Chapter 653: Kill Regardless

Engulfed by the black light, he was consumed before he could even scream. Where before he had been nigh invulnerable, now he was easily burned to ash. This was the effect of the damage boost.

No matter how tough the body, it would still be obliterated by such overwhelming power!

When the black light faded, an immense, deep pit had been burned into the ground, spanning a radius of half a mile. It was unfathomably deep from above, and a searing heat radiated from its depths. Merely approaching it was enough to make one feel they would be burned alive.

And this was with Yi Tianyun deliberately containing the blast’s range. Had he unleashed its full power, it wouldn’t have just been a half-mile radius; an area spanning five miles might have been devastated! The Phoenix Nest itself would have been nearly half-destroyed.

‘Wh-what in the world is this power? How could it have grown so much stronger?’

They were stunned. The three ancestors suppressed the power they had been about to unleash. They could clearly sense that their own strength was insignificant compared to the might Yi Tianyun had just displayed.

At this point, they couldn’t make sense of it. They had thought Yi Tianyun had reached his limit, but now it seemed they were sorely mistaken. He hadn’t reached his limit at all; his power could grow even stronger, as if he had been deliberately holding back this whole time.

In reality, Yi Tianyun wasn’t holding back. He had simply been trying to see if he could suppress the Celestial Nether Saint King on his own. When he found that he couldn’t, his only option was to sell everything he had to acquire more Madness Value.

Once he had saved up enough, he immediately upgraded his Madness Mode to increase its power. His Madness Value was almost completely depleted now, but as long as he could kill the Celestial Nether Saint King, none of that mattered.

‘Hmm, he’s not dead yet?’ Yi Tianyun mused, looking down into the pit. If the Celestial Nether Saint King had died, a notification for the experience gained would have definitely appeared. The lack of one meant the Celestial Nether Saint King was not dead.

He immediately used his Eye of Investigation to scan the situation below. He quickly discovered the Celestial Nether Saint King’s body near the edge of the pit, already trying to escape deeper underground.

‘Anyone else, and you probably would have gotten away…’

With a cold laugh, Yi Tianyun’s figure flashed as he dove into the pit. The three ancestors all peered down, anxious to see the Celestial Nether Saint King’s condition. A moment later, Yi Tianyun flew up from the depths, clutching a black, charcoal-like mass. On closer inspection, however, it was not charcoal at all, but a soul!

This soul, however, was almost corporeal; it could move at will and even release power. This was a trait related to the Evil Spirit Race. They specialized in cultivating the soul, strengthening it to the point where it could leave the body at any time and form a tangible entity to attack enemies.

Even if their physical body was crippled, as long as the soul remained intact, it could fly out and launch a frenzied assault. The cost, however, was steep. The more power it consumed, the smaller the soul would become. If the soul was completely depleted, it was equivalent to death.

What Yi Tianyun now held was the remnant of that soul. It was mostly incomplete, a testament to the effectiveness of his terrifying attack.

“Let me go! Let me go…” The Celestial Nether Saint King’s voice was filled with terror. ‘Who could have possibly imagined that Yi Tianyun could still unleash such terrifying power?’

‘He annihilated me in an instant. I thought my body was indestructible, but it was crushed as easily as tofu. The difference in our Combat Power was a staggering ten billion; it would have been a miracle not to be annihilated instantly. We aren’t even in the same league anymore. With this kind of power, he could probably even fight a Divine King!’

“Let you go? Do you think I would do that?” Yi Tianyun said calmly. “Anyone else really would have been fooled. You left no trace of your aura; they would have assumed you were dead. This is the ability you used to escape with half your soul back then, isn’t it?”

When the three ancestors saw this, a great weight was finally lifted from their hearts. This meant the Celestial Nether Saint King was doomed. Now, only a small fragment of his soul remained. As long as that was destroyed, the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom would be officially finished.

Without its three Saint Kings, the remaining power of the divine kingdom was equivalent to that of a second or third-rate faction. From their perspective, destroying it would be effortless.

“Just let me go, and I’ll give you anything! My escape methods… I’m willing to give you everything!” With death at his doorstep, he began to beg for mercy. Where was the dignity of the Celestial Nether Saint King now?

“You’ll give me anything?” Yi Tianyun asked calmly.

“Yes! All my Martial Arts, all my Treasures, I’ll give them to you. The Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom can be yours. Just let me go, and I’ll give you anything…” the Celestial Nether Saint King begged incessantly.

The ancestors watched without interjecting. The decision now rested with Yi Tianyun. Whether to kill him or keep him alive to obtain his Treasures was entirely his choice to make.

“What about becoming my slave?” Yi Tianyun asked coolly.

“A slave… I… I am willing to become your slave!” The Celestial Nether Saint King’s soul trembled for a moment, but in the end, he chose to agree.

“Oh, really? You’re certainly willing to abandon your pride,” Yi Tianyun sneered. “But I suspect you have other plans, don’t you? So what if you become my slave? Unless I keep you chained to my side at all times, you’ll just end up getting me killed one day! As for your so-called Treasures, they’re nothing but garbage to me. The only thing I want right now is very simple: your life!”

The moment he finished speaking, the Black Flame surged, incinerating the Celestial Nether Saint King inch by inch. Agonized screams issued from his soul, but no matter how he shrieked, it was meaningless.

“Hahaha… you’ll die soon! Very soon… No, *all* of you will die soon! Very, very soon! Hahaha…” The Celestial Nether Saint King burst into laughter. At this moment, he seemed to feel no fear at all, only a voice filled with pure hatred remained.

‘As the Celestial Nether Saint King, of course he wouldn’t be afraid of something like death. Who knew what he was truly planning when he offered to compromise? Even if he became a slave, it would be impossible to force all his secrets out of him. He likely would have prepared in advance, making it impossible for me to learn anything.’

“Don’t worry, you won’t be around to see it,” Yi Tianyun said coldly. “No matter how many comrades you have, I’ll kill as many as come!”

“You’re too naive, you ignorant human… you ignorant weakling…” The Celestial Nether Saint King laughed, saying no more before completely disappearing into the flames.

“Ding! Successfully killed Celestial Nether Saint King! Obtained 21,500,000,000 Experience Points, 150,000 Madness Value, and 100,000 Sin Value! Obtained Martial Arts: Celestial Yin Divine Technique, Evil Spirit Divine Technique, Evil Spirit Possession, Evil Spirit Incarnation! Obtained Items: Evil Spirit Soul, Bone of Evil Spirit, Evil Spirit Bloodline, Evil Spirit Jade (Super Rare)!”

“Ding! Received a bonus reward for killing a higher-level opponent! Obtained 500,000,000 Experience Points, 100,000 Madness Value, 100,000 Sin Value, and one chance at the Super-Enhanced Lottery Roulette!”

“Ding! Congratulations, Player ‘Yi Tianyun’! You have successfully broken through to the First Level of the Saint King Stage!”