Chapter 112: Ling Jun Awakens, The Mighty Imperial City

The Divine Eye rapidly drained Lu Chen's divine sense, while simultaneously agitating the black sphere, forcing it to release chaos spirit qi at an accelerated rate. With each surge, his Divine Psyche Incarnation grew increasingly solid.

The black sphere could unleash immense energy, yet Lu Chen's sea of consciousness remained far too small, smaller than even a pond. Its capacity to hold divine sense was extremely limited. The chaos spirit qi from the sphere was struggling to keep pace with the Divine Eye's voracious consumption.

It was like drawing water from a pond faster than it could ever be replenished. The difference was that the moment the water was sucked away, more would flood into the pond, instantly refilling it. As a result, it never ran dry, and each wave brought a new effect upon the pond.

Under the repeated onslaught of the chaos spirit qi, Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation swayed unsteadily beside the divine chamber, staggering like a drunkard.

Unable to hold back any longer, he vomited. "This divine ability... It's truly formidable. But the rate it consumes divine sense is far too fast..."

With each retch, the space within his mind forcibly expanded, and his Divine Psyche Incarnation solidified further.

The green-robed Daoist, seated inside the divine chamber, sighed upon seeing the Divine Psyche Incarnation's struggle. "The consumption is too rapid. Even with the chaos spirit qi replenishing it, it still can't keep up. We can't afford to waste any more time. Rest for now."

He then seized control of Lu Chen's body and forcefully activated the Divine Eye once again.

Losing control over his body for the second time, Lu Chen complained within his mind,

"You may be powerful, and I may not be able to drive you away... but the next time you take over my body, can you at least give me a warning? This is my mind you're barging into. You all come and go as you please, using me however you like. Do you think that's fair?"

"Enough nonsense. Do we still need to distinguish between you, me, and him now? It's my turn."

***

Now in control of Lu Chen's body, the green-robed Daoist manipulated the spirit qi in the small world. He moved the spirit pellets to the sides of the rift, creating a vacuum zone without any spirit qi. Then he looked around and shouted toward Feng Tiancheng, "Grandpa Feng, the vacuum is formed. It's time for you to take the stage."

Feng Tiancheng praised sincerely, "Well now... Your perception has improved considerably. You actually realized the need to cut off the spirit qi."

He flashed back to the imperial city he had emerged from earlier. "Next, you'll witness my life-bound enchanted artifact, the Eternal Twilight Imperial City."

Forming a seal, he swiftly channeled spirit qi into the city. In an instant, the tens of thousands of enchanted treasures behind him fused into it.

The Green Sovereign Divine Vines controlled the treasures, spreading across the city walls like garrison soldiers, standing guard with solemn vigilance.

Feng Tiancheng called out toward the stone wall, "Miss Wan'er, when I block the rift with my enchanted artifact, seize the chance to escape."

"Got it, Grandpa Feng. Let's do this," Nantian Wan'er replied, her spirit qi already surging as she readied herself to move.

"Here I go!" Feng Tiancheng bellowed, driving the city forward. "

Hah!

Eternal Twilight Imperial City!"

The ancient, elegant city crumbled in an instant. Flames devoured its walls, and half the fortress collapsed into ruins.

The divine vine's soldiers on the battlements withered, like the last defenders of a fallen dynasty. Despite the tragedy, they held on until the very end, their eyes fixed on the enemy below with unyielding resolve.

The green-robed Daoist froze at the sight. "This scene..."

Countless images flooded his mind. He had seen this broken city before. It was engraved on the Green Emperor's identity token. Yet, confronted with it in reality, he found it far more tragic than any depiction could convey.

Wind Dragon stared blankly at the approaching city. "So this is Lord Seventh's life-bound enchanted artifact, the Eternal Twilight Imperial City? But... why does it look so broken? Why is it only half intact? What exactly happened in that great war back then?"

Feng Tiancheng roared, "What are you spacing out for? Act now!"

His shout jolted everyone back to their senses.

By the time the city reached the rift, it was once again whole, restoring its ancient, majestic, and flawless appearance, as though that desolate image had never existed.

Wind Dragon shouted, "Wan'er, let's go!"

He split into six true bodies[1] and rushed to her side. Nantian Wan'er quickly dispersed the Stone Wall Formation and leapt onto his back.

A thunderous boom shook the air as the Stone Wall Formation vanished. Spirit qi from both worlds surged back through the rift, colliding violently and generating raging currents.

The violent spirit qi writhed like a serpent, striking in every direction, attempting to burst free from the rift. Yet just as it moved, a massive cage of formations rose to bar its way.

The twenty-three beast leaders had laid out the formations in advance with the strength of a hundred thousand beasts.

The violent qi slammed against it again and again, yet failed to shatter it, until, at last, it erupted in a deafening explosion. The blast engulfed the cage of formations in an instant.

The formations shattered, but it had bought just enough time for Lu Chen and Feng Tiancheng.

A second wave of violent spirit qi surged forth. With no stone walls or formations to contain it, the raging force once again tried to invade the small world.

The green-robed Daoist redirected the spirit qi of both worlds to flow in opposite directions. At the same time, he manipulated the formations within the small world and formed a barrier at the edge of the rift in a desperate attempt to hold it back. "Grandpa Feng, hurry!"

Feng Tiancheng forced the imperial city against the rift, but the violent spirit qi was far too fierce. "You need to hold out a little longer."

Controlling the formation to suppress it was easy, but trying to seal the rift with an enchanted artifact was extremely difficult.

That violent, rampaging spirit qi seemed to carry its own will. Once it sensed the imperial city couldn't completely block the rift, it grew stronger and stronger. Every time Feng Tiancheng managed to push half of it inside the rift, the raging spirit qi would surge back, throwing the city out again.

Half an hour slipped by in deadlock. The section that the imperial city was able to block became smaller and smaller, while the violent spirit qi continued to accumulate.

With a deafening boom, the formations that the demonic beasts had set up shattered once again, and the twenty-three beast leaders at the front were blasted into the air.

During this time, the beast leaders had already reformed their formations dozens of times, yet every one of them had been destroyed by the violent spirit qi. The spirit qi of the hundred thousand beasts had been drained dry. They collapsed on the ground, trembling, no longer able to form a formation.

"It shattered again? I'm exhausted..."

The green-robed Daoist, still controlling Lu Chen's body, forced the small world's formations to push back the violent spirit qi once more.

Three seconds later, the formations over the rift crumbled again.

The Daoist's phantom flickered in the air as he cursed, "Damn it! Lu Chen! You are too weak. The amount of power I can unleash is so limited!"

Watching the imperial city forced back again, Feng Tiancheng cursed in anger. "Not good, we need another way."

He turned toward the core region, where an old man was wandering without aim.

"Ling Jun, are you still not awake?" Feng Tiancheng shot a stream of spirit qi toward the old man and shouted, "It's up to you now!"

Ever since the old man first showed up, he had done nothing but wander around. He had only talked to himself, and would never respond to anyone else.

Feng Tiancheng saw him ignore his call and threw out an identity token from his sleeve. "Ling Jun, it's time for you to act."

The moment it appeared, the old man turned, mechanically caught the token, and stared at Feng Tiancheng; yet, he still said nothing.

"That's Lord Ling Jun's old body!" Flame Demon muttered in shock, "Could it be that he's still alive?"

"I need you to help me suppress the imperial city." Feng Tiancheng channeled spirit qi into his voice and said to the old man, "Someone will fulfill your wish."

At his words, the old man gave the faintest nod and muttered a broken syllable. "

Urgh...

Fine"

After saying that, he immediately drifted back into a daze.

Seeing him agree, Feng Tiancheng infused spirit qi into the old man and flung him toward the rift. "We're going in."

Hearing Feng Tiancheng's roar, everyone realized the critical moment had come. They poured all the strength they had left into activating the cage of formations once more and helping Feng Tiancheng resist the violent spirit qi.

The hundred thousand beasts squeezed out what little spirit qi they had left. A colossal transparent blue formation rose from the earth, dimming the small world at once. In that instant, a vast vacuum formed around the rift.

Seizing the opening, Feng Tiancheng drove the Eternal Twilight Imperial City toward the rift with his might. The city rammed into it, its northern and southern gates locking against the rift walls, sealing them completely shut.

But the eastern and western gates remained open. Spirit qi from both worlds surged through, condensing within the imperial city, exploding again and again, almost blasting the city away once more.

Flame Demon stared at the city and cried out, "Not good! There are still the east and west gates! The two worlds are still connected!"

"It's not over yet. Now comes the main act." Feng Tiancheng steadied the city against the rift with his spirit qi and shouted, "Ling Jun, suppress the west gate. That boy is your hope."[2]

Ling Jun cast a glance at Lu Chen and nodded. "I'll trust you one more time. Don't let us down again."

Boundless spirit qi erupted from him. He sat cross-legged at the west gate, like a thousand-jin mountain anchoring the imperial city, blocking the flow of the small world's spirit qi.[3]

Metal General looked on as the rift gradually settled and collapsed to the ground. "Did we succeed? It's finally sealed... I can rest at last."

Feng Tiancheng fixed his gaze on the Eternal Twilight Imperial City and said flatly, "Not yet. The east gate is in Little Lu's Heavenly Pool. A torrent of spirit qi is still pouring through."

"Not yet?" The Nine-Tailed Red Fox forced herself up. "Didn't Lord Ling Jun already block the west gate?"

"Ling Jun can't reach into Little Lu's Heavenly Pool with his power," Feng Tiancheng scattered a stream of violent spirit qi and shouted, "Little Lu, think of a way to suppress that gate with something ancient."

1. True bodies are not mere illusions or temporary shadows. Each true body is fully real, with its own substance, qi, and combat power. The original cultivator's essence or law allows them to manifest multiple authentic selves at once. Even if one is destroyed, the others remain, unlike fragile clones or avatars. ☜

2. The raw text reads, "This is your hope." However, since Ling Jun cast a glance at Lu Chen right after Feng Tiancheng spoke, we decided to adjust it to "That boy is your hope." ☜

3. The raw text reads "like a thousand-jin weight." However, since "weight" wouldn't make much sense in this context, we adjusted it to "thousand-jin mountain." ☜