Chapter 256: Outburst

The towering divine temple, tens of thousands of meters high, stood like Gaoshan upon the sea surface, completely sealing off the surrounding void; its terrifying might froze the primordial energy seawater in midair as if it had been encased in ice.

At this moment, Commander Tuo's heart was even colder.

"How could this happen?"

Unable to hold back, Commander Tuo flew out from the Void Ship, crying anxiously, "Lord of the Mysterious Mist, I am Tuo Qiwu of the Guqi family; my elder brother is Tuo, the Warlord of the First Army of the Wuqihe Civilization..."

Before she could finish speaking, a million bolts of Lei Ting suddenly erupted from within the divine temple, and a colossal hammer shadow the size of a small mountain roared forth. Accompanied by the violent shaking and twisting of space, that giant hammer shadow wreathed in gray mist smashed directly down upon Commander Tuo!

Commander Tuo's face changed; she felt the world grow dark and dim before her eyes and desperately activated all her protective treasures, causing layers of power to surge and amplify wildly.

Yet she also knew that facing the terrifying power of this single hammer strike, even if she possessed a defensive divine artifact, it was merely of the three-color grade; with her cultivation, survival was impossible!

"No! Brother, save me!"

Just then—

"Boom!"

A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Commander Tuo's protective divine artifact; the defensive artifact, as if aided by the gods, saw its power surge tenfold, a hundredfold, and more, instantly barely blocking the impact of that giant hammer shadow.

This was unmistakably the unique aura of complete spatial laws, the aura belonging to the Void Sovereign!

"Oh?"

The voice of the Lord of the Mysterious Mist echoed from within the Divine Artifact Palace: "Warlord Tuo, I did not expect you to care so much for your sister; you even left an avatar within this divine artifact?"

A stream of light flew from Commander Tuo's protective divine artifact, transforming into the shadowy figure of a man clad in a green long robe.

"Brother," Commander Tuo cried excitedly, "the Lord of the Mysterious Mist actually intends to kill me!"

The avatar of Warlord Tuo frowned slightly, looked toward the Divine Artifact Palace, and spoke coldly, "Lord of the Mysterious Mist, what is the meaning of this?"

"No meaning at all."

The Lord of the Mysterious Mist's indifferent voice echoed through the Divine Artifact Palace: "If your true body had come in person, that would be one thing, but do you really think your mere avatar can stop me?"

The next moment—

"Boom, boom, boom—"

As endless Lei Ting gathered, that massive hammer shadow formed again in the sky, far larger than before, and once more, wreathed in terrifying might, roared down upon Commander Tuo!

Warlord Tuo's eyes suddenly turned icy cold, and he roared in anger, "Xiu Si Zha Er!"

Amidst his furious shout, that giant hammer shadow crashed down again, while space shook wildly and twisted violently.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Under the Lord of the Mysterious Mist's continuous activation of the giant hammer shadow's power four times, even the avatar of a Void Being's descent could barely resist three strikes; the fourth strike could no longer be withstood.

Warlord Tuo's face turned iron-green; in the final moment before his avatar dissipated, he looked at Commander Tuo and sighed, transmitting his voice: "Little sister, brother swears he will definitely avenge you..."

"No—!!"

"Boom!"

Under the thunderous eruption of the giant hammer shadow, Warlord Tuo's avatar dissipated, and Commander Tuo herself was completely annihilated, perishing instantly.

Afterwards, the giant hammer shadow quietly vanished.

The Void Beings on the Void Ship could not help but turn pale one and all.

Even the avatar of Warlord Tuo, a Void Sovereign, had descended, yet he still could not stop the Lord of the Mysterious Mist?

Moreover, that giant hammer shadow was clearly one of the three great divine artifacts of the legendary Lord of the Mysterious Mist, and it was merely a shadow formed by a fraction of its power; yet even so, it easily crushed and killed Warlord Tuo's avatar!

The Lord of the Mysterious Mist was so domineering, not only giving Warlord Tuo no respect at all, but also directly striking down and killing his sister before his very eyes?

If even the well-connected Warlord Tuo had fallen to such a fate, what hope was there for those of them without any background?

In an instant, the adventurers felt darkness envelop them, their hearts filled with despair, unwillingness, and fear.

Yet, at this moment, this void was not only suppressed and sealed by that Divine Artifact Palace, but also surrounded by numerous pirate experts under the Lord of the Mysterious Mist; how could they possibly escape?

"Then..."

The Lord of the Mysterious Mist's indifferent voice came from within the Divine Artifact Palace: "Hand over all your treasures, sign this contract, and mine for me in the depths of the Mysterious Mist Sea for ten million years, and I will grant you a chance to live."

The Void Beings on the Void Ship were all somewhat stunned.

"Mine?"

"Ten million years?"

If it were only about handing over all their treasures, most of them would have been willing, but to become laborers for ten million years?

Such harsh demands meant many would rather die; at worst, they could wait for the Lord of the Secret Realm to revive them slowly later on.

Although revival would cause them to lose much, it was still better than this.

"Damn Lord of the Mysterious Mist!"

A Void Being let out a bitter laugh, "These treasures are just a gift to you because I had bad luck!"

The next moment, he silently turned into nothingness and immediately committed suicide.

"Forget it, forget it..."

"Truly despicable! Lord of the Mysterious Mist, you will surely regret this!"

At this moment, the Void Beings on the Void Ship one by one chose to commit suicide.

Although each revival consumes the primordial essence of the Secret Realm world, a loss difficult for the world's essence to recover, requiring a huge price to be paid each time to restore the world's essence, it was still better than becoming a laborer for ten million years.

Only those who had undergone great extraordinary encounters, unwilling to part with their own secrets, could not bring themselves to commit suicide.

Before long, only two figures remained on the entire Void Ship.

"Oh?"

Lin Qing involuntarily turned his head slightly, glancing at that blue-skinned woman; he did not expect this person to have chosen not to commit suicide.

The blue-skinned woman looked at Lin Qing with some nervousness and said, "Mr. Galaxy, do you also plan to go mine?"

"Do you plan to mine for ten million years?" Lin Qing raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I... I cannot die," the blue-skinned woman gritted her teeth, unwillingly.

And the ancient voice in her mind said in a low tone, "This person feels more dangerous to me than the Lord of the Mist, perhaps even stronger in power. However, the Lord of the Mist is bolstered by the primordial power of the Mist, so he should be stronger. Let this person tie down the Lord of the Mist; we will seize the opportunity to strike, and only then will we have hope of snatching the primordial power of the Mist from his grasp."

Although Lin Qing was unclear about the other party's situation, he could confirm that the blue-skinned woman held no murderous intent toward him.

Meanwhile, the Lord of the Mist inside the Divine Artifact Palace narrowed his eyes, sizing up Lin Qing and the blue-skinned woman.

"The treasure that aroused the greed of the Mist is on these two!"

The Lord of the Mist's emotions surged.

What he had just said about handing over all treasures and mining for tens of millions of years was merely a test.

If these Void Beings chose to commit suicide and give up, it would mean the treasures on their bodies were all things they were willing to abandon, even treasures already fused with them.

But if they were willing to mine for tens of millions of years rather than commit suicide and resurrect, it would mean they possessed treasures they could not bear to abandon!

He did this to prevent the other party from exploiting loopholes.

After all, some treasures fused with the soul, or existed in rather peculiar ways, could not be handed over.

"Then... hand them over."

The Lord of the Mist's voice remained cold, but his heart was full of anticipation.

Lin Qing stood in place, motionless.

He merely glanced at the blue-skinned woman beside him, wanting to see what follow-up moves this woman had.

Although this woman appeared to have nothing special on the surface, when he observed her with the Secret Art of the Hidden Eye, he could faintly discern threads of alien energy within her body that did not belong to her.

Moreover, the energy level was extremely high, at least the power of a Void Sovereign!

With such special intelligence, he did not believe a word this woman said; it was obviously a disguised lie.

Therefore, he was not in a hurry to act, wanting to see what situation this strange woman was actually in.

For a moment, the blue-skinned woman also stood in place, motionless.

Because both were waiting for the other to expose their hand first.

With the speed of Void Beings, they could retrieve all the treasures stored in the Inner Void in an instant; there was no reason to delay.

On the empty deck of the Void Boat, the atmosphere was utterly silent.

The pirate experts under the Lord of the Mist also watched the two, their brows gradually furrowing.

"Do you two wish to die?"

Only then did the Lord of the Mist's cold voice ring out.

In the next moment, a massive aura condensed out of thin air once more, transforming into a giant hammer phantom suspended in the air, aimed directly at the Void Boat below; that terrifying momentum completely enveloped the two.

Lin Qing seemed not to see it, still standing calmly in place, merely looking at the blue-skinned woman.

A trace of helplessness appeared in the blue-skinned woman's eyes.

"Hmm?"

The Lord of the Mist's voice rang out, containing a hint of anger; the giant hammer phantom then smashed down from the sky!

He prepared to smash their physical bodies to pieces, then drag their souls out to interrogate them slowly.

"Boom!"

The giant hammer phantom instantly struck the Void Boat where the two stood; even a high-grade Void Boat could not withstand the bombardment of the Divine Artifact's power, and immediately shattered into fragments!

The seawater erupted with a roar, rolling back like a tsunami, instantly completely submerging the Void Boat that had sunk into the sea.

"Enough, enough..."

Suddenly, an ancient sigh rang out leisurely.

In an instant, the giant hammer phantom suddenly cracked and dispersed, exploding into countless streams of energy, causing the sea surface to sink dramatically in a large area, with waves surging violently.

"Hmm?" The Lord of the Mist's tone added a few notes of solemnity.

At this moment, a dark giant python phantom coiled around the blue-skinned woman's body; a terrifying aura completely enveloped her, and the semi-transparent giant python raised its head, gazing at another direction.

That was a golden sphere of light; a sphere merely several meters in diameter yet containing terrifying power like a star, slowly rotating, with the very Void collapsing and condensing to the extreme within it, as if able to resist all external intrusions.

And within the golden sphere of light was none other than the expressionless Lin Qing.

"As expected..."

The dark giant python phantom looked at Lin Qing and transmitted a voice: "You, a Void Being, possess power comparable to a Void Sovereign; from which Sacred Land do you come?"

Lin Qing glanced at him and transmitted a voice: "And what is your origin? So weak, with only a wisp of soul remaining?"

"Hehe..." The dark giant python emitted an ancient, low chuckle. "Sharp eyes, what a high-level Secret Art; it seems you discovered the irregularity long ago?"

"Is that so?" Lin Qing also transmitted a voice: "You had this woman approach me from the start; it seems you also discovered me long ago?"

Meanwhile, the Lord of the Mist inside the Divine Artifact Palace was stunned at this moment.

In such a small adventure team, there were actually two experts of such power hidden?

Even with a simple perception, he could see clearly—

Whether it was the dark giant python phantom or the golden sphere of light formed by Lin Qing, their power was actually not inferior to his!

Absolutely of the Void Sovereign level!

"These two, one of whom happens to possess the treasure the Mist craves? Just that coincidental?" The Lord of the Mist immediately realized something was wrong.

Most importantly—

Regardless of whether this situation was a trap to lure him, he already understood that at this moment he had no confidence in snatching the treasure he craved from the hands of such experts!

"In that case..."

The Lord of the Mist did not hesitate much and immediately made a decision.

The many pirate experts surrounding them were also somewhat bewildered.

Just moments ago they thought these two weaklings were fish in a jar, easy to handle; how had they suddenly exploded with such terrifying power?

Just as they were at a loss—

"Kill!"

Accompanied by a cold shout, Lei Ting pierced the sky; within the Divine Artifact Palace, three colossal hammer phantoms erupted with power pushed to its absolute limit, crashing down again upon the dark giant python and Lin Qing below!

Hearing this, the many pirate experts felt a surge in their hearts and were about to coordinate with their leader when—

"Whoosh!"

The Divine Artifact Palace where the Lord of Deceptive Mist resided suddenly shrank, then transformed into a streak of light. Surrounded by layers of gray mist, it began to flee toward the distance!

The pirates were momentarily stunned.

At the same time—

"Hehe..."

Only the sound of mocking low laughter was heard. The dark giant python coiling around the blue-skinned woman suddenly opened its blood-red maw, and this void was instantly shrouded by endless dark shadows.

In an instant, the Divine Artifact Palace seemed to sink into a swamp, its speed slowed by countless times.

Meanwhile, the semi-transparent tail phantom of the dark giant python whipped violently, stretching out a million times its length to wrap around the Divine Artifact Palace.

"Get lost!"

Thunder roared as endless lightning coiled around a dark-gold Divine Artifact hammer, crashing down onto the tail of the dark giant python.

The tail instantly snapped, but immediately grew back and recovered, wrapping around the palace once more.

"Get away!"

The Lord of Deceptive Mist had no desire to continue fighting. Hiding inside the Divine Artifact Palace, he frantically activated the Divine Artifact hammer, smashing it against the dark giant python's tail again and again.

The dark giant python could only be reborn again and again, holding the Divine Artifact Palace in place.

"Damn it..."

A flicker of anger flashed in the dark giant python's eyes. "If I wait until that fellow comes out of the palace to act, I have an eighty percent chance of killing him, but now..."

The Divine Artifact Palace existed solely for protection; it was more precious than many defensive Divine Artifacts.

Even though this Divine Artifact Palace was only six-colored, he had no way to forcibly break open the palace gates.

"Hey."

The dark giant python suddenly looked at Lin Qing, who was watching coldly from the side, and transmitted a voice: "Help me. As long as you kill the Lord of Deceptive Mist, I only want one thing; everything else is yours. How about it?"

(End of this chapter)