Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Devil Heart Shattered

“Damn it!” Dragged back by Emperor Chen Lie, Luo Ming Yue grew more and more furious.

Nascent Soul Peak.

Nascent Soul Peak.

She had been stuck here for years. If she had broken through earlier, this battle would not be so hard. Her Master always said that when the time was right, the breakthrough would come.

[When will my time come?]

Fire-attribute cultivators are often hot-tempered, their moves are bold and direct, and they never retreat.

Her Master said that to enter Divine Transformation, one must walk one’s own path.

[Have I really not found my path yet?]

Luo Ming Yue looked down over the capital.

If she could not stop Emperor Chen Lie, the capital and the whole Chenrong Kingdom would soon become a hell in the Mortal Realm. When they entered the city, it had been full of life.

Now everything was about to be ruined.

Endless anger rose in her heart. The Phoenix Spirit Sword in her hand seemed to feel it too, and flames roared up.

“First Senior Sister, she…” Liu Jun Cheng faltered, distracted for half a breath.

Emperor Chen Lie seized the moment and struck straight for Liu Jun Cheng’s heart.

But before his claws touched Liu Jun Cheng, a shield of fire snapped into place around them all.

Emperor Chen Lie was thrown back in an instant.

Li Shuang glanced at Luo Ming Yue, joy flashing in her eyes. First Senior Sister’s aura was transforming.

“You want to break through to Divine Transformation? Dream on!” Emperor Chen Yang rushed in.

But it was already too late.

A great pair of fire wings spread behind Luo Ming Yue. As Emperor Chen Yang lunged, the wings wrapped around her. His claws hit them and rang as if striking iron. The recoil hurled him away.

The backlash alone sent him crashing to the ground. He coughed mouthfuls of blood.

Emperor Chen Yang was badly hurt.

Luo Ming Yue’s gaze softened. She had always thought her path of fire was pure offense.

But walking that road, she never broke through.

Who would have thought her true path was the way of protection.

Fire that guards.

Flames burn all things only to protect the people she wants to protect.

This was her path, the Dao of Luo Ming Yue.

The heart was about to touch the blood dome. She had no time for anything else and slashed at it.

“Father!” Emperor Chen Lie cried, his face changing as he rushed to shield Emperor Chen Yang.

Seeing his son, Emperor Chen Yang looked like he had found a lifeline. He reached out to Emperor Chen Lie and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could say a word, a dagger stabbed into his chest.

Eyes wide, Emperor Chen Yang stared at Emperor Chen Lie in disbelief.

Tears streamed down Emperor Chen Lie’s face as he said, “Father, what we did was wrong. Since things have come to this, let me end this mistake with my own hands.”

He drove the dagger in hard.

Emperor Chen Yang glared at him to the very end.

Then his breath vanished.

He died with eyes open.

Li Shuang’s expression sharpened. Emperor Chen Yang was dead.

Not good.

To activate the true Grand Bloodfiend Body-Refining Grand Array, one more condition was needed: the blood of the Imperial Clan.

With Emperor Chen Yang’s death, that last condition was met. His blood seeped into the altar.

Emperor Chen Lie seemed unaware of this. Wearing a sorrowful face, he said, “It is lucky you came. I worried that if you did not believe that person, what could I do then?”

Li Shuang narrowed her eyes: “The person who gave us the address for the Radiant Sun Hall, you arranged that?”

Emperor Chen Lie nodded: “I did.”

He gave a bitter smile: “My royal father was bewitched by the Devil Heart and fell into Qi Deviation. I tried everything to leak a little news and draw Sword Sect Disciples here to take the task. The underground kingdom was my father’s decoy. He wanted you to think you had killed the real culprit so you would leave.”

“But I knew his true plan was a great crime against heaven. So I found a way to keep you here. It seems Sword Sect Disciples are worthy of their name. You really stopped all of this.”

He looked truly relieved.

Li Shuang’s brows eased a little. His words made sense, and her arts sensed not a trace of malice from him. He seemed to be someone she could trust.

“Hurry and stop that Devil Heart,” Emperor Chen Lie urged.

Whatever he was, stopping the Devil Heart was what mattered most now.

Li Shuang looked up at the sky.

The Devil Heart lacked only the final step.

“Heaven and Earth Furnace,” she ordered, “use all the Will of the Multitudes to exchange for one attack aimed at the Devil Heart. Make it as strong as possible.”

“Exchange completed,” the Heaven and Earth Furnace answered.

In the capital of Chenrong Kingdom, night had fallen.

Lin Qing Ling arrived in haste.

Sensing the overwhelming demonic qi, her face kept changing.

She should not have been able to get here so quickly, but before leaving she had borrowed a Windflight Skiff from Meng Yi Fei, and with that extra speed she barely made it in time.

Even so, it still felt too late.

The Devil Heart was almost fused.

“Damn it,” Lin Qing Ling muttered as she raced toward the imperial city.

Then she sensed something and stopped cold.

She looked up, shock flickering in her eyes.

A meteor was falling from the horizon. It shone bright and clear, lighting up half the sky. Wherever it passed, the bloody light melted away.

At last, the meteor crashed straight into the Devil Heart.

Light blazed.

Lin Qing Ling had to close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, the Devil Heart had shattered completely.

A huge ghost face appeared above the capital, letting out eerie cries.

It writhed as if struggling against something.

In the end, its aura weakened bit by bit until it faded away.

When the ghost face vanished, the terrifying array dissolved like ice and snow.

Starlight fell across the world, and cheers rose from thousands of homes.

Amazement lit Lin Qing Ling’s gaze. [What power was that? Which great expert made a move?]

She spread her senses, but found nothing.

“Many thanks for your help, Senior,” Lin Qing Ling said, bowing to the empty sky, then turned toward the palace.

A small smile touched her lips. Her disciples were growing faster than she had expected.

In the Hall of the National Preceptor, Ye Zhao Zhao stared in a daze.

The Devil Heart… lost? That Grand Bloodfiend Body-Refining Grand Array that was supposed to be so fearsome was broken just like that?

“System, didn’t you say we only had to wait for them to destroy themselves?” Disappointed, Ye Zhao Zhao could not help snapping.

The System sounded sour: “Who knew that Devil Heart would be so useless! If this failed, then stick to the original plan and keep sowing discord among them.”

Ye Zhao Zhao snorted, but agreed.

Suddenly the System’s tone changed: “An Integration Stage expert… that aura is Lin Qing Ling! Sword Sect’s Lin Qing Ling came in person!”