Kapitel 12: The power of the Legendary Ruler Realm (2)

Right before the boundaries of the Domains, several hundred cultivators were frantically trying to help the trapped citizens get out of the Domain. Order was in chaos until the arrival of three of the Great Southern Sect leaders. Under their joint leadership, they were able to swiftly retrieve those closer to the boundary, and steadily retrieve those that were further.

However, the process would still take a long time. They found that the more people they helped out the stronger the weakening was for those still entrapped. Fortunately, this was balanced by the strengthening of the healing Domain.

Despite this, it was evident that the weakening effect was greater than the healing process. Moreover, there were already over two hundred confirmed deaths and several thousand casualties. About 1/8 of the city had become encroached with nature and hell.

"Li Hao! I know your Ancestor is still alive. Ask him to come out of his seclusion! This matter is unable to be handled with just us," Sect Master Petal Fairy Ruolan demanded.

"We ain't relying on no old-geezer here. Just the three of us are enough to smash that demonic fool together with that expert," Slaughter Axe Kong Tengfei interjected, a smirk of pride on his face.

"Kong Tengfei, the fact that you are suggesting for us to help you kill him is proof that you know how dangerous it will be," Fairy Ruolan said, solemnly.

Kong Tengfei grabbed the huge, dark blue, crystal axe strapped behind his back and poised it to the floor in between his feet; two sides acting as towers behind his legs. The ground trembled.

"Woman! If you or this wimp weren't here, I would still go over there and slaughter that demon. Legendary realm so what? All those demon dogs are always under my brother here." He pats his trusty axe before proclaiming, "I'm the strongest after all. Hahahahaha!"

Fairy Ruolan didn't say any more meaningless words and snorted. She turned her gaze back to the other man beside her.

"As the Sect Master of the Li Sect, I will lose face if I have to trouble my Ancestor for such a 'small' calamity." Fairy Ruolan gave a death stare to those words, but Sect Master Li paid it no heed and continued his speech.

"While it's true we can help the expert in defeating the demon, if we do that we would be leaving the city vulnerable. I am not only the Li Sect Master but also the guardian of the city. I have a great duty to put the citizen's safety above all else. Do you really believe I can hold the fort alone?"

"Are you afraid that the demons will launch another big attack? It is clear that this demon expert doesn't care whether they are allies or foes. So it is unlikely they would do such a thing. Besides, we have a few Sky-Seeking Realm experts to aid us." Fairy Ruolan responded.

"It is not merely just because of that rea…"

The three of them suddenly tensed and their expressions frowned.

"This…"

"Damn even I may…"

Fairy Ruolan cut them off and flew into the air. "You two shut your mouths! Work together to hold this back. Sect Master Li!"

Sect Master Li nodded gravely and immediately issued a state of emergency. He quickly gathered the most powerful cultivators to rise up and form a defensive formation.

***

Some time before this.

The Exalted one remained in his stance, rooted in the air. Looking at the Deity's scrunched, closed eyes as she desperately attempted to face him in a Domain Battle was relishing.

Although she had caught him by surprise with her sudden outburst, it was not sufficient to overcome him once he had focused his efforts to retaliate back.

70% of the land had transformed into a natural disaster resembling Hell. While there were a few unwanted greens struggling to fight back, their resistance would soon be squashed, terminated, and his chains would finally suck up the withstanding forces.

Being the ruler, he naturally was not going to kill his subordinates. Since they were useless, why not make use of them? Which is why he did not spare them. Their demonic Qi was naturally more nourishing to him than the enemy cultivators.

At the same time, he was also trying to efficiently drain the vitality of his victims. Unfortunately, the Domain he created was not very efficient at that. Hence, the concept of a cultivator's desire for immortality was far for him. Still he was not discouraged. As long as there were people to drain, he had a path to becoming immortal!

Mmmm

Feeling the last feeble squirm by a Sky-Seeking Realm cultivator, he licked his lips, satisfied. The difference of Qi was simply incomparable. It had been a long time since he had such a feast. He sloppily smiled at the Deity and wondered how good a Deity would be.

Contrary to what it looked like on the outside, the Exalted one was focused on the matter at hand.

'It should be about time that the Deity does something desperate. Accept defeat? Naturally you wouldn't. What kind of trump card will you pull? Or do you have any tricks up your sleeves'

What he was most worried about was the unknown variable: the mysterious expert. He was always keeping tabs on his position. He had noticed that the Qi he was absorbing was so little that he wasn't surprised. However, the Qi that he did manage to suck in was… trash.

Like very trash.

It was very similar to the Qi emitted by the Qi Condensation level cultivators. It was fucking pathetic. He thought it was a trick, but as time passed he couldn't help but have the inkling that he may really be deceiving everyone and was in fact in the Qi Condensation level.

So he focused a lot of attention on him, only to later find that was just his imagination. He felt a profound Qi incomparable to anything he had savoured before. This mysterious expert clearly continues to toy with him!

Once he finished off the Deity, he was determined to torture Li Cheng into experiencing the tortures of Hell.

Suddenly, the Deity opened her eyes. She opened out her palms, thumbs out, bending her elbows, and pushed back in, stopping right her palms touch.

The 30% of the land which she claimed rapidly shrunk. The edges of the land caved in piling everything towards the middle. Red and blacks swarmed to infest the unoccupied land but were put to a stop: unable to leave their soles on the horizon of greens which have morphed into a sacred land of nature. Far exceeding the immortal painting-like scenery from before.

In a few breaths of time, the Deity zealously let out a war cry.

"DOMAIN!"

WHOOSH!!!

She pushed forth her lined arms taut to the middle, gap preserved and palmed fingers pointing to the Heavens. A terrifying powerful force of Qi burst outwards like a volcano erupting.

With the pleading cry of Nature's Mother, the sacred land immediately roared in fury and used its entirety of its land, whether it's the grass, trees, plants, or animals to spearhead its way to their nemesis.

Watching a mountain of land meteorite towards him, the Exalted One slightly became perturbed. He didn't expect such mercilessness, boldness, and willingness to bank it all in one strike from a compassionate Deity.

He was forced to confront the avalanche. But he didn't have to beat it. As long as he was able to defend himself and minimise as much damage done to him, he would be able to quickly finish his Domain and be victorious.

"Graa!!!"

Howling back, he called back some of his Domain and began to gather its essence in sizable piles to whittle down and lower the momentum of the strike.

Crash!

The surging reds and blacks blotched the green skies. As though fuses had been lit, the land exploded. Swathes of flames ripped and crackled, tearing and disintegrating the forest, lighting a massive firework that would spark a grand wildfire.

The greens were akin to flames in water in front of their prime weakness. They were ruthlessly slaughtered without being able to hold a resistance.

Winged beings had their wings shredded off, the limbed animals were burned into steaks, and the little critters were stomped into oblivion. Those yet to be affected cried and mourned for their loved ones. They furiously charged to kill the arsonist, but the majority of them were blazed to ashes before they could even leap.

One leopard managed to use its exceptional agility to course through the gaps of the untainted greens to pounce on the Exalted one, but the moment it was in range of this powerhouse's aura, the leopard died before knowing what hit it.

Hearing the suffering cries of her fallen daughters and son, Kuan Yin winced as tears began to well behind her eyes. With a heavy heart, she continued to send her beloved creations to death. Their sacrifices will not be in vain!

While things looked gruesome for the Deity, the Exalted one was not faring that well either. It was impossible to completely avoid the onslaught of the ongoing avalanche. Several times he was bombarded and hit by chunks of forest-like terrain.

At his level of cultivation, taking the brunt of a natural disaster would barely do much to hurt him even when exposed, but the problem was every log, sediment, animal, plant, grass, root, and soil that hit him, was vitalised and powered by the power of a Deity. One could say it was akin to a Beast Tide! Moreover, the whole lot was propelled by an unstoppable force of the Ruler Realm.

Essentially, he was dealing with a natural disaster in the same realm of strength as him. Although the disaster was weaker than him, man shouldn't be able to win against the force of nature to begin with.

"Damn bitch!"

His powerful aura wrathed in rage as he begrudgingly continued to keep his stance. Flailing his monstrous limbs and tails to strike down any threat that opposed his way. Dribbles of blood traced a path down the torn and tattered robe, marking the garment with stains and wear. Even with his demonic skin, he was still riddled with blisters.

This was the price for refusing to let his Domain be swarmed for a moment and to maintain what he has occupied.

He had now successfully covered everything that the Deity held. Once the raging storm subsides then he would be able to firmly uphold the flag of his Domain and defeat her soon afterwards.

'Just a few more minutes, and this hateful Domain will be—'

The Exalted one cut himself off and panicked. He quickly looked down below, used his spiritual sense and his control within his Domain to locate.

Drawn in, he sharply craned his head upwards to the left in the skies. The familiar unknown feeling of fear returned. It crept up his spine, twirled, and grasped his heart and coldly rested, unbeknownst to him. The coldness chilled his body with a breath of white frost, freezing him. His tensed body responded, squirming to heat up and shuddering.

Reflected in the pupils of his sockets…

He saw…

KIRIRUAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Its abysmal, mighty roar rendered the world into silence. In a fit of anger, one talon, scaled leg swept across the burning treetops, knocking swathes of trees to the conflagration below and as they tumbled, its glorious dark emerald serpentine body was partially revealed, coiled across depths uncharted.

As though having met the fool, the creature uncoiled and swirled its ginormous body upwards towards the firmaments where a mysterious rim of black clouds stationed accompanied its furious ascension.

Perhaps the Heavens themselves were in tune with the beloved creature as streaks of lighting shot outwards from the black clouds.

FLASH!

Those thousands of metres away, after having heard a deafening cry, were able to see a white strip and in it a visage of an awe-inspiring almighty creature, reflected through the grey clouds of the darkened sky.

To the mortal world, this creature was known as something of mythology, of folklore, and religion. It was both something dreaded and something admired. It was a representative of peak power in cultivation, and those who have reached the heights are often equated to contain such power.

While descriptions of these creatures often varied, they were said to have serpentine bodies, four legs, and contrary to their ability to fly they were usually wingless.

Most common depictions illustrated were that they had the body of a snake, the antlers of a deer, the talons of an eagle, the soles of a tiger, the scales of a carp, and the eyes of a demon.

KIRIRUAAAAAAAA!!!!!

With just a shrieking roar, the very air seemed to shake; a testament to its destructive powers.

The creature was an undisputed god that was on top of the hierarchy of beasts: a dragon.

Following its second roar, it missiled forward at a ferocity that was no inferior to the lightning coming down from the Heavens.

The Exalted one could not close his eyes. The sudden appearance of a mythical being in such a low plane was not the mere reason why he was petrified.

No, because of its appearance it only magnified the instilled fear behind the mysteriousness of the existence who dared to place the soles of his feet on the head of such a magnificent, powerful, proud race.

The moment the Exalted one had crossed eyes with the man.

It was too late to look away.

His eyeballs were caught and affixed to stare dumbly directly at the unfathomable splendour.

Clad in an immaculate black exquisite robe which signified his perhaps rebellious relation with the furious Heavens and a controller of the dragons, the silks danced in the searing winds, stretching to the back along with his long, smooth, black hair.

He embarked and fruited the dreams of all Immortals: to ride a mythical beast of the divine and soar through the Nine Heavens.

However, his posture only showed resemblance to that of an Immortal.

He did not have his hands clasped behind his back.

Nor did he have an impressive sword sheathed or grasped in his hands.

Instead, he had one arm stretched 90 degrees out; the index pointing.

It pointed dead straight to the Exalted one.

In the Exalted one's eyes what he saw was the emotionless decree issued by an Emperor.

And the decree was—

—DIE