Chapter 264: Resolute

Three huge pyramids hovered silently in the air.

Twelve pillars, each a kilometer in diameter, with surging electric dragons on their surfaces, encircled the surroundings.

A waterfall‑like mist of condensed heavenly and earthly primordial energy poured down from the surfaces of the three pyramids; tens of thousands of meters below the bronze‑colored pyramid, a circular inland sea nearly thirty thousand li in diameter appeared out of nowhere.

I have no idea where it came from, but within this surging‑wave inland sea, fish and dragons swam magnificently; on the surface, schools of giant whales spouted water, countless shark packs prowled, and dolphin pods leapt and danced joyfully.

Even on several small islands in the sea's center, flood dragons of various colors lay lazily coiled in their nests.

On the bodies of these flood dragons, transparent crystals were rapidly melting.

They seemed to have been sealed within those crystals, sleeping for countless years; with the activation of Triple-link City's Ultimate Defense Grand Formation, they were awakened from their slumber, but had not yet fully recovered.

They lay curled in their nests, their bodies twitching from time to time.

Yet everyone could sense that within the flood dragons' bodies, threads of magical aura and essence‑blood energy were steadily increasing, rapidly recovering.

"This is a war‑preparation base." Lin Dong's voice turned piercingly sharp: "Here, in fact, lies an never‑activated war‑preparation base… you all deserve to die."

Lin Dong grabbed Cang You's neck.

Cang You jerked his head back in shock, eyes wide, glaring at Lin Dong and shouting: "Lord Lin Dong, what are you doing… I am the mount of Lady You Jie Ya…"

"Just a mount." Lin Dong snapped Cang You's neck: "For the great Ice Spirit God Clan, everyone must always be ready to sacrifice; besides, you're merely a clone—what does it matter if you die?"

Lin Dong's body continuously poured streams of cold qi into Cang You's body.

Cang You's body swelled like an inflating balloon, reaching thirty‑to‑forty thousand meters in length in an instant.

His body swelled excessively—not only lengthening rapidly, but the midsection became like a huge balloon, puffed out, its blue scales looking somewhat translucent; beneath the thick flesh, piercing blue light kept spewing out.

"Die." Lin Dong growled, heaved with both hands, and flung Cang You's swollen body toward the center of the inland sea with all his might.

Cang You's body burst forth with boundless cold light, then rapidly imploded and contracted, as if a gigantic black hole at his core were sucking out all his power.

Just before Cang You's body would have reached the inland sea's core, it had completely vanished, leaving only a deep‑blue ice ball a hundred meters in diameter.

Wave after wave of cold‑surge hurricanes spewed from that deep‑blue ice ball.

Lin Dong lightly hooked his right pinky, then growled in a low voice: "Blast!"

Above the three stacked pyramids, at the tip of the golden‑capped topmost pyramid, a ten‑thousand‑meter‑tall illusory figure of the Demon Chapter King suddenly appeared. The Demon Chapter King widened his eyes and glared ferociously at Lin Dong.

"Blast? Blast what? Suppress it!"

The twelve kilometer‑diameter pillars spun rapidly, their immeasurable heavenly and earthly primordial energy collapsing and refining within them, releasing terrifying light and heat; the pillars solidified completely, each bearing illusory images of bodhi trees, giant dragons, and phoenixes.

A deep "hum" rang out.

From the square base of the lowest bronze‑colored pyramid, block‑like seal‑shaped runes protruded. Countless runes flashed with dazzling bronze divine light, and a heavy sheet of bronze‑colored flame pressed downward like a continent.

The rapidly swelling deep‑blue ice ball suddenly solidified.

The bronze‑colored flame slowly descended, carrying the blazing light of the heavens.

The ice ball and this square sheet of bronze‑colored flame, hundreds of li on a side and ten thousand meters thick, lightly collided.

Just as a massive grindstone presses on an egg, the deep‑blue ice ball popped with a soft "puff," scattering feeble ice crystals outward, and a feather‑light snowstorm blanketed a thousand‑li radius of the inland sea.

Besides that, there was no other destruction.

Lin Dong's body trembled slightly; he sacrificed a clone of Cang You and poured half of his own energy into it, intending, via the Ice Spirit God Clan's secret art, to unleash a heavenly calamity that would wreck the inland sea's ecosystem.

At the very least, he needed to wipe out ninety‑nine percent of the living beings in that inland sea to feel satisfied.

But the defenses of the Imperishable City were too strong; Lin Dong's considerable strike was silently neutralized.

The Demon Chapter King's huge illusory figure hovered above the golden‑capped pyramid's peak, hands on hips, wildly taunting Lin Dong: "Big iron shell, how's that? Feeling down? Feeling unhappy? If you're unhappy, good… come, hit me!"

The Demon Chapter King lightly slapped his own cheek: "Come, hit me, heh heh—if you've got the guts, break through Triple-link City."

Lin Dong lifted his head, staring fixedly at the Demon Chapter King who was shouting arrogantly at him.

"Mortal, if you were outside the realm of M, I could erase you with a single thought."

Lin Dong's tone was thick with killing intent that almost solidified.

"Come on, come on, come on—your Demon Chapter King grandpa is right here; erase me with a thought… don't boast, be a man, roll up your sleeves and fight!"

The Demon Chapter King laughed smugly.

Lin Dong's body trembled slightly; cold light surged within his visor, and great sheets of cold qi jetted out through the gaps in his armor for several kilometers, turning the surrounding void into a world of ice crystals.

The next instant, Lin Dong's inner cold qi condensed: "Huh? Mortal, are you stalling? What do you want to do? Well, this kind of massive war formation, dormant for so many years, once activated you'd need time to prepare a high‑power attack seal."

Lin Dong's body suddenly shook violently, and a massive burst of cold light erupted from within him.

"Mortal, deceitful mortal, Lord Lin Dong does not stoop to your level… this time, consider yourselves lucky… Lord Lin Dong cannot exert overly strong power inside M… next time, I will return…"

Lin Dong let out a great roar, his body turning into a shaft of cold light that shot straight up.

Just as Lin Dong shot upward toward the vaulted ceiling, the silver‑capped pyramid's surface flashed; a silver spear wholly engulfed in crimson flame shot out silently, becoming a streak of light that instantly pierced the cold light he had become.

A deafening impact rang out.

Under the protection of the golden halo, the citizens of Triple-link City spat blood en masse, shaken into deep unconsciousness.

The silver spear shattered into fragments, and vast expanses of phoenix true fire turned into a towering crimson‑red fire cloud that rolled outward in all directions.

One of Lin Dong's legs was struck by the silver spear; the spear blasted the leg clean off his body, and a section of fully enclosed leg armor spun rapidly, spewing out great amounts of cold light and cold qi as it fell straight down from the sky.

A leg armor several meters tall, spinning as it fell, hit the ground with a "thud" and turned into a kilometer‑high iceberg.

At the iceberg's core, the blue leg armor flickered with cold light, and faintly one could hear Lin Dong's roar continually emanating from it.

"I will return! Mortals, just you wait!"

The cold light that Lin Dong had become vanished into the vault, disappearing without a trace.

Countless golden electric lights gradually faded, and the figures wrapped in golden halos in midair slowly descended.

Around the inland sea lay vast plains, rolling hills, grasslands, forests, marshes, mountain ranges, and even a small patch of desert encircled by mountains—every type of terrain was present.

Whether slaves, servants, or ordinary villagers, everyone who landed on the ground stared blankly upward at the sky.

A group of figures wrapped in golden halos did not land on the ground.

Among them were the ancestors of the twelve governing families, the elders of each family, and the decadent, wealthy, and wayward sons and daughters of every household.

They were tightly wrapped in golden halos, suspended in midair, many people anxiously hissing and screaming, while others loudly cursed, relying on their status within the clan, relying on the favor they had received from the old ancestor, they cursed arrogantly and wildly.

"Let us down!"

"Let us down!"

"Do you know who we are? Do you know our status?"

"Who activated this ultimate defense great formation? Triple-linked City is actually so huge."

"Hey, you've made merit, we will reward you, let us down."

"Let us see what Triple-linked City actually looks like."

"Never-falling City, Eternal Triple-linked City, the name isn't bad!"

"Damn, hear me? Let us down, bring us to properly inspect Triple-linked City, you don't want your head?"

Numerous decadent rich youths cursed hysterically.

The elders of each family and clan, their faces grim, gazed at the figure of the Devil Chapter King atop the golden pyramid at the highest point.

"Gemolo!" Finally, a large half of the body frozen by the Cold Qi released by Winter, only a small half of the chest and head still exposed, the Tianlong Old Ancestor shouted sternly: "You, what do you want to do?"

"The events of those years……cannot be blamed on us." The voice of the Tianlong Old Ancestor traveled thousands of li, many decadent rich youths in all directions heard his words.

Those who had been shouting loudly immediately shut their mouths.

The one who activated the ultimate defense great formation was actually that legendary figure, the sole surviving prince of the Great Peacock Dynasty from the rebellion years?

This is troublesome.

We have a deep blood feud……

Indeed, legend says only the blood essence of the Great Peacock Clan can activate the final ultimate defense great formation.

Some decadent rich youths glanced around, they began to consider the problem of escape.

Even Winter was forced to flee, they obviously cannot breach today's Triple-linked City, how to escape, how to preserve life, they must carefully ponder……The crucial point is, they are not skilled in these escape and survival abilities.

"Gemolo, listen to me……Back then, the Great Peacock Clan went too far, treating our Twelve Original Appearance Families as mere fish and meat." The Tianlong Old Ancestor said solemnly: "They arbitrarily plundered our wealth, humiliated our clansmen, occupied our interests……"

"They went too far, we had no choice but to rise up in resistance." The Tianlong Old Ancestor sighed deeply: "However, those events, in the end, are all past."

"So, look forward, think positively……No one competes with you for the throne anymore, you are the new king of the Great Peacock Dynasty." The Tianlong Old Ancestor's eyes flickered, he said in a low voice: "We are willing to obey you, follow you, guard you, we Twelve Original Appearance Families are willing to become your claws and fangs."

As he glanced around, the Tianlong Old Ancestor's face involuntarily flushed with a reddish hue.

Such a vast cavern.

A cavern space spanning tens of thousands of li, heaven, how many civilians, how many clansmen could it sustain?

Tens of millions? Certainly not just that.

Hundreds of millions? Certainly not just that.

Billions? Or perhaps several billion?

Several billion civilians residing in a massive cavern……Just imagining such a scene, the Tianlong Old Ancestor, as well as the few other family old ancestors who could barely move, all felt their bodies burning hot.

This……is no longer mere petty squabbles as before.

How much wealth could several billion civilians create? How many noble rich youths could they support? How many beautiful women and handsome men could they enjoy at will? How many outstanding talents for cultivation could emerge, to strengthen the bloodline power of their great families?

That is several billion lambs whose bodies glow with golden light, waiting for them to enjoy!

"No, not needed." The Devil Chapter King finally spoke: "Along this journey, I have learned much from Old Senior Iron. Twelve Original Appearance Families? Having you might be a good thing……but perhaps not having you would be even better."

Dozens of golden halos suddenly collapsed inward.

Dozens of family old ancestors, without even a grunt, were directly crushed into a mass of blood plasma.

"Your hands are stained with the blood of my clansmen……Although they are not good things, you are not good playthings either……so, please accompany them to die together."

"They must have been waiting for you for many years. Especially my father, my grandfather, they must die gloriously, they must have sufficient burial companions."

Again, dozens of thousands of golden halos collapsed inward violently.

The elders and stewards of each family, those esteemed, somewhat aged powerful cultivators, all burst into blood plasma.

"You, you have rotted to the bone……You could never imagine that Triple-linked City will record all your deeds."

"Filthy, impure, bloody, decadent……How could you commit such acts? So, please die as well, for the future of Triple-linked City, it would be better without you."

Again, hundreds of thousands of golden halos flickered.

Shrill wails echoed from all directions, the young people of the Twelve Original Appearance Families, those who had been afflicted with illnesses since youth and had acquired countless bad habits, their cultivation was completely pulverized.

Also their guards, their lackeys, those soldiers and troops who daily followed them in doing all kinds of evil, were also deprived of their cultivation.

At most their bodies are slightly stronger than ordinary people's, but they have no trace of magical power left.

"You, besides Gemolo and only a few others……you all deserve to die."

"But you are too young, dying too early, that is a waste."

"Please, use your sweat and labor to wash away the stains of your past misdeeds."

"From today on, you are the slaves of Triple-linked City."

"Gemolo, Miss Mu, are you willing to lead that small group beside you to become the first batch of officials of the new Triple-linked City-state?"