Deep in the dark forest, ancient trees reach for the sky.
Towering ancient, jet-black trees, some tens of thousands of feet tall, had trunks that looked as if they had been scorched by fire, covered with crisscrossing cracks. Their branches intertwined, shading the entire area from all light. Thick, gray-black mist flowed slowly through the forest, and with each step, it felt as if one had stepped into another unfamiliar space. Faint whispers echoed all around, making it impossible to discern any direction.
Whoosh—the masked man's figure darted swiftly through the woods.
His toes lightly touched a thick branch, and his body used the momentum to leap into the air, then landed steadily on the top of another ancient tree. The whole movement was smooth and fluid, without the slightest pause.
The three behind them gave chase, boom!
The silver-haired leader smashed dozens of ancient trees blocking his path with a single punch, sending splinters of wood mixed with a gray-black mist flying everywhere. His figure was almost like a silver lightning bolt, each step covering thousands of feet, constantly closing the distance between him and the masked man.
The other two formed a pincer movement, one on the left and one on the right. One of them wielded a long spear, shattering all the layers of vines in front of him, while the other kept leaping up to the treetops, blocking the masked man's retreat from the air.
Throughout the forest, the afterimages of the four people moving at high speed were everywhere, countless trees fell one after another, and large swaths of mist were swept away by the gale.
The four people startled hordes of strange beasts that had been lurking deep in the forest. As soon as they showed themselves, they were so frightened by the terrifying pressure emanating from the four that they lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move.
The leader stared at the masked men fleeing ahead, his face grim. He suddenly roared, "Stop right there!" "Hand over the secret scroll!" His voice boomed like thunder, causing the entire forest to tremble slightly.
Another middle-aged man wielding a long spear roared angrily, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Boy!" he sneered. "How dare you lay a finger on the things of the Hua Lineage?" "If you know what's good for you, stop right now, hand over the scroll, and we might spare your life!"
However, the masked man in front seemed not to hear the two men's angry shouts at all. He didn't even turn his head. Instead, he activated his Fate Soul essence again, and his speed suddenly increased.
Whoosh--
He instantly transformed into a streak of black light, widening the distance by thousands of feet once more, and charged straight into the depths of the forest. "Damn it!" "You dare run away!"
The three men's faces grew increasingly grim. Almost simultaneously, they cursed and unleashed their full speed once more, frantically giving chase.
Just as the two were chasing each other and rushing into the deepest part of the forest, suddenly... Boom!!! An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended from the depths of heaven and earth without warning.
The oppressive aura had no energy fluctuations, yet it felt as if the entire world had suddenly pressed down, the space instantly solidified, and all the ancient trees in the forest bent over. The earth sank with a roar, and the masked man who had been fleeing at top speed suddenly changed his expression, as if his body was being suppressed by billions of Divine Mountain at the same time.
Bang!!
He was completely powerless to resist, and was forcefully pressed down from mid-air by that oppressive force, crashing heavily into the ground. Instantly, a crater thousands of feet deep cracked open in the ground, and dust billowed into the sky.
The three powerful members of the Hua Lineage who were following behind also suddenly stopped, their expressions changing drastically. They all looked towards the deepest part of the forest, where... an even more terrifying aura was slowly approaching.
In the dark forest, the smoke and dust slowly dissipated.
The terrifying pressure that covered the heavens and the earth did not disappear; instead, it grew heavier and heavier, as if the entire forest was being held firmly down by an invisible giant hand. The trees bowed low, the earth cracked, and even the gray-black mist that permeated the surroundings was completely frozen in mid-air, unable to move even an inch.
The three members of the Hua Lineage, who were originally preparing to continue their pursuit, suddenly changed their expressions. In the next instant, a pale pink stream of light slowly descended from the sky.
She did not release any dazzling divine light, but simply stepped into the air step by step. With each step, a crystal-clear petal slowly bloomed beneath her feet, and layers of flower shadows filled the void. The violent power of heaven and earth around her actually calmed down on its own.
As soon as the figure fully descended, the three members of the Hua Lineage immediately became solemn, sheathed their weapons, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and bowed slightly.
"Disciple respectfully welcomes Elder Hua Lingxi!" The newcomer was none other than Hua Lingxi, one of the many elders of the Hua Lineage, Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme.
She wore a light pink dress, the hem of which was adorned with layers of floral patterns that swayed gently in the breeze, like a shower of flowers. Her long, smooth black hair fell to her waist and was simply tied up with a crystal jade hairpin. A few strands of hair fluttered in the wind, which made her look even more aloof and otherworldly.
Her face was stunningly beautiful, her skin as white as jade, her eyebrows like distant mountains, and her eyes clear yet exuding a coldness that kept people at a distance. Her pale golden pupils seemed to reflect countless blooming and withering flowers, making it impossible for anyone to look directly at her.
She stood there quietly, like the queen of all flowers descending to earth, noble and majestic.
Hua Lingxi simply nodded slightly, ignoring the three of them, and slowly turned her gaze to the masked man in the deep pit.
His gaze was icy, devoid of any emotion. "Hmph." "How dare you!" "You actually dared to steal the secret scrolls of the Hua Lineage!" "You're courting death!"
The masked man slowly propped himself up, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained sharp. When he saw the newcomer's face clearly, his pupils contracted slightly, and then he let out a cold laugh.
"Hua Lingxi..." "I didn't expect even you to come in person." He slowly straightened up, his gaze fixed on Hua Lingxi. "Don't think I'm afraid of you." "Don't you feel ashamed of what your Hua Lineage has done all these years?" "I will make sure the entire Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain knows about this secret document."
"I will show everyone the true colors of your Hua Lineage!" Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three Hua Lineage disciples changed drastically, and a hint of coldness finally appeared in Hua Lingxi's originally calm eyes.
She slowly raised her right hand. "You're courting death." As the words fell, her slender, jade-like finger gently pointed forward, and in an instant, the entire dark forest fell silent. Petals fell from the void without warning, each one crystal clear, yet exuding a chilling aura of the Great Dao.
The next instant, countless petals suddenly stopped in mid-air. Then, pale golden lines quickly connected all the petals together, instantly transforming them into a huge flower imprint covering the entire world.
Supernatural power - Flower Burial Heavenly Abyss.
The flower pattern slowly rotated, and countless petals bloomed layer by layer. With each layer that bloomed, the surrounding space became heavier. Where the sea of flowers covered the earth, the ground began to collapse silently, the trees bowed down inch by inch, and even the aura of the Great Dao flowing between heaven and earth seemed to be slowly buried by the endless sea of flowers.
Hua Lingxi gently clenched her five fingers. "Bury." Boom—The entire ten-thousand-foot-long flower seal crashed down, carrying an incomparably heavy pressure of the Great Dao, directly suppressing the masked man.
The masked man's eyes narrowed suddenly as he gazed at the ten-thousand-foot-tall flower-shaped seal that was slowly descending.
Without the slightest hesitation, he instantly formed dozens of ancient hand seals, his Fate Soul essence burned wildly, and a vast and obscure Daoist aura surged forth from within his body.
"Heavenly Curtain Hides the Edge - Thousand Shadows Splitting the Void!" Boom! With a roar, he thrust both palms forward.
In an instant, countless silver-gray light patterns spread out from beneath his feet, layer upon layer, weaving together to form an ancient canopy covering the heavens and the earth. Within the canopy, countless phantoms overlapped one another, each wielding a divine weapon, simultaneously unleashing a barrage of sharpness to meet the descending Flower Sea Divine Seal.
The next instant, boom! The two great supernatural powers collided violently.
The entire dark forest trembled violently in an instant, the earth within a radius of hundreds of thousands of feet cracked one after another, countless ancient trees were uprooted and swept into the sky by the terrifying aftershocks, and then shattered inch by inch in mid-air.
However, after only a few breaths of stalemate, crack! Countless cracks appeared on the silver-gray sky, followed by a deafening explosion. Countless sharp, illusory figures shattered one after another, transforming into a rain of light that dissipated into the world. "Pfft--"
The masked man's face turned deathly pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into more than ten mountain peaks before finally slamming heavily into the mountainside.
Boom! The entire mountain collapsed instantly, with rocks tumbling down. A moment later, the masked man struggled to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, his chest heaving violently, and the essence of his Fate Soul in his body in complete chaos.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Hua Lingxi in the sky, his eyes filled with resentment. He knew very well that if his Fate Soul had not been injured, and both of them were at the Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme today, he would not be in such a sorry state.
But now... he couldn't even fully unleash the power of his Orthodox God abilities. Just then, whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! The three members of the Hua Lineage had teleported to Hua Lingxi's side. The three looked down at her with arrogant expressions. The young man in the lead slowly stepped forward, his long sword pointing directly at the masked man, his face full of contempt.
"You bastard!" "Hurry up and hand over the secret scroll!" "If you know what's good for you, perhaps Elder Hua Lingxi will show you mercy and leave you with a whole corpse." Upon hearing this, the masked man slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Pah!" "Even if my soul and spirit are destroyed!" "You will never get the secret scroll!" Hua Lingxi stared at him calmly. Her pale golden eyes were completely unmoved. After a moment, a cold smile slowly curved her lips. "Oh?" "Is that so?" "Since you're so eager to die..." "Then I'll grant your wish."