Just as the Nirvana Golden Seal above Gu Yuntian's head began to shine with divine radiance, trembling space as it tried to summon a clone from the Immortal Emperor realm—Liu Chen moved.
"Seal."
He whispered, and a dark gold talisman appeared in his palm.
Mountain Sealing Talisman.
A top level talisman, forged with ancient runes from the Primordial Sealing Sect, long thought extinct. The moment Liu Chen activated it, the entire battlefield changed.
Boom!
Golden light from the Nirvana Seal clashed with invisible barriers. Space itself froze, the void became stiff like thick iron walls. The summoning process stalled. Cracks appeared on the golden seal.
"No!" Gu Yuntian cried. "That's... a Mountain Sealing Talisman?!"
The Nirvana Seal flickered wildly, struggling to maintain connection with the distant Immortal Emperor soul.
But Liu Chen raised two fingers, channeled the God and Demon energy into the talisman, and pressed them together in a sign of absolute sealing.
KACHA!!
The golden seal shattered into fragments of spiritual light.
Gu Yuntian screamed, blood pouring from his eyes, ears, and mouth. The backlash of a failed summoning nearly tore his soul apart. The pride of the Ancient Gu Clan fell to his knees, coughing pieces of organs.
On the other side of the continent, deep within a sealed cavern filled with starlight and molten energy, an old man opened his eyes suddenly.
"Huff!"
He spat out a mouthful of black-gold blood, and his body trembled violently.
This man was Gu Tiansheng, an Immortal Emperor of the Gu Clan, and the father of Gu Yuntian. His eyes burned with fury as he sensed the failure of his soul clone.
"That brat dares... to destroy my clone?!"
He was in the middle of a critical cultivation stage. One misstep now could destroy his chances of stepping into the Half-Venerable Realm.
Clenching his fists, he calmed himself and muttered, "I can't go yet... but this matter will not go ignored. Yuntian, survive. I will send Elder Ming to investigate that secret realm."
---
Back in the ruined valley, the morale of the remaining cultivators crumbled.
"He even sealed an Immortal Emperor's clone..."
"This... this isn't something a Soul Foundation realm can do!"
They were right. Liu Chen was no longer bound by conventional stages.
With a wave of his hand, he summoned another surge of divine-demonic force and rushed forward. This time, Cai Lin acted.
Hisss!
From her back, an illusion of an ancient python coiled into the sky, its scales shimmering with jade light. She struck out with her palm, launching a spiraling wave of spiritual venom, said to dissolve even spirit artifacts.
Liu Chen didn't dodge.
Instead, his body glowed with a strange duality. The golden divine light purified the venom, while the black demonic threads corroded it back.
Cai Lin's pupils shrank.
"He... nullified my poison?"
She didn't hesitate this time. Her body twisted with supreme agility, dancing like a shadow-serpent, summoning spiritual weapons formed of snake fangs, wind ribbons, and ancient spells.
Liu Chen moved like a shadow in a storm. A serpent fang shot toward his heart. He caught it between two fingers.
A wind ribbon sliced toward his neck. He ducked, then countered with a rising elbow.
Cai Lin flew backward, crashing into a boulder and spitting out blood.
But even then, her aura surged. This was the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Python Tribe. Her body morphed slightly, slitted pupils narrowing, as pale green scales began to coat her skin.
"Snake God Transformation!"
A massive green python aura appeared behind her, hissing with rage.
She dashed forward again, this time five times faster than before, her body blurred with each step.
Liu Chen grinned.
"Good."
He met her charge head-on. Fist against claw, elbow against scale. The earth beneath them shattered again and again. Cai Lin was astonishing—she had talent worthy of a main character. Each strike she landed cracked space. But she was still just beneath Liu Chen.
Every clash ended with her injuries increasing.
"If I can't win alone," she whispered, blood trailing from her lips, "Then I'll die trying."
Gu Yuntian, despite his injuries, also stood back up.
"He can't have endless stamina," he growled.
From within his robe, he took out a black orb.
"Five Element Destruction Bomb."
Liu Chen's expression finally changed.
That thing could kill even a peak Soul Foundation cultivator, and wound a Spirit Core expert if caught directly.
Gu Yuntian tossed it.
At the same moment, Cai Lin activated her own tribe's secret art: Python Heaven Imprisonment, a cage of green lightning snakes that locked the space around Liu Chen.
The bomb approached.
Liu Chen closed his eyes.
BOOM!!!
A blast consumed half the battlefield. Trees burned. Rocks melted. Dozens of unconscious cultivators died instantly in the aftershock.
The smoke lingered.
"Is he... dead?" Gu Yuntian asked, panting, body barely standing.
But Cai Lin didn't speak. Her golden eyes narrowed.
A shadow emerged from the smoke.
Still standing.
His robes were torn, but there is no sign of any kind of injury upon his body. His golden skin was still glowing without any flaw.
But his eyes... Black and gold.
"That... A little hot," Liu Chen said slowly. Then he raised his hand.
"Now it's my turn."
His fingers formed a strange seal.
The God and Demon energy gathered, and his broken arm snapped back into place with a sickening pop. Veins throbbed as vitality flooded him.
He rushed Gu Yuntian first.
The wounded Gu youth raised a final barrier. Liu Chen's punch shattered it like glass, driving the boy into the earth. His five elemental veins cracked permanently.
"You're not worth your clan," Liu Chen whispered.
Cai Lin tried to retreat. But Liu Chen was faster. A golden-black foot slammed her into the dirt.
But he didn't kill her.
Liu Chen pulled her up by the collar and looked into her eyes.
"I don't kill those who follow instinct over pride. But next time, pick your allies better."
He let her drop.
All around, silence reigned. The three factions had been destroyed. Their pride shattered.
The Golden Sun Leaf floated silently behind Liu Chen, glowing like the crown of a king.
Liu Chen raised his hand and caught it.
Then he turned, and walked away.
The sun above burned crimson.
And its light was dyed in blood.