Chapter 221: Immense Power

These palaces were built tier by tier upon terraced land, with streams flowing continuously from above, lined with towering trees that blotted out the sun, and farther off lay a semi-transparent barrier.

Pan and Zheng Xu stood before the first palace, gazing at the golden-glowing hall, lost in thought.

Lu Fang suppressed the urge to fly straight into the first palace and landed lightly beside Pan, whispering: “Is this the sealing site? How do we break this golden seal?”

Pan replied solemnly: “Just now, a fourth-rank demon charged into the golden light—and was instantly reduced to ash.”

He paused, then continued: “To break this golden seal, we must wait for the ancient sealed races to act. If they don’t intervene, we can’t break it no matter what we do.”

“Wait for the ancient sealed races to act?” Lu Fang frowned, squinting through the golden glow to see if any ancient beings lurked inside—but his eyes ached from straining, and he saw nothing.

Mo Xin warned: “That fellow Song Ce has vanished.”

Lu Fang froze. His full attention had been on the hundred palaces of the sealing site; he hadn’t noticed Song Ce. Now, with Mo Xin’s reminder, he scanned the area—nearly a hundred demons and barbarians gathered, yet Song Ce was nowhere to be seen.

Could Song Ce have crashed headfirst into the golden light?

He immediately dismissed the thought. No one sane would be that reckless—he didn’t believe Song Ce was that foolish.

If Song Ce wasn’t dead, then where had he gone?

Lu Fang furrowed his brow and asked Mo Xin inwardly: “Can you sense where Song Ce is? This is critical.”

Mo Xin fell silent, offering no reply for a long while.

Just as Lu Fang was about to press further, Zheng Xu pulled out a massive skull palm—its bones a luminous white jade, radiating an aura of potent barbaric fury.

Mo Xin exclaimed urgently: “This barbarian must have used this artifact to locate this place…”

Before he could finish.

Lu Fang watched as Zheng Xu formed a hand seal and hurled the white jade skull palm above the first palace. With a hum, it hovered above the golden light, faintly emitting dark mist that drew in the golden glow.

“Weren’t we told we could only wait for the ancient sealed beasts to act? Then what’s this?”

Lu Fang exclaimed in surprise.

Pan’s expression remained blank.

“We must do what we can—like using artifacts to draw off some of the sealing force, so the ancient sealed races notice our actions. Otherwise, how would they know when to intervene?”

Zheng Xu manipulated the white jade skull palm to absorb the golden light. After waiting a long while, the first palace showed no reaction. He turned to Pan: “What are you waiting for?”

Lu Fang instantly realized: Pan also possessed an artifact forged from a Demon Sovereign’s blood—likely with the same ability to absorb golden light.

He had no time to ponder further. He shouted inwardly to Mo Xin: “Create a barrier!”

Almost as soon as the words left his mind, a ripple-like barrier erupted, flinging every demon and barbarian except Lu Fang and Pan away. In an instant, only one man and one demon remained.

“What’s happening? Did the ancient sealed race act? Or…”

Before Pan could think further, Lu Fang unleashed the Extraordinary Power: Dirge of Fallen Petals. A circle of falling peach blossoms descended from above, locking onto Pan.

“You?” Pan snapped his head toward Lu Fang, hesitating: “Xie… when did you gain this Extraordinary Power? I thought only those in the Great Zhou who read the Red Chamber could awaken such an ability.”

Lu Fang smiled without replying. He hadn’t chosen to ambush because his most devastating attacks required time to gather.

That time would have given Pan ample warning.

Better to fight steadily, face-to-face. Though their realms and strength differed, with Mo Xin’s aid and the Extraordinary Power: Barbarian Sky Crossing, he believed he could prevail.

Pan stared coldly at Lu Fang: “You’re not Xie. He wouldn’t dare this. Who are you? You’ve disguised yourself so well—I was fooled.”

As he spoke, his demonic aura surged skyward, poised to tear Lu Fang apart at the slightest wrong word.

Lu Fang had no interest in dialogue. He shouted: “What are you waiting for? Where’s the free power?”

The moment the words left his lips—

Boom. Boom. Boom…

The thunderous pounding of a heart grew louder, and a powerful force surged from Lu Fang’s dantian, flooding his entire body.

In that instant, he felt terrifying strength—so strong he fancied he could crush a Great Confucian with a single punch.

Whoosh!

Seeing the danger, Pan shifted instantly, lunging toward Lu Fang to deliver a killing strike. His sharp claws slashed upward—leaving a claw mark above Lu Fang’s head.

The attack was lightning-fast.

In the blink of an eye.

Had Lu Fang still been in his former state, he would have been unable to react—his skull would have been shredded. But with Mo Xin’s free power, everything changed.

Even to a fourth-rank demon like Pan, this was a full-force strike. To Lu Fang now, every motion slowed—like a slow-motion replay.

He had more than enough time to react—or evade.

“Huh?” Pan frowned. In his vision, Lu Fang vanished. Before he could react, a tremendous force slammed into his skull, hurling him backward.

Lu Fang glanced at the flying Pan, then stared in disbelief at his own hands. This was the power Mo Xin gave him?

This was insane.

He hadn’t even used the Extraordinary Power: Barbarian Sky Crossing—and already possessed the strength to surpass his rank. He’d never used Mo Xin’s power before; now that he had, the impact was overwhelming.

Mo Xin smiled sweetly: “How’s that? Don’t you crave this kind of power?”

Lu Fang clenched his fists, nodding inwardly: “If I say I don’t crave it, I’m lying. But unless it’s free, I won’t use your power. Such strength—I’ll earn it myself someday.”

With that, he ignored Mo Xin entirely, determined to end Pan as quickly as possible—the faster, the better.

Fewer artifacts absorbing the golden light meant the demons and barbarians might never break the seal.