The passage stretched deep into the earth.
Blood-red spirit patterns flickered on and off along both walls.
A powerful demonic aura surged up from underground, mingled with the stench of decay and blood.
Lin Changqing walked in front, with Xiao Qianjun close behind.
The moment they stepped into the Underground Palace, they both stirred with the same thought.
Silver light flowed over Lin Changqing as the invisible Saintly Protective Aura of the Heavenly Gang Saint Armor activated at once.
A layer of pale golden light appeared on his skin as the Primordial Indestructible Golden Body began circulating.
With the two layers of protection stacked together, even a trap couldn't harm him in the slightest.
Xiao Qianjun also brought out his own defensive treasure.
The first level of the Underground Palace.
An empty hall, its walls covered in strange blood-red spirit patterns.
Documents and belongings that hadn't been taken in time lay scattered across the ground, along with several bloodstained instruments of torture.
It was clear that the people here had fled in a great hurry.
Meanwhile.
At the deepest part of the Underground Palace.
The Red Python Sect Leader stood before a blood-red crystal, his expression frighteningly grim.
Behind him, several key subordinates were frantically destroying the last of the classified documents.
The flames in the brazier crackled as roll after roll of account books and lists were thrown in and reduced to ash.
One subordinate asked in a trembling voice, "Sect Leader, they're already inside! What should we do?"
Red Python said nothing.
He stared at the blood-red crystal, which showed the entrance to the Underground Palace.
Two figures, one behind the other, were making their way down the passage.
The one in front was a young man in a black robe, with clear features and a calm expression.
But the instant Red Python saw him, his pupils contracted sharply.
Lin Changqing.
Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak.
Only twenty years old.
Those three facts were enough to make the scalp of any power-holder on the Heavenly Martial Continent prickle with dread.
He had thought he'd prepared thoroughly enough.
Three seals, the Branch Sect's prized Ancient Concealment Mirror, and himself personally guarding the entrance.
With so many layers of precautions stacked together, even a Late Martial Saint Stage expert shouldn't have been able to detect them.
Yet this Prince Wu'an had seen through it at a glance, and had even shattered all three seals he had personally laid with a single punch!
Red Python clenched his teeth, a deep flash of unwillingness and hatred in his eyes.
"I truly underestimated this Evergreen Saint Venerable..."
His voice was hoarse and low, edged with gritted teeth.
"No wonder he broke through to Martial Saint Peak at the age of twenty. With perception like that and strength like his, I really am no match for him."
The subordinates behind him exchanged glances, panic written all over their faces.
If even their Sect Leader admitted he was no match, then what chance did they stand?
"Sect Leader!"
One subordinate was frantic. "What should we do? There's no way we can win in a head-on fight. Are we supposed to just surrender?"
"Surrender?"
Red Python slowly turned around.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
"Who said we're surrendering?"
With a sweep of his sleeve, he took a palm-sized metal disc from his Storage Ring.
The disc was pitch-black all over, its surface covered in densely packed blood-red spirit patterns.
Those patterns writhed slowly across the disc as if alive, radiating an extremely violent energy fluctuation.
The subordinates' expressions changed as soon as they saw the disc.
"This is... the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array?!"
One of them cried out, instinctively taking two steps back.
The Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array was the Holy Demon God Sect's ultimate means of destroying evidence.
When each Branch Sect was first established, one such array disc was buried in the deepest part of its Underground Palace.
Once activated, the violent Spiritual Power stored in the disc would be completely released within ten breaths.
Then, everything within dozens of miles would be blasted into ruins, and every trace would be erased!
It was never used unless there was absolutely no other choice!
Red Python poured Spiritual Power into the array disc.
The blood-red spirit patterns on it flared to life, and a ring of scarlet light spread outward.
The entire Underground Palace began to tremble faintly.
"Activate the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array and set it for ten breaths," Red Python said coldly.
"Since this Branch Sect can't be saved, then let it be buried along with that Prince Wu'an."
"Leave nothing for those lackeys of Great Yu, and nothing for Prince Wu'an either."
One subordinate asked in a trembling voice, "Sect Leader, then... what about us?"
"Us?"
Red Python sneered and turned toward the depths of the Underground Palace.
"Come with me. We'll break out through the secret passage we dug in advance."
Everyone hurried after him.
As Red Python walked, he spoke quickly.
"Once the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array detonates, it won't just destroy this Underground Palace. It'll blast most of the western part of the city into ruins."
"Everyone's attention will be drawn to the explosion. The defenses in the Capital City will inevitably fall into disarray."
"We'll use that chance to fight our way out through the back entrance and leave the Capital City as quickly as possible."
He paused, a grave look in his eyes.
"But we have to move fast."
"The moment the explosion sounds, the Boundless Saint Emperor, who's stationed deep inside the Imperial Palace, will surely react at once."
"I'm already no match for an Evergreen Saint Venerable. If the Boundless Saint Emperor shows up too, I won't be able to get away at all."
"And besides..."
His voice grew even darker.
"The Great Yu Dynasty may only have a few Ninth-Rank Martial Saints in the open, but there are certainly more in the shadows. I refuse to believe they haven't been hiding their strength."
"If we draw out several more hidden Martial Saints of Great Yu, not one of us will make it out alive."
His words made everyone even more afraid.
They quickened their pace.
Red Python led the group through a concealed passage to an exit at the rear of the Underground Palace.
The exit was a heavy stone door, also covered in blood-red spirit patterns.
Red Python formed a hand seal and dispelled the seal on the door.
The stone door slowly opened.
Beyond it lay the dark of night.
Meanwhile.
The number on the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array had already reached "three."
In three breaths, this place would be reduced to ruins.
"Go!"
Red Python charged through the stone door first.
He sneered inwardly.
Once the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array exploded, the Capital City would descend into chaos, and he would break out under cover of the confusion.
Then the world would be his to roam. No one would be able to catch him!
As for these subordinates, who were terrified but fiercely loyal to him, he would save as many as he could. The rest would have to be sacrificed.
At the same time.
On the first level of the Underground Palace.
Lin Changqing and Xiao Qianjun had just descended the final step and entered the hall.
At that very instant.
An extremely violent energy fluctuation came from deep within the Underground Palace.
It was so powerful and so violent that the surrounding air began to twist and distort!
The blood-red spirit patterns on the walls flickered like mad, and the entire Underground Palace trembled.
Xiao Qianjun's expression changed drastically.
"Not good!"
He whipped around toward the source of the energy fluctuation, his eyes filled with shock.
"Prince Wu'an! This is the Holy Demon God Sect's ultimate means of destroying evidence, the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array!"
His voice was frantic, his words tumbling out like rapid-fire shots.
"Once this thing is activated, it can't be stopped! The violent Spiritual Power inside will be fully released within ten breaths, with enough power to blast the entire western part of the city into ruins!"
"This is the Holy Demon God Sect's ultimate last-ditch measure. I encountered something similar when I was hunting down a Branch Sect on the border, but it wasn't this large!"
"The last one they detonated razed a small town ten miles across to the ground! The energy fluctuation from this array disc is several times stronger!"
"If it fully detonates, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
He looked at Lin Changqing, his eyes full of urgency.
"Prince Wu'an, there's no time! Once this array disc is activated, it can't be reversed. We have to evacuate everyone immediately—"
"Leave it to me."
Lin Changqing's voice was as calm as still water. He didn't even furrow his brow.
Xiao Qianjun froze.
"Prince Wu'an, the energy in this array disc has already—"
"Those rats inside have already escaped through the back entrance," Lin Changqing cut him off.
"The back entrance is northwest of the residence, thirty zhang underground. The exit leads to an abandoned stable in the western part of the city."
"Take your people and intercept them. Don't let them escape in the confusion."
Xiao Qianjun opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But when he saw Lin Changqing's calm, placid eyes, he swallowed every word.
He took a deep breath and cupped his fists firmly.
"This subordinate obeys! Take care, Prince Wu'an!"
With that, he turned and activated his movement technique. His figure became a blur as he darted toward the surface.
Lin Changqing turned his gaze back toward the source of the energy fluctuation and raised his right hand, slicing through the empty air before him.
"Rip!"
Space split open, and he stepped through the rift.
At the deepest part of the Underground Palace.
The Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array disc hovered in the center of the hall.
The blood-red spirit patterns on it had blazed to their limit, and the entire disc was trembling violently.
The surrounding air twisted and warped under the force of the violent energy, while the stone bricks on the walls peeled away one by one.
The countdown had reached its final three breaths.
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At that moment.
The space in front of the array disc suddenly split open.
A figure stepped out of the rift, clad in silver armor with black hair. It was Lin Changqing.
He glanced at the array disc, which was on the verge of detonating, and extended his right hand.
He opened his palm and aimed it at the disc.
An immense, indescribable Saintly might surged from his palm.
Purple-gold light spread out from his palm like a tide, enveloping the array disc and the surrounding space.
"Suppress."
Lin Changqing softly uttered a single word.
The purple-gold light abruptly contracted.
The energy that had been so violent it could nearly tear space apart was clamped down under this force, as if gripped in the fist of an invisible giant hand!
The blood-red spirit patterns on the array disc flashed wildly, letting out a shrill buzzing.
It fought back, but its resistance was meaningless.
Lin Changqing compressed all the explosive energy into an extremely small area. Not even the slightest fluctuation escaped beyond it.
Then the array disc exploded.
"BOOM!!!"
A deep, muffled boom erupted from the depths of the Underground Palace.
The energy, compressed to its absolute limit, exploded under Lin Changqing's control in the palm of his hand.
The great hall on the third level of the Underground Palace collapsed in an instant.
Stone pillars snapped, the ceiling caved in, and the walls crumbled to dust.
The residence aboveground also came crashing down. The entire estate looked as if an invisible giant foot had stomped it into the earth.
Blue bricks and gray tiles, carved beams and painted rafters—all were reduced to rubble and splinters.
Dust billowed into the sky, forming a small mushroom cloud against the night.
But that was all.
Lin Changqing had forcibly suppressed most of the blast's power with his own strength, limiting the damage to the estate itself.
Outside the estate, not even a single window in the neighbors' houses had shattered.
The dust slowly cleared.
At the center of the ruins,
a figure drifted down from midair.
A little dust clung to his silver armor, but he was otherwise completely unharmed.
Lin Changqing brushed the dust from his shoulder and glanced at the collapsed ruins beneath his feet, his expression calm.
"That was quite a racket. It almost got my clothes dirty."
Meanwhile,
outside the rear entrance of the Underground Palace, in an abandoned stable,
Red Python and several of his core subordinates had just rushed out through the secret passage. They hadn't even had time to catch their breath.
Then he felt the ground beneath his feet shudder violently.
He turned around. In the distance, the estate had collapsed with a roar, dust soaring into the sky.
But the tremor was much weaker than he had expected.
Forget half of the western part of the city—even the neighboring alley was untouched.
Red Python's face instantly turned ashen.
"How is this possible?!" he cried, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He knew better than anyone how powerful the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array was.
The frenzied Spiritual Power stored in that array disk was enough to blast everything within dozens of miles into ruins!
But now?
It had only brought down a single estate!
There was no doubt about it. That Prince Wu'an had intervened.
In front of that man, even the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array couldn't make a ripple.
Red Python gritted his teeth, forcing down his shock.
Now was no time to stand around in disbelief.
While Prince Wu'an was still dealing with the explosion, he had to break through immediately.
"Move!"
He barked the order and charged out of the stable first.
But the moment he burst outside,
three figures already blocked his way in the night ahead.
At the front stood a man in the official robes of the Chief Commander of the Demon Suppressing Division, holding a long silver-white saber. It was Xiao Qianjun.
Two more men stood beside him:
Chen Zhan, commander of the Imperial Guards, and Han Yue, commander of the Royal Forest Guard.
Behind the three of them, hundreds of Demon Suppression Guards and Imperial Guards had sealed off the entire alley.
More elite soldiers were already on their way.
Torchlight painted half the sky red, and the sound of swords and sabers being drawn rang out in one continuous wave.
Xiao Qianjun pointed his saber at them, his voice sharpening.
"You dogs who've sided with the demons—where do you think you're running?!"
Red Python stopped and surveyed the formation before him.
His expression darkened for a moment, then returned to its usual sneer.
"Hmph. You few ants think you can stop me?"
As the words left his mouth,
his aura burst forth.
The pressure of an early Ninth-tier Martial Saint poured out without restraint, crushing the surroundings like a raging hurricane!
"Crack..."
The ground beneath their feet split apart inch by inch, and the air around them warped violently.
The stable's roof was torn away, sending broken wood and thatch whirling through the air.
Xiao Qianjun and the other two all changed expression.
Though they were all among the top Eighth-Rank Grandmasters, when faced with a true Ninth-Rank Martial Saint, the pressure of the difference in realms still left them momentarily short of breath.
But not one of them took a step back.
"Heh..."
Seeing their reaction, Red Python's lips curled in contempt.
He didn't have time to tangle with these three.
The Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array hadn't caused the chaos he'd expected, and he was running out of time.
Before Prince Wu'an and the other Martial Saints of Great Yu could react, he had to get rid of these ants as quickly as possible.
If they held him up until Prince Wu'an arrived, he truly wouldn't be able to escape!
Red Python raised his hand.
A dark-red ball of Spiritual Power gathered in his palm.
Demonic energy churned across its surface as it let out a piercing hiss.
He had already made up his mind.
He would force the three of them back with one strike, then tear open space and flee at once.
But just then,
the expressions on the faces of the core subordinates behind Red Python were completely different from their leader's.
One subordinate at Sixth Rank stared at the densely packed Demon Suppression Guards ahead, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
He looked at Red Python's back, his eyes filled with despair.
Their leader was a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint. If he abandoned them and broke through alone, he had a good chance of escaping.
But what about them?
The strongest among them was only an Eighth-Rank Grandmaster.
Surrounded by hundreds of elite Demon Suppression Guards and blocked by three Eighth-Rank Grandmaster Peaks,
they had no chance of making it out alive!
From the moment their leader activated the Heaven-Burning Earth-Destroying Array, they had already been treated as expendable pawns.
All that talk of "come with me" was just a way to make them keep serving as cannon fodder at the last moment, holding off their pursuers.
The core subordinates exchanged glances, each seeing the same despair in the others' eyes.
But not one of them dared say a word.
In the Holy Demon God Sect, questioning the leader's decision brought a fate worse than death.
The dark-red ball in Red Python's hand grew larger and larger. He was about to strike.
Just then,
an even more immense and terrifying Saintly Might descended from the sky, crushing the Martial Saint aura Red Python had released into nothing!
The dark-red ball in Red Python's hand went out instantly.
He hadn't withdrawn it himself. Under that overwhelming pressure, he couldn't even maintain the ball's shape.
Red Python's pupils constricted sharply.
He slowly raised his head and looked up at the night sky.
Above,
a Spatial Rift silently tore open, and a young man in black robes stepped out.
A jade-green long sword hung at his waist, its scabbard's lotus patterns glimmering faintly in the moonlight.
He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Red Python.
His gaze was calm, yet sent a chill through the heart.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Red Python's hands began to tremble beyond his control.
He clenched his jaw, trying to suppress his body's instinctive reaction.
But it was no use.
The shudder rising from deep within his soul was beyond the reach of willpower.
So this was the Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak?
They were both Martial Saints, yet the other man's Saintly Might alone made it hard for Red Python, an early Ninth-tier Martial Saint, even to summon the thought of resistance!
Red Python had cultivated for more than two thousand years and seen countless powerhouses.
But he had never felt such terrifying oppression from anyone!
Prince Wu'an was far more formidable than he had imagined!
That thought filled his mind.
Red Python whirled around and tore open the space before him with everything he had.
Even if it meant burning his vital blood, he had to get out.
But the moment his hand touched the edge of the Spatial Rift,
a streak of azure swordlight flashed before his eyes, too fast for him to react.
"Pfft!"
The arm he had used to tear open space was severed at the shoulder.
Blood gushed out, splashing crimson beneath the moonlight.
His severed arm hit the ground, its fingers still twitching.
Red Python let out a shrill scream and staggered back several steps.
Clutching his stump, he looked at Lin Changqing, shock and terror filling his eyes.
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