225: Zhou Wuya

"He's mad... Your Majesty, he's gone mad!"

"To devour his own Emperor Emeritus! This... what kind of outrageous act is this!"

At this moment, whether it was the Li family's Disciples, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Cultivators, or the remaining palace guards, all were dumbfounded by the scene before them, many even subconsciously taking half a step back.

Li Xiangyun stood atop the clouds, his brows tightly furrowed. He could clearly feel that Emperor Yongchang was devouring not only cultivation but also the more ancient, yet more sinister, Dragon Qi within the Emperor Emeritus's body.

These father and son, it was likely they had hidden unknown schemes from the very beginning.

A moment later, the Emperor Emeritus's body completely turned into a mummified corpse and fell from the sky.

Emperor Yongchang, however, hovered in mid-air, his surrounding Dragon Qi continuously rising, carrying a chilling and sinister aura.

He raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze dark as he looked at Li Xiangyun, his voice hoarse from the devouring: "Li Xiangyun, do you think this is the end? Today, I shall show you what true Dragon Fortune is!"

With that, the sinister Dragon Qi around Emperor Yongchang surged dramatically. Golden Qi frantically churned within his body, his bones emitted crisp "crack-crack" sounds, and his aura ascended at a visible speed.

From the crippled Foundation Establishment Stage, he broke through Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and finally settled steadily at the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm!

He hovered in mid-air, his dark dragon robe swaying without wind, and a dark-golden small Dragon Seal actually reformed on his brow. Though not as majestic as the dragon seal of the nation, it exuded a nauseating aura of devouring.

"Middle Stage Soul Transformation... this is the power I should possess!" Emperor Yongchang spread his hands, feeling the surging Dragon power within him, his eyes filled with frenzied excitement.

Above the clouds, Li Xiangyun tightly gripped the Sky Crystal Ice Dust Sword, and for the first time, a solemn expression appeared on his usually calm face.

He could clearly perceive that Emperor Yongchang's power was not merely an advancement in Realm; it also carried the backlash force of the Emperor Emeritus's sinister Dragon Vein, an eerie bone-corroding quality hidden within its might, making him even harder to deal with than at his Peak.

"Die!" Emperor Yongchang abruptly shattered the Void Realm, his Middle Stage Soul Transformation pressure descending upon Li Xiangyun like an oppressive mountain. His right hand condensed into a golden Dragon Claw, which, with a sharp whistle that tore through the air, struck directly at Li Xiangyun's face.

This strike was even more swift than the full-power attack of the hundred-zhang Golden Dragon before. Where the Dragon Claw passed, even the Void Realm was torn with five black fissures.

Li Xiangyun dared not be negligent. As he flickered back, both his black and white swords simultaneously unsheathed! The Netherfire of the Sky Crystal Ice Dust Sword and the Reincarnation ice patterns of the other sword intertwined, forming a Yin and Yang barrier.

"Clang!" The Dragon Claw slammed heavily into the barrier. Golden Dragon Qi and Nether cold Qi exploded, and the resulting shockwave ripped off much of the glazed tiles of the Imperial City below.

"Do you only know how to hide?" Emperor Yongchang sneered, his offensive growing fiercer.

His figure flickered, creating dozens of golden afterimages, each condensing a Dragon Qi longsword. These swords attacked Li Xiangyun from all directions, sealing off all paths of retreat.

Black mist, the insidious poison from the Emperor Emeritus's Dragon Qi, also coiled around the Dragon Qi longswords. Once it touched a person, it would corrode their Spiritual Qi.

Li Xiangyun's eyes narrowed, and he pushed the Nether Sword Domain to its limit.

The ice-blue and dark-purple Sword Domain instantly expanded, with countless tiny sword shadows floating within it. "Yin and Yang Reincarnation, Swords Break All Laws!"

He let out a low shout, and the twin swords in his hands drew two opposing arcs. The sword shadows within the Sword Domain simultaneously surged, clashing with Emperor Yongchang's Dragon Qi longswords.

"Clink-clank!" The clang of metal on metal was incessant. Fire and cold Qi intertwined in the sky above the Imperial City, and the Void Realm constantly shattered and healed.

Emperor Yongchang, relying on his Middle Stage Soul Transformation Realm advantage, pressed forward relentlessly. His Dragon Claw and longsword attacked alternately, each strike carrying world-destroying power, forcing Li Xiangyun to temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack and search for an opportunity to counterattack.

Everyone below watched in fear.

The battle of the Soul Transformation Stage was beyond their comprehension; they could only see two figures constantly colliding amidst light and shadows, with occasional residual power causing the earth to tremble.

No one had expected that Emperor Yongchang, whose cultivation had been crippled, could revive by devouring the Emperor Emeritus and possess such terrifying power.

"Boom!" Li Xiangyun narrowly dodged the Dragon Claw, but his shoulder was still grazed by the residual force. His plain robe instantly tore, leaving five deep, bone-visible bloody gashes.

Seeing this, Emperor Yongchang became even more arrogant. The sinister Dragon Qi transformed into chains that filled the sky, coiling around Li Xiangyun like maggots on bone: "Li Xiangyun, your proud Yin and Yang Life and Death are nothing but a joke before my Soul Transformation Dragon power!"

Li Xiangyun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took a deep breath. The Nether Sword Domain around him suddenly contracted. The ice-blue and dark-purple light no longer dispersed but surged frantically towards the black and white twin swords.

His eyes were as sharp as cold blades, and his voice was bone-chilling: "Since you seek death, today I shall show you what true Reincarnation power is!"

As his voice fell, Li Xiangyun crossed his swords, gripping them with both hands. The Reincarnation patterns and Netherfire on the sword bodies violently churned, slowly beginning to fuse.

The Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth frantically converged, clouds rolled back, and the Void Realm trembled.

"Yin and Yang Reincarnation, Nether Annihilation!"

With a low shout, the black and white twin swords burst forth with blinding light.

The ice-blue Netherfire and the dark-purple Reincarnation Qi intertwined to form a massive sword shadow. Within the sword shadow, there was both the deathly stillness that could freeze all things and the blazing flames that could incinerate everything, imbued with the vast power of Reincarnation's alternation.

Before this sword strike even landed, the flagstones of the Imperial City below had already cracked inch by inch, and mountains a hundred li away trembled slightly.

Emperor Yongchang's face suddenly changed; he finally felt fear.

He frantically channeled all the Dragon Qi within his body, condensing a hundred-zhang Golden Dragon Shield. The Dragon Shield was covered with the sinister patterns left by the Emperor Emeritus, attempting to withstand this strike. "I am the Son of Heaven! I cannot die!"

"Too late!" Li Xiangyun exerted force on his wrist, and the enormous sword shadow, carrying world-destroying momentum, slashed towards Emperor Yongchang with a roar.

"Crack—Boom!" The moment the sword shadow collided with the Dragon Shield, the Golden Dragon Shield shattered with a resounding crash, and the remaining force slammed into Emperor Yongchang without diminishing.

He shrieked as he was engulfed by the sword light, his dragon robe shredded, his body covered with ice crystals and burn marks, seemingly about to be pierced through the heart by the sword.

But at this moment, a withered, thin hand suddenly reached out from the Void Realm. Its five fingers formed a claw, and it actually crushed the sword light, which was powerful enough to severely wound a Middle Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator!

"Who?!" Li Xiangyun's pupils constricted, and he tightened his grip on his swords.

Ripples spread through the Void Realm, and an ancient figure in an old dark imperial robe slowly appeared.

His hair and beard were white, yet his complexion was ruddy. A golden Dragon Seal on his brow was incomparably majestic, and he exuded an orthodox Dragon Qi several times more profound than Emperor Yongchang's at his Peak.

It was none other than the Great Zhou's founding emperor, Zhou Wuyai, who had passed away a thousand years ago!

Emperor Yongchang collapsed in mid-air, looking at the figure, his eyes filled with an unbelievable ecstasy: "Ancestor... Ancestor! You are still alive!"

Zhou Wuyai did not look at him; his gaze fell on Li Xiangyun, his voice ancient yet carrying an undeniable imperial might: "Junior, daring to sever my Great Zhou's Dragon Vein and destroy my imperial family's Foundation, you have no small courage."