"Compared to you, I'm as pure and kind as a primary school student helping an old lady cross the road! I actually tried to compete with you in shamelessness? I must be dreaming!"
"Fine, you don't want to admit defeat after losing a bet, and you won't surrender even when you're outmatched. But to actually try and destroy my treasured artifact?"
"Shameless, utterly shameless!"
Ying Chen was furious and cursed incessantly.
Zhang Daoling, seeing that he was no match for Ying Chen, had actually infiltrated his remnant soul into the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal, attempting to detonate the entire artifact and kill Ying Chen!
"You've ruined my thousand-year plan, and now you want to take my life-bound artifact. How could I let you have your way?"
Zhang Daoling's remnant soul attached itself to the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal, a sinister grin on its face.
"I'll detonate the artifact and take you with me! In the end, you'll be left with nothing, just like me!"
"Hahaha, the thought of it makes me so happy!"
"Aren't you going to accept your death?"
Zhang Daoling seemed to have descended into madness, roaring with laughter.
As he spoke, the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal slowly expanded.
A powerful and terrifying force was brewing within, like a fissioning atomic bomb, ready to unleash countless shockwaves in the next second, leveling the entire underground palace and everyone inside!
Old Dong and the other two were paralyzed with fear.
They stood frozen, not knowing what to do.
Like ordinary people facing an atomic bomb, they could only despair and await death, with no means of saving themselves!
Ying Chen, however, narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
"You want to cheat? Did you ask me first?"
With that, Ying Chen suddenly reached for his waist.
With a series of clicks, something was torn loose.
When Ying Chen raised his hand, he found four beads between his fingers.
They were the Ming Yue Liu Su Pearls!
These pearls, each worth a fortune, enough to buy a villa on a mountaintop, were treated by Ying Chen with utter disregard.
He held them between his fingers and flung them towards the sky!
As the Ming Yue Liu Su Pearls spun upwards, four illusory full moons simultaneously appeared in the sky.
At the same time, four imperial seal imprints of the Chuandao Imperial Seal also materialized in the air.
"Let's see if your privately crafted Celestial Master's Seal is more powerful, or my Heaven-mandated Chuandao Imperial Seal!"
Ying Chen said coldly.
The moonlight cast a serene glow across the hall, and the four imperial seal imprints were reflected in the void.
Ying Chen spread his hands and slowly brought them together.
As if he were pushing the four full moons and four imperial seal imprints into one, a moment later, only one full moon and one imperial seal imprint remained in the sky!
"By the Mandate of Heaven, may you live forever!"
Seeing this, Zhang Daoling's face turned ashen with horror.
"The Chuandao Imperial Seal of the First Emperor? How is this possible! How could you possibly possess something like this!"
Zhang Daoling was truly panicked this time.
Because Ying Chen was right. Although his Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal was a top-tier artifact, it was ultimately a privately made item.
The Chuandao Imperial Seal, however, was a national treasure forged by the First Emperor after he swept across the land, imbued with the spirit of ages and the vastness of mountains and rivers!
The two were simply not on the same level!
The only thing that could compare to the Chuandao Imperial Seal was perhaps the nine bronze cauldrons buried by Emperor Yu when he established order over the nine provinces.
Ying Chen ignored Zhang Daoling and pointed at him and the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal, which was on the verge of exploding!
Instantly, the moonlight flowed, and the imperial seal descended.
It was as if everything froze at that moment.
The dangerous aura emanating from the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal seemed to be subjected to extreme cold, freezing in mid-air.
Zhang Daoling's mouth opened, as if to utter a "no," but no sound came out.
Under the moonlight, his form began to disintegrate and dissipate, piece by piece.
Until he shattered into countless motes of light and vanished completely!
The self-detonation power surging within the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal also slowly receded with Zhang Daoling's disappearance.
Buzz!
Finally, the moonlight faded, and the world returned to normal.
The Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal fell from the sky and landed in Ying Chen's palm.
As for the four Ming Yue Liu Su Pearls, having expended all their power, they turned to dust and scattered in the air.
Old Dong and the other two looked bewildered, not understanding what had just happened.
They only knew that their minds had gone blank, and when they came to, Zhang Daoling was gone.
They only saw Ying Chen, holding the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal, examining it while cursing continuously.
"Bastard, you're still causing trouble even in death! You damaged my treasured artifact!"
"It makes me so angry, so angry! A perfectly good treasure now has a crack in it, its original power reduced by half! Its quality has instantly dropped to that of a flawed item!"
"I wish I could dig up your corpse and whip it to vent my anger!"
Ying Chen was truly infuriated.
Although Zhang Daoling's self-detonation had failed in the end, he had managed to cause a crack in the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal!
In this era, it was impossible to repair. Even after the spiritual energy revival, it would require immense effort and materials to potentially fix it.
This was equivalent to turning a garden mansion into a high-rise pigeon coop. Even if the pigeon coop was in a good location, it was no match for a garden mansion!
How could Ying Chen not be angry?
"Right, whipping the corpse!"
Ying Chen suddenly paused, a thought striking him.
Then, with enraged eyes, he looked towards Zhang Daoling's coffin on the high platform.
Ying Chen genuinely intended to open Zhang Daoling's coffin and perform a corpse-whipping to vent his fury!
Old Dong and the other two guessed Ying Chen's intention and instinctively wanted to stop him.
Opening the coffin rashly without any protective measures would likely cause the corpse and burial objects inside to instantly turn to dust!
But seeing Ying Chen's furious demeanor, they swallowed the words they were about to speak.
Reasoning with Ying Chen at a time like this would be asking for trouble!
So, the three could only watch as Ying Chen leaped onto the high platform and approached the coffin.
Although Ying Chen was angry, he had not lost his reason.
He first sensed the coffin, confirming the absence of any dangerous aura, before suddenly slapping the coffin.
Crack!
The coffin lid burst open with a bang, revealing what was inside.
Old Dong and the other two craned their necks to look, sighing inwardly. They had expected the contents of the coffin to instantly decay.
But to their surprise, the contents inside showed no reaction whatsoever!
Not even a speck of dust from decay was stirred up!
They could faintly discern what appeared to be a corpse wearing a feather crown and dressed in feather robes lying peacefully inside.
It was likely Zhang Daoling's true body.
"Hmm?"
Ying Chen looked at Zhang Daoling's corpse and suddenly raised his eyebrows, letting out a surprised exclamation.