The Divine Phoenix let out an utterly shrill scream and beat its wings desperately, trying to escape the area locked down by the Eye of Heavenly Punishment.
But it was already too late.
"Rumble—!"
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment gazed mercilessly at the Divine Phoenix, which had committed a heinous crime.
A bolt of divine lightning as thick as a mountain, its entire body a deep purple, shattered the void. It disregarded the distance between time and space and crashed down upon the Divine Phoenix's head.
There was no suspense.
There was no room to resist.
A mighty Early Taiyi Golden Immortal, an absolute overlord who ruled over one corner of the Phoenix Clan.
In the destructive radiance of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, it didn't even last half a breath.
Its powerful body, capable of withstanding a Post-Heaven Spiritual Treasure, and its tempered primordial spirit melted and evaporated in an instant, like fresh snow beneath a blazing sun, without a sound.
"Pfft—"
A wisp of smoke drifted away on the wind.
The sky was empty. Not a trace of the Divine Phoenix remained.
Body and soul annihilated!
Dead silence.
An absolute, suffocating silence.
Across the battlefield for tens of thousands of miles, there was no sound other than the wind moaning through the ruins.
The remaining Divine Phoenix in the sky and the two gravely wounded Golden Dragons hung stiffly in midair, as if struck by a body-freezing spell.
They had even forgotten to breathe. Their enormous eyes brimmed with a terror beyond words.
A Primordial Unity Golden Immortal had just been struck by heavenly lightning right before their eyes, leaving not even ashes behind.
And it had all happened because that Divine Phoenix had accidentally grazed the cultivator below, who was sheltering beneath a turtle shell, with an area-of-effect attack!
"Gulp."
The three mighty beings in the sky swallowed in unison.
Their gazes, filled with the fear and reverence one might show a Chaos Demon God, fell as one upon the tiny figure below, who still stood within the Mysterious Yellow light curtain.
That ancient, unadorned shield radiating a profound Dao resonance.
The Mysterious Yellow Qi swirling around it, impervious to all techniques.
And that unshaken, composed bearing, as if he had expected the heavenly lightning to descend.
"Th-this... Which peerless mighty being in seclusion is this?"
"Could he be an ancient monster who existed since the creation of heaven and earth? Or perhaps Old Ancestor Hongjun, rumored to be cultivating in seclusion on Jade Capital Mountain?"
"Terrifying... Just the karmic backlash from the attack was enough to summon Purple Heaven Divine Lightning and instantly slay a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. With such a foundation, even if the Dragon Clan's Ancestral Dragon arrived in person, he'd probably have to retreat!"
In an instant, the minds of the mighty beings conjured countless terrifying names capable of shaking the Primordial Land. Even the surging magic power within them obediently calmed down.
They were terrified that even the slightest leak of hostility might displease this absolute big shot.
Meanwhile.
Lu Changsheng, whom they regarded as a peerless mighty being, stood behind the Mysterious Yellow Shield.
Beneath his wide sleeves, his legs were trembling violently, though only by the tiniest amount.
"That scared the hell out of me... That scared the hell out of me!"
"That was Separation Fire from a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal! Just a little more, and I thought I was done for!"
Lu Changsheng howled frantically in his heart, his back already drenched in cold sweat.
Though he knew the Heavenly Dao protected him and the Mysterious Yellow Shield would defend him, the terrifying pressure of facing an attack from a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal wasn't something reason alone could overcome.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao hadn't let him down.
Watching the Divine Phoenix in the sky get blasted to ash, Lu Changsheng finally felt his heart, which had been lodged in his throat, drop back into his stomach.
"Phew..."
He let out a long breath.
Through the Mysterious Yellow light curtain, he saw the three mighty Primordial Unity Golden Immortals in the sky, not daring to move, terror filling their eyes.
Lu Changsheng's eyes shifted ever so slightly, and the sly cunning of a practitioner of the Dao of Cowardice instantly kicked in.
"Since they're scared, and think I'm some big shot they can't afford to provoke..."
"Then today, I might as well keep up this venerable expert act to the bitter end!"
Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his trembling legs.
He didn't put away the Mysterious Yellow Shield. Instead, he slowly withdrew the outermost, hundred-zhang-wide light curtain, leaving only the Mysterious Yellow Qi swirling close to his body.
Then he clasped his hands behind his back.
Under the horrified gazes of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortals,
he strode unhurriedly over to the Golden Dragon that was on the verge of death.
Lu Changsheng didn't even glance at the three mighty beings in the sky, as if they were no more than three insignificant flies.
He lowered his head and looked at the huge crater the Golden Dragon had made, and at the Earth Vein that had been damaged again.
A calm voice, impossible to read for anger or joy and imbued with the serenity of one who had weathered countless ages, slowly came from Lu Changsheng's mouth, echoing across the silent ruins.
"Young people these days really don't know how to hold back when they fight."
Lu Changsheng shook his head and held out a finger. A pure golden light of Great Dao Merit glimmered once more at its tip.
As he sent the golden light into the ground to stitch the severed Earth Vein back together, he spoke in an utterly casual tone.
"I'm merely passing through. I saw the land in ruins and patched the road as I went."
"Don't stand on ceremony."
He lifted his head. His golden eyes held not the slightest ripple, only absolute calm.
"Go on."
Those four airy words from Lu Changsheng, paired with his unconcerned manner as he lowered his head to mend the Earth Vein without even sparing the mighty beings above a proper glance,
rang in the ears of the three Primordial Unity Golden Immortals in the sky like three thousand bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning exploding at once!
Go on?
Go on with what?!
That Early Taiyi Golden Immortal Divine Phoenix had merely let a spark of fire splash onto your golden, gleaming shield,
and before it could even let out a scream, the heavenly punishment had struck it into oblivion.
And now you're telling us to keep fighting?
Who knew whether the next spell we threw would somehow trigger that terrifying karmic backlash around you again?
If the Heavenly Dao took a dislike to us and casually sent down a few more bolts of lightning, who could withstand them?
"Gulp."
In the sky, the largest Golden Dragon, whose cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm, swallowed with tremendous difficulty.
He transformed into a burly man clad in battered golden armor. He reined in all his dragon might and even forcibly suppressed his raging magic power deep within his dantian.
He cautiously descended from the sky and stopped a full thousand zhang from Lu Changsheng.
A mighty Dragon Clan expert, he now resembled a junior who had done something wrong as he gave Lu Changsheng a proper bow of respect.
"Please calm your anger, Senior!"
The Golden Dragon man's voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Your juniors were clouded by the karmic burden of the Tribulation of Measure and lost control in the wilderness. We disturbed your peaceful cultivation while fighting, and even damaged the Earth Vein you had repaired..."
"We deserve ten thousand deaths! We beg you, Senior, to be magnanimous and forgive our unintentional offense!"
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