The next moment, the ceiling of the underground palace shook and several holes appeared. Several figures came crashing down from above, in the same way that Tianming had fallen last time.
A total of eight people—those that had entered the tomb with Tianming. There were originally thirty of them, but only ten remained, including Tianming and Ye Lingfeng.
Tianming swept his gaze across.
Chen Jinghong, Bai Xiaozhu and Situ Yiyi fell together, indicating that they had been together earlier. Addtionally, there was Dongyang Fengxiao, Jiang Fengyue, Meng Qingqing, and Jiang Yanwu.
Of these seven people, six had been Tianming’s soul servants. They were alive, while others were dead. Some were killed by Tianming, and some had died in the hands of the Soulfiend. As for the others, Tianming didn't know what had happened to them.
Most important of them all was Dongyang Fengchen!
Tianming had previously spoken to Ye Lingfeng, and knew that Dongyang Fengchen was still alive. On that occasion, the Soulfiend had just escaped, so it was still weak. At that point, there was no way it could defeat Dongyang Fengchen, who was a fourth-level Sky Saint.
For all of those people, falling from above was astonishing.
Then, they laid eyes upon the Soulfiend, Tianming, his three lifebound beasts, and even Feiling in the crystal coffin. Shock ensued.
"What happened?"
Chen Jinghong and the others quickly joined together, staring at Feiling in the crystal coffin with a puzzled look. Meanwhile, the others approached Dongyang Fengchen, making a total of five on their side. Dongyang Fengchen watched all of this with narrowed eyes.
"So it turns out the secret of the tomb is in Feiling's body," he grinned.
At his cue, Meng Qingqing immediately moved to the only exit in this underground palace, blocking the passage. This was equivalent to shooting fish in a barrel.
Although neither Dongyang Fengxiao nor Jiang Fengyue were a threat, Meng Qingqing and Jiang Yanwu were second-level Sky Saints. Amidst the cold atmosphere, a murderous aura surged in the underground palace.
The soul of the innate godchild had brought them to the underground palace to stop Tianming from kneeling and crying before the crystal coffin, an act that annoyed her. She was well aware that having this group of people in a closed environment would result in them killing each other. And Dongyang Fengchen was the only one who could deal with Tianming.
Deathly stillness filled the room.
"Step aside!" Dongyang Fengchen smiled as he walked toward Tianming.
He wanted to set foot on the altar and observe Feiling.
"Tianming." Situ Yiyi nervously pulled Tianming.
"There’s no way out of here. The situation isn’t good." Chen Jinghong frowned, blocking Tianming and the others. "Your Highness, we can talk about this. You don’t have to resort to violence. We were suddenly brought here, so let's think about that first. Could there be other dangers around?"
"There’s no need for that. Tianming has been here all along, so he knows everything. I'll just ask him. Anyway, he stole my treasure and has to pay for it with his life." Dongyang Fengchen’s gaze was fiery.
"Then you’ll have to ask if the monster agrees with that." Chen Jinghong pointed at the Soulfiend.
The moment they had entered the underground palace, they noticed the Soulfiend. Its head was turned so its angry face stared at Dongyang Fengchen.
This monster again! Dongyang Fengchen was all the more enraged.
"So what? It’s but a defeated opponent. I almost killed it last time," sneered Dongyang Fengchen.
Laughing, he looked around and said, "I saw a lot of dead bodies, all of them Theocrats, including my nephew Dongyang Lie. That’s thanks to you, no doubt. In this case, I won’t waste my time babbling nonsense. In the past, there were very few deaths. But now so many of us are dead. This is unreasonable! So I hereby declare that only the five of us will leave the tomb alive. The rest of you must die."
He grinned as he scanned the crowd, finally laying his eyes upon the crystal coffin. Feiling’s body was clearly visible.
"Of course, with my crown princess, Feiling," he added.
He meant that all of them had to die. Bai Xiaozhu's expression turned ugly.
"If only the people from the dao palace die, the elders may find trouble with the Theocrats. But since so many of them are dead, they can blame it on the tomb." Situ Yiyi looked ashen.
"Brother Jinghong, what should we do?" Bai Xiaozhu asked.
"What else can we do, fight till the end! Even if we die, we must take them with us!" said Chen Jinghong.
He knew very well that Jiang Yanwu and Meng Qingqing were on par with them, while Dongyang Fengchen was far superior to their strength. No one could contend with him.
"Take us with you? Haha, I'll kill all of you myself. You think you can even touch me? Well dream on!" Dongyang Fengchen sneered.
Right then, a dazzling blue starlight took their attention, and before they could react, they heard a dull swoosh.
"What?" They stared blankly.
A blue chain with ninety-nine heavenly patterns appeared in Tianming’s hand. What was more shocking was the fact that the ends of the chain had pierced two people—Dongyang Fengxiao and Jiang Fengyue.
They instantly turned pale as blood poured out of the huge holes in their chests. Their lifebound beasts had just come out, but were immediately struck by the Three-Thousand Starfield, and all of them were strung on the blue chain.
As soon as Tianming recalled the chain, the bodies collapsed to the ground. All of that had happened in an instant.
Tianming was at least five hundred meters away from Jiang Fengyue, but he still managed to kill the latter with a single blow. After coiling the chain around him, the Grand-Orient Sword appeared in his hand.
Pointing the sword at Dongyang Fengchen, he said, "Brother Chen, kill Meng Qingqing. The Soulfiend will deal with Jiang Yanwu."
Finally, his golden eyes stared straight at Dongyang Fengchen and he enunciated each word, "As for this beast, leave him to me."
Who knew exactly how furious Tianming was? Most of his anger had been caused by the innate godchild, but now it would all be vented upon Dongyang Fengchen!
"Tianming, don't try to be brave." Bai Xiaozhu clearly remembered the gap between Tianming and the crown prince’s cultivation.
A difference of an entire stage? It was equivalent to a child fighting an adult.
"Hehe." Dongyang Fengchen burst out in laughter. "It looks like I’ll seize the beauty, obtain two great treasures with ninety-nine saintly heavenly patterns, and even take away the Grand-Orient Sword. This trip has been a real gain." He almost cramped with laughter.
At that moment, Tianming's Three-Thousand Starfield flew toward Dongyang Fengchen’s head, with hundreds of Invincible Sword Ki contained in it. Tianming had completely absorbed the sword ki within the voidspace stone, otherwise he would have been even more powerful.
The blue chain moved so swiftly it left afterimages in its wake. It contained the power of stars, and together with the Invincible Sword Ki, its power was formidable even if it was only an earth-ranked battle art.
The crown prince blocked with his arm. A shrill noise filled the air and Dongyang Fengchen flew out, slamming into the altar. He rolled on the ground and hit his head so hard he was bleeding.
A deathly silence pervaded the underground palace. As the others watched on in shock, Tianming dragged the Grand-Orient Sword toward Dongyang Fengchen.
"I said I’m going to cut you into pieces today!”
His momentum soaring and a murderous look on his face, Tianming’s sword left sparks as it dragged across the ground. None of them thought it was funny at this point.
"H-he must be a monster." Situ Yiyi said stiffly.
"Tianming, beat him. You have my support! Give it to him good!" Bai Xiaozhu stared with disbelief and joy, mouth agape.
Chen Jinghong patted his face. Upon confirming it wasn’t a dream, he immediately pulled out his black spear, summoned his Blood-Eyed Nightfiend Eagle, and charged toward Meng Qingqing, who was blocking the passage.
Dongyang Fengchen spat a mouthful of blood. Lifting his bloodied arm, he rose to his feet. His entire face had turned black and his eyes were bloodshot as he seethed with anger.
Exhaling heavily, he realized that this was the first time anyone had provoked him so. He wasn’t laughing any more; right now, he resembled a raging demon.
The so-called ‘Theocrat’ lacked the will of an emperor. He was merely a member of the Nineshades Clan. When upset, he was gloomy and ferocious; this was his true nature.
In front of him stood Tianming, Ying Huo, Meow Meow, and Lan Huang.
Jiang Yanwu's expression changed drastically. There was resentment in his eyes, aimed at the crown prince. As the Soulfiend stared fixedly at him, Jiang Yanwu turned and ran out through the passage.
The escape of his subordinate humiliated Dongyang Fenghchen. Out of five, only he and Meng Qingqing remained. The Soulfiend appeared behind him, its angry face turned toward him.
"Not bad, Tianming! I’ll have to come up with every possible way to torture you. You’ll find that death is the greatest luxury." Dongyang Fengchen trembled with each word, demonstrating just how angry he was.
"Are you trying to compare who can be more cruel? Did you think I was a good man? Come on then! Where were you when I tortured someone to death?” Tianming sneered.
He looked vicious at the moment. Dongyang Fengchen only accounted for part of the reason Tianming was this upset. The remaining provocation stemmed from the one behind Tianming, yet the full brunt of his anger was now being borne by Dongyang Fengchen.
Before they could begin battling, the sound of vibration came from the coffin.
"What the hell are you?! You’re courting death!”
Tianming was familiar with this voice; it was that of the innate godchild.
"You’re mad! All of you are mad! How dare a mere mortal like you fight a god!”
"Ahh!!”
She screamed miserably once more, which only proved that at the moment between life and death, the god had lost.
"No! I’m not willing! This is my divine body! The result of a hundred thousand years of hard work! Seize my godchild, destroy my fortune, and take my life in defiance of heaven’s order, and you will be damned! This is a crime against heaven. Mortal spirit, you’ll be annihilated by the heavenly law and come to a tragic end!!”
Her grief and indignation was apparent. It was gut-wrenching, heartrending agony.
"Stop. I don't know who you are and I don't know how I’m related to you. I just want to live, that's all. Goodbye." It was Feiling’s voice.
Her goodbye said it all. At that moment, the stone in Tianming's heart finally found solid ground and he wept tears of joy.
Feiling had survived! So what if it was in defiance of destiny? Why should she deserve death?! In a battle, strength between both sides was never equal. In such adversity, didn’t the survivor deserve to win?
"Ling’er! Ling’er!”
Blood boiling, Tianming felt as if he would explode. He wasn’t aware just how earth-shattering and terrifying his feats were. For him, the fact that Feiling was immortal was the greatest joy of his life. Despite shedding tears, he was laughing wildly.
Others had no idea what had happened. All they saw was how frightening his fighting spirit had become. Like a monster crawling out from a sea of blood, he stared at Dongyang Fengchen.
His dark, shimmering eyes surged with the will of an emperor as his hoarse voice resounded on the altar. "Feng has won. Now, it’s my turn to put an end to the crown prince of the Theocrats and offer your life as a sacrifice to the innate godchild. You shall die with her, and I’ll gladly send you on your way.”