Just as Pei Lang was in a daze, preparing to put on a show of "my life is over," the thunderous rage he had anticipated did not descend.
Xie Linyuan finally deigned to lift his gaze from that strand of hair and lightly swept it over, his captivating peach blossom eyes slowly turning back and forth between Shen Zhaozhao and Pei Lang.
"Oh."
The man chuckled softly, the last syllable of his voice rising slightly, filled with contempt and disdain: "Xiao Jingrui taught you, didn't he?"
"He himself is of ordinary appearance, so he always likes to incite some vulgar and obscene words in an attempt to slander me, just to vent his insignificant jealousy."
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
Pei Lang: "..."
Decisively ignoring the two petrified brats, Xie Linyuan's eyes were filled with a sense of tolerance that "the children have been led astray, but the root cause is not her."
"You are new to the sect and have little knowledge. It is understandable that you were deceived by him and learned some crooked and evil words."
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
Shen Zhaozhao opened her mouth, hesitated, then stopped herself, and finally looked utterly hopeless and questioning the meaning of life.
ah?
Is it possible to make things right like this?
Well, that works too.
Anyway, the blame has been shifted, and it doesn't matter who gets hit.
...
At the same time, the deepest darkness in the forbidden area of the Tianyan Sect was suddenly shattered.
Lingxiao Zhenren, who was sitting cross-legged on the Xuanyu stone platform, suddenly shuddered as if he had been hit by an invisible giant hammer!
"puff--!"
Scalding red blood gushed out, splashing onto the cold, smooth stone platform like an eerie flower in bloom.
Those eyes, which held boundless power and seemed to pierce through the depths of hell, suddenly opened. What surged within them was not fury, but an unprecedented bewilderment and... a trace of fear that even he himself was unwilling to admit.
What happened?
The wisp of divine consciousness attached to the Ice Heart Jade Lotus was a carefully differentiated power tentacle, extremely tough and strong enough to overlook the entire Spirit Continent. How could it... how could it shatter without warning like fragile glass?
That power... that power that so easily erased his consciousness...
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
He has already trampled this land of Lingzhou under his feet; such an existence should never exist!
His chest churned violently; the excruciating pain from the injury to his consciousness intertwined with the shock of this mind-blowing experience, instantly igniting the most violent killing intent in Lingxiao Zhenren's heart.
He immediately summoned his natal sword, tore through the void, and rushed straight to Yunqi City to drag out and crush that coward who dared to offend the heavens and hide his tail!
However, just as his spiritual energy surged, causing the surrounding air currents to swirl wildly—
"Boom!"
It was not thunder, but a more muffled and oppressive roar, as if it came from the heavens above and from the depths of the earth at the same time, crashing heavily into the heart of Lingxiao Zhenren!
He suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the thick, domed stone walls of the forbidden area, as if he could see the outside world.
The sky above the forbidden area of the Tianyan Sect, which had been clear and cloudless just moments before, was now like an inverted pool of ink.
Thick, almost tangible, calamity clouds gathered and swirled wildly, so heavy they seemed to crush the entire Tianyan Mountain Range. Deep within the clouds, blinding purple-white lightning snakes moved silently, each flash carrying a deathly aura of destruction, illuminating the sprawling mountain range below in a ghastly white light, as if the end of the world had arrived.
A lightning tribulation?!
Lingxiao Zhenren's pupils suddenly contracted, and his whole body stiffened and turned cold.
How could they... arrive so quickly?!
He had clearly calculated that it would take at least several months of quiet preparation before he could sense that barrier and trigger the tribulation lightning. Why had the tribulation clouds already condensed and taken shape at this moment?!
...
At the same time, at Yunqi City Square.
The sound of the wind blowing across the open space, swirling up a few fallen leaves, was clear and jarring.
Countless cultivators remained kneeling or standing, their expressions frozen in utter horror.
Lingxiao Zhenren... that divine consciousness phantom symbolizing the supreme power of Lingzhou, which made all living beings prostrate themselves... was... scattered by a white light that came from nowhere and was too fast to see?
There was no earth-shattering collision, no devastating aftershocks, only a soft hissing sound and the dissipation of golden light across the sky.
what does that mean?
This means that the person who made the move was beyond their comprehension in terms of their level of understanding and control over power. In front of him, Lingxiao Zhenren was like a clay chicken or a clay dog, without even the right to struggle!
Fear, a suffocating fear stemming from the instinct of life, of the absolute unknown and absolute power, instantly engulfed the entire plaza, especially the area where the Tianyan Sect disciples were located, like an icy tide.
The arrogance on their faces, the natural sense of superiority born from the power of their sect, shattered into nothingness at this moment.
Instead, there was a desolate, bleak landscape, with unfocused eyes filled with bewilderment and despair after the collapse of faith.
Yun Wan'er stood in the crowd, the center of attention she should have been, but now she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Her delicate body swayed violently, and she staggered back half a step. She bit her lower lip tightly, tasting the strong metallic flavor of blood, before she could barely suppress the scream that was about to burst out of her throat.
We cannot show weakness!
She absolutely cannot show weakness!
The master's divine sense dissipated so strangely and mysteriously that if she were to show even the slightest weakness or panic at this moment, those cultivators who had previously avoided or even yielded to her in the semi-finals due to their fear of the master's pressure would immediately turn into jackals!
Her carefully cultivated image and readily attainable glory will all vanish like a bubble!
Thinking of this, Yun Wan'er forced her swaying back to straighten, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the trembling of her fingertips. She deliberately raised her voice, with a kind of composure that she tried hard to maintain but could not hide: "Fellow disciples, there is no need to panic."
"Just now... it seems that something important happened in the forbidden area of our Tianyan Sect. My master was concerned about the sect, so he temporarily withdrew his divine sense and rushed to deal with it."
"Moreover, the Newcomer Competition is a solemn place for us young cultivators to demonstrate our true cultivation and abilities. Whether our master is present or not, we disciples of the Tianyan Sect should uphold the righteous path and give it our all. We should compete as we see fit, and not lose our composure because of some external factors."
These words restored a faint glimmer of light to the eyes of the outer disciples who had been slumped on the ground, utterly dejected.
However, the disciples who represented the elders of each peak and had a broader perspective all had solemn expressions, like leaden clouds before a storm.
They stood silently, their gazes sweeping over the empty sky, the seemingly composed Yun Wan'er, and their terrified fellow disciples with complicated emotions. Their lips were tightly pressed together, and they did not utter a word.
The once arrogant and domineering Tianyan Sect has now been replaced by a sense of precariousness and deathly silence.
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