Chapter 1392: The Might of a Supreme Sacred Artifact, Destroying Heaven and Earth
Lingxiao Heavenly King looked down at the war flames below, watching the Saint realm experts of the imperial court fall one after another. A bitter smile appeared on his face. "You have won this battle! But since the Empress has already become a god, no matter how you rebel, death and destruction will be your ultimate fate."
"Whoosh!"
The sacred armor on Lingxiao Heavenly King burst forth with dazzling sacred light, a formidable sacred Dao power surging out. Then, he transformed into a streak of cyan light, charging out of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
At the same time, Huben Heavenly King also realized the situation was lost. Riding the White Tiger beast soul, he fled the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor alongside Lingxiao Heavenly King.
Two Heavenly Kings who had shaken the world were now in retreat.
Inside the Ancestral Shrine, Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Great Saint inscriptions, transforming them into a river of inscriptions that surged out from the sacred mountain, striking simultaneously at Lingxiao Heavenly King and Huben Heavenly King.
"Take the imperial army and leave first. Retreat as far as you can."
Lingxiao Heavenly King's gaze was cold and deep. He formed a hand seal with both hands, striking it against the incoming river of inscriptions, attempting to single-handedly resist the Great Saint inscriptions.
Huben Heavenly King knew that Lingxiao Heavenly King wasn't truly fleeing. He was first retreating beyond the core zone of the Great Saint inscriptions before unleashing a massacre. Clearly, Lingxiao Heavenly King was about to use some powerful means, possibly even destroying this entire region, which was why he ordered the imperial army to withdraw first.
"All imperial troops, hear my command—immediately retreat!"
Huben Heavenly King was decisive. Sacred Qi surged endlessly from his body, enveloping over a million imperial soldiers. Then, carrying them, he flew rapidly out of the Sacred Ming City.
For a Saint King of such immense power, lifting a hundred great mountains was effortless, so carrying a million-strong army was naturally no challenge.
"Pfft!"
The Great Saint inscriptions within the Ancestral Shrine were terrifyingly powerful. Even though Lingxiao Heavenly King had retreated beyond the core zone, he still couldn't withstand them.
The river of inscriptions slashed out, shattering the hand seal Lingxiao Heavenly King had formed and striking his body.
"Crack, crack!"
The sacred armor on Lingxiao Heavenly King exploded repeatedly, covered in dense cracks. His mighty sacred body plummeted from midair, crashing into the city and creating a crater hundreds of meters wide.
Within Sacred Ming City, all cultivators turned pale, their hearts nearly bursting from fear.
"The imperial army has been routed! Even a Heavenly King-level figure is fleeing. Zhang Ruochen's influence is too strong—where did he find so many experts?"
"Lingxiao Heavenly King, known as the second strongest of the imperial clan, has guarded Sacred Ming City for eight hundred years. Today, he was struck down from the sky to the ground."
...
The Vice Hall Master of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion, however, was not so optimistic. He stopped the Confucian Dao Heavenly King who was about to pursue Huben Heavenly King. "Immediately order the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members to lead the Sacred Ming army to retreat far away, or enter the core zone of the Great Saint inscriptions."
That Confucian Dao Heavenly King halted and followed the Vice Hall Master's instructions to arrange and deploy, as he too sensed something was amiss.
The Vice Hall Master transformed into a white light, arriving above the massive crater. He pointed a finger downward, releasing a beam of finger force.
Lingxiao Heavenly King had not been killed by the Great Saint inscriptions. Standing at the bottom of the crater, he let out a long roar, slowly raising both hands to form a defensive barrier a thousand zhang in diameter. Then, hundreds of azure dragons surged up from the ground, wrapping around his body.
"Boom, rumble!"
The finger force, with irresistible momentum, shattered the hundreds of azure dragons, turning them into a mist of cyan sacred energy.
With a pfft sound, Lingxiao Heavenly King's sacred body was pierced by the finger force, leaving a bowl-sized bloody hole. His internal organs were torn into shreds of flesh and blood, an indescribably miserable sight.
Clearly, the Vice Hall Master's cultivation far surpassed Lingxiao Heavenly King's, far beyond the mere peak of Saint King.
The Vice Hall Master flew downward, extending a palm toward Lingxiao Heavenly King's head. Strands of sacred Dao rules manifested, weaving into a net of rules that descended from above.
"Azure Heaven Pagoda."
Lingxiao Heavenly King produced a nine-inch-tall azure jade pagoda, holding it in his right palm. This was the imperial clan's foremost treasure, the Azure Heaven Pagoda, a Supreme Sacred Artifact. It appeared small and exquisite, incredibly refined.
As the inscriptions continuously emerged, the power fluctuations emanating from the Azure Heaven Pagoda grew increasingly fierce.
With a whoosh, a layer of cyan light surged outward, colliding with the descending net of rules. It tore through the net and struck the Vice Hall Master.
"Boom!"
The trace of Supreme power contained within the cyan light blasted the Vice Hall Master away. Crimson sacred blood flowed from his sacred robe, indicating he had suffered significant injuries.
The moment the Supreme power erupted, with the Azure Heaven Pagoda at its center, all living beings within a hundred li radius instantly exploded into clouds of blood mist. Apart from the Vice Hall Master, none survived.
On the ground, every building turned to ash.
Within the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, Mingjiang Wang's expression changed drastically, filled with dread. "Damn it, that's the imperial clan's clan-guarding Supreme Sacred Artifact, the Azure Heaven Pagoda."
Any cultivator who understood Supreme Sacred Artifacts turned pale, their faces devoid of color.
Once a Supreme Sacred Artifact was unleashed, all living things would be reduced to nothing.
In the Kunlun Realm, the most powerful war weapons were undoubtedly the Ten Great Divine Artifacts.
However, the Ten Great Divine Artifacts were weapons of myth and legend, appearing only occasionally before vanishing again between heaven and earth. They came without shadow and left without trace, as if no one could truly control a divine artifact.
Aside from the Ten Great Divine Artifacts, the most formidable war weapons were the Supreme Sacred Artifacts.
The number of Supreme Sacred Artifacts would not exceed a hundred.
Like divine artifacts, most Supreme Sacred Artifacts had been lost. Only a dozen or so remained, their locations and ownership known.
It could be said that these dozen or so Supreme Sacred Artifacts were the most terrifying great killing weapons in the Kunlun Realm. Any one of them, when activated, would create a scene of heaven-and-earth-shattering destruction.
For example, the Azure Heaven Pagoda held by the Chi clan of the imperial family, the Life-and-Death Bronze Furnace of the Moon Worship Demon Sect, the Nine Phoenix Cauldron of the Black Market, the Blood God Scepter of the Blood God Sect, and the Void Sword left by Qiangu Nüdi...
Even a super sect like the Liangyi Sect did not possess a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
Supreme Sacred Artifacts were extremely difficult to forge. Almost all of them had been left behind from a hundred thousand years ago, forged by gods. In the hundred thousand years since the Middle Ages, only Empress Chi Yao, with her heaven-defying methods, had refined the Blood Drop Sword to the level of a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
"The Azure Heaven Pagoda has been activated! Everyone, flee—flee as far as you can!"
The cultivators in Sacred Ming City, who had already retreated far away, now fled even farther as the Supreme power of the Azure Heaven Pagoda erupted.
The surviving remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire also rushed into the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, entering the core zone of the Great Saint inscriptions.
Perhaps only the Great Saint inscriptions could withstand a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
Lingxiao Heavenly King, holding the Azure Heaven Pagoda in one hand, stepped out of the crater one step at a time, heading toward the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. His voice was cold. "With my strength alone, I can annihilate the entire Sacred Ming."
Above him, the entire sky turned cyan. An overwhelming aura naturally erupted.
"Whoosh!"
A streak of cyan light flew from the Azure Heaven Pagoda, severing the bodies of two Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members, who fell as bloody corpses.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Great Saint inscriptions with all his might, trying to stop Lingxiao Heavenly King's advance.
Bright beams of inscription light emerged from the ground, forming a towering wave of inscriptions dozens of zhang high, rolling toward Lingxiao Heavenly King.
"Brat, you're courting death."
Lingxiao Heavenly King hurled the Azure Heaven Pagoda. The nine-inch pagoda spun rapidly, growing larger and larger, releasing even more powerful Supreme power.
The billions of cultivators in the city were crushed to the ground by the aura of the Azure Heaven Pagoda. Some even fainted from seven-orifice bleeding.
"Boom!"
The dozens-of-zhang-high wave of inscriptions was torn apart by the Supreme power.
At the same time, a section of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor's wall, dozens of li long, collapsed with a thunderous roar, sending thick dust billowing into the sky.
"Pfft!"
Inside the Ancestral Shrine, Zhang Ruochen spat out a mouthful of blood. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.
It wasn't that the Great Saint inscriptions were weak, but the gap in cultivation between Zhang Ruochen and Lingxiao Heavenly King was too vast. Naturally, he couldn't block the Azure Heaven Pagoda.
"One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones."
The Vice Hall Master stood at the entrance of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, raising both hands. Behind him, three enormous divine shadows, hundreds of zhang tall, materialized.
Like three gods descending into the world, they were immensely majestic, filled with sacred charm.
This was the Vice Hall Master's ultimate technique. It was as if three versions of himself had appeared, each divine shadow possessing strength equal to his original body.
The three divine shadows each formed a hand seal, striking at Lingxiao Heavenly King.
At the same time, the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members unleashed dozens of ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts and thousand-pattern sacred artifacts, joining the Vice Hall Master in the attack.
Mingjiang Wang and the Cai Clan Ancestor also struck, unleashing their strongest attacks.
"With a Supreme Sacred Artifact in hand, I am invincible under heaven. Who dares to block me?"
Lingxiao Heavenly King's aura was overwhelming. Sacred blood flowed from his wounds into the Azure Heaven Pagoda, fully unleashing its most powerful Supreme power.
The Azure Heaven Pagoda grew as large as a cyan mountain. The Supreme power it released caused the entire Sacred Ming City, spanning tens of thousands of li, to tremble, as if the land itself was about to sink into the earth.
"Boom!"
Dozens of thousand-pattern sacred artifacts shattered, turning into scrap metal.
The Vice Hall Master stood at the forefront, bearing the brunt of the Supreme power. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his sacred body was torn and tattered, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into the ruins.
Whether it was the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members, Mingjiang Wang, or the Cai Clan Ancestor, all were struck by waves of Supreme power, leaving bloody holes in their bodies.
Another Dragon-Protecting Pavilion member fell into a pool of blood, his physical body shattered into pieces.
Unless there was another Supreme Sacred Artifact, no power could withstand the force of Supreme might.
In that clash, Lingxiao Heavenly King was also severely injured. His body was like broken porcelain, covered in dense cracks.
Yet, holding the Azure Heaven Pagoda, his aura remained overwhelmingly powerful. He stepped back into the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, declaring domineeringly, "The Sacred Bright Central Empire was destroyed once, and it can be destroyed a second time. As long as I am here, all of you will die."
"We must stop Lingxiao Heavenly King, or the Sacred Bright remnants will be completely annihilated."
Inside the Ancestral Shrine, Zhang Ruochen, relying on his strong will, struggled to his feet. Then, he mounted the Golden Step Dragon Chariot and charged toward the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, roaring, "Twelfth Imperial Uncle, lend me your sacred blood. Together, we will suppress and kill Lingxiao Heavenly King."
...