Chapter 2248 - Beneath the Dome of Heaven

Di E’s black robes were tattered and stained with blood. His long hair was loose and disheveled, and there was even a bloody wound on his face. He looked utterly wretched.

But no matter how hard Lin Jinghong tried to provoke him, he never took off the black cloth obscuring his eyes.

Bang!

The edge of the spear struck like lightning, cleaving through the heavens, like an unstoppably forceful whip lashing ruthlessly into Di E. A long, thin, bloody line tore open on his chest.

The crowd was stunned. Even the Master Gods’ hair stood on end. They were completely at a loss.

Lin Jinghong’s strength wasn’t due to a terrifying cultivation base. Rather, the power she was drawing on was far too terrifying! It far transcended the Undying Realm, and it brimmed with incomprehensible mysteries of the Grand Dao!

Demon God Lin must have granted that power to her,

thought Su Yi.

Demon God Lin was Lin Jinghong’s father, the former ruler of the Spirit Martial Epoch. He controlled the power of reincarnation, and he was unbelievably powerful.

Su Yi had once met with a remnant of Demon God Lin’s will. Demon God Lin had addressed him as Daoist Brother!

There was no doubt about it. Demon God Lin had met Su Yi's first incarnation. His choice of title also implied that Demon God Lin and his first incarnation were roughly comparable!

And Su Yi knew that his first incarnation had long since risen above the River of Destiny!

Thus, Su Yi understood that while Lin Jinhong’s cultivation might not be that high, each method at her disposal was more terrifying than the one before.

For example, the talisman she’d given him had contained a portion of Grandmaster Bodhi’s will!

And now, Lin Jinghong was using external power to effortlessly pummel Di E, someone who’d taken half a step onto the River of Destiny. Su Yi naturally didn’t find this surprising.

He had, in fact, requested Lin Jinghong’s aid for the express purpose of defeating Di E!

“External power is, ultimately, external. Your borrowed power is rapidly flowing away. It won’t be long before it vanishes completely!” Di E’s voice suddenly resounded throughout the battlefield.

He looked utterly wretched, and he’d been forced back repeatedly, but now, he seemed to rally himself, and he sounded relaxed.

There was no doubt about it. Although he’d suffered repeatedly in their earlier clashes, in doing so, he’d frittered away Lin Jinghong’s power. Now, he was just waiting for his chance to counterattack!

Master God Yun He and the others watching from afar couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

Lin Jinghong’s strength put enormous pressure on them. If she defeated Di E, this chess game would end in their abject defeat.

Fortunately, Di E had managed to hold on!

“Is that so?” Lin Jinghong laughed coldly, then shook her spear.

Boom!

The rapidly depleting, mysterious power of the Grand Dao instantly recovered, good as new. It was now as abundant as could be.

“....”

“....”

Neither Di E nor the onlookers knew what to make of this.

“My cultivation might be inferior to yours, but I’ve got plenty of cards up my sleeves! If I wanted to, I could torment you for three days and three nights without end. I’m just afraid you wouldn’t be able to take it!” said Lin Jinghong, her spear like an arc of divine radiance piercing the sun. It cleaved through the sky and struck Di E, slamming him into the ground with such force that a crater formed beneath him.

The onlookers were astonished, no exceptions. Their minds went blank.

‘Plenty of cards’ up her sleeves? She could keep this up for three days straight? Just who is this woman? What terrifying faction did she come from? How could she possibly have enough hidden cards to pummel Di E like this?

Master God Yun He and the others could no longer remain calm. Di E hadn’t really been defeated yet, and they knew he’d yet to reveal his true cultivation. Otherwise, they’d have turned and left by now.

A woman capable of pummeling Di E could deal with them, no problem!

“You still won’t take off that black cloth? Then I’ll help you take it off!” Lin Jinghong seemed eager to compete with Di E, so she leaped into the fray.

When Su Yi saw this, he immediately called out to the stubborn old man who refused to die. “Fellow Daoist, help me kill those bastards!”

“Alright!” The old man raised the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow, then charged at Master God Yun He and the others.

The old man couldn’t defeat Di E, but he wasn’t the least bit afraid of Master God Yun He and the others.

This is bad!

Master God Yun He and the others instantly looked stricken. All of them drew their treasures.

Boom!

The old man attacked from a distance, creating a river of temporal power that swept through the sky.

It was just one attack!

Yet Yun He, Tian Huang, and the other Master Gods staggered backward.

Even Divine Corpse Blood Robe, who was watching over Skybright Mountain, couldn’t help but break out in cold sweats.

The aftershock of this battle was far too terrifying. He had to give it his all just to neutralize it and protect the mountain.

Su Yi, meanwhile, gripped the rusted sheath, swept it through the air, and charged at Master God Tian Huang.

“You’re targeting me again? You... you... you’re too much!” Master God Tian Huang was so angry that he almost coughed up blood.

Earlier, Su Yi had focused his attacks on him. Now, he was doing it again. How could Master God Tian Huang possibly accept that?

There was no time for him to give the matter any further thought. He immediately turned and fled.

Kaboom!

A grand battle erupted. Heaven and earth were thrown into chaos.

The old man who refused to die displayed incredible divine majesty, too. He suppressed and whaled on multiple Master Gods at once.

He wielded the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow, a taboo treasure. That made it hard for the Master Gods to even fight back. They repeatedly dodged and scampered frantically throughout heaven and earth.

Startled, infuriated cries rang out repeatedly.

Some of the Master Gods charged straight for Skybright Mountain. All of them knew that the ancient Xi Family was Su Yi’s weak point!

But Su Yi was already on guard against this. He stood guard there, working with Divine Corpse Blood Robe to stave their enemies off. They had no chance to attack the mountain whatsoever.

And when the stubborn old man attacked, the power of the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow successfully blocked three Master Gods.

One of them even had his physical body destroyed, almost killing him!

This fierce, brutal battle left countless onlookers wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

“Li Sanjiu, quick! This is the perfect opportunity to kick them while they’re down!” Qi Wei said eagerly.

“Young Mistress, we ought to be on guard against the old-timers watching from the shadows. We need to make sure they don’t cause any trouble!” Li Sanjiu said calmly. “Haven’t you noticed? If someone chose this moment to intervene and attack Su Yi or the mountain he’s defending, they might well succeed!”

Qi Wei’s pupils constricted. It was true! Both sides were keeping each other in check; otherwise, the battle could never have been so fierce.

The Dipankara Buddha fought Divine Priestess Celestial Rains.

The Angler fought the Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor.

Lin Jinghong fought Di E.

Su Yi, the stubborn old man, and Divine Corpse Blood Robe were fighting with all their might to prevent Master God Yun He and the others from targeting Skybright Mountain.

If an additional force entered the fray, it could ruin things for Su Yi!

“Then shouldn’t you hurry and order our forces to attack?” Qi Wei said frantically.

“Calm down, Young Mistress. I’ve already warned them. The moment someone attempts to get involved, our forces will surround and attack them!” Li Sanjiu said with seething murderous intent.

He’d only just said this when he seemed to sense something, and he vanished into thin air. A moment later, he reappeared behind Skybright Mountain.

Boom!

Li Sanjiu swung his fist with all his might.

The entire stretch of sky exploded, and a figure was forced into view.

It was a stick-thin old man with tawny hair and gray robes. Earlier, he’d been sneaking through the air in an attempt to draw closer to the mountain.

But now, Li Sanjiu had discovered him!

“Die!”

Li Sanjiu leaped ahead, holding a glittering golden treasure tower, which he slammed ruthlessly at his opponent.

The gray-robed old man turned and fled.

But before he’d gotten far, a group emerged from the shadows and surrounded him completely.

The gray-robed old man broke out in cold sweats. He recognized these people instantly. These were the old-timers of the Qilin Trading Company!

“Isn’t this some kind of misunderstanding?” The gray-robed old man forced a smile.

“Like hell it is!” Li Sanjiu roared, then led the experts of the Qilin Trading Company into battle.

Before long, a desperate shriek rang out, and the gray-robed old man was slain on the spot.

Destroyed in both body and soul!

The old-timers of the Qilin Trading Company, meanwhile, returned to their hiding spot.

Even so, many of the onlookers noticed what had happened. All of them felt chills course down their spines.

So, the Qilin Trading Company is mixed up in this, too. Fortunately, we didn’t attack just now. If we had...

But wait. The Qilin Trading Company has never gotten involved in worldly conflicts, so why are they getting mixed up in this?

...Soon, numerous people were discussing the matter in secret.

But before long, they cast all such thoughts aside.

Because the old man who refused to die used the Lotus Seed of Light and Shadow, swiftly slaying an already injured Nine-Tribulation Master God where he stood.

This bloody scene horrified the others. Their hearts sank into the pits of their stomachs!

“Daoist Brother Di E, why won’t you use your true power even now?” The Severed Heavens Demon Master cried out in fury.

They’d been waiting for Di E to display his divine majesty this entire time, yet now, they could only watch as Di E was repeatedly forced back.

“The situation is no longer in our favor. I’ll hold them back. You... should retreat!” Off in the distance, Di E sighed, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Retreat?

Everyone was startled.

Di E has yet to reveal his true strength. Why order a retreat? How is that any different from just admitting defeat?

The most confusing part was that Di E would rather retreat than take off the black cloth obscuring his eyes and unseal his full power.

Master God Yun He and the others were deeply unwilling to accept this.

Had they known Di E would refuse to reveal his true strength, how could they possibly have chosen to fight all this time? They’d have fled a long time ago!

“Old Toad, I’ll settle the score with you next time!” The Angler disengaged, turned, and fled.

He was the first to back down. He’d been fighting the Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor this entire time, and although he’d held on, it had been a bitter struggle.

How could he possibly give it his all any longer?

“Fuck your grandpa! Don’t you dare run!” The Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor cursed him out and gave chase.

But then, Su Yi’s voice resounded through his ears. “Don’t give chase. Push a dog into a corner, and it’ll bite you.”

The Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor’s chest heaved, but in the end, he held back.

He knew that with his cultivation, he was at best evenly matched with the Angler. Even if he gave chase, he wouldn’t be able to defeat the Angler anytime soon.

Practically simultaneously, the Dipankara Buddha decisively removed himself from battle. He let out a long sigh, then left with a heart still full of bitterness. In the blink of an eye, he’d vanished completely.

Divine Priestess Celestial Rains tried to give chase, but she was already one step too late.

Ultimately, no matter how strong she’d been in life, she was now no more than a wisp of soul. It had been all she could do to fight the Dipankara Buddha this long. There was absolutely no way she could stop the Dipankara Buddha from fleeing.

Of everyone present, that bald donkey was the most calculating!

thought Su Yi.

He’d been keeping tabs on the Dipankara Buddha and Divine Priestess Celestial Rains’ battle. It was immediately obvious to him that the Dipankara Buddha wasn’t using his full strength!

The bald donkey had never planned to win. Rather, he used his battle with Divine Priestess Celestial Rains as a ruse to watch and wait to see how the situation developed!

When he saw that Di E had decided to retreat, the bald donkey knew the situation was no longer in his favor, so he fled without hesitation!