Chapter 528: Chapter 527: Making a Straight Drive

"Break!"

Looking at the bottleneck that was on the verge of shattering, Ye Fan bellowed. With the aid of the lightning’s power, he finally broke through.

The sky was no longer filled with thunder and lightning. Instead, a beam of auspicious light appeared, washing over his entire body in a baptism. After this purification, Ye Fan felt much better.

Finally, I’ve reached the long-coveted Nirvana Realm, also known as the Spirit King realm. Of course, for me, this isn’t the realm I truly dream of. This breakthrough was merely a stepping stone. The realm I truly aspire to is the Ancestor Realm. Only by achieving the Ancestor Realm can one have a chance at immortality. These current realms can’t stop me.

At that moment, he shot into the sky. He had to rush to the Spirit Suppressing Domain to help its protectors; dealing with the West Spirit King was his responsibility now. However, after flying merely ten meters into the air, he felt the power within him completely drain away.

"Damn it!"

He plummeted from the sky, smashing an entire mountaintop to pieces on impact.

Ye Fan’s happiness was short-lived. Although he had broken through to the Nirvana Realm, his lack of experience meant the lightning tribulation had directly injured his foundation. It took him five days to finally heal his injuries. However, during that time, he comprehended a profound and satisfying new sword technique: the Pure Yang Divine Sword, a combination of the Yuanhong Sword and the Pure Yang Divine Gang.

He had only just formed the basic concept of this sword technique and needed more time to perfect it. The situation in the Spirit Suppressing Domain was already dire, but he resolutely chose to finish refining this technique first. It would become another one of his ultimate moves, alongside the Wanxiang Divine Shield.

Only by mastering this move will I be fully confident in slaying the West Spirit King. After all, he is an extremely terrifying expert. If I’m not completely sure and he manages to escape, the entire Spirit Suppressing Domain will be plunged into endless dread.

This was Ye Fan’s reasoning.

「Twenty days later.」

The entire Spirit Suppressing Domain was in turmoil. After days of relentless assaults, its defenders were utterly exhausted. The enemy, far greater in number, attacked day and night. The warriors of the Spirit Suppressing Domain, few in number, were once again heavily battered, and their forces were reduced by half. Even the Reincarnation Realm experts were covered in wounds.

The contributions of Su Qingxue and Heather were indelible. The two women had joined forces, unleashing the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture to slay a Spirit Clan Commander. This was a feat that not even the trio of Zhuang Zhou, Fa Ming, and Fa Xiang had accomplished. In the turbulent Spirit Suppressing Domain, merit determined one’s right to speak. The two women’s contributions were immense, granting them considerable influence.

Of course, their ambitions were not for themselves, but for Ye Fan. They knew he disliked being controlled by others. Their actions were all to ensure that Ye Fan could immediately become one of the great leaders upon his arrival in the Spirit Suppressing Domain.

If Ye Fan knew of their plans, he might be moved to tears on one hand. On the other, he might just laugh. He had already slain three Spirit Clan Commanders. His achievements far surpassed anything the Daoists had accomplished. But that was not the most important thing. What mattered was that when he arrived at the Spirit Suppressing Domain, the Daoists wouldn’t dare to utter a word of opposition.

He possessed a Divine Bloodline and wielded the Ancient First Killing Sword, the Yuanhong Sword. For either reason, the Daoists would not dare to offend him. He was not only the future hope of the Spirit Suppressing Domain but also their primary weapon in the fight against the gods. Such was the influence of Ye Fan.

However, during a battle on that very day, a massive hand suddenly descended from the sky. Caught completely unprepared, the warriors of the Spirit Suppressing Domain suffered catastrophic casualties.

Seeing this, Fa Xiang bellowed and shot toward the giant hand to intercept it. He knew he was no match for it, but he had to act to reduce the number of casualties. He unleashed his strongest power and collided with the immense hand just as it was about to descend with crushing force.

But at that moment, a cold snort echoed. "An ant daring to challenge an elephant," a voice scoffed. "You must be tired of living!"

As soon as the voice faded, the giant hand clenched forcefully. Instantly, Fa Xiang was crushed into oblivion.

"Senior Brother!" Fa Ming and Zhuang Zhou cried out in despair. Their powerful senior brother had perished in a single blow.

They couldn’t accept this reality, but there was nothing they could do. Reality was cruel, and they were powerless to change it. They couldn’t even recklessly charge forward to avenge him, as they now had too much to do—starting with leading their people off the battlefield. They knew the West Spirit King had finally made his move. This was doomsday for the Spirit Suppressing Domain. Their final natural barrier against him had fallen, and he could now advance unimpeded.

Su Qingxue and Heather were also stunned. They never expected the typically gentle Fa Xiang to fall. Their hearts filled with desolation.

"Quick, retreat!" Cain shouted to the two women.

They both knew the situation was irreversible; they could only retreat.

The great hand descended, and at least a thousand Martial Cultivators died beneath it. The might of a Spirit King was no mere talk. Ye Fan was a prime example. Previously, he had been an elite of the Reincarnation Realm, just one step away from becoming a Spirit King. Yet that single step was an insurmountable gulf; he couldn’t have withstood even a single blow from a Spirit King. This was the absolute disparity of power. The further one advanced on the path of cultivation, the wider such gaps became.

The pair of enormous hands still controlled the sky. With each descent, a huge swath of the Spirit Suppressing Domain’s warriors were killed or injured. Although Zhuang Zhou had activated an Array, it seemed to have little effect, as this was not a situation an Array could control. The Spirit King’s power was simply too far beyond them.

The West Spirit King savored the process. To him, this was the ultimate pleasure; he relished the feeling of annihilation. He planned to toy with them, killing them slowly. Most importantly, he was waiting for Ye Fan to appear. The moment Ye Fan showed himself, he would obliterate him.

"This is bad! The enemy is attacking too quickly! We can’t retreat!" the Frost Ice Iron General exclaimed.

The situation had become critical.

Fa Ming said, "Let me go and block one of his attacks! Use that time to open the gateway from the Spirit Suppressing Domain to the Secular World! It will take the West Spirit King at least two days to break through it!"

In truth, this was a choice born of desperation. He knew that even if they escaped to the world behind the gate, it would be pointless. In two days, they would all die anyway.

At this moment, all they could do was pray that Ye Fan, their greatest hope, would not appear now. If he did, their last glimmer of hope would be extinguished for good.