On the high platform, that figure stood silently, as still as an abyss.
His black robes fluttered, almost blending into the chaotic air currents that hung down around him.
His mind sank into the Wushi Scripture, which had now come to life, in his palm.
The stone pages turned on their own, each page sweeping across the Void, creating a hazy ripple of Dao patterns.
It emitted a deep and majestic celestial sound, like the sacrificial chants of ancient ancestors, or the whispered laws at the beginning of Heaven-Opening.
The vast scriptures and the magnificent secret techniques, like a bursting dam of a starry sea, transformed into a torrent of the most primordial runes, surging into his sea of consciousness.
In the depths of his eyes, a fleeting vision of the birth and death of galaxies and the rise and fall of the Boundary Sea flashed by.
The main hall below was eerily silent.
The air was as thick as congealed blood, filled with a strong stench of blood and the burnt smell of burning divine power.
Traces of the fierce battle were scattered everywhere, and fragments of broken magical artifacts shimmered with a faint light, like the pupils of a dying beast.
The survivors huddled in their corners like frightened quails.
Cold sweat had already soaked through their backs, and the icy touch clung to their skin, reminding them of the fear they had just experienced by brushing shoulders with death.
Heavy, suppressed breathing; the uncontrollable chattering of teeth.
In this oppressive silence, an extreme resentment and bitterness, like a poisonous vine growing in the darkness, spread and entangled wildly in the heart of the ancient king of Silverwing Spirit Valley.
His name was Yin Lie, and he was of noble blood. In the ancient times, his clan once soared through the heavens, claiming to be descendants of gods and regarding all other races as food and servants.
When have I ever suffered such humiliation?
To be so blatantly ignored by a human!
His silver wings, which had originally shimmered with a divine radiance like moonlight, were now dull and covered with fine cracks.
Every slight flap of his fan brought excruciating pain, as if silently mocking his defeat.
His gaze, like a poisoned knife, was fixed on the figure in black robes on the high platform.
It was nailed to that slowly turning stone book.
The soft rustling of the pages turning sounded to him more jarring than the most vicious curse in the world.
"Why? Why?!"
Yin Lie roared silently in his heart, his nails digging deep into his palms, piercing the tough skin and drawing out silver blood with a slightly fishy, sweet smell of rust.
"When my race was at its most glorious, your ancestors were still eating raw meat and drinking blood!"
I, Yin Lie, have cultivated diligently for thousands of years, experiencing slumber and revival, yet I am not even qualified to touch the Emperor's Scripture?
What virtue or ability does this person possess to command the Emperor Bell to welcome him and the Imperial Scripture to recognize him as its master?!
Jealousy burned like poison in his body, and humiliation gnawed at his soul like ants.
Reason told him that he should do what everyone else did: lower his head, cower, and wait for the opportunity to escape.
But the arrogance inherited in his bloodline, and the stubborn belief that "humans are lowly," made it impossible for him to accept this naked crushing that trampled him into the dust.
A crazy and insidious idea, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, suddenly darted into his mind, interrupting him!
Even if we cannot seize it, even if we may pay a heavy price, we must interrupt that human child's comprehension!
We must not allow him to so easily and comfortably seize the Fortune that rightfully belongs to Yin Lie and the Primordial Royal Clan!
Even if it's just creating the slightest disturbance, causing him to suffer a mental blow and cough up blood, that would be good!
This has nothing to do with profit; it's only about his distorted and inviolable "dignity"!
A resolute glint flashed in Yin Lie's crimson pupils.
He quietly activated an ancient forbidden technique originating from the depths of his bloodline, an extremely insidious and vicious one: " Spirit-Eroding Shadow Needle ".
This technique involves mixing a wisp of the caster's original divine soul with the purest malevolent energy and resentment, compressing it to the extreme, and transforming it into an invisible, intangible, almost ethereal curse that specifically targets the primordial spirit and corrodes the foundation of one's Dao.
It is like a poisonous stinger in the shadows, silent and unpredictable, especially in the current environment of chaotic energy and lingering imperial might, making it even more difficult to detect.
He stared intently at the figure's back, confirming that the person was completely absorbed in the scriptures and had no time for anything else.
The opportunity is fleeting!
"Now!"
Yin Lie grinned maliciously, then bit his tongue hard. A piercing pain shot through him, accompanied by a mouthful of silvery blood containing his life essence and the origin of his soul.
He moved his hands rapidly in front of his chest, his ten fingers tracing dazzling afterimages.
Twisted, dark, and ominous ancient runes merged into that mouthful of blood essence.
Buzz!
A faint, almost imperceptible hum, seemingly emanating from the depths of the netherworld, rang out.
The essence blood and runes instantly collapsed, condensing into a thin, almost completely transparent, gray line, only one-hundredth the thickness of a hair.
Around the thin line, space was slightly distorted, and light was swallowed up by it, exuding a cold and deathly aura that the soul instinctively loathed.
" Spirit-Eroding Shadow Needle " complete!
Yin Lie's face instantly turned deathly pale, his breath quickening, but his eyes gleamed with a mixture of madness and anticipation. He flicked his finger...
call out!
The thin, dark line tore through the Void silently, without causing any energy ripples or emitting the slightest killing intent.
Like a deadly venomous snake darting between reality and nothingness, it pierced the vital point of the consciousness in the back of the head of the figure on the high platform with a speed beyond perception!
This strike combined Yin Lie's remaining cultivation, his burning essence, and all his jealousy and resentment!
Fast! Cunning! Ruthless! Vicious!
He could almost see the wonderful scene of that human boy clutching his head and howling in agony, his primordial spirit damaged, and even his Dao foundation collapsing!
His lips involuntarily twisted into a ferocious yet weak arc.
However,
Just as the " Spirit-Eroding Shadow Needle " pierced through layers of space like a ghost, and was still ten feet away from the edge of the platform, seemingly about to successfully kill its target, it struck.
"Buzz,"
The Beginningless Bell, which had been hovering above that figure's head, slowly rotating and cascading with countless chaotic energies, had not even changed its rotation rhythm in the slightest.
As if disturbed only by a wisp of insignificant dust, the ancient imperial patterns on the surface of the bell, which bear the secrets of the birth and death of the universe and the changes of time and space, were revealed.
Almost imperceptibly, a faint halo appeared, more ethereal than starlight and faster than a thought.
There was no deafening bell ringing, no earth-shattering energy burst.
The " Spirit-Eroding Shadow Needle," which embodied the Silver-Winged Ancient King's lifelong resentment and hope, touched the invisible imperial aura the instant it made contact with it.
Like grains of sand thrown into the vast ocean of Return to the Ruins, it failed to create even the slightest ripple.
It then silently and completely annihilated into the most primordial void energy in the Void ten zhang away from the high platform.
It was as if it had never existed in this world.
The backlash, at the very moment the attack was annihilated, descended with a speed and intensity far exceeding Yin Lie's imagination!
"Puff,!"
Yin Lie's body trembled violently, as if he had been struck hard in the chest by an invisible, chaotic hammer.
He suddenly opened his mouth, and what he spat out was no longer silver blood, but a large amount of dark liquid mixed with fragments of internal organs and dim soul light, emitting a nauseating stench.
His once radiant silver wings now resembled weathered rocks, with cracks widening and spreading instantly, accompanied by a "crack" sound.
Countless shimmering feathers withered, shattered, and turned to ashes!
The powerful aura around him dissipated like an avalanche, and he collapsed to the ground as if all his bones had been removed, unable to move even a finger.
The mad jealousy and anticipation in his eyes had vanished without a trace, replaced by boundless, deep-seated fear and a complete, incomprehensible bewilderment.
He couldn't even see how he failed!
Who exactly is that person?!
quiet!
A deathly silence deeper and more despairing than before!
Everyone clearly witnessed Yin Lie's sudden and insidious outburst, and his even more utter and devastating defeat.
Although the " Spirit-Eroding Shadow Needle " was well-hidden, there were many experts present who could vaguely sense the malevolent curse aura that burst forth in that instant.
Yet, this treacherous and ruthless sneak attack failed to even cause the bell to vibrate noticeably or the hem of the black-clad figure's robe to flutter slightly!
It's like a real mayfly, desperately crashing into the ancient and eternal Divine Mount Buzhou, the mountain completely unaware, while the mayfly is shattered to pieces.
The biting cold, mixed with the thick smell of blood and mildew, penetrated everyone's nostrils and froze their lungs.
The cold sweat no longer seeped out, but instead slid down my forehead and back like a stream, leaving a cool, sticky residue.
The chattering of teeth rose and fell, like the accompaniment of death.
On the high platform, the stone book continued to rustle as it turned, and the deep, resonant Great Dao Heavenly Sound continued to echo.
The figure turned the pages of the book with unwavering rhythm, as if the deadly sneak attack targeting the primordial spirit behind them had truly been nothing more than Qingfeng breeze, leaving no trace.
After a long while, until Yin Lie's collapsed body stopped convulsing and his breath was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.
A calm, even voice rang out softly, yet it was clearly imprinted deep within everyone's soul:
"A mayfly trying to shake a tree—how laughable and overestimating its own strength."
But these nine short words are like the final judgment descending from the heavens, carrying with them the majesty of heaven and boundless indifference.
The last pillar of support for King Yin Lie Liegu, along with all those who still harbored a sliver of hope, resentment, or evil thoughts, was utterly shattered!
"Uh, ho,"
Yin Lie, who was lying on the ground, trembled violently upon hearing these nine words.
Another mouthful of dark, stagnant blood spilled from his mouth. He tried his best to lift his head, wanting to see the figure on the high platform one more time.
He wanted to utter a final curse, but in the end, his head simply tilted to the side, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes completely faded.
At this moment, the Dao Heart, along with the vitality, completely collapsed and annihilated.
The ancient king of the Primordial Silverwing Spirit Valley perished here in this manner.
This became the best illustration of "overestimating one's abilities".
Even in the memory of that figure in black, it left not a ripple.
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