Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Soaring High, Positioned Right Above the Center of the Sky!

The dark purple hue descending from the heavens was incredibly grim, as if it contained all the negative auras of the world.

Although it came from above, it seemed as though it surged from the deepest layers of Netherworld Hell.

This was a power capable of permeating souls and extracting the true spirits of all things—the might of the netherworld.

Zhou Heng and Zhou Yin were captured by this sinister force, immediately rendered immobile, feeling as if their divine souls were being drawn out from their bodies.

No, it was more than just extraction.

This force was extremely wicked; it appeared to allure divine souls to willingly leave their bodies and rush toward their final “destination.”

Even when Zhou Heng tried using the power of Cave Sky to stabilize his divine soul, he struggled immensely.

He felt like his divine soul might escape his body at any moment.

If Zhou Heng was struggling this much, then there was no need to mention Zhou Yin, the fake reincarnation of a great power. Despite having some powerful secret treasures on him, they were utterly useless against this sinister force.

In almost an instant, his divine soul was extracted and engulfed by the dark purple color.

Zhou Heng witnessed this and was immediately overwhelmed with shock. Could it be that even the divine souls of sacred reincarnations were so easily captured?!

Or was it that Zhou Yin’s recollection of his past life’s memories was still very minimal, leaving him without much recourse?

Or was this deliberate?

All sorts of questions emerged in Zhou Heng’s mind.

At the same time, he was contemplating how to extricate himself from the current predicament.

By his estimate, he could hold on for at most ten more breaths.

If he could not quickly free himself from this situation, he would suffer the same fate as Zhou Yin, his divine soul would be extracted and swallowed by that dark purple hue.

The consequences were unpredictable.

“Suppress!”

Just at this moment, Zhou Heng heard a sharp call. It was Cheng Jianjian casting out a small silver tower, from which layers of light spread in an attempt to stabilize Zhou Heng’s divine soul.

This was a Secret Six Rank magic weapon.

But before the magic weapon could take effect, the mass of dark purple color engulfed the small tower as well, cutting off the connection between the weapon and Cheng Jianjian.

Cheng Jianjian’s complexion immediately turned deathly pale, and a mouthful of crimson blood sprayed from her lips, her aura plunging. She could feel that her magic weapon had been destroyed outright.

“Senior Sister Cheng!” Zhu Zhenzhen was in utter panic. She wanted to help Zhou Heng, but didn’t know how to do so. Now that Cheng Jianjian was injured, she became even more flustered.

Fortunately, she remembered she had brought healing elixirs. She poured one out from a jade bottle and fed it to Cheng Jianjian, helping her stabilize her internal injuries.

However, she was powerless to do anything about Zhou Heng’s predicament.

“What should I do? What should I do now?” Zhou Heng was also panic-stricken. He could clearly sense that he didn’t have much time left.

The crisis was imminent!

What other means did he have to deal with the current situation?

A Clairvoyance Card? An Identification Card? A Breaking Card?

What good were these?

Aside from these, what else?

Decay?

Fortune Stealing?

Both of these required a specific target to use!

What else was left?

“””

Projection Card “Ziwei Star Palace” [Silver]?

At last, Zhou Heng’s thoughts settled here.

Is this useful?

…

Inside the Imperial City of Zhongzhou, in the Palace of Divine Light.

“There’s one! Hahaha!”

Zhao Zhen had already sensed the anomaly in that Cave Sky world and noticed that Zhou Yin’s Divine Soul had been captured; his expression turned to one of excitement.

“Great, Your Highness! We can soon welcome the Lord of the Manor to descend upon this place!” Zhao Qin was equally excited, laughing, “Ever since I heard the Lord’s call upon coming of age, three hundred years have passed, and at long last, we can witness His arrival.”

“Indeed, just wait for the Lord to descend, then the Netherworld realm can truly unfold within this world,” Zhao Zhen said, his face showing a pleased and lofty expression, “When that happens, all living beings in Da Qi will attain eternal life.”

“We will also become the most devoted believers of the Lord, serving as sovereigns to aid Him in governing the Netherworld realm,” Zhao Qin fantasized about the glorious future, laughing, “It’s also thanks to those demons for keeping the Divine First Rank and Taoist Second Rank preoccupied, otherwise, we would not have had the chance to summon the Lord to descend.”

“Ever since the battle at Tianyang, Da Qi has been repeatedly oppressed by Northern Zhou and Southern Jin; if the Emperor does not make a move, then it’s up to us,” Zhao Zhen’s face twisted into a malevolent sneer, “With the Lord’s arrival, I will become a Taoist Sovereign who walks among men, unstoppable!”

“It’s pitiful that Southern Jin’s Tang Kaiyuan still believes the statue of the Lord will only bear the imprint of an ordinary Divine First Rank.” Zhao Qin chuckled disdainfully, “The most laughable thing is that Taixu Viewpoint, due to their dispute with Pure Yang Palace, actually helped us. Haha.”

“They are nothing but a bunch of fools!” Zhao Zhen clenched his fists, his eyes ablaze with divine light, saying in a deep voice, “Everything lost by the Central Dynasty three thousand years ago, I will reclaim this time!”

At this moment, he turned his attention back to the Cave Sky world, trying to check the progress of the sacrifice, but this check revealed problems.

“Something’s wrong, one Divine Soul was already captured earlier, why isn’t the sacrifice complete? Why is there one left? Is it Zhou Heng or Zhou Yin that’s missing?”

Zhao Zhen suddenly felt something was amiss; the situation was clearly abnormal.

Even if these two reincarnations of the sacred had different levels of awakening, their essence should be nearly the same, so why would the second one be so much behind the first?

Had something gone wrong?

Boom!

Just then, a world-shaking thunderous noise came from outside the Palace of Divine Light, shaking the palace violently, the beams and tiles flashing with protective light.

Clearly, this grand Imperial Palace had been struck by an extraordinarily powerful attack.

Celestial Man-level!

And likely a Celestial Man wielding a Taoist Sovereign God Soldier; otherwise, it would be impossible to shake the Palace of Divine Light, which in itself was equivalent to a Taoist Sovereign God Soldier.

“When did the Chao Yang banquet become a secret meeting? Chen Fengming of Pure Yang Palace would like to join in for a drink, might that be possible?” A booming voice came from outside the Palace of Divine Light, reaching the ears of Zhao Zhen and Zhao Qin.

“It’s a Celestial Man from Pure Yang Palace!” Zhao Zhen’s face darkened with rage, he said sternly, “Chen Fengming became a Celestial Man over a thousand years ago and has already survived two calamities of decline; he most likely possesses a Taoist Sovereign God Soldier, making him strong.”

“He is courting death!” Zhao Qin said viciously, “Once the Lord descends and unfolds the Netherworld realm, he will be the first to be converted into a ghostly soldier, to obey our commands.”

“But the problem is, damn it! Why isn’t the sacrifice complete yet?” Zhao Zhen was becoming increasingly frustrated, as the time being consumed had already surpassed his calculations.

…

Taihua Mount, Reception Peak.

In front of the stone table.

Two people sat opposite each other.

Yan Shouyi poured himself a cup of tea and then placed the teapot on the stone table in front of him.

He didn’t show the slightest intention to pour tea for the person across from him.

Sitting opposite Yan Shouyi was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his thirties.

The man was dressed in a purple Taoist robe, opulent and mysterious, and although his facial features were ordinary, they carried an air of antiquity, as if he were an ancient person who had walked out of the distant past.

It was Yang Wuji, the current leader of Taixu Viewpoint.

“Is this Pure Yang Palace’s way of receiving guests?” Yang Wuji reached for the teapot, only to grab air; the teapot was right there, but he couldn’t make contact with it, “Such a ‘moon in the water trick’.”

“””

He was not angry; instead, he smiled and said, “Fellow Daoist Yan, I came to have tea with you, why are you starting a contest of magic with me?”

As he spoke, his palm suddenly turned into a phantom, as if it had entered a state between reality and illusion.

This time, he got hold of the teapot.

“I’m also aware of the art of shifting between substance and shadow,” said Yang Wuji with a smile, pouring tea from the pot into his own cup.

But the poured tea, instead of being contained in the cup, caused the cup to gradually disappear, starting from the bottom.

For every bit the cup was filled with tea, it disappeared just as much.

If the tea filled the cup, then that would be the moment when the cup completely vanished.

“It seems you don’t really want to have tea with me, Fellow Daoist Yan,” Yang Wuji’s smile slightly stiffened as he put down the pot, no longer continuing to pour.

“When did I ever invite you over?” Yan Shouyi sneered coldly, draining the cup of tea in his hand and said, “Showing up uninvited and still expecting tea, have two thousand years of cultivation made you foolish?”

“Fellow Daoist Yan seems quite eager,” said Yang Wuji with a smile returning to his face, “Why bother? You’ve already sent Chen Fengming, haven’t you?”

“Zhao Zhen wants to summon an Evil God?” Yan Shouyi’s eyebrows suddenly knitted, he asked in a deep voice, “Which Evil God is it?”

“How did you… manifest an external incarnation?!” Yang Wuji’s eyes narrowed slightly, and then he smiled, “So the real purpose of sending Chen Fengming was to cover up your external incarnation.”

“Child’s play, not worth mentioning,” Yan Shouyi poured another cup of tea for himself.

“Actually, even if you go now, I’m afraid it’s too late,” Yang Wuji’s smile undiminished, “Zhao Zhen’s ritual is most likely already complete. I will take my leave now.”

Having said that, he stood up to leave.

After all, Yan Shouyi’s external incarnation had already gone to the Imperial City of Zhongzhou; there was no point in him wasting more time here.

But just as he got up, Yan Shouyi made his move.

“Is the Pure Yang Palace such a place where you can come and go as you please?”

Yan Shouyi sneered coldly, raising his hand and opening his five fingers. In an instant, the sky for miles around burst into golden light, the power of the Pure Yang Great Dao crushing down, enveloping Yang Wuji’s entire body.

“Madman!”

Yang Wuji cursed and was about to employ Taoist Formulas to make his escape.

But as soon as the Taoist power within his body began to circulate, surging Pure Yang Taoist powers came forth, forcibly suppressing his Taoist power, rendering him incapable of displaying any divine abilities, and even his connection with the Grand Dao was severely weakened.

In his Divine Sense Perception, there was only endless golden light and boundless Pure Yang.

This was the Pure Yang Great Dao, the utmost firm and yang, the purest and unique, yet omnipresent and penetrating.

Where Pure Yang goes, all things and laws make way, capable of suppressing all things.

In the blink of an eye, a Three-legged Golden Tripod flew out of Yan Shouyi’s palm, thundering as it broke through the void and crushed down upon Yang Wuji, also pinning down the Grand Dao principles he had assimilated.

Pressing the master of the Taixu Viewpoint into the sea of clouds beside the Jade Void Peak Golden Top.

“Yan Shouyi, do you really dare to suppress me?!”

Yang Wuji found it hard to believe; although the Taixu Viewpoint and the Pure Yang Palace had always been at odds, they had mostly engaged in covert contests.

To suppress the other’s leader, such an outright breach had never happened before.

“You came to ask me for a cup of tea, I’ll suppress you for a hundred years, which seems like a fair trade,” said Yan Shouyi, standing with his hands behind his back, “In a hundred years, it’ll be my junior brother’s turn to come looking for you.”

“Mad, you’ve truly gone mad!” Yang Wuji was furiously frustrated.

…

In the Imperial City of Zhongzhou, before the Palace of Divine Light.

Yan Shouyi stood afloat in the air, sword light twinkling in his hand, hesitating whether to strike down with it—he was also worried that such a powerful attack might harm Zhou Heng.

The Palace of Divine Light was equivalent to a Taoist Sovereign God Soldier; simply destroying it would be akin to facing a calamity of destruction for a Martial Artist of the Lower Third Rank.

At Yan Shouyi’s side stood a man of towering stature, wielding a heavy sword, his face framed by a full beard, and having a rugged appearance that made him look more like a general on the battlefield than someone wearing a Taoist robe.

This was Yan Shouyi’s senior brother, one of the Celestial Man elders of the Pure Yang Palace.

Chen Fengming.

Around the two of them stood three Celestial Men from the Zhao Family and more than ten Absolute Fourth Rank Great Grandmasters, which was nearly the core power of the Da Qi Royal Family.

“Yan Master, why attack the Palace of Divine Light?”

One of the Zhao Family Celestial Men voiced his interrogation. He was considered an old guard of the Central Dynasty, an uncle of Zhao Zhen’s generation by seniority, named Zhao Lang, who had achieved the status of Celestial Man for over four thousand years.

“Before you ask me, why don’t you ask your nephew what he is up to?” Yan Shouyi scoffed with a cold sneer.

Boom!

Just at that moment, a thunderous noise suddenly came from the sky, filled with a chilling coldness enveloping death and decay, as if piercing through the heavens and spreading downwards.

It was as if another enormous world was on a collision course.

…

Inside the Palace of Divine Light.

“How could this be?!”

Zhao Zhen almost jumped up, disbelievingly perceiving the progress of the ceremony and probing the situation within the Cave Sky world, doubting his life, “No? How could it not be?!”

“This Zhou Yin is actually not a Saint’s reincarnation, but a fake?!”

After an exhaustive investigation, he had finally confirmed that the Divine Soul that had been taken belonged to Zhou Yin; the remainder must be Zhou Heng’s. From what he had explored, Zhou Heng seemed unlikely to last even a few breaths longer.

But just as Zhao Zhen eagerly anticipated that Zhou Heng’s Divine Soul would also be seized, to then offer both his and Zhou Yin’s Divine Souls through the power of the ceremony as a sacrifice to the Lord, calling for his descent into this world, something unexpected happened.

The mass of purple-black that had already swallowed Zhou Yin’s Divine Soul spat it back out again.

It was as if it had tasted something terribly disgusting and immediately vomited it out.

Allowing that wisp of Divine Soul to return to Zhou Yin’s original body.

At the same time, Zhao Zhen also learned that Zhou Yin was far from a great figure’s reincarnation; his Divine Soul was merely at the standard of the Peak of the Seventh Rank and had been recognized by the purple-black essence.

Far from being able to summon the Lord’s descent, it didn’t even meet the minimum standard of the Absolute Fourth Rank necessary for the sacrifice!

“Why has this happened, why is it fake, that old beast of the Zhou Family has deceived the world!” Zhao Zhen’s expression was nearly ferocious.

And around that statue, the netherworldly flames had already begun to fluctuate violently, which meant the ceremony had truly commenced, and if a sacrifice was not made soon, it would consume the initiator of the ceremony.

But now, where could Zhao Zhen find a sacrifice?

“Imperial brother, what’s happening?” Zhao Qin approached, inquiring nervously.

“A sacrifice of at least Absolute Fourth Rank.” Suddenly an idea struck Zhao Zhen, and he turned his gaze sharply towards Zhao Qin, his eyes narrowing, “I’m sorry, my sixteenth brother, the arrow is on the bowstring, I have no choice but to release it!”

“What?” Zhao Qin looked astonished, but before he could even ask, his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.

He had been killed by a single slap from Zhao Zhen.

For a Great Grandmaster of Absolute Fourth Rank like Zhao Qin, there was no chance of resistance in front of a Celestial Man with more than three thousand years of cultivation.

“Although using you for the sacrifice will not enable the Lord to truly descend, it is enough to help me escape the trouble. Sixteenth brother, consider this helping your imperial brother once more.”

Without even blinking, Zhao Zhen killed Zhao Qin and melded his form and spirit, throwing it into that particular Cave Sky world. It was immediately absorbed by the expanding purple-black that now covered most of the Cave Sky, and the purple-black abruptly burst forth from that Cave Sky.

Strange phenomena arose in the outside world as the essence symbolizing death, decay, and destruction pierced through the world’s barriers, surging forward, and the will of a tremendously powerful being seemed ready to descend.

Yet at the same time, a supremely majestic purple light soared upward, and in the firmament, constellation after constellation of dazzling stars twinkled, carrying the silhouette of a majestic palace as it descended.

Soaring high in the sky!

Positioned right at the zenith!