134: Let him come over!

"I'll give you one last chance."

Chen Ao's figure appeared like a ghost before the asura dharma body, meeting its blood-red eyes.

"Submit to me."

"Or, be utterly shattered by me, then remolded."

His words carried no emotion, only the absolute will of a king.

His response was Zhao Tianyang's final frenzy.

The two remaining arms of the asura dharma body gathered its last vestiges of power, lunging fiercely at Chen Ao's head with a desperate resolve to perish together!

"Foolish."

Chen Ao finally lost his patience completely.

He did not dodge, but slowly raised his hands.

Then, under everyone's horrified gaze...

He brought them together in a prayer-like gesture.

Boom!

The six elemental spheres, which were individually suppressing the Asura's arms, seemed to receive a command and instantly abandoned their targets.

They transformed into six streaks of light, converging before Chen Ao's palms with a speed exceeding lightning.

Fire and ice, thunder and wind, earth and metal.

Six distinct, even mutually opposing, violent elements were forcibly blended and compressed in Chen Ao's palm by an incomprehensible, immense power.

A grey energy sphere, the size of a fist but seemingly containing an entire chaotic nebula within, slowly took shape.

That grey chaotic energy sphere exuded a deathly stillness that heralded the end of all things.

It had no light, nor was it hot.

Its mere presence caused the surrounding space to distort, light to be swallowed, and sound to be erased.

A fear stemming from the primal instinct of life gripped the heart of every living creature still breathing on the scene.

Zhao Tianyang's berserk asura dharma body's final two claw strikes froze less than half a meter from Chen Ao, held in place by an invisible force.

The blood-fiend energy that formed the Dharma Idol was being silently decomposed and absorbed by that small grey sphere.

Destruction was inevitable.

"No!"

From the ruins, the old ghost let out a blood-curdling roar.

He suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Chen Ao in mid-air, and roared with his last ounce of strength.

"Chen Ao! If you dare touch him! Our boss won't let you get away with it!"

"Seventh Master and I, we're dead if we're dead, but Zhao Tianyang is different..."

This roar was particularly abrupt in the silent battlefield.

Chen Ao's movement paused slightly.

He had apprehension, but even more, he had the rage of being offended.

He slowly turned his head, looking down at the old ghost kneeling in the rubble, his expression like one looking at a noisy ant.

Then, he smiled.

A silent, deeply sarcastic smile.

"Boss?"

Chen Ao repeated the word, filled with disdain.

"In Linzhou, who dares to call himself my boss?"

"Some hidden figure who only dares to send trash like you to show their face?"

"What is he even?"

With each word he spoke, the suction force of the grey energy sphere in his hand intensified.

The asura dharma body's collapse visibly accelerated.

Its eight hideous arms were disintegrating from their ends, inch by inch turning into ethereal energy particles, drawn into the chaos.

"My boss..."

The old ghost tried to say something more, but his words abruptly stopped when he saw Chen Ao's reaction.

A strange calm suddenly appeared on his face, which had been distorted by despair.

It was an eerie calm, like someone who had completely seen through something.

He no longer roared, nor did he curse.

He just looked at Chen Ao, at his arrogant, deliberately displayed confidence.

The old ghost noticed.

While speaking, Chen Ao's peripheral vision glanced at the hooded man behind him.

An extremely subtle, almost imperceptible movement.

But the old ghost saw it.

That wasn't asking for an opinion.

It was a subconscious confirmation, an instinct to seek support.

He was apprehensive.

This sole king of Linzhou's black market, deep down, felt apprehension when he heard the word "boss."

All his arrogance, all his sarcasm, were merely to conceal that momentary wavering.

Having realized this, the old ghost suddenly no longer felt despair.

He even found it somewhat amusing.

He slowly lowered his head and gently wiped Seventh Master's already cold and stiff face with his dust-covered sleeve.

His movements were gentle, filled with a final tenderness.

Then, he looked up again at Chen Ao.

This time, his eyes held no grief, no fear, only a pity reserved for the dead.

"Perhaps we will all die here today."

The old ghost's voice was no longer sharp; instead, it was a settled hoarseness, every word clear.

"Zhao Tianyang might die."

"I might die too."

"We might only..."

"But you, Chen Ao..."

He paused, then said, word by word.

"Are certain to die."

This sentence carried no hint of a threat.

It was more like a pronouncement.

A statement of an established fact.

The air seemed to solidify.

Chen Ao's sneer froze on his face.

The chaotic energy sphere in his hand, which was devouring the asura dharma body, even showed a slight, unstable fluctuation in its energy.

Compared to the old ghost's previous desperate curses, this extremely calm "certain to die" made him feel an inexplicable irritation and rage.

It was the humiliation of being seen through by an ant and having his end prophesied.

"Are you telling me what to do?"

Chen Ao narrowed his eyes, his killing intent surging.

"No." The old ghost shook his head, even pulling at his cracked lips to reveal an ugly smile, "I'm just stating a fact."

"As long as my boss comes and sees this scene..."

"Whether we live or not is uncertain."

"But you, you will certainly die a very ugly death."

"Is that so?" Chen Ao laughed in extreme anger, "Then I'd like to see how he makes me die a very ugly death!"

Li Mo, who was beside him, finally couldn't help but speak in a low voice.

"Master Ao, no need to quarrel with a dying man. First deal with this evil fellow; his condition won't last much longer."

Li Mo's reminder was timely.

Now was not the time for bickering; dealing with this troublesome Asura and clearing the scene was the priority.

Chen Ao, of course, understood this logic.

But the inexplicable rage in his heart simply wouldn't subside.

He, Chen Ao, had dominated Linzhou for so many years; when had anyone ever spoken to him with such pity, as if looking at a dead man?

But... should he really kill Zhao Tianyang?

How credible were the old ghost's words?

Would killing Zhao Tianyang be irreversible?

"Haha... Hahahahaha!"

Chen Ao suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter full of unrestrained arrogance.

He slowly released his clasped hands.

The chaotic energy sphere, powerful enough to destroy everything, did not shoot out, but instead, under his control, gradually dissipated, re-decomposing into six original elemental spheres that circled around him.

The asura dharma body, suppressed to the brink of collapse, thus gained a moment's respite and stopped its disintegration.

Chen Ao's action stunned everyone.

Including his own subordinates.

And also Lin Yu, who had been observing coldly from behind the obsidian shield.

Chen Ao stretched out his hand, pointing at the old ghost in the ruins, pointing at the dilapidated asura dharma body.

His face showed an extreme arrogance and provocation.

"Good!"

"Today, I'll give your boss some face!"

"I'll wait right here!"

He took a step forward, the six elemental spheres around him shining brightly, an unparalleled aura soaring into the sky, stirring the clouds and changing the colors of the entire West District.

"Let him come!"