Chapter 464: The Sun and Moon Illuminate Mountains and Rivers (Twenty-Three)

Ling Jiuxiao felt as if he were adrift on a vast ocean, a lone boat adrift.
He didn't know how powerful his sect leader truly was.
But he knew how powerful that aura was.
He finally understood why the elders had suddenly vanished.
"Is this the aura of an emperor?"
Ling Jiuxiao was deeply shocked.
At that moment, Ling Jiuxiao saw an invisible hand tear open the sky, creating a continuous, boundless rift. A figure stood with his hands behind his back, radiating no light, yet causing all the Dao to tremble beneath his feet, and countless stars to seem like dust.
The surrounding world resounded with chants of respect: "Welcome the Great Emperor Zhenwu!"
The Great Emperor Zhenwu, a peerless figure in a realm!
Although the elders hadn't mentioned this former formidable enemy in detail,
Ling Jiuxiao knew that this was the first person to have earned the elders' complete respect, to have them willingly admit defeat—a testament to his astonishing talent!
"The Immortal Martial Realm is open! All disciples of immortal sects holding Immortal Martial Tokens may enter Renwang City to travel to the Immortal Martial Realm!"
The figure spoke with an air of divine authority, causing a stir among the myriad realms.
Ling Jiuxiao held the token in his hand.
It was the Immortal Martial Token.
With this token, he too could travel through Renwang City to the Immortal Martial Realm.
Figures arrived from all directions; Renwang City was their target. With the help of the current Great Emperor, they could establish a connection between Renwang City and the Immortal Martial Realm.
Ling Jiuxiao took a step forward, entering Renwang City just like the true disciples of those immortal sects.
"Whose prodigy is this?"
A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Zhenwu Great Emperor. He could sense that the aura emanating from Ling Jiuxiao did not belong to any immortal sect he was familiar with, yet at such a young age he had already reached the Saint King Realm, only slightly weaker than himself in his youth.
"Perhaps he's a disciple trained by some reclusive immortal sect, aiming to ascend to the top in the Immortal Martial World and join a major sect in the Upper Realm,"
Emperor Zhenwu thought to himself.
Such things weren't uncommon; some prodigies' goals were always aligned with the Upper Realm's lineage.
Dispelling these thoughts, Emperor Zhenwu sensed the surrounding aura and nodded.
Entrusted by numerous immortal sects, he would open a passage from Renwang City to the Immortal Martial World for everyone.
......
Ling Jiuxiao discovered something very serious.
He realized that the Immortal Martial Token in his hand seemed different from the others'.
The other disciples of the immortal sects present also looked at Ling Jiuxiao with strange expressions.
A beam of light enveloped the entire Renwang City.
"Fool! I never thought someone would dare to forge an Immortal Martial Token,"
a young man from the Di Yu Clan said with a mocking expression.
Although he didn't know how this guy had sneaked into Renwang City... the opening of the Immortal Martial Realm was controlled by the Upper Realm, and forging an Immortal Martial Token was a slap in the face to the Upper Realm's lineage.
Was the Upper Realm's lineage so easily slapped?
Ling Jiuxiao: "..."
He realized he seemed to have been tricked.
"Can I still withdraw now?"
Faced with Ling Jiuxiao's question, another prodigy spoke up: "Too late. The great formation is activated; even the current Great Emperor cannot break it."
As soon as the words fell, everyone's vision was enveloped in a white light, and the next moment, everyone, along with Renwang City, vanished.
Ling Jiuxiao also disappeared.
However, Ling Jiuxiao was not teleported to the Immortal Martial Realm along with the other prodigies.
Before him lay a vast, white expanse.
"I didn't expect there to be a lower-realm ant trying to sneak in here."
Ling Jiuxiao looked up, following the voice, and saw a towering, god-like figure in armor looking down at him with cold eyes.
"Sect Master, you've tricked me!"
Ling Jiuxiao was filled with despair; this being from the upper realm was far beyond his ability to contend with.
"What are you muttering under your breath, brat?"
"Are you secretly cursing me?"
A familiar voice reached Ling Jiuxiao's ears. The token he held in his hand slipped from his grasp, floating in the air and transforming into a handsome young man in a light green ink-wash robe, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips.
"Sect...Sect Master?"
Ling Jiuxiao was suddenly startled. He stammered, "Sect Master, you misunderstand me. I was just lamenting that if I died here, I would have no chance to repay your kindness."
Su Chen: "Hehe."
The incredibly powerful figure in armor saw Su Chen's appearance, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Unauthorized intruders will be killed without mercy!"
The tall figure wielded a halberd, cleaving through endless space with a single swing; a single strike was enough to annihilate a great world.
This was a being who had stepped into the realm of immortality.
Su Chen's body remained motionless. He looked at the figure and simply waved his hand.
The tall, god-like figure stiffened like a stone statue, and with a gust of wind, it instantly turned into gray sand, scattered by the wind.
"Sect Master is mighty!"
"Sect Master is awesome!"
Ling Jiuxiao's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that this being, seemingly a god, even more powerful than the Zhenwu Emperor, would be so easily annihilated by his own Sect Master.
As Ling Jiuxiao finished speaking, a thunderous roar echoed through the previously white space. An indescribable giant hand descended from the sky, attempting to erase the two of them from existence.
"Sect Master, save me!"
Ling Jiuxiao was suddenly startled.
Before he could react, the giant hand crashed down.
However... well...
It seemed completely unharmed.
Ling Jiuxiao blinked. The terrifying giant hand, capable of shattering countless worlds, hadn't even stirred a gust of wind.
"Fellow Daoist, which force do you come from? Why do you dare to force your way into the Immortal Martial Realm!"
A faint, ethereal voice echoed from the white sky, seemingly tinged with fear.
Upon hearing this, Su Chen narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips: "Fellow Daoist?"
"You dare to challenge me?"
Before the upper realm expert could retaliate, Su Chen raised his hand, unleashing countless beams of light from his fingertip.
At this very moment,
elders from numerous upper realm lineages were gathered in the sky above the Immortal Martial Realm.
Suddenly, an elder from one of the major sects exploded, vanishing from the world without uttering a single word.
The upper realm experts were horrified by this sight, their pupils constricting.
"It's that old fellow from the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion!"
"Who dares to attack the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"
"The Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion is a top-tier Immortal-level lineage!"
The experts from various forces were shocked.
An elder of the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion was actually executed in public across countless dimensions. Given the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion's domineering style, how could they possibly swallow this insult?
They likely wouldn't let it go so easily.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, everyone received a message. After reading it, they fell silent.
The message was short, just one sentence:
"The Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion was destroyed by a mysterious powerful figure."
Alright, now they didn't need to worry about that mysterious being facing retaliation from the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion.
Now, what they needed to do was consider whether they, like the Purple Extreme Divine Pavilion, had offended the person who destroyed it.