Chapter 426: The Clone's Power Greatly Increased

This voice carried a strange magical power, as if it could directly penetrate the barrier of the soul.

Gu Yuan (clone) "The resistance grew increasingly fierce; in his sea of consciousness, his soul power turned into raging torrents, madly crashing against that external will."

His body trembled slightly, veins bulged on his forehead, his face showed an expression of pain and struggle intertwined, his acting could be called consummate.

This scene, falling into the eyes of Hun Yuan Xue and the others, was this native heaven's pride undergoing an unprecedented perilous transformation; a slight mistake would mean the destruction of both Dao and person.

Hun Yuan Xue's heart rose to her throat; she instinctively stepped forward, wanting to do something, but didn't know where to begin.

Lei Qianjue, meanwhile, coldly watched from afar, his eyes flashing with malicious light, hoping Gu Yuan would instantly go berserk and explode.

"What a pure fleshly body, what vigorous qi and blood..."

That voice carried a hint of admiration, continuing to tempt,

"You come from a lowly station, regarded as an ant; even with heavenly-reaching power, in this immortal realm you are ultimately rootless duckweed, liable to be wiped out at any moment."

"Look at them, those so-called descendants of immortal kings, heaven's chosen ones; the way they look at you—is it admiration? No, they see you as an interesting plaything, a useful hound."

"Only we can give you genuine respect, genuine status."

"Join us, and you will no longer be anyone's vassal; you will become the player, the new ruler of all realms!"

Gu Yuan (clone)'s resistance gradually weakened; he hoarsely shouted in his sea of consciousness, a reluctant roar: "You... just who are you?!"

"We are the guides who bring new life to the world, the revolutionaries who shatter the old order."

That voice spoke gently and persuasively,

"You may call us... Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge."

"Submit to me, and you will gain power, wealth, status, women... everything you desire—I can give it all."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Just because of this."

A scene unfolded in Gu Yuan's sea of consciousness.

In the scene, Lei Qianjue's thunderous dharma aspect was shattered by a single finger from him, and Hun Yuan Xue's overbearing Southern Brightness Flame was extinguished by a single breath from him.

"Do you see? Before this power, the so-called supreme geniuses are nothing but clay dogs and roof tiles."

"As long as you nod, you can now possess power stronger than theirs!"

Gu Yuan fell silent.

After a long while, he spoke in a tone tinged with a bit of greed and a bit of unwillingness:

"If I accept this power, wouldn't I become your puppet?"

"Hahaha..."

That voice let out a hoarse laugh,

"A foolish notion. Power itself has no good or evil; the key lies in the one who wields it."

"You possess a physique rarely seen in ages; even my lord praises you highly—how could you willingly be a puppet? We value your potential, your future."

"We are in an equal partnership; you help us complete our layout in this realm, and we help you step onto the true summit. By then, not only this minor True Immortal Battlefield, but even the colossal Immortal Kings of the Nine Heavens will bow at your feet!"

"Hun Yuan Xue... the Huntian Holy Land... what are they, anyway?"

These words were filled with unparalleled allure.

Gu Yuan's breathing grew rapid; he could feel that external will beginning to wondrously resonate with his soul, no longer a mere erosion but a kind of... fusion.

He knew the timing was about right.

"I... need a guarantee."

He spoke with difficulty, as if using the last shred of his reason to vie for a final bargaining chip.

"Speak."

"My current identity is that of Hun Yuan Xue's enforcer; if I were to completely turn to you, the Huntian Immortal King behind her, and even the entire Hun Clan, would never let me off."

"Haha, is that what you're worried about?"

That voice was full of disdain,

"You think our Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge's pawns would fear a mere Hun Clan?"

"Listen well, child; from the moment you accept this power, you are the destined apostle of our Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge, and within this True Immortal Battlefield you possess the highest freedom of action."

"Feel free to cause trouble, kill, loot! Stir up the water as muddy as possible, draw everyone's eyes to you; the greater the commotion you make, the more we will support you!"

"As for those so-called heaven's pride, so-called immortal clan..."

That voice paused, its tone turning grim and terrifying.

"Just go ahead and act; if anything happens, we'll take the blame!"

"If any power surpassing that of an immortal king dares to move against you, you need not lift a finger—we will ourselves clean it up cleanly."

"This is the guarantee from my Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge."

Having obtained the desired promise, the corner of Gu Yuan's mouth, unseen by the other party, curled into a cold arc.

His soul, which had been "struggling desperately," finally "gave up" resistance.

"I... am willing."

"Very good."

That voice satisfiedly nodded, saying, "From now on, you are the forty-ninth Source-Extinguishing Walker of the reserve corps of Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge; your identity will be known only to her, and likewise, she will be... yours."

Boom!

This promise, like a thunderclap, exploded in Gu Yuan (clone)'s sea of consciousness.

His last trace of resisting will completely collapsed.

A stream of pure Source-Extinguishing Power, ten times, a hundred times greater than before, surged madly into his body from an unknown node in the void, following some mysterious connection!

His aura rose step by step at this moment!

18th level Supreme Realm early stage, middle stage, peak...

19th level Heavenly Emperor Realm initial stage, middle stage, peak……

The ancient sacred body forged from the primal power of the World Tree was like a bottomless black hole, frantically devouring this external force, and even gray-black strange demon patterns began to appear on its surface.

An icy, violent, terrifying aura erupted from him with a boom, instantly sweeping across the entire second layer of space!

Those true immortal-level strange beasts wandering in the distance, under this pressure, actually all let out a mournful cry, prostrated on the ground, trembling.

All the heavenly pride present, except Lei Qianjue, Hun Yuan Xue and a few others could barely stand; the rest turned deathly pale, forced to retreat step by step by this sudden pressure, their eyes filled with shock.

"He... he broke through?!"

"What monster is this? Breaking through in battle, his aura actually rivals a half-step Immortal King!"

"This power... so weird!"

Hun Yuan Xue's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open; she could feel that the Gu Yuan before her had become an existence she completely did not recognize.

But for some unknown reason, this danger not only did not make her feel fearful, but instead caused her blood to boil.

This is exactly the enforcer she wanted!

Finally, that violent aura gradually subsided.

Gu Yuan (clone) opened his eyes.

Those eyes, originally calm, had now turned into a pitch-black abyss; deep within, occasional gray-black arcs of electricity flickered, bringing a cold indifference toward all beings.

His gaze first fell on Lei Qianjue not far away.

No words.

But that gaze was like a hunter examining his prey.

Lei Qianjue's whole body stiffened; a chill rising from the depths of his soul made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He horrifiedly discovered that his proud Thunder Emperor True Form, under the other's gaze, actually showed signs of collapsing.

"Pfft——"

He could no longer suppress the surging qi and blood, spurting a mouthful of reverse blood; the thunderbolt dharma manifestation behind him instantly dimmed.

Just that gaze heavily injured a peerless heavenly pride who had opened ninety-eight immortal meridians!

This left the entire venue dead silent.

Everyone looked at the black-clad youth slowly rising to his feet with the eyes of one looking at a monster.

Gu Yuan (clone) didn't even glance at Lei Qianjue again, as if he had merely crushed an insignificant insect.

He turned to face Hun Yuan Xue, who had been staring dumbfounded, bowed slightly, his voice hoarse yet carrying a chilling calm.

"Miss, we should continue collecting the Ancient War Seals."

Having said that, he didn't wait for Hun Yuan Xue's reply and went straight toward the native strange beasts still trembling.

With each step he took, a true immortal-level strange beast would silently turn to ash, and the Ancient War Seals containing vast fortune would automatically fly into his palm.

In the blink of an eye, he had more than twenty war seals in hand.

After doing all this, he finally stopped, turned his head to look at Hun Yuan Xue, and curled the corner of his mouth into a smile that was somewhat stiff yet full of evil charm.