Refining the Mountains and Rivers

The shockwaves from the collision of the Godfall Arts slowly dispersed. Looking down from above, it was like a giant invisible hand had wiped across the earth, erasing everything in a vast area.

The endless towering mountain, the stone steps, as well as the wooden stakes that were soaked with blood…right now, all of that had disappeared, replaced by an immense crater.

The crater went deep below the ground and was so large that one couldn't see its edges. The surface was incomparably smooth. After the stone was melted away by the terrifyingly high temperatures, it became smooth to the point that it could reflect an image of the clear skies above.

All of the dark fog had been scattered by the collision of Godfall Arts. From the moment this Hell Mystic Realm was formed, this was likely the clearest the skies had ever been.

Soft light sprinkled down, falling atop the skull of the Ancient. The bone was like jade and shimmered with a hazy brilliance, complementing the white light that gushed out from its seven orifices.

There was a common-looking crack on the skull. But, this had nothing to do with the Godfall Arts. Rather, it came from the Ancient's consciousness trying to reverse the 3000 vortexes as it searched for the reason why the Ancient race suffered a backlash and perished. In terms of the intensity of strength involved, even if 100 Godfall Arts were to descend together, it would still be impossible to harm the skull in the slightest.

Meanwhile, the 'statue' Qin Yu was completely fine. After all, he 'died' due to the remnant strength of the Dao Monarch, so the Divine Seat and Saint didn't have any suspicions regarding why he was still there.

"Do Ermo, you have blasphemed the will that the Dao Monarch left behind in this world. With my status as the Western Tomb's Divine Seat, I hereby strip from you your title as Saint Son." Ji Xiangtian slowly said. He was calm and expressionless, without any emotion in his eyes.

"Then?" Do Ermo smiled. "You want to deny my status and then suppress and kill me, to maintain the Ji Family's control over the Western Tomb."

Ji Xiangtian no longer spoke. He stood there and straightened his body. His weak aura rapidly turned powerful and icy cold. Boundless pressure erupted from inside him as faint traces of light continuously appeared around him. The light gathered into a great sword. He lifted it with both hands and slashed down.

Do Ermo lifted his hands and a blinding light erupted. He was like a great sun, so bright that one couldn't look straight at him.

The great sword slashed down and the dazzling great sun hollowed downwards. The great sun's surface twisted and trembled, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Puff -

With a low cough, a trace of red appeared within the light of the great sun, rapidly diffusing outwards. In the blink of an eye the great sun turned into a blood sun.

Then, it slowly broke apart to reveal Do Ermo's figure. Countless tiny cracks appeared on the surface of his skin. One could see the blood red color of his flesh below, but no blood flowed out.

He coughed hard. Bits of blood splattered outwards, dyeing his gorgeous and pure white robes with red spots. A pained look crossed his face, as well as a bit of helplessness. Although he grasped the Godfall Art and several other divine arts, he still needed to pay a great price to use them, one steeper than the Divine Seat's.

After using the Godfall Art and the Great Light Sword one after another, Ji Xiangtian's face was dark and gloomy. It looked as if he had aged dozens of years over the last few moments and he couldn't conceal his weariness. But great waves still fluctuated within his eyes. They were filled with endless coldness and a killing intent that had not diminished at all.

Do Ermo had to die!

"Let's end this." Ji Xiangtian lifted his hands. He completely disregarded his weakened body and the backlash this would produce as he started to use a third divine art.

"Lance of Ruling!"

Not too long ago, Do Ermo had used this divine art to deal with the corpses on the wooden stakes that had arrived. But when the Western Tomb Divine Seat used this technique, it was clearly much stronger.

Light condensed into an incomparably sharp lance. It flashed with a light that shook the heart, one that was capable of piercing through and destroying all.

Whoosh -

The Lance of Ruling howled out, leaving a series of afterimages in its wake. It soared through the skies, shooting straight at Do Ermo's chest!

The expelled Saint had a tranquil expression. When he looked at the Lance of Ruling that hurtled his way, he suddenly said, "When I kill the Divine Seat, I will become the new ruler of the Western Tomb. I vow here and now that I will grant you all freedom."

Ji Xiangtian's pupils shrunk.

Then, with a loud rumbling sound, the ground shattered once again. Endless lava burst out, as if a volcano had erupted from below.

The lava submerged the Lance of Ruling. A heaven-shaking explosion followed as the lava burst apart and splashed out in all directions. Painful cries filled the air.

Before the splashing lava struck the ground, it was drawn back in by a powerful and invisible strength, rapidly fusing together again. Lava still flowed out continuously from the shattered earth below.

A lava giant appeared. Its figure was wrapped in millions of souls that howled and screamed as they constantly withstood the pain of being burned.

The lava giant's blazing red eyes fell upon Do Ermo. Its voice thundered as it said, "Remember your vow, otherwise I guarantee you that I will reduce your soul to ashes!"

Do Ermo nodded. "I will not go back on my word!" He looked up at Ji Xiangtian, "Because of their own selfish interests, the Western Tomb's Ji Family has imprisoned all of you here and in doing so they have violated the oath they made to abide by the teachings of the Divine Church. Once I become the new Divine Seat, I will allow you all to handle the expelled Ji Family as you wish."

He naturally understood what it meant to cut the grass at the roots. And, he knew how heavy of a temptation this was.

"All of the Western Tomb Ji Family should die!"

A hate-filled roar rolled through the air as a giant bone dragon flew in from the distance. Its eyes blazed with burning soul flames. The temperature that had risen after the lava giant appeared began to rapidly fall once more.

Its massive bone body folded together like a mountain. The dragon looked up at the Divine Seat and opened its jaws wide, spewing out a dark gray dragon's breath the color of specters.

Ji Xiangtian's robes started to shine. Motes of light appeared on a pitch black backdrop, as if they were stars in the night sky.

The spectral dragon breath covered him but wasn't able to harm him. In an instant, those motes of light counterbalanced the dragon breath and scattered it away.

The vestments of the Western Tomb Divine Seat were said to be granted to him by the unsurpassed Dao Monarch. It was said they possessed a formidable defense that could resist the attacks of a god.

After its attack failed, the bone dragon roared in anger. But it didn't attack again. Rather, it restrained its aura, as if it were waiting for something.

Winds rose from nothingness. A light fragrance spread with it. There was a soft and sweet taste to it, one that made one feel nostalgic longing.

Do Ermo's heart tensed up. He said in a soft voice, "I knew that none of you would be absent from today's great meeting. Since you've all come then make your decision. Either help me obtain your freedom, or be imprisoned here forever."

A pale blue flower appeared, swaying in the wind. As it appeared on the ground, it rapidly took root and grew to the height of a person's waist. Each flower petal flowed with a halo of light, vaguely forming the outline of a face.

"Why should I believe you?"

The voice was ethereal and lonely, filled with a cold intent.

It was the voice of a woman.

Do Ermo faintly said, "Since you've appeared here, that means you've already made a choice. If I am defeated today, I will only die. But as for the rest of you, I fear you will be trapped here for endless years in the future without any chance of ever leaving again…killing Ji Xiangtian is something that benefits us all."

The Ancient's consciousness suddenly spoke up in Qin Yu's mind, "I must make my move soon. No matter what happens, do not resist."