Cultivation is like sailing against the current; one either advances or falls back.
"You possess immense power, but sometimes, power is not the key."
Bang!
Ling's corpse fell to the ground, lifeless.
The Angelic Congregation, the strongest beneath the Holy Emperor, Ling, was dead.
Not by overwhelming strength, but by scheme, by carelessness.
...
At this moment, the atmosphere outside was incredibly oppressive.
The First Cardinal's expression was terrifyingly grim. Though his face was unseen, the fluctuations of his aura could be felt.
"Hahaha."
The Old Demon's laughter suddenly drew everyone's attention.
"Good, dead well, haha..."
He was already a stubborn rogue, and the Cardinal had dared to threaten him earlier.
It would be unbecoming of his reputation as the Old Demon if he didn't strike now.
"Good, died so well."
The Old Demon laughed with unrestrained arrogance.
Death was commonplace.
Besides, it wasn't true death.
It was merely the loss of some spiritual power. With some treasures, it could be recovered.
The six great powers, who didn't have some trump cards?
It was the smaller factions that were in a difficult situation. Not only did they lose their bets, but their spiritual power had been severed, making recovery challenging.
"Karl."
An enraged roar erupted from the depths of the Holy Mountain.
Elder Kongyi, Ling.
They were burning with fury.
It would have been one thing to be killed normally, but this was akin to betrayal.
"Hahaha."
Intertwined with the Old Demon's laughter, Karl was also roaring with laughter.
"Daoist friend Ling, do not be angry. When one is injured, one should rest well and not be angered, hahaha." He gave no face at all.
"Bastard."
The supreme Elder Kongyi had not suffered a loss in a long time.
He found this difficult to bear.
"Stop causing trouble."
At this moment, another voice echoed from the depths of the Holy Mountain.
Ling immediately fell silent.
Among the three Elder Kongyi of the Angelic Congregation, Ling ranked third.
"Heh heh."
Karl, the First Dark Cardinal, let out a cold laugh and sat back down.
...
The focus returned to the secret realm.
At this point, only two people remained within the secret realm.
Molofei, Sothu.
Both White Cardinals had lost control of their bodies.
The true confrontation was between Karl and Chen Fan.
As for Tian Kulou, he would not recover even when the secret realm ended.
Unless he returned to his original body, that would have to wait until after exiting the secret realm.
Having jointly orchestrated the death of Ling of the Angelic Congregation, the remaining two immediately entered a state of confrontation.
"Quite clever."
Karl wore a smile on his face.
"..."
Praised, Chen Fan was not pleased.
Instead, his expression grew colder: "Sometimes, not knowing how to speak will kill you."
Who are you calling clever? This was language used to praise a junior.
Karl's eyebrows twitched: "Such killing intent."
"Chii."
Too much nonsense.
A sword split the heavens.
The compressed secret realm trembled once more.
This sword strike almost shattered the secret realm again.
Karl's expression drastically changed; he hadn't expected Chen Fan to attack so readily.
"Wait a moment..."
Karl seemed unwilling to fight: "I have something to say..."
Chen Fan ignored him.
Sword strike after sword strike.
The Heaven-Splitting Sword Lotus rotated and descended.
This time, Karl completely lost his composure.
This sword strike was extremely powerful.
"Deprive..."
With these two words, Chen Fan's five senses were instantly stripped away.
Not one by one, but all at once.
"Gah."
Karl spat out a large mouthful of blood.
He looked at Chen Fan with a horrified gaze: "How is this possible?"
Ling was strong, wasn't he? Yet, when he stripped Ling's five senses, Ling's aura merely weakened.
On the surface, Chen Fan appeared inferior to Ling, but at this moment, Karl finally understood how strong this person was.
"Hmph."
Chen Fan's five senses only lost for an instant before recovering.
His gaze towards Karl held a hint of mockery.
How about that, fun?
With the divine artifacts bolstering him, Karl had truly kicked a steel plate.
"I surrender..."
Surrender what?
"Chii."
The sword lotus continued to descend.
He was too lazy to listen.
The rotating sword lotus sliced Karl's spiritual power into pieces.
Including the White Cardinal he possessed, they were shattered into pieces under the sword lotus.
Sheathed sword, stood up.
The Red Cardinal Selection Assembly had concluded.
However, the secret realm did not reopen.
"Clang."
The Ama-no-Murakumo Sword was slowly drawn.
If it doesn't open soon, I'll break your secret realm.
Outside, the First Cardinal's expression was grim.
He truly didn't want to open the secret realm, intending to enter it himself and slay Chen Fan.
But this secret realm was too important to the Angelic Congregation to be lost.
Seeing Chen Fan draw his sword again, he cursed inwardly and opened the secret realm.
"Hmph."
Chen Fan stepped forward.
His spiritual power instantly returned to his main body, as did Tian Kulou's.
"Boom."
The moment their spiritual powers returned to their main bodies, their gazes met.
It was Tian Kulou and Chen Fan.
The gamble was not over; only one could emerge victorious.
"I surrender."
Tian Kulou made the wisest choice directly.
"Chen Fan."
The moment the words fell, Karl, the First Dark Cardinal,'s icy voice resounded: "How do you wish to die?"
"Heh heh."
The only response was a cold laugh.
"Jie jie."
The excited Old Demon stepped forward proactively: "Come, old man will play with you."
Chen Fan had won, and the Old Demon was extremely excited.
That black saber, which the Dark Church was betting, he had coveted for a long time.
If he didn't show himself now, how could he ask for it later?
The Old Demon's aura surged, ready to attack.
Karl's aura was also surging, but he had lost some spiritual power, causing his aura to fluctuate violently.