Chapter 918: 斩古藏

After Chen Ling was sent flying by the shockwave, he quickly adjusted his posture in mid-air, using Cloud Step to leap between several mountain peaks. He held Jian Changsheng under one arm. The latter seemed to still be in a state of being "brainwashed" by the imperial examination, his consciousness blurry. He was mumbling to himself, and Chen Ling called out to him several times without getting a response. Fortunately, Jian Changsheng was not in any life-threatening danger. This guy had survived several soul-shattering searches for evidence, so he wouldn't die just from an imperial examination.

"Red Heart..."

Chen Ling vaguely caught these two words from Jian Changsheng, thinking he had woken up, and responded: "What do you want?"

"Red Heart... you have to take me to the ancient ghost tomb... by the well... otherwise... I'll hate you forever..."

Hearing this, Chen Ling figured he was still dreaming and mumbled, "Nonsense..."

Chen Ling arrived above the mountain peak where Bai Ye and Sun Bumian were. After exchanging glances with them, he gave a slight nod and directly dropped Jian Changsheng, who was still tucked under his arm.

"Catch him."

Bai Ye and Sun Bumian exchanged glances. Both simultaneously reached out to catch the falling Jian Changsheng, but upon seeing the other's hand, they both simultaneously withdrew their own hands...

Thud!

Jian Changsheng thus flew past them and hit the ground.

Sun Bumian: ...Bai Ye: ...Jian Changsheng: "Ugh... ow..."

Chen Ling was somewhat speechless. The members of the Twilight Society truly had an excessive amount of tacit understanding in unnecessary situations.

The threads from various mountain peaks trembled incessantly. Empress Wu felt the power of the Dao Foundation she could control plummeting. Her hollow eyes stared fixedly at Chen Ling, as if she hated him to the core. Chen Ling's appearance had thrown all their plans into disarray. At this crucial moment, he had also, with some unknown fate, siphoned off half of her power. In a sense, he was truly the phantoms' nightmare!

Overwhelming killing intent surged from Empress Wu. Seeing this, Chen Ling immediately turned his gaze to Xuanyu Jun, who was standing nearby! He said coldly: "Ji Xuan!! I've got her restrained! What are you waiting for?!"

Although Chen Ling had siphoned off half of Empress Wu's power, thanks to the Emperor's Fate and the favor of the Dao Foundation, he himself was ultimately only a Fourth Order. If it came to a real fight, he definitely couldn't contend with hundreds of phantoms working together... At this moment, the only one he could count on was Xuanyu Jun.

The moment Chen Ling saw Xuanyu Jun, he recognized his identity. Although they had never met privately, Chen Ling had a deep impression of him from the exploration in Shennongjia, as he suspected this individual might possess the power to travel through time. He just didn't know what Xuanyu Jun's attitude towards him was in this era... Was he an ally like Aurora Jun and Red Dust Jun, or an enemy like Wuji Jun? Chen Ling admitted he was taking a gamble, but judging from the records of Ji Xuan's fight with Lou Yu in the temporal archives, at least he wasn't aligned with Wuji Jun.

Hearing Chen Ling's voice, Xuanyu Jun's eyebrow slightly raised... His gaze refocused on Empress Wu. "It seems the outcome is decided."

Xuanyu Jun slowly spoke. He casually grasped a wisp of airborne dust. As the Higgs boson was continuously activated, the tiny speck of dust's mass surged at an astonishing rate! Its volume didn't increase, but its mass skyrocketed. The space around the dust gradually warped, as if something was about to tear it apart!

Buzzing—

A booming tremor emanated from every corner of "Flying Dragon in the Sky." Dust and rubble, as if drawn by a magnet, surged wildly towards the center along the twisted, shattered space, followed by large boulders, and even the mountain-like Imperial Monuments! The dust, continuously gaining mass, was like a miniature neutron star crushing space. Its terrifying gravity devoured almost all matter, and as the blackness at its core expanded, a black hole was gradually forming!

"Creating a black hole by hand??" Witnessing this, even Bai Ye was shocked, "Is he trying to destroy the entire Ancient Imperial Tomb?!"

"...Sounds like something he would do," Sun Bumian mumbled, recalling Xuanyu Jun's actions and demeanor.

"The Nine Monarchs truly live up to their name... They can easily do things no Divine Path user could." Bai Ye hoisted the 'dead pig' Jian Changsheng onto his shoulder and immediately turned to run wildly into the distance.

"Leaving?"

"What? Can you withstand a black hole?"

Sun Bumian watched as the black hole in the sky grew larger, its gravity becoming stronger. Even the smaller Imperial Monuments were being uprooted and pulled into the sky... Without hesitation, he activated Cloud Step, following Bai Ye as they rushed out of the Ancient Imperial Tomb.

Empress Wu didn't understand what a black hole was, but the phantoms could clearly feel the terrifying aura emanating from it. One by one, the threads snapped as the Imperial Monuments plunged into the black hole. Her expression grew increasingly grim. It was as if a fierce struggle had taken place in her mind. Her imperial robe flapped, and she finally turned and rushed out of the Ancient Imperial Tomb!

The three layers of the Ancient Imperial Tomb were destined not to survive the black hole. The treasures containing the Dao Foundation had already been swallowed by the black hole. The phantoms' centuries-long schemes and foundations were all destroyed in an instant... With things having come to this, the only thing they could do was to preserve Empress Wu's life as much as possible.

Xuanyu Jun stood behind the black hole, his scientific white coat flapping in the wind. His pupils reflected Empress Wu's retreating figure, and the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly... "Trying to run now... it's too late." Earlier, Empress Wu could indeed have exchanged a few blows with him, but now the Ancient Tomb's power Empress Wu could mobilize was only half of what it was. In front of Xuanyu Jun, she posed no threat whatsoever.

Xuanyu Jun held the gradually expanding black hole in both hands, slowly raising it into the sky. The entire "Flying Dragon in the Sky" now looked as if it had been swept by a giant tornado, completely fragmented... Next, its target would be the higher level, the Dao Foundation of the Ancient Imperial Tomb. After lifting the black hole into the clouds, Xuanyu Jun's figure blurred, and he shot through the apocalyptic sky at supersonic speed!

By this time, Empress Wu had reached the edge of the Ancient Imperial Tomb, and hesitation reappeared in her eyes... Leaving the Ancient Imperial Tomb meant losing the amplification of the Ancient Tomb's Dao Foundation, her strength would fall to Third Order, making her no different from an ant in front of Xuanyu Jun; staying within the Ancient Imperial Tomb meant Xuanyu Jun would still catch up to her and kill her. Empress Wu was trapped in a no-win situation!

In that instant of her hesitation, the white-robed Xuanyu Jun appeared ghost-like behind her. Moments later, the supersonic sonic boom exploded beside Empress Wu's ear, causing her pupils to sharply contract! Empress Wu spun around sharply, just as she was about to unleash her Imperial Might again, but the next moment, she found that her connection to the Ancient Imperial Tomb's Dao Foundation had vanished... The Dao Foundation, which originally covered the entire ancient tomb, seemed to have been interfered with or affected by something, completely losing its connection. Empress Wu, at this moment, was like Chen Ling earlier: deprived of the Dao Foundation's protection, her Imperial Might deflated like a punctured balloon, rapidly weakening!

Seeing this, Xuanyu Jun sneered... The black longsword in his hand casually swung down.