154: Chapter 151 The Second Prince Dies

However, his laughter came to an abrupt halt in the next moment.

A voice, cold and devoid of any emotion, seemed to come from beneath the Nine Serenities, echoing clearly in everyone's ears.

"Second Prince Chen Zhiling, for colluding with external Sects, murdering your own kin, and attempting to seize imperial power, your crimes are inexcusable."

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence instantly!

The singing and dancing stopped, and the music was cut short.

Everyone looked in horror toward the direction the voice came from, but they saw nothing.

Chen Zhiling jerked upright from his soft couch, his Innate Realm cultivation erupting violently as he shouted harshly, "Who? Who is playing tricks! Get out here!"

Before his voice had even faded...

A black shadow rose slowly from the shadows on the ground in front of him without any warning.

It was a man dressed in black with an ordinary face. His aura was restrained to the extreme, as if he were naturally a part of the shadows.

He looked at the terrified Chen Zhiling, repeated his previous words, and also delivered his master's final decree.

"Master has ordered... there is no need to return."

"You..."

Chen Zhiling's pupils constricted. He was about to call for his guards.

However, a thin line of blood had already quietly appeared on his neck.

His body froze, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes quickly faded, leaving only endless fear and resentment.

Thud.

His head rolled off, and blood sprayed out, staining the snow-white animal hide red.

Until the moment he died, he did not know how he had been killed.

The man in black didn't even spare the corpse a glance. His figure turned into a wisp of blue smoke once more, merging into the shadows and vanishing.

Only the terrified screams of the hall remained, along with that bone-chilling judgment echoing in the air.

...

Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

Located in the eastern part of the Desolate Province, it occupied a massive Spiritual Vein. The Sect gates stretched for hundreds of miles, with immortal peaks standing tall amidst swirling clouds, looking like a paradise on earth.

When the Great Xuan's imperial decree of "to the death" reached this place, the entire Sect was first stunned, followed by an explosion of thunderous laughter.

"What? The Great Xuan Dynasty wants to go to war with us? Did I hear that right?"

An Inner Sect Disciple exaggeratedly picked his ear, drawing fits of laughter from the people around him.

"A declining dynasty dares to provoke our immortal Sect? They truly don't know how to spell the word 'death'!"

"Exactly! Never mind them, even if other dynasties wanted to take a bite out of our Heavenly Spirit Sect, it would be impossible!"

"The Sect Master and Elders must be laughing their heads off; this is simply the funniest joke of the year!"

Discussions and ridicule rose and fell one after another.

In the eyes of these Heavenly Spirit Sect Disciples, the Great Xuan Dynasty was already in decline. How could such a dynasty be a match for their Heavenly Spirit Sect?

However, the Sect Master and Elders they claimed were "laughing their heads off" were currently gathered in the discussion hall of the main peak. Each of them had a solemn expression, and the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.

"Outrageous! This is simply a total humiliation!"

A hot-tempered Elder slammed the table and roared, "A mere Great Xuan Dynasty dares to insult my Heavenly Spirit Sect like this!"

"Do they really think no one is a match for that Chen Zhiwen!"

"I admit that as a mere junior, entering the Grandmaster Realm at such a young age is impressive. But can the foundation our Heavenly Spirit Sect has built over so many years in the Desolate Province be rivaled by a single Grandmaster?!"

"That's right!"

The hall was filled with righteous indignation.

However, the middle-aged man sitting on the Sect Master's throne, Zhang Linyuan, remained silent, his brow tightly furrowed.

Just then, a vast and ancient pressure descended upon the hall like the heavens collapsing!

Before this pressure, all the Grandmaster Realm Elders felt as if they had become ants, and even breathing became incredibly difficult.

"Old... Old Ancestor!"

Everyone's faces changed drastically as they bowed in unison toward the depths of the hall.

An old figure slowly walked out from the Void Realm.

The newcomer had white hair and a white beard, wearing a simple gray Daoist robe. However, his cloudy eyes seemed to contain a starry sky, so deep it made one's heart skip a beat.

It was the pillar of the Heavenly Spirit Sect, a powerhouse of the Grandmaster Realm, Zhang Tiancheng!

"All of you, shut up!"

When Zhang Tiancheng spoke, his voice was raspy but carried an unquestionable authority that instantly silenced the entire hall.

His gaze swept over everyone and finally landed on Zhang Linyuan. He said solemnly, "I am already aware of the dynasty's declaration of war. Do you all think this is just a joke?"

No one dared to answer.

But the expressions on their faces said everything.

Seeing this, Zhang Tiancheng let out a cold snort. The sound was like a heavy hammer, striking hard against everyone's hearts.

"A bunch of fools!"

Others might not know, but a few days ago, he had truly experienced Chen Zhiwen's power.

That day, he had seen with his own eyes Chen Zhiwen fighting the Old Ancestors of the other three major Sects alone, killing two on the spot and heavily wounding one!

Even now, whenever he thought of the scenes from that day, Zhang Tiancheng's heart couldn't help but throb with fear.

Asking himself, if he were to encounter Chen Zhiwen, he feared he wouldn't even be able to last half a stick of incense in the other's hands.

And the people before him still didn't realize the gravity of the situation.

After a sharp curse, Zhang Tiancheng didn't bother wasting words with them and immediately gave his orders.

"Pass down my orders!"

"First, immediately activate the 'Nine Heavens Profound Spirit Sect Protection Array' and push it to its highest Rank! Invest all Spirit Stone reserves into it, regardless of the cost!"

"Second, recall all Disciples and Elders training outside. No one is allowed to leave the Sect by even a single step!"

"Third!" His gaze swept over several core Elders. "You are to immediately send messages in my name to the Tianluo Sect, the Great Chu Dynasty, and the Great Yan Dynasty to request reinforcements!"

"Tell them that this boy, Chen Zhiwen, has already come into his own, and his strength is far beyond imagination! If he can destroy my Heavenly Spirit Sect today, he can destroy them tomorrow! When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. If we do not join forces, the entire Desolate Province will be trampled by him one by one!"

Order after order issued from Zhang Tiancheng's mouth, filled with decisiveness and killing intent.

"Yes! We obey your orders!"

No one dared to be negligent and immediately left to carry out the orders.

Soon, as the instructions were issued, the entire Heavenly Spirit Sect, a war machine that had been dormant for hundreds of years, began to operate frantically.

Hum—!

A visible green light curtain rose from the main peak of the Heavenly Spirit Sect and spread rapidly. Like an inverted giant bowl, it completely enveloped the Sect gates that stretched for hundreds of miles.

Countless profound runes flowed across the light curtain, emitting an ancient and majestic aura.

Numerous Disciples traveling abroad also received the Sect's emergency transmissions and rushed back to the Sect gates at their fastest speed.

In the entire Desolate Province, all the forces following this matter were stunned by the Heavenly Spirit Sect's reaction, as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"What's going on? The Heavenly Spirit Sect actually activated their protection array directly? And at the highest Rank?"

"Have they gone mad? How many resources will that consume!"

For a moment, the winds changed, and undercurrents surged.

...