning Pavilion!"

"He actually came in person!"

"What a terrifying aura... Is this the pressure of a true Dou Zun expert?"

"Who was he calling a little bastard? Who is he targeting?"

The plain erupted into an uproar.

Everyone's gaze snapped toward them, filled with shock, curiosity, and schadenfreude.

Medusa's expression instantly turned grave.

She stepped forward, subtly shielding Lin Chen behind her.

Her Three-Star Dou Zong aura erupted at full force, and her seven-colored Dou Qi flowed like a rainbow, resisting the overwhelming pressure.

Zi Yan's small face tensed as well, and the power of the Ancient Void Dragon began to stir within her.

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes and looked up at the figure wreathed in lightning.

He was not surprised.

He had killed so many elders of the Wind Lightning Pavilion. It would have been stranger if they hadn't sent someone stronger to deal with him.

He could sense that Thunder Venerable had reached the peak of Three-Star Dou Zun.

He was only one step away from Four-Star! He was indeed a formidable opponent.

"You old dog, you've certainly got a loud voice."

Lin Chen's tone was calm, yet his words rang clearly in everyone's ears.

The whole crowd was stunned!

This kid actually dared to speak to a long-renowned Dou Zun expert like that? He had to be insane!

Thunder Venerable was so enraged that he laughed, his voice shaking the four directions. "Good! What a sharp-tongued brat!"

"You killed the elders of my Wind Lightning Pavilion and ruined the reputation of my branch pavilion. Today, I'll tear out your soul and refine it as a warning to the rest!"

He wasted no more words. He knew there were many experts here, and the longer he delayed, the more likely something would go wrong.

He abruptly raised his right hand and spread his fingers. Lightning gathered and compressed wildly in his palm.

At last, it formed a deep violet ball of lightning, no bigger than a fist, yet radiating a destructive force!

Fine electric patterns crawled across its surface like living creatures.

With every flash, the surrounding space trembled faintly.

The stench of burning filled the air in an instant!

"Nirvana Lightning Gang!"

The lightning ball left his hand and swelled instantly, transforming into a terrifying pillar of lightning more than a hundred zhang across.

Like a spear of heavenly judgment, it tore through the void, bearing an aura that could annihilate all things.

It crashed down toward Lin Chen and the two women!

Wherever it passed, it tore dark trails through space.

The gravel and withered grass on the ground instantly turned to ash in the lightning's wake, leaving not even a wisp of smoke!

This strike had already reached the peak level of Three-Star Dou Zun.

An ordinary Three-Star Dou Zun who took it head-on would be gravely wounded at best!

"Lin Chen!"

Medusa cried out. She was about to reveal her Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python true form and withstand the attack at any cost.

Seven-colored Dou Qi gathered around her, forming scale-like patterns.

A faint serpentine cry echoed from within her.

Zi Yan roared as well, ready to charge forward.

The power of the Ancient Void Dragon surged through her, and her small face was fierce with anger.

The air around her warped from her fury.

"Back off!"

Lin Chen gave a low shout, and a gentle yet irresistible force pushed the two women away.

Faced with this earth-shattering attack, there was no fear in his eyes.

Instead, battle intent blazed within them!

That battle intent was almost tangible, and even the aura of the surrounding blood sea began to boil!

"You think you're worthy of judging me?"

Boom—!!!

The vast aura of Eight-Star Dou Zong burst forth without the slightest restraint!

Though it still fell short of the peak of Three-Star Dou Zun,

its sheer refinement and the bloodthirsty killing intent it contained made everyone who sensed it turn pale!

That aura seemed to hold the wails of a million vengeful souls.

Even sensing it was enough to shake one's spirit!

"Eight-Star Dou Zong?! He was hiding his strength before!"

"An Eight-Star Dou Zong at such a young age?!"

"But so what? He's still no match for Thunder Venerable's furious strike!"

Under the crowd's astonished gazes, Lin Chen rapidly formed hand seals.

Blood-red light flashed at his fingertips. With every seal he made,

thick, bloodthirsty aura surged into the sky!

"Boundless Blood Sea, Karma Fire Burning Heaven!"

"Unfurl!"

A vast, dark-red domain, viscous as blood, spread across several thousand zhang.

Centered on Lin Chen, it descended in an instant!

Within the domain, waves of blood surged, and thousand-zhang waves crashed against the void.

Their deafening roar shook the air, while countless vengeful souls wailed in the blood sea.

They reached out with pale arms, trying to drag every living thing into its depths.

The will to kill struck at Thunder Venerable's mind again and again like an invisible blade!

The moment the descending pillar of Nirvana Lightning entered the Blood Sea Domain,

its speed dropped sharply, and the blood sea kept wrapping around and devouring its violet lightning.

The light on the pillar's surface dimmed at a visible rate!

"A domain?! Such a powerful domain!"

Thunder Venerable's pupils contracted.

He could feel his lightning being constantly neutralized and devoured by some strange force within the domain.

The pillar, which had seemed unstoppable, was sinking into a swamp!

Enraged and alarmed, he frantically urged his Dou Qi onward.

He tried to force the pillar to descend faster!

But that still wasn't enough!

"Twelve Blood God Children, appear!"

With another thought from Lin Chen, twelve figures identical to his true body, each radiating a chilling aura,

stepped out of the blood sea!

Thick, bloodthirsty energy coiled around each clone.

Each seemed to wield an invisible sword of slaughter, radiating power comparable to an Eight-Star Dou Zong!

The twelve figures landed and instantly formed a circle.

They surrounded Lin Chen, shielding him at the center!

"What?!"

"Clones?! Twelve of them?!"

"W-what kind of Dou Technique is this?! It can actually condense clones so real and so powerful!"

This time, it wasn't only the spectators.

Even the other Dou Zun experts on the plain, who had been sitting back and watching, changed expressions.

They sprang to their feet, their eyes filled with disbelief!

They could sense that these clones were no illusions.

They were real bodies with true fighting power!

After appearing, the Twelve Blood God Children did not spread out.

Instead, their auras instantly linked with Lin Chen's true body, forming a profound formation!

Vast bloodthirsty Dou Qi flowed into Lin Chen like rivers returning to the sea!

The aura around Lin Chen began to climb at a terrifying speed!

"Red Lotus... Possession!"

Lin Chen growled, and the bewitching Red Lotus Karma Fire burst from within him.

In an instant, it enveloped him and the Twelve Blood God Children!

The flames were dark red, yet carried the terrifying power to purify all things.

Wherever they passed, they burned fine cracks into space!

As the flames surged, his aura skyrocketed like a rocket!

Peak Eight-Star Dou Zong... Nine-Star Dou Zong... One-Star Dou Zun... Two-Star Dou Zun...

At last, it temporarily stabilized at Three-Star Dou Zun! On par with Thunder Venerable!

The Red Lotus Karma Fire around him grew even more violent.

It seemed on the verge of breaking through its limits!

"Impossible!!"

Thunder Venerable finally cried out in shock.

Everything unfolding before his eyes had completely overturned his understanding!

How could an Eight-Star Dou Zong temporarily rise to the Dou Zun realm through a secret art? It was utterly unbelievable!

A powerful sense of unease rose in his heart, and he instinctively wanted to retreat!

"Void-Splitting Sword Art—Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin!"

Lin Chen brought his fingers together like a sword, combining the killing intent of Yuantu and Abi,

the purifying power of the Red Lotus Karma Fire,

and the vast Dou Qi bolstered by the Twelve Blood God Children.

It all condensed into a dark-red sword beam that stretched across heaven and earth!

The sword beam extended for ten thousand zhang, like a blade splitting open the world.

Blood-red flames blazed along it as it tore enormous gashes in space as easily as ripping cloth.

Black spatial rifts yawned like abysses, devouring the energy around them!

This sword arc contained several ultimate concepts: judgment, slaughter, purification, destruction, and more.

Its power had already surpassed the realm of a Three-Star Dou Zun, faintly touching the threshold of a Four-Star Dou Zun!

Wherever the sword arc passed, even the air was completely swept away.

Only the aura of utter destruction remained!

"Wind-Thunder Body Protection! Nine-Layer Thunder Prison!"

Thunder Venerable sensed the mortal threat and roared in a frenzy.

He poured his lifelong cultivation into his defenses, condensing nine layers of thick thunder armor around himself.

Every layer of armor was covered in profound thunder patterns.

At the same time, nine enormous walls of lightning rose before him, forming layer upon layer of defenses!

Lightning snakes writhed wildly across the walls, crackling and booming.

They tried to stop that terrifying sword arc!

However—

Sizzle—!

Like a hot knife through butter, the dark-red sword arc tore through the Nine-Layer Thunder Prison without the slightest hindrance.

The lightning walls crumbled like paper before it, unable to offer even a trace of resistance;

The nine layers of thunder armor were instantly ignited, as Red Lotus Karma Fire devoured Thunder Venerable's Dou Qi!

The sword arc's momentum did not slacken. Under Thunder Venerable's horrified, despairing gaze,

it swept right through the space between his brows!

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Thunder Venerable stood rigid, his expression frozen.

His eyes still held a trace of disbelieving terror.

The next moment, a line of blood spread down from between his brows, running through his entire body.

Boom!

His body, along with his soul, was consumed by the Red Lotus Karma Fire.

In an instant, he turned to ashes and vanished from the world!

Only a Magic Core containing pure Wind and Thunder energy and a Storage Ring fell to the ground.

Lin Chen casually collected them.

The Wind Lightning Pavilion's master, a peak Three-Star Dou Zun expert—Thunder Venerable—had fallen!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Across the entire plain of Saint-Falling Mountain, not even a pin could be heard dropping!

Everyone felt as if a hand had closed around their throats.

Their eyes widened and their mouths hung open.

In disbelief, they stared at the figure in black hovering in the air, his aura slowly subsiding, his robes snapping in the wind.

As an Eight-Star Dou Zong, he had summoned twelve clones and fused Heavenly Flames.

He had unleashed a terrifying strike on par with a Four-Star Dou Zun and forcefully slain Thunder Venerable, a peak Three-Star Dou Zun!

What kind of battle prowess was this?

What kind of monstrous talent?!

The Dou Zun experts who had previously looked down on Lin Chen or harbored other thoughts toward him

now regarded him with deep wariness and grave caution.

This man must never be provoked lightly!

Medusa and Zi Yan also breathed a sigh of relief.

They looked at Lin Chen with shock and pride.

Lin Chen hovered in the air, his gaze calmly sweeping over the powerful figures across the plain below.

Everyone his eyes passed over, whether a Dou Zong or a Dou Zun,

couldn't help averting their gaze, not daring to meet his eyes.

With absolute strength, he had slain a Dou Zun to establish his might and cowed the entire crowd!

Just as the atmosphere was growing tense—

Buzz!!!

The enormous barrier above Saint-Falling Mountain suddenly let out a violent hum.

Its light blazed!

Countless profound runes appeared across the barrier, slowly revolving.

Then the barrier's light gradually softened.

The pressure it exuded began to weaken as well.

"The barrier's opening!"

Someone shouted excitedly.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it.

As light rippled across the barrier,

it formed a series of swirling entrances, each just wide enough for one person to pass through.

At the same time, an invisible field of force spread out, enveloping the entire entrance area.

A few impatient experts, whose cultivation had reached Four-Star Dou Zun,

couldn't wait to charge toward the entrances.

However, the instant they touched the invisible field—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was as if they had crashed into an invisible wall.

Those Four-Star Dou Zun experts were violently flung backward by a powerful force.

They landed in disarray, their faces full of uncertainty!

"What's going on?!"

"Hasn't the barrier opened?"

Everyone was stunned.

It didn't take long for someone with keen perception to spot the problem. "There's a restriction! The barrier may be open, but an even stronger field of force is restricting the entrances!"

"Any energy above the Three-Star Dou Zun level will be repelled! Only those at Three-Star Dou Zun or below can enter!"

At these words, the experts whose cultivation exceeded Three-Star Dou Zun

immediately looked grim.

They had traveled here through untold hardships, only to be stopped at the gate!

Meanwhile, those at Three-Star Dou Zun or below broke into delighted smiles.

Lin Chen tested the field of force and confirmed that was the case.

His usual cultivation was Eight-Star Dou Zong. Even if he temporarily raised it with a secret art,

as long as he didn't surpass the Three-Star Dou Zun limit, he wouldn't be repelled.

This restriction worked in his favor!

He looked at Medusa and Zi Yan. "Let's go in."

Medusa nodded. She was exactly a Three-Star Dou Zong, so she met the requirements.

Zi Yan was powerful, but the nature of her energy was special and did not exceed the limit.

Under countless gazes filled with envy, jealousy, or awe,

Lin Chen, Medusa, and Zi Yan turned into streaks of light.

Without hesitation, they shot toward one of the swirling entrances in the barrier, plunged inside, and vanished: