"Grandma... Grandma?"
The middle-aged man tentatively called out, his face full of worry, ready to run away at any moment, not daring to even look up.
Sure enough, upon hearing the middle-aged man's voice, the mother-in-law frowned, a hint of displeasure appearing on her face.
Anyone could tell that the mother-in-law was angry.
She had agreed not to be disturbed by anyone, but now that she had just sat down and hadn't even warmed herself up, someone was calling her. No wonder she was angry.
Seeing the worried expression on the middle-aged man's face and the frown on her mother-in-law's face, the Empress waved her hand, signaling the middle-aged man to step back.
The middle-aged man immediately breathed a sigh of relief, appearing completely relaxed.
"Mother-in-law!"
The Empress called out softly, her face full of a strange expression.
The old woman opened her eyes, looked up at the Empress, and said, "Didn't I say that unless there's something special, don't disturb me? What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Although she was still somewhat impatient, how could the old woman dare to be angry in front of the Empress? However, everyone could see that although she had stopped meditating, she had no intention of giving up her preparations to break the seal.
The Empress glanced at the spot where the barrier had been broken and said slowly, "The barrier has been broken."
"What?"
The old woman's eyes widened suddenly, and she sprang up from the Heaven-Splitting Ox, staring incredulously at the clear, sunny landscape before her. She asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
She had just closed her eyes and wasn't even ready when the restriction was broken?
Thinking of this, the old woman's face turned solemn as she stared into the air and said, " Chen Xiaotian, now that you're here, why are you being so secretive? Won't you come out and see this old woman?"
Upon hearing the old woman's words, almost everyone on the Heaven-Splitting Ox was startled and looked around nervously, but they couldn't see anyone in sight.
There wasn't even a trace of life.
After a moment, the old woman, clearly not sensing anything, frowned and said, "The restriction wasn't removed by Chen Xiaotian?"
The middle-aged man gave a wry smile and said to his mother-in-law, "It doesn't seem so."
"What do you mean 'it seems not'?" The mother-in-law glared and said, "Tell me the truth, what just happened?"
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and said with a strange expression, "Grandma just closed her eyes..."
"You scoundrel, I'm not going to die so soon!" The old woman's face turned ashen.
The middle-aged man hurriedly stepped back and said, "Grandma had just sat down when the ravaged landscape vanished. The Heaven-Swallowing Hou... the Heaven-Swallowing Hou is gone."
"You mean, that brat just broke the Mountain and River Restriction?" The old woman scoffed, "That's absurd! Even I had to spend countless efforts to break that Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique. How could that brat break it in such a short time? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
At this moment, the Empress suddenly spoke up, "Although I don't know if it was that young man who broke the seal, the Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique has indeed been broken. Let's continue on our way."
The old woman paused, then squinted and said, "Catch up with that kid ahead!"
Moo--!
A deafening roar resounded, and a burst of azure light suddenly erupted from the body of the Heaven-Splitting Ox as it chased after the Heaven-Swallowing Hou.
Halfway there, the old woman, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked the Empress, "That young man... did he really break the Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique?"
Seeing the hesitation on her mother-in-law's face, the Empress shook her head and said, "I can't be sure if it was him who broke the seal. The Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique disappeared silently until the Heaven-Swallowing Hou revealed itself, at which point we realized that the Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique had suddenly vanished."
The old woman smiled and nodded, saying, "So that boy was just lucky."
"What do you mean?" The Empress asked, a hint of curiosity on her face.
The old woman chuckled and said, "That Mountain and River Earth Treasury Forbidden Technique was a restriction that Chen Xiaotian casually set up. Although it was casual, it's not something an ordinary person can break, let alone the Heaven-Swallowing Hou leading that boy and the Nine Dragons directly into it."
At this point, the old woman's face turned solemn as she said, "Once you enter the forbidden area of Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique, it's not enough to just be strong to get out. Inside, there's a Heavenly Scorpion formed from demonic energy, created from Chen Xiaotian's demonic source. Although it's a phantom, it can communicate with heaven and earth, and its power is immense, capable of destroying the world at will. Therefore..."
The old woman chuckled and continued, "So, if you want to get out of the barrier, you have to destroy the Heavenly Scorpion. But how can the Heavenly Scorpion be destroyed silently?"
Finally, the old woman asked with suspicion, "What could have caused the Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique to end on its own? Could it be that Chen Xiaotian has encountered some troublesome problem?"
The Empress frowned slightly upon hearing this and said, "Does Mother mean that Chen Xiaotian is too preoccupied with this matter, and the Earth Treasury Mountain and River Forbidden Technique has disintegrated on its own?"
"There's only one possibility!" the old woman said. "However... there might be another possibility, but never mind, that possibility is too absurd. How could anyone sever the connection between Heavenly Scorpion and Chen Xiaotian's souls?"
Everyone fell silent. What a joke! The connection between soul and spirit is like a natal Spirit Treasure; unless one dies, how can anyone easily break it?
The Nine Dragons Saint Venerable stared blankly at Yang Zhen, or rather, at the small black scorpion in Yang Zhen's hand.
The terrifying Heavenly Scorpion that blotted out the sky shrank to the size of a palm, which was not surprising to the Nine Dragons Saint Venerable at all. The Heavenly Scorpion was originally an illusion that could transform the world, and its size depended entirely on whether the surrounding world had enough demonic energy.
However, at this moment, the little scorpion was crawling around on Yang Zhen's palm, showing great affection for Yang Zhen, which was a bit excessive.
"This scorpion, did you conjure it yourself?"
The Nine Dragons Saint Venerable couldn't help but ask.
Yang Zhen shook his head and said, "No."
"Then... could it be that Heavenly Scorpion from earlier?"
The Nine Dragons Saint Venerable blurted out, then shook his head and said, "Impossible! The illusory image of Venerable Lord Chen Xiaotian must have a soul chain attached to it. How could it break so easily?"
Yang Zhen grinned and said, "Who says you can't just cut ties like that?"
The Nine Dragons Saint Venerable stared blankly at Yang Zhen, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
The Shameless Cat, watching in astonishment, exclaimed, "Kid, you really severed the Soul Chain?"
Yang Zhen nodded and said, "Leaving it here so blatantly, it would be a bit much not to kill it."
Damn, this feeling is like an enemy you've wanted to kill countless times suddenly licking your boots and baring their huge ass at you. If you don't kick them, it's practically an act of God.
I have to say, this feeling is absolutely amazing, even more satisfying than just showing off.
Yang Zhen held the Heavenly Scorpion in her hand and muttered to herself, "How should one eat a scorpion?"
"Of course, eat it like Pipi shrimp!" The Shameless Cat's eyes lit up. This bastard forgot everything he heard, and didn't care whether you were Chen Xiaotian or Chen Ritian.
The Nine Dragons Holy Race standing to the side were completely dumbfounded, staring at Yang Zhen with disbelief on their faces, muttering to themselves, "Damn it, what kind of future does this brat have!"