Chapter 418 Divine Illumination VS Lord of the Divine Seal
A tall figure stepped into the rock seating area.
Anyone could tell who that figure belonged to. Even if they couldn't tell from the figure, they could easily tell with their own minds that there was only one person who would enter the virtual realm at this time.
The divine light has appeared!
The moment he saw Shenzhao's figure, Yuchi, who was sitting on a rock chair in the distance, tensed up and immediately turned his head to look nervously at the Lord of the Divine Seal. Xuanming seemed to have sensed something from Yuchi's unusual reaction, and his gaze darted back and forth between Shenzhao and the Lord of the Divine Seal.
Even Number Seven seemed to sense the approaching storm, slightly shifting his posture and casting his gaze in our direction.
I shifted my position slightly to better protect the small bowl, and at the same time looked towards the Lord of the Divine Seal.
The Lord of the Divine Seal slowly lowered the arm that had been supporting his cheek. All seven Void Realm Apostles had gathered at this moment; he had clearly awakened. His almost tangible gaze swept across the field, finally settling on the Dog.
Although he did not respond when the Dog (戌狗) proposed a deal to him, he claimed to "know most things that happen in this world," so it is very likely that he knew what had just happened the moment he woke up.
As if spurred on by the gaze of the Lord of the Divine Seal, the Dog seemed preoccupied with his own affairs and oblivious to the subtle shift in the atmosphere. He stepped forward, took out the fragment of the Divine Seal once more, and proclaimed loudly, "The Divine Seal—"
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a force coming from behind his shoulder. Shenzhao, who had been walking non-stop since his appearance, casually bumped into Xu Gou and strode towards the Lord of the Divine Seal.
Not only did he treat the Dog in this way, but he also completely disregarded everyone else present, keeping his gaze fixed on the Lord of the Divine Seal, as if he and the Lord of the Divine Seal had been the only two people in this illusory realm from the very beginning.
I immediately realized what Shenzhao was planning. He didn't waste any time or effort on pretense; he was going to assassinate the Lord of the Divine Seal as soon as he entered the arena!
"Lord of the Divine Seal, I wish to make a deal," Shenzhao said calmly.
The dog behind him roared, "Don't you even know the principle of first come, first served? Get down here!"
The Lord of the Divine Seal then turned his gaze to Shenzhao and asked, "What answer do you want to exchange for the fragments of the Divine Seal?"
“You’ve been sitting in that position long enough. Being able to look down on us from there is the only benefit you’ve received so far—”
Shenzhao stopped standing in front of the Lord of the Divine Seal and raised his right palm. Xu Gou seemed to want to grab Shenzhao's shoulder from behind, but only at this moment did he seem to realize that something was wrong, and he reflexively retreated.
A blazing white orb of light appeared in Shenzhao's palm. At the same time, Shenzhao said in a deep voice, "And now—it's your turn to pay the price!"
After he finished speaking, a dazzling light emanated from his body, while the white orb in his hand was far more dazzling than himself, and it exploded in an instant.
In what was likely less than a millionth of a second, the gray mist shrouding the interior of the Void Realm was completely blown away by the incredibly violent surge of magical power, leaving only a darkness resembling the emptiness of outer space. And within this exposed darkness, the white light emanating from the Divine Illumination bathed everything in white.
It was practically a supernova explosion! In such a brief moment, even I could only sense it, and there was no time to intervene.
The most crucial element in assassinating the Lord of the Divine Seal was this initial strike.
Shenzhao must have spared no expense or time, pouring all his effort into this attack, which is why it possesses such overwhelming power. I have no doubt that if this attack were to strike the Luoshan headquarters, even with ten Great Impermanence-level warriors directly below, it would obliterate the headquarters and the surrounding primeval forest. Even Shenzhao himself, who unleashed this ultimate move, probably couldn't think of any way to withstand it.
This attack, of such scale and intensity, failed to cause the slightest harm to anyone else present. As it cleared away all the gray mist, all its destructive power converged to a single, ultimate point, blasting towards the Lord of the Divine Seal.
It's estimated that more than just all the gray mist was cleared out; the connection between the Lord of the Divine Seal and the Divine Seal was also likely severed in the recent changes. The Lord of the Divine Seal is currently unable to use the power of the Divine Seal.
Without a doubt, the Lord of the Divine Seal's body was engulfed by boundless white light. The overwhelming power made it impossible for my senses to probe its details, but one thing I was absolutely certain of—the Lord of the Divine Seal was struck by this attack.
The divine light has worked!
However, Shenzhao did not show a victorious expression; on the contrary, he showed an expression of disbelief.
"……how so?"
He seemed unable to control his emotions, uttering a sound of utter shock, "You...you are actually..."
He seemed to doubt his own judgment and could not continue speaking, but in the still lingering white light, the voice of the Lord of the Divine Seal rang out.
"I told you this from the very beginning, didn't I?" the Lord of the Divine Seal said calmly, "If you commit this offense again, kill me without mercy."
As soon as he finished speaking, the white light that originally belonged to Shenzhao began to flow uncontrollably and concentrate in one place. At the same time, the figure of the Lord of the Divine Seal reappeared. He was completely unharmed, and the white light was all concentrated in his palm, as if to show that ownership of this power had fallen into his hands.
Then, the Lord of the Divine Seal aimed it at Shenzhao, and the white light transformed into a torrent of light that seemed capable of destroying everything. Shenzhao's expression changed drastically, and he immediately transformed into white light, seemingly to evade.
However, he still didn't have time. He didn't even have time to utter a single last word before the white light he had transformed into was swallowed up by the torrent of white light. When the torrent receded, he was unable to reappear and simply vanished without a trace.
Divine illumination, death.
Both the attack by the Divine Illumination and the counterattack by the Lord of the Divine Seal happened too quickly, leaving no room for intervention.
I can't understand what I'm seeing. No, I predicted that Shenzhao's assassination plan might fail, and Shenzhao himself probably didn't think his assassination would definitely succeed, so I'm not particularly shocked. But logically speaking, the connection between the Lord of the Divine Seal and the Divine Seal should have been severed by that attack, and the Lord of the Divine Seal shouldn't be able to resist Shenzhao's ultimate move.
However, the Lord of the Divine Seal not only survived unscathed, but also killed Shenzhao with a single counterattack. Although I witnessed the whole thing, I still don't understand exactly what the Lord of the Divine Seal did.
Could it be that Shenzhao's speculation is wrong, and the Lord of the Divine Seal is not a "fortunate mortal who obtained the Divine Seal", or that the Divine Seal has properties that even Shenzhao cannot calculate, and can even defend against such a situation?
The truth may not lie in either of those two possibilities. Even I could easily conceive of them, so it's impossible that Shenzhao was completely oblivious. Yet, on his deathbed, Shenzhao displayed such a shocked expression. This means that he, through his keen observation, perceived a truth that I could not.
At the scene, there was another person who might possess the same level of insight as Shenzhao, and she likely knew what truth Shenzhao had just discerned.
"—Little Bowl." I immediately initiated communication by reading aloud, "Did you see what just happened?"
“I…I saw it…” Xiao Wan seemed to be in shock as well.
"You said before that as long as the Lord of the Divine Seal uses his power, you can sense the connection between him and the Divine Seal, right?" I asked. "Did you try to sense it just now?"
“Yes, I sensed it… no, I didn’t sense it…” Xiao Wan’s words and thoughts were clearly very confused.
"Did you perceive it, or not?" I asked. "What exactly did you see?"
Xiao Wan seemed to gather her thoughts for a moment before saying, "When the Lord of the Divine Seal used his power just now, I seemed to sense the presence of the Divine Seal... Unlike the small fragment in our hand, it was a perfectly intact yet fragmented Divine Seal..."
"But... I couldn't sense the Lord of the Divine Seal!"
"When I sensed the divine seal, I could no longer sense the master of the divine seal before me! It was as if... as if he were the divine seal itself!"
--What?
I was taken aback by Xiaowan's answer, and then quickly asked, "You mean that the reason you can't perceive the connection between the Lord of the Divine Seal and the Divine Seal is because he is not the holder of the Divine Seal, but the Divine Seal itself. To put it further, he is a Divine Seal with self-awareness, the ability to speak human language, and the capacity to transform into human form... Is that how I understand it?"
Xiao Wan said blankly, "I...I don't know, but...it seems like that's how it is. This conclusion fits my perception of the situation very well..."
No wonder the Divine Illumination failed.
If the enemy is the divine seal itself, then severing the connection between the enemy and the divine seal is impossible. This isn't even about whether the person holding the divine seal is a mortal or a deity; the premise itself is flawed.
The Lord of the Divine Seal raised his hand and pointed at the place where Shenzhao died, and five fragments of the Divine Seal appeared out of thin air there.
What appeared there was likely not only the fragments of the divine seal bound to Shenzhao, but also fragments of the unclaimed divine seal. Shenzhao's fatal blow just now probably contained the power of those unclaimed divine seal fragments, and because he brought his power into the void, the Lord of the Divine Seals probably followed the clues and caught those unclaimed divine seal fragments.
Five fragments of the divine seal flew toward the master of the divine seal, but at that moment, another shocking change occurred, and someone attacked those fragments of the divine seal.
This time, it was Xuanming who made the move.
Suddenly, flames erupted from Xuanming's hand, swallowing the five fragments of the divine seal like a giant maw!
(End of this chapter)
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