264: Qingming betrayed us??

Lu Chen coldly looked down at Qing Ming Nascent Soul, who was firmly trapped by the Four Symbols Array.

That Nascent Soul no longer had its previous arrogance, trembling non-stop, its eyes filled with fear and unwillingness.

Lu Chen’s lips curved slightly, his voice flippant and mocking:

“Didn’t you say I was an ant? How come... now, you’re negotiating with an ant instead?”

Qing Ming Nascent Soul had lived for thousands of years; when had he ever been so humiliated?

But at the brink of life and death, he could no longer care about his dignity, and could only humble himself:

“It was I... who misjudged! You are not an ant, but a Dragon among men, a peerless Genius rarely seen in ten thousand years! But you must understand—you have been targeted by the Spirit Realm! Even if you can kill me today, you cannot escape the Spirit Realm’s pursuit! The entire Spirit Realm has Soul Transformation Cultivators like clouds and Undergoing Tribulation Cultivators like rain; how can you, with your strength alone, contend? If you want to live... you can only cooperate with me! I can teach you how to conceal your aura, how to forge your identity, how to deceive the Spirit Realm’s surveillance!!”

Before he finished speaking, Lu Chen had already raised his hand, his five fingers like pincers, suddenly grasping Qing Ming Nascent Soul!

“Crack, crack, crack...”

The Nascent Soul was squeezed, letting out a mournful wail!

Lu Chen sneered: “Stop stalling, do you think I don’t know your plan? You want to use a secret technique to transmit the situation here back to the Spirit Realm? Do you think... I’ll give you that chance?”

Qing Ming Nascent Soul completely collapsed, his voice trembling to the extreme: “No!! Stop!! You can’t kill me! If you kill me, the Spirit Realm will immediately know—a powerful Cultivator capable of slaying a Soul Transformation Primordial Spirit has appeared! At that time, the higher-ups of the Spirit Realm will surely be shaken! They will spare no effort to eliminate you! They might even directly issue a ‘World Annihilation Order,’ destroying the entire Tianqi Continent, sacrificing everything, rather than let you live!”

Lu Chen, however, smiled, his smile incredibly calm, even carrying a hint of pity: “Oh?”

He slowly approached, his voice deep but like thunder exploding:

“Why do you think—I will definitely be killed by the Spirit Realm? Could it be... that I cannot—destroy the entire Spirit Realm instead?”

Qing Ming Nascent Soul trembled, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world:

“You... you are truly too arrogant! Do you think that by defeating me, you are invincible? I tell you—I am merely a wisp of a Primordial Spirit, a remnant soul without a Physical Body! In the Spirit Realm, any Peak Spirit Transformation Cultivator can crush you with a single palm! What’s more... there are also Tribulation Crossing Realm Cultivators! That is a Realm you cannot imagine! That is a Dominator who can annihilate worlds with a single thought! You... are not worthy to be their enemy!”

After hearing this, Lu Chen was not only not angry, but his eyes instead blazed with brilliance!

He slowly loosened his grip, but did not crush Qing Ming Nascent Soul; instead, a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

“Hearing you say that... I suddenly don’t want to kill you anymore. I have a better idea.”

Before he finished speaking, Lu Chen suddenly activated his Small World!

“Small World—Open!”

A swirling vortex of faint light appeared, directly and forcefully sucking Qing Ming Nascent Soul into Lu Chen’s Small World!

If this were any other Cultivator, even a Nascent Soul expert, absorbing another’s Primordial Spirit would surely result in backlash, Divine Soul shattering, and instant death!

But Lu Chen—

Had no obstacles!

Like a whale swallowing a river, he easily incorporated a Soul Transformation Primordial Spirit into himself!

The moment Qing Ming Nascent Soul entered the Small World, he was completely stunned.

“This... how is this possible?!”

He had lived for thousands of years, seen countless Small Worlds of great powers in the Spirit Realm; the largest were no more than a hundred li in circumference.

But Lu Chen’s Small World—

Was as vast as a sea of stars, boundless, actually tens of thousands of times larger than his Peak Spirit Transformation Small World!

This was not a “Small World” at all, but a true Small World!

What shocked him even more was—

In the center of the Small World, nine Dragon Islands floated, each supported by Five Elements Dragon Pillars, with Dragon Qi soaring to the heavens!

Eight heaven-reaching spirit treasuress guarded the eight directions, emitting golden light a myriad of zhang high!

At the four cardinal points—southeast, northwest—the Four Great Divine Beasts statues stood like ancient deities, suppressing the four directions!

The entire Small World had Spiritual Qi so dense it was liquefied, and Laws were clearly visible, as if it were a world unto itself!

“This... this kind of Small World... perhaps only the Realm Master of the Spirit World can compare!”

Qing Ming finally understood—

He did not lose in terms of strength, but in... Realm!

Lu Chen was not an “ant of a shattered world” at all, but an existence that had already surpassed this dimension!

But Lu Chen did not give him a chance to breathe.

“Four Symbols Array—activate!”

The statues of the Four Great Divine Beasts lit up simultaneously; Azure Dragon’s lightning, Vermilion Bird’s flames, White Tiger’s Evil Qi, and Black Tortoise’s cold water intertwined into a net, firmly trapping Qing Ming Nascent Soul in the center!

Lu Chen coldly ordered:

“From now on—you will operate your Divine Rank Cultivation Technique, absorb external Spiritual Qi, and convert it into pure spiritual power to supply my Cultivation.”

“If you dare to stop...”

He flicked his fingertip, and a bolt of lightning directly struck Qing Ming Nascent Soul!

“Sizzle—!!!”

Qing Ming Nascent Soul shrieked as if struck by ten thousand bolts of lightning, suffering agonizing pain!

“If you dare to be lazy—”

Lu Chen’s voice was icy, “I will let you experience what it means to have ‘nine lives unextinguished, ten thousand tribulations upon you’!”

To avoid being tormented, Qing Ming could only humiliatingly operate his Cultivation Technique, continuously absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi like livestock, then converting it through the Four Symbols Array and transmitting it into Lu Chen’s body.

It was truly ironic to speak of, wasn’t this Cultivation method precisely the Spirit Realm’s approach?!

The Spirit Realm relied on enslaving seventy-two shattered Small Worlds, making them supply spiritual power to the Spirit Realm.

And Lu Chen actually turned around and enslaved him!!

...Ten days.

For ten full days, the Tianshu Grand Hall of the Spirit Realm was as silent as an abyss.

Since Qing Ming entered the Tianqi Continent that day, no news had come from the Spirit Realm.

No intelligence, no reports, not even the most basic Divine Soul resonance had completely ceased—

Deep within the grand hall, Fairy Meng Li, the Department Director of the Law Transmission Department, sat upon a jade platform, gently shaking her “dream speech bell” with her fingertips.

The crisp bell sound echoed through the hall, and ripples of spiritual waves spread out, directly reaching the dream river of the Tianqi Continent.

But—

No response.

No consciousness.

No Divine Soul fluctuations.

She frowned slightly and whispered: “Strange... Qing Ming’s Divine Soul imprint is still there, but I cannot access his dreams, nor can I awaken his subconscious.”

“He... seems to be completely shielded by some power.”

At the same time, on the surveillance Formation Plate of the Spirit Crossing Department, a faint blue soul lamp quietly burned—

Qing Ming was not extinguished.

This indicated that Qing Ming had not yet died.

But the soul lamp not being extinguished, yet with no news, was an even greater anomaly!

“This is impossible!” Xing Wushe, the commander of the Law Enforcement Department, said coldly, “A Soul Transformation Primordial Spirit, even if sealed, should have a trace of fluctuation transmitted back! Unless... he actively cut off contact!”

“Either it’s betrayal, or—someone is using a secret technique to keep the soul lamp from extinguishing!”

Everyone in the hall had different expressions, but a thought arose in their minds:

Qing Ming... rebelled?

Someone whispered:

“I heard there were similar situations before... some Soul Transformation powerhouses, after descending to the Lower Realm, found a certain Small World to be free and easy, and privately occupied it, attempting to become king.”

“What was the result? The Realm Master issued a ‘Pursuit Order,’ and he was directly captured and brought back, his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, even his Reincarnation was severed!”

“Qing Ming should know the consequences... he wouldn’t be so foolish, would he?”