29: Chapter 29: All trump cards revealed, the Emperor's decree
A humiliating disgrace.
A humiliation unlike any he had ever experienced since he began his journey.
Zi Wuji's mind went blank.
He was so furious his face turned beet red.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and his features twisted.
Robbery?
He, the Saint of Ziyang Holy Land, the future master of the Sect, a leading figure of the younger generation in the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.
Had actually been robbed in public?
On his own Sharp Weapon of war.
Right in front of four Elders of the Marquis Realm and hundreds of elite Disciples.
Someone had forcibly snatched away a precious treasure personally bestowed by the Holy Master right from his hands.
The other party hadn't even shown their face.
This wasn't just a slap in the face.
This was pinning his face to the ground and grinding it with the soles of their shoes.
It was like being slapped hundreds of times.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood could no longer be suppressed and burst forth from Zi Wuji's mouth.
It wasn't from an injury.
It was from pure rage.
All around, the four Elders of the Marquis Realm were stunned.
They were dumbfounded.
What had they just seen?
An illusion?
What was that golden, glittering hand from just now?
Law of space?
Divine Ability of a Formation?
Regardless of what it was, it had truly ignored the highest-level defensive shield of the cloud-piercing ark.
And snatched away His Highness the Saint's domain-breaking cone.
This maneuver was completely beyond their comprehension.
They looked at each other.
In each other's eyes, they saw four words.
So we were actually just clowns all along?
"Ahhhhh!"
A moment later, a sharp roar erupted from the depths of Zi Wuji's throat.
It was filled with wild rage and killing intent.
The sound seemed to have substance, cracking the refined gold deck beneath his feet.
"Form the Formation!"
"Ziyang Burning Heaven Formation!"
Amidst his extreme rage, Zi Wuji had not completely lost his sanity.
The other party's unfathomable methods made him deeply realize that the enemy before him was definitely not someone he could take down alone.
The four Marquis Elders were jolted awake by the roar, their bodies trembling as they dared not delay in the slightest.
They immediately flew into the air.
"We obey the Saint's decree!"
The four of them instantly appeared at the north, south, east, and west positions around Zi Wuji, protecting him in the center.
They formed profound incantations with their hands, chanting under their breath, while the Marquis-level mana within them surged forth without reservation.
"Boom!"
Five vast Marquis Realm auras shot into the sky, converging at a single point in mid-air.
A phantom of a "sun" over a hundred zhang in diameter, burning with purple divine fire, condensed above their heads.
As the "sun" appeared, the surrounding temperature soared rapidly, and waves of heat rolled out.
The air crackled as it was scorched.
The Imperial Capital below instantly shifted from early autumn to the height of summer; countless trees began to wither, and river water began to evaporate.
"Ziyang Burns the Heavens, Refining All Things!"
Killing intent was fully revealed on Zi Wuji's face.
He pointed one hand towards the Imperial Palace below and roared.
"Burn it for me!"
"Refine that tortoise shell of his, along with all the ants inside, into ashes!"
The purple sun crashed down.
Carrying terrifying might, it slammed heavily into the Nine Dragons Heaven-Locking Grand Array below.
The scene that followed shocked everyone.
"Roar!"
The nine dormant Golden Dragons of Fortune, provoked by this challenge, all raised their heads in unison and let out a heaven-shaking dragon roar.
The golden light screen suddenly became incredibly solid, with the nine Dragons circling above it, forming a massive golden vortex.
The purple sun, capable of easily melting a mountain range, made not a sound the moment it touched the golden vortex.
All its energy was easily swallowed and neutralized by the golden vortex.
The light on the golden screen even grew a bit brighter because of it.
It could even charge the enemy's defensive Formation?
Seeing this, everyone on the warship, including the four Marquis Elders, had their understanding completely overturned.
Such methods were already beyond their comprehension.
"Pfft!"
Zi Wuji spat out another mouthful of blood, his body staggering as he nearly lost his footing.
The backlash from the Formation, combined with his burning rage, caused his blood to surge, and he nearly suffered Qi Deviation.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
It's no good.
We are completely outmatched.
The other party hadn't even shown their true form, yet could toy with the five of them, all Marquises, so easily with just an unknown protective Formation.
The gap in strength was so great it filled him with despair.
Could it be that he would fall here today?
No!
I, Zi Wuji, am the Child of Destiny.
I must ascend to the pinnacle of the Martial Artist path, take control of Ziyang Holy Land, and look down upon the entire Eastern Wasteland.
How could I die in such a backwater place?
Zi Wuji's eyes instantly turned venomous and crazed.
"You forced me! You forced me!"
He roared like a madman and suddenly took something out from his Storage Ring.
It was a folded scroll, woven from some unknown divine golden thread.
Its entire body was a noble, dark gold; it had no runes, no energy fluctuations, and was plain and unadorned.
But the moment it appeared, all the Magic Treasures and Spiritual Artifacts on the entire cloud-piercing ark let out a buzzing whimper.
Upon seeing this scroll, the four Marquis Elders turned deathly pale.
The terror in their eyes even exceeded what they felt when they saw the Formation earlier.
"Saint! You must not!"
Elder Wu shouted with a trembling voice.
"This is the Decree of the Human Emperor! It is the final trump card inscribed by our Sect's Human Emperor Old Ancestor with their own heart's blood. Once used, the Sect's Luck will be affected!"
"Shut up!"
Zi Wuji snapped his head around, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at him.
The madness and killing intent in that gaze made Elder Wu instantly shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.
Using the Decree of the Human Emperor would surely bring the most severe punishment from the Sect upon his return, and he might even lose his position as Saint.
However, compared to saving his life and washing away today's humiliating disgrace, none of that mattered.
Today, he would let that hiding rat know what true despair was.
What the true foundation of a Holy Land was.
"Today, I will let you witness what a true thunderous method is!"
Zi Wuji grinned viciously and, without hesitation, raised his hand and bit the tip of his tongue.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of essence blood, containing his cultivation Origin, turned into a blood arrow and sprayed onto the dark gold scroll.
Hum!
A roar spread out from the scroll.
The entire world suddenly went still at this moment.
The wind stopped.
The clouds dispersed.
Even the flow of time became sluggish.
The scroll, having absorbed Zi Wuji's essence blood, slowly unfolded in mid-air.
There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor any dazzling divine light.
It simply unfolded quietly, revealing two characters inscribed inside with supreme divine script.
[Suppress]!
The moment these two characters appeared, a will far exceeding the Marquis Realm, and even surpassing that of an ordinary Venerable, instantly enveloped the area for a thousand miles.
This pressure originated from the level of life itself; it was irresistible.
It was absolute dominion at the level of Law.
Within the Imperial Capital, millions of living beings, including Martial Artists with cultivation, and even Emperor Li Zhan sitting upon the Dragon Throne, all collapsed involuntarily under this pressure, prostrating themselves on the ground towards the sky, trembling.
In their minds, not a single thought of resistance could arise.
Only awe and submission remained in their hearts.
Even the indestructible Nine Dragons Heaven-Locking Grand Array above the Imperial Palace let out "crack-crack" sounds of being unable to bear the weight the moment it touched this pressure.
The nine Golden Dragons of Fortune whined, their light instantly dimming, on the verge of collapse.
This was the might of the Human Emperor.
Words become Law, ruling over heaven and earth.
High above in the sky, the unfolded decree slowly burned, turning into countless golden specks of light.
These specks of light gathered and intertwined in the air, finally condensing into a figure a thousand zhang tall.
The figure wore an ancient imperial robe, a flat-topped crown, and its face was blurred.
Around its body, phenomena of the sun, moon, and stars revolving lingered.
It stood there quietly, yet dominated this heaven and earth.
The Human Emperor phantom.
This was the last lingering will of a Human Emperor Old Ancestor of Ziyang Holy Land who had fallen thousands of years ago, left behind before they passed away.
It possessed the power of a full-strength strike from a Human Emperor Realm expert during their lifetime.
Looking at that majestic figure, Zi Wuji smiled.
He covered his face and laughed crazily.
"Haha... hahahahaha!"
"Do you see! Do you see?!"
He extended a trembling finger, pointing towards the deathly silent Imperial Palace below, his voice sharp with excitement.
"This is the foundation of my Ziyang Holy Land's ten-thousand-year Legacy! This is the supreme Divine Might of the Human Emperor!"
"Now, is that ridiculous tortoise shell of yours still useful? Are those unsightly methods of yours still useful?!"
"Before the Human Emperor Old Ancestor of my Sect, you are nothing but an ant!"
It seemed to be in response to his words.
The silent Human Emperor phantom slowly raised its right hand.
A golden finger, composed of pure power of Law, aimed at the unremarkable Zhaoyang Hall in the Imperial Palace below.
It slowly pressed down.
Beneath this finger, space shattered.
A destructive aura locked onto Zhaoyang Hall.