569: Chapter 570 Each Displays Their Unique Abilities

Every character on that profound gold decree carried the binding force of the Law of Punishment.

As Divine Lords of the Divine Court, bound by their divine positions, it was their duty to follow the decree.

To defy the decree would mean, at best, being stripped of their titles and positions, and at worst, being banished to the Nine Netherworlds, or perhaps even being suppressed on the spot by the power of the Law of Punishment contained within the decree.

Therefore, when the decree descended, no one could retreat!

The Divine Lords fell silent for a moment, exchanging glances.

Then, it was unclear who spoke first, sounding as if they were comforting themselves or trying to boost their own morale.

"Um, with all of us Divine Lords going together, surely we can handle the rebel..."

Although these words did not sound particularly confident, all the Divine Lords understood the meaning, and their eyes lit up.

"Indeed, with the twelve of us here together, no matter how fierce that villain is, it cannot take on twelve people at once."

With this thought, one Divine Lord immediately chimed in, "Exactly. Even if he has heaven-reaching means, he is but one person. With us all out in force, what is there to fear?"

"That's right. We each hold power and support one another; there is no reason we should fail. Furthermore, with the Celestial Emperor's decree here, the Divine Might is vast; surely that scoundrel cannot stir up any trouble."

With these exchanges, the heavy atmosphere that had briefly permeated the twelve Divine Lords was dispelled somewhat by their mutual encouragement.

They exchanged glances, and in their eyes, hesitation began to fade, and resolve began to grow.

After all, they were Divine Lords who had held power over their respective domains for many years; how could they show fear before a battle?

Thus, the Divine Lords turned in unison, facing the profound gold decree suspended in the Void Realm, straightened their attire, and bowed.

Twelve figures bowed their heads simultaneously, their postures solemn and respectful.

"We respectfully obey the Celestial Emperor's decree!"

The twelve voices merged into a torrent, echoing endlessly in the Void Realm.

Then, a flash of lightning flickered across the decree, transforming into twelve small golden patterns that submerged into the foreheads of the twelve Divine Lords respectively.

That was the mark of the Law of Punishment's restraint; it was both an authorization and a shackle.

The decree had been accepted, so there was no turning back.

It was precisely because of this that when they stood up straight, the last trace of hesitation in their eyes had completely vanished.

The next moment, above the sky of the Middle Three Heavens, twelve brilliant rays of light suddenly ignited.

Each one carried a distinct aura; some were as scorching as fire, some vibrant with vitality, some sharp as metal, and some as heavy as earth.

The twelve pillars of light were like twelve pillars supporting the sky, tearing through the clouds, carrying monstrous Divine Might as they flew towards the ruins of Outer Way City.

The one in the lead was surrounded by endless flames.

That was the Fire Divine Lord, who held authority over all flames in heaven and earth.

True Sun Fire, South-Bright Separation Fire, Nine Nether Yin Fire, Samadhi True Fire... all sorts of divine fires that only existed in legends were gathered in one body.

With a single command, it could burn mountains and boil the seas, with monstrous power.

At this moment, its crimson divine robe snapped in the wind, and over a dozen strange fires intertwined around it, like billions of firebirds circling and dancing.

Wherever it passed, the Void Realm was scorched and slightly distorted, as if even heaven and earth themselves could not withstand this intense high heat.

At this moment, burning flames surged within the Fire Divine Lord's eyes, yet the corners of its mouth curled up in an imperceptible arc.

Speaking of which, it and the Water Divine Lord had always been at odds.

It was not that the two had any deep-seated grudge.

It was just that water and fire are naturally opposing; this is the Supreme principle of heaven and earth, which no one can change.

Therefore, having held the position of Divine Lord for many years, the two had had many frictions, both openly and secretly.

But what made the Fire Divine Lord most dissatisfied was that the Water Divine Lord seemed to have always looked down on it.

No matter how it provoked, the other would always ignore it, completely disregarding it!

It was only due to the Laws of the Divine Court that they had never truly fought.

Now that the Water Divine position had lost its virtue and was decreed by the Celestial Emperor to be exterminated, it was, to it, quite agreeable.

Moreover, the Fire Divine Lord was probably the only one among the twelve Divine Lords who felt little trepidation about this mission and was instead somewhat expectant.

But because the Water Divine position had been vacant for many years, the Five Elements divine positions were incomplete, making it difficult for them to truly join forces.

If they could eliminate it this time and replace it with someone like-minded, the Five Elements would be complete, and their say within the Divine Court would be heavier!

So, having been given a legitimate opportunity to fight, how could it retreat?

Closely following the Fire Divine Lord was the Wood Divine Lord.

It radiated an extremely dense emerald green light.

That light contained vast life force, as if a mere touch could cause withered wood to bloom in spring or bring flesh to bones.

Wherever it stepped, layers of vines and flowers grew out of thin air in the Void Realm.

Those vines grew, spread, and intertwined in the air, like a huge web of life unfolding, blocking the sky and sun, dyeing half the sky a thick emerald color.

It held authority not only over the flourishing and withering of plants but also touched upon the edge of the Dao of Life.

With one thought, it could grant vitality; with one thought, it could take away Lifespan.

However, the Wood Divine Lord's expression was far less composed than the Fire Divine Lord's.

Its relationship with the former Water Divine Lord was actually quite good.

Both held Five Elements divine positions, and they had had many interactions, even working together on certain matters.

But now that the Water Divine position had lost its qualification, it had to make a sacred cut!

After all, in the Divine Court, the most taboo thing was to be double-minded and have an unclear stance.

If it revealed even a hint of hesitation at this moment, it would not only be suspected by the other Divine Lords but could also be seen as acting in defiance by the power of the Law of Punishment within the decree.

Furthermore, just as the Fire Divine Lord thought, there was already a subtle connection between the Five Elements divine positions.

When the Water Divine Lord was there, there was always a layer of alienation within the Five Elements.

Water can nourish wood, but it can also extinguish fire, seep into earth, and corrode metal; its relationship with the other four elements was both close and contradictory, causing the Five Elements Divine Lords to never truly be of one mind.

But if the Five Elements could not join forces, they could not suppress the other Divine Lords, and in the power struggle of the Divine Court, they would always be a step behind.

If the Water Divine position could be vacated this time and replaced with one of their own, with the Five Elements in place and of one mind, it would be a different situation in the Divine Court thereafter.

Therefore, for this battle, it also had a reason not to retreat.

Following the Wood Divine Lord, the Metal Divine Lord wore white-gold divine armor, surrounded by an extremely sharp aura of metal and spears, with sharpness fully revealed, like a walking sword formation.

Wherever it passed, the sound of metal clashing faintly echoed in the Void Realm, like ten thousand swords ringing together, clanging ceaselessly.

Next was the Earth Divine Lord; behind it appeared the shadows of rolling mountains, heavy and profound.

Every step it took made the Void Realm tremble slightly, as if the entire earth were breathing with its footsteps.

The Thunder Divine Lord held a leaping purple lightning spear in its hand, the Wind Divine Lord was surrounded by a wall of invisible wind blades, and the Ice Divine Lord was on the left and right—a full twelve Divine Lords, each carrying their authority, descended together.

The twelve divine lights converged in one place, like twelve stars falling to the human world simultaneously.

That extremely vast pressure was like an invisible giant mountain smashing down from the Nine Heavens, pressing heavily onto the sky of the Middle Three Heavens.

The entire heaven and earth of the Middle Three Heavens trembled violently at this moment.

Mountains shook, rivers surged, and even the palaces and pavilions that were still intact were shivering.

What was even more terrifying was that the territory of the Middle Three Heavens seemed unable to withstand the convergence of such massive pressure.

The power of those intertwined divine lights was too heavy, like one end of a giant scale being suddenly pressed down with a weight of a thousand jun.

The territory of the Middle Three Heavens, which was already in an inverted structure, began to make a rumbling sound of being unable to bear the burden; tiny cracks appeared on the sky, and the Void Realm beneath their feet was also slightly tilting.

It was as if the entire Middle Three Heavens were slowly sinking towards the Lower Three Heavens.

That scalp-numbing sense of falling made all the surviving divine officials and Cultivators in the Middle Three Heavens turn pale.

They looked up at the sky, only to see twelve extremely brilliant divine lights like twelve sharp swords hanging above their heads, pressing towards the ruins of Outer Way City with the momentum of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth.

Above the ocean of the Yellow Springs, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord also seemed to perceive something and slowly raised his head.

He stared at the twelve divine lights approaching, staring at the sky full of surging strange fires, emerald green, sharpness, and mountain shadows, and the arc at the corner of his mouth widened even further.

"Twelve Divine Lords..." He murmured, his tone carrying a sense that was unclear whether it was mockery or excitement.

"Well come."

The water of the Yellow Springs surged more urgently beneath his feet, as if it felt the increasingly intense Battle Intent in its master's heart.

On the dim yellow water surface, thousands of ghostly blue phosphorus fires lit up simultaneously, like countless dead souls opening their eyes, looking towards that starry sky about to descend.

In this fleeting moment, the twelve divine lights, like twelve burning stars, crashed into the dim yellow ocean sweeping across the Middle Three Heavens.

Water curtains soared to the sky, the Yellow Springs surged, and the entire ruins of Outer Way City, under the impact of this vast Divine Might, shattered, sank, and collapsed once again.

The dim yellow river water was forced into a huge depression by the air waves of the twelve divine lights, as if pressed by an invisible giant palm into a deep pit, with water splashing everywhere, turning into a sky full of dim yellow rain.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord stood in the center of the depression, stepping on the surging water of the Yellow Springs.

The twelve Divine Lords lined up in front of him, each occupying a position, their divine lights intertwined like a huge heavenly net, firmly enveloping him within.

The Fire Divine Lord stood at the very front, surrounded by strange fires, the scorching golden light illuminating half the sky as if it were daylight.

It looked down from above, its gaze fixed on the figure below, its tone extremely cold.

"Rebel, you have usurped the Water Divine position, manifested the Yellow Springs Underworld River, and disrupted the Laws of our Divine Court. If you are wise, surrender now, and I may still leave you with an intact corpse."

Hearing this, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The laughter was not loud but carried an unmasked mockery and contempt, sounding particularly harsh in the vast heaven and earth.

"What, the big one won't come out, so you sent the small ones to handle things?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the twelve Divine Lords.

"Is that Celestial Emperor hiding in the Celestial Emperor Palace, not daring to come out? Sending you bunch of fellows here to die?"

"Presumptuous!"

Hearing someone speak rudely about the Celestial Emperor, the Metal Divine Lord suddenly stepped forward.

Its aura of metal and spears exploded as if it were solid, clanging in the Void Realm, as if ten thousand sharp swords were unsheathed at once.

Its face was livid, and it said word by word, "The Celestial Emperor is the Supreme of the Nine Heavens; how can you slander Him here?"

"Supreme?"

At these naive words, the mocking expression at the corner of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's mouth grew even thicker.

"Just a Puppet, yet you dare to speak of the Supreme."

Once this was said, the expressions of the twelve Divine Lords sank in unison.

It was not that the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's words were too excessive.

Although they did not know the truth deep within the Celestial Emperor Palace, after such a long time, they had eventually pondered some unusual implications.

It was just that they were troubled by not getting the truth and dared not verify it, so they could only bury this doubt in their hearts.

Now that it had been pointed out by this person, it added a few more guesses to their hearts.

But this was not the time to delve into it.

Presumably, the Celestial Emperor was already in the Celestial Emperor Palace above the Nine Heavens, looking down at their every move.

Therefore, the Fire Divine Lord did not say anything more, suddenly raised its hand, and a golden sun exploded in its palm.

True Sun Fire poured down on the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord like a golden torrent, while it shouted, "Spreading demonic words to confuse the public, take him down first!"

With the command given, the twelve Divine Lords stopped talking and attacked simultaneously.

As the Fire Divine Lord's palms flew, over a dozen strange fires that only existed in legends swept out at the same time.

The True Sun Fire condensed into a phantom of a three-legged Golden Crow, carrying the scorching heat of burning the heavens and boiling the seas, swooping down towards the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

The South-Bright Separation Fire turned into a Vermilion Bird, crying out, its wings spreading and scattering rain of fire across the sky.

The Samadhi True Fire, like mercury spilling on the ground, silently permeated from all directions, and whatever it touched turned to ashes in an instant.

Billions of flames intertwined into a huge cage of fire, completely engulfing the figure of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord.

The Metal Divine Lord followed closely behind, fingers together like a sword, slicing through the air.

A white-gold sharpness burst from its fingertips, growing with the wind, turning into a giant sword phantom spanning the sky.

The sword body was engraved with countless runes of the Law of Metal and Spears, like the ancestor of ten thousand weapons, carrying a Supreme sharpness that could cut through everything, slashing across the waist of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord in the sea of fire.

The Wood Divine Lord stood at the rear, hands forming seals, and overwhelming emerald green vines grew out of the Void Realm like mad pythons, each vine flashing with the runes of the Dao of Life.

Those vines did not attack directly but covered the entire battlefield like a huge web of life, continuously releasing an extremely rich life force.

They both healed the wounds and replenished the Divine Power of the other Divine Lords, and continuously compressed the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's space for movement, narrowing his range of activity.

The Earth Divine Lord pressed its palms down, and the entire ruins of the land trembled violently.

Countless thick, mountain-like earth-yellow lights rose from the ground, turning into massive rock walls that trapped the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord within.

The other eight Divine Lords also displayed their Divine Abilities.

For a time, the twelve Divine Might converged, like a huge killing formation, completely sealing off the area where the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was located.