228: Chapter 228 The Ancestral Dragon's Qi Moves, and the Four Gods Appear.

Nine-colored lightning exploded in his palm.

Ao Yi felt like he wasn't holding a bead, but a collapsing star.

The smell of charred flesh instantly filled his nostrils.

The lightning, powerful enough to extinguish one's life and Dao, surged wildly up the Meridians of his arm, attempting to destroy his Purple Mansion Dao Foundation.

"Merge... for me!"

Ao Yi's face was distorted, blood seeping from between his teeth.

The earthy-yellow rock armor on his body let out a tooth-aching grinding sound; the Gen Earth Divine Ability, [Coiling Dragon Armor], was pushed to its absolute limit.

Heavy Earth Vein power was continuously drawn from the altar beneath his feet, firmly sealing away the violent lightning.

It was done.

In just one more breath, this Dragon Pearl would be his.

Once he used the Dragon Pearl's power to reshape his true body, who else but him could claim the position of Master of the East Sea?

Wild joy had just surged in his heart.

When an aura colder than the deep sea abyss and darker than an eternal night enveloped the entire summit of the altar without warning.

It wasn't targeting any specific person.

Rather, the very laws of this world were being forcibly rewritten.

The starry sky phenomenon that had been hovering above everyone's heads vanished, replaced by a vast ocean of black water so viscous it wouldn't disperse.

In the primary position to the east.

First Prince Ao Qian remained sitting cross-legged.

But the peaceful and sacred golden light that had surrounded him was now entirely transformed into a predatory darkness.

"Pfft!"

Ao Qian suddenly spat out a mouthful of congested blood mixed with golden fragments.

He had actually forcibly terminated his Fusion with the Ancestral Dragon Qi.

That was a backlash sufficient to cause Qi Deviation in any Cultivator, yet he didn't even flinch.

Letting go.

Only by letting go can one gain.

"Third Brother, your hand has reached too far."

Ao Qian slowly raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the void from a distance.

The movement was gentle, as if he were plucking a spray of foam from a wave.

Rumble!

The black ocean overhead instantly boiled.

Countless streams of pitch-black water converged, forming a colossal black hand that blotted out the sun. Ignoring the distance of space, it appeared directly above Ao Yi's head.

On that palm, there were no fingerprints, only vortices capable of swallowing the light of all things.

ren water Fourth Divine Ability: [Cangming Attraction].

Drawing upon the waters of the Nine Heavens' vast sea, gathering waves into a momentum that swallows all creation.

"This is... a Fourth Divine Ability?!"

Ao Yi's pupils constricted to the size of needlepoints.

He wanted to dodge.

But the terrifying suction emitted by that colossal black hand directly locked down all the Qi around him.

Even the Gen Earth Dharmic power within him became sluggish and solidified at this moment, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

Between three Divine Abilities and four Divine Abilities of the Purple Mansion lay a chasm called "dao rhyme."

It was a crushing difference in quality.

"I don't believe it!!"

Ao Yi roared, holding the Dragon Pearl aloft with both hands. The rock armor all over his body surged three feet outward, transforming into a towering small mountain as he attempted to withstand the blow.

Bang!

The colossal hand fell.

It was like a sledgehammer smashing a piece of rotten wood.

The [Coiling Dragon Armor], claimed to be impervious to all techniques, dissolved like snow meeting a blazing sun the moment it touched the black water.

Countless rock fragments flew everywhere.

*Crack.*

The clear sound of bones fracturing resounded across the altar.

Ao Yi was slapped straight into the ground of the altar by that single strike.

The incredibly hard Profound Iron Bricks exploded into a deep pit, and dust billowed everywhere.

The nine-colored Dragon Pearl he had just obtained flew out of his hand with the impact, tracing a parabola in the air before rolling to the edge of the altar.

The entire field fell into a deathly silence.

In the distance.

The Peach Blossom Fan in Sixth Prince Ao Ming's hand froze mid-air, and the fake smile on his face completely solidified.

The ghost fires in Ninth Prince Ao Lie's eye sockets flickered violently, and he instinctively took half a step back.

Too strong.

This kind of power was already infinitely close to the legendary Golden Core True Lord.

Was this the hidden depth of the East Sea's First Prince?

In the shadows.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan, dressed in purple-gold Daoist robes, had an expression uglier than if he had swallowed a dead fly.

"Fool! Brute!"

He cursed frantically in his heart.

His [Corpse Refining Dragon-Locking Formation] was only half-deployed.

The original plan was to take advantage of Ao Qian being unable to move while refining the Ancestral Dragon Qi, using a "slow boil" approach to refine him, along with his dragon soul, into a Puppet.

But now, for the sake of snatching the Dragon Pearl, Ao Qian had actually gone as far as damaging his own Foundation to forcibly interrupt the refining process, and even unleashed a Fourth Divine Ability.

How was he supposed to refine him now?

This was practically poking a sleeping tiger awake and then handing it a blade.

"Since I can't refine the eldest..."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan's clouded old eyes, and his gaze instantly locked onto Ao Yi, who had been slapped into the pit.

"Then I'll refine the third to make up the numbers!"

Even a mosquito is meat; a Purple Mansion True Dragon Corpse Puppet would be sufficient.

Once his mind was made up.

Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan violently shook the pitch-black soul-summoning banner in his hand.

*Wooo, wooo, wooo!*

A ghostly wind howled.

The ground around the altar suddenly exploded.

Six Iron Corpses, their bodies gleaming with a purplish-black metallic luster and carrying a thick stench of decay, burst forth from the earth.

They didn't charge at Ao Qian but instead trickily blocked all of Ao Yi's escape routes.

"Protect the First Prince! Capture the rebel!"

While shouting grand slogans, Immortal Master Sect Master Youquan changed his hand seal, directing two of the Iron Corpses to pounce on Gu Changsheng, who was standing on the periphery "watching the show."

He clearly intended to conveniently clean up this meddlesome Guest Elder.

"Coming at just the right time."

Looking at the two Iron Corpses lunging at him, there wasn't a hint of panic in Gu Changsheng's eyes; instead, a trace of amusement flashed through them.

He would take this opportunity to dismantle the old man's Formation.

It would save him the trouble of the old fellow setting up some grand array and scheming against him when no one was looking.

"Oh no!"

Gu Changsheng let out a cry of "terror." His steps seemed chaotic as he retreated, but in reality, every step landed precisely next to the Formation Flag nodes that Sect Master Youquan had previously set up.

*Whoosh!*

An Iron Corpse swept its sharp claws toward him.

Gu Changsheng ducked low, barely avoiding it, and then followed through with a kick to the back of the Iron Corpse's knee.

For this kick, he didn't use a shred of Dharmic power; it was a pure explosion of physical strength.

Bang!

The Iron Corpse was kicked flying like a ball.

As luck would have it.

The place where it landed was exactly a hidden array eye where Sect Master Youquan had buried a main Formation Flag.

*Crack.*

A very faint cracking sound.

The Formation Flag buried underground was snapped by the Iron Corpse's hard body.

Sect Master Youquan felt a pang in his Sea of Consciousness, and the previously harmonious Qi of the Formation instantly stagnated.

He whipped his head around, staring fixedly at Gu Changsheng.

Only to see the green-robed Guest Elder looking distressed, narrowly avoiding the bite of another Iron Corpse:

"This damn thing's skin is too thick! I can't damage it at all!"

His acting was exaggerated.

But the effect was outstanding.

Sect Master Youquan felt a breath stuck in his chest, unable to go up or down.

He felt something was wrong, but the current situation was chaotic, leaving him no time for careful thought.

At the bottom of the pit.

Ao Yi struggled to climb to his feet.

His proud [Coiling Dragon Armor] was now in pieces, his chest was caved in, and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs kept gushing from his mouth.

"eternal regret... help me..."

Ao Yi's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of desperate pleading.

He looked toward Gu Changsheng.

That was his last saving grace.

However.

What met his eyes was the pathetic sight of Gu Changsheng being chased all over the place by two Iron Corpses.

"Your Highness! I can barely save myself!"

Gu Changsheng shouted in grief and indignation while running, and conveniently slammed an Iron Corpse into another array eye with an elbow strike.

It was over.

It was all over.

Ao Yi's heart sank to rock bottom.

He looked up.

The colossal black hand above had not dissipated; instead, it hovered in mid-air like a sword of Damocles, ready to deliver the final blow at any moment.

And Ao Qian was watching him with the gaze one would give a dead man.

There was no anger in that gaze, only a lofty indifference.

As if he were looking at a bedbug that could be crushed at will.

Fear.

An unprecedented fear devoured Ao Yi's sanity.

He didn't want to die.

He had planned for so many years, endured for so many years, and mastered a Gen Earth Divine Ability—how could he die here?

"Since you won't let me live..."

Ao Yi suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot vertical pupils staring fixedly at the distant Ao Ming and Ao Lie.

If I'm going to die, then I'll flip the table over completely!

"Sixth Brother! Ninth Brother!"

Ao Yi used every ounce of his strength to let out a most shrill and piercing roar.

The sound waves rolled out, causing the altar to hum and vibrate.

"What are you two still watching the show for?!"

"Look clearly! That is a Fourth Divine Ability! [Cangming Attraction]!"

"If I die today, this Dragon Pearl belongs to him! The Ancestral Dragon Legacy will be his too!"

"Once he's free to deal with you, none of you will survive!"

"Do you think you'll be able to escape?!"

This shout shattered the heavens.

It also tore through the thin veil of pretense in everyone's hearts. In the distance.

Ao Ming's hand, which had been fanning, stopped completely.

In those fox-like eyes that were always narrowed, a naked killing intent emerged.

Ao Yi was right.

The balance had been broken.

If Ao Qian obtained the Dragon Pearl and combined it with this terrifying Fourth Divine Ability, the best outcome for the rest of the brothers would be life imprisonment until death.

Rather than waiting to die, it would be better to take a gamble while everyone was still present, and fight.