That green drug could make a person slip into a permanent coma. The traces of the drug would also vanish quickly. Tossing Ling Xiaotian down from the sky and killing him without any trace of a drug. Who would dare claim that this was done by Lord Shen Ying?
Su Yu was furious. Ling Xiaotian had always been loyal to the empire, but he was about to be killed in secret! Why did the lords have to implicate the innocent in their struggle for power?
There was an indescribable fury in Su Yu's heart! But Su Yu could not even move his body, much less attack them.
"Drink it, Ling Xiaotian!" Lord Shen Ying said. He turned around, his gaze like that of a wild beast.
Ling Xiaotian muttered and sighed, "There is only half a month left, just half a month left… Why wouldn't you give me a chance—?"
"Weird!" Lord Shen Ying let out a low grunt. "Make him drink it!"
The two inspectors prepared to move, but at this moment, a black shadow shot toward a huge rock from the sky, silently descending.
Lord Shen Ying subconsciously lifted his head, giving a cursory glance. But his expression drastically changed, his eyes squinting as he scolded fiercely, "Who are you?"
Ten zhang over their heads was a man in black robes, silently floating in the air.
The sight shocked Lord Shen Ying greatly. He was a Human King—how could anyone evade his highly sensitive senses of detection? He was not as strong as an Immortal Realm Level Five Peak, able to sense everything in Heaven and Earth, but it should not have been possible for any living creature to come within ten zhang of him unnoticed! Furthermore, this person was not even intentionally hiding himself. Yet his presence was only made known after he had entered within ten zhang of Lord Shen Ying!
The black-robed man was covered from head to toe, his appearance and frame hidden. All that was visible were the cold eyes that looked down on all of life. Those were truly cold eyes, icier than any other living creature, like those of the merciless Heavens.
What shocked Lord Shen Ying even more was that even though they were only ten zhang apart, he still could not sense the other party's presence! It was as if this man was a ball of illusions. His aura, cultivation level, and physical body exceeded what could be made sense of! What kind of powerful fighter was he?
Even Lord Bai Luo… Only the King of Darkness was this mysterious and unpredictable.
"Who is the nature-defying man?" said the black-robed man, floating in the air like a puppet.
Lord Shen Ying's expression was grave. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
What nature-defying man? He had never heard of it. Ling Xiaotian also did not understand what the black-robed man meant. Neither of them had witnessed Su Yu's nature-defying act prior to their arrival.
"To rebel against the Heavens and forcefully cultivate the Pure Divine Decree," said the black-robed man. "Who is that person?"
Hearing this, they finally understood what the black-robed man was talking about. Heaven had shown itself to suppress the nature-defying man. This scene was witnessed by everyone in the Zhenlong Continent and the vast ocean. But how would they know who the person who rebelled against the Heavens was?
"You do not know?" the black-robed man said coldly. "Then I'll check all of you individually."
He pointed a finger at everybody present.
Lord Shen Ying clenched his teeth. "Don't go too far. I am the second lord Shen Ying under the King of Darkness. It is best that you carefully consider before you do anything!"
When he was fighting for power, he hoped that the King of Darkness was already dead. But now that he was in a crisis, he used the name of the King of Darkness, whose life and death was unknown, as his shield. He was truly a despicable man.
The black-robed man paused for a moment, seeming to reminisce about something, "The King of Darkness? What kind of spirit did he have back then when he swept across all the land and lorded over the entire Zhenlong Continent? I wonder if the major injuries I inflicted on him back then have healed, or if he is still alive."
"If he had survived back then, he might indeed be worthy of my caution."
This words made Lord Shen Ying gasp! He had thought that the King of Darkness had swept across the land in a powerful fashion. Two Great Ancient Clans of the northern continent had been destroyed by the flick of his fingers.
But then the King of Darkness had stopped without warning. He obliterated the Yue clan and imprisoned the Tu clan, but did not move further to unify the entire Zhenlong Continent. After which, he even slipped into obscurity, never again showing himself to this world.
Could it be that the King of Darkness had been heavily injured back then and had been unable to continue his crusade? And the person who injured the King of Darkness was the black-robed man before them?
Lord Shen Ying swallowed hard. The person before him was not only more powerful than the King of Darkness but harbored animosity for the empire.
"Senior, I do not know the whereabouts of the nature-defying man you speak of," said Lord Shen Ying, showing deference to the black-robed man. "Please have mercy. We do not have the intention of making you an enemy."
The black-robed man coldly said, "Is there a difference whether you are my enemy or not?"
How belittling those words were! What kind of spirit did this man have? Lord Shen Ying, a Human King level fighter, was a mere ant in front of the black-robed man.
The black-robed man pointed at Lord Shen Ying. "Your abilities are the strongest," he said. "I'll test you first." And he grabbed at Lord Shen Ying.
Lord Shen Ying's expression changed drastically. "Senior! Don't do this!" he cried.
Creak—
With the World Destroying Spear in his hands, Lord Shen Ying retaliated instinctively. But the black-robed man disregarded him, casually grabbing the tip of the spear, exerting a little force.
Crack—
A shocking scene ensued. A top-notch medium-grade divine artifact, the World Destroying Spear, was… broken!
Lord Shen Ying was astounded. This man's power was terrifying. Panic flashed in his brain. Lord Shen Ying turned to escape without hesitation! The person before them could not be matched by anyone in the Zhenlong Continent, except by the King of Darkness!
The pair of medium-grade divine artifacts under his feet suddenly accelerated. His figure looked like it was teleporting as it pierced through the air, disappearing and reappearing 1,000 miles away.
The black-robed man's eyes were still cold. "Futile struggle," he said.
His figure flashing, he appeared 1,000 miles away, his hands behind his back, silently waiting for Shen Ying to approach him.
Lord Shen Ying suddenly stopped. Extreme fear gripped his heart as he fled for his life.
Atop the large rock, even the two inspectors were trembling. Just who was this black-robed man?
Without thinking—without regard for Su Yu, who was to be executed—the two inspectors turned to flee!
Ling Xiaotian and Su Yu looked at each other. A black glow flicked in Su Yu's robes. A bronze mask appeared before him.
"Palace Master," said Su Yu, "give me some spirit energy and let me and the Cabinet Master hide in this mask. It would be more convenient for us to escape this way."
He was not only worried about Lord Shen Ying; he was even more fearful of the black-robed man. He had come for Su Yu!
Ling Xiaotian looked over, surprised by what he saw. "The Eternal Mask! You obtained this divine artifact?"
Without hesitation, Ling Xiaotian injected a shred of spirit energy into Su Yu, activating the Eternal Mask. With a thud, Su Yu disappeared into thin air, leaving only the mask floating in the air.
Grabbing the mask, Ling Xiaotian turned and fled.
Ten seconds later. Atop the huge rock, a black figure flickered. It was the black-robed man, holding the red-faced Lord Shen Ying in his palm. The pair of medium-grade divine artifact under his legs had been reduced to dust.
"They ran?" said the black-robed man. "I'll chase them later."
The black-robed man pointed a finger between Lord Shen Ying's brows. At that moment, an alarming pain spread across the entirety of Shen Ying's body. A blood-red crack appeared between Shen Ying's brows.
"Not you," said the black-robed man, and he casually threw Shen Ying down.
He did not even bother to kill him. It was a waste of time to intentionally crush an ant.
Whoosh—
Within three seconds, the two inspectors were captured. A trace of blood appeared between their brows as well, but the black-robed man discarded them.
"Not you, either. Then all that's left is the two of them."
Whoosh—
Ten seconds later, Ling Xiaotian was captured. He had already made it 10,000 miles away, hiding in a lake, but nobody could hide from this horrifyingly powerful fighter.
"Not you, either!" The black-robed man creased his brows, discarding Ling Xiaotian. "Where are the other two?" The black-robed man looked around, the creases on his brows becoming deeper.
Whoosh—
The black-robed man disappeared in search of Su Yu.
Seizing the opportunity, Lord Shen Ying rushed to the inspectors, his face pale, "Let's go—quick!" He did not have the time to question where Yin Yu was.
"What about Ling Xiaotian?" the two inspectors asked anxiously.
They would reach the middle continent up ahead, and there were hidden guards of the Empire of Darkness patrolling there. In fact, there were even more complicated spells that even they did not know about. Once they entered, people would suspect them if Ling Xiaotian died.
Lord Shen Ying clenched his teeth. "Bring him, too. Hurry!"
He did not want to stay here a second longer. If the black-robed man could not find Su Yu and brought about his fury unto them… he shuddered to imagine the outcome. Thus, their only choice was to bring along Ling Xiaotian.
Whoosh—
The group flew for 100,000 miles, entering the middle continent.
"The outpost of the empire is up front," said one of the inspectors. "Let's hope that the black-robed man is a little cautious and would not chase after us!"
The inspector's expression was full of fear, but he had just said this when a black shadow descended in front of them, his back facing them with his hands behind him.
His tone was laced with fury and frustration as he said, "You dare deceive me!"
Creak—
An overbearing ripple swept across the area.
Everyone felt as if their flesh and souls had been cut by something. Everything about them was made visible within the ripple.
Ling Xiaotian's heart thumped hard, then sank. The divine artifact had been discovered! And Su Yu within it!
"So, you are here!" said the black-robed man. "To hide from me like that proves you are the nature-defying man!" He bore an ice-cold killing intent. "Nature-defying men must be killed! There is only room for one nature-defying man in this world. There is no need for a second!"
The killing intent of the black-robed man implicated the surroundings. Dark clouds billowed. The earth shook. Every living creature around them shuddered.
Heavenly wrath! It was the heavenly wrath once again! Just who was this person? How could someone like this exist on the continent?
But at this moment, a majestic sound reverberated around the land.
"Ninth Saint Master… Ninth Saint Master…" It was like a mysterious call from hell.
This black-robed man was the leader of the men in plaited hats. He was the Ninth Saint Master!
Su Yu was shocked. This was the person who could rival the Kind of Darkness. The master of Shen Kong and Feng Xian—the Ninth Saint Master! It was him!
But what made Su Yu even more amazed was the owner of the majestic voice. Heaven and Earth alternated between light and darkness like the cycles of night and day as an elder with closed eyes walked on the ground. He had a jade box in his hand, releasing an ancient aura. What was even more shocking was that he did not have an aura of a living person!
It was a corpse! And Su Yu knew this corpse. He had seen it before. It was the ancient, frozen corpse that had been in the underground relic of the Yinyu Area. Now, he had appeared again!
The corpse took to the skies holding the jade box.
"It looks like you were indeed released!" said the Ninth Saint Master. His cold eyes showed traces of gravity. "The first-generation nature-defying man from 10,000 years ago. The Void World King!"