Donghua Sanren's smile gradually froze on his face.
His all-encompassing, ferocious aura also vanished, and the rampant black flames around him slowly receded.
In the sky, there was a deathly silence.
"This, this..."
Donghua Sanren stared at his severed palm, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing!
Not only Donghua Sanren, but even the Sword Spirit beside Ye Ling was stunned, his mind a complete blank.
When Donghua Sanren shattered space and charged at them, the Sword Spirit was filled with thoughts of death, believing everything was over.
But, just as he thought Donghua Sanren was about to crush Ye Ling's head, he saw a black flash in his vision, followed by Donghua Sanren's powerful aura dissipating like smoke, and his hand flying off!
In the blink of an eye, Donghua Sanren was defeated.
*Thud!*
As Donghua Sanren's palm hit the ground, kicking up a bit of dust, the Sword Spirit shivered and snapped back to reality.
It was then that he understood that Ye Ling's power transcended the entire world, and the Emperor was not a being they could comprehend!
With this realization, the Sword Spirit's soul began to tremble. He looked at Ye Ling's profile, unable to suppress the urge to prostrate himself before Ye Ling!
Compared to the myriad of gods, Ye Ling was the true and only god in heaven and earth!
The Sword Spirit realized Ye Ling's true terror, but Donghua Sanren was still reluctant to accept reality.
Donghua Sanren had used all his Blood Demon Seeds, condensed with hundreds of thousands of years of effort, absorbed the powerful Shadow Legion, and even burned his life essence to reach his current realm!
He had used every trick in his book. With his current strength, he should have been able to shatter the Three Realms with a single punch. He was the sole god in the world!
But...
Donghua Sanren looked at his severed arm, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He could easily reattach his severed hand, but the crucial point was that he had no idea how Ye Ling had severed it!
Just this alone, the disparity in combat power displayed by both sides...
Left Donghua Sanren breathless!
At this moment, two more black flashes streaked across the sky. Blood lines appeared on Donghua Sanren's neck and waist, and blood splattered out!
The next moment, Donghua Sanren was cut into three pieces and plummeted to the ground.
"Wh-why..."
Donghua Sanren didn't even have time to feel pain. His eyes were fixed on Ye Ling standing in the air, his mind racing, trying to understand why.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure it out.
The lack of blood to his brain caused his consciousness to blur.
Ye Ling watched as Donghua Sanren's head rolled a few times on the ground before slowly landing. He then stepped on Donghua Sanren's head and said indifferently, "Originally, I planned to leave you a complete corpse since you performed so diligently for me. But you were too disappointing, draining your entire fortune and even absorbing two members of the Shadow Legion, yet you only possessed this much strength."
"If I had known you were this weak, I might as well have let you keep those two Shadow Legion members. I was more interested in them..."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Donghua Sanren's pupils contracted sharply. It was then that he understood that he had been Ye Ling's plaything from beginning to end, with no chance of resistance...
Realizing this, Donghua Sanren's last line of defense completely collapsed. He lost the desire to resist and trembled as he pleaded with Ye Ling, "Em-Emperor... spare my life... this humble one knows his mistake!"
"This humble one was merely following orders. The ones who truly wanted to act against the Emperor were the Shadow Hall. This humble one was coerced by the Shadow Hall!"
After his psychological defenses crumbled, Donghua Sanren had no dignity left. He continuously begged Ye Ling for mercy and sold out the Shadow Hall completely.
Indeed, Donghua Sanren was now left with only his head, pinned beneath Ye Ling's foot. He had no dignity to speak of.
At this moment, the Sword Spirit slowly landed. Seeing Donghua Sanren groveling at Ye Ling's feet, he couldn't help but sigh.
Once upon a time, Donghua Sanren was a revered sage, living freely in the mortal world, admired by countless immortals, and capable of deciding the fate of a nation with a mere gesture.
And now, Donghua Sanren was left with only his head, trampled underfoot, and forced to abandon all his dignity just to survive...
And all this change was because Donghua Sanren had provoked someone...
The Emperor Ye Ling!
It was then that the Sword Spirit understood why the Emperor Ye Ling, after only a few months of emerging, had become renowned throughout the Three Realms, feared by countless gods and immortals.
Only after truly witnessing Ye Ling's methods would one understand that the gods' fear of the Emperor was an understatement.
Having resolved to follow Ye Ling forever, the Sword Spirit knelt before Ye Ling, kowtowed, and pledged his allegiance.
The Sword Spirit's body began to transform into specks of light, drifting towards Ye Ling.
Ye Ling noticed the Sword Spirit's transformation and couldn't help but be surprised, "You are...?"
The Sword Spirit respectfully replied, "Emperor, I was born as an unnamed Sword Spirit from heaven and earth. Although I have developed my own consciousness by chance, fundamentally, I am not a living being but a power meant to be wielded."
"Your Majesty's strength is unparalleled in the Three Realms, your power is undoubtedly immense. I admire your strength and wish to be of service to you..."
"Although my strength may be insignificant to Your Majesty, as a Sword Spirit nurtured by the essence of heaven and earth and nourished by countless冥气 (mingqi - dark/underworld energy), my body also contains some insights into the Great Dao. I believe those insights might be of some help to Your Majesty."
"Please allow me to transform into a sword and serve you!"
Seeing the Sword Spirit become completely ethereal, Ye Ling was silent for a moment before saying, "Very well. Since you are willing to dedicate yourself, I see no reason to refuse. I accept."
The Sword Spirit kowtowed, "Thank you, Emperor!"
The Sword Spirit rejoiced, his entire form changing from human shape into a luminous sword, then into countless points of light that merged into Ye Ling's body.
Ye Ling immediately felt a power so faint it was negligible merging into his bloodline. Before he could even sigh, he suddenly felt an ineffable comprehension of the Great Dao flood his mind.
A massive amount of information filled his thoughts!
"This is!!!"
As Ye Ling absorbed those insights into the Great Dao, shock appeared in his eyes!
The insights into the Great Dao that the Sword Spirit had given him were not the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws, but one of the four fundamental laws: the Law of Annihilation!
"I never expected this little Sword Spirit to contain insights into the Great Dao of Annihilation... This opportunity has allowed me to reach the threshold of the Law of Annihilation. I am deeply indebted..."
Upon realizing it was the Law of Annihilation, Ye Ling smiled wryly and shook his head. Then, he became serious. Disregarding Donghua Sanren, he sat down on the spot to meditate and comprehend.
This was a tremendous opportunity for Ye Ling, and he couldn't afford to delay!
Seeing Ye Ling suddenly begin to cultivate, Donghua Sanren was ecstatic. He immediately mobilized his remaining spiritual power, took his head, and rolled into the surrounding black flames, fleeing the scene.
The plaza of the Zijing Tower fell silent.