Everyone was dumbfounded. As the corpses of the five Founding Magnates plummeted from the sky, a tidal wave of shock crashed through the hearts of the onlookers from the Forbidden Zone.
The Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone had never seen anyone attain the Supreme Fruit Position, yet these five, its very creators, were always formidable contenders for that ultimate status. In this epoch, they had prepared to assault the Supreme Path at any cost. And now, they were Instant Killed? It was simply impossible to accept! For countless ages, these five had been nothing short of gods in their eyes! Without them and Xuanji Holy Lord carving out the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone, where would any of them have found refuge in the Southern Wilds?
With Xuanji Holy Lord's cultivation having fallen, these five had reigned as the undisputed monarchs of the Forbidden Zone, their will synonymous with its very essence. But now, those monarchs were dead!
Xuanji Holy Lord watched the demise of her five former comrades, her expression utterly serene. They had changed, long ago. She felt no trace of sympathy.
Meanwhile, the Silent Destruction Old Man was truly dumbfounded. His body trembled violently, every strand of his grotesque red hair quivering as he muttered, “How is this possible? How is this possible?” He had summoned the most powerful Founding Magnates of the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone, only for them to be Instant Killed! Why was the White Robe Supreme so impossibly strong? It defied all reason!
The other Silent Destruction Sect elders were equally horrified, turning to the Silent Destruction Old Man. “Ancestor,” they stammered, “what do we do now?”
The Silent Destruction Old Man abruptly closed his eyes. “There’s only one way forward now,” he declared, his voice strained. “White Robe Supreme, I truly didn’t wish for this. I believe we can still sit down and negotiate.”
Lu Xuan merely raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” he drawled, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips. “Still got more tricks up your sleeve?”
The Silent Destruction Old Man slowly shook his head, his grotesque red hair shimmering with an eerie divine radiance. Obscure, ancient Dao Patterns pulsed across his body, his aura skyrocketing with each passing moment. “White Robe Supreme,” he sneered, “I possess a trump card that will force even you to yield. Do you believe me?”
As his words fell, the Silent Destruction Old Man swept his hand, and every strand of his red hair stood on end. Heaven-reaching Dao Patterns surged forth, hurtling towards the Twisted Jungle. Boom! Boom! Boom! A wisp of Rule Power, like a single drop falling into a still pond, sent a ripple through the very fabric of this world. The Twisted Jungle, once a silent, ancient tomb, suddenly blazed with divine radiance, transforming into a grotesque, pulsating red blood pearl.
The gathered powerhouses of the Forbidden Zone gasped in shock. “That heaven-reaching blood pearl… it’s overflowing with Life Force! How could there be so much?!” “How many of the Human Race did the Silent Destruction Old Man butcher over these epochs to amass such a terrifying quantity of Life Force?” “Is the Silent Destruction Old Man truly prepared to go all-in?”
A cold sneer twisted the Silent Destruction Old Man’s lips as he addressed Lu Xuan. “White Robe Supreme, you were right, in a way. I was a dog. From the very moment my Silent Destruction Sect began its ascent, I understood that truth. The Southern Wilds tolerated my Silent Destruction Sect not because we were indispensable, but because we were obedient. From that day forward, I began to plot how to truly establish our unshakeable footing in the Southern Wilds. And now, I have succeeded. Thank you, White Robe Supreme. You have inadvertently cleared the final obstacle to my absolute control over the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone. Now, we can finally sit down and negotiate as equals.”
Everyone present was dumbfounded. What did he mean? The White Robe Supreme had Instant Killed five Founding Magnates of the Forbidden Zone, yet it was all part of the Silent Destruction Old Man’s grand design? Was this a case of using a borrowed knife to kill? Did the Silent Destruction Old Man truly possess such a terrifying trump card?
Lu Xuan simply stared at the Silent Destruction Old Man, as if he were an amusing fool. Did this old man truly believe he was so clever, manipulating everyone like puppets on a string?
In the distance, Xuanji Holy Lord’s exquisite face registered a subtle shift. She had considered this possibility. Yet, a glance at Lu Xuan instantly dispelled her concern. If she were alone, the Silent Destruction Old Man’s ultimate gambit would undoubtedly be beyond her. But with Lu Xuan present, the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone faced no true danger.
At that moment, the Silent Destruction Old Man slammed his palm towards the Twisted Jungle. Boom! Boom! Boom! The void ripped open, space twisted violently. A colossal Formation Pattern, tens of thousands of miles wide, brilliant and magnificent beyond compare, erupted from the Twisted Jungle. Instantly, an utterly terrifying power, centered on the Twisted Jungle, began to surge outwards, engulfing the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone in every direction. Ten thousand miles! A hundred thousand miles! …A million miles! This was the might of heaven-reaching Formation Patterns. Everywhere the Twisted Jungle’s power swept, the Heaven and Earth Momentum was roused. Endless mountain ranges, hidden rivers, and ancient tombs were drawn into the grand design, like chess pieces settling onto the Forbidden Zone’s cosmic board. Above the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone, heaven-reaching Rule Power manifested, Dao Patterns shifting and swirling. Even the perpetually dim, ancient sky above them began to reveal distant stars, and the illusion of sun and moon rotating. In that instant, the Silent Destruction Old Man seemed to become the undisputed Lord of the Forbidden Zone, capable of commanding its very essence with a single thought.
These heaven-reaching Formation Patterns swept over the secluded cultivation grounds of the five fallen Founding Magnates, instantly linking their respective territories. For those very locations were the Array Cores of his grand design. Everyone was utterly stunned. They finally grasped the Silent Destruction Old Man’s earlier words: the White Robe Supreme had indeed cleared his path. Now, no one in the Forbidden Zone could possibly prevent the Silent Destruction Old Man from seizing absolute control! With a single thought, he could unleash cataclysmic destruction upon the entire Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone! Everyone would perish, including the White Robe Supreme!
The Silent Destruction Old Man sneered, his gaze fixed on Lu Xuan. “My final move,” he declared, “a scorched-earth gambit. What do you say to mutual destruction?”
Lu Xuan paid the Silent Destruction Old Man no mind. His Insight Eye had already activated, his gaze effortlessly sweeping across the entire Forbidden Zone, tracing the intricate web of connections the Silent Destruction Old Man was weaving. The Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone’s structure was indeed profound, yet it harbored countless subtle flaws. As the Silent Destruction Old Man meticulously linked the Forbidden Zone’s Dao Patterns, Lu Xuan’s own power subtly extended, effortlessly seizing control of the Array Cores. Of this, the Silent Destruction Old Man remained utterly oblivious.
Above them, the other powerhouses grew increasingly frantic, pleading with the Silent Destruction Old Man. “Fellow Daoist Silent Destruction, don’t be so reckless! If you detonate the entire Forbidden Zone, we’ll all perish!”
The Silent Destruction Old Man’s lips curled into a smug smirk as he looked at Lu Xuan. “Then it all hinges on the White Robe Supreme’s decision. Cooperate, and we both win. Refuse, and we all die here. I refuse to believe the White Robe Supreme doesn’t value his own life!”
Lu Xuan, utterly speechless, simply and subtly modified the Twisted Jungle’s Formation Patterns as well.
At that moment, the desperate Forbidden Zone powerhouses turned to Xuanji Holy Lord. “Holy Lord, you must have a solution, right?” Xuanji Holy Lord merely shook her head.
The frantic gazes then swung back to Lu Xuan. “Fellow Daoist White Robe, please, you must remain calm!” they implored. “Let’s all take a moment, calm down, and talk this through.”
The Silent Destruction Old Man, puffed up with arrogance, gazed at Lu Xuan. “White Robe Supreme,” he declared, “do you know why you’ve already lost?”
Lu Xuan’s lips merely curved into a faint, knowing smile. He remained silent, his Insight Eye silently working to seize the authority of the five Founding Magnates’ Array Cores. Meanwhile, the Silent Destruction Sect elders gazed at their Ancestor with utter reverence. “Truly worthy of being our Ancestor!” they thought, awe-struck. “His schemes are too profound! No one could have imagined he had been planning this all along, even factoring in the five Founding Magnates of the Forbidden Zone!”
The Silent Destruction Old Man continued, a cruel, mocking glint in his eyes. “White Robe Supreme, I was once the Southern Wilds’ dog. But now, you will be mine.”