542: Chapter 543 Xuanyuan Xiao

The military formation had been broken, the blood-colored giant collapsed with a roar, and the blood Qi filling the sky scattered like rain.

Lu Ming stepped over the soldiers who had survived but had not yet recovered from their shock, and walked straight toward the Imperial Capital.

His goal had always been clear.

From beginning to end, it had only ever been that person deep within the Imperial Palace.

"Stop!"

Just then, an aged yet resonant voice came from behind him.

Lu Ming turned his head and saw Helan Shan standing with his spear held horizontally amidst the broken military formation.

At this moment, his white hair was disheveled, and his robes were stained with blood.

As the person leading the formation, when it was broken, he was the first to bear the brunt and suffered the most severe backlash.

However, at this moment, he stood tall on the battlefield, refusing to fall.

Lu Ming stopped, looked at the white-haired and white-bearded old man, was silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"You are no match for me, so... do not force me to kill you."

To this, Helan Shan did not speak, but merely raised the long spear in his hand and held it horizontally across his chest.

His actions answered everything.

Fulfilling his duty was his responsibility.

Even though he knew he was no match, he could not retreat.

Lu Ming sighed and said no more.

He raised his hand and pressed down into the Void Realm.

Between heaven and earth, an invisible force suddenly pressed down.

Helan Shan instantly felt as if he were being pressed by an invisible mountain, sinking down inch by inch from his shoulders to his knees.

His body trembled, his bones creaked, but he still straightened his spine, thrusting his spear into the earth to keep himself from falling.

A glimmer of approval flashed in Lu Ming's eyes; this man truly had some backbone, but unfortunately, he was too foolishly loyal.

Lu Ming then increased the force in his hand, and the invisible pressure suddenly doubled.

Helan Shan was already heavily injured; no matter how firm his will was, he could not match the power of heaven and earth that Lu Ming had mobilized.

After holding on for just a few more breaths, the spear in his hand slipped from his grasp, and he immediately passed out.

Lu Ming withdrew his hand, did not look again, and turned to look toward the Imperial Palace.

There, he could vaguely feel an indifferent and profound gaze fixed upon him.

Anyone could guess who that person was!

At this, Lu Ming just grinned in that direction, then took a step, his figure striding away as if shrinking the earth into inches.

Above the main hall of the Imperial Palace, the glazed tiles shimmered with golden light in the setting sun.

A figure stood with hands behind his back, wearing a five-clawed golden Dragon robe and an imperial crown, his face bearing an unquestionable majesty.

Standing there, the entire Imperial Capital seemed to submit under the shroud of his aura.

This person was none other than the Emperor of the Great Qian Imperial Dynasty—Xuan Yuanxiao.

There were no blood Qi fluctuations on him that a Martial Artist should have, but rather an indescribable aura, as if he ruled the world and was the only supreme being.

Before him, all things were subjects.

And he had witnessed the entire battle just now.

This person was indeed fierce and brave, and his strength was very powerful; this was indisputable, and even Xuan Yuanxiao admitted it.

But so what?

He alone was the most invincible existence in this Qianyuan Domain.

Not only because his strength had long surpassed the Void Shattering Realm, reaching a brand new Land Immortal Realm.

But also because he had mastered a power far beyond the Martial Dao.

He did not know what it was, but it was like an innate ability, possessing the power of "Law Follows the Spoken Word."

That is, once a word was spoken, the law was established; when an order was given, it was executed without prohibition. Thus, with his golden mouth and jade voice, laws were formed in an instant.

It was precisely because of the blessing of this power that he had the confidence to suppress the world.

This also made Xuan Yuanxiao believe that he was the Heaven-Mandated Holy Emperor, whom everyone looked forward to.

Therefore, when facing Lu Ming, who came wrapped in monstrous Martial Dao visions, Xuan Yuanxiao's eyes remained calm and indifferent.

Even if this person was gifted and had outstanding Martial Dao Aptitude, so what?

As long as he uttered a few words, this person would only be able to bow and submit.

Just at this moment, Lu Ming had arrived, landing on the roof of the hall, facing Xuan Yuanxiao from a distance.

"Hmph, you certainly have guts." Xuan Yuanxiao's tone was flat.

"No one else has ever set foot on My Purple Gold Peak."

These words carried a condescending scrutiny.

To this, Lu Ming just curled his lips.

These people were all the same, like frogs in a well, thinking that by controlling an Imperial Dynasty, they were invincible in the world.

Little did they know that there were people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens.

Apparently, Xuan Yuanxiao did not have this self-awareness. Seeing that Lu Ming was not moved by his words, he frowned and then said in a deep voice.

"Your strength is not bad, and I appreciate it. Therefore, submit to Me, and I will appoint you as the Great General Protecting the Country, commanding the troops of the world, and enjoying glory for ten thousand generations. How about it?"

He felt that he was truly a kind-hearted and wise, heroic Holy Emperor.

Not only did he not hold the other party's crime of insubordination against them, but he also mercifully recruited them.

He thought that this person would surely be grateful to him and immediately prostrate himself in a grand salute.

However, Xuan Yuanxiao waited for a moment, but did not wait for the expected gratitude, nor did he receive any response.

His brows furrowed slightly, he looked at this person, and his face immediately darkened.

Lu Ming glanced at him as if looking at an idiot.

At this moment, silence spoke louder than words, with more lethality than any language.

"Do you know what the consequences of doing this are?"

Xuan Yuanxiao was furious; this was the first time since he ascended the throne that someone dared to ignore his words!

Immediately, he extinguished the thought of continuing to recruit this person.

He had seen many such unruly people, especially those Grandmasters and Great Grandmaster-level Martial Artists, who were even more arrogant and aloof.

And when facing such people, only by shattering their bones inch by inch would they know who really controlled the fate of this world!

So he said no more, but coldly spat out two words.

"Kneel."

In an instant, as if Law Follows the Spoken Word, an invisible force surged from the Void Realm, then condensed into a force of ten thousand jun, crashing down.

And having done all this, Xuan Yuanxiao seemed to have victory in his grasp.

He immediately stood with his hands behind his back, proudly holding his head and chest high, not even bothering to look at the result.

Anyway, in his view, once his golden words were spoken, no matter how unruly the other party was, they would only be able to honestly kneel and prostrate themselves in a grand salute to him!

And he could completely choose to ignore the other party and properly grind down their temper.

However, after waiting for a moment, nothing happened; the expected words of submission did not appear, and instead, he was met with an inexplicable sentence.

"What are you doing!"

The moment he heard this, Xuan Yuanxiao's pupils constricted slightly.

He immediately turned his head to look, and saw Lu Ming standing there perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

And he was like a clown, just amusing himself there!

For a moment, Xuan Yuanxiao actually felt inexplicably ashamed.

But he quickly cast aside these distracting thoughts and pondered what had just happened.

But no matter how he thought about it, he could not figure it out.

How could this be!

Ever since Xuan Yuanxiao realized he possessed this power, it had never failed.

Whether it was the previous Great Qian Emperor or the arrogant Great Grandmasters of the Void Shattering Realm, whenever he spoke, no one failed to submit to him.

He thought this time would be no exception, but an accident happened.

Xuan Yuanxiao was a bit unconvinced, so he mobilized that power again, and then, with a voice like thunder, shouted angrily.

"Kneel to Me!"

"Are you sick!"

Just like before, nothing happened.

Lu Ming glanced at Xuan Yuanxiao, looking confused.

In fact, it was not that nothing had happened; it was just that Lu Ming had clearly sensed that mysterious and unfathomable great power, which seemed to come from heaven and earth itself.

He had not reacted at first, only feeling a mysterious force instantly acting upon his body.

It was as if something was forcibly correcting his posture, trying to make him bend his knees and kneel.

However, although the status of that power was high, its quantity was extremely weak, almost non-existent.

If it were aimed at an ordinary Golden Core True Person, perhaps the other party would have immediately knelt down in response.

But putting aside the fact that this body was a False Nascent Soul Cultivator, which was not far from a Nascent Soul True Monarch and could barely cope.

Not to mention that what was inhabiting it at this moment was a genuine Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Lu Ming was not only unaffected but instead caught a glimpse of the clues from it.

"Ah~ So it was you!"

A figure had already appeared in Lu Ming's mind, and he felt it was likely him!

However, to verify his speculation, he still used the Immortal Divine Ability—True Vision of Breaking Delusions.

A layer of faint golden light appeared in his originally clear eyes.

The world suddenly changed its appearance in his eyes.

Xuan Yuanxiao was still that same Xuan Yuanxiao, but behind him, amidst the Chaos, a huge phantom stood silently.

It wore a mysterious black Dragon robe and an imperial crown; its face could not be seen, only a silhouette, but its body radiated a majestic power that made it impossible to look directly at.

That was none other than True Monarch Yuji Sitian!

"As expected!"

Lu Ming withdrew his Divine Ability, his heart clear.

He had been wondering how this Xuan Yuanxiao could have such means, with the Imperial Dynasty's rule as solid as an iron bucket.

It turned out that the shadow of the Yujing Dao Court was behind this. Lu Ming recognized that phantom at a glance; it was the master of the Yujing Dao Court, True Monarch Yuji Sitian.

Lu Ming recalled the silent demeanor of True Monarch Yuji Sitian when he met with several True Monarchs back then.

At that time, he thought this person was deep and calculating, and now it seemed he was right.

A True Monarch personally entering the game to support a Mortal emperor, using a trace of the mystery of the Dao Court Edict, was all to lock down the Martial Dao Legacy of a Realm.

This was because he feared the growth of the Martial Dao, and was also worried that this cultivation system, which did not rely on Spiritual Qi or heaven and earth, would affect the Foundation of the Immortal Dao.

Therefore, he wanted to strangle it in the cradle, not even giving it a chance to break through the soil.

But he could not personally destroy the entire Dao tradition, because doing so would incur the Karma of destroying the Dao.

Although it would not hurt the bones of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it was quite annoying and would drag down the speed of Cultivation.

Perhaps some people felt that a Nascent Soul True Monarch had a Lifespan of ten thousand years, and spending some time to eliminate these hidden dangers did not seem like a big deal.

But in fact, the account was not calculated that way.

One must know that the ultimate goal of a Nascent Soul True Monarch was always the Soul Transformation position.

But Soul Transformation was inherently difficult to achieve, and the resources consumed and the price paid during the process were unimaginable.

If one wasted any time on such matters, for a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it was simply a huge loss.

Therefore, True Monarch Yuji Sitian changed his method.

Supporting a Puppet emperor and using this identity to suppress the Martial Dao Luck.

Of course, things were not that simple.

The reason why Luck was Luck was that it represented something mysterious, unfathomable, unpredictable, and uncontrollable.

If it could be destroyed so simply, True Monarch Yuji Sitian would not have been so concerned.

Therefore, the Puppet he supported needed to have the strength to suppress everything!

After all, the further the Martial Dao progressed, the more idealistic it became.

And what Martial Artists cultivated was their own body; where the heart was directed, there was the aspiration of the Dao.

Therefore, it was necessary to break their spines, shatter their knees, and extinguish their spirit.

To make them kneel, and never be able to rise again!

But Martial Artists had always emphasized that they could not be subdued by force; this unyielding character could not be solved by violence alone.

So he bestowed upon Xuan Yuanxiao a wisp of the mystery of the Dao Court Edict.

Even if it was just a wisp, in the face of the Martial Dao, it was a dimensional reduction strike.

No matter how arrogant a person was, they could only be forced to kneel and submit.

In this way, the Martial Dao Luck would not only be suppressed but also polluted and worn away bit by bit.

When the Martial Dao Luck was completely exhausted, this Karma of destroying the Dao would be fully borne by this Puppet.

And he could perfectly withdraw, with no Karma sticking to him.

What a calculation!

After sorting out the cause and effect, even Lu Ming could not help but exclaim.

If things continued according to the other party's plan, within a thousand years, the Martial Dao would surely perish.

But unfortunately, he had encountered himself now!

Although his appearance would only accelerate the extinction of the Martial Dao...

But is that the same thing!!!

Natural extinction meant dust to dust, earth to earth, leaving no traces and no Karma.

But if it was devoured by him, becoming a part of his Hunyuan Dao, adding bricks and tiles to it.

Then later, when he himself became more conscious, it could be considered as indirectly leading the Martial Dao to see higher scenery.

This was a deed of great kindness!

Therefore, instead of benefiting others, it was better to benefit himself!

Moreover, after Lu Ming learned the identity of the person behind it, he already had new ideas.

He dared to be certain that his actions at this moment must have already fallen into the other party's eyes.

But Lu Ming thought from a different perspective, thinking about this matter from the perspective of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, and could draw a conclusion.

Since True Monarch Yuji Sitian wanted to get rid of this hot potato so much, his act of actively devouring the Martial Dao Luck was not a bad thing in the other party's eyes, but rather something they would be happy to see.

Perhaps they might even turn a blind eye, not interfering at all, but instead opening the door wide.

And the fact that he had been able to bounce around for so long and walk safely to Xuan Yuanxiao seemed to confirm this speculation.

Otherwise, with the scale of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, if he really touched the other party's taboo and ruined their plan, then even at the cost of consuming their Nascent Soul Origin, they would inevitably cross space and slap him to death.

Since they hadn't, it meant the other party had acquiesced!

However, this actually gave Lu Ming room to play.

This time, he snatched away the Martial Dao Luck, and the Karma of destroying the Dao would naturally fall onto his main body along with Great Elder Lu Chenyuan.

But what if he wanted the Martial Dao Luck but didn't want to pay the price?

Need you ask? Naturally, he would return this Karma intact to True Monarch Yuji Sitian!

As for what would happen to the other party, what did that have to do with him?

With great power comes great responsibility!