149: Late stage of Golden Core

It's over...

Li Qingxuan's hands and feet were icy cold.

On the city walls, turncoat Cultivators from noble families brandished their slaughter blades, hacking at their former comrades-in-arms; inside the inner city, towering flames illuminated half the sky, interspersed with the roars of fanatics shouting 'The Divine Lord is Supreme!'; high in the sky, the phantom of the Dragon vein, with its massive cracks, looked like a hideous scar, ready to shatter completely at any moment.

Despair, like an invisible net, tightly enveloped the entire capital.

'Your Highness! We can't hold! The west city wall... has been breached!' The desperate, heart-wrenching cries of a captain came through the communication talisman.

Wei Zheng was bathed in blood, his Demon Suppression Blade notched from overuse. He cleaved the head off a Divine Attendant with one strike, but his back was immediately sliced open by two long spears, the wounds deep enough to see bone. He felt his Qi rapidly draining away, and the scene before his eyes began to blur.

The Old Ancestor... had also been defeated.

How could they still fight?

Just as everyone's hearts plummeted into the abyss, thinking the end was sealed—

'Boom!'

A dazzling golden light shot up from beneath the Imperial City without any warning!

The light was fierce and domineering, carrying an irresistible thunderous might, crashing directly into the most chaotic and tragic section of the west city wall.

'What is that?!'

Grand Elder Qiankun Zi, high in the sky, frowned and looked down.

Inside the golden light, a figure appeared. Purple electric arcs crackled around his body, each one emitting a 'crackle' and ionizing the air with a burnt smell.

'It's Li Dong!' Wei Zheng saw the person clearly and roared with all his remaining strength, his voice filled with ecstasy and disbelief.

Li Dong was out? Wasn't he trapped by the Divine Lord's will?

Li Dong's figure moved so fast that only an afterimage remained. He didn't speak, instead, he plunged headlong into the vanguard formation composed of dozens of Divine Attendants with the most brutal posture.

'Court death!' A Golden Core Early Stage captain of the Divine Attendants grinned, his long spear wrapped in the pale radiance of 'divinity,' stabbing directly at Li Dong's heart.

Li Dong didn't even look at him.

'Scram.'

A single word, like thunder piercing the ears.

The Purple Firmament Divine Lightning around his body exploded violently!

'Boom!'

With him as the center, a wild web of lightning swept across all directions. Those dozen or so fearless Divine Attendants didn't even have time to scream before they were blasted by the purple lightning; men and armor alike instantly turned into charcoal, then were blown away by the strong wind into flying ash.

In one encounter, a complete military formation was... just gone?

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Whether it was the defending troops fighting in blood or the surging legion of Divine Attendants, all were stunned by this domineering scene.

'Golden Core Late Stage! This brat... had a Breakthrough?!' On the city wall, the Royal Ancestor, helped up by his subordinates, saw a sharp light flash in his cloudy eyes.

How is this possible? Being crushed by the Divine Lord's will underground, it would be a miracle not to have his Divine Soul collapse, let alone make a Breakthrough in the middle of battle? This defied reason!

But Li Dong gave them no time to think.

'Spiritual Domain!'

An invisible fluctuation centered on Li Dong surged outward.

This time, it was not the vague range of perception from before. A spherical barrier, one hundred meters in diameter, radiating pure golden light, appeared abruptly on the battlefield, enveloping a large area along with over a hundred Divine Attendants and a dozen divine monsters!

'Ah—!'

'My power! My divine grace!'

Inside the Domain, those divine monsters let out shrill, unearthly screams. The eerie white divine luster on their bodies was like ice under a scorching sun, peeling away and dissolving at a speed visible to the naked eye, reverting back into the most primitive, chaotic evil energy.

Immediately after, the golden light of the Domain intensified. These evil energies, having lost the protection of 'divinity,' were like scrap metal thrown into a furnace, being rapidly purified and decomposed, not even leaving a wisp of black smoke behind.

The members of the Divine Attendant legion didn't fare much better. Although they didn't decompose like the monsters, the white halo on their bodies that made them impervious to blades and guns and greatly increased their power dimmed rapidly. Their movements became noticeably sluggish, and the fanaticism in their eyes faded slightly, seemingly suppressed.

'This... what kind of Divine Ability is this? Specifically designed to restrain divine power?' The detachment on Qiankun Zi's face finally vanished, replaced by deep suspicion.

'Kill!'

Li Dong would not give the enemy a chance to study him.

He formed a seal with one hand, and a complex mark constructed from pure lightning and golden Qi took shape in his palm.

Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Thunder Seal!

'Go!'

The thunder seal left his hand, multiplying from one to ten, from ten to a hundred in the air, as if it had eyes, precisely bombarding the Golden Core-level Divine Attendants.

'Puff! Puff! Puff!'

Wherever the lightning light passed, those Golden Core Divine Attendants who were previously awe-inspiring and capable of suppressing Cultivators of the same rank, their protective divine auras were torn apart like paper. They were instantly pierced by the thunder and exploded into powder.

Irresistible!

This was no longer a battle; it was a one-sided slaughter!

'Good opportunity!' Wei Zheng roared, his spirit soaring. Dragging his injured body, he lunged forward again, splitting a Divine Attendant weakened by the Domain in two with a single slash.

The Royal Ancestor also coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood and actually stood up again, joining forces with Wei Zheng to push back Qiankun Zi and Nether Scorpion, who had been suppressing them.

The capital's defensive line had been forcefully stabilized by the appearance of Li Dong alone!

'Pass my order!' Li Qingxuan, on the city tower, felt flames reignite in her eyes. 'All Imperial Guards and rune cannons, abandon other areas and aim all firepower at the perimeter of Li Dong's location! All Cultivators still able to move, gather towards Li Dong. With him as the spearhead, give me... a counterattack!'

Her voice no longer trembled, returning to its usual decisiveness and calmness.

Hope had returned!

In the center of the battlefield, Li Dong was like an indefatigable war god, constantly reaping the lives of his enemies.

But he himself was undergoing a strange change.

'Hmm?'

After purifying another divine monster, he suddenly felt a tiny fragment of energy, carrying a strange quality, not completely decomposed by the Spiritual Domain, but instead absorbed by his own body along with the Domain.

After this energy fragment entered his Perfect Dao Body, it caused no harm; instead, it was 'swallowed' by the Source of Purification within his body.

The next moment, Li Dong felt his Source of Purification as if it had taken a powerful tonic, becoming more refined, more vibrant, and even developing a kind of... longing for the 'divine' power around him?

'So that's how it is...'

Li Dong realized instantly.

The Perfect Dao Body, combined with the Spiritual Domain, did not simply eliminate this 'divinity,' but could absorb its core essence—the so-called 'divine fragments'—and convert them into nourishment to strengthen himself!

This was no war of attrition?

This was clearly a buffet!

This discovery caused Li Dong's mindset to undergo an earth-shattering change.

He looked at the dense legions of Divine Attendants and divine monsters around him, and his eyes changed.

They were no longer enemies; they were walking Spirit Pills!

'Hahaha...'

Li Dong couldn't help but laugh out loud, his laughter filled with exhilaration and soaring Battle Intent.

'Come! All of you, come here!'

He took the initiative to charge into the densest part of the enemy, his golden Domain acting like a giant reaper, crazily devouring everything.

With every purification, his aura grew stronger.

With every absorption, his understanding of the essence of the 'Divine Lord's' power grew deeper.

He was growing stronger in battle! The more he fought, the stronger he became!

High in the sky, Qiankun Zi's expression was now as dark as water.

'Stop him! At all costs, stop him!' He roared at Ying Mei and Nether Scorpion beside him, 'He... he is devouring the Divine Lord's power!'