Chapter 882 - 499: Crushing Defeat and Rout

After all, Xu Xiongda was still protected by two Supreme Elders in the Divinity Transformation Realm. If the explosion failed to claim Xu Xiongda’s last breath, the Wuxiang Emperor knew he wouldn’t get another chance. However, taking out Zou Feng—the one who constantly ruined his plans—along the way shouldn’t be a problem.

A pair of hands, black as ink, suddenly burst from the thick smoke and lunged toward Zou Feng.

Fortunately, Zou Feng had received a prior warning from the List of Gods. He had already pushed his Tribulation-Indestructible Body and Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body to their absolute limits. With his defenses fully activated, Zou Feng stood as immovable as a mountain even when entangled by the black hands. Aiming at the source of the hands, he unleashed a World-Purifying Poison Lotus. At the same time, blinding golden light erupted from his body as he summoned Xuanwu Paradise in the sky above.

The Wuxiang Emperor had previously failed to ambush Zou Feng, so he didn’t dare to be careless this time. He immediately unleashed the Soul Shaping Hand. As the name implied, this technique could directly touch the soul; a mere graze was enough to alter the opponent’s soul form.

However, Zou Feng’s Ancient Demon-Suppressing Golden Body and Tribulation-Indestructible Body had both reached the Realm of Transcendence. Their defensive capabilities far exceeded the Wuxiang Emperor’s estimations. Consequently, Zou Feng practically ignored the Soul Shaping Hand and launched a full-force counterattack against the Wuxiang Emperor.

Truth be told, the Wuxiang Emperor was in a terrible state as well. First, he had suffered a Critical Strike from a backlash. Then, he was crushed by Xu Xiongda. Even though that had only been a clone, the backlash to his true body was nothing to scoff at. Just moments ago, detonating Liu Changming’s physical body had added insult to injury, leaving him in agonizing pain. He had only wanted to hold on a little longer to take Zou Feng down with him, but he never expected this attempt to backfire so spectacularly.

The World-Purifying Poison Lotus exploded against the Wuxiang Emperor without the slightest resistance.

"Ugh..." With a muffled groan, the Wuxiang Emperor shot Zou Feng a look of sheer disbelief. It was as if eyes were about to sprout right out of his featureless face. But before he could process anything else, Xuanwu Paradise came crashing down on him.

The Wuxiang Emperor’s face turned ashen. Abandoning all thoughts of taking Zou Feng out, he desperately fled with all his might.

As a top-tier assassin, the Wuxiang Emperor’s escape skills were terrifyingly high. Restricted by his lower Realm, Zou Feng couldn’t make him stay for good. Still, saving Xu Xiongda was enough. This could already be considered a massive victory for the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect. Even though Gongyang Yunlan and the Wuxiang Emperor hadn’t perished yet, both of the Dubhe Divine Domain’s top combatants were severely injured. In the ensuing battles, even if Xu Xiongda couldn’t participate due to his own heavy injuries, the Dubhe Divine Domain was still doomed to be wiped out.

Inside the Imperial City protected by the Star Constellation Array, the Wuxiang Emperor suddenly materialized, crashing into the ground like a kite with a snapped string.

Seeing him in such a miserable state, the people nearby frantically rushed forward to help. At the same time, despair began to spread in the hearts of many.

First, Gongyang Yunlan had been severely injured, defeated, and publicly humiliated, utterly destroying the dignity of the entire Divine Domain Royal Family. Now, even the Wuxiang Emperor—the Empress’s strongest subordinate—had ended up like this. How could they possibly resist anymore?

In fact, let alone the others, even the Wuxiang Emperor himself felt extremely bitter and helpless.

Previously, he had believed that the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, which was about to suffer a massive tribulation, had exhausted its destiny. The Dubhe Divine Domain only needed to hold on a little longer to seize an opportunity to rise to power. He had just been presented with the perfect opportunity. He had nearly succeeded in assassinating the Vice Sect Leader of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, which would have dealt them an unprecedented, devastating blow.

Who would have thought that Xu Xiongda would most likely survive, and Zou Feng, whom he had tried to take down twice, was still alive and kicking? Furthermore, this kid Zou Feng had managed to withstand two of his assassinations with a mere Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivation. It was simply inconceivable.

If he was already this strong now, the Wuxiang Emperor dreaded to think what would happen if Zou Feng advanced to the Divinity Transformation Realm. By then, the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect would likely produce another monster on par with Xu Xiongda. This kid absolutely could not be allowed to live! But the problem was, what did the Dubhe Divine Domain currently have left to eliminate Zou Feng? Thinking of this, the Wuxiang Emperor couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of powerlessness. But it wasn’t time to give up entirely just yet. He still had one last chance...

On the other side, seeing that the Wuxiang Emperor had truly fled this time, Zou Feng couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Being targeted by such a top-tier assassin was far from a walk in the park. This was especially true considering his opponent was in the Divinity Transformation Realm, rendering many of his methods incapable of dealing any substantial damage. Take the corruption of Xuanwu Paradise, for example. A Great Cultivator in the Divinity Transformation Realm definitely wouldn’t be corrupted into dancing gracefully so easily. When facing these top-tier Tribulation Cultivators, he was ultimately restricted by his insufficient Realm.

However, he knew that advancing to the Divinity Transformation Realm in a short time didn’t seem realistic. The Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, on the other hand, wasn’t too far off. Once the Divine Domain Imperial City was completely conquered and he captured a few more "batteries," breaking through to the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm in a short time shouldn’t be a problem.

Once he reached the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, he would no longer feel constrained when dealing with another assassination attempt from the Wuxiang Emperor. Of course, fighting back and defeating someone in the Divinity Transformation Realm was still unrealistic, but he would be able to respond much more calmly, making a smooth escape no longer an issue.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Zou Feng finally looked back in the direction where Xu Xiongda had been. Fortunately, the explosion hadn’t claimed Xu Xiongda’s life. After all, Zou Feng’s prior warning had played a crucial role. Although Lin Mu hadn’t attacked "Liu Changming" immediately, he had secretly used his Divine Skills to cast stronger defensive buffs on Xu Xiongda beforehand.

However, to Zou Feng’s surprise, among those guarding Xu Xiongda right now was Li Chengxin—a Direct Disciple he had a history with.

Back then, Li Chengxin had tried to steal his fate, only to be used by Zou Feng instead, allowing him to successfully break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. After Zou Feng became a Direct Disciple, Li Chengxin naturally didn’t dare to cause any more trouble. Although Zou Feng had added him to the List of Gods, he had too many big shots to prioritize recently, so he had ignored him for the time being. Although they had both participated in the expedition against the Dubhe Divine Domain this time, the two had no interactions whatsoever. Zou Feng simply treated him as if he didn’t exist.

But for some reason, seeing Li Chengxin appearing around the heavily injured Xu Xiongda, Zou Feng genuinely worried that this guy might suddenly lose his mind, betray them on the spot, and assassinate the Vice Sect Leader. Fortunately, he was overthinking things. Li Chengxin didn’t do anything unusual. Like the others, he simply remained on high alert, vigilantly protecting Xu Xiongda.

A moment later, Xu Xiongda, who had been unconscious, seemed to have recovered. He opened his eyes. The simple act of opening his eyes generated a shockwave akin to a hurricane!

Although it was impossible for his injuries to have healed much, the fierce, murderous aura emanating from him was far stronger than before. Clearly, being repeatedly ambushed had finally ignited Xu Xiongda’s true fury.

Previously, he had always been relaxed and nonchalant, as if he were just out for a stroll. His duel with Gongyang Yunlan had felt like child’s play. Yet, Xu Xiongda had never expected to suffer such an unexpected and humiliating defeat when victory had been so close. He truly hadn’t suffered such a massive loss in thousands of years. Which meant, Xu Xiongda hadn’t been genuinely enraged in thousands of years.

"Wuxiang Emperor..." Xu Xiongda’s tone was chilling.

What truly infuriated him wasn’t being heavily injured by the Wuxiang Emperor. It was the fact that he had been on the verge of getting exactly what he wanted from Gongyang Yunlan and reaching the ultimate climax, only for the Wuxiang Emperor to forcefully interrupt him! The frustration of being interrupted right at the crucial moment of surging, explosive release was naturally unimaginable.

"Do not concern yourselves with me! Continue destroying the Star Constellation Array immediately!

"Aside from Gongyang Yunlan, kill every other member of the Royal Family without mercy!

"No matter what, Gongyang Yunlan must bear my child!"

With that, Xu Xiongda waved his hand, dismissing the people guarding him. An enraged behemoth, even when heavily injured, was all the more terrifying. However, to destroy the Star Constellation Array, they still needed to breach over a dozen more cities.