A full dozen colossal bronze fists crashed down, aimed directly at Zong Shou. Li Bixue initially paid them no mind; the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men each boasted combat strength equivalent to the peak of the Saint Rank.
Even individually they could not contend with the Boundless Beginning and End divine ability, but united, they could forcibly slay even a Saint Venerable who had just entered the Ultimate Realm! The Yuanchen Emperor behind him had clearly reached the absolute zenith of hatred for Zong Shou, casting all caution aside.
Meanwhile, within the Imperial Study, Yin Yu suddenly felt a chilling cold sink to the very bottom of his heart. The movements of the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men were now entirely autonomous, beyond his control.
When he attempted to reconnect with his divine sense, he found no response whatsoever. He could no longer enter the core source of the Bronze Men, completely sealed out by a barrier.
"Something seems amiss!" Two thousand zhang away, Qing Xuan frowned, an instinctive feeling of unease, mixed with slight strangeness, washing over him. And Tai Huang also abruptly stepped forward, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
"What exactly is going on?" Xu Fu merely let out a light chuckle, his expression similarly one of profound relief. It had finally begun— At this very moment, he would witness the demise of an Ultimate Realm Saint Venerable at the peak of his attainment!
"No!" At this juncture, Li Bixue’s heart also sounded a dire alarm. A sudden, chilling coldness rose from behind him, piercing directly into his spirit.
It made his limbs ice-cold, his primordial spirit trembling. Instinctively, he abandoned Zong Shou before him and shifted his attention behind himself.
Then he saw the full complement of twelve golden rings sweeping towards him. Laws became utterly disordered, instantly severing the connection between his primordial spirit and the Great Dao.
Their link plummeted to its absolute limit. Blood surged violently, and his entire cultivation was brutally wrenched down from the Ultimate Realm echelon!
Following this, the twelve massive bronze fists, in perfect sequence, subtly altered their trajectory, locking onto his vital energy signature. "What is happening with these Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men?" Li Bixue felt a jolt of terror mixed with fury.
For an instant, he suspected that Qing Xuan and Tai Huang had colluded with Yin Yu to seize the Zeng Xuan Holding Dharma Wings. Yet, in the next moment, he realized that both Saint Ren Yuanjing and Wei Xu’s auras were surging wildly, their Ultimate Realm intents once again engulfing the horizon!
The gazes directed at him were equally frigid and indifferent, brimming with hidden killing intent. No, it was Zong Shou—these Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men had clearly fallen into the hands of Zong Shou and this Cang Sheng Dao!
"The Floating Spirit Sword Formation, the Void Primordial Divine Art is suppressed below!" "The Great Dao is swapped, the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men are elevated above!" Outside the Imperial Capital, the light chant of the Sword Sect Master sounded once more. Without the anchor of an Ultimate Realm Saint Venerable, the Nine Heavens Ten Earth Yin Meridian Spirit Slaughtering Array was no longer a major concern.
Zhu Zi was heavily injured, and the vast, righteous energy of the thirty thousand Grand Scholars began to collapse and scatter. Now, the entire Heavenly Absolute Earth Vanishing Floating Spirit Sword Formation could be unleashed to its fullest potential for the purpose of swapping laws!
Causing the Void Primordial Divine Art of the Supreme Yuan Demon to descend in rank, while simultaneously maximizing the effect of the chaotic divine art wielded by the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men! Prioritizing it over the Void Primordial Divine Art!
Li Bixue, who had been maintaining a half-step Ultimate Realm cultivation, was instantly suppressed again in this fleeting moment, forcefully driven down to the mid-Saint Realm by those chaotic divine rings. How could this be?
How could the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men have fallen under the control of the Cang Sheng Dao? What was Yin Yu doing?
Was he eating excrement? Rage and terror intermingled; Li Bixue’s hair stood on end, completely devoid of his usual scholarly grace, his expression bitter and resentful.
So what if they were the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men? Even suppressed to the Saint Rank, he, Li Bixue, was certainly not comparable to ordinary Saints!
His primordial spirit was entrusted to the Great Dao; even the Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men could not completely sever that connection! His figure flashed, and Li Bixue ascended hundreds of zhang into the void.
But that was as far as he got. Runes flickered across those massive bronze fists, which then completely locked down that entire swath of spacetime.
The speed of the fists increased severalfold, attacking with a ferocity utterly lacking their previous clumsiness! "Void Primordial Divine Art!" Li Bixue could not evade; at this point, he had no choice but to meet the attack head-on in the void.
The giant hands, whose defensive strength rivaled divine treasures, could not simply be wished away. He could only convert the majority of the fist's force into nothingness.
However, after the first punch, the second immediately followed, hammering down relentlessly like a giant mallet. With a deafening boom that shook the earth, Li Bixue sank a hundred zhang with every blow he absorbed!
Blood spilled from his mouth; if his body were not still that of an Ultimate Realm physique, he would have already been smashed into dust by the colossal might of the Bronze Men. It was right around the fourth punch that Saint Ren Yuanjing silently appeared behind him.
"Eight thousand years ago, Brother Bixue, when you participated in the battle to surround and kill my senior brother Xi Zi, trekking across realms to gather allies—did you ever imagine that you too would one day be sealed in the Cloud Realm by us, the Cang Sheng Dao?" Another punch landed with a resounding 'boom.' Li Bixue's face changed drastically; blood streamed from his seven orifices. His entire body was forcibly driven down into the subterranean layers by the heavy blows of the Settling Nation Bronze Men!
"Mysterious Heaven Easy Spirit Scroll? You wretch!" The Mysterious Heaven Easy Spirit Scroll had swapped out his Void Primordial Divine Art.
Unable to neutralize the immense power of the bronze fists, this single blow heavily wounded him. Suddenly, Li Bixue understood everything.
"I see now. That Xiu Guan never actually returned to the Cloud Realm.
Long Ying Xuan Shuang also never returned! You spread those rumors only to set my mind at ease.
Your true reliance was always these Twelve Settling Nation Bronze Men?" "And what of it? You were simply too foolish!" A light sneer escaped Lin Xuanjing, her eyes now filled with excited derision.
All she needed to do now was stay close and entangle him, nothing more. She only needed to use the Mysterious Heaven Easy Spirit Scroll to swap out Li Bixue's Void Divine Art.
If Li Bixue were still at the peak Ultimate Realm level, she could never achieve this; attempting it would be suicide. But at this precise moment, the gap in their realms had inverted.
It was effortless to achieve suppression. "Today, even if it were only Wei Xu and I, Brother Li Bixue, could you possibly escape this inescapable net?" Countless green vines snaked forward, thin, emerald threads extending to ensnare Li Bixue.
Normally, the moment they approached, they would be neutralized by his Void power, but now, he was utterly powerless. A colossal sword light simultaneously swept across the sky.
It was the Heavenly Dao sword power, surging in like a vast, rolling river, washing away the intent of Zhu Zi and scattering the remaining righteous energy. It swept across everything in its path, purging all the Spirit Slaughtering Divine Lights and Yin Meridian malevolent forces present!
The momentum was magnificent, sealing the heaven and earth above the Fenghua Palace and the Imperial Capital with the power of the Yin Meridian Spirit Slaughter. Zong Shou then gestured with his sword art, his eyes blazing: "Senior Brother, let us silence him first!" Wei Xu burst into laughter.
Utilizing the Mirror Image method to power the Primordial One Beginning and End Sword, he unexpectedly did not strike Li Bixue, but instead aimed for Dao Monarch Tai Huang, two thousand zhang away. The sword shadow flashed once, and Tai Huang’s head was already thrown into the air!
(To be continued.)