47: Divine retribution? Kneel down!

That bloody lightning bolt wasn't lightning.

It had no sound.

No light burst.

And certainly no violent energy capable of destroying everything.

It was a “concept.”

An ultimate Law named “Eradication.”

Its target wasn't Jiang Chen's Physical Body, nor his Soul.

It was his “existence” itself.

Once struck, Jiang Chen would cease to exist in this world.

His past self, his present self, his future self, all Karma related to him, would be cleanly severed from this timeline.

He would be forgotten.

As if he had never been born.

This was Heavenly Retribution.

It was the “Cage's” most thorough cleansing of an “anomaly.”

In the refugee camp, everyone, including the little girl whose face had just been illuminated by the light, was completely unaware of this world-ending lightning.

In their eyes, nothing had happened.

Only Jiang Chen saw it.

Only he could feel that bone-chilling killing intent, originating from the deepest logic of the entire world.

Facing this certain death situation, Jiang Chen did not hide.

There wasn't even a trace of solemnity on his face.

Only a cold, excited pleasure, like discovering a new toy.

His newly transformed Divine Demon Body was letting out a hungry roar.

He looked up, gazing at the “Eradication” concept descending from the Law level, and slowly raised a finger.

He didn't use any Spiritual Qi.

He didn't unleash any Divine Ability.

He simply used his “Divine Demon Will,” which had already begun to transcend Law, to issue the first definition to the surrounding reality.

“This place.”

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable authority.

“Lightning does not exist.”

Buzz—

Centered on Jiang Chen's body, an invisible Domain with a radius of three feet instantly unfolded.

Within this Domain, the Laws of all things began to twist and disintegrate.

Air was no longer air.

Dust was no longer dust.

Space was no longer space.

Their existence was forcibly given new “definitions” by Jiang Chen's will.

This was his exclusive, absolute “Lawless Domain.”

The bloody “Eradication” lightning bolt crashed down.

It ignored space, ignored time, and accurately struck towards Jiang Chen's head.

Then.

The moment it was about to touch Jiang Chen's hair.

It vanished.

Disappeared out of thin air.

It wasn't blocked.

It wasn't neutralized.

Nor was it weakened.

Instead, the moment it stepped into Jiang Chen's three-foot “Lawless Domain,” its very concept of “existence” was forcibly erased.

How could lightning appear in a place where “lightning does not exist”?

This was a logical paradox.

And now, Jiang Chen was the logic!

The instant the Heavenly Retribution was erased, a faint crack appeared on Jiang Chen's newly born Divine Demon Body.

Clearly, using “definition” to contend with the Heavenly Dao was a massive drain on him.

But he smiled.

Because he heard another angry and pained wail, one that didn't belong to this world.

The power of Heavenly Retribution that he had forcibly “erased” hadn't truly dissipated.

It flowed upstream along the Karma line it came from.

Like the most vicious slap, it fiercely struck the “Heavenly Dao Law Net” that enveloped the entire world!

Boom!!!

At this moment.

Throughout the entire Cultivation World, the Sword Sect in the Eastern Domain, the Buddhist Kingdom in the Western Desert, the Yao Race Island in the Southern Sea, the Demonic Sect in the Northern Plains… all Cultivators above the Nascent Soul Stage, whether in secluded cultivation or in battle, felt their hearts involuntarily seize up.

The protective Sect formations of countless Sects flickered wildly for no reason, their light unstable.

All the Spiritual Veins across the continent experienced a momentary depletion at the same time, then chaotically recovered.

It was as if the world's “heartbeat” had skipped a beat.

No one knew what had happened.

They also didn't know that this was because the Heavenly Dao itself, the supreme will of this world, had suffered direct harm from a “prisoner” for the first time.

Tianyong City, refugee camp.

Heavenly Retribution was broken.

The most fundamental wisp of “Destruction Law” fragment that had emanated from the bloody lightning failed to return to Heaven and Earth.

Like a startled fledgling, it was grabbed by Jiang Chen's Divine Demon Body and greedily devoured and absorbed.

Jiang Chen's heart, his mutated demonic heart, thumped fiercely.

On the skin over his heart.

Next to the original Phoenix Divine Blood totem, a slender, bloody lightning imprint appeared.

[Destruction Law (Fragment) absorbed!]

[Divine Demon Body gains slight growth...]

[You now possess extremely high resistance and control over “Lightning Punishment” type Divine Abilities.]

A good harvest.

Jiang Chen withdrew his finger and looked down at the little girl who was stunned by his “Words Becoming Law.”

However.

Just as he was about to turn and leave.

His movements froze.

A figure, at some unknown point, had already stood before him.

It was a Daoist wearing a simple Daoist robe, his face indistinct.

He seemed to have always been standing there.

Yet also seemed to have just emerged from nothingness.

There were no Spiritual Qi fluctuations on him, not the slightest Aura.

He was like the most ordinary old farmer in the fields.

But Jiang Chen's spine instantly tensed.

An unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped his entire body.

His Eye of Insight was activated at full power!

However, what came back was an absolute, chilling “blank.”

No destiny line.

No information.

No weaknesses.

It was as if this person before him simply did not exist within the Karma of this world.

“You've crossed the line.”

The Daoist spoke.

His voice didn't travel through the air but resonated directly in the deepest part of Jiang Chen's Soul.

Cold, desolate, devoid of any emotion.

Like a pre-programmed sequence.

“My name is No Dao.”

“The maintainer of Heavenly Dao order.”

The Daoist's voice paused, and his indistinct face seemed to “look” at Jiang Chen.

“And also... the first Warden of this realm.”

Warden.

These two words, like two red-hot iron skewers, branded themselves fiercely onto Jiang Chen's Soul.

This world was indeed a cage.

And this Daoist before him was the chief jailer of the cage.

He was not a Child of Destiny.

Not a daughter of Luck.

He was the materialized Incarnation of Heavenly Dao rules, the watchdog of order.

No Dao said nothing more.

Nor did he make any superfluous movements.

He simply raised his hand and pointed at Jiang Chen from afar.

This single refer to.

It didn't stir the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

It didn't tear space.

Yet it made Jiang Chen realize with horror that his Divine Demon Body, which had just completed its evolution and could even erase Heavenly Retribution, was actually beginning to... “dissolve”!

Not a physical dissolution.

It was a conceptual collapse!

The bones, flesh, and Blood that made up his body were all losing their “definitions.”

His inherent, transcendent characteristic of “unable to have his destiny woven” was being forcibly overwritten by a higher power.

That “Warden” was writing a new program called “Death” into his “existence”!

This was a dimensionality reduction strike with administrator privileges!

Jiang Chen's will roared wildly, trying to reconstruct his own rules.

“My body is immortal!”

“My Soul is indestructible!”

The power of “Words Becoming Law” was pushed to its limit, and a massive amount of Formless Life Essence instantly burned.

But it was useless.

His “definitions,” in the face of No Dao's “overwriting,” were like code written by a novice programmer, easily deleted line by line by the System administrator.

The cracks on his Divine Demon Body expanded rapidly.

A sense of voidness, originating from the level of “existence,” surged into his heart.

He was being “deleted” from this world!

Life and death hung in the balance.

“Chirp—!”

A high-pitched, angry cry, filled with endless sorrow, suddenly rang out!

The small golden bird in Jiang Chen's arms, which he had always treated as emergency rations and a flying mount, suddenly erupted with a terrifying Aura that made Heaven and Earth tremble!

Little Gold!

That young Golden-winged Great Peng!

Its golden feathers stood on end, and its eyes turned into pure golden lava!

The Bloodline pressure of an ancient Divine Beast burst forth!

It recklessly transformed into a golden lightning bolt, fiercely pecking at No Dao's outstretched finger with its still not-so-hard beak!

“The Bloodline of an ant is also a creation of the cage.”

No Dao's voice remained utterly calm.

He didn't even look at the golden lightning bolt.

However.

Just as Little Gold was about to collide with him.

Another power erupted!

Buzz!

From Jiang Chen's sleeve, the “Lifebound Golden Feather,” which served as the link between him and Little Gold, activated on its own!

It was no longer a feather.

It transformed into a sword!

A golden Sword Qi that tore through the sky, severed Karma, and was filled with rebellious and unyielding will!

Sword Dao Enlightenment!

Ai Yu Sword Intent!

Phoenix Divine Blood!

Destruction Law!

All the authority over “attack” and “destruction” that Jiang Chen possessed at this moment was, by this feather, ignited without reservation!

This was not Jiang Chen's attack.

This was a defiant roar from the adult Golden-winged Great Peng, imprisoned in the Yao God Temple and long since fallen, a roar that transcended time and space!

It was the dignity of a “Yao Race King” challenging the “Warden” for the final time!

The golden Sword Qi arrived from behind, instantly catching up to Little Gold's figure, sweeping it along, and striking towards No Dao's unremarkable finger.

Two forces from Yao Race Kings, one young and one remnant, converged at this moment.

Facing this strike, powerful enough to slay an ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator.

For the first time, a subtle ripple appeared on No Dao's indistinct face.

His finger, which had been pointing at Jiang Chen, finally shifted half a degree.

Turning towards the magnificent golden Sword Qi.