181: Lure the enemy deep into our territory

Beneath the south gate of Jing City, deep underground.

This is one of the key nodes of the entire Jing City Dragon Vein, and the air is filled with a heavy and ancient aura.

At this moment, however, this aura is stirred into extreme chaos.

Li Dong sits cross-legged in the center of a Formation that was just temporarily constructed using treasures from the royal secret vault.

In front of him, the captured "divinity core" is floating in mid-air, emitting an alluring halo, like a ripe fruit.

"Your Highness, Lord Wei, Old Ancestor, please retreat outside the Formation."

Li Dong speaks, his voice echoing in the vast underground space, "The commotion might be quite large in a moment; you only need to maintain the operation of the Formation from the sidelines and weaken its power."

"You alone... are you confident?"

Wei Zheng's throat feels a bit dry.

He looks at the slightly slender back in the center of the Formation, and then thinks about the terrifying Late Stage Nascent Soul existence outside; no matter how he looks at it, it feels like a huge gamble.

"Lord Wei, it's not a question of whether or not there is confidence now."

Li Qingxuan's voice is calm; she chooses to trust Li Dong unconditionally, "It's that we must do this."

The Royal Ancestor does not speak, but nods to Li Dong, a flash of approval appearing in his aged eyes.

Subsequently, the three retreat to the edge of the Formation, each occupying a position, their expressions solemn.

The moment they have just stood still, a majestic pressure descends without warning.

That magnificent golden figure tears through space and appears directly underground.

Its gaze immediately locks onto Li Dong in the center of the Formation, as well as the "divinity core" emitting an Origin aura in front of Li Dong.

"Will you walk out yourself, or shall I personally dismantle your bones and take out the 'key'?"

The golden figure's voice rings directly in everyone's Sea of Consciousness, carrying an indisputable tone of judgment.

Its gaze sweeps over Li Dong, the Late Stage Nascent Soul pressure crushing down like a mountain, seemingly not taking Li Dong's Middle Stage Golden Core cultivation seriously at all.

Just a slightly stronger container, it can be subdued with one blow.

Li Dong looks up at it and suddenly asks an irrelevant question: "Do you all use the same script when recruiting people in the Divine Realm? My ears are almost calloused from hearing it; can't you change to something fresher?"

The golden figure seems stunned for a moment.

A mere Golden Core, facing its pressure, not only doesn't kneel but is actually teasing?

"Looking for death!"

The furious will turns into a substantive mental shock, accompanied by a golden divine light capable of tearing mountains and rivers, crashing down on Li Dong's head!

However, just as the divine light touches the distance of one foot in front of Li Dong, the entire underground space suddenly shakes.

On the ground and the dome above, countless complex runes light up instantly, forming a huge three-dimensional cage.

The golden divine light hits the invisible barrier, emitting a deafening muffled sound, and then dissipates.

"Hm?" The golden figure reveals a look of confusion for the first time.

A trap?

"Welcome." Li Dong stands up and pats the non-existent dust on his robe, "Are you satisfied with the private room prepared for you?"

"A broken Formation, you want to trap me with that?"

The golden figure is furious, and the Late Stage Nascent Soul power erupts without reservation.

It turns into a golden stream of light, frantically impacting the Formation barrier, the entire underground space shaking violently, gravel falling rustlingly.

Outside the Formation, the three of Wei Zheng turn pale, exerting their spiritual power with all their might, injecting the heritage accumulated by the royal family for a thousand years into the Formation, barely maintaining the light wall from breaking.

"Old Ancestor! This thing's power is too strong!" Wei Zheng shouts.

"Hold on!" The Royal Ancestor grits his teeth, "It is... weaker than we imagined!"

Inside the Formation, facing that violent energy storm, Li Dong remains as motionless as a rock.

He does not pay attention to the impacts outside but sinks all his focus into his Sea of Consciousness.

That black crystal stone and the ancient stone slab are trembling like crazy at this moment.

Hungry!

A craving originating from the deepest part of his Soul urges him.

"Don't rush, it's time to eat."

Li Dong's thoughts stir, and the mark between his brows lights up.

The next moment, Li Dong in the center of the Formation seems to turn into a bottomless black hole.

A strange devouring force erupts from his body, forming a vortex invisible to the naked eye, aimed at the golden figure that is frantically attacking the Formation.

The golden figure's movements suddenly stall.

It feels it.

The divinity power within its body is flowing out uncontrollably! Although the speed is not fast, the feeling of being forcibly extracted makes it feel unprecedented panic and... humiliation.

It is a high and mighty divine messenger, the executor of the Divine Lord's will! How could it be devoured in reverse by a Mortal, a contaminated container?

"You... what are you doing?!" Its voice carries terror for the first time.

"Can't you tell?" Li Dong smiles, "Eating."

Not only does he not stop, but he increases the intensity of the devouring.

The black crystal stone operates crazily, filtering and purifying the extracted divinity power, and then feeding it back to Li Dong's Perfect Dao Body.

The dried-up Meridians are nourished, and the cracks on the Golden Core are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Awesome!

This feeling is even more comfortable than devouring a hundred Divine Punishment Legion Commanders!

"Bastard! You are blaspheming the gods!"

The golden figure is completely furious, giving up on attacking the Formation, instead gathering all power at one point, a golden light spear condensed to the extreme, stabbing directly at Li Dong's heart.

Li Dong does not dodge or avoid.

He raises his right hand, and purple-gold lightning flashes in his palm.

That is the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Thunder Seal fused with the Source of Purification.

"Come, taste the 'after-dinner dessert' I prepared for you."

Boom!

The purple-gold Thunder Seal and the golden light spear collide fiercely.

There is no earth-shattering explosion, only a teeth-aching "sizzling" sound.

The moment the golden light spear touches the Thunder Seal, it is like boiling oil poured on ice and snow, quickly purified and dissolved.

The purple-gold lightning is unstoppable, fiercely imprinting on the golden figure's breastplate.

"Ah—!"

A miserable scream that does not sound human echoes through the underground.

The golden figure staggers back, and on the magnificent armor on its chest, a charred palm print appears, with countless cracks spreading from the palm print.

Wisps of black Qi escape from the cracks; that is the Mortal resentment purified by the divine fire.

It really is a stitched-together monster.

Li Dong understands in his heart.

He once again activates the power of purification; this time, the target is not the opponent's body, but its Soul core.

"No... no!!"

The golden figure emits an even more terrified scream.

Under the prying of Li Dong's power of purification, inside its seemingly powerful and unified Soul, countless painful and struggling faces are revealed.

There are Shadow Council members it cleaned up, fanatical believers who were sacrificed, and even some... Mortal Souls that do not belong to this world.

These Souls were forcibly combined with divinity power, constituting this so-called "Late Stage Nascent Soul".

At this moment, under the stimulation of the power of purification, these remnant Souls seem to have found a vent, starting to frantically tear at its will from the inside.

"I... I am a divine messenger... I am..."

The golden figure holds its head, its body flickering, and its aura weakens at an astonishing speed.

The devouring continues, and the purification intensifies.

With one rising and the other falling, the originally high and mighty hunter has completely become fish meat on Li Dong's chopping block.

Looking at that divinity body covered in cracks and on the verge of collapse, Li Dong slowly raises his hand.

"Almost there, it's time to close the net."