306: Royal Palace

The scene at hand looked very uncoordinated, even a bit ridiculous.

This ferocious beast was five meters long and nearly four meters tall, more than twice the size of Xiao Shi.

Despite this significant size difference,

the massive ferocious beast was held by its neck by Xiao Shi, lifted into the air.

Xiao Shi even had a feeling... that if he wanted to, he could instantly crush this ferocious beast!

But if he did that,

he wouldn't be able to test the true strength of this Evil Energy User clone.

At most, he would only confirm that the current Evil Energy User clone could slaughter Life Soul experts as easily as butchering dogs, but he still wouldn't fully understand how strong this clone truly was or what its limits were.

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi made a surprising move.

He directly threw the massive ferocious beast he was holding.

He threw it towards the distant waterfall.

"I'm giving you a chance to use your full power. If you can't satisfy me, then there's no need for you to continue living."

At Xiao Shi's words,

the Fate Soul General in the waterfall cave suddenly breathed heavily, veins bulging on his forehead.

The other party's words were undoubtedly an insult to him.

This filled him with anger.

At the same time, he realized... that even if the other party couldn't kill his ferocious beast before, he could certainly have severely injured it.

Yet, the other party chose to throw his ferocious beast back.

The Fate Soul General in the waterfall cave had never experienced such humiliation.

He let out a low growl.

Boom!

His entire body shot out directly from the cave within the waterfall.

And the moment he rushed out,

he raised his palm.

He pressed his palm onto the head of his ferocious beast.

The entire body of the ferocious beast trembled violently.

It directly merged into the other party's body.

Immediately, black scales began to spread across the Fate Soul General's body, covering his entire physique.

At the same time, three tails covered in sharp teeth extended from his back.

They swung wildly behind him.

A slit opened in the center of his brow, revealing a green vertical pupil.

"That's more like it."

Xiao Shi revealed a satisfied smile.

Before coming to Evil Beast Mountain, he had already gained a detailed understanding of the situation throughout Evil Beast Mountain.

He knew that the demonic cultivators in Evil Beast Mountain

generally understood the art of beast taming.

Especially these Fate Soul Generals, they were even capable of forming a powerful fusion with their own ferocious beasts.

Under this fusion,

they could unleash extraordinary power.

However, this kind of fusion came with a price.

That was, after the fusion, the ferocious beast would die.

In other words... one ferocious beast could only undergo one fusion.

This was also the main reason why Xiao Shi hadn't killed the ferocious beast earlier.

Usually, for people of similar strength, to kill these Fate Soul Generals, the first thing to do was to find a way to eliminate their ferocious beasts first.

Not giving them a chance to fuse.

Otherwise, once the two fused, they might no longer be an opponent's match.

To allow this Fate Soul General to unleash his strongest combat power, Xiao Shi did not directly eliminate his ferocious beast first.

He wanted to see... if, after this Fate Soul General underwent fusion, he could force himself to use his full power.

At this moment, after fusing, the Fate Soul General exuded an unusual aura.

Carrying the ferocity and brutality unique to ferocious beasts.

For this Fate Soul General,

he would certainly not easily fuse with his own ferocious beast unless absolutely necessary.

After all, once fused, it meant the death of the ferocious beast.

It was not an easy task to cultivate a ferocious beast to the Life Soul stage.

But he knew very well.

If he didn't fuse, he would certainly not be a match for this mysterious person.

This person was strong!

Strong beyond his comprehension!

In his understanding, a Martial Soul Realm expert could not possibly be this strong.

But now... he could not retreat.

Boom!

Immediately,

the Fate Soul General stomped the ground, creating a sonic boom. Under the fusion, his speed had increased significantly compared to before.

He reached Xiao Shi in almost an instant.

His fist, covered in black scales, whistled out like lightning.

Bang!

With a deep thud,

his fist heavily struck Xiao Shi's chest, causing Xiao Shi's chest to slightly indent with a fist mark.

Xiao Shi lowered his head slightly.

He glanced at the other party's fist.

"Good speed, but the force is a bit lacking. No pain..."

He raised his hand and grabbed the other party's wrist.

He lifted the entire Fate Soul General and threw him out.

"Again!"

The Fate Soul General was casually flung a great distance by Xiao Shi.

Many of the black scales on his body nearly shattered from Xiao Shi's throw.

He looked at the other party in horror.

He noticed that the fist mark he had previously made on the other party's chest had completely healed in that short time.

Leaving no trace.

This caused his pupils to tremble violently.

"What kind of physical body is this!!"

One must know.

That previous punch was his full-strength strike.

It also unleashed the power of his physical body.

After all, when he fused with his ferocious beast, his physical body also became incredibly powerful. Even an ordinary Life Soul stage expert hit by his punch would surely be severely injured.

However, when he hit the other party, it only left a fist mark on the other party's body, and didn't even make the other party retreat half a step.

And the moment he hit the other party,

he felt as if he had struck some incredibly hard object, completely unlike hitting a human body.

Furthermore, an incredibly powerful rebound force emanated from the other party's body, spreading throughout his own body.

Causing every bone in his body to experience a vibrating pain.

"Strong defense, fast healing, and incredibly astonishing power!"

"Is this even human!?"

The Fate Soul General was completely stunned.

He had seen people with powerful physical bodies before.

But a physical body powerful to this extent... was truly outrageous!

This completely refreshed his understanding of physical bodies!

He had thoroughly realized.

His physical strength, even with the fusion, was not enough to contend with the other party.

Since he couldn't win with his physical body,

then he would fight with his soul!

Thinking of this,

a soul body immediately floated out from the Fate Soul General's body; it was his Life Soul!

Now, after fusing with his own ferocious beast, not only did his physical body undergo a series of changes, but his Life Soul also received a tremendous boost.

The entire Life Soul glowed with black light.

At this point,

he directly abandoned his physical body.

Using his own Life Soul, he charged towards Xiao Shi.

This was to fight Xiao Shi to the death with his Life Soul!

Typically, Life Soul stage experts would not easily use their Life Soul in combat.

After all, once the Life Soul dies,

that person is gone.

If only the physical body is destroyed, as long as the Life Soul exists, one can continue to live.

And if a suitable physical body is found, one can even reshape a new physical body.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Some Life Soul experts had Life Souls far stronger than their physical bodies, so they would choose to fight with their Life Souls.

However, such individuals were ultimately a minority.

Most people would only be forced to use their Life Soul when pushed to a desperate situation.

The current Fate Soul General was clearly already in a desperate situation.

"A Life Soul, huh..."

Xiao Shi's eyes lit up.

He also really wanted to test his own Life Soul.

Immediately,

a Life Soul also floated out from Xiao Shi's body.

This was a Life Soul filled with an evil aura.

Cold, bloodthirsty, indifferent, brutal, and chaotic auras continuously emanated from this Life Soul.

Making the Fate Soul General involuntarily pause.

He felt that the other party was even more evil than himself!

Compared to him,

it seemed he was the righteous martial artist.

The other party was the demonic cultivator... "Who exactly is he!!"

The Fate Soul General's mind was shaken.

The moment the other party's Life Soul appeared,

he felt a natural suppression.

Like a small ghost encountering Yama.

An ominous premonition arose in his heart... At the same time.

Located in the center of the Imperial Domain.

The sky here was a pure golden color. Under this golden sky existed the most magnificent, grand, imposing, and prosperous city in the current Tianwu Continent.

In front of this astonishing city,

any other city in the world seemed insignificant.

This was a colossal city, entirely golden.

It was... Martial Emperor Imperial City!

The sheer size of this city far exceeded Xiang Zizhen's imagination.

The golden city walls exuded a heart-shaking pressure, and countless restrictions, as if to lock time and space, suppressed this entire heaven and earth, transforming it into the city's destiny!

The powers of the Five Elements and Four Symbols were drawn in, thunder and lightning were suppressed, all becoming mere embellishments for this city, as if a peerless supreme being resided here.

The moment Xiang Zizhen first laid eyes on this astonishing city, he felt the vast, domineering aura emanating from the Martial Dynasty, which, while out of place with its surroundings, also seemed capable of suppressing the entire Imperial Domain.

Most terrifyingly, above the sky of this city, another city was actually suspended.

The void around it even showed signs of collapse, as if the space-time it occupied was different from this heaven and earth, shimmering with golden light, looking like a giant golden sun from afar.

This golden cloud city, like a war fortress, was the location of the Great Wu Dynasty's Imperial Palace!

It was surrounded by six islands, like guardians, meticulously guarding the Imperial Palace in the center.

These six islands were the residences bestowed by the Martial Emperor upon the six great powerful experts of the Great Wu Dynasty, who were second only to the Martial Emperor himself.

However, these six great powerful experts had either perished or defected from the Great Wu Dynasty.

This left the six islands, though shrouded in mist, somewhat lacking in vitality.

"Do you see that island..."

Chen Yuan, Xiang Zizhen's master, pointed to one of the islands, his eyes filled with memories.

"That was once the residence of my master, and your grandmaster, the Sect Master of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect..."

Xiang Zizhen looked in the direction his master was pointing.

Although these islands were now "empty," each island still retained a powerful aura.

And they were six distinctly different auras.

They were... six different Daos!

In his life, Xiang Zizhen had seen many cities, but not a single one could compare to this Imperial City. In front of this Martial Dynasty, all the cities he had seen before were simply not on the same level of existence.

Xiang Zizhen even felt that just those six islands surpassed all the cities he had ever seen.

This scene made Xiang Zizhen take a deep breath, truly opening his eyes.

Under the guidance of his master,

after they successfully entered the Imperial City, they proceeded directly to the Imperial Palace above.

Within the Imperial City, there was a path leading to the Imperial Palace above. This path had a name: the Road to Heaven.

Normally, apart from Chen Yuan and the Master of the Martial Pavilion, others were only qualified to step onto this Road to Heaven when summoned by the Prince.

In the early days of the Great Wu Dynasty's prosperity,

many people's lifelong dream was to once tread the Road to Heaven, enter the Imperial Palace, and meet the legendary Emperor.

Even now, with the collapse of the Great Wu Dynasty's imperial power,

the Road to Heaven, as the path to the Imperial Palace, still represented the immense authority and glory of the Great Wu Dynasty.

As they ascended,

Chen Yuan and Xiang Zizhen soon arrived at the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

"By the Prince's decree, Cleric Chen Yuan and Xiang Zizhen of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect are summoned to enter the palace for an audience!"

With an aged voice,

Chen Yuan and Xiang Zizhen successfully stepped through the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

What appeared before them now was a vast square. At the end of the square were nine colossal pillars, each carved with dragons and phoenixes, the dragons and phoenixes so lifelike they seemed to truly exist.

And in the center of these nine pillars, a massive azure cauldron stood!

Wreaths of azure smoke rose from within the cauldron, merging into the clouds.

On both sides of the square stood hundreds of people, motionless, respectfully gazing at the magnificent hall at the end of the square.

In front of the hall, a white-haired old man, hunched over, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, bowed his head towards the hall, showing respect.

And inside the hall, which was the focus of everyone's gaze... there was only one person!

He was dressed in golden robes, but not an imperial robe; it looked more like the attire of a Prince.

He sat on a large chair in the hall, holding an ancient book, looking down at it.

The person appeared to be a young man, with a handsome face and a gentle demeanor. If he were to smile, it would surely be like a spring breeze, enchanting people with its warmth, making them willing to sacrifice everything.

The surroundings were quiet, as if no one dared to speak before he did.

In this silence,

Xiang Zizhen could only stand beside his master, head bowed, without speaking.

After a brief silence,

the Prince's gaze moved from the ancient scroll in his hand and fell upon Chen Yuan and Xiang Zizhen in the square. A smile appeared on his face.

With this smile, it was as if a hundred flowers bloomed and spring breezes dispersed. The entire Imperial Palace suddenly brightened, and even the surrounding clouds and mist seemed to instantly dance gracefully, spreading out in joyful leaps.

"My dear Chen, this person beside you must be our Great Wu Dynasty's great benefactor, Xiang Zizhen, my dear Xiang, isn't he?"

The Prince's voice echoed with that smile, incredibly gentle, exuding warmth, and his eyes showed a sincerity that left no room for doubt.

Xiang Zizhen held his breath.

Following his master's instructions from earlier,

he immediately stepped forward.

And bowed deeply to the Prince above.

"Xiang Zizhen respectfully greets His Royal Highness the Prince!"