Chapter 1421 - 1420: Demon Shadow

Chapter 1421: Chapter 1420: Demon Shadow

Amid the vast, boundless sea, there loomed a colossal pale-blue light barrier. At this moment, deep within the Divine Palace Ruins, there stretched a desolate expanse of ashen-gray earth. Wisps of black fog drifted slowly with the faint breeze, the hazy space lending an extraordinary sense of mystery; in such a lonely domain, it was as if even time itself had lost all meaning.

Across the ground, ravines crisscrossed, fissures tens of zhang long yawned everywhere; there was scarcely a single inch of unscarred soil. Every wound upon this land proclaimed to all who beheld it what kind of tragic, earth-shattering war had once been waged here.

And in the depths of these ruins, upon a solitary peak shrouded in dark clouds, beneath that gloomy sky, a blurred black silhouette stood erect atop the mountain.

This shadow gazed from afar toward a nearby wasteland. At the very end of that barren plain lay a zone of black ash; at the center of the ashen belt rose a Shrine edifice at least several hundred zhang tall. Even after the passage of several thousand years, the Shrine still towered upon this wasteland, unshaken, unfallen.

Staring at that Shrine building within his line of sight, a cruel smile seemed to tug at the corner of the shadow’s mouth.

"Flower Demon."

From within the black fog, a chilly voice sounded. Out of the black mist behind him walked a slender woman in black. The moment this shadowy figure appeared, she bent slightly at the waist, her posture surprisingly humble.

"Who would have thought that, after Ise Shrine has lain in Destruction for so many years, it would still see the light of day again. If not for the senior’s transmission, we might well have missed this Void Emperor’s royal decree." The black figure within the fog said with a faint smile.

"My lord, what actions should we take now? Within that Central Shrine, there still seems to be a powerful Barrier guarding it, rumored to have been laid down personally by Cloud Monarch. In those years, even Huangquan Ancestor and the others were forced to retreat in defeat and returned empty-handed." Flower Demon said softly.

"Heh, Cloud Monarch? If he were still alive, I might still fear him three parts. But alas, now that he is no longer on the Tianyuan Continent, what can he do?"

The black mist dispersed, revealing a face concealed behind a mask. His pair of emotionless eyes fixed on the lively scene in the distance, a cold gleam flashing within them. "This Void Emperor’s royal decree—I must obtain it. I will not allow a mistake like last time to occur again."

Back at the Emperor’s Tomb, he had already been on the verge of acquiring a Wood Emperor Order, only for his grand design to be ruined by a mere nobody named Ling Chen. In the end, he missed the Wood Emperor Order, delaying until Xuan Wuye and the Wind Empress arrived, forcing him into a miserable retreat.

That matter was nothing short of his greatest disgrace; the mere thought of it made his heart throb with a dull ache.

"I hear that the brat who hindered you last time is also within Ise Shrine this time."

Flower Demon spoke.

"Oh? That brat is here as well?" The black silhouette’s eyebrows twitched, then a spark of delight surfaced in his eyes, followed by a surge of killing chill. "Then this time, besides taking back the Void Emperor’s royal decree within Ise Shrine, we have another task—to erase that brat from this world."

The seductive curve of Flower Demon’s lips also sharpened into a cold arc. "Rest assured, my lord, that brat is now only at the Saint Realm Second Layer in Cultivation. For us to annihilate him this time will be as easy as turning our hand."

"Already at the Saint Realm Second Layer?"

The black figure in the mist paused, then frowned. "I recall that at the Emperor’s Tomb, the brat had not yet broken through to sainthood, had he? To think that in so short a span of time, he has already cultivated to the Saint Realm Second Layer."

"But it matters not. This time he is doomed to die."

A glacial light flickered in the eyes of the black silhouette. As he waved his hand, shadows began to emerge one after another from the black fog behind him. Each of these silhouettes was a Middle-rank Saint level powerhouse; the aura emanating from them was by no means weaker than Flower Demon’s!

Among them were even three whose Cultivation had reached the very peak of the Saint Dao Sixfold Realm, only a single step away from the High-order Saint level!

Such rank of experts, placed within Yingzhou, would surely be the very pillars and helmsmen of the major top-tier Families. Who would have thought that three of them would appear here all at once!

"Demon Envoy Gui Yuan, Demon Mountain, Blood Fiend, pay our respects to Dao Yi Hall Master."

As the three shadows appeared, they all bowed toward Dao Yi True Immortal.

"The three of you are all here. My Azure Dragon Hall has mobilized its forces this time, nearly emptying the nest. It would seem that this time, we can indeed guarantee absolute success."

Seeing this, the black figure within the mist finally gave a faint smile. With a sweep of his sleeve, their figures all vanished into thin air in a strange manner.

"Heh heh, Ling Chen, prepare to receive the fate bestowed upon you by me..."

As they vanished, a murmur seeped out, suffused with boundless icy malice, gradually drifting across the ruins.

...

At this moment, in another region deep within the ruins, Ling Chen and the entourage of the Beichuan Family had already arrived at the very heart of the Divine Palace Ruins. Not far ahead of them, they could make out the silhouette of a Shrine towering a hundred zhang high, about twenty li away, exuding an incomparably majestic aura.

"We’ve finally arrived."

Looking at the extraordinarily imposing Shrine before him, Ling Chen could not help but feel a flicker of surprise. Compared to the two Shrines they had passed earlier, this one was unquestionably several times more magnificent, like some colossal beast crouching upon the wasteland.

The surroundings of the Shrine looked like a volcanic belt; the ground was charred black, with not a single blade of grass to be seen.

"Many forces from other factions have arrived as well."

Beichuan Ye’s gaze swept toward other directions. In the other areas of this wasteland, quite a number of figures had appeared. Powerhouses from top-tier forces such as the Liu Sheng Family, Fengmo Family, and Izumo Shrine had all already reached the wasteland.

It seemed the others’ progress was no slower than theirs.

"The temperature here seems much higher than in other places."

Hong Ye wiped the sweat from her face. After approaching this Central Shrine, the temperature of the air had clearly risen.

"This place lies at the very center of the volcanic belt. Beneath the earth, there are likely extremely terrifying thousand-year Earth Fires raging. When crossing this belt later, you must be especially careful." Bone Woman’s voice suddenly sounded by Ling Chen’s ear.

Hearing this, Ling Chen, who had been preparing to move at full speed, halted his steps slightly. His gaze fell upon the vast stretch of ground ahead that resembled scorched charcoal. It seemed that reaching the Central Shrine safely would be no simple task.

"Move out!"

Ling Chen himself had yet to set off, but a group of people nearby had already shot toward the Central Shrine, charging into that charred region ahead. Their figures were as swift as the wind, spanning several thousand meters in the blink of an eye.

Yet just as Ling Chen was about to move as well, all of a sudden, the charcoal-black ground abruptly exploded into gaping pits, and from within those pits erupted Flame Columns of searing heat at the very limit.

Ah!

A shrill scream rang out. The figures engulfed by the Flame Columns were burned into nothingness in a single instant, not even the slightest trace left behind.