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The massive Crown hovered directly above Lin Yuan, its nine blood-red jewels pulsing. The sheer spiritual aura of the artifact violently warped the sky, creating a suffocating vacuum that locked onto him.

Lin Yuan’s pupils shrank. He did not hesitate. Shifting his weight, Lin Yuan channeled his Qi, preparing to teleport out of the artifact’s kill zone.

But the supreme artifact was terrifyingly sentient.

As if directly reading his thoughts, the very moment Lin Yuan’s spiritual energy fluctuated to tear open the void, the crown reacted. In a single breath, so fast that it bypassed the very laws, the crown released a blinding beam of spiritual energy, attacking Lin Yuan vertically from above.

There was no time to dodge. The void had not yet opened.

The spiritual energy hit Lin Yuan directly.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact was cataclysmic. If one were to describe the sheer power of the attack, it was like standing directly beneath a collapsing waterfall made entirely of molten stars. It carried the force and fury of a falling continent. The air for miles around the Wang Clan estate instantly ignited.

High above, Envoy Zhao Wuhen threw his head back and began to laugh.

"Hahahaha!" The Envoy’s laughter echoed through the sky. "Did you truly believe your parlor tricks could save you from the absolute authority of the Cultivation Council?! Your arrogance brought you this fate, junior! You thought stepping into the Nascent Soul realm made you a god, but today, you shall suffer the wrath of true masters!"

Within the blinding pillar of Sprititual energy, Lin Yuan was violently forced downward.

He did not crash into the earth, but the sheer, overwhelming force of the attack pinned him in the sky, forcing him directly onto his knees. He hovered there in mid-air, bathed in the destructive column of energy.

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping his throat. He tried to raise his arms, tried to channel the his spiritual Qi, but he found that he couldn’t move a single inch. The attack was not only massive in its force, but it possessed a terrifying ability to actively disrupted his ability to use his powers. The beam acted like a million needles piercing into his meridians, paralyzing his internal qi flow.

He was completely trapped, pinned like an insect beneath a falling mountain.

"Turn to ash!" Zhao Wuhen sneered, pouring more of his Middle Stage Nascent Soul qi into the crown to accelerate the execution. "Let your flesh melt away and bare your soul to the flames!"

But as the attack continued to completely engulf Lin Yuan, a profound anomaly began to manifest.

The seconds ticked by. Three breaths. Five breaths. Ten breaths.

The black-and-white Daoist robes adorning Lin Yuan’s frame were violently shredded, burning away to reveal his broad shoulders and back. Yet, the flesh beneath the fabric did not melt. Instead, his skin emitted a faint, indestructible golden luster.

Envoy Zhao Wuhen’s sadistic smile slowly froze on his face. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"What?" Zhao Wuhen gasped, his voice cracking as he hovered at a safe distance. He stared at the kneeling figure, his mind completely failing to process it. "What is going on?! Your body is meant to be destroyed by now! That beam possesses the weight to vaporize a mountain peak! How is your body still intact?!"

Within the agonizing heat of the attack, Lin Yuan’s deep purple eyes burned with an unyielding light.

At that exact moment, Lin Yuan was profoundly, and overwhelmingly grateful for forging his body. The agonizing days spent undertaking the Beast Route, the continuous, excruciating marrow refinement, and the countless instances of breaking and rebuilding his own flesh had culminated in this absolute defense. He possessed the Ancient Beast Body (Rank 1). His bones were forged of indestructible beast-iron, and his vitality was like a boundless, roaring ocean.

If he had been an ordinary orthodox cultivator who neglected their physical cultivation, his body would have instantly collapsed under the crown’s strike, exposing his Nascent Soul to the Envoy.

But Lin Yuan had never neglected his bodily cultivation, and once again, that painstaking choice was proving its worth.

Crack. CRACK.

The sound of Lin Yuan’s joints popping under the immense pressure echoed like cannon fire. Drawing upon the physical might of his Ancient Beast Body, completely bypassing his disrupted meridians, Lin Yuan planted his bare feet against the air beneath him.

To the shock of the Envoy, the kneeling figure within the beam slowly began to rise.

"Impossible!" Zhao Wuhen shrieked, taking an involuntary step back.

The muscles in Lin Yuan’s back and arms bunched and coiled like awakening dragons. He pushed against the descending pillar of spiritual energy, his sheer force actively defying the attack of the artifact.

With a final roar that shook the very foundations of the Wang Clan estate, Lin Yuan stood entirely upright.

BOOM!

He immediately rushed forward, his physical speed completely breaking the sound barrier, violently tearing himself out of the area under the crown. The beam of spiritual energy, having lost its target, slammed into the empty space behind him.

The very moment Lin Yuan escaped the radius of the crown, his completely freed meridians roared back to life.

"You want to see my soul?!" Lin Yuan’s voice boomed across the heavens, dripping with wrath. "Then behold it!"

A blinding flash of light erupted from Lin Yuan’s back. He quickly manifested his Nascent Soul Projection. The colossal figure materialized in the sky, dwarfing the floating crown. And clutched tightly within the hands of the projection was the hundred-foot Thunder Sword he had claimed from the Xu Clan.

Down below, Wang Tianze was currently shielding his eyes from the blinding spiritual fallout. But as he looked up and saw Lin Yuan’s Nascent Soul Projection wielding that specific blade, the Patriarch of the Wang Clan froze.

His eyes widened in recognition.

That sword! Wang Tianze’s mind raced, his memories flashing back nearly twelve decades ago. I recognize that blade! It is the First Art of the Five Thunder Arts! It is the exact same technique I witnessed when I went against Xu Canghai decades ago!

Wang Tianze’s mind immediately spun a deeply flawed, but entirely logical, conclusion. The Five Thunder Arts were an important technique of the Xu Clan. No outsider could possibly wield them.

"So this rogue cultivator is actually with the Xu clan!" Wang Tianze shouted, his face twisting into a mask of rage. He slammed his fist. "The Xu clan sent a Nascent Soul expert to ambush us while we hosted the Envoy! They are really pushing their luck! The Wang clan will absolutely not accept any humiliation from them!"

High above, Envoy Zhao Wuhen realized that his artifact had utterly failed to crush Lin Yuan.

If artifacts could not kill him, then he would have to crush the boy himself.

"Do not think a your abilities can save you, junior!" Zhao Wuhen roared, his robes billowing wildly.

The Envoy clasped his hands together, as an ocean of blinding silver light erupted from his body. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Wuhen released his own Nascent Soul projection.

A colossal silver giant materialized in the heavens, matching the sheer scale of Lin Yuan’s Nascent Soul avatar.

With that, both the Nascent Soul projections slowly turned their heads, locking their glowing gazes directly at each other.