Chapter 69: Imperial Qi Armor

"Five Glories Palace..."

Zhu Ya'er reacted belatedly, finally putting the pieces together.

Five spiritual objects, carrying such imperial aura.

This could only be the Five Glories Imperial Scripture of the Five Glories Palace.

It was not as if she had never fought against people from the Five Glories Palace before.

Yet even the imperial aura manifested by those in the Core Formation realm had never been this intense.

Imperial aura belonged to emperors.

This energy should only ever be born within monarchs.

Although the Five Elements formed the foundation of all things and could manifest myriad energies, they should not have been able to give rise even to a shred of imperial aura.

And yet, the ancestor of the Five Glories Palace had once been a human emperor. Using imperial energy as a catalyst and relying on his heaven-defying comprehension, he had forcefully created the Five Glories Imperial Scripture, which could manifest imperial energy.

Even if it was merely the aura of a mortal emperor.

Yet, under the enhancement of this imperial energy, standing within his own imperial city, he could even contend with cultivators!

The golden light gradually dimmed, revealing the figure beneath.

A pair of stern, black eyes locked onto Zhu Ya'er, making her feel as though she were facing a formidable enemy, as if her previous actions had enraged the ruler of a nation, who was now determined to fight her to the death to protect his subjects!

Below, the citizens of the entire city, who had originally been lifted up by Gong Yunxuan, fell to their knees once again, forming a vast, dark sea of people.

The killing intent of the Core Formation stage was almost tangible; they could naturally sense what Zhu Ya'er intended to do.

Therefore, Xiao Lin, who had stopped her, was no different from an emperor in their eyes!

Gong Yunxuan also stared blankly at this scene. "Could it be that Brother Xiao Lin is also an illegitimate son of the Palace Master left out in the cold..."

While the crowd bowed in worship, Xiao Lin and Zhu Ya'er clashed for tens, perhaps hundreds of rounds.

Every time the latter suddenly launched an offensive toward the crowd below, Xiao Lin would perceive it and step in to neutralize it.

Being driven to this extent by a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator left Zhu Ya'er so suffocated she almost wanted to vomit blood.

However, looking at Xiao Lin's pale complexion, Zhu Ya'er gently exhaled, and the oppressive frustration in her heart instantly dissipated by a large margin.

"You won't be able to maintain this state for long, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be keeping silent and only thinking about ending this battle as quickly as possible..." Zhu Ya'er narrowed her captivating eyes, a smiling expression blooming across her face. "No wonder your spiritual sense and spiritual qi suddenly caught up with mine. By reversing the Five Elements and amplifying these five spiritual objects to their absolute limits, you traded for a fleeting chance to step into the Core Formation realm, but the price is that your physical body must endure the backlash of these five spiritual objects simultaneously..."

Xiao Lin remained silent. Zhu Ya'er had indeed seen through his trump card.

Normally, the liver belongs to wood, the heart belongs to fire...

Wood- and fire-attribute spiritual objects would reside in the liver and heart respectively, and the same went for the other spiritual objects.

In this way, one could nourish the physical body with spiritual objects while also utilizing their power.

At this moment, however, fire was directed at the liver, and earth at the heart; the wood-attribute liver was used to feed fire, and the fire-attribute heart to feed earth...

Everything was inverted, solely to drive the energy of the spiritual objects to its absolute limit, thereby trading for the power to contend with the Core Formation realm.

Moreover, there was another cost that Zhu Ya'er could not perceive.

The qualities of his five spiritual objects were not identical. The ancient Azure Dragon breath, being merely a superior-grade spiritual object, could not possibly withstand the water qi of the sacred object, Millennium Nether Ice Liquid, making it difficult to form a complete cycle.

The water qi, having undergone four cycles of mutual generation, could only leak out into his meridians.

Under this dual impact, his meridians had already been battered beyond recognition.

"That's right. Why should I fight you to the bitter end? As long as I stall you for a little while, you will defeat yourself without me having to attack," Zhu Ya'er said unhurriedly. "By then, these mortals will be fish on a chopping board, and their life and death will rest entirely upon a single thought of mine..."

Xiao Lin pressed forward aggressively, and Zhu Ya'er, true to her word, no longer engaged him in even a single direct collision, toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse.

Zhu Ya'er had resumed her initial seductive demeanor, feeling entirely in her element.

Dodgeing a punch, she lightly tapped her red lips with a delicate hand and feigned a yawn. "Look at you, risking your life for mortals who have nothing to do with you. What is the point?"

"What is the pursuit of cultivating immortality? Isn't it just about freedom and ease? Truly..."

Stupid.

Zhu Ya'er was not mocking Xiao Lin; she genuinely believed this from the bottom of her heart.

Bang.

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rang out from the high heavens; the battle had entered a white-hot phase.

"Very well, now your little lover has also fallen into a disadvantageous position," Zhu Ya'er chuckled softly. "It seems there is no need for me to make a move—all of you will die here anyway."

Rumble!

In the distance.

The advancement of the invisible barrier never ceased. Accompanied by the sound of countless buildings being crushed to powder, this cage drew closer and closer to the center of the city.

In the sky.

Gu Jianyao and the Divination Master had also fallen to a disadvantage.

No matter how much the citizens of this city trusted and knelt to Xiao Lin, they were human after all.

Being human, they would inevitably generate negative emotions.

These emotions were completely absorbed by the Fallen Sword Immortal and transformed into an inexhaustible stream of evil qi.

Defeat was an absolute certainty.

Coupled with a Core Formation cultivator who was eyeing the entire city's population like a tiger eyeing its prey.

At this moment...

It seemed to have reached a desperate impasse.

Just then, Xiao Lin suddenly fished a medicinal pill out of his Qiankun Bracelet and tossed it into his mouth.

Zhu Ya'er sneered. "Putting on a神鬼 (ghostly) act! No medicinal pill can save you!"

What she said was not false.

There truly was no medicinal pill that could reverse the current situation.

Even if it allowed Xiao Lin to maintain this state for a slightly longer duration, he would still be toyed with by Zhu Ya'er and could not escape the fate of burning out his oil and exhausting his lamp.

However, Xiao Lin was not trying to rely on the power of a medicinal pill.

What he had swallowed was the Heaven-Seizing Creation Tribulation Pill.

Seizing the creation of heaven and earth, reversing the yin and yang of the cosmos.

If one's cultivation was destroyed, it could recast the foundation of the Dao.

In fact, before it even reached the point of self-廢 (abolishing) his cultivation, his meridians and internal organs had already been reduced to a wretched state of ruin.

He was afraid that if he did not take it now, it would be too late.

"Cough, cough..." Xiao Lin coughed up blood. Even though speaking had become somewhat laborious, he still forced the words out. "The pursuit of immortal cultivation is indeed one of freedom and ease, but the character for 'immortal' (仙) begins with the radical for 'human' (亻)..."

"No matter how powerful a cultivator is, they are not born capable of summoning wind and rain or soaring through the clouds. Before they—before we—embarked on the path of cultivation, we were also just a part of the ordinary masses..."

"Why save them? Isn't it also a way of saving... the once-mortal self?"

As he spoke, Xiao Lin slowly closed his eyes.

Zhu Ya'er paid him no heed. Regardless of what Xiao Lin was brewing, this was the absolute best opportunity.

Her figure vanished from where she stood, poised to deal Xiao Lin a fatal blow, while the latter appeared too slow to dodge!

"Oh no!"

Bang!

Just as Gong Yunxuan cried out in alarm, accompanying it was the familiar sound of metal clashing.

However, what appeared before the eyes of Zhu Ya'er and Gong Yunxuan was no longer a suit of pitch-black armor, but one of brilliant gold. The helmet resembled the head of a dragon, the arm guards flowed like the wind, the shoulder pauldrons coiled like a tiger, the leg greaves transformed into rhinoceros horns, and the backplate was thick and heavy like a mastiff... Five unrelated spiritual beasts combined together, unexpectedly radiating an indescribable sense of majesty.

King, sovereign, emperor... all titles of supreme rulers could be perceived upon it.

Not only that, a wisp of black qi seeped out from within the armor, forming shapes at the limbs, chest, and head, imparting a mysterious hue to the golden armor. Beyond the imperial majesty, it added a touch of judgment against demonic paths, carrying a dual aura of righteousness and evil.

At once an emperor and a revenging Asura.

The Ultimate Imperial Armor, the combination of imperial aura and righteous energy, right here...

Merged into one.