Azure Mysterious Domain, Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony square.
Spiritual Qi seethed between heaven and earth. Thirty-six immortal pillars from High Antiquity blazed with hundreds of millions of rays of divine radiance, illuminating the entire sacrificial ground as brightly as day. High above, auspicious clouds churned amid a thousand streams of auspicious mist. Terrifying presences, each powerful enough to cow an entire world, occupied the clouds-all patriarch-level figures from the seven great holy lands and thirty-six top sects.
The once-a-century Immortal Sacrifice Grand Ceremony had been a stage for the Azure Mysterious Domain's young prodigies to compete for glory, a battlefield where the great powers vied for the right to shape the future. Yet now, the square was utterly silent. Every gaze was fixed on the figure in blue standing at the edge of the crowd.
The young man wore a plain blue robe. He stood tall and straight, his features handsome and refined, his hair loosely tied behind his head. Not a trace of spiritual power leaked from him, nor did he possess the slightest imperial might or holy presence. He looked like an ordinary mortal disciple who had only just begun cultivating, as unremarkable as could be.
Yet this seemingly ordinary young man had just used a single finger to effortlessly crush Zhao Wushuang, the Holy Son of the High Heavens Holy Land, shattering his peak King Realm cultivation and cracking his Innate Holy Body. The prodigy hailed as the greatest of the Azure Mysterious Domain's younger generation lay sprawled in the center of the square like a dead dog, unable to move again.
His name was Lin Chen.
A supreme existence who had spent a full hundred thousand years in seclusion within the eternally deathly Chaos Forbidden Land. From the moment he emerged, he had already transcended the Great Dao of all heavens, towered over all ages, past and present, and stood invincible throughout the universe and its myriad worlds.
The Principles of heaven and earth were his to alter with a casual gesture.
The mighty of the myriad worlds were nothing but ants and dust in his eyes.
So-called holy lands, prodigies, Great Emperors, secret realms, inheritances... before the boundless reserves Lin Chen had accumulated through a hundred thousand years of signing in, they were not even worthy of carrying his shoes.
He had only appeared here because he was taking a stroll through the world and had casually accompanied the Azure Profound Sect's people to join the fun.
To him, this Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony that shook the entire Azure Mysterious Domain was no different from mortal children playing and squabbling.
And yet, there were always ants who failed to recognize their place and insisted on approaching him to invite humiliation.
Previously, in Chapter 22, when Lin Chen first entered the ceremony, his plain clothing and unremarkable presence had prompted disciples of the various powers to mock, insult, and scorn him without restraint. They had treated him as a lowborn wretch from the lower realms, a useless menial of the Azure Profound Sect.
In Chapter 23, Zhao Wushuang, Holy Son of the High Heavens Holy Land, had publicly provoked him, pressing him relentlessly and using his status to bully him, forcing Lin Chen to take the stage and die. He had even brazenly attacked, intending to slap Lin Chen to death in the square.
And Lin Chen had merely extended one finger with a gentle motion.
Heaven and earth changed color. A King crumbled.
One move plunged the entire gathering into deathly silence.
"Cough... pfft..."
Amid the rubble, Zhao Wushuang struggled to cough up a mouthful of blood. Every bone in his body was broken, his meridians utterly destroyed. His once supremely arrogant face was now twisted to the extreme, his eyes holding nothing but bone-deep terror and despair.
He could not understand it. He was a genius seen only once in a thousand years in the High Heavens Holy Land. At such a young age, he had reached the peak of the King Realm and begun to perfect his Holy Body. He was destined to attain the Dao, become an Emperor, and look down upon an entire domain.
Yet before this young man, he could not even withstand a single move?
His opponent had not even released a trace of spiritual power. A single finger had consigned him to eternal ruin.
Just how terrifying was this power?
What an unreachable realm was this?
Zhao Wushuang did not know, nor would he ever understand.
Before Lin Chen, never mind an insignificant King Realm cultivator like him-even Great Emperors, Immortal Emperors, and the supreme beings of legend were merely slightly larger ants, destroyable with a flick of his finger.
Deathly silence hung over the square.
Everyone stood frozen, their minds blank, completely unable to process the sight that overturned everything they knew.
The Azure Profound Sect's elders and disciples had long since gone rigid with fright, their eyes wide and mouths agape. They had thought Lin Chen was merely a reclusive expert who kept a low profile. Never had they imagined that this young man's strength had already reached such a heaven-defying level.
A Holy Son defeated with one finger!
This was no longer a genius. This was a true, peerless supreme being!
Meanwhile, on the raised platform, the senior members of the High Heavens Holy Land had turned livid, their killing intent almost condensing into substance.
Who was Zhao Wushuang?
He was the High Heavens Holy Land's designated Holy Son of the next generation, the future pillar they had poured immeasurable effort into nurturing, their greatest hope of dominating the Azure Mysterious Domain!
Now, before countless witnesses, someone had crippled him with one finger, leaving him no different from a ruined man!
This was not merely Zhao Wushuang's crushing defeat. It was an unspeakable humiliation for the entire High Heavens Holy Land!
"Whelp! How dare you!"
A roar of utter fury suddenly exploded between heaven and earth.
Three figures shot into the sky from the High Heavens Holy Land's seats like three thunderbolts. Their spiritual power raged wildly, whipping up winds and clouds across the heavens. Their presences were so terrifying that the cultivators throughout the square trembled and prostrated themselves.
At their head was Wang Cang, the High Heavens Holy Land's grand elder stationed in the Eastern Domain.
His cultivation had long since reached the peak of the Emperor Realm, only one step from becoming a Half-Emperor. Having lived nearly a million years, he was a true colossus in the Azure Mysterious Domain. A single stamp of his foot could shake the Eastern Domain's lands for three years.
Behind him stood two other white-haired, white-bearded elders, both mighty mid-stage Emperor Realm cultivators. Each wielded authority over a region and held the power of life and death.
Three great elders-two Emperors and one at the peak-struck together!
Wang Cang's eyes were bloodshot, his murderous intent surging to the heavens. He stared fixedly at Lin Chen, his voice as bone-chilling as the winds of the Nine Netherworlds. "You dared cripple our Holy Land's Holy Son at the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony and destroy the High Heavens Holy Land's dignity! Today, I will tear out your soul and grind your flesh to pieces, condemning you to eternal suffering with no hope of reincarnation!"
His words fell.
Wang Cang abruptly raised his hand and pressed down viciously toward Lin Chen!
Humm-!!!
Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged wildly, gathering in his palm like a tsunami. A golden palm ten thousand zhang tall materialized out of thin air. Its palm lines resembled mountain ranges and towering peaks, every line inscribed with holy Dao runes from High Antiquity, its weight immeasurable.
As the palm descended, the void collapsed and the earth cracked. Its terrifying pressure bore down like the divine mountains of all heavens, making even breathing agonizingly difficult for every prodigy present.
Wang Cang held nothing back with this palm strike!
He intended to kill Lin Chen before everyone and wash away the Holy Land's humiliation with blood!
"Heaven-Burning Holy Flame! Burn!"
The elder on the left shouted, blazing golden holy fire erupting around him. The flames burned the heavens and boiled the seas, warping even space wherever they passed as they swept toward Lin Chen with a presence that would incinerate everything.
"Space-Rending Holy Blade! Slash!"
The elder on the right struck simultaneously. A blue holy blade ten thousand zhang long condensed into being, runes flickering along its edge. Its sharpness pierced the clouds, enough to shatter stars and tear open the firmament with one slash. Carrying the power to cleave everything apart, it hacked toward Lin Chen's head.
Three mighty experts, three killing Techniques, all locked onto Lin Chen!
In countless people's eyes, this attack would instantly blast not just some unknown young man, but even a slumbering primordial beast into dust, leaving not a single scrap behind.
"It's over. This senior was too impulsive!"
"Of all the people he could have offended, why did it have to be the High Heavens Holy Land?"
"Three Emperor Realm elders attacking together-he's certain to die!"
Quiet sighs and murmurs rose from the crowd.
Countless people closed their eyes, unable to bear watching Lin Chen be blasted into a mist of blood.
The Azure Profound Sect's people were ashen-faced and cold all over, nothing but despair remaining in their hearts.
They knew very well that once Lin Chen died in battle, their entire Azure Profound Sect would be next to face the reckoning.
When that happened, the High Heavens Holy Land would tear the Azure Profound Sect out by its roots, sparing not even its chickens and dogs!
Yet.
Facing this terrifying attack, powerful enough to suppress an entire domain and annihilate everything, Lin Chen remained standing quietly where he was, utterly motionless.
He lifted his eyes slightly, looking calmly at the descending giant palm, the heaven-burning fire, and the sky-rending blade.
There was no fear in his eyes, no panic, no ripple of disturbance-not even a trace of unnecessary emotion.
Only bone-deep indifference.
As though he were watching three ants hopping about incessantly.
"Noisy."
Lin Chen softly uttered the word.
His voice was quiet, yet like the resonant voice of the Great Dao, it reached every corner of the square clearly, drowning out every roar between heaven and earth.
The next moment.
He slowly raised his right hand.
He activated no Cultivation Method, stirred no Spiritual Qi, unleashed no Divine Ability, and formed no holy weapon.
Simply, casually, he pressed lightly against the empty space before him.
The motion was utterly unremarkable, like a mortal brushing dust from his sleeve.
Yet that insignificant press.
Boom---!!!
Heaven and earth froze!
Spiritual Qi solidified!
Time and space seemed to come to a complete standstill at that moment!
The golden holy fire that could burn the heavens and boil the seas extinguished without warning the instant it came within three zhang of Lin Chen, leaving not even a single spark.
The Space-Rending Holy Blade, powerful enough to tear apart the firmament, shattered with a thunderous crash just as its edge was about to touch Lin Chen's hair, scattering countless fragments through the void.
The ten-thousand-zhang golden palm that could suppress all heavens stopped dead one inch before Lin Chen's fingertips, as though it had struck an eternally immovable heavenly pillar of chaos. It could not budge at all. Then it disintegrated inch by inch, collapsing completely into specks of Spiritual Qi light that filled the sky before vanishing without a trace.
One move!
Just one move!
Lin Chen had effortlessly dismantled the full-force combined strike of the High Heavens Holy Land's three Emperor Realm elders!
"No... impossible-!"
Wang Cang's pupils contracted sharply. The fury and murderous intent on his face froze, replaced by utter horror and fear.
He could clearly feel an irresistible, incomprehensible, inescapable supreme force crashing down upon him like a divine mountain of chaos!
"Pfft-!!!"
Wang Cang's entire body jolted as though struck by lightning. A series of teeth-grating cracks burst from his bones, blood gushed from his mouth, and he plummeted from the sky like a kite with its string cut!
Bang!
He smashed heavily into the center of the square, sending dust billowing everywhere.
He struggled to rise, only to discover that every meridian in his body had snapped and his cultivation was utterly crippled. His Emperor Realm power ebbed away like the tide, leaving him without even the strength to move a finger.
Behind him, the other two High Heavens Holy Land elders met exactly the same fate.
Both spat blood simultaneously, their flesh split open and their cultivation utterly destroyed. They crashed heavily to the ground and fell unconscious.
One move!
Three Emperor Realm elders defeated in an instant!
Their cultivation crippled, their holy foundations destroyed, they had been reduced to utterly ruined men!
Silence!
Deathly silence!
Throughout the entire Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony square, a falling pin could have been heard. Even the sound of breathing disappeared.
Everyone stood frozen, their minds blank, their eyes filled with utter horror, fear, and disbelief.
Their scalps tingled!
Their bodies turned ice-cold!
Their souls trembled!
Just what kind of power was this?
The Emperor Realm belonged to supreme experts capable of holding sway over a domain and ruling a region-a lofty realm countless cultivators could never reach in their lifetimes!
Yet before this blue-robed young man, they had been like figures made of paper, casually defeated in an instant, not even qualified to resist!
"An... Emperor Realm cultivator... defeated instantly?"
"Those were three Emperors! Their combined attack was broken so effortlessly?"
"He... who exactly is he?! This isn't power that belongs to our world!"
Terrified voices finally erupted uncontrollably from the crowd.
Countless people trembled all over, their legs weak, feeling an uncontrollable urge to kneel and submit.
On the raised platform, the leaders of the seven great holy lands, the patriarchs of the thirty-six sects, and the heads of over a hundred top powers could no longer remain seated.
They sprang to their feet, their faces white as paper, their eyes filled with extreme wariness and fear.
Especially Xiao Potian, the leader of the High Heavens Holy Land.
He was one of the few Great Emperor Realm experts in the Azure Mysterious Domain. He had presided over the High Heavens Holy Land for millions of years, ruling countless miles of the Eastern Domain-a figure who truly stood at the very ceiling of the Azure Mysterious Domain.
At that moment, Xiao Potian's Great Emperor pressure erupted uncontrollably. Heaven and earth changed color, winds and clouds rolled backward, and he stared fixedly at Lin Chen, even his voice trembling:
"Your Excellency... just which reclusive supreme being are you? Why would you lower yourself to target my High Heavens Holy Land, to target our Azure Mysterious Domain?"
A Great Emperor spoke, and all living beings bowed!
Overawed by the Great Emperor's pressure, countless cultivators prostrated themselves, lacking even the courage to raise their heads.
Yet when that terrifying imperial might, powerful enough to suppress an entire world, came within three zhang of Lin Chen, it seemed to strike an invisible barrier. It shattered inch by inch and dissipated completely, unable to stir even the hem of his robe.
Lin Chen glanced indifferently at Xiao Potian. His tone was calm and unruffled, yet carried a supreme majesty that towered over all ages:
"A Great Emperor?"
"You dare call yourself supreme before me?"
The casually spoken words exploded beside Xiao Potian's ears like thunder from the Nine Heavens!
Boom-!!!
Xiao Potian shuddered violently, as though a supreme heavenly sword had pierced his soul. The Great Emperor spiritual power within him instantly ran wild, his meridians hurt excruciatingly, and he could not stop a mouthful of golden imperial blood from spraying out!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
He staggered back four steps, each step crushing the hard paving of the square. His face was filled with utter horror and fear!
"This... this is..."
"The Transcendence Realm!!!"
"You... you're a supreme existence who has transcended Great Emperors!!!"
Transcending Great Emperors!
Those words struck everyone's hearts like six bolts of world-destroying divine lightning!
Hiss---!!!
Everyone present gasped in unison, the blood in their bodies almost freezing!
A realm transcending Great Emperors!
That was a supreme domain that existed only in primordial legends!
An unsurpassed realm that not even the Azure Mysterious Domain's oldest ancient texts had recorded in full!
An ultimate domain that even the Celestial Emperors of ancient times could not touch!
This blue-robed young man before them, who looked about twenty years old, was actually an existence of that level?!
Terrifying!
Boundless terror!
Everyone was scared out of their wits, their hearts and minds shattered!
They had actually mocked, scorned, and cursed such an unsurpassed supreme being-even wanted to kill him?
At the thought, countless people went cold all over, their regret reaching its utmost limit. They wished they could smash themselves headfirst into the ground and die on the spot!
This was courting death!
This was making an outrageous joke with their own lives and the future of their entire sects!
The sect masters of the seven great holy lands turned deathly pale, their legs trembling uncontrollably.
The ancestors of the thirty-six sects shuddered all over, their heads deeply bowed, not daring to look directly at him in the slightest.
The leaders of over a hundred factions had their hearts and minds shattered, already frightened beyond the ability to think.
And Lin Chen stood there quietly, his blue robes snapping in the wind, his figure straight and tall.
His gaze slowly swept across everyone. His voice was calm, yet like the resounding voice of the Great Dao, it rang through heaven and earth, branding itself deep into every soul:
"I am Lin Chen."
"I spent a hundred thousand years signing in within the Chaos Forbidden Land. Only today did I emerge."
"I had no intention of entering the world's conflicts, yet you ants insisted on coming to seek your deaths."
"Today, I shall make this clear."
"I do not stir up trouble, nor do I fear it."
"From this day forward, within the Azure Mysterious Domain, regardless of a sect's size or one's cultivation realm, should anyone dare show me or those beside me the slightest disrespect or provocation."
"I would not mind erasing the entire Azure Mysterious Domain with a raise of my hand, leaving it gone for all eternity."
His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unsurpassed majesty that bore down upon all heavens, invincible throughout the myriad worlds!
The instant his words fell.
BOOM-!!!
An unsurpassed pressure, originating from the first opening of chaos and transcending the Great Dao of all heavens, silently spread from Lin Chen.
There was no light, no wondrous phenomenon, no rumbling.
Yet this insignificant wisp of presence instantly crushed the Principles of heaven and earth throughout the entire Azure Mysterious Domain!
In the square, every cultivator, whether a prodigy, disciple, elder, sect master, or ancestor...
Whether a King, Emperor, Half-Emperor, or Great Emperor!
All their knees buckled uncontrollably, and they crashed to the ground!
A dense, dark mass stretched from the center of the square to the ends of heaven and earth. Countless cultivators knelt in homage, their heads deeply bowed, not daring to let even a trace of their presence escape, lacking even the courage to look up!
"We pay our respects to the unsurpassed Supreme One!!!"
"We had eyes but failed to see and offended your heavenly might! Supreme One, please forgive our sins!!!"
"We willingly bow our heads for all eternity and serve the Supreme One, never shrinking back even before ten thousand deaths!!!"
The earth-shaking cries of homage rang into the clouds, shook heaven and earth, and spread across the Azure Mysterious Domain's vast territory of countless miles!
The seven great holy lands bowed their heads and pledged submission!
The thirty-six sects pledged loyalty unto ten thousand deaths!
The seventy-two factions offered homage for all eternity!
Throughout the Azure Mysterious Domain, ten thousand sects united as one, and all heavens bowed their heads!
Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back, between heaven and earth.
His blue robes were plain, yet he was like the sole supreme being of all heavens.
His presence was unremarkable, yet he had long since towered over eternity, invincible throughout the universe. He raised his head toward the distant horizon, his gaze indifferent and far-reaching.
To him, today's homage from ten thousand sects was merely an insignificant speck of dust on his road of invincibility.
A hundred thousand years of signing in; invincible the moment he emerged.
The Azure Mysterious Domain's submission was only a beginning.
And the legend belonging to him, Lin Chen-a legend of true invincibility throughout all heavens and myriad worlds-had only just begun to unfold.