147: The Three Elders Return

The cheers that had just erupted from the walls of the capital were crushed into nothingness by the sudden, deathly silence rising from the abyss.

The lingering golden light of the Haotian Mirror remained, and the roar of the mountain-sized giant ape demon still echoed, yet everyone's gaze was firmly locked onto three figures slowly rising from the rift of the "Vortex Abyss."

They stepped upon the churning black mist as if there were invisible stairs beneath their feet.

The leader, possessing the ethereal air of a Daoist immortal and holding a whisk, was none other than the Grand Elder of the Shadow Council, Qiankun Zi.

To his left, a figure with a graceful silhouette and a face covered by a light veil was the Second Elder, Ying Mei.

To his right, a burly figure exuding a chilling Evil Qi was the Third Elder, Nether Scorpion.

"It's them!" Wei Zheng's voice was dry, and his heart sank.

Hadn't these three old monsters already been severely injured by Li Dong and sent fleeing in disgrace? How could they...

Yet, looking at the three before him, where was there any trace of injury? Their bodies surged with powerful Spirituality, stronger than at any time before. Even more bizarrely, a layer of holy white light enveloped them, clashing with the evil black mist of the abyss, yet eerily merging into one.

Their eyes were no longer human eyes. There was no emotion in them, only a field of pure white light and a chilling fanaticism that looked down upon all living beings.

"Wei Zheng, long time no see." Qiankun Zi spoke, his voice ethereal, as if coming from the clouds. "Looking at you, you seem very surprised?"

"Traitor! You dare to return!" A Demon Suppression Division Commander roared, activating his Magical Artifact to attack.

Qiankun Zi didn't even look at him, simply lifting a hand gently.

"Noisy."

A flash of white light streaked past.

The Commander didn't even have time to scream before he and his Magical Artifact instantly turned into ashes.

On the city walls, there was a deathly silence.

"Now, it's quiet." Qiankun Zi nodded with satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over every terrified face on the city wall. He announced loudly, his voice seemingly carrying a certain magic, clearly spreading throughout the entire capital.

"Mortals, listen!"

"The old era has ended. The God Lord is about to descend to reshape the order!"

"The three of us, blessed by the God Lord, have transcended our Mortal bodies to become the God Lord's agents in this world!"

His voice grew increasingly high-pitched, filled with a soul-bewitching fanaticism.

"Submit to the God Lord and receive purification and eternal life! Oppose the God Lord, and you are an enemy of the gods, destined for Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering and eternal damnation!"

"Kneel! Welcome the future planned for you by the God Lord and establish the supreme 'Theocratic Empire'!"

"Bullshit!" Wei Zheng spat out a mouthful of blood and cursed angrily, "A bunch of lunatics whose minds have been controlled by evil spirits! A Theocratic Empire? Pfft!"

Qiankun Zi shook his head, a look of compassion on his face: "Ignorant Mortals are always unable to understand the greatness of the God Lord."

He said no more, turning back and bowing slightly.

"God's Servant Legion, execute the divine oracle and purify this city of sin."

As his voice fell, rows of figures clad in heavy black armor emerged silently from the dense black mist behind the three Elders, marching in perfect unison.

The legion of thousands was deathly silent.

Each of them exuded a level of Spirituality equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage or higher, their eyes vacant and their movements stiff, like marionettes.

"This... this is..." Li Qingxuan's heart sank.

This army was a hundred times more terrifying than the chaotic demons from just moments ago!

"Attack."

Qiankun Zi softly uttered these two words.

"Hum—"

The thousands-strong God's Servant Legion instantly turned into a torrent of black steel, charging toward the capital's defense line in a mysterious formation. Their attacks were uniform, and their fluctuations in Spirituality resonated with one another, creating an overwhelming pressure.

"Hold the line! Operate the Nine Palaces Demon Suppression Formation at full power!" Wei Zheng roared, commanding the entire army.

But just then, the Second Elder, Ying Mei, moved.

She simply raised her hand gently and made a grasping motion in the direction of the capital.

"God says, there shall be repentance."

An invisible ripple instantly enveloped the entire city wall.

"Ah! My head!"

"The God Lord is supreme... I was wrong... I am guilty..."

On the city walls, thousands of soldiers and Cultivators with weaker wills suddenly clutched their heads and screamed in agony. Even worse, their eyes instantly became as hollow as those of the God's Servants, and they muttered to themselves, even beginning to attack their comrades beside them.

"Wang Er! What are you doing!"

"The God... the God Lord is calling me..."

The defense line instantly began to descend into chaos from within.

"Damn it! It's a mental attack!" The Royal Ancestor's face turned pale, and he shouted, forcing himself to hold on, "Guard your spiritual platform, do not be deceived!"

At the same time, Elder Nether Scorpion also moved.

He just coldly raised his hand and pointed at the largest divine demons and heavily armored God's Servants.

"Break the city."

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The violent sounds of impact merged into one. Each impact caused the city wall, reinforced with countless runes, to tremble violently, and cracks spread like spiderwebs.

The light of the Nine Palaces Demon Suppression Formation flickered under the pincer attack, on the verge of shattering.

Wei Zheng and the Royal Ancestor did their utmost to put out fires everywhere, but facing the three Golden Core Elders with their skyrocketing strength and bizarre techniques, as well as the fearless God's Servant Legion, their resistance seemed so pale and powerless.

The defense line was collapsing on a large scale.

...

Deep underground.

Li Dong's consciousness floated in boundless pain.

He could "see" everything happening outside clearly through the [Spiritual Domain].

"Qiankun Zi... Ying Mei... Nether Scorpion..."

"They... have been modified?"

Li Dong immediately sensed the familiar yet strange power on the three of them.

It was the power of the "God Lord."

But...

"Something's not right."

Enduring the excruciating pain of his Sea of Consciousness being torn apart, Li Dong forcibly split off a sliver of his mind to carefully analyze the "divinity" enveloping the three Elders.

Under the perception of his [Spiritual Domain], that layer of holy white light was like a magnificent cloak, forcibly draped over the three's original Golden Core cultivation.

This power caused their strength to skyrocket, even granting them some unimaginable abilities.

But in essence... it was still Spirituality rooted in this world.

It was bound by the rules of this world!

"Pseudo-divinity..." Li Dong instantly understood.

This was not the true power of the God Lord, but a form of "authorization," a form of "modification." It was like plating a piece of ordinary iron with a layer of gold; it looked intimidating, but at its core, it was still iron!

It was not unsolvable!

This discovery, like a bolt of lightning, split the despair in Li Dong's heart.

Just then, his perception captured a detail outside the city wall.

Elder Nether Scorpion was expressionlessly commanding the God's Servant Legion, punching away a Demon Suppression Division Hundred-Commander who had charged up at the cost of his life.

But the moment his hand retracted into his sleeve, his fingertips... trembled imperceptibly.

Deep within those pure white, fanatical eyes, what flashed by was... pain? Or struggle?

That trace of emotion was fleeting, so fast it barely existed.

But it did not escape Li Dong's perception.

"Hmm?"

Amidst the excruciating pain, a strange thought popped into Li Dong's consciousness.

"This guy... doesn't seem to be one hundred percent willing, does he?"