These words sound grand and righteous, but everyone can tell that they are meant to be seized by force.
Lin Hao laughed, " The Yaoguang Holy Land? What a prestigious title. However, my people are none of your business."
Ji Haoyue also spoke up, "Senior, the Azure Emperor Scripture is an ancient and supreme scripture that should rightfully belong to the human race. Now that this young lady has received the inheritance, she should naturally make the scripture public to benefit the human race. Senior's act of monopolizing it will likely provoke public outrage."
"Public outrage?" Lin Hao looked at him. "Just you?"
"You!" Ji Haoyue's face darkened.
Just then, a long laugh came from afar:
"Well said, 'Just you lot?' Fellow Daoist, you certainly have a big mouth."
A Divine Rainbow pierced the sky and transformed into a young man in a python robe, none other than Xia Wuyou, the seventh prince of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Behind him followed two elderly men with profound auras, both Mighty One at the Immortal Platform Second Heaven.
"It's the seventh prince of the Great Xia Dynasty of Central Province!"
"He's here too!"
Xia Wuyou landed and cupped his hands to Lin Hao, saying, "Fellow Daoist, I am Xia Wuyou, the seventh prince of the Great Xia Dynasty in Central Province. The matter of the Azure Emperor Scripture has already alarmed the Big Dipper. Although you are strong, you cannot fight against so many. How about this: you and this young lady will return to Central Province with me, and I can ask my father to protect you both. In exchange, the young lady only needs to lend the Azure Emperor Scripture my Great Xia Dynasty for a hundred years of study. What do you say?"
" Xia Wuyou, you've got a good plan!" Jin Wuyan sneered. "Trying to monopolize the Azure Emperor Scripture? Have you even asked this Crown Prince?"
" Jin Wuyan, it's not your place to speak here," Xia Wuyou said calmly, her gaze remaining fixed on Lin Hao.
Lin Hao looked at the people in front of him and suddenly smiled.
"Interesting. The Yaoguang Holy Land, the Ji Family, the Solar Divine Dynasty, the Great Xia Dynasty... they're all here. In that case—"
He paused, his voice suddenly turning cold:
"Then let's solve it all at once."
Before he finished speaking, he took a step forward, and his aura suddenly exploded.
That was neither the aura of the Immortal Platform Secret Realm nor the aura of Saint, but an unparalleled majesty that transcended everything, as if it were the ruler of heaven and earth!
"Boom--"
The entire ancient city trembled, the clouds in the sky were dispersed, revealing the azure sky. Centered on Lin Hao, an invisible wave of energy swept out, and wherever it passed, everyone felt their breath catch in their throats, as if a divine mountain was pressing down on their hearts.
"What... what level is this?"
"A saint... Saint? No, someone even more terrifying than Saint!"
"Could it be the Great Sage? Or... Quasi-Emperor?"
Everyone was stunned, including the older generation of powerful figures who were hiding in the shadows.
They originally thought that Lin Hao was at most Saint of the Immortal Platform Third Heaven, but the aura he was emitting at this moment far exceeded the scope of Saint!
"No, retreat!"
The two old men behind Xia Wuyou's expression changed drastically, and they pulled Xia Wuyou back.
But it was too late.
Lin Hao simply raised his hand and gently pressed it into the void.
"Buzz--"
The laws of heaven and earth were activated, transforming into a gigantic hand that Shrouding the Heavens, enveloping the entire ancient city. The gigantic hand slowly pressed down, and even before it landed, the oppressive force rendered everyone immobile, even imprisoning the Spiritual Power within their bodies.
"Senior, spare my life!"
"We know we were wrong, please have mercy, senior!"
"We are willing to retreat immediately and will never again have any designs on the Azure Emperor Scripture!"
Pleas for mercy rose and fell, but Lin Hao remained indifferent, as if he hadn't heard them.
The giant hand continued to press down, causing the buildings in the ancient city to collapse and the ground to crack open into bottomless ravines. Some of the weaker cultivators were even crushed to death, their bodies exploding and turning into blood mist.
At that moment, everyone felt the fear of death.
"Stop!"
Just then, a loud shout came from afar. Immediately afterwards, three terrifying auras descended, forcefully blocking the colossal hand that Shrouding the Heavens.
The three figures came from the Yaoguang Holy Land, the Ji Family, and the Solar Divine Dynasty, respectively, and were all Saint of the Immortal Platform Third Heaven!
"Three Saint!"
"We're saved!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin Hao merely glanced at the three of them and said indifferently:
"Three Early Saint Stage dare to stop me?"
He raised his other hand and pressed down again.
"Boom!"
An even more terrifying power erupted, and the power of the colossal hand that Shrouding the Heavens surged. The defenses that the three Saint had jointly set up actually began to crack!
"Puff--"
The three Saint simultaneously coughed up blood, their faces filled with horror.
"Fellow Daoist, please show mercy!" the Saint of Yaoguang Holy Land said urgently. "What happened today was our fault. Please, for the sake of Yaoguang Holy Land, show leniency!"
"The face of the Yaoguang Holy Land?" Lin Hao laughed. "Even if the Yaoguang Holy Lord himself came, he wouldn't dare speak to me like that."
"You!" The three Saint were shocked and furious, but even more so, they were terrified. The black-clad youth before them possessed unfathomable strength, likely surpassing even the Great Sage level!
Could it be... Quasi-Emperor?
The moment this thought crossed their minds, all three broke out in a cold sweat. Quasi-Emperor! That was an existence second only to the Great Emperor. In the entire Big Dipper, there were only a handful of Quasi-Emperor on the surface, all of them ancient beings from various Life Forbidden Zone, who rarely appeared in the world.
Could this young man in black be an ancient monster from some Life Forbidden Zone?
"Senior, we are willing to apologize!" the Ji Family's Saint said through gritted teeth. " The Ji Family is willing to offer three King-grade medicinal herbs and ten catties of Divine Source. Please, senior, calm your anger!"
" The Solar Divine Dynasty is also willing to apologize!"
"The same Yaoguang Holy Land!"
The three Saint bowed their heads. Faced with a being who appeared to be Quasi-Emperor, not bowing meant certain death.
Lin Hao looked at them, then at the terrified young prodigies below, and suddenly lost interest.
"Enough. Killing you would only dirty my hands."
He withdrew his hand, and the colossal hand that Shrouding the Heavens vanished.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had just escaped from the jaws of death.
"Get lost," Lin Hao said calmly. "If you dare to covet the Azure Emperor Scripture again, things won't be this simple."
"Yes, yes, thank you for sparing my life, senior!"
The three Saint, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, hurriedly led their respective forces and fled the ancient city without looking back. The remaining forces also scattered in panic, fearing that Lin Hao might change his mind.
In a short while, the once bustling ancient city was left with only Lin Hao and Snow Empress.
Watching the fleeing figures, the Snow Empress said softly, "Your Majesty, are we just going to let them go like this?"
"They're just a bunch of ants; killing them or not makes no difference." Lin Hao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky. "The real trouble is yet to come."
"Real trouble?"
" With the Azure Emperor Scripture and the opening of the Sacred Body's Tomb, it's time for those slumbering old monsters of the Big Dipper to awaken," Lin Hao said calmly. "The road ahead will not be peaceful. You must improve your strength as soon as possible, at least to have the ability to protect yourself before those old monsters truly make their move."
Snow Empress's expression hardened. "Yes!"
"Let's go, to the next place."
"Your Majesty, where are we going?"
" Northern Plains, Ice God Palace "
Lin Hao took a step forward, causing ripples in the space, and disappeared with Snow Empress.
Only a ruined ancient city and a scene of devastation remain, telling the story of the thrilling standoff that had just taken place.