Chapter 292

Chapter 292: I Have Powerful Backing

"We’ve obtained the information we sought. This place is no longer safe to linger." The Heavenly Talisman Old Man stated gravely. "We must depart the Divine Court swiftly."

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Suddenly, a cold voice echoed outside Lingxiao Palace as Princess Zhong Ling, Bai Muyue, Li Ruoshui, and others descended upon the Thirty-Third Heaven, appearing directly behind Tai Sui.

Hearing the voice, everyone felt as if plunged into an ice cellar, hairs standing on end.

"Come in first."

At Ye Xu’s thought, Tai Sui glided into Lingxiao Palace. The group entered, divine patterns swirling through the void without displaying hostility.

"Father!"

With Tai Sui no longer blocking the entrance, Zhong Ling spotted the Human Emperor instantly. Tears spilled from her eyes as she charged toward Lingxiao Palace.

"Your Highness, beware the trap!" the elder of the Zhong Clan shouted.

Hearing this, Bai Muyue and Li Ruoshui, who’d been about to rush inside, halted abruptly. Having been tricked once before, they carried considerable apprehension.

However, consumed by filial urgency, Zhong Ling had already stepped into Lingxiao Palace.

The five true immortals of the Zhong Clan had no choice but to follow her in.

"So it’s him." Dao King frowned slightly upon glimpsing Ye Xu. In his impression, Ye Xu was profoundly mysterious and formidable—someone who, even at the emperor realm, exterminated Eleven Emperor Venerables in one stroke. Truly monstrous.

"Doesn’t seem like a trap?" Palace Master of Tianyuan Palace under the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths narrowed his eyes, but lacking Bai Muyue’s command, he dared not act rashly.

"Enter." Bai Muyue said lightly, leading her followers inside.

"Father!" Ignoring Gu Daojin, Ye Xu, and the rest, Zhong Ling sprinted toward the Human Emperor. Upon his throne, he retained his imposing dignity but no longer held even a wisp of breath.

As the Human Emperor’s last vestige of obsession dissipated, a hegemon faded like a fallen star.

"Since the Divine Court’s demise, you are the first to reach Lingxiao Palace. Did the Human Emperor leave any final words?" Li Ruoshui glared at Gu Daojin coldly. "What truly caused the fall of the Ancient Divine Court?"

"If you divulge it, this seat may grant you intact corpses."

The Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital turned grim, and Gu Daojin remained equally silent.

This time, no savior was coming.

Whether they spoke or not, their fate was sealed.

"Final words there were indeed." Ye Xu smiled faintly.

Shua—

Instantly, Zhong Ling’s piercing gaze locked onto Ye Xu, her pupils radiating such fierce light it seemed to stab his eyes like needles.

"Speak!" Zhong Ling commanded.

Ye Xu took his time, utterly unhurried. "Upon our arrival in Lingxiao Palace, a lingering remnant of the Human Emperor’s will awakened. He uttered only one sentence."

Bai Muyue, Li Ruoshui, and Zhong Ling all pricked up their ears.

"He declared that even in death, he’d keep watching over us." Ye Xu chuckled.

"You dare mock me?" Li Ruoshui erupted in rage.

A flicker of murderous darkness stirred in Bai Muyue’s eyes.

"Courting death!"

Zhong Ling scornfully yelled, as killing intent surged like a fountain. Without the slightest hesitation, she wielded the Human Emperor’s brush, its strokes interlinking the Symbols within Lingxiao Palace stroke by stroke, fusing them into one seamless, unified whole.

Clang—

In that split second, terrifying sword intent flooded Lingxiao Palace. Layer upon layer of sword domains materialized, evolving swiftly into thirty-three sword domains of the sword dao.

Each divine pattern was a manifestation of sword intent, a wisp of sword qi.

The thirty-three sword domains represented the peak of sword dao, achievements at the very end of the Great Dao.

"So that’s it!"

Gu Daojin immediately understood. The formation within Lingxiao Palace was clearly an evolution of the Human Emperor’s Great Dao, and the Human Emperor’s brush served as the key to activate it.

Zhong Ling aimed to capture them all at once.

"Daoist friend Qingluo, what is the meaning of this?" Li Ruoshui’s face turned grim.

Bai Muyue pinched the leaf embodying the innate light Great Dao between two fingers, circulating her magic power as she prepared to strike.

"Can’t you see it yet?" Bai Muyue uttered calmly. "She intends to exploit the formation left by the Human Emperor to slaughter us all here."

"That so-called ‘trap’ was likely just a lie to deceive us."

"Glad you finally realized."

The elder of the Zhong Clan snorted coldly. "The Divine Court was painstakingly founded by our ancestor. All of you covet its treasures—you are greedy, insatiable, and deserve to die a thousand deaths."

A triumphant smile graced Zhong Ling’s delicate face. "Daoist friends," she declared confidently, "this Duchess only agreed to share the Divine Court’s treasures with you as a mere stalling tactic."

"Did you truly believe I would actually share what is mine with anyone?"

Zhong Ling’s tone gradually sharpened, a chilling hostility seeping through.

"And you lot!"

Zhong Ling glared icily at Ye Xu. "Stealing the Divine Court’s treasures, spouting nonsense—you too deserve to die a thousand deaths."

"Die!"

Clutching the Human Emperor’s brush, Zhong Ling made a complex twist with her wrist. A divine pattern slowly rotated. A wisp of sword qi tore through space-time, slashing toward Gu Daojin, Ye Xu, and the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital.

Despair washed over the faces of the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital.

Especially the Heavenly Talisman Old Man. He had just obtained the Primordial Talisman Gate, and his dream of attaining immortality remained unfulfilled—now he faced death here. Desperation mingled with profound resentment.

"You’re truly foolish, woman."

The corner of Ye Xu’s mouth lifted in mockery. "Told you earlier I have the Human Emperor’s protection, but you just wouldn’t believe."

Cling!

Before the words could fully fade, Ye Xu flicked his fingers through the empty space. Divine patterns, resembling lines of code, were effortlessly rewritten by him. An invisible barrier manifested before him.

Crack!

The incoming sword qi cleaved down, only to dissolve harmlessly into the barrier. The peril confronting their lives was subtly negated.

"Imp… impossible!"

Zhong Ling’s lovely face contorted in shock. "How could you possibly wield my father’s power?"

She could command the thirty-three sword domains because she possessed the Human Emperor’s brush, but how did Ye Xu manage it?

Not only her, but Li Ruoshui and Bai Muyue were even more astonished.

The Dao King’s gaze flickered; he couldn’t see through Ye Xu at all.

Ye Xu smiled faintly and pointed to the sky. "I have connections above."

Gu Daojin and the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital breathed sighs of relief. Everyone looked at Ye Xu with a mixture of shock and joy. Who could have imagined that Ye Xu would pull off a reversal from certain defeat?

This kid is far more dependable than my foolish disciple, Gu Daojin thought to himself.

"Nonsense!"

Zhong Ling refused to believe it and urged the Human Emperor’s brush. Mighty mana surged into the thirty-three sword domains. Divine patterns rotated while sword energy clanged, its terrifying sword intent corroding the Purple Palaces of the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths and the Taihao Heavenly Sect members.

"Ah!"

In the blink of an eye, the Purple Palaces of the several true immortals under the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths were shredded by the sword energy. Blood streamed from their seven orifices as they suffered severe damage.

Under the power of the end of the Great Dao, even the slightest wisp was beyond their capacity to endure.

If the Human Emperor’s power hadn’t been exhausted by the power of divine punishment, becoming utterly feeble, just a single strand of that sword intent would have been sufficient to slay a cultivator at the peak of the True Immortal Realm.

The Dao King hastily activated the Enlightenment Tree. Leaves unfurled and divine patterns flowed, shielding his primordial spirit.

Even so, he was still gravely injured.

Bai Muyue and Li Ruoshui channeled their mana, unleashing divine abilities. The two Immortal Kings each displayed their prowess.

Bai Muyue closed her eyes in visualization. From within the divine leaves of light, the phantom of an imperial figure gradually manifested. He seemed to embody the very light of heaven and earth — blindingly radiant yet infinitely gentle — dispersing the darkness and scattering the sword intent.

Li Ruoshui withdrew a scroll of Great Dao diagrams pulsating with the chaos of the primordial universe. The Great Dao of Chaos churned like a millstone, grinding the sword intent into nothingness.

Zhong Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The imperial phantom Bai Muyue manifested had an immense origin. Merely the impression of it could resist the sword intent of the Human Emperor; the true form’s power must be unimaginably terrifying.

As for the scroll bearing the Great Dao diagrams within Li Ruoshui’s grasp, it contained the Great Dao of Chaos — a top-tier Immortal King treasure. With her cultivation merely at the early stage of the Immortal King realm, possessing such an artifact was utterly impossible.

Both of them possessed formidable backgrounds.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The force of the thirty-three sword domains erupted. Bai Muyue and Li Ruoshui barely held on. Even protected by their treasures, cracking the thirty-three sword domains remained impossible.

After all, blocking something and destroying it were two entirely different concepts.

"Dear friends, take your time sparring. Pay us no mind," Ye Xu remarked leisurely.

He actively altered the formation to fend off Zhong Ling’s attacks while effortlessly stoking the flames. Though Gu Daojin’s strength surpassed this current manifestation, his comprehension of the Great Dao paled in comparison to Ye Xu.

With all the information of the Divine Court now at his disposal, there was scarcely anything Ye Xu could not accomplish.

Otherwise, reconfiguring the defenses to step into the Lingxiao Palace and meet the Human Emperor would have been impossible.

At that moment.

Relying on the Human Emperor’s brush, Zhong Ling strained to operate the thirty-three sword domains. Though she could suppress Bai Muyue and Li Ruoshui, this was no sustainable strategy.

The power granted by the Human Emperor would eventually run dry.

"Good luck, everyone. I’ll be going first."

Ye Xu plucked the divine patterns one by one, opening a void door in mid-air; he stored Tai Sui into the Purple Palace and, with the Seven Immortals of Cloud Capital, Gu Daojin, and Yu Ziwei, leaped inside.

"Your Highness, that kid escaped," said the elder of the Zhong Clan, his expression dark.

"Even to the ends of the earth, we must find him!" Zhong Ling’s face was cold as ice.

It wasn’t just that Ye Xu had opposed her multiple times, but also because of the secrets he concealed.

She alone knew how to activate the array of Lingxiao Palace—how could Ye Xu have possibly grasped it?

Boom!

Suddenly, seizing Zhong Ling’s moment of distraction, Bai Muyue and Li Ruoshui grabbed their chance. Bai Muyue invoked her treasure, a golden shuttle of sun and moon; like a stream of light, it intertwined with the yin and yang Great Dao, shot through time and space, and slammed into the Human Emperor’s brush.

Bang!

The Human Emperor’s brush was knocked down, its luck scattered, and flaws instantly appeared in the array.

"Taihao Tianyuan Seal!"

Li Ruoshui summoned the diagram of the Great Dao; the diagram grew incredibly heavy, resembling an entire world, crushing Lingxiao Palace and forcibly tearing an opening through the thirty-three sword domains.

Her divine power erupted, and a sealing technique blasted towards Zhong Ling.

Zhong Ling’s ten fingers danced swiftly; her long hair flowed like swords, meeting Li Ruoshui’s divine power head-on.

Boom!

Sword light flashed, and Li Ruoshui’s divine power was immediately shattered.

In that split second, Bai Muyue charged in.

She was as radiant and scorching as a divine sun; her light bathed everything in divine fire, igniting Zhong Ling’s mana instantly and kindling internal flames among the true immortals of the Zhong Clan, one after another.

In pure cultivation strength, Bai Muyue was absolutely the mightiest.

Zhong Ling gripped the Human Emperor’s brush tightly; she coalesced the luck, reassembled the broken array, and let the sword intent ring out—swiftly suppressing Bai Muyue’s mana and rescuing five true immortals.

"Go."

Bai Muyue did not delay any longer; she took the true immortals of the Temple of Ten Thousand Paths and flew from Lingxiao Palace.

Li Ruoshui likewise departed from Lingxiao Palace.

Staring at their retreating figures, Zhong Ling seethed with rage.

"Ye Qing Xuan!"

Zhong Ling drove her fingers deep into her flesh.

She had never detested anyone with such intensity before.