Wen Zhong, who was tied up by the heavenly cables, laughed, “Dear Emperor, why the rage? It was just a short acquaintanceship with them.

　　Emperor Xia said, “Take him out.”

　　Regardless of what it was, Emperor Xia did not want to see this person anymore.

　　The Royal Guards took Wen Zhong to the Meridian Gate and the muscular men of the Xia Tribe were standing by. The flag of Xia Kingdom was waving under the merciless scorching hot sun that shone down on the Meridian Gate.

　　Wen Zhong was calm and submissive as the guards escorted him. He thought to himself. “Master said that I will have to endure the trials of blade and fire. Looks like I have to face the trial of the blade today.”

　　Emperor Xia’s heavenly cables were a class of its own. Only people like Shen Lian or Tianyi could break free from it in a short amount of time. Moreover, it would also suppress one’s mana. Regardless of how powerful a person could be, he would only be a piece of meat after being bound by the heavenly cables.

　　However, Wen Zhong was born with a sense of heroic generosity. When stuck in a difficult situation, he would remain composed and take things easy. The Royal Guards picked up his energy and were feeling so uncertain that they did not dare to utter a single word.

　　Wen Zhong was pushed to the execution stage as the scorching hot sun poured down from the sky. The Royal Guards may be exceptionally strong but they felt uncomfortable with the heat.

　　The executioner took out a dragon-like chopper with a pair of wings attached to it that was obviously a replica of Yinglong. The air was intense and filled with killing vibes.

　　The executioner very skilfully asked, “Any last words?”

　　Wen Zhong laughed out loud, “There is nothing to be bothered about life and death. But I am destined to do something big and I would not die here.”

　　The executioner smiled and responded coldly, “No extraordinary being has survived the decapitation at the Meridian Gate and you too would not be an exception.”

　　Wen Zhong smiled without saying a word.

　　The executioner rubbed his palms against each other and heat started to emerge from his palms like a soldering iron. He forcefully pushed Wen Zhong’s head down on the chopper and groaned. His voice shook the atmosphere as the chopper split into half.

　　A white mark emerged on Wen Zhong’s neck and he was fine.

　　The executioner yelled, “Somebody inform the Emperor that this person has mastered the Death Proof Body!”

　　He then took a pair of heavy hammers that would produce blue lightning when they hit together and aimed it at Wen Zhong’s body. Thunderous sounds could be heard and every strand of Wen Zhong’s hair stood still.

　　The heavenly cables started to fall apart and turned into ashes.

　　Wen Zhong let out a laugh and opened his mouth to allow the current of the lightning to enter his mouth and stir up his mana. The executioner presumed that the power of Thor’s Hammer would numb Wen Zhong’s body but it turned out that he was not afraid of the current and actually absorbed the current to break free from the cable.

　　A groan could be heard coming out from the Xia Palace as a ray of white light dashed out and shielded Wen Zhong. The light then spun and a human head landed on the ground.

　　The white light dispersed to reveal a black demonic blade. Once the blade sensed that there was no more vitality in Wen Zhong, it flew back towards the Xia Palace.

　　Everything happened in a split second.

　　Wen Zhong’s skull landed a few feet away from his body, his eyes were shut and there were faint traces of green Qi in between his brows.

　　The executioner took a deep bow towards the direction of Wangcheng and took a sip of liquor and spit it on Wen Zhong’s skull. A long fire dragon then came out and wrapped the skull.

　　The green Qi was buzzing but soon dispersed.

　　The executioner wiped his sweat and said, “Shit, what kind of monster is this? He is finally dead.”

　　If it was not for that demonic blade, the executioner would not be able to slaughter Wen Zhong successfully. The Death Proof Body was a feat that not many people of the Xia Tribe was able to achieve.

　　Shortly after that, the executioner started rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Like a puddle of clay, Wen Zhong’s corpse transformed and manifested into two iron rods.

　　Beyond Wangcheng, a voice could be heard saying, “How would the army and blades get rid of a celestial-disaster? Demonic thoughts could lead to blind anger.”

　　The Dao melody lingered that sounded like a prophecy lingered in the deeps of Xia Palace.

　　Emperor Xia was not furious by it. He looked at High Priest who was lying on the bed and asked, “What is the background of this person.”

　　The High Priest leaned against the pillow and sighed, “He is most probably a descendant of the Shangqing School.”

　　“A disciple of Lingbao Tianzun?” Emperor Xia was doubtful.

　　“He should be the third generation. If he is Lingbao Tianzun’s disciple, he would have the cultivation experience of a heavenly immortal. Now that these hidden ancient figures are beginning to appear, it would be a tough road ahead for us. It’s wiser for you to give up on Xia Kingdom,” the High Priest said.

　　Wen Zhong’s appearance signified that a certain group of ancient connoisseurs who had been hiding over the years would make a comeback soon.

　　The Netherworld would no longer be dominated by Xia Kingdom as it used to be.

　　Emperor Xia looked at the High Priest with a scorching hot gaze and said, “Without Xia Kingdom, would I still be Emperor Xia? Sustaining a career is harder than starting one. I will protect Si Wenming’s legacy and let everyone know that who is the real Emperor of Xia.”

　　The High Priest sighed, “The two of you are different. There is no need for you to prove it to anyone.”

　　Emperor Xia lets out a laugh and exited the hall. The High Priest looked deeply at the back view of Emperor Xia and thought to himself that Emperor Xia had entered Dao with his emotions.

　　Generally, people of Xia would only cultivate their strength and not cultivate Dao. That was the reason why they had the strength and yet were weak spiritually. When they reached the level of walking celestials of the earth, they had a slight upper hand compared to Qi cultivators.

　　However, Emperor Xia had broken free from this limitation. His spiritual sense entered a exquisite state, prompting him to the path of Dao with his emotions. The manipulation of the demonic blade earlier showed that his blade craft could match with swordcraft of Asura Blood Sea.

　　When the time comes where Emperor Xia could kill either Shen Lian or Tianyi, he would have achieved the level of Si Wenming. Emperor Xia would be untouchable even if there were any hidden ancient connoisseurs in the Netherworld.

　　…….

　　Shen Lian took a seat inside of the Zhiwei Temple. The monk of Dajue Temple was still struggling to escape from the prison circle where Shen Lian drew.

　　He looked towards the direction of Wangcheng and said, “You knew of the tactic of sacrificing the plum tree to preserve the peach tree too.” The pressure that was clouding Diqiu had dispersed greatly and the design of nature became a lot clearer.

　　There were five different Qi dynamics in Diqiu that swept across the universe. Among them, there were four that were most tyrannical and was capable of competing with the stars, moon, and sun. It was also possible to see the four rays of raging Qi dynamics gushing up to the clouds during daylight. As a result, the weather would be clear and perfect with zero dust.

　　Shen Lian had a sudden realization as he vaguely saw a dark heavy book in a corner of the void. That book was the root and source of the Netherworld and anyone who controlled it would be the master of the world.