Chapter 1259: The Power of Mortals, Comparable to the Holy Emperor?

Beneath the Abyss.

"Si Tu Yongren, if Elder Yan hadn't told us to stay and hold the line, would you have dared to go up just now?"

As Yan Wuse and Rao Yao Yao set off, Yu Ling Di formed a blood pact with the Xuan Xu Box, his gaze fixed on the distance, tinged with worry.

"Go up?"

This question stumped Si Tu Yongren.

He looked towards the horizon, where the pressure from Mo Di Heilong was terrifyingly overwhelming. Even with the formidable strength of Yan Wuse and Rao Yao Yao, facing that incarnation of the Saint Emperor's will carried the risk of disaster.

After a moment of contemplation, Si Tu Yongren glanced at the person beside him and countered, "What about you?"

"I would go!"

Yu Ling Di replied with unwavering determination. He pulled out the Gate of the Sub-plane—a thumb-sized, door-shaped ornament—and dripped another drop of blood onto it.

During the ruins of Sin One Hall, Yu Ling Di had already unbound this item from its blood pact, which had taken some effort.

But Yan Wuse had come and gone in a hurry.

By the time Yu Ling Di arrived at the Abyss, Yan Wuse's opponent had shifted to the Saint Emperor.

Binding the Gate of the Sub-plane required time, so in the end, it hadn't been passed on.

Meanwhile, Si Tu Yongren was merely controlling the small throne of the Tian Ji Shen Shi, which was essentially no match for Yu Ling Di's capabilities, and likely couldn't even successfully bind the Gate of the Sub-plane with blood. Thus, when Yu Ling Di sensed that the upcoming battle might not go smoothly, he had no choice but to bind it again.

Just as he had said before...

He was always prepared and would strike like thunder when necessary!

Receiving this response, Si Tu Yongren fell silent, his gaze lost in thought as he stared at Yu Ling Di's profile.

"This isn't an opponent we at this level should face."

Si Tu Yongren looked toward Mo Di Heilong in the sky, where the battle had already erupted.

"Then should Xu Xiao Shou have faced a semi-saint when he was still at the innate or grandmaster stage?"

Yu Ling Di didn't even turn his head, feeling the successful rebinding of the Gate of the Sub-plane.

"..."

Si Tu Yongren was at a loss for words.

"If I had mastered the Tian Ji technique and could manipulate the Tian Ji Shen Shi to give me at least a semi-saint level shell..."

Yu Ling Di turned back, gazing at the three-zhang-tall Tian Ji Shen Shi beside him, a flash of envy in his eyes. "I wouldn't be here right now."

His words were so resolute that Si Tu Yongren, who caught the underlying meaning, fell silent once more.

The area beneath the Abyss grew quiet, while the battle raged above.

With thunderous booms, the situation in the sky shifted rapidly.

Rao Yao Yao's sword was shattered, and Yan Wuse's technique exposed his position.

In an instant, the two were seized by Mo Di Heilong's dragon claws and sent flying. The tide turned sharply!

Si Tu Yongren's heart trembled at the sight.

Yu Ling Di, however, took a deep breath, as if he had anticipated this development. Or perhaps, this was exactly what a Saint Emperor's strike against semi-saints should entail!

"If there were someone else standing behind me, at least to save me once more when my life was in danger..."

Yu Ling Di looked down at the door-shaped ornament in his hand and spoke again.

"There's no 'once more'! We're the same—we're no different!"

Si Tu Yongren snapped back, annoyed and angry. "Even if my master could save me once or twice, could he save me countless times?"

Another thunderous roar echoed, and wraiths in the sky let out piercing howls.

The You Ming Gui Domain was lifted by Mo Di Heilong's dragon tail and hurled angrily toward the out-of-control, flying Yan Wuse and Rao Yao Yao.

"No, we're not the same..."

Yu Ling Di chuckled lightly, his eyes filled with regret. "Now, I don't even have the chance to be saved."

He lifted his head and saw Si Tu Yongren protected by the massive armor. Glancing further back, he could vaguely make out Dao Qiong Cang, the one who controlled the fate of everyone in the world, standing behind Si Tu Yongren.

But for himself...

Yu Ling Di glanced at his own back.

Behind him, there was nothing—no one, nothing at all!

"But I will go forward without hesitation!"

As the You Ming Gui Domain crashed down, with Yan Wuse and Rao Yao Yao unable to defend themselves,

Yu Ling Di's face twisted in ferocity, his eyes turning blood-red, and the water-element mystic array beneath his feet suddenly expanded.

"Forbidden Art: Spirit Water Seizure!"

He raised his right hand to his chest, forming a seal.

With a bang, Yu Ling Di's body completely exploded.

High above in the nine heavens, within the descending You Ming Gui Domain, a falling, disoriented Tai Xu suddenly had his eyes turn blood-red in panic.

The next second, with another bang, endless blood water burst from his body, as if his soul had been replaced.

"He went in?"

"Why go in? How could he go in?!"

Si Tu Yongren felt his scalp tingle, his fists clenched tightly.

While he was still worrying about his own safety, Yu Ling Di, with no way out, had used Tai Xu's body from within the You Ming Gui Domain to join the battle?

That was a furious strike from the Saint Emperor!

The You Ming Gui Domain was smashing down from the sky—this vast expanse of land, even if it ultimately hit space, the absolute force exploding in that instant—could Yu Ling Di survive it?

He was just a minor Dao Cutter—who gave him the courage to enter?

Why couldn't he just stay outside and watch?

Most crucially, by going in, why try to morally bind me! "Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"

Si Tu Yongren was overcome with frustration.

Even if Yu Ling Di said nothing in the end, he still heard it all.

Piloting a semi-saint and still not daring to act... Compared to Yu Ling Di, Si Tu Yongren felt he was inferior by not just a little, but by orders of magnitude!

"Is this the real gap between me and the six department heads?"

Si Tu Yongren lifted his foot, wanting to go help.

But he was still pinned down by the immense weight from the colossal You Ming Gui Domain hurtling from the sky, unable to take a step.

He felt numb.

Courage was the second life of a spirit refiner.

At that moment, Si Tu Yongren finally admitted that he had never truly possessed it...

Meanwhile, from within the battle, a frenzied roar echoed: "Gate of the Sub-plane, open!!"

The void trembled violently, unfolding a hazy, ancient gate that was incredibly faint and blurred.

Compared to the hundreds of thousands of li of the You Ming Gui Domain, this sub-plane gate shadow, stretched to its limit and barely covering a thousand li, was like a joke.

But this joke became reality in mid-air!

After seizing the body, Yu Ling Di transformed into an angel guarding the sacred shrine, opening his arms to try to withstand the You Ming Gui Domain's descent.

"Boom!"

The vast land finally collided with the ancient gate shadow.

The world seemed to enter an apocalyptic moment, with the entire Void Island shaking heavily from the immense force.

Whether in the ruins of Sin One Hall, other forbidden zones on Void Island, or even beyond in the domains of other spirit refiners, everyone watched the events at the Abyss in shock. Looking up, all they saw was a scene of world upheaval and catastrophe.

This sight left everyone speechless.

Who dared to defy the heavens?

With a mortal body, trying to match a Saint Emperor?

Even if they didn't believe it, what was happening right now was exactly that.

"Hold on for me!!"

Beneath the You Ming Gui Domain above the Abyss, Yu Ling Di, nearly crushed into pulp, roared with veins bulging.

Shattered mountains, inverted rivers, falling ruins...

All of it bombarded the sub-plane gate shadow and was then swallowed by the ancient power, vanishing without a trace.

Yet, the You Ming Gui Domain was too enormous!

The force carried by Mo Di Heilong's dragon tail strike was terrifying enough to move an entire landmass!

The sub-plane gate shadow only held for a brief moment.

"Crack!"

Before everyone's eyes, the ancient, blurred gate cracked with lines, then shattered explosively, turning into specks of light and being engulfed by the falling You Ming Gui Domain.

With a puff, Yu Ling Di, bearing the backlash of the gate shadow's shattering and the direct impact of the ancient ruins, spat out blood, his body breaking apart.

But he was so insignificant.

Beneath that falling land, he was like a speck of dust, barely noticeable.

Apart from Si Tu Yongren, few could even pay attention to this act of defying the heavens, let alone sense his current state of extreme devastation.

"Dead!"

"Definitely dead!"

"If I went in, I'd end up just like him—I'd die for sure!"

Inside the Tian Ji Shen Shi, Si Tu Yongren's eyes burst with blood vessels, his thoughts tangled into a chaotic mess.

Yet, he just watched, without moving.

After the sub-plane gate shadow shattered, Yu Ling Di, who had been buried by the ancient ruins, suddenly lit up the water-element mystic array in the chaos.

"Buzz!"

That faint light spanned only a few li.

Yet, it was like propping up the tip of an iceberg while also withstanding the impact of an entire deep-sea glacier, striving to hold back the You Ming Gui Domain!

"Why go to such lengths?"

"This is truly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"

Si Tu Yongren's scalp was already numb, shaken by Yu Ling Di's unyielding spirit.

This guy was just a minor Dao Cutter—he clearly didn't need to go this far; he was still young!

But...

In that instant, Si Tu Yongren understood.

Perhaps this was the accumulation of all the pressures Yu Ling Di, as the young head of the Spirit Department with no one to rely on, had endured in his position over the years.

He was already accustomed to it?

"Water World: Realm of Spirit Cleansing!"

Above him was utter darkness. But in that moment, Yu Ling Di became the dawn himself.

He formed seals with his palms and slammed them upward onto the falling debris.

"Buzz—"

The tiny water-element mystic array surged from beneath his feet to above his head, emitting a faint glow as it imprinted onto the falling You Ming Gui Domain.

In an instant, the life force of dozens of li connected, drawing out the natural water essence from all things.

Water gathered from mist into drops, wove into rivers, surged like seas, and roared upward in waves.

"Boom—"

Hundreds of li formed a vast blue water world, attempting to withstand the falling land—utterly absurd.

The You Ming Gui Domain's crashing impact shattered it in an instant, exploding into rain-like water droplets falling downward.

No suspense at all!

Yet, Yu Ling Di, with a ferocious expression, swallowed a drop of saint blood on the spot.

Even as his body endured the backlash of the saint blood's power, he still struck out, gathering the scattered water essence and sending it surging in all directions.

From a hundred li, to a thousand li, to ten thousand li...

In a flash, boosted by the brief surge of saint power, Yu Ling Di's spirit technique expanded to another level.

From the endless spirits of life and death in the falling You Ming Gui Domain, all the water was drawn out.

Rivers, lakes, floods—they converged into streams of aid, rising from below like pillars holding up the sky, supporting the land.

"Boom boom boom boom boom..."

Hill after hill was pushed back into the sky, ruin after ruin held aloft.

Yu Ling Di was like one mending the heavens!

After the saint power rampaged, soon the entire You Ming Gui Domain's water was drained, forming another vast blue water world above.

"It's lighter!"

Yu Ling Di's body was cracking all over, but he could still sense the change in weight overhead. The falling land had lost more than half its mass due to the water depletion!

He moved his seals again, commanding the massive water world above the You Ming Gui Domain to extend water dragons that pierced into the falling land.

—Uplifting it!

With continuous booms, the spectators outside the Abyss watched in a daze.

They had figured out who was acting.

After all, even if the water-element mystic array was tiny beneath the You Ming Gui Domain, only Yu Ling Di could use it.

So, a mere Dao Cutter was exhausting his life force to stop the Saint Emperor's strike and the You Ming Gui Domain's fall?

"Yu Ling Di..."

Si Tu Yongren's eyes were blank, as if seeing this person anew. He watched the still-falling You Ming Gui Domain, now supported below by countless water pillars and suspended above by the water world.

This greatly slowed its descent, even if overall... it was like a drop in the bucket.

But in that moment, something in Si Tu Yongren's heart, like a seed of power, ignited.

He soared forward.

"Yu Ling Di, I'm coming to help you!"

"Good guy, a fly?"

On the other side, Xu Xiao Shou, riding on the scales of Mo Di Heilong's head, had been stunned by the dragon's land-lifting strike.

He never expected that amid such an attack, someone would still charge in like a moth to a flame. The distance was too great!

At first, Xu Xiao Shou couldn't even "sense" who was stopping the land's fall.

But when the water-element mystic array lit up, he guessed it.

"Not afraid of death?"

"Even now, trying to turn the tide?"

"Really think you're the chosen one, able to defy the heavens..."

His thoughts reached that point as he looked at the ant exerting every effort yet still unable to halt the You Ming Gui Domain's descent.

Xu Xiao Shou had only one thought: commendable courage!

Suddenly, his mindset shifted, making him feel like the big villain.

Normally, shouldn't the enemy give him immense pressure, then he defies fate?

Soon, Xu Xiao Shou snapped back to reality.

From the beginning, he was the great villain of the Sacred God Continent, one of the saint slaves!

"Long Bao, crush him—this guy's also someone who deserves to die!"

Xu Xiao Shou sat on the dragon's head, gesturing excitedly.

The wheel of fortune turns!

Finally, it was his day—they were so weak, while he was like a god!

"Don't call me Long Bao!"

Mo Di Heilong scolded in fury.

But its movements were smooth and unhesitating as it exerted force again.

"Insignificant vermin, how dare you challenge the Saint Emperor's power?"

Its massive black dragon tail, capable of snapping Void Island, which had been pressing on the You Ming Gui Domain, suddenly lifted.

"Smack!"

The dragon tail swung.

The "Water World: Realm of Spirit Cleansing," which Yu Ling Di had poured his life into, shattered like foam.

"Ah..."

Xu Xiao Shou's expression froze.

Such a concentration of saint power and mystic essence—just gone?

Quickly, he stood up again in his double-winged Black Devil Frenzy Giant form on the dragon's head, slapping his thigh and letting out a villainous, manic laugh:

"Clown! What a clown!"

"Ha ha ha ha, but it's so thrilling to watch... Long Bao, hit it! Keep hitting him!"

Beneath the You Ming Gui Domain, Yu Ling Di's body lost control, flying backward from the backlash, his form exploding and turning into a bloody mess.

He had no strength left.

No matter how talented, talent only referred to one's aptitude.

A Dao Cutter was still a Dao Cutter—even if he broke through to Tai Xu now, compared to a Saint Emperor, it was like an ant to a giant, or an ant queen to that giant.

"Powerless..."

Yu Ling Di closed his eyes.

The You Ming Gui Domain crashed down, completely burying him, Rao Yao Yao, and Yan Wuse.

Just then, a voice devoid of emotion echoed in his ear: "I awaken in the chaos..."