354: it's over!

Chapter 351: It’s Over!

In an instant, the air within the entire Golden Throne Hall seemed to solidify.

The surging spiritual power fluctuations around the Ten Sect Masters instantly receded, like candle flames snuffed out by an invisible hand.

Outside the hall, falling ginkgo leaves eerily hung suspended in mid-air.

Dewdrops on the leaf veins remained poised, about to fall but not yet.

The entire space, at this moment, seemed to have been put on pause, with even the tiniest dust motes ceasing their movement.

The Ten Sect Masters above the void stiffened, their breathing unconsciously caught in their throats.

The heart-palpitating Aura emanating from Lu Xuan carried an overbearing dominance that looked down upon all creation.

This clearly indicated that the person standing above their heads was very likely a terrifying existence beyond a Soul Transformation Cultivator.

At this moment, the minds of the Ten Sect Masters were blank.

One must know that within thousands of years, Soul Transformation Realm Cultivators had almost become extinct.

That legendary Realm had not appeared in this world for an unknown number of years.

And among the crowd, the Flameflow Valley Master, who had previously been arrogant and clamoring for Lu Xuan to pay a blood debt, now seemed to have had all his momentum drained.

The Flameflow Valley Master’s old face twitched violently, his aged face, usually full of majesty and awe-inspiring, instantly replaced by an extremely fawning smile, with humility showing even in his wrinkles, and his eyes full of flattery and reverence.

Under everyone’s shocked gaze, this old monster, who had dominated the cultivation world for hundreds of years, suddenly knelt in the void.

“This Junior respectfully awaits your arrival, Senior!”

He heavily kowtowed, performing the kowtow with utmost deference.

His voice trembled, filled with flattery and obsequiousness: “Senior!”

“The items you require, we have already meticulously prepared and are awaiting your esteemed presence day and night.”

“Now that we have finally awaited Senior’s arrival, this Junior’s heart is truly ecstatic.”

“To be able to serve you, Senior, is truly the honor of our lives!”

Above the void, the performance of the other nine Sect Masters was even more pathetic.

The Supreme Dragon Holy Sect Master Mo Tianlong’s Taoist robe hem flapped without wind; this usually Immortal-like old man was now pale, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

His “Sacred Dragon Art,” which he had cultivated for over seven hundred years, couldn’t even be circulated.

The immense spiritual power within his body was like a frozen river.

Deng Cangri of the Canglan Heavenly Mansion Sect gritted his teeth, as one of the most powerful among the Ten Sect Masters.

He was always known for his sharp demeanor, but at this moment, he didn’t even have the courage to look directly at that figure.

His proud “Canghai Bibo Technique True Intent” cowered into a ball in his Nascent Soul Sea of Consciousness, emitting a wailing tremor.

Lu Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, his dark robe motionless under the invisible pressure, his cold, abyss-like eyes slowly sweeping over everyone present.

When his gaze passed over the Flameflow Valley Master’s fawning face, the chill deepened, as if it could freeze the false smile into frost.

However, Lu Xuan’s gaze did not linger; in a moment, it landed on the center where the Ten Sect Masters were gathered: a golden jade seal, crystal clear throughout.

The golden jade seal floated in mid-air, its golden light erupting, the brilliant radiance almost piercing the sky.

The surging spiritual energy churned like waves, clearly having returned to its Peak state.

Lu Xuan’s method of nourishing the jade seal with imperial clan blood was no longer a secret.

While waiting for Lu Xuan, the Ten Sect Masters also managed to transform this Nation-Suppressing Jade Seal into an Immortal Artifact.

To achieve this, the ten of them did not hesitate to massacre the Bloodline of the Dragonhowl Dynasty.

The essence blood of countless imperial relatives and nobles was forcibly extracted and sacrificed to this jade seal, ultimately allowing it to break through its limitations and become this heaven-changing Immortal Artifact.

“We respectfully see you off, Senior…”

The Ten Sect Masters cried out in unison, their heads bowed low, their postures humble to the dust.

They watched as Lu Xuan casually took away the jade seal that had transformed into an Immortal Artifact, not daring to even breathe heavily.

The Soul Transformation Realm and the perfected Nascent Soul Realm, seemingly only a line apart, were in fact a chasm.

The Flameflow Valley Master’s forehead pressed against the void, cold sweat soaking his back.

As a Cultivator at the perfected Nascent Soul stage, he knew better than anyone what this gap meant.

It was the difference between an ant and an eagle, a stream and a vast ocean.

A Soul Transformation Cultivator could summon the mighty power of heaven and earth with a single thought.

No matter how strong a Nascent Soul Cultivator was, he was ultimately still struggling within the scope of “mortal power.”

“Human power has its limits, but heaven and earth are boundless…” the Supreme Dragon Holy Sect Master murmured lowly, his Dao Heart trembling.

He had cultivated for over nine hundred years, and only today did he truly understand the meaning of this sentence.

In the void, Lu Xuan’s figure had faded.

But that terrifying pressure still weighed on everyone’s hearts like a tangible entity.

Only after confirming that the terrifying existence had truly left did the Ten Sect Masters dare to slowly straighten their bodies.

Pfft!!!

The Flameflow Valley Master suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his complexion instantly turning ashen.

It turned out that due to excessive fear, his spiritual essence had surged backward, damaging his heart meridian.

This Flameflow Valley Master, who usually dominated the scene, now trembled like a sickly old man.

There was no way around it; who would have thought that one day, a venerable old monster at the perfected Nascent Soul Realm could be poked to death by someone with a single finger?

Even someone with the best mental fortitude would not be able to withstand such a massive blow.

One of the Sect Masters, seeing this, showed no sympathy and instead sneered.

“Old Ghost Yan Zhen, weren’t you the best at flattery just now?”

“Why are you the most severely injured now?”

“You!”

The Flameflow Valley Master glared, but dared not circulate his cultivation to heal, fearing any unusual movement.

He could only suppress his injuries and grit his teeth, saying, “Why must Palace Master Chu laugh at me when you are just as bad?”

The Flameflow Valley Master raised a hand to wipe the blood from his lips and sneered, “That pressure just now swept across the entire hall, and you and I were both within it.”

“I don’t believe you are unharmed!”

As his voice fell, the surrounding air seemed to solidify slightly.

When Lu Xuan appeared just now, the seemingly calm pressure actually contained hidden killing moves.

That invisible power of heaven and earth scraped across everyone’s souls like a sharp blade, and none of the Ten Sect Masters present were spared.

The white-haired elder, referred to as Palace Master Chu, swayed slightly, his originally rosy complexion instantly turning as pale as paper.

It was as if his embarrassing secret had been exposed in public, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

“Absurd!”

Palace Master Chu flicked his sleeve abruptly, his old voice filled with unconcealed anger and embarrassment.

“This venerable one is too lazy to waste words on you group useless people who can’t even protect yourselves!”

Before his words finished, his spiritual energy surged violently, transforming into a white streak that broke through the air, leaving behind a long afterimage.

Palace Master Chu’s escape was like an invisible signal; the remaining nine Sect Masters exchanged glances, all understanding tacitly.

They did not say another word, their bodies shimmering with spiritual light as they each performed their unique escape techniques.

In an instant, they sped off in different directions—southeast, northwest—disappearing into the cloud-shrouded sky in the blink of an eye, leaving only a chaotic battlefield behind.

When the last sound of breaking air dissipated, this ruined area, which had experienced earth-shattering changes, fell into dead silence.

After a long while, a faint murmur, like a whimper or a sigh, emanated from beneath the broken walls and rubble.

Pushing aside the charred fragments of beams, the Dragonhowl Emperor was seen slumped in a pool of blood.

The dragon crown, once a symbol of dignity, hung askew on his head.

The auspicious dragon patterns embroidered with gold thread were stained beyond recognition by blood.

His eyes were hollow and lifeless, staring blankly at the void, blood continuously oozing from the corners of his mouth.

He was like a soulless Puppet.

It was one thing for the Nation-Suppressing Jade Seal to be taken by the Ten Sect Masters, but what pained the Dragonhowl Emperor the most was that the imperial Bloodline had been almost completely massacred.

The once immensely prominent Dragonhowl Imperial Family now consisted of only a handful of people.

This upheaval was like a catastrophe, completely hollowing out the foundation of the Dragonhowl Dynasty.

At this moment, the Dragonhowl Emperor had not only lost the jade seal symbolizing the Dynasty’s heritage but also several sons with pure essence blood.

He was arguably the most tragic figure in this upheaval.

However, how could those Nascent Soul powerhouses, with their heaven-reaching cultivation, care about the rise and fall of a mortal Dynasty?

In their eyes, the Dragonhowl Dynasty was merely a tiny piece on the chess board of the cultivation world.

Now that the piece was broken, they naturally left without regret, each pursuing the elusive Great Dao.

As for the lives of the common people after the Dynasty’s collapse, and the sorrow of the imperial family, these were never worth mentioning in the world of cultivation powerhouses.

Swallowing Sun Dynasty!

“Damn it, why would Lu Xuan know this secret?!”

“Impossible!”

“Regarding the ten jade seals distributed by the Sacred Ancestor, it’s clearly a top-secret only known to successive Swallowing Sun Emperors.”

Exclamations exploded in the empty palace, echoes reverberating against the gilded dragon-patterned jade pillars, making the night pearls on the beams tremble slightly.

The Swallowing Sun Emperor slammed his hand on the table, the hem of his dark dragon robe sweeping away the memorials on the desk, revealing a tempestuous look in his eyes: “What is the origin of that person?!”

This hoarse, emotionless question, imbued with pressure beyond the perfected Nascent Soul Realm, made the air in the entire grand hall viscous like glue.

“Who exactly is this Lu Xuan?!”

“Could it be that he is an Immortal reincarnated?”

The Swallowing Sun Emperor’s withered fingers gripped the armrest of the dragon throne tightly.

The gold-inlaid jade decorations cracked into spiderweb-like fine lines under his fingertips.

Though already in his twilight years, a faint spiritual light subtly emanated from his silver-white hair.

The Aura of a half-step Soul Transformation Cultivator, like a dormant fierce beast, stirred gusts of fierce winds within the hall.

Beneath the dragon throne, ten middle-aged imperial princes, clad in python robes, had already prostrated themselves on the ground.

Their foreheads pressed against the cold golden bricks, not daring to even breathe heavily.

Their necks bulged with veins, and their brocade python robes were soaked with cold sweat, under the dual pressure of the enraged emperor’s might and an unknown threat.

Their usual scheming thoughts vanished, replaced by utter fear.

Lu Xuan, who knew the Swallowing Sun Dynasty’s taboo, had already acquired the Ten Jade Seals.

His next step must be…

No words were needed; even the most obtuse person could guess the answer.

“He wants the Swallowing Sun Dynasty’s ancestral jade seal!”

“Dream on!”

The Swallowing Sun Emperor’s roar, imbued with the immense pressure of a half-step Soul Transformation, made the entire Golden Throne Hall hum.

In his turbid eyes, a nearly deranged fury burned, as if he swore to defend the Dynasty’s last shred of dignity to the death.

However, before the Swallowing Sun Emperor’s harsh words faded, the sky suddenly trembled violently.

On the palace dome, the walls meticulously carved from thousand-year-old spiritual crystals disintegrated inch by inch under the erosion of an invisible force, turning into a sky full of fine dust.

Tiny crystal dust drifted with the wind, like a dazzling and strange snow, exposing the originally solemn palace to the blinding sunlight.

A dark shadow emerged from the void like a ghost; before the figure fully appeared, the pressure arrived first.

The newcomer stood suspended in mid-air, surrounded by a heart-palpitating spiritual energy pressure.

It was Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan looked down at the ant-like crowd below, his cold voice sounding as if from the Nine Netherworld Springs: “Hand over the jade seal, and I can spare your lives!”

The Swallowing Sun Emperor remained frozen, his eyes wide with rage.

His previous arrogance vanished instantly under this terrifying pressure.

Just then, a prince in a magnificent python robe suddenly erupted, drawing the sword from his waist and roaring hysterically: “Audacious madman!”

“How dare you be arrogant before the Swallowing Sun Dynasty, I…”

Before he could finish his harsh words, an invisible force enveloped him.

In an instant, the prince’s body swelled at a visible rate, veins bulging under his skin, his facial features twisting and deforming.

With a loud “bang,” his body exploded like a blood-red firework, turning into a sky full of blood mist.

Shredded flesh and internal organs rained down, staining the golden-brick floor a crimson red.

Screams and gasps immediately erupted throughout the hall, the remaining princes were utterly terrified, collapsing to the ground, no longer possessing the courage to resist.

“Die for me!”

In the Swallowing Sun Emperor’s crimson pupils, there was not a trace of sorrow for his lost son.

His gaunt face also appeared hideous due to distortion.

As his roar erupted, the spiritual energy entwined around his body suddenly materialized.

The Swallowing Sun Emperor slowly raised his right hand, his palm holding a jade seal as dark as an abyss.

A majestic and powerful pressure exploded from the jade seal as its center, instantly dyeing the clouds within a hundred-mile radius an inky black.

This Immortal Artifact Aura was utterly domineering; wherever it passed, the air emitted ear-piercing crackles.

The spiritual bricks on the ground cracked inch by inch, and even space itself rippled with distortions.

Compared to the ten jade seals Lu Xuan had previously collected, the power emitted by this ancestral jade seal was like an ocean compared to a stream.

The Swallowing Sun Emperor laughed maniacally, a nearly fanatical madness flickering in his turbid eyes: “This is the treasure that has suppressed the ages of my Swallowing Sun Dynasty; even a Soul Transformation Cultivator would perish here!”

“Today, I shall let you, madman, witness what true heaven and earth power is!”

As his voice fell, the black patterns on the jade seal’s surface suddenly burst forth with dazzling ghostly light.

A dark vortex that seemed to devour all things slowly formed in the void.

Lu Xuan’s lips curved into a faint smile; he nodded slightly, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather.

“You’re right! A Soul Transformation Cultivator would indeed die under this attack!”

Before the Swallowing Sun Emperor could react, Lu Xuan’s slender finger had already slowly risen.

“Unfortunately, I am not a Soul Transformation Cultivator!”

A deep blue light blossomed from his fingertip, instantly filling the entire Imperial City!

Every inch of air, every speck of dust, was dyed this profound, star-like blue.

Above the sky, an endless torrent of spiritual energy poured down like a celestial river, yet obediently converged into a vortex at Lu Xuan’s fingertip.

“It’s over!”