36: Holy Power is like a Prison

A golden light shot up into the sky, piercing through the gray mist of Shituo Mountain, and directly reaching the clouds!

In an instant, the wind and clouds rolled back, the sun and moon lost their light, and the entire sky of Bei Huang County was dyed a brilliant gold, as if the phantom of a supreme Great Saint slowly opened his eyes in the clouds.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth violently boiled, transforming into a visible golden torrent that swirled and danced around the pillar of light, emitting a 'woo woo' sound like a dragon's roar.

An indescribable pressure spread from the talisman, as if from the nine heavens above, carrying the majesty of looking down on all living beings, making all creatures involuntarily want to prostrate themselves!

It was a suppression originating from the depths of their bloodline, an instinctive reverence of mortals facing deities, and the despair and insignificance of ants gazing at the sky.

Cultivators with weaker cultivation directly bled from their seven orifices, and even their souls trembled under this pressure, as if they would collapse in the next second.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

A chorus of kneeling sounds echoed on Shituo Mountain, like dense drumbeats striking the earth.

Tie Lu, the Young Master of the Tie Family, who had just been mockingly jeering, now had a face like golden paper, his legs, as heavy as if filled with lead, slammed heavily to the ground, and dark wet stains seeped from beneath his dark brocade robe, a pungent, fishy smell permeating the air.

He kept his head bowed, not daring to even lift his eyelids, his mind repeatedly replaying his arrogant words from just now, fear gnawing at his heart like a venomous snake—he had no doubt that with just a thought from the other party, he could be crushed into powder like an ant.

The gloating cultivators were even more silent than cicadas in winter, some even fainted directly, unconscious.

The team of Demon Suppression Division guards, holding their sabers, heard their black iron long sabers "clank" to the ground, their knees hitting the bluestone slabs with a dull thud, and cold sweat seeping from the gaps in their armor formed small puddles on the ground.

As cultivators within the Immortal Court system, they knew better than anyone what the words "Saint's might" meant—it was a terrifying power capable of turning the entire Bei Huang County into scorched earth.

Zhao Kui's face was even paler than paper, his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation as fragile as a swaddled infant before this pressure.

He felt as if he was being targeted by an ancient beast, his blood almost congealed, his bones emitting a "creak" of agony, as if they would be crushed at any moment by this invisible force.

His legs bent uncontrollably, and with a "thud," he heavily knelt down, his black iron armor hitting the ground with a dull clang that made his tiger's mouth numb and his teeth chatter.

"Sa... Saint's might?!" Zhao Kui's voice trembled uncontrollably, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "You... you are..."

He finally understood that what he had kicked was not an iron plate, but a raging inferno capable of burning mountains and boiling seas!

How could an existence capable of invoking Saint's might be provoked by a mere County Captain like him?

Let alone him, even the Commander of the Demon Suppression Division in charge of a prefecture would have to obediently kneel and kowtow!

He even began to regret why he had coveted the Luo Family's meager assets, thus forcing himself into an inescapable predicament.

Su Chen ignored his horror, simply taking slow steps.

His cyan robe swayed gently in the golden light, and each step he took caused a dull thud on the ground, as if he were treading on everyone's hearts.

The floor tiles beneath his feet shattered inch by inch, yet strangely repaired themselves in the golden light, forming ripples of runes that exuded an ancient and majestic aura.

"You said," Su Chen's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority, as if from eternity, clearly echoing in the depths of everyone's sea of consciousness, "that I indiscriminately killed the innocent?"

"No... I wouldn't dare!" Zhao Kui's forehead was pressed tightly against the ground, cold sweat soaking through his armor's lining and flowing down his neck into his clothes, bringing a biting chill.

He kowtowed frantically, his voice distorted by fear: "This subordinate was blind, misjudged the case! The Luo Family abducted women and sacrificed their entire clan with blood, they deserved to die ten thousand times over! You are acting on behalf of Heaven, eliminating harm for the people!"

"Oh? Acting on behalf of Heaven?" Su Chen chuckled, his laughter echoing in the pressure-shrouded hall, carrying a hint of faint mockery, "Then why did you just now condemn me?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate deserves to die!" Zhao Kui kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab, instantly oozing blood that mixed with cold sweat, blooming into dazzling bloodstains on the ground.

"This subordinate was blinded by greed, misled by the Luo Family's facade, and even more so, my mind was clouded by the treasures in the vault! Please spare my life, esteemed one! Please, for the sake of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, spare this subordinate this one time!"

At this moment, he no longer had an iota of a Captain's dignity, looking exactly like a dog wagging his tail for mercy, having cast even his most basic self-respect to the winds.

"Spare your life?" Su Chen's gaze swept over Qin Ze, who he had just sent flying—the young man was clutching his chest, but his eyes gleamed with an unyielding light, then slowly returned to Zhao Kui, his tone still calm, yet it made the other feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, "Did you just now ever think of sparing him?"

Zhao Kui trembled all over, knowing that the other party was determined to pursue the matter.

He gritted his teeth, as if making an extremely difficult decision, and suddenly pulled out a storage bag carved with a taotie pattern from his embrace, raising both hands high, his voice hoarse with excitement: "Esteemed one! This is all of this subordinate's possessions!

Inside are three Grade 4 Virtual God Pills, two high-grade Profound-tier magical artifacts 'Mystic Turtle Armor', ten shop deeds in the center of Bei Huang County, as well as a thousand-year-old Purple Ganoderma for nourishing spiritual roots, and a deep-sea Profound Pearl for condensing spiritual power... As long as you spare my life, all of these will be presented to you!"

The storage bag floated in the air, emitting a faint spiritual glow, and the moment its opening parted, a rich medicinal fragrance and spiritual energy fluctuations assailed everyone, making the surrounding cultivators' breathing catch.

"My heavens... Captain Zhao is actually so rich?"

"Three Grade 4 Virtual God Pills! Enough for a Void God Realm cultivator to break through a minor realm!"

"Those ten deeds! Shops in the center of Bei Huang County, one is worth the entire assets of an eighth-grade family!"

"To save his life, he even offered up his most prized treasures? This is the foundation for him to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm!"

Exclamations and gasps of cold air rose and fell, and everyone's gaze towards Su Chen became even more reverent—to make a Nascent Soul Realm Captain bleed so much, the identity of this cyan-robed man was probably even more terrifying than they imagined.

Su Chen glanced at the storage bag, and with a sweep of his divine sense, he already knew its contents.

What surprised him slightly was that the three Virtual God Pills were unbound; and those few deeds recording rare spiritual mines and shops would be quite useful for the Tantai Family, which was in a period of expansion.

He did not immediately express his stance, but simply stood there quietly, his gaze calmly fixed on Zhao Kui, who was trembling under the pressure.

Time passed by second by second, each second feeling as long as a century.

Everyone present felt like years were passing, not daring to even breathe, only hearing their own frantic heartbeats and Zhao Kui's suppressed gasps.

Liu Qi sat upright in the guest seat, her slender fingers tightly clutching a white jade wine cup, her knuckles white.

Old Li beside her had long since shed all contempt, his cloudy old eyes filled with shock and lingering fear, as he whispered a message to Liu Qi: "Young Lady, this Saint's might... is definitely not ordinary!

The rhythm of the Great Dao contained within it is even purer than the Saint-grade jade pendant enshrined by the family! This Su Chen is far from being as simple as an reclusive family; he is probably a direct descendant of some ancient family!"

Liu Qi's beautiful eyes sparkled with brilliance, and a storm raged in her heart.

She recalled that when she had sparred with Tantai Qinghuang before, the spatial magic she used carried a faint, special pressure.

At the time, she had only considered it some special inheritance, but now she suddenly understood—to be able to invoke such pure Saint's might, behind the Tantai Family, there was probably a true Great Saint-level existence!

She subconsciously touched the family token at her waist, and secretly decided in her heart: after returning, she must immediately report to the family and absolutely not become an enemy of the Tantai Family!

Qian Tong and Lin Wenxuan, hiding behind a carved pillar, exchanged a glance, and deep regret surged in both their pupils, as if they had just missed a heaven-sent opportunity.

"Tsk..." Qian Tong smacked his lips hard, "This isn't some hidden plot NPC? This is clearly a hidden BOSS! When that Saint's might pressed down just now, I felt like my soul was going to be crushed into dust!"

Lin Wenxuan pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, which had slipped to the tip of his nose, his eyes behind the lenses full of annoyance: "What a pity... If we had followed when that kid Zhao Meng stepped forward just now..."

He paused, the regret in his tone almost overflowing, "Even if we couldn't get close to this big shot, getting a familiar face with Zhao Meng would have been good! Look at him, when he blocked behind the big shot just now, although it was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot, that courage might have already caught the big shot's eye."

Qian Tong took a deep breath, suppressing the agitation in his heart, and said with a wry smile: "It's too late to say all that now.

In my opinion, we should first cling to Zhao Meng's leg.

In the future, we might really be able to follow the big shot to success."

The light of the Half-Saint-grade disguise talisman gradually dimmed, and the golden pillar of light began to contract, clearly indicating that maintaining the Saint's might consumed a great deal of energy.

Su Chen finally spoke slowly, his voice still calm, yet it made everyone breathe a sigh of relief: "That's enough."

"For the sake of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, I will spare you this once today."

A single word, "Scram," sounded like heavenly music in Zhao Kui's ears.

"Thank you for sparing my life, esteemed one! Thank you for sparing my life, esteemed one!" Zhao Kui, as if granted a great pardon, kowtowed repeatedly, completely oblivious to the bloody mess on his forehead.

He scrambled to his feet, even forgetting to pick up his saber on the ground, and ran wildly towards the mountain gate without looking back, the "clanking" sound of his black iron armor colliding growing fainter and fainter, as if an evil spirit was chasing him from behind.

Su Chen waved his hand to put away the storage bag, and the light of the Saint-grade disguise talisman completely dissipated, and the brilliant Saint's might also receded with it.

The golden clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and the sunlight once again shone on Shituo Mountain, but it could no longer dispel the chill in everyone's hearts.

Only then did the cultivators in the hall dare to slowly raise their heads, looking at Su Chen and Tantai Qinghuang, who were still standing in place, their eyes filled with awe and fear.

What was the identity of this seemingly young cyan-robed man? How could he invoke Saint's might and make a Nascent Soul Realm Captain kneel and beg for mercy?

Tie Lu was sprawled on the ground, the wet stain in his crotch growing larger and larger, no longer daring to make a sound.

He knew that the other party must have heard his mockery just now, and it was already a miracle that he was alive.

From now on, the three words "Tantai Family" would become a lifelong taboo for him.

Qin Ze looked at Su Chen's back, and the flame of hope rekindled in his eyes.

He clutched his chest, struggled to his feet, and bowed deeply to Su Chen.

Zhao Meng put away his rusty iron sword, a simple, honest smile appearing on his dark face.

Although the Saint's might just now was terrifying, a warm current surged in his heart—it turned out that in this world, there really was justice that could transcend the system.

Su Chen glanced in the direction of the Luo Family's inner hall, where spiritual energy fluctuations faintly emanated, clearly indicating the location of the treasure vault.

He said to Tantai Qinghuang: "Let's go, let's see the Luo Family's treasure vault."

The girl nodded slightly, her red hair gleaming in the sunlight, and her golden eyes sparkled with excitement.

The two walked side by side towards the inner hall, their backs composed and resolute, leaving behind a hall full of shaken cultivators, and a Luo Family that had completely become history.

The sky of Bei Huang County seemed to have quietly changed from this moment on.