264: Chapter 264 The Nine Stars Gathered

"Boom!!!"

The Domain trembled violently, and the seven tokens wailed in unison.

The golden beam of light clashed fiercely with the seven-colored radiance, erupting with blinding light and a continuous roar.

At the center where the two forces collided, space began to twist and shatter, revealing pitch-black cracks in the Void Realm.

Ling Hao's expression darkened; the heavenly dao restriction-breaking bead was specifically designed to suppress all Domain-type Divine Abilities.

The one in Star Lord Taiyang's hand was several times larger than the one Meng Tong had used, and its power was naturally several times stronger; the Heavenly Dao power contained within the golden beam of light was crazily eroding the structural rules of Seven Stars Shining.

"Hold on!" Ling Hao crazily channeled his Primordial Chaos Force, causing the seven tokens to shine brilliantly and reach a stalemate with the golden beam of light.

Star Lord Taiyang was not having an easy time either.

Burning his vital blood to activate the heavenly dao restriction-breaking bead had caused his aura to weaken even further.

His complexion turned from pale to sallow, his lips were cracked, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken—all signs of excessive consumption of vital blood.

His crimson gold halberd had slipped from his grasp, and all his protective Magic Treasures were shattered; he was now unarmed, yet his eyes grew increasingly frantic.

"Ling Hao, I want to see whether your Domain collapses first, or my vital blood burns out first!"

The stalemate lasted for ten breaths.

The seven-colored radiance of Seven Stars Shining began to dim—not because it was being defeated, but because the thirty-breath time limit was approaching; Ling Hao could feel the rule imprints within the tokens burning intensely, and fine cracks had already appeared on the surface of two of the tokens.

Every expansion of the cracks was accompanied by the sound of the spiritual power circuits inside the tokens snapping.

He could not drag this out any longer.

Ling Hao made a decisive choice and withdrew Seven Stars Shining, but he did not retreat.

As the seven-colored radiance dissipated, the light on the tokens dimmed by thirty percent, and the cracks on the two tokens were deeper than before.

However, his own aura remained steady and he was completely unharmed; it was only the tokens that had sustained damage, not him.

Star Lord Taiyang, however, was different.

The heavenly dao restriction-breaking bead exploded, sending fragments flying everywhere; one of them grazed his cheek, leaving a deep bloody gash.

He could not recover the vital blood he had burned, and now his complexion was as pale as paper, his aura having withered by at least forty percent.

Even worse, his crimson gold halberd had been knocked away, all his protective Magic Treasures were shattered, and the void-piercing mirror was covered in cracks; he was now unarmed and in a sorry state.

"Jidu!" Star Lord Taiyang shrieked hoarsely, "Help me!"

Star Lord Jidu hurriedly stepped forward, holding the void-piercing mirror horizontally in front of the two of them.

However, his void-piercing mirror was also covered in cracks from the previous confrontation; the mirror surface was dull and lackluster, with less than ten percent of its power remaining.

The cracks on the mirror surface crisscrossed like a spiderweb that could shatter at any moment.

Ling Hao looked at the two of them, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"Star Lord Taiyang, your heavenly dao restriction-breaking bead is destroyed, your crimson gold halberd has slipped from your grasp, over half of your vital blood has been burned, and your cultivation has fallen.

Star Lord Jidu, your void-piercing mirror is on the verge of shattering; how much power can you unleash right now?"

He took a step forward, and the Spear of Fate Reversal coalesced once more.

The Chaos radiance on the spear's body was more solid than before, and the chains of Karma were denser as well.

Star Lord Taiyang's face was ashen, but he could not refute this.

Although Seven Stars Shining had been interrupted by the heavenly dao restriction-breaking bead, the suppression effect had lasted for ten breaths, which was enough to cause irreversible damage to both of them.

And he himself was indeed completely unharmed.

"Ling Hao, don't get cocky!" Star Lord Taiyang gritted his teeth, "I still have three thousand elites and eight Void Refinement Deacons! How many can you kill by yourself?"

"Three thousand elites?" Ling Hao glanced at the enemy troops taking turns attacking the city below, "Your elites have already been bogged down by Tianhuo City's defensive formation.

As for the eight Void Refinement Deacons..."

He raised his hand, and a communication talisman appeared in his palm.

"Xiao Yi, take action."

Before his voice had even faded, dozens of smoke columns suddenly rose from the plains south of the city.

Xiao Yi led a thousand Loose Cultivators to charge out from their ambush, cutting off the retreat of the Heavenly Dao Palace's army.

The confusion formation was activated, and smoke filled the air; the Heavenly Dao Palace's elites lost their bearings on the plains, and their formation fell into Chaos.

At the same time, a thunderous roar came from the mountains to the north.

Ling Xiao led five hundred elites to swoop down from the mountain ridge, with the thunder gods war hammer leading the way; dark golden thunder completely scattered a detachment under Star Lord Jidu's command.

Attacked from both the front and the rear, the Heavenly Dao Palace's army was caught in a pincer attack.

Star Lord Taiyang's face went deathly pale.

He knew that the battle was lost.

"Ling Hao, what do you want?"

"Hand over the Taiyang Token and the Jidu Token." Ling Hao walked slowly forward, the Spear of Fate Reversal pointed directly at the two, "I can spare your lives."

Star Lord Taiyang was silent for a moment, then took out a crimson gold token from his sleeve.

The surface of the token was engraved with flame runes and emitted a scorching light; it was the Taiyang Token.

He held the token in his palm, his fingers trembling slightly.

Star Lord Jidu gritted his teeth and also took the dark green token from his sleeve.

The surface of the token was engraved with star runes and flowed with a cold, sinister radiance; it was the Jidu Token.

"Here." Star Lord Taiyang tossed the two tokens toward Ling Hao, "But remember this, the Heavenly Dao Palace will not let this go.

The day the Temple Master emerges from seclusion will be the day your Ling Family is annihilated."

Ling Hao caught the tokens and scanned them with his Divine Sense, confirming they were genuine.

All nine tokens were now floating in front of him; silver, gold, earthy yellow, water blue, dark red, ice blue, dark purple, crimson gold, and dark green—the nine-colored radiance intertwined into a vast star map, enveloping the entire Tianhuo City.

"There is one more thing." Ling Hao put away the tokens and his gaze fell upon the two of them.

Star Lord Taiyang's heart skipped a beat: "What else do you want?"

"Your cultivation," Ling Hao said indifferently, "cannot be kept."

He took a step forward and was already before Star Lord Taiyang.

Star Lord Taiyang retreated in horror, but with over half of his vital blood burned and his cultivation fallen, he could barely even stand steadily and had no way to dodge.

"Puff!"

Ling Hao struck Star Lord Taiyang's Dantian with his palm, and the Primordial Chaos Force surged in like a tidal wave, destroying his Meridians, Dantian, and spiritual power core layer by layer.

Star Lord Taiyang let out a miserable shriek and collapsed to the ground; his crimson gold divine robe instantly lost its luster, and the Taiyang True Fire he had cultivated for a thousand years dissipated from his body, turning into tiny sparks that vanished into the air.

"Ling Hao! You!" Star Lord Jidu's expression changed drastically; he exhausted his last shred of spiritual power to activate the void-piercing mirror, attempting to escape through space.

The surface of the void-piercing mirror barely lit up with a faint, eerie light, but it exploded amidst the dense cracks, sending fragments flying everywhere.

Ling Hao was faster.

With the Space-Time Rules, he could cover a thousand miles in an instant; even if space was locked down, his Chaos Rules could still tear a rift through the lockdown.

He appeared in front of Star Lord Jidu and struck down with his palm.

"Puff!"

Star Lord Jidu's Dantian shattered, and his cultivation was completely ruined.

The dark green token slipped from his hand and was caught by Ling Hao.

He slumped to the ground, his face ashen, his eyes filled with despair.

"I said I would spare your lives. I didn't say I wouldn't cripple your cultivation." Ling Hao looked down at the two slumped on the ground from above.