Chapter 497 - 173: Venerable’s Wrath, Life-saving Talisman Strikes!
Chapter 497: Chapter 173: Venerable’s Wrath, Life-saving Talisman Strikes!
“Not good!”
Upon hearing the sound, Luo Cheng’s heart suddenly clenched.
The voice seemed to be right in his ear, yet also from the distant heavens. The terrifying oppressive force filled the entire world, causing the void to tremble and reverberate!
Luo Cheng was already extremely vigilant and had directly destroyed Sun Yingyang’s cultivation.
Unexpectedly, Sun Yingyang still managed to exploit a gap.
Bzzzz!
The smoke twisted, and a figure resembling a celestial deity descended into the stone chamber!
The figure was enveloped in a hazy radiance, no matter how hard one tried, his face remained indecipherable—only his blazing eyes, like suns hanging above the skies, or meteors crashing into the earth, could be seen distinctly.
Though merely a projection, his aura was like a king surveying the land, instilling terror in all who beheld him, creating an irresistible urge to kneel.
“You again! This Venerable warned you last time never to use my Soul Smoke again. How dare you disregard my words!”
The majestic figure stood with hands behind his back, as if he were perched atop the nine heavens, looking down upon all living beings.
He glanced at Sun Yingyang and let out a cold snort. Wherever his gaze fell, space violently warped.
It seemed as though the entire area could not bear his presence, with signs of collapse beginning to manifest.
Spurt!
Sun Yingyang, with his cultivation crippled and injuries mounting, was unable to withstand the oppressive force. He immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground with a face as pale as paper.
He struggled to look at Luo Cheng, speaking hoarsely:
“My lord! He… he is Luo… Cheng…”
“Hmm! Luo Cheng? So you’re that little worthless wretch.”
The majestic figure shifted his gaze to Luo Cheng.
Luo Cheng’s pupils contracted, his expression turning cold and stern, his emotions in tumult.
Without surprise, this person was the hidden culprit behind instructing Sun Yingyang to destroy his father’s cultivation years ago!
At that moment, the majestic figure revealed a hint of astonishment:
“Oh? You’ve awakened your Martial Soul recently, yet you’re already at the Fourth Layer of the Awakening Vein Realm? A waste of a Martial Soul like you, how could you have advanced so quickly!”
“Let this Venerable take a closer look at what secrets you’ve been hiding!”
As he spoke, the figure locked eyes with Luo Cheng. Within his gaze, divine brilliance surged, resembling heavenly suns and moons with the power to penetrate all barriers, directly into one’s soul.
“Your aura is weak, your flesh decrepit, even though your cultivation has reached the peak of the Fourth Layer of Awakening Vein Realm! In terms of Essence Energy or physical strength, you’re inferior even to average Fourth Layer practitioners!”
“Humph! Presumably, you’ve relied on excessive consumption of Spiritual Medicine and Spirit Pills to forcibly raise your cultivation to this level!”
The mighty figure immediately perceived Luo Cheng’s condition, showing an expression of disdain and shaking his head coldly:
“Ha, a waste is still a waste! You fail to understand the principle of moderation. Excessive force only leads to ruin. Even if your cultivation skyrockets, in the end, it’ll be nothing more than an illusion—a delayed destruction of your path to greatness.”
“But, to you, this doesn’t matter. With your talent, you wouldn’t get far anyway. It’s only sad about all those Spirit Pills and Spiritual Medicine used on you—utterly wasted and squandered!”
The figure shook his head slightly, his tone filled with mockery and scorn toward Luo Cheng.
Even compared to the Ji Family’s Central Continent main clan disciples or those from branch families of various regions, Luo Cheng’s cultivation progress at his age was just barely mediocre.
Any one of them could easily surpass Luo Cheng a hundredfold, even a thousandfold.
If put in the Ji Family, Luo Cheng would be the lowest of the low.
Utterly worthless.
Hearing this, Sun Yingyang opened his mouth, attempting to explain.
Luo Cheng was anything but a waste—he was the rare genius who, with Fourth Layer Awakening Vein Realm cultivation, had single-handedly taken down a Seventh Layer Awakening Vein Realm mighty warrior! A prodigious genius!
But his injuries were too severe, and under the oppressive force of a Venerable-level expert, he couldn’t even muster the strength to speak.
Spurt!
Anxious, Sun Yingyang spat out another mouthful of blood!
The majestic figure shone with divine light as he glanced at Sun Yingyang. Then, turning to Luo Cheng, he calmly asked:
“You came to him, presumably to dig into past events. How much do you know?”
Seeing that Luo Cheng remained silent, the majestic figure shook his head lightly:
“Enough, none of that matters. I didn’t originally intend to intervene in your affairs; you’re unworthy.”
“But unfortunately for you, he ignited my Soul Smoke. Since I’ve seen you now, this Venerable might as well finish you off personally. Dying by my hand should be glory enough for someone like you.”
As he spoke, the majestic figure raised his right hand.
Such a simple movement caused the entire space to tremble, the skies to shift, and storm clouds to gather.
Luo Cheng hadn’t expected his opponent to actually move to attack. Alarmed, he quickly calculated his options and spoke in a deep voice:
“You can’t kill me!”
“Oh? Why not?”
The majestic figure halted his hand.
Luo Cheng stared directly at him, licking his lips before replying:
“As I understand, the Ji Family once promised my mother they wouldn’t harm my father or me. Does an Ancient Family like the Ji Family dare to break its word? Are you willing to violate your oath?”
At this point, Luo Cheng could only use every strategy available to secure his survival.
Compared to his opponent, he was far too weak, unable to even qualify to resist, and thus forced to compromise.
But should he survive this ordeal, one day, he would ascend to the Xuan Emperor Peak to make his enemy pay a hundredfold, a thousandfold!
“Oh? You actually know about this matter.”
The majestic figure’s eyes flickered with strange brilliance. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head:
“Your life is insignificant, but your mere existence is a disgrace to the Ji Family. You shouldn’t exist in this world. For the honor of the Ji Family, this Venerable will make an exception today! Besides, if I kill you, heaven and earth will know, but who else will? It was me.”
As he spoke, the majestic figure’s raised palm began emitting a dazzling radiant light ring, pressing towards Luo Cheng.
Instantly, the space surrounding Luo Cheng began collapsing!
Luo Cheng’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He could only feel an incomparably overwhelming pressure bearing down on him, unable to move even a finger.
Without a doubt, if this palm were to fall, even if he unleashed every hidden trump card, he would surely perish, utterly destroyed in body and soul!
“Damn it! If I don’t die, I swear I’ll kill you someday!”
Luo Cheng roared in anger, his eyes full of hatred and ferocity, clinging to that one shred of hope—the life-saving talisman left within his Sea of Consciousness by an elder from the past!
He just didn’t know whether the talisman would be enough to block the Venerable’s divine might!
“In front of this Venerable, you have no right to live.”
The majestic figure sneered, his palm descending.
At this moment.
The small azure sword in Luo Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness began vibrating uncontrollably, radiating brilliance before flying out of his Sea of Consciousness.
In an instant.
Boom!
An overwhelming azure sword light erupted from Luo Cheng, shooting straight into the sky, tearing the ink-black night apart with a massive azure fissure.
The fissure rapidly expanded, as though cleaving the entire sky in two!
Under this force, the radiant ring unleashed by the majestic figure instantly disintegrated, and the hazy radiance enveloping his form began warping.
“What!”
The majestic figure’s eyes widened in fury, shouting in anger:
“Martial Soul’s Will! How does such power exist within a brat like you? Even the Great Yue Dynasty couldn’t produce someone of such strength! Who are you to meddle in Ji Family affairs? Do you want to die?”
Bzzzz!
The azure sword’s shadow trembled, and a hazy willful silhouette emerged from within.
Gripping a dragon-headed crutch and sporting flowing white brows that seemed to touch the ground, it was none other than the elderly man who had once taken Ling Chulan away.
However, this time, the elder’s hunched body appeared impossibly large, as though he carried the heavens and stood rooted to the earth. He seemed like a god bearing the weight of this very world, rendering any attempt to look directly at him impossible!
His cloudy eyes, resembling twin stars, radiated a detached coldness as he gazed at the shadow of the Ji Family’s expert. Without emotion, he spoke:
“This young friend has done me a favor. I don’t care who you are!”
“Begone!!”