Chapter 48: How Dare You Lay Hands on My People

"Not too late, my little brother here hasn't been killed yet." The old man in tattered robes gazed through the void, watching the great battle.

"Let's go take a look."

He strolled leisurely through the air, and though his body touched some black lotuses along the way, it seemed illusory—the black lotuses passed right through him, unaffected.

Though he appeared to walk leisurely, each step covered millions of miles.

…

The battle continued.

Ji Ning, Misty Rock Star Lord, and Void Immortal were all surrounded by countless black lotuses, unable to break out.

"I never thought I'd die here," Void Immortal sighed softly. "It's fine if I die, but I pity my disciples." Though some disciples were within Misty Rock Star, once they all fell, Misty Rock Star would fall into Black Lotus God Emperor's hands, and not a single living being on Misty Rock Star would escape.

"How can Black Lotus God Emperor be this strong?"

"We're really unlucky. After lying dormant so long, the first battle we fight, we run into such a terrifying existence."

"Yes, with such high realm, powerful secret arts and forbidden techniques, and even an Eternal Divine Weapon! Even when I roamed and adventured outside, I rarely encountered such beings."

These World-level cultivators sighed one after another.

In their hearts, they were unwilling, but they understood the situation—their lives now depended on Black Lotus God Emperor.

"Second uncle." Misty Rock Star Lord looked down at Blackmist World God, who was still fighting desperately below, tears in his eyes. "Second uncle, let go, let go. We've lost."

The fourth level of the Misty Rock Annihilation was terrifyingly powerful, but it consumed divine power at an even more astonishing rate.

Soon, Blackmist World God's divine power would be exhausted.

"Hahaha... Blackmist, I admire you. Out of respect, after you die, I'll have these World Gods and Chaos Immortals buried with you." Black Lotus God Emperor's voice rang out arrogantly. "After you're all dead, I'll find a way to obtain your divine abilities and techniques from Misty Rock Star."

"You won't get them," Blackmist World God growled, madness and pain in his eyes.

He was not afraid of death.

What he feared was dying without saving Misty Rock Star Lord's life.

"If I get them, I'll be happy; if not, no matter. Blackmist, keep fighting like this—how long can your divine power last?" Black Lotus God Emperor was quite relaxed, being in an absolute advantage as the attacker. "In the end, they'll all die anyway."

Blackmist World God's eyes held unwillingness.

He fought on.

Only because... he couldn't bear to let go, couldn't accept it.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Suddenly, rumbling echoes filled heaven and earth.

Countless lightning bolts, like winding electric serpents, struck down from the sky. It looked as if billions of long chains hung from the heavens. These billions of lightning bolts struck wantonly, annihilating every black lotus. Even black lotuses not directly struck had electric serpents dancing on their surfaces and were also annihilated.

In an instant, the countless black lotuses that had been everywhere vanished completely. The enormous divine runes on the ground, beneath mountains, in the seas... all snapped apart one by one.

"This..."

"How can this be?"

The Sevenfold Ancestral God and Ancestral Immortal Formation, which had been struggling to hold, was stunned. Misty Rock Star Lord, Void Immortal, and the others were all stunned.

Gone?

The countless black lotuses they had fought so hard to break through had simply vanished?

"Impossible, impossible." Black Lotus God Emperor, who had been in control all along, now changed color. He ignored Blackmist World God and anxiously looked into the distance. He knew how powerful this forbidden technique was, for he had pre-arranged it, setting up the formation and restrictions in this chaos world long ago.

Thus, its unleashed power was almost comparable to his use of the Eternal Divine Weapon.

Such a powerful forbidden technique, broken in an instant? And broken by lightning... who could do that?

"Hey, don't you think this lightning is beautiful?" A voice sounded in the ears of Ji Ning, Misty Rock Star Lord, Black Lotus God Emperor, and all the other cultivators.

In the distance, an old man in tattered robes with bare feet walked through the void. Even the billions of lightning bolts that approached him actively veered away.

"I rather like lightning."

"Unfortunately, I have no talent in this area. I once went to the 'Great Thunder Sea Marsh' and lived there for a long time, but in the end, the lightning I mastered was only at this level—too weak. Still, it's good for a bit of fun." The old man in tattered robes said with a smile, waving his hand. Instantly, the billions of lightning bolts in heaven and earth vanished.

Both sides in the conflict stopped.

The great cultivators of the Misty Rock Star lineage were filled with renewed hope—perhaps they might survive.

Black Lotus God Emperor's side was also worried.

"Greetings, senior." Void Immortal reacted fastest.

"Greetings, senior." In unison, all cultivators of the Misty Rock Star lineage bowed respectfully, including Blackmist World God.

"Greetings, senior." Black Lotus God Emperor and the other World-level cultivators on his side, including all Ancestral Gods, also bowed respectfully.

No kidding.

They were not fools. After witnessing that scene, they understood that only a being of a higher life level—a Daolord of Life and Death—could so casually and naturally break Black Lotus God Emperor's terrifying forbidden technique.

Legend said that Daolords of Life and Death walked on the edge of life and death. Each time they crossed life and death, their strength would grow terrifyingly; if they failed to cross, they would die.

Each of them possessed strength beyond imagination.

Among Ancestral Gods, there might be some prodigies who could leap ranks to kill World-level cultivators.

But even the most prodigious World-level cultivator could probably only deal with a newly broken-through Daolord of Life and Death. Any Daolord who had lived a bit longer... each one had absolute power to crush World-level cultivators. The longer they lived, the more terrifying they became. Legend said that some Daolords of Life and Death on the verge of death, when they went mad, could destroy an entire territory, or even more...

That was all true!

The terror of Daolords could only be truly understood by those who had encountered them.

"Mm." The old man in tattered robes swept his gaze over the Misty Rock Star lineage and smiled.

Everyone in the Misty Rock Star lineage felt a surge of joy.

Black Lotus God Emperor's side felt a tremor in their hearts.

"How dare you lay hands on my people." The old man in tattered robes looked at Black Lotus God Emperor, still smiling. "You really have some nerve."

Black Lotus God Emperor's heart trembled, and his body went weak.

He had the most experience wandering outside among those present, having even encountered several Daolords of Life and Death. He knew well how terrifying they were.

"Good."

"It seems he's on our side."

"Didn't you hear the Daolord say 'my people'? Is he on our side? Star Lord, could he be a senior from our Misty Rock Star lineage?" The Misty Rock Star lineage was excited, and Ji Ning also breathed a sigh of relief.

Misty Rock Star Lord was also puzzled and transmitted: "I don't know. Our Misty Rock Star lineage does have many ancient cultivators wandering outside. It's possible that one of them broke through to become a Daolord of Life and Death, but I don't recognize him."

"Blackmist, do you know him?"

"I don't know this senior either." Blackmist World God also flew back to their side, though his body remained ashen gray. "To become a Daolord of Life and Death, he must have cultivated for a very, very long time. He might be a great cultivator who left Misty Rock Star before I began my cultivation. Or he might have nothing to do with Misty Rock Star."

…

The Misty Rock Star side made various guesses.

Black Lotus God Emperor's side was terrified, knowing this Daolord was on the enemy's side.

"You hurt my people, so you can only die." The old man in tattered robes smiled, but his words sent chills down spines. He pointed a finger from afar, and a massive finger shadow crackling with lightning pressed down directly on Black Lotus God Emperor.

"My master is Seven Sovereign Daolord!" Black Lotus God Emperor shouted in terror. "Seven Sovereign Daolord is my master!"

Pfft.

Though Black Lotus God Emperor frantically tried to dodge, the space around him was sealed, leaving him no way to evade.

The lightning finger shadow pressed directly onto his body.

"Whoosh..." Black Lotus God Emperor, still with a panicked expression, instantly turned to dust.

Silence fell all around.

Before Ji Ning and the others could even process the news that 'Black Lotus God Emperor's master is Seven Sovereign Daolord,' Black Lotus God Emperor was killed.

"Seven Sovereign?" The old man in tattered robes spat. "Seven Sovereign? More like Seven Worm. Hiding like a worm. Before I merged with the Dao, I wanted to kill him, but he abandoned even his lair and fled, who knows where."