222: Emperor Yongchang takes action

What was even more terrifying was that at the end of those Sword Lights, a dark purple flame suddenly ignited. The flames licked at the ice light, but instead of melting, they intensified. This was precisely Netherworld Darkfire.

This Yin fire was inherently extremely cold, yet at this moment, it was forcibly bound to the Sword Lights by the Ice Shard Sword Intent. Ice and fire intertwined in a spiral, and from a distance, it looked like countless meteors dragging purple tails, about to crash down upon the human world.

“Is that… Netherworld Darkfire?!” a Demonic Path Cultivator from Star-Picking Tower exclaimed in shock.

Their Sect had records of this Demonic Fire, so they naturally recognized its ferocity, but no one had ever seen it before.

Before he finished speaking, Li Xiangyun flicked the spine of his sword.

“Whoosh—”

Tens of millions of ice-blue Sword Lights fell in response.

There were no scorching light pillars like with the Azure Dragon Striking Heaven Array, only a sharp whistling sound like meteors falling to the ground.

The first batch of Sword Lights to fall struck the light net of the Nine Dragons Suppressing Mountain Array. The already dim Golden Dragons on the light net struggled violently, and the Formation patterns on their scales and claws were actually frozen and shattered inch by inch by the ice light.

The moment the Netherworld Darkfire licked the light net, the purple flames actually drilled inward along the Formation patterns, burning holes in the light net until it turned scorched black.

Then came the second batch, the third batch… The dull thuds of the ice light smashing against the light net merged into a continuous sound, and the Netherworld Darkfire burned even more fiercely in the holes.

In just two breaths, the ice crack that had been split open on the light net suddenly “cracked” open. Four more of the nine Golden Dragons wailed and dissipated, and the remaining two Golden Dragons were so faint they were like candles in the wind.

“It can’t hold! Quickly activate the Formation Plate!” a Formation Master’s panicked roar came from beneath the Suppressing Mountain Tower. But no sooner had his voice fallen than the easternmost Suppressing Mountain Tower suddenly shook violently. The ice condensed on its spire began to crumble, and purple-black flames even seeped out from its base.

It was the Netherworld Darkfire burning into the Formation base along the Dragon Qi of the earth veins.

“Boom!”

A tremendous roar shook the Imperial City’s paving stones. The eastern Suppressing Mountain Tower collapsed with a crash, and the light net of the Nine Dragons Suppressing Mountain Array shattered by more than half.

Yet, the ice-blue Sword Lights that passed through the light net did not diminish in the slightest, striking directly at the Imperial Guard Formations below, who had not yet recovered from the collapse of the Azure Dragon phantom.

The Formation patterns of the Azure Dragon Striking Heaven Array were just about to re-condense when they were struck by the ice light wrapped in Netherworld Darkfire.

The ice light froze the spiritual power injected by the Cultivators, while the Netherworld Darkfire burned the joined Azure Dragon skull phantom on the shields, making sizzling sounds. The hands of the front-row soldiers gripping their shield handles were instantly frozen to the shields, turning the entire shield Formation into ice sculptures.

Subsequent Sword Lights arrived one after another, and ice and fire exploded within the Formation. Screams mingled with the sounds of ice cracking and flames burning, surging forth. In just a few breaths, that rank four Peak battle Formation, which had just been able to spew light pillars, truly disintegrated like withered weeds, leaving only scattered ice shards and charred remnants of Formation patterns.

And the abnormal phenomenon triggered by this single sword strike had already spread beyond the Imperial City.

The “sea of stars” suspended above the clouds was still falling, and the temperature between heaven and earth dropped even more sharply than before.

The moat was completely frozen solid, and the pebbles at the bottom of the river were covered in a layer of ice.

The ice flowers in Star-Picking Tower were no longer delicate patterns but had grown into half-foot long icicles, hanging down along the window frames, sealing the entire tower into an ice pavilion.

Even stranger were the anomalies caused by the Netherworld Darkfire.

Wisps of black mist suddenly emerged from the shadows at the base of the Imperial City. Vague cries of ghosts could be heard within the black mist, but they were frozen by the ice light and unable to approach.

On the glazed tiles of the Imperial Palace’s main hall, purple flames and ice light flickered alternately, making Emperor Yongchang’s face inside the hall appear bright and dark. Ice and fire intertwined patterns actually condensed on the armrests of the Dragon Throne.

“Heaven and earth… Heaven and earth anomaly!” a Cultivator murmured, gazing at the pale blue crack that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

What drifted down from that crack was not snow, but ice crystals carrying the aura of Netherworld Darkfire, which hissed and emitted white smoke upon landing on the ground.

It was already rare for a Nascent Soul Cultivator to manipulate a Law, but to cause a heaven and earth anomaly with a single sword strike, this was already the work of a Soul Transformation Realm expert.

Above the clouds, Li Xiangyun stood with his sword sheathed. The ice light on the Sky Crystal Ice Dust Sword gradually receded, with only a trace of unextinguished Netherworld Darkfire still clinging to the sword tip, glowing with an eerie purple under the sunlight.

He looked down at the two shattered Formations below, then glanced at the swaying Suppressing Mountain Tower in the distance. His plain robes fluttered lightly in the turbulent currents, but he did not draw his sword again.

At this moment, heaven and earth seemed to have been muted.

In the plaza of the Li family ancestral land, Li Zhongwen’s hands, gripping the armrest, loosened and tightened again, his knuckles white from the effort.

He gazed at the figure standing on the clouds in the Profound Heaven Mirror, then suddenly knelt on one knee with a dull thud, as if kowtowing.

The surrounding Li family Disciples awoke from their dream, following suit and bowing in unison. Even the most mischievous half-grown youths put away their wooden swords, their eyes filled with awe.

The spiritual swords in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s training ground were still buzzing, but without any disorder. Thousands of spiritual swords tilted in unison towards the Profound Heaven Mirror, their blades reflecting the ice light, as if paying homage to that figure.

The Cultivators in Star-Picking Tower forgot to breathe. The Righteous Path Cultivators lowered their eyes, not daring to look again. The Demonic Path Cultivators secretly tightened their Magical Artifacts. Even the three gray-robed men from Heavenly Dao Sect shed their previous indifference, their gazes fixed on the cloud Peak, the bronze tokens on their fingertips gleaming with a cold light.

Throughout the entire Imperial City, from Emperor Yongchang in the Imperial Palace’s main hall to the commoners hiding under the eaves in the street corners, all eyes were fixed on that figure on the cloud Peak.

There were no cheers, no gasps, only a shock that originated from the depths of their hearts.

It was the instinctive speechlessness and awe that Mortals and Cultivators, accustomed to imperial power and Formations, felt in the face of a true “strong one.”

Li Xiangyun, however, seemed oblivious, merely raising his hand to brush off the ice crystals clinging to his robes, his movements as unhurried as if he were admiring flowers in a courtyard.

Yet, this very composure only accentuated his unparalleled demeanor, as if the anomalies of heaven and earth and the attention of all were merely the aftershocks of his single sword strike.

“Presumptuous!”

A deep shout suddenly broke the dead silence, like a thunderclap exploding over the Imperial City.

Inside the Imperial Palace’s main hall, Emperor Yongchang suddenly raised his hand, and the ice patterns on the Dragon Throne’s armrest shattered in response.

He rose from the Dragon Throne, his dark Dragon Robe sweeping across the steps. The dragon seal of the nation hanging at his waist suddenly broke free from its ribbon and floated before him.

The Dragon Seal was entirely bright yellow, and the five-clawed Golden Dragon carved on its surface was lifelike. At this moment, golden Dragon Qi surged up, drilling into Emperor Yongchang’s body along his fingertips.

“Great Zhou Dragon Vein!?” Li Xiangyun’s eyes narrowed slightly. He naturally knew that, according to legend, within the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, the Emperor of Great Zhou could forcefully raise his cultivation to the Soul Transformation Realm by utilizing the Great Zhou Dragon Vein.

However, he remained fearless!

Emperor Yongchang’s eyes widened, and the spiritual power throughout his body surged dramatically.

His aura, originally at the Nascent Soul Pinnacle Stage, suddenly surged upward. The spiritual wave caused by breaking through the Bottleneck made the candles in the hall flicker wildly, and the golden thread patterns on his Dragon Robe actually lit up, intertwining with the golden light of the Dragon Seal.

In just three breaths, his aura had stabilized at the Early Stage of Soul Transformation. Golden Dragon Qi condensed behind him into a translucent Dragon phantom. The Dragon’s head was held high, letting out a deafening roar towards the cloud Peak.

“Li Xiangyun!” Emperor Yongchang raised his hand and grasped the floating dragon seal of the nation. The golden light of the Dragon Seal spread along his arm, even dyeing his pupils golden. “Do you think you can break through Our Imperial City with a single sword strike?”

He ascended into the sky step by step, his voice, amplified by the Dragon Qi, echoing throughout the entire Imperial City, carrying the unique arrogance and dominance of an emperor, “We shall use the Great Zhou’s century-long Dragon Vein as an lead, and the dragon seal of the nation as a medium, to achieve Soul Transformation here today!

Remember—within this Great Zhou Imperial Palace, We are invincible!”