That moment just now, when heaven and earth stood still and space-time froze, was nothing short of outrageously badass.
Liu Qing and Shen Hao, those two hard-luck brothers, were still suspended in midair, frozen as though someone had pressed the pause button.
The flashes of saber and sword light in their hands hung just inches away from Yin Tianjue—so close they were practically touching him.
The surging demonic aura of the Nascent Soul pinnacle stage and the overwhelming pressure sweeping across the entire hall had all been firmly suppressed by the terrifying power erupting from Yin Tianjue’s body. Not even a millimeter of it could move forward.
As for this earth-shaking, god-and-ghost-astonishing scene, the two clueless muscleheads, having lost all sensation, remained completely unaware.
They never could have imagined that they were about to activate the deluxe package for eternal damnation. They maintained their lunging poses, their savage expressions not yet wiped from their faces.
Upon the throne, Yin Tianjue slowly raised his eyes.
The once-cloudy, dim old eyes had shed their twilight gloom at an accelerated rate, as though someone had switched on a booster.
In its place was a pair of eyes as deep and keen as those of a god. A casual glance from them was enough to make anyone’s scalp crawl.
At the same time, the withered skin covering his body suddenly blazed with light, blooming with life once more.
The dark age spots vanished in an instant, and every crisscrossing wrinkle was smoothed away.
His white hair turned thick and black at a speed visible to the naked eye, cascading over his shoulders.
The tattered black robe he wore stirred without any wind. The golden dragon embroidery along its hem, previously so worn that even its own mother would never have recognized it, suddenly erupted with blinding radiance.
The dragon pattern coiled and traveled across the fabric, radiating such overwhelming dominance that it practically leaked from every pore. It displayed the majesty of a supreme powerhouse—so badass it was practically the final boss of badassery.
In the blink of an eye, the decrepit old man who had seemed to be on the verge of death vanished completely.
Seated upon the skeletal throne was now an incomparably handsome young man with a stern face, extraordinary bearing, and a tall, straight figure.
Between his brows was both the ruthless dominance of the original Yin Tianjue, who had once ruled the Eastern Wasteland, and the calm amusement of a transmigrator who had seen through everything.
The aura radiating from him was unfathomably deep, as though even the laws of heaven and earth throughout the entire Cangyuan Realm had to act according to his mood.
As the corner of his lips curled into a smile cold enough to freeze one’s bones, he casually moved a finger.
“Bzzz—”
The terrifying force imprisoning heaven and earth instantly dissipated, and frozen space-time began moving once more.
The scene before them happened to fall directly into the eyes of Liu Qing and Shen Hao, who had just broken free of the restraint and regained their vision.
Almost at the exact same moment, their pupils contracted sharply. The arrogance and viciousness on their faces froze solid, only to be replaced by overwhelming shock. Their faces turned deathly pale, and they were left utterly dumbfounded.
“Y-Your appearance… How did you become young again?!”
“Three hundred years ago, after you were gravely wounded, your lifespan was exhausted and your vitality withered away. There’s no way you could have restored your peak appearance! This is impossible!”
Liu Qing’s burly body trembled violently out of his control. The ghost-headed saber in his hand nearly slipped free, and he almost chopped off his own foot.
Shen Hao was even worse. He gripped his long sword with both hands, trembling nonstop. The sinister gloom in his narrow eyes had vanished, leaving only panic and terror.
They had spent three hundred years painstakingly investigating the matter before confirming that this old bastard’s lifespan was nearing its end and that his cultivation had fallen to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
Yet the sight of him reversing his age and becoming a young man in a single second shattered all their understanding into pieces.
An ominous premonition swept through their entire bodies. However, with the arrow already nocked on the bowstring, they had no choice but to release it.
Liu Qing and Shen Hao forcibly suppressed the terror in their hearts and, clinging to their last sliver of hope, thrust their magical weapons toward Yin Tianjue’s brow.
Their murderous intent surged forth, sweeping wildly across the entire Sacred Hall.
Under their combined assault, they had actually managed to unleash a hint of power capable of threatening an early-stage Deity Transformation cultivator.
“Old bastard, you’re still trying to put on an act when you’re about to die? Go to hell!”
“How dare you play tricks in front of the two of us? Today, we’ll annihilate your soul!”
The two of them roared. Their voices were loud enough, but the unease hidden in their eyes could no longer be concealed.
They had not realized that the Nascent Soul pinnacle cultivation they were so proud of was no different from an ant kicking its legs in Yin Tianjue’s eyes.
“The two of you truly live up to your status as Sacred Hall Guardians. Even in the face of me as I am now, you can remain calm in a crisis. I’m genuinely impressed.
“Unfortunately, an ant trying to shake a tree is nothing more than courting death!”
Yin Tianjue finally spoke as he gazed at the annihilating force of slaughter only inches away.
His voice was like a god’s whisper, filled with unquestionable authority as it resounded throughout the entire hall.
He remained lazily reclined upon the throne. He neither stood nor raised a hand, merely releasing a wisp of nearly imperceptible aura.
“Boom!”
A muffled explosion rang out.
The ghost-headed saber in Liu Qing’s hand, which had accompanied him for several thousand years and was saturated with demonic aura, instantly shattered inch by inch.
It then turned into powder that scattered through the air, leaving not even the slightest residue of spiritual energy behind.
As for Liu Qing himself, it was as though he had been struck by an invisible giant hammer. His body flew backward violently.
He slammed solidly into the coiling-dragon stone pillar behind him, shaking it violently.
A mouthful of old blood sprayed from his lips, while the crisp sounds of his bones shattering rang out one after another.
The spiritual-energy barrier of a Nascent Soul pinnacle cultivator was even more fragile than paper before that aura. It was broken through in an instant.
“Pfft… How is this possible?!”
Liu Qing struggled to rise from the ground, his face filled with the expression of a man wondering who he was, where he was, and what the hell was happening.
As he stared at Yin Tianjue, whose former splendor and overwhelming aura had returned, the fear he had once felt surged back to life.
He lowered his head and looked at his trembling hands, sensing the spiritual energy inside him churning and collapsing. He was completely bewildered.
It had clearly been only a wisp of aura. He had not even touched the other man’s robe, yet he had been blasted into this miserable state?
How could this be an old man at the end of his strength? He was clearly an unparalleled powerhouse who had returned to his peak!
At the same time, Shen Hao’s situation was no better.
Blood spilled from his mouth, and the spiritual energy throughout his body had descended into complete chaos. He had fought with all his might just to stabilize himself. Even the hand gripping his black thunder sword continued to tremble uncontrollably.
When he finally recovered his senses and looked at Yin Tianjue’s restored youthful appearance, all he felt was the same bewilderment.
With nothing more than a trace of pressure, Yin Tianjue had heavily wounded both of them and made them tremble from the depths of their souls.
That was a method and divine ability possessed only by powerhouses at the Deity Transformation level!
Now that they thought about it, the three hundred years they had spent plotting and waiting had been nothing more than one enormous joke.
“You… You didn’t lose your cultivation at all! You’ve been pretending to be a pig while eating the tiger this whole time!”
Shen Hao shouted harshly, though his voice trembled.
The thunderous black sword in his hand was already on the verge of collapse, buzzing incessantly, yet he no longer dared to move it even half a step forward.
“This aura… Even Yin Tianjue at his former peak never possessed anything like it! Who exactly are you?”
Unlike Shen Hao, Liu Qing began burning the power of his soul and bloodline even as he questioned Yin Tianjue, choosing to undergo an extreme elevation of his strength.
Put simply: the old man was about to unleash his ultimate move and fight to the death!
Now that all pretense had been torn away, only one side could walk out of this hall alive.
As for begging for mercy? That was not the style of demonic cultivators!
Seated upon the throne, Yin Tianjue looked down at the two of them. His gaze was as indifferent as if he were looking at two clowns jumping around.
“Who am I? You coveted my position as Hall Master, and you coveted my magical treasures. Yet now you turn around and ask who I am? That’s a little presumptuous, don’t you think, buddy?”
He spoke in a dismissive tone, then shifted his gaze to Liu Qing and stirred his will ever so slightly.
Liu Qing instantly felt himself bound tightly by an invisible force, unable to move a muscle.
The Nascent Soul within him trembled violently, as though it might shatter into pieces at any moment.
He desperately tried to circulate his spiritual power to resist, only to discover that the power within his body had completely run amok and no longer obeyed his commands.
“Ah—!”
As a shrill, agonized scream rang through the great hall, the veins on Liu Qing’s body bulged, and his face twisted beyond recognition.
His originally burly body convulsed nonstop, while his cultivation at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm began plummeting at an alarming rate.
Mid-Nascent Soul… peak Core Formation… mid-Foundation Establishment…
In barely three breaths, his cultivation had fallen all the way to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Most of the demonic qi surrounding him dissipated. The arrogance and domineering presence he had displayed moments ago were completely gone, leaving behind only boundless pain and terror.
“No… Impossible! My cultivation! My cultivation is regressing!”
Liu Qing’s eyes bulged with desperation as he struggled with all his might.
Yet that invisible force was like an insurmountable chasm, leaving him without even the chance to resist.