496: Shatter the mountain gate, and your might descends upon the purple heavens.

Tongtian City.

The Mahayana Saint Lord has fallen, and the ten-thousand-strong army of Zixiao has turned to ashes.

That figure who shattered the zixiao token, buried tens of thousands of elites in a single thought, and finally swung his sword to annihilate the Mahayana Saint Lord.

Like an eternal brand, it was deeply engraved into the depths of the Divine Soul of every witness.

After the dead silence came a belated uproar, like a landslide or a tsunami.

"He's dead... the Zixiao Holy Lord is just... gone?"

A Cultivator muttered to himself in a daze. He tried to reach out for something, only to find his hands shaking uncontrollably.

"What kind of Divine Ability was that? With one thought, flowers bloomed and tens of thousands of Cultivators turned into desiccated corpses. What kind of sword was that? With one swing, a Mahayana Saint Lord's body and soul were utterly destroyed!"

"An unparalleled Prodigy! This is the true unparalleled Prodigy!"

Fear, like an invisible plague, spread through the hearts of billions of living beings.

They didn't even dare to call Shen Yuanmo by his name anymore, as if those three words themselves contained some unspeakable, terrifying taboo.

The Old Imperial Uncle of the Tianyan Divine Dynasty, that incredibly solid projection of will, actually showed some unstable fluctuations at this moment.

He looked at the empty Void Realm for a long time before letting out a complex sigh.

"The sky of the Central Continent Divine Land is about to change."

The Yaoguang Saintess stood elegantly amidst the clouds, while the Holy Land Elders behind her were all as quiet as cicadas in winter.

She gazed at that figure from afar; the once-held desire to catch up and the hint of resentment...

...had long since been crushed to pieces, leaving only endless looking up and awe.

She suddenly realized that she and he might never have been in the same world from the very beginning.

Under the gaze of the multitude, at the focus where billions of Divine Thoughts intertwined.

Shen Yuanmo's gaze was deep as he looked toward the distant east.

There lay the mountain gate of the Zixiao Holy Land.

He spoke, his voice indifferent and devoid of any worldly emotion, yet it echoed clearly in everyone's ears.

It even spread throughout the entire Central Continent Divine Land via those prying Divine Senses.

"In three days, Zixiao shall be erased."

As soon as he spoke, the world fell silent.

This was neither a threat nor an announcement, but a statement.

As if he were describing an established fact that was about to happen and could never be changed.

As his voice fell, Shen Yuanmo's figure made no extra movements; he simply took a step forward.

His body was like a drop of ink merging into clear water, silently blending into the Void Realm and vanishing without a trace.

There were no spatial fluctuations, no ripples of Law; he left so naturally, so matter-of-factly.

In the shadows, the powerhouses from various immortal forces who had cast their Divine Senses across billions of miles all felt their hearts skip a beat.

This use of the Space Law was no longer mere mastery, but something akin to instinct.

This sent a chill through the hearts of these old monsters who had lived for endless ages... Central Continent Divine Land, Zixiao Holy Land.

As an immortal Holy Land with a Legacy spanning eons, its mountain gate was situated on a divine land formed by the convergence of ninety-nine giant Dragon veins.

Immortal peaks stood tall, purple Qi steamed, and countless palaces and pavilions floated amidst the sea of clouds. Auspicious Beasts ran about, and cranes cried in unison, presenting a scene of immortal grandeur.

However, at this very moment, this peaceful immortal paradise...

...was thoroughly cast into the depths of Hell by a divine decree that seemed to come from beyond the heavens.

"In three days, Zixiao shall be erased."

The indifferent voice, like a life-claiming curse, echoed above the Holy Land.

At first, there was a brief, dead silence.

Immediately following was a soaring panic and chaos!

"The Holy Lord... the Holy Lord's Life Soul Tablet... has shattered!"

In the Soul Hall, the deacon on duty looked at the soul tablet that symbolized the Holy Land's highest authority, now shattered into pieces, and let out a shrill scream.

"The expeditionary force... the Soul Lamps of all the expeditionary Elders and Core Disciples have... all gone out!"

The news spread like a plague.

It's over!

Everyone is finished!

The Holy Lord has fallen, and the expeditionary force has been completely wiped out.

That terrifying existence, after slaying the Holy Lord, actually intends to exterminate us all.

"Escape! Run, quickly!"

"The Holy Land is doomed! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

"Don't get in my way!"

Doomsday had arrived.

Countless Holy Land Disciples, who were usually high and mighty and looked down on everyone, now appeared like madmen.

Desperately controlling Magic Treasures and Flying Swords, they tried to rush out of the mountain gate and escape this immortal land that was about to become a grave.

At the exit of the mountain-protecting array, in the scramble for an escape route...

...fellow Disciples even resorted to fighting each other. Spiritual light flashed, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The entire Zixiao Holy Land fell into unprecedented collapse and internal strife.

Just as this apocalyptic chaos was about to completely swallow the entire Holy Land...

"What's the panic!"

An old and majestic roar, like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploded from the deepest part of the Holy Land's Forbidden Ground.

An aura far more vast and terrifying than that of the Zixiao Holy Lord, like a waking ancient beast, suddenly enveloped the entire Holy Land.

Under this pressure, all the rioting Disciples—whether Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, or Elders of the Hedao Realm...

...felt as if their Divine Souls were being gripped by an invisible giant hand, unable to move.

They discovered in horror that the mana in their bodies was completely unresponsive.

Immediately after, another slightly weaker but equally vast and majestic aura rose from the Forbidden Ground.

"Zixiao Holy Land is not yet dead!"

Along with this voice, two figures from the depths of the Forbidden Ground...

...stepped out and appeared above the Holy Land's central square.

They were two Elders with white hair and beards, wearing ancient Purple-Gold Daoist Robes.

The one on the left had a haggard face and closed eyes, yet he possessed a steady and profound aura, as stable as a mountain.

He was an Old Ancestor of the Zixiao Holy Land who had slept for several eras, Ancestor Zi Yun of the Mahayana Middle Stage.

The man on the right was burly with a resolute face and wild white hair.

As his eyes opened and closed, actual bolts of lightning shot out, and the surrounding Void Realm distorted due to his leaking aura.

He was also an Old Ancestor of the Zixiao Holy Land who had slept for several eras, Ancestor Lei Xing, a genuine Mahayana Late Stage Saint Lord.

"A bunch of trash!" Ancestor Lei Xing surveyed the chaotic scene below, lightning flashing in his eyes and his voice sounding like thunder.

"The Holy Lord has fallen, yet instead of thinking about fighting to the death for the Holy Land, you flee like stray dogs! You've completely disgraced the Zixiao Holy Land!"

He stomped his foot violently.

Boom!

A visible shockwave of lightning swept out from him as the center.

All the Disciples trying to flee were struck by this force, coughing up blood and falling from the sky.

With thunderous methods, he instantly suppressed the entire scene.

"Hear my command!" Ancestor Lei Xing's voice brooked no argument.

"All Elders return to your positions, Disciples guard the mountain gate! Activate the Purple Cloud Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Grand Array!"

At these words, even Ancestor Zi Yun beside him slightly opened his eyes.

The Purple Cloud Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Grand Array!

This was not a mountain-protecting array, but the ultimate Foundation of the Zixiao Holy Land.

It was a killing array arranged by the founder, who spent his life's blood modeling it after the legendary scenes of Heavenly Punishment.

Once activated, it would extract the Earth Qi of the ninety-nine Dragon veins and summon endless divine thunder from above the Nine Heavens.

It would turn into a lightning-forbidden zone, claimed to be a place where even a Cultivator of Mahayana Perfection would find it hard to escape death if trapped within.

This was the final and strongest barrier of the Zixiao Holy Land.

"Senior Brother Leixing, once this array is opened, the ninety-nine Dragon veins will be dormant for at least a hundred thousand years."

"We can't worry about that anymore!" Ancestor Lei Xing shouted decisively.

"The survival of the Holy Land or a hundred thousand years of Foundation—you choose one!"

Ancestor Zi Yun remained silent for a moment, which eventually turned into a long sigh.

Following the orders of the two Old Ancestors, hundreds of Hedao Realm Elders suppressed the fear in their hearts and flew to their respective array nodes.

As one hand seal after another was cast, the vast territory where the Zixiao Holy Land was located began to vibrate violently.

Beneath the earth, the ninety-nine Dragon veins let out world-shaking roars.

Endless Leyline Spiritual Qi was forcibly extracted, turning into pillars of light that soared into the sky.

Above the Nine Heavens, the winds and clouds changed color as heavy tribulation clouds gathered out of thin air.

Billions of purple thunderbolts, thick as Dragons and snakes, darted through the clouds, letting out deafening roars.

A massive lightning barrier covering millions of miles slowly took shape.

Upon the barrier, billions of lightning snakes slithered, emitting a destructive aura sufficient to make even a Half-step Mahayana tremble with fear.

The three-day period arrived in the blink of an eye.

On this day, there wasn't a cloud for ten thousand miles, and the weather was fine.

Outside the Purple Cloud Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Grand Array, not even a ripple appeared in the Void Realm.

Shen Yuanmo's figure appeared just like that, without any warning.

With his hands behind his back, black clothes and black hair, his expression was indifferent.

He looked up, glancing at the massive barrier before him, wrapped in billions of lightning snakes and possessing overwhelming power.

Its power was indeed far beyond what those nine War Galleons from before could compare to.

However, he was in no hurry to act.

Insight into Origin quietly activated.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the entire grand and complex Purple Cloud Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Grand Array...

...the structure of its billions of array lines, the flow trajectory of every energy node, and even its connection with the leylines and heavenly thunder...

...were all instantly analyzed and understood, turning into an incredibly clear three-dimensional map.

A moment later, a faint, mocking curl appeared at the corner of Shen Yuanmo's mouth.

Facing that impregnable lightning barrier, he spoke as if to the two old monsters inside, or perhaps just to himself.

"Using the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder as the Foundation and drawing on the Leyline Evil Qi as a supplement—the concept is not bad."

"Unfortunately, the Foundation is cluttered, the operation is sluggish, and there are thirty-six fatal flaws, both overt and hidden."

As soon as he finished speaking, he casually extended his right index finger.

He tapped lightly on a spot in the Void Realm on the barrier that looked no different from any other place.

An inconspicuous chaotic airflow flashed and vanished.

Buzz—!!!

In the next instant, that indestructible and overwhelmingly powerful lightning barrier...

...shuddered violently and actually let out a sharp, overburdened wail.

In the area he tapped, billions of lightning snakes scurried frantically as if electrocuted, and the light dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The perfect cycle of the entire array experienced an imperceptible stagnation at this moment.