Chapter 123 Cao Lin's Shock

His body, like a broken cloth bag, fell heavily from the sky, landing right at Ye Haocheng's feet and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Jin Daoming's figure materialized, his face somewhat pale; clearly, that last strike had consumed a great deal of his energy, but the excitement in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! To kill a Martial Venerable while crossing realms, this feeling is just fantastic!" Jin Daoming laughed heartily.

Wu De also dismantled the formation and trotted over excitedly: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, Lord Jin is mighty! With that one fan strike, this old fellow didn't even leave behind a scrap of residue."

Ye Haocheng looked down at Venerable Kuxue, who was still twitching slightly at his feet with his cultivation completely crippled, without a shred of pity in his eyes.

He raised his foot, stepped on Venerable Kuxue's aged, blood-stained face, and applied slight pressure.

"This is the so-called Martial Venerable?"

"Nothing more than this."

"Now, this is just the first. Next... it is the turn of your so-called dynasty."

Ye Haocheng looked up, his gaze traversing the layers of mountains, toward the direction of the capital of the Feather God Dynasty.

At this moment, a fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

Dawn had arrived. But for the Feather God Dynasty, the true darkness had only just descended.

...

This massive city floating in the clouds was currently bathed in the final darkness before dawn.

Tianque City was usually radiant and surrounded by auspicious clouds, symbolizing the eternal foundation of the Feather God Dynasty.

However, today, an indescribable, oppressive aura had quietly enveloped the deepest part of the imperial palace.

That was the imperial forbidden ground, an ancient palace named the "Zai Ci Palace."

There were no lamps lit inside the hall; only a few dim green eternal soul lamps were burning quietly.

These soul lamps were connected to the life essence of the core members of the imperial family; if the lamp remained, the person lived, and if the lamp extinguished, the person died.

Ancestor Cao Lin, the true pillar of the Feather God Dynasty, was currently sitting cross-legged on a millennium-old black ice bed.

Although he appeared to be an ordinary old man in cloth robes on the outside, beneath his tightly closed eyes, a terrifying divine sense that monitored the world surged constantly.

Suddenly—Thump!

Without any warning, Ancestor Cao Lin's heart contracted violently.

It was an indescribable palpitation, as if an invisible giant hand had ruthlessly gripped his soul, causing this Martial Venerable Realm powerhouse who had lived for thousands of years to feel a hint of suffocation in that instant.

"What is going on? This ominous premonition..."

Ancestor Cao Lin snapped his eyes open, and two rays of sharp light shot out from his turbid old eyes, instantly illuminating the dim hall.

Ever since stepping into the Martial Venerable Realm, his sensing of the world's energy had long reached a meticulous level.

This sudden palpitation was definitely not a physical ailment, but rather—an existence connected to him by blood and fate had encountered a catastrophic disaster!

His gaze subconsciously turned toward the row of soul lamps enshrined above the hall.

Those were the soul lamps that only past ancestors and the currently strongest individuals were qualified to leave behind.

And at the highest point, two of the most dazzling purple-gold soul lamps were placed side by side.

The one on the left belonged to him, Ancestor Cao Lin. The one on the right belonged to his older brother, Venerable Kuxue.

Crack!

Just as Ancestor Cao Lin's gaze touched the soul lamp on the right, a crisp cracking sound, exceptionally harsh in the silent hall, rang out like a thunderclap.

Immediately afterward, under Ancestor Cao Lin's horrified gaze, the purple-gold soul lamp that had burned for thousands of years, its flame originally as vigorous as a torch, flickered violently as if blown by an eerie wind.

In just the blink of an eye.

Poof.

The flame extinguished.

Subsequently, the entire lamp base, crafted from top-grade soul jade, was covered in dense cracks, and finally, with a "bang," it exploded into a pile of powder devoid of any spiritual energy!

"Big... Big Brother?!?"

Ancestor Cao Lin stood up abruptly, his movement so forceful that it shattered the millennium-old black ice bed beneath him.

He stared at the pile of powder in disbelief, his withered fingers trembling violently in the air, wanting to touch it but not daring to.

If the soul lamp shatters, the person is dead and their Dao dissipates!

How is this possible? From the time Big Brother left the imperial capital until now, how much time has passed? It hasn't even been half an hour!

That is a powerhouse at the third level of the Martial Venerable Realm! Even if facing a siege by powerhouses of the same rank, if he couldn't win, couldn't he at least run? Even to tear through space and escape, it would only take an instant!

"No... I don't believe it!"

Ancestor Cao Lin's face turned deathly pale, his hands forming seals frantically, attempting to contact the communication jade slip that Venerable Kuxue carried with him via a secret technique.

"Big Brother! Answer me! Answer me quickly!"

His divine sense flooded into the communication jade slip like a tidal wave, yet the only response was a deathly silence and the severed karmic connection in the void.

At that moment, Ancestor Cao Lin finally confirmed a fact that made his entire body run cold.

Venerable Kuxue had fallen. And he had been killed instantly by someone using thunderous means!

Fear. An unprecedented fear crawled up Ancestor Cao Lin's spine like a venomous snake.

What kind of cultivation must one have to instantly kill a powerhouse at the third level of the Martial Venerable Realm? Fifth level of the Martial Venerable Realm? Or even stronger?

Ancestor Cao Lin gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with both monstrous hatred and deep apprehension, "This is a trap! A heaven-shaking killing trap aimed at the high-end combat power of my Feather God Dynasty! The Soul-Devouring Eagle clan has rebelled!"

He knew very well that with Venerable Kuxue dead, half the sky of the Feather God Dynasty had collapsed.

If the opponent truly possessed the ability to instantly kill a Martial Venerable, then the next target would inevitably be the imperial capital, and it would be him, Ancestor Cao Lin!

"No, I cannot sit and wait for death!"

Ancestor Cao Lin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging blood and fear in his heart, and regained the calmness and decisiveness that a generation of ancestors should possess.

"Someone come! Summon the Emperor, Cao Chen, to see me at once! It is a matter of utmost urgency!!"

The voice, imbued with the pressure of a Martial Venerable, penetrated directly through layers of prohibitions and exploded in Emperor Cao Chen's sleeping quarters.

...

A moment later, Emperor Cao Chen, not even fully dressed and with disheveled hair, rushed into the forbidden hall.

"Ancestor! What happened? Why is it so..."

Emperor Cao Chen had not finished speaking when he saw the soul lamp that had already turned into powder; he was struck as if by lightning, his legs went weak, and he collapsed directly to the ground.

"Ancestor... Venerable Kuxue, he..." Emperor Cao Chen's voice carried a sob, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.