"Grand Elder, shall I use my Illusory Melody to force him out of the earth? Then he won't be able to escape even if he grows wings." The female God-Venerable spoke up.
"Excellent idea. If Protector Ouyang can force him out from underground, we'll definitely defeat him. East Sea Domain Palace's reputation cannot be ruined by this brat," the Grand Elder said.
At that moment, Protector Ouyang produced a long flute, emerald-green and dazzling. She glanced at everyone and smiled, "I hope you'll all give me Water Spirit Crystals to restore my divine power afterward!"
"Don't worry, Protector Ouyang. We'll definitely help you recover your divine power. Go ahead and show us your ultimate skill!" the Grand Elder laughed.
Immediately, a melodious and flowing tune poured out from the flute. At first, everyone just thought it sounded pleasant, but on closer inspection, it was far more than that—a stream of energy soundwaves slowly seeped into the earth, causing cracks to appear on the surface.
In fact, Protector Ouyang's weapon was this emerald flute, and her specialty was sonic attacks. Her soundwaves could kill invisibly or plunge a person into overwhelming illusions, trapping them in a dreamscape with no escape.
Right now, her Illusory Melody was an incredibly powerful illusion technique, able to penetrate deep, deep into the earth—but it also consumed a tremendous amount of divine power.
Her target at this moment was Evan Chu alone, so the others only heard a pleasant tune, but for Evan Chu, it was a whole different experience.
As the soundwaves gradually seeped into the earth, everyone grew tense, unsure if Evan Chu would be forced out by the Illusory Melody. The so-called 'forcing out' meant Evan Chu would hear the melody, fall into an illusion, and come out on his own.
But at this moment, Evan Chu had no idea that nine powerful cultivators were waiting above the earth. When the Grand Elder and the others arrived, they hid their auras, and Evan Chu hadn't checked with divine sense. He was still debating whether to burst out from underground to check the situation and find a way to escape.
Suddenly, a beautiful melody drifted into his ears. The tune felt wonderfully soothing, like basking in sunlight, as if all worries were washed away by the music.
The more Evan Chu listened, the more curious he became. He started to wonder where the music was coming from, and before he knew it, his body began to move unconsciously toward the surface.
This was perfectly normal. In terms of raw power, Evan Chu was no weaker than Protector Ouyang, but in terms of cultivation realm, he was still far behind—she was late-stage God-Venerable, while he was only early-stage. His mental state was also less steady.
Plus, the Illusory Melody was designed to bewitch the mind, and he had no defenses up—so he fell right into the trap, and danger slowly approached.
Evan Chu's body gradually moved upward. Protector Ouyang could sense his movement through the soundwaves, and her face lit up with excitement.
Naturally, when the others saw her expression, they got excited too. It meant she had succeeded, and each one prepared to strike the moment Evan Chu appeared, determined to keep him from escaping back underground and kill him on the spot.
At this moment, a bizarre scene unfolded in Evan Chu's mind. He seemed to be in a vast palace, surrounded by many people: Meng Ji, Ling Xiao, Yue Yan, Princess Wuyou, Zhong Ling, Nishang, Meng Qi, Zhang Lijuan, Nie Ling'er, Wei Qun, Little Jin, Little Ying—in short, all his women, brothers, and friends were there.
He sat high above, with many powerful cultivators below—Blue Shadow God-Venerable and Wanchong Lou among them. Right now, he was like a monarch, and everyone showed him deep respect. The palace seemed to be called Frostbane Divine Hall.
Evan Chu was in bliss, and without realizing it, his body emerged from the earth, appearing before the nine powerhouses. Protector Ouyang kept playing her Illusory Melody, her face pale and drenched in sweat.
"He finally came out—this time, it's his death!" one of the God-Venerables exclaimed excitedly.
Just as everyone was about to unleash powerful martial arts to kill Evan Chu, the Grand Elder suddenly spoke up, "This brat is only early-stage God-Venerable. Let me restrain him with my Space Domain first—Protector Ouyang can't hold out much longer."
If she stops now, the kid might wake up, and if we don't finish him in one blow, he'll escape back underground and it'll be even harder to kill him."
Everyone agreed with the Grand Elder. Among them, only he had the highest cultivation—almost able to break through to God-Emperor Realm like the Domain Lord. His Space Domain was the most powerful.
With him casting Space Domain, even those present would struggle to escape, let alone Evan Chu, who was only early-stage God-Venerable.
Evan Chu was completely unaware of the looming crisis, still lost in his dream of building Frostbane Divine Palace—his ultimate wish. But it was this very dream that now put him in danger.
With a wave of his hand, the Grand Elder instantly enveloped Evan Chu in his Space Domain. At the same time, Protector Ouyang stopped playing her Illusory Melody, exhausted and needing to recover. One of the God-Venerables handed her a sparkling, crystal-like stone.
"Thank you!" Protector Ouyang simply said, then began absorbing the energy from the crystal stone.
At that moment, Evan Chu suddenly snapped awake, only to feel an overwhelming pressure pressing down on him—the greatest he'd ever experienced. Even with his Ninth-Layer Starforge Body, he couldn't withstand it and felt as if he was suffocating, filling him with terror.
"Could there be a God-Emperor among them? How did I end up on the surface? What's going on?" Evan Chu was full of questions, but now wasn't the time to ponder—he had to relieve the pressure fast, or it would kill him.
Evan Chu was deeply shocked, but the East Sea Domain Palace cultivators were even more stunned—especially the Grand Elder. He knew exactly how powerful his Space Domain was. Normally, an early-stage God-Venerable couldn't last three breaths inside before collapsing.
After five breaths, they'd be nothing but a pile of meat. Yet this brat had lasted more than five breaths and was still standing—something he'd never seen before. He couldn't imagine when such a monstrous figure had appeared in the Sea Regions...
(Backend issues are frequent, sometimes publishing is delayed for a long time)