Chapter 560 - 559: The Death of the Spirit Race Ancestor

Chapter 560: Chapter 559: The Death of the Spirit Race Ancestor

Celestial Cloud Imperial City was completely surrounded, with no viable escape routes. Even if they could fly, it would be useless. The enemy had plenty of fighters who could fly, especially a multitude of powerful cultivators, putting the defenders in a position to be utterly crushed.

Fortunately, not all of the Celestial Cloud Empire’s forces were concentrated in the Celestial Cloud Imperial City. Many factions had been dispatched to govern other cities. After all, the former Netherworld Empire had numerous cities that were now under their direct administration.

Under their governance, and with the eradication of many bandits and the like, a large number of residents soon flocked to their territory. People from the Celestial Realm Continent and the Earth Realm Continent, in particular, came in droves.

Previously, this place had been a treacherous land where no one dared to venture casually. It was the Netherworld Empire’s domain; who would dare to trespass? It was mostly inhabited by vicious individuals who would kill at the slightest disagreement.

It was a paradise for criminals, home to many whose hands were stained with innocent blood. Arson, murder, and pillaging were commonplace. To escape their pursuers, many fled to the Netherworld Continent.

Now that Yi Tianyun had taken over, a great cleansing had occurred. It was as if the land itself had been washed clean, diluting the scent of blood. This was what allowed the Celestial Cloud Continent to become lively again, with Cultivators flocking to its many cities and continuously joining the Celestial Cloud Mansion.

Many sought to join the Celestial Cloud Mansion before it was elevated to the Celestial Cloud Empire, rushing in before the standards were raised and making it more difficult to join. This was why so many factions were separated. Who could have predicted that such powerful experts would come to attack?

But in hindsight, spreading out had been the wisest choice. Otherwise, they would have all been wiped out in one fell swoop.

"Trying to escape? Do you really think that’s possible?" Xu Guolin’s gaze was like a torch; he could see every detail within the Imperial City. It was impossible to slip away under his nose, unless he were the only one here.

However, there were now over a thousand Cultivators present, more than enough to crush everything here.

"I’ll give you one last chance. Surrender obediently, or be killed without mercy!" Xu Guolin stared at them coldly, issuing his final ultimatum. "If you surrender peacefully and swear an oath to become our slaves, I will spare your lives. Furthermore, under the protection of our Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom, you can become even stronger!"

They didn’t want to kill everyone. Their goal was to build up their foundation, and having just arrived in the Mortal Realm, their numbers were still too few. To get things done more efficiently, they definitely needed to recruit these Cultivators for their own use. They would be perfect choices to serve as cannon fodder on the front lines.

"In your dreams!" the Spirit Race Ancestor said coldly. "Even in death, we will never become your slaves!"

It wasn’t that they wanted to die, but that didn’t mean they feared death. They had faced life-threatening crises before and survived. It just seemed that this time, they wouldn’t be able to hold on.

"Is that so? Then you can all go die!"

Xu Guolin sneered and thrust his hand down. The terrifying giant palm descended from the sky once more, its power a notch stronger than before and even more dreadful.

"Bring it on!"

The Spirit Race Ancestor rapidly formed a Sealing Technique, unleashing the full power of all the arrays. He pushed the defensive shield to its limit and activated the offensive arrays as well. Instantly, countless pillars of light shot up from the ground. The attack was so sudden that several beams pierced through a few disciples with lower cultivation, who fell from their Treasure Ship with a scream.

However, the giant palm blocked most of the light pillars; their attacks were futile. Immediately after, it slammed down on the Celestial Cloud Imperial City. With a deafening BOOM, the earth shook violently once more, as if the very heavens and earth were about to collapse.

After the explosion subsided, the Celestial Cloud Imperial City still stood tall. The National Guardian Array had not been broken, but fine cracks had appeared on the Divine Runes, making it look as though it was about to collapse.

It was undeniable that the Divine Runes inscribed by the Spirit Race Ancestor were formidable, but his own cultivation was too low. Facing an expert at the Spirit King Stage, he couldn’t possibly hold out for long.

To withstand two palm strikes without being shattered was already quite impressive. They had even managed to counterattack and kill several Cultivators. Although their targets’ cultivation was low, it was better than killing no one at all.

"Bastard!"

Xu Guolin was furious. Not only had he failed to shatter the array, but his side had also lost a few men. While it was a trivial loss, it was an utter humiliation!

"It seems you’re forcing me to use my full power. I didn’t want to destroy too much of this city, since it’s to become our Imperial City... But it looks like that’s impossible now!" Xu Guolin had been holding back, largely because he didn’t want to damage the city. Before coming here, it had been decided that this would be their new capital, so naturally, they wanted to preserve it.

Immediately, Xu Guolin’s power surged. A phantom image appeared behind him—it was the phantom of a giant bear. It raised its enormous paw and slammed it down viciously once more.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of violent explosions erupted, several orders of magnitude more terrifying than before. The ground outside the Imperial City split open, forming several deep chasms that looked as if they might collapse at any moment.

But when the explosions died down, the array still hadn’t been destroyed. It had stubbornly held on, a truly terrifying display of resilience.

"How is that possible!" Xu Guolin and his men were both shocked and furious. They couldn’t believe they still hadn’t broken through! ’Is the Mortal Realm supposed to be this strong?’

Upon closer inspection, one would see that all the members of the Spirit Race were forming Sealing Techniques, pouring all their power into the Divine Rune Array to maximize its strength!

This collective effort made the array a level stronger than when the Spirit Race Ancestor had powered it alone, which was how it managed to stubbornly hold on. However, such a terrifying palm strike had left them all deathly pale. The Spirit Race Ancestor, in particular, coughed up blood, his face turning frighteningly white.

But he still stood there resolutely, not moving an inch, holding on with all his might.

"Even if we die, we won’t let you succeed so easily!" They had already resolved to die; even in death, they would resist the enemy’s power.

"Good. Good! GOOD! Then let’s see how long you can last!"

Then, as if he had gone mad, Xu Guolin began to strike down maniacally. Several palm strikes slammed down one after another, hammering the National Guardian Array.

Finally, with a tremendous BOOM, the National Guardian Array shattered in an instant. After breaking through the array, the terrifying giant palm continued to descend, blanketing the sky as it headed toward them. It scared everyone so pale they wondered, how could they possibly dodge this?

At that moment, a figure shot upward, erupting in the most brilliant light—it was the Spirit Race Ancestor!

He burned the last of his Essence Blood and met the palm strike head-on!

"Ancestor!" Ye Qingxuan cried out, her eyes red with grief.

BOOM!

The Spirit Race Ancestor managed to block the palm strike. The giant palm in the air was canceled out, but the Spirit Race Ancestor fell like a meteor. Ye Qingxuan saw her chance and quickly moved to catch him, the immense pressure nearly making her stumble.

"Ancestor!" Ye Qingxuan’s eyes were bloodshot as she saw that the Spirit Race Ancestor was on the verge of death.

"I’m sorry, my child... I couldn’t protect you... The Spirit King... the Spirit King will avenge us." The Spirit Race Ancestor seemed to think of something, and with a faint smile, he died.

"Ancestor... Ancestor..." Ye Qingxuan and the others couldn’t stop their tears from falling. All the Spirit Race disciples wept. Their Ancestor was dead, just like that.

"Overestimating your own strength. Opposing me is a dead end!" Xu Guolin sneered. "Charge in! Kill all the men! Leave the women, so we can properly reward our brothers!"

"Yes, sir!" they roared excitedly and charged forward.

Ye Qingxuan stared at them with hatred, then cried out in sorrow, "Spirit King, we can no longer stay by your side... I’m sorry..."

The women all stood up, preparing to give their all and fight the enemy. If things took a turn for the worse, they would choose suicide rather than suffer humiliation.

In the nick of time, a beam of blue light shot over from the distance.

"A bunch of trash. I want you all dead!"

Yi Tianyun’s icy voice traveled from the distance, piercing deep into everyone’s hearts and instantly plunging them into a cold as deep as a cellar of ice!

"Sp... Spirit King!"

When they saw Yi Tianyun’s figure, they immediately cried out in surprise, a great weight lifting from their hearts.