Chapter 1613:Eternal Enslavement

In the city of South Temple of Divinity City, a serious lockdown was in effect. Massive arrays hovered above the city walls, casting a breathtaking yet oppressive sight.

It had been three days since Xi Zhong issued the call to rally troops for the Divine Emissary.

In those three days, not a single reinforcement appeared. The morale of the South Temple of Divinity's elites had hit rock bottom.

A Divine Emissary had appeared, but no one had come to his aid.

Ye Guan hadn't wasted a moment and had been training nonstop. Those life-or-death battles he'd gone through had left him with major gains, especially in his mastery of Time Freeze. The Dao of Time and his Qingxuan Sword meant he was almost invincible below the Divine Realm.

The problem was that his enemies weren't just Divine Realm experts.

Still, his Invincible Sword Intent had seen a huge breakthrough. At this point, it was every bit as powerful as his Order Sword Intent.

Two days later, outside the South Temple of Divinity City.

Spacetime split apart, and a vast violet path that was thousands of meters wide stretched out from the void and reached all the way to the gates of the city.

From the spatial fissure, a woman slowly emerged.

She was wearing a flowy white gown as pristine as snow, and a crimson dot was between her glabella. Behind her followed a hundred and twenty elite cultivators, all clad in crimson armor, tall and formidable, yet they exuded no aura, as if they were one with the world.

A single character that said, "Jin" was over their chestplate. They were members of the Jin Guars from the Divine Continent.

From atop the city walls, Xi Zhong's expression turned grave.

The woman led her troops down the violet path, but after a few steps, she turned her head slightly, and the guards halted immediately. Without another word, she walked toward the city by herself.

Standing before the city gate, she looked up at Xi Zhong and spoke clearly. "By command of the Lord Xuan Jun, I am here to escort the Divine Emissary into the Divine Continent."

Escort the Divine Emissary into the Divine Continent?

Xi Zhong was stunned. The rest of the South Temple of Divinity's experts were stunned as well.

What was this move?

Xi Zhong turned to his men. "Go inform Young Master Ye."

Soon after, Ye Guan appeared on the city wall.

Xi Zhong explained, "She's from the Divine Continent, under Xuan Jun. Says she's here to welcome you in."

Ye Guan glanced at the woman, then said, "I'll speak with her directly."

He turned into a flash of sword light and landed before her.

The woman bowed slightly. "Greetings, Divine Emissary."

Ye Guan looked her over. "You're here to escort me into the Divine Continent?"

The woman nodded. "Yes."

"And why would I go to Divine Continent?"

"You are the Divine Emissary. Naturally, you should take your rightful place at the heart of the Divine Continent."

Ye Guan narrowed his eyes. "Who holds more power—me, or Xuan Jun?"

She gazed at him and asked back, "What do you think?"

Ye Guan opened his palm. The Divine Seal appeared, radiating a strand of divine aura.

However, the woman didn't even flinch, remaining calm and unbothered.

Ye Guan raised a brow. "You do realize what this means?"

The woman stared straight at him. "My orders are to escort you to the Divine Continent."

Ye Guan fell silent. He had shown the Divine Seal to gauge her loyalty. However, she neither knelt nor showed reverence, which meant that she couldn't be swayed. It was clear that her offer wasn't sincere.

If he went with her, he'd be walking right into a trap.

If he were to refuse, however, there would be severe consequences.

Ye Guan finally said, "Have Xuan Jun come meet me in person."

The woman shook her head.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. "No?"

Now that Ye Guan had seen through her act, the woman stopped pretending. She turned around and her voice echoed across the heavens as she shouted, "Hear me, everyone! This blasphemer has dared to impersonate the Divine Emissary!

"All who aid him shall have their status revoked! They will be stripped of their positions as well!"

In that instant, the skies around Ye Guan turned pitch-black. A mysterious divine force surged toward him, aiming to obliterate him on the spot.

"Enough!"

A thunderous voice rang out from the city wall. Golden light surged down, wrapping around Ye Guan.

Xi Zhong had made his move.

He leapt down, golden light sweeping across the air as he forcefully repelled the divine force.

The white-robed woman stopped and turned back. Her eyes were cold and disdainful.

"As of this moment," she said, "Xi Zhong is no longer the Hall Master of the South Temple of Divinity. All who follow him will be cast into the 'Divine Prison', condemned to eternal enslavement."

A blood-red divine decree descended from the sky, and the character for the word "Punish" appeared from the scroll.

The moment it appeared, the South Temple of Divinity City was dyed crimson.

Inside every Divine Realm cultivator's body, divine flames ignited, burning their divine seeds.

Eternal enslavement... right where they stood!

Panic swept through the city.

Xi Zhong's expression darkened.

"A Divine Edict..." he muttered, "An actual artifact used by the Divinity herself, it contains a shred of her divine power. By issuing this decree, they've branded us all as blasphemers."

The city was becoming a hell on earth. Divine power corroded every inch of it. Even the strongest Main Gods could feel their strength vanishing.

It was a true punishment from the divine.

Even Xi Zhong himself was weakening, though more slowly than the others.

Ye Guan raised his hand. His Qingxuan Sword flew into the air and transformed into a dazzling beam of light, slicing through the bloody sky.

A blinding divine beam shot down, freezing the sword in mid-air.

Kaboom!

The sword was frozen by the divine bean of light. And then, the character "Punish" emitted lines of blood-red runes, which wrapped around the Qingxuan Sword.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. Even the Qingxuan Sword couldn't cut through those divine runes.

The Divine Edict contained the power of the Divinity, just like Ye Guan's Divine Seal.

Ye Guan stared at it, and then he opened his palm again. Two sword intents surged into the sky and infused the Qingxuan Sword.

The sword shuddered violently. Then, it shattered the blood runes and drove straight at the Divine Edict.

Just then, the "Punish" character transformed into a bloody light and slammed into the sword.

Boom!

Light and sword clashed, waves of energy rippling across the heavens.

Clang!

The Qingxuan Sword collided again with the decree.

Kaboom!

Another devastating explosion tore across the skies. Fortunately, the city's grand arrays held firm. Otherwise, the mere shockwaves could have destroyed the city a thousand times over.

Ye Guan's gaze never left the sky. He had not expected that the Divine Edict could stand against the Qingxuan Sword. The sword had the upper hand, but this time, it wasn't an easy victory.

The Divine Edict was holding its own.

Divinity...

Ye Guan said nothing. He was deep in thought.

Beside him, Xi Zhong's face was still grim. He knew the situation that they were in.

They hadn't just been disgraced; they'd been officially excommunicated by the Divine Continent in the name of the Divinity.

The entire South Temple of Divinity was now a Divine Prison, and everyone was labeled a blasphemer.

Few would dare defy the Divine Continent. After all, the Divine Continent was at the heart of the Divine Civilization. And by the looks of it, the two powers at the Divine Continent's top had made their decision—Ye Guan had to die.

Unless the Divinity herself were to come here, there would be no way out.

But... would the Divinity even appear?

Xi Zhong looked over at Ye Guan, anxiety building. Something wasn't right about this Divine Emissary.

Ye Guan suddenly raised his hand, and the Qingxuan Sword returned to his palm.

He looked at the white-robed woman.

"You want to kill me?" she asked plainly.

Xi Zhong held Ye Guan back. "She's a Divine Realm expert. And she's not alone; many others are closing in."

Ye Guan didn't respond. He looked around. The Divine Realm elites inside the city were weakening rapidly. Soon, they'd be no better than ordinary mortals.

Even Xi Zhong would be severely weakened.

The woman hadn't acted yet, as she was waiting for the edict to finish breaking down their power.

They couldn't afford to drag this out.

In the shadows, many elites were watching.

The white-robed woman looked up and coldly declared, "The South Temple of Divinity has defiled the Divinity. All faithful citizens of the Divinity should take up arms against them. If you stand by and do nothing, you are just as guilty."

At that, those in the shadows started to panic.

They'd wanted to stay neutral, but that was no longer an option.

Choose a side or die.

"Blasphemers must die!"

A voice shouted from the shadows, and several elites stepped forward, pledging loyalty to the Divine Continent.

And more kept coming.

"Divine Emissary, they're all crawling out now! The traitors are here!" Xi Zhong trembled with fury. He turned to Ye Guan and asked, "Can you summon the Divinity now?"

Ye Guan looked at him and couldn't bring himself to lie.

"I can't," he said honestly.

Xi Zhong's vision went black.

It's over. We're doomed.

Then despair twisted into rage. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late to switch sides. He looked at Ye Guan. Ye Guan wasn't in the Divine Realm, but Xi Zhong was a god.

If he were to make a move and catch Ye Guan off guard, he would be able to defeat him.

Just do it!

As he prepared to strike, he saw Ye Guan's calm expression, and his heart skipped a beat.

Wait. What if this is all a test? What if Ye Guan was baiting him—no, baiting all the traitors?

If he were to make a move, wouldn't he be just like those "traitors"?

Xi Zhong froze in place.

His mind was spinning, caught between survival and loyalty.