In an instant, a venomous and piercing roar suddenly exploded, and the Immortal Burial Vortex beneath Qiu Yao immediately roared wildly and spun rapidly.
Countless fragmented soul shadows were forcibly torn out by the vortex, emitting heart-wrenching and shrill screams in mid-air.
The sound wave caused Luo Chuan's blood and qi to surge, and he staggered back several steps. He felt his nascent Nascent Soul Realm trembling and showing signs of collapsing.
"You lied to me... You promised yourself back then that you would never harm my people in the slightest, that you would open up a new star field for the Rune Clan, and that the Immortal and Fu Realms would coexist for eternity. Qing Lin, all of this was a promise you made, why did you break it!"
Qiu Yao's long hair danced wildly, and the resentment around her condensed into solid, pitch-black threads. Each thread was wrapped with a hideous and twisted soul shadow, exuding overwhelming resentment.
She suddenly raised her hand, her five fingers forming a claw, and fiercely grabbed at the Immortal Burial Vortex below.
In an instant, she forcibly dragged thousands of souls out from the depths of the vortex. Men, women, young and old, their faces contorted in pain, let out desperate howls in her palm.
"It's all because of you!"
Qiu Yao's voice was hoarse as if metal and stone were shattering, and her eyes were bloodshot. "If it weren't for paving the way for the Palm Sovereign, why would I have bothered with his feigned affection? If it weren't for you lowly ants from this realm interfering, how could he have suspected my betrayal!"
Her palms tightened suddenly, and the souls between her fingers, like fragile glass, instantly shattered into specks of soul fire. The shrill screams stopped abruptly, leaving only wisps of black smoke slowly dissipating.
" Qing Lin! You sealed me away for ten thousand years, causing my Rune Clan to become slaves, at the mercy of others, and to be slaughtered in various star fields!"
Qiu Yao reached into the depths of the vortex again, and this time the soul that was pulled out was more solid, and the outline of the robes of the immortal cultivators could be vaguely discerned.
"Open your eyes and see clearly! These are the people of the Celestial Realm you speak of! They enjoy the peace and stability brought by my Rune Clan, yet they stand by and watch my people be enslaved and trampled upon, remaining indifferent!"
Before she finished speaking, Qiu Yao's other hand transformed into a sharp palm blade, slashing fiercely at the center of the group of souls.
The swarm of souls disintegrated into countless tiny specks of light in an instant, like withered leaves swept away by a raging wind, leaving not even a trace of their lingering thoughts.
The Immortal Burial Vortex surged violently due to her ferocious act, drawing more souls into the air, only to have them torn apart and crushed by Qiu Yao in a frenzy, as if she wanted to unleash all the resentment that had been imprisoned for ten thousand years onto these innocent souls.
"I want the entire Immortal Realm to be buried with my Rune Clan! I want every living being in this realm to pay for the lives of my fallen kin!"
Qiu Yao looked up at the sky and roared, her voice filled with extreme madness and sorrow. The black threads of resentment around her body surged wildly like living things, beginning to frantically erode the surrounding space, turning the entire world into a deathly gray-black.
At that moment, a vast and powerful energy suddenly surged in the area, and countless crystalline particles rapidly merged and condensed, slowly transforming into a human-shaped silhouette.
The figure was semi-transparent, and it was vaguely visible that he was a middle-aged man wearing a gilded immortal robe. His long hair was tied up with a yellow ribbon and fell to his shoulders. He had an extraordinary handsome appearance and exuded a transcendent and otherworldly aura.
His eyes were cold and indifferent, devoid of any Lingdong or spirit, only an unchanging silence.
The moment that figure appeared, an overwhelming aura of absolute dominance surged into the sky. Even someone as powerful as Luo Chuan felt the pressure originating from the depths of his soul.
It's the Immortal Emperor Qinglin!
Luo Chuan stopped, one hand behind his back, gazing at the illusory figure of Qing Lin before him, and understood in his heart:
"This is definitely not Qinglin's true form, but rather the divine avatar of the restriction he left in the Burial Immortal Pool to seal the Holy Ancestor of the Talisman Clan. It has no intelligence, no memories, and no original divine abilities. Its only instinct is to prevent the Talisman Ancestor Qiu Yao from breaking free from the seal!"
At that very moment, the heavens and earth trembled violently, and scorching, violent flames surged like rivers and seas, stretching endlessly, while the void on both sides cracked inch by inch under the intense heat.
Sensing the unusual energy fluctuations in the air, Luo Chuan slightly turned his head, gazing at the distant horizon, and thought to himself, "A powerful being has descended."
The void was forcibly torn apart, and nine figures slowly stepped out, each with an aura as surging as flames, scorching all living beings in the area.
These nine individuals were all powerful cultivators at the Sunie Realm, and top experts in the Cultivation Alliance. Their purpose in coming here was twofold: first, to investigate Situ Nan, who had just awakened the Vermilion Bird Power; and second, to seize the supreme treasure within the Qing Lin's Abode.
"That's... Luo Chuan!"
The elder at the head of the group fixed his gaze on Luo Chuan, instantly recalling the death order issued by Long Panzi: any cultivator from the Cultivation Alliance who encountered Luo Chuan must be killed without exception.
If you can successfully kill this person, you can exchange him for a top-tier Void Profound Treasure.
Such an overwhelming temptation is irresistible even to cultivators at the Sunie Realm. After all, the value of top-tier Void Treasure has captivated everyone throughout history.
"Wait... that woman is the Rune Clan Saint Empress... Qiu Yao? She actually woke up?"
Even though the other nine were all experts at the Sunie Realm, the two people in front of them dared not make the slightest move, for fear of being killed on the spot by Qiu Yao in her rage.
Luo Chuan's cold gaze swept over the members of the Cultivation Alliance, his eyes filled with a chilling killing intent.
If the time were not too late, he would have made these despicable people pay an extremely heavy price!
Although these nine people were all at the early stage of Shattered Nirvana cultivation, they could only stand still and dared not make any rash moves—because Luo Chuan and Fu Zu Qiu Yao in front of them were far beyond their ability to contend with.
Qiu Yao stared intently at the illusory image of the restriction left behind by Qing Lin, and roared fiercely, " Qing Lin, you have imprisoned me for ten thousand years, and you promised to treat my Rune Clan well back then, why did you lie to me! Tell me, why!"
The illusory figure of Qing Lin stood silently, gazing at Qiu Yao, its voice calm and undisturbed. "I am merely a restriction that Qing Lin set up back then; in essence, it is nothing more than a barrier that will forever seal you here."
Qiu Yao let out a shrill, self-mocking laugh, looking at Qing Lin with a mixture of love and hate, and said sharply:
"A mere barrier cannot stop me! I have been imprisoned in this Immortal Burial Pool for ten thousand years, and today I will surely break through the seal and leave this place!"
Suddenly, the light around Qiu Yao surged, and millions of profound runes flew rapidly across her body like living things, causing the water in the Immortal Burial Pool to boil and surge.
The withered bones and broken swords that had settled at the bottom of the pool rose into the air together, piecing together in mid-air to form a mottled and ancient giant sword.
In an instant, Qiu Yao Saint Ancestor raised her head and let out a long roar that pierced through gold and shattered rocks. The dormant power in the bloodline of the Rune Clan erupted like a volcano, and even the surrounding space was crushed by this terrifying pressure.
" Qing Lin, you swore an oath with your immortal status back then, promising to let my clan return home after pacifying the Three Realms. Now that your immortal body has long since perished, this false oath should be shattered completely!"
Qiu Yao's fingertips formed a hand seal, and the bone sword floating in mid-air exploded with a roar, transforming into billions of streaks of talismanic fire that shot towards Qing Lin's illusory figure. She shouted fiercely, "Today, in the name of the Symbol Ancestor, I will shatter this Dao Xu barrier of yours!"