Chapter 123: Green Lotus Enters the Tribulation, the Imperial Seal Settles the Dynasty

The cyan-gold stream of light transformed from Feng Xi, carrying an indomitable resolve, slammed fiercely into the black chains entwined around the Green Lotus petals!

"Screech—!"

The Green Phoenix True Flame and the Void Abyss Demonic Evil collided violently and annihilated each other, erupting with a piercing, tearing sound. The moment Feng Xi’s feathers touched the chains, they rapidly dimmed and withered; that demonic power, like the return to nothingness, was crazily eroding its life force. Yet, disregarding everything, it tore with its sharp claws, pecked with its pointed beak, and rammed with its body, forcibly ripping a tiny gap in the airtight cage of chains!

"Cry—!" A cry filled with pain yet immense relief rang out.

That gap was fleeting.

However, for those spiritual Chaos Green Lotus petals, it was already enough!

The instant the gap appeared, the cyan-green brilliance of the lotus petals flared suddenly; like a fish entering water, they slid out from the gap in an instant, breaking free from the demonic claws' confinement, and their downward speed accelerated sharply!

"You wretched beast, you seek death!" The Void Abyss Demonic Shadow roared in fury, its sharp claws clenching suddenly as countless demonic chains tightened like venomous snakes, intending to completely strangle and devour Feng Xi!

Feng Xi’s aura weakened at an astonishing speed, its cyan-gold divine light rapidly eroded by the darkness, but as it looked toward the accelerating Green Lotus petals, a trace of relief and gratification appeared in its eyes.

Just at this moment—

In the center of the ruins of the Imperial Medical Bureau below, the continuously rippling gray "Return to Nothingness" ripples suddenly stalled!

Following that, like a giant whale inhaling water, all the spreading gray ripples violently surged back toward the center!

Amidst the dust of the ruins, a hand with distinct knuckles, yet pale to the point of having no color of blood, slowly reached out, five fingers spread, palm facing upward.

That hand was wreathed in a faint, grayish airflow that seemed capable of swallowing light.

It was Lin Xuan!

He finally opened his eyes.

Those eyes, originally clear and deep, were now veiled by a strange gray film; deep within his pupils, scenes of stars perishing and all things returning to nothingness seemed to flash by and vanish. His complexion remained pale as paper, but the aura of dying decay between his brows had already vanished, replaced by a profound, cold stillness, like the eternal, unchanging Chaos Void.

The timing of his awakening was as precise as if it had been calculated.

Just as his palm reached out, the Chaos Green Lotus petals that had broken free drifted down, landing neither too far nor too near, right into his palm.

As the petals touched his hand, there was no earth-shattering phenomenon.

The majestic life force and Chaos Dao rhyme capable of purifying demonic evil, the moment they touched the gray aura in Lin Xuan’s palm, were like water droplets merging into the sea; they did not stir a shred of resistance, but instead strangely blended together!

The cyan-green brilliance of life and the grayish "Return to Nothingness" tribulation power—these two forces that should have been diametrically opposed—leaped and entwined in Lin Xuan’s palm, forming a subtle balance. The Great Dao patterns on the petals seemed to come alive, spreading along the meridians of Lin Xuan’s arm toward the "Chaos Tribulation Crystal" that had just formed within his body.

Sensing the Chaos life force born of the same origin, the Tribulation Crystal began to tremble violently! On the surface of the gray crystal, which had originally been full of the meaning of endings and death, threads of cyan patterns full of the rhythm of life quietly emerged!

Destruction and life, ending and beginning, began an unprecedented fusion and transformation within this strange Dao crystal!

Lin Xuan’s body underwent drastic changes as a result. The hideous wounds on his skin left by the backlash and the battle, under the dual effect of the Green Lotus life force and the Chaos Tribulation power, squirmed and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, the scars flickering with a faint cyan-gray luster. The meridians that were on the verge of shattering were forcibly reconnected and widened, becoming more resilient, with Chaos airflow and cyan-green light spots flowing within them. Most crucially, his silent and weakened soul, like a dried-up riverbed receiving sweet rain, was nourished by the gentle and vast life force, rapidly reviving and growing stronger, becoming even more solid and profound than before the injury, carrying a trace of indifference that had seen through life and death.

All these changes seemed complex, but in reality, they occurred in the blink of an eye.

And at this moment, the battle in the sky had also reached its most tragic juncture.

The Demonic Shadow’s claws tightened, and Feng Xi let out a mournful cry; the cyan-gold divine light around its body dimmed completely, and it fell downward like a kite with a broken string, its life or death unknown.

"Feng Xi!" The gray film in Lin Xuan’s eyes fluctuated violently; the cold stillness was shattered in an instant, and a heart-piercing pain and monstrous rage surged from the bottom of his heart!

His newly recovered body stood up abruptly from the ruins, his right hand still holding the Green Lotus petals that were merging with him, while his left hand formed a sword gesture and slashed through the air toward the Demonic Shadow’s claws that were about to toy with Feng Xi’s broken body!

There was no surging sword Qi, no brilliant light.

Only a gray thread, so fine it was almost invisible, shot out quietly from his fingertips.

This gray thread was not fast, yet it seemed to ignore the barriers of space, instantly entwining around the Demonic Shadow’s pitch-black claws.

And then—

"Sss..."

Like a red-hot wire cutting through butter.

The Demonic Shadow’s claws, condensed from pure demonic evil and capable of resisting the self-detonation of a Soul Transformation cultivator’s natal magic treasure, began to "disappear" without warning at the spot where the gray thread entwined them! It was not shattering, not evaporating, but the most thorough "Return to Nothingness"—from physical form to energy, from existence to concept, it was arrogantly erased by that wisp of gray thread and turned into the most primitive Chaos background!

"Ah! Tribulation power erosion!" The Demonic Shadow let out a roar mixed with pain and shock, abruptly retracting its mangled claws. Its gaze toward Lin Xuan was filled with suspicion and even deeper greed, "You actually... really fused life force into the tribulation power? What kind of path is this?!"

It felt that although the total amount of Lin Xuan’s power at this moment was far inferior to its own, the "danger" of its essence had suddenly risen by a level! It was no longer pure Chaos, but the "Tribulation" bred within Chaos; it was the end that carried a glimmer of life, the most troublesome poison!

Taking this opportunity, Eunuch Wei desperately urged the remaining Profound Yellow Qi to push the aftermath of the self-detonated magic treasure toward the Demonic Shadow’s main body, temporarily forcing it back several steps. He was finally able to catch his breath and catch the exhausted, falling Huangfu Hao.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?" Eunuch Wei asked urgently.

"I am fine... Quick, Brother Lin..." Huangfu Hao’s breath was weak, but he stared fixedly at Lin Xuan, who had stood up below.

Lin Xuan caught the falling Feng Xi. The once magnificent Green Phoenix now had dim and withered feathers, multiple wounds deep enough to see the bone, and its aura was so weak it was almost severed, with only a faint cyan-gold spark of origin fire at its heart still stubbornly flickering. Seeing its awakened master, it revealed reliance and peace in its eyes, gently nudged Lin Xuan’s hand, and then fell completely unconscious.

Lin Xuan channeled a gentle stream of Chaos airflow fused with the Green Lotus life force into Feng Xi’s body to stabilize its final life force, then carefully sent it into his own spirit pet space, which had just recovered slightly, to recuperate.

After doing all this, he slowly raised his head and looked at the Demonic Shadow in the sky, as well as Zhao Song and the other rebels behind the shadow, whose expressions were shifting and whose eyes flickered with fear and viciousness.

His gaze was calm, yet it made everyone who met it feel a chill originating from the depths of their souls.

"Harming my spirit pet, throwing my Imperial Capital into chaos, invading my homeland..." Lin Xuan’s voice was not loud, but it rang clearly in everyone’s ears, carrying a cold texture like metal rubbing against metal, "Today, I shall use your blood to pay tribute to the departed souls, and also to... sharpen my 'Chaos Tribulation Power'!"

As his voice fell, his right hand, which was holding the Green Lotus petals, clenched suddenly!

"Hum—!"

In his palm, the half-fused petals suddenly had their brilliance retracted; all life force and Dao rhyme were absorbed into his body, completely merging with the Chaos Tribulation Crystal that was transforming at his heart!

The Tribulation Crystal shone brightly, cyan and gray colors flowing ceaselessly, and an aura far more terrifying and complete than the previous "Return to Nothingness" ripples soared into the sky from Lin Xuan!

He took a step forward, and the dust of the ruins beneath his feet annihilated silently. His figure was like lightning, and he actually took the initiative to charge toward the terrifying Void Abyss Demonic Shadow!

"Well come! Let this seat taste the flavor of your newborn tribulation power!" The Demonic Shadow grinned hideously, its mangled claws instantly repaired, and its palms closed together; endless demonic energy turned into a dark torrent that swallowed all light, heading toward Lin Xuan!

However, Lin Xuan’s target did not seem to be the Demonic Shadow itself.

Just as he was about to collide with the dark torrent, his figure folded in a strange way, appearing in another direction with a speed bordering on teleportation—that was exactly where the core figures of the rebels, such as Zhao Song, were gathered!

"Not good!" Zhao Song’s expression changed in horror, and the Soul Transformation external helper hidden beside him also hurriedly took action to block.

But Lin Xuan merely extended a finger and tapped lightly toward the void where they were.

"Tribulation, disperse."

His words carried the power of law!

The air, spiritual energy, and even the protective magic treasure light shields and the circulating cultivation techniques of Zhao Song and the others, in an instant, seemed to have experienced ten thousand years of time, rapidly decaying, withering, and dissipating! The Soul Transformation external helper discovered in terror that the divine ability he had unleashed had its power sharply reduced and its structure disintegrated halfway!

This was not just "Return to Nothingness," but also... a "Tribulation" imposed on a specific target and area! It was the power of fate accelerating their march toward the end!

"No—!" Zhao Song watched helplessly as his peak Nascent Soul cultivation melted away like ice and snow, his life force rapidly draining, and he let out a desperate roar. The Patriarchs of the Wang and Li families beside him were even worse off; in the blink of an eye, they were reduced to skin and bone, then to withered skeletons, and then even the skeletons turned to fly ash!

The Soul Transformation external helper had deep cultivation and barely resisted, but he also spat out blood, his aura plummeted, and a look of extreme horror appeared in his eyes as he turned to tear through space and flee.

"Can you escape?" Lin Xuan’s cold voice was like a maggot on a tarsal bone.

The wisp of gray aura at his fingertip divided, following like a shadow, and entwined around the Soul Transformation external helper.

The external helper screamed, half of his body instantly turning into nothingness; his broken body, carrying terrifying wounds, sacrificed his origin to turn into a streak of blood, fleeing in a panic toward the horizon, not daring to look back.

In the snap of a finger, the core of the rebels was reduced to ashes!

This thunderous, strange, and unpredictable method shocked the entire scene! Whether it was the remaining rebel army or the loyalists who were struggling to hold on, all were chilled to the bone!

The Void Abyss Demonic Shadow was both shocked and angry: "Junior! How dare you!"

Only then did Lin Xuan slowly turn around to face the Demonic Shadow directly, his gray-filmed eyes devoid of ripples: "Now, it is your turn."

He formed an ancient seal with his hands in front of his chest, and the void behind him shook as the nine-zhang Chaos Star Dharma Idol appeared once again! But this time, the Dharma Idol was no longer just stars circulating; its entire body was also covered in a cyan-gray luster, the stars in the sky flickering uncertainly, as if they might perish at any moment, and yet as if they might be reborn in the next, exuding a grand majesty of alternating eras and unpredictable tribulation fate!

"Chaos Tribulation Domain, open!"

With the Dharma Idol as the center, a cyan-gray domain covering a radius of several thousand zhang suddenly unfolded! Within the domain, demonic energy was suppressed and decomposed, space became sluggish, and the "existence" of all things became unstable, as if they might step into the end at any moment!

This was exactly what Lin Xuan had initially comprehended after awakening and fusing the Green Lotus life force with the Chaos Tribulation power—a domain that belonged solely to him!

"Demon, do you dare enter my Tribulation Domain for a battle?" Lin Xuan stood in the center of the domain, his sleeves fluttering, his gray hair (which had gradually changed color after awakening) slightly raised, like a god in charge of life, death, and tribulation fate.

The Void Abyss Demonic Shadow felt the domain’s strong suppression and attraction toward its origin, and the greed and violence in its eyes grew even stronger: "A mere embryonic domain, and you dare to show off! This seat shall swallow your Tribulation Domain and achieve my supreme Demonic Dao!"

The Demonic Shadow roared, carrying the monstrous demonic evil, and charged fiercely into the cyan-gray Chaos Tribulation Domain!

The power of two domains, both surpassing the ordinary Soul Transformation level, collided with a boom! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only silent annihilation and devouring; that space completely turned into a terrifying forbidden zone of chaotic laws and twisted light and shadow, and outsiders could no longer peek into the details within!

Only then did Eunuch Wei and the others recover from the series of shocking changes.

Looking at that terrifying domain that isolated the inside from the outside, and the rebel army outside the domain that was rapidly collapsing, surrendering, or fleeing, Eunuch Wei let out a long sigh of relief, tears welling up in his old eyes, and as he supported Huangfu Hao, he said excitedly: "Your Highness! Young Friend Lin... he did it! He has awakened, and he possesses even more powerful strength!"

Huangfu Hao was also surging with emotion, looking at the cyan-gray domain, and nodded forcefully: "Brother Lin is a talent of heaven; he will surely slay the demon!" He braced himself to stand straight, his gaze sweeping over the broken Imperial Capital and the terrified subjects, a heavy sense of responsibility pressing upon his heart.

He knew that although the rebellion was temporarily quelled and the demon was being dealt with by Lin Xuan, the Imperial Dynasty had been riddled with holes after this tribulation and was waiting to be rebuilt. As the new Emperor who had been entrusted with the task in a moment of crisis and chosen by the Dragon Qi, he still had too much to do.

He took a deep breath, and despite being covered in wounds and having exhausted his cultivation, he straightened his spine and used all his strength, his voice spreading throughout the Imperial Capital:

"The rebel leaders have been executed; the rest who lay down their arms shall be spared!"

"From this moment on, close the four gates, purge the remaining enemies, treat the wounded, and pacify the people!"

"When Daoist Friend Lin succeeds in slaying the demon, I... shall discuss the grand plan of reconstruction with you all!"

His voice was steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable majesty, and with the blessing of the remaining Imperial Dragon Qi, it reached the ears of every survivor, acting like a needle to calm the sea, quickly stabilizing the panicked hearts of the people.

The remaining civil and military officials, soldiers, and commoners looked at the new Emperor in the sky, who was young and stained with blood yet possessed an imposing manner, and then looked at the cyan-gray domain that was engaged in a fierce battle with the world-destroying demon, and a sense of relief at having survived the disaster and a faint hope gradually grew in their hearts.

The sky of the Imperial Capital seemed to be truly brightening.

And within that Chaos Tribulation Domain, the battle that would decide the final fate of the Imperial Dynasty had only just entered its most dangerous, white-hot stage.