Translator: CinderTL
"What is this?!"
Wu Tongtian, who had just activated his Life-Preserving Talisman, was disrupted by this terrifying Void Power, causing his attempt to breach the Void to fail.
The Void Power unleashed by the Talisman was instantly annihilated by the Void Storm.
Sensing the surge in Void Power, Wu Tongtian's pupils constricted sharply.
"You... this power of yours..."
At that moment, Li Chunjun's mental power rippled through the Void.
"Did you truly believe a supreme disciple like me wouldn't possess any life-saving measures?"
The nature of his power shifted. "Very well. Since we're about to return to the Profound Yellow Great World anyway, I'll just hide in the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven for a few centuries or millennia. I won't need to conserve these explosive techniques anymore. Since you three fools have delivered yourselves to my doorstep, I'll use you as the final sacrifices before my dao unification."
With those words, the Sovereign Dharma Manifestation's "Control" power activated fully.
Centered around him, the battlefield's laws, mental power, resonance power, and even the connection between Cultivators and their soul lamps seemed to be disrupted, all of it "grasped" within his palm.
Under this near-"sovereign" level of control, the power of the void storm surged violently. Guided by the Heaven-Opening Divine Sword, it unleashed a terrifying force reaching 900,000, even 1,000,000 Life Level units.
Wu Tongtian, recently swallowed back into the void, watched in horror as this tsunami-like void torrent surged toward him. An unprecedented despair flooded his heart.
"What is this?! What is this?! No! No! No!"
Driven by desperation, he burned his Qi to its limit, transforming his Dharma Manifestation into an unprecedentedly majestic and martial form, his combat power soaring to rival even the Great Sun Dao Lord.
But...
Against the void torrent unleashed by Li Chunjun with only a fraction of his true power, this level of combat power was like a sandcastle facing a tsunami, instantly crushed into dust by the void storm.
For a law-based lifeform who had abandoned their physical body, the destruction of their Dharma Manifestation meant immediate death.
"Fortune and glory are sought in danger, but lost in danger too..."
The Great Sun Dao Lord watched Wu Tongtian's instant annihilation, his eyes burning with resentment and anguish. "I knew our initial strike would trigger Li Chunjun's desperate gambit, turning us into the sacrificial chicken to warn the others. But as more powerful figures began targeting him... I had no choice but to risk everything. Otherwise, our chances would dwindle to nothing... I never imagined..."
In the end...
He would not live to die peacefully in his bed.
Boom!
Fueled by his resentment and anguish, the Void Power that had shattered Wu Tongtian's Dharma Manifestation now crashed into the Great Sun Dao Lord's own manifestation.
"Li Chunjun!"
The dao lord roared, burning his Qi and unleashing a Forbidden Art, attempting to make his Dharma Manifestation shine like a sun, releasing all its brilliance in a desperate attempt to withstand the storm.
But as Li Chunjun intensified his assault, the overwhelming power difference crushed the manifestation like dry leaves. The Dharma Manifestation, imbued with unique Dao Rhythm, began to crumble inch by inch.
Yet this repeated escalation of power finally revealed something to the Quasi-Tenth-Tier expert.
His eyes snapped wide open.
"No! No! You're not using any Talisman! Nor any external force or hidden card! This... this is your true power! All this strength originates from within you!"
Realizing this, the Great Sun Dao Lord sank into unprecedented despair.
"A million! A million! Your combat power has actually surpassed a million! Hahaha, a million combat power! You've been hiding this strength all along! What are you planning, Li Chunjun? What exactly are you plotting? I understand now! Just like the dark horned prison, you're killing all the greedy ones to accumulate dao unification resources for yourself! Hahaha..."
Fueled by a desperate, deranged mental power, his Sovereign Dharma Manifestation shattered inch by inch, torn to dust by the void torrent.
Having annihilated two Quasi-Tenth-Tier opponents, Li Chunjun merely willed it, not even needing to draw his sword.
The raging sword qi storm surged once more toward the weakest member of the group, Yuan Guiyi.
The Wu Ji Sect's Heaven's Chosen was now utterly stunned by the Great Sun Dao Lord's dying words.
A million combat power?!
Li Chunjun's combat power had actually broken through one million!
It wasn't the 530,000 initially revealed, nor the rumored 700,000, 800,000, or even the 900,000 achieved through Talisman enhancements! It was a full million!
One million units of energy!
This terrifying figure, combined with the suffocating pressure of the roaring void storm, nearly shattered the supreme sage's mind.
Trembling uncontrollably, he unleashed his Divine Sense: "Li Chunjun, my Master is the Supreme Truth Sovereign! If you kill me, my Master will absolutely—"
Boom!
Before he could finish, his Sovereign Dharma Manifestation was utterly pulverized by the rampaging void storm.
"I still have the Profound Yellow Supreme above me," Li Chunjun remarked.
For ordinary cultivators, killing a supreme disciple would indeed be a cataclysmic event.
Especially when the Supreme Sovereign was still active.
Even though the Supreme Truth Sovereign typically took dozens of supreme disciples during each active period, kept them close, and treated their lifespans as fleeting as morning dew...
Attacking a supreme disciple meant inviting consequences no one could predict.
Yet Li Chunjun acted without hesitation.
Having reached this point, there was no turning back.
He needed to raise his Life Level to 43 or 44 as quickly as possible, and then...
Break through to the Dao!
If he could successfully break through to the Dao, emulating the truly ancient innate divine beings by forging a fiftieth Great Dao, all his problems would dissolve like ice in the sun.
Ultimately, it was a race against time.
He believed that beings at the Supreme Sovereign and Dao Unification Realm wouldn't immediately retaliate after the death of a disciple.
If they sought retribution, they would likely issue commands first or send Quasi-Tenth-Tier Special Life forms to act.
After all, it was just a disciple who had died, not their own father.
As he pondered, Li Chunjun clenched his void hand, gradually drawing the power of the Void Storm into his body.
The Sovereign Dharma Manifestation's suppression of surrounding forces began to dissipate.
Given the limited time and his earlier declaration of using his trump card, even if Wu Tongtian and the Great Sun Dao Lord had spread the news...
Perhaps, just perhaps, no one would suspect anything?
"Blinded by greed," Li Chunjun muttered, glancing at the Human Emperor Banner. "If those Quasi-Tenth-Tier beings were truly rational and composed, they wouldn't have even set their sights on me in the first place."
[ "Killed a Level 40 creature, experience +249,211!" ]
[ "Killed a Level 40 creature, experience +227,985!" ]
[ "Killed a Level 39 creature, experience +111,255!" ]
[ [Life Level: 42 (1,062,115/2,000,000)] ]
"Over halfway there," Li Chunjun murmured to himself.
Each Quasi-Tenth-Tier kill granted over 200,000 experience points—a substantial amount.
But...
In terms of cost-effectiveness, they were actually less efficient than Supreme Sages.
Currently, each Supreme Sage yielded an average of around 40,000 experience points. To complete the remaining leveling progress, he would only need to eliminate twenty to thirty more.
The difficulty of killing twenty to thirty Supreme Sages was far less than confronting the combined forces of Great Sun Dao Lord, Wu Tongtian, and Yuan Guiyi.
"It's a pity," Li Chunjun mused, glancing around. "Neither the Heavenly Principles Sect behind Yuan Guiyi nor the Heavenly Palace behind Great Sun Dao Lord can be dealt with for now. At most, I could handle the Wu Ji Sect in the Profound Yellow Great World. But once news of Wu Tongtian and the others' deaths reaches them, the remaining Supreme Sages will likely plunder the sect's resources and scatter..."
The location where the Great Sun Dao Lord, Wu Tongtian, and Yuan Guiyi ambushed Li Chunjun wasn't far from the interdimensional Star Gate.
Though not within the Star Gate's immediate vicinity, the area served as a major thoroughfare, with frequent travelers passing through. The outcome of the battle couldn't be concealed.
And Li Chunjun...
had no intention of concealing it.
"This battle has completely revealed my 'trump cards'," Li Chunjun mused, heading straight for the Star Gate. "Everyone has now seen my true methods. Yet the Star Gate connecting the True Dragon Great World to the Profound Yellow Great World won't activate for another month..."
At that moment, Supreme Sage Wu Chen, who had avoided the battlefield earlier, approached with a grim expression. "Supreme Elder Li, something's happened. I tried to bribe the Star Gate administrator here to open the gate early, but... he gave me bad news. The Star Gate, which was already calibrated and scheduled to depart for the Profound Yellow Great World in a month... has malfunctioned."
"Oh."
Li Chunjun wasn't particularly surprised.
It was only natural for something like a Star Gate to malfunction at a critical moment.
Of course, everyone knew what such a "malfunction" really meant.
"They probably took a bribe."
"But since the higher-ups won't investigate, the lower-level staff naturally won't refuse a chance to earn extra income."
"It's just that malfunctions in inter-realm Star Gates are relatively rare."
At that moment, Li Chunjun seemed to recall something. "Who's in charge of this Star Gate?"
"The fourteenth prince of the northern dragon king! An eighth-tier celestial dragon!"
"An eighth-tier celestial dragon?" Li Chunjun frowned.
"An eighth-tier celestial dragon dares to wade into such murky waters? He must know what it means to let the Star Gate 'malfunction' at this critical moment."
Intrigued, he asked, "Besides the four great dragon kings, how many ninth-tier ancient dragons are there in the True Dragon Great World?"
"The True Dragon Great World, named after the 'True Dragons,' was specifically designated by the Human Race as a sanctuary for the Dragon Clan to recuperate and thrive. Apart from the four Quasi-Tenth-Tier dragon kings, there are three hundred and four ancient dragons," Supreme Sage Wu Chen replied immediately, well-versed in the affairs of their neighboring Great World. "However, about thirty percent of these ancient dragons are employed by various top-tier sects as divine beasts or honored patrons, while another thirty percent are away on training expeditions. The number of ninth-tier ancient dragons permanently residing in the True Dragon Great World is likely around one hundred."
"What's the situation with the Great Void Ancestral Dragon?"
Li Chunjun asked, "If he learns of a major crisis in the True Dragon Great World, how long would it take him to return from the Supreme Research Institute?"
Supreme Sage Wu Chen was momentarily stunned. Could Supreme Elder Li be planning...?
He quickly replied, "The True Dragon Great World has signed treaties with numerous powers, and the Supreme Research Institute has also pledged its full protection. If the Dragon Clan is attacked, these forces will immediately provide assistance."
"Just tell me how long it would take the Great Void Ancestral Dragon to return."
"The Great Void Ancestral Dragon resides in the ninth institute of the Supreme Research Institute. Because the ninth institute studies Dao phenomena and laws that could pose significant threats, its location is relatively remote. However, thanks to the Supreme Research Institute's advanced transportation network... if he moves quickly, he could arrive in five or six years."
Wu Chen hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "However, given the Great Void Ancestral Dragon's importance, the Supreme Research Institute would likely only allow him to leave in the event of a true existential crisis for the Dragon Clan."
"Good."
Li Chunjun immediately issued the order: "Go and eliminate the fourteenth prince."
A moment later, he reconsidered, realizing that involving Wu Chen might bring disaster upon the Profound Yellow Sect.
"Never mind. I'll handle this myself."
(End of the Chapter)
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