Chapter 478: The Outcome Is Decided
Aooo~
The Golden Dragon’s mournful roar reverberated through the air, causing Emperor Qian’s heart to clench as if gripped by a pair of invisible hands.
Calling it the Golden Dragon now seemed inappropriate. The once-brilliant golden phantom had been half-consumed by crimson, its half-golden, half-red hue resembling a sinister ghost beast.
“Haotian Sword Art!”
Emperor Qian wasted no time. The Holy Ancestor’s Sword soared skyward from his hand. His Dragon Robe billowed as surging spiritual power solidified into tangible form, pouring into the blade. The azure light intensified, momentarily eclipsing both gold and crimson, as if the world had been reduced to this single, overwhelming color.
Xu Sanyan’s expression shifted. A primal sense of danger surged from the depths of his being. Abandoning his arrogance, he summoned his long-unused great halberd, bracing it before him. His gaze involuntarily flickered toward the Dragon Vein’s phantom, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Another incense stick’s worth of time… Just hold out for that long, and I can completely refine the Dragon Vein!
But this final incense stick’s worth of time would be the most agonizing. Emperor Qian would never allow him to succeed.
Once the Dragon Vein dissipated, the Qian Kingdom would become a mere shell of its former self. This was a fate that Emperor Qian, his ministers, and all the kingdom’s people desperately sought to avoid.
If the nation falls, the family perishes!
Xu Sanyan had become the target of universal hatred, his eyes meeting only the glares of enemies.
He stood alone against the entire Qian Kingdom.
“Die!”
This was Emperor Qian’s final strike, a blow he delivered with absolute confidence.
Beneath the Holy Ancestor’s Sword, no one could withstand its might—not even a sage!
The Holy Ancestor’s Sword hummed in mid-air, then slowly descended like a child wielding a toy, seemingly harmless.
But the instant the blade fell, the world fell silent. To the naked eye, there was no visible anomaly, nothing as dramatic as when the Great Formation had activated.
Yet the danger facing Xu Sanyan and everyone present was unprecedented. Even Fang Qingge and the others far beyond the Great Formation felt their hair stand on end, as if icy water had been poured over their heads, chilling them to the bone.
A hidden, razor-sharp aura sliced through the void, cleaving space itself, severing the crimson glow emanating from the Heavenly Dao Mark, and arriving unimpeded before the golden pillar of light. Every barrier before this sword shattered like paper, crumbling at the slightest touch.
Xu Sanyan had never felt this way before—a sense of utter helplessness, of not knowing how to defend himself.
Could he withstand it with his physical body?
Even preserving a complete corpse seemed unlikely. No matter how rigorously he had trained his body, it could never withstand this sword.
Could he rely on his great halberd?
Hah…
Even he didn’t believe that.
Though the great halberd was a treasure, it was still merely a magic artifact. This sword, however, was a supreme treasure, one of the rarest in the world—the two were simply incomparable.
Was this truly the end?
Xu Sanyan’s heart surged with resentment and confusion. In that fleeting moment, his mind raced like a revolving lantern, countless chaotic thoughts flooding his consciousness, even the Subduing the Heart-Ape Method failing to fully suppress them.
A paralyzing sense of helplessness washed over him. He scoured his knowledge, finding no means to block this sword.
This sword transcended mere mystical arts; it embodied a fundamental principle—a rule that could cleave through anything, shatter all defenses.
It was like… the Dao itself?
Wait!
Xu Sanyan jerked his head up, realizing he had found a way out!
The Heavenly Dao Mark!
The Heavenly Dao Mark existed in a state between the tangible and intangible, much like the Holy Ancestor’s Sword. Moreover, it was born in accordance with the heavenly dao and possessed an indestructible nature!
Without a moment to spare, Xu Sanyan frantically circulated his spiritual power. The Heavenly Dao Mark behind him vanished instantly, reappearing before him in the blink of an eye.
Buzz~!!
At the critical moment, the sword’s radiance slashed through the void, tearing it apart, before slamming violently into the crimson mark!
For an instant, Xu Sanyan’s eyes burned with desperate hope as he stared intently at the sword’s radiance. He couldn’t be certain if the Heavenly Dao Mark could withstand the strike, but he had exhausted all other options.
Emperor Qian’s eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace, his chest heaving violently. He refused to believe anyone could block the Holy Ancestor’s Sword!
Boom~!!
A point of white light expanded in the sky, sending invisible shockwaves rippling outward in concentric circles. The entire sky trembled violently, and the majestic Golden Luan Hall, unable to withstand the successive impacts, collapsed in a thunderous roar, erupting in billowing clouds of smoke.
The crimson glow of the Heavenly Dao Mark suddenly intensified, blazing like a blood-red sun hanging in the sky, eclipsing the daylight of the Nine Heavens and plunging the entire Capital City into a crimson twilight.
The Profound Heaven Grand Formation, which had been shielding the Imperial Palace, bore the brunt of the aftershocks. Its golden light flickered violently as the spirit stones buried beneath the ground, which powered the formation, were rapidly depleted. Finally, at a critical moment, they were completely exhausted. The Great Formation, like a dying old ox, let out two feeble groans before dissipating entirely.
Yet the aftershocks did not cease. They swept through half the Capital City like a raging storm, slicing through countless tall pavilions at their midsections as if with a razor-sharp blade. The casualties among the populace were immeasurable.
Xu Sanyan, being closest to the epicenter of the explosion, bore the full force of the violent backlash. He was thrown backward as if struck head-on by a savage giant beast, a force even his formidable body cultivation level couldn’t withstand.
A metallic tang filled his throat as he spat a mouthful of fresh blood skyward. A faint cracking sound emanated from his chest, indicating multiple broken ribs.
His great halberd spun wildly as it flew backward, soaring out of the Imperial Palace, across half the Capital City, tracing a perfect parabolic arc through the aftershocks before embedding itself with a thunk in front of a pavilion.
Fang Qingge, Mo Xianxian, Yang Qiyuan, and the others lowered their heads to gaze at the great halberd before them, their eyes filled with indescribable shock. By the time the shockwave reached them, its power had diminished by more than half, yet it still took their combined efforts to barely protect the pavilion from collapsing. This was one of the few tall structures still standing in the Capital City.
Surveying the surroundings, the Capital City lay in ruins, as if struck by a natural disaster. The wails of the people filled their ears, and the sight before them was utterly desolate.
Simultaneously, dozens of figures soared into the sky from various parts of the Capital City, converging on the Imperial Palace as if by prearranged agreement. With the Great Formation shattered, anyone could now freely enter.
“Cough… cough…”
Xu Sanyan knelt on one knee, clutching his chest as he coughed up a pool of dark blood. He was fortunate to have condensed his dao body beforehand, enhancing his physical resilience; otherwise, his injuries would have been far more severe.
The Heavenly Dao Mark still hung in the sky, while the Holy Ancestor’s Sword had returned to Emperor Qian’s grasp. Xu Sanyan forced himself upright, ignoring the people around him as he gazed skyward. A sudden grin stretched across his face, and he erupted into unrestrained laughter.
“Hahahaha…”
The Golden Dragon Phantom had completely changed color. The radiant golden Dragon Vein had been dyed crimson, signaling the imminent completion of his grand scheme!
Emperor Qian’s face was deathly pale as he leaned heavily on the Holy Ancestor’s Sword, barely managing to stay upright. His condition was even worse than Xu Sanyan’s. Not only was his cultivation level inferior to Xu Sanyan’s, but he had also drained his reserves to summon the Holy Ancestor’s Sword. His desperate final strike had failed, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Now, Emperor Qian stared blankly at the Dragon Vein, now saturated with demonic energy, his heart filled with profound regret.
In the end, he had lost…
(End of the Chapter)