Chen Ping only felt an utterly yin-cold soul force, carrying ferocious corrosive power, pierce straight through his immortal-energy defences and charge into his sea of consciousness. His divine soul throbbed with sharp pain. His figure was hurled back hundreds of zhang, and his face paled slightly.
“How is this possible?”
Shock surged in Chen Ping’s heart. Even his divine dragon power was struggling to resist the erosion of the opponent’s soul force, which had been refined to an extreme degree.
“Heh heh heh… little brat, scared now?”
The Soul-Devouring Venerable let out a triumphant, sinister laugh. “Your laws are indeed profound, and your immortal force rather peculiar, but in the face of absolute power and realm disparity, they are nothing more than fancy tricks! This Venerable has devoured more geniuses than you have ever laid eyes on!”
Chen Ping clenched his teeth, refusing to accept it, and once again activated the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
“Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, suppress the soul!”
The precious pagoda flew forth, pouring down ten thousand zhang of pure radiance that enveloped the Soul-Devouring Venerable.
A trace of wariness flashed through the Venerable’s eyes, yet it was overwhelmed by ferocity. “If this were the complete Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, this Venerable might still have to evade its edge! But as things stand… break for me!”
He gathered vast soul force into a pitch-black ghostly claw that blotted out the sky and clawed savagely at the curtain of light cast by the pagoda.
“Sssss…”
The light curtain and the ghost claw clashed violently, producing a teeth-grinding screech. The pagoda’s glow flickered uncertainly. Though it inherently restrained soul bodies, the Soul-Devouring Venerable’s soul force was simply too immense; it was actually beginning to hold the pagoda at bay!
“Time Acceleration! Slash!”
Seizing the moment, Chen Ping used the law of time to accelerate himself, instantly appearing at the Venerable’s flank. The Dragon-Slaying Sword unleashed its strongest strike yet!
Yet the Soul-Devouring Venerable seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. His soul body twisted at an impossible angle, dodging the vital point. At the same time, a soul spike condensed to needle-thin sharpness shot silently toward the centre of Chen Ping’s forehead!
Horrified, Chen Ping frantically dodged, but the spike still grazed his shoulder.
Instantly, soul-rending agony bored into him, half his body nearly going numb, as though a chunk of his divine soul had been torn away!
“Urgh…”
Chen Ping stifled a groan, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The speed and laws he had always prided himself on seemed drastically less effective against this opponent.
“Mr Chen!”
Old Black and Cen Biqing cried out in alarm, anxious to rush forward and help.
“Don’t any of you move!”
Chen Ping roared through gritted teeth. He still had his pride; he refused to let his subordinates see him in such a sorry state.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the wounds to his divine soul. A trace of madness flashed in his eyes. “Old dog, take my final move! Great Luo… Golden Canon, bestow your Dao rhyme!”
He linked with the Great Luo Golden Canon inside his sea of consciousness, drawing forth a faint, almost imperceptible strand of supreme Dao rhyme and fusing it into his sword intent!
This was one of his ultimate trump cards!
Ever since the Great Luo Golden Canon had begun to unlock itself repeatedly, Chen Ping had gained the ability to channel its power, though he still could not unleash it in full.
One sword emerged, and the winds and clouds changed colour!
It was as though the sound of heaven and earth being split open echoed through the void. The sword light turned ancient and majestic, carrying a hint of judgement and finality as it slashed toward the Soul-Devouring Venerable!
For the first time, genuine gravity appeared on the Venerable’s face.
“Interesting… but still not enough! Myriad Souls Devour the Heavens!”
The Soul-Devouring Venerable bellowed. Countless resentful souls throughout the entire Soul Burial Abyss seemed to hear his command and surged madly into his soul body, causing his aura to explode upward in an instant!
He transformed into a colossal demonic shadow that propped up heaven and earth, opened a sky-swallowing maw, and actually lunged straight at Chen Ping’s Dao-rhyme-infused sword light!
BOOM!!!!!!
An indescribable explosion detonated at the heart of Soul Burial Abyss! An energy storm shredded space itself, the earth cracked apart, and the blood sea flowed backward!
Chen Ping only felt an irresistible force slam into him. The Dragon-Slaying Sword nearly flew from his grip. His entire body was sent hurtling like a kite with its string cut, a spray of blood tracing a glaring crimson arc through the air.
He crashed heavily into jagged rocks far away. Countless bones in his body shattered, his inner organs shifted, and his divine soul felt as though it had been struck by a giant hammer. Darkness pulsed before his eyes.
Meanwhile, the demonic shadow formed by the Soul-Devouring Venerable had dimmed considerably from that single sword strike and even let out a pained shriek. He was clearly injured, yet far from critically so!
