Chapter 455: A Final Struggle

The Four Heavenly Lords employed all their detection techniques to scan the surroundings with utmost care, but they found nothing in this void.
“If there’s nothing here, why is my projected body losing energy so rapidly?”
The Four Heavenly Lords also suspected it might be some kind of divine spell cast by Su Che and his group, but they were certain that in that situation, they themselves would be helpless, unable even to move their fingers, let alone cast spells.
What was going on?
“Could there be some unknown force in the cultivation world protecting that Tian Yu secretly?”
Full of doubts, they had no time to overthink it, as their projected bodies were about to collapse completely.
At that moment, the Four Heavenly Lords shared the same thought: they must launch a joint attack before their projected bodies vanished entirely, aiming to capture Tian Yu in an instant and send him straight to the Spirit Realm.
Once in the Spirit Realm, even if he possessed countless spells, he would have nowhere to escape.
“Hah!”
The Four Heavenly Lords shouted in unison. Without even needing to communicate, they planned to attack together…
Yet, to their surprise, their energy surged like a flood, rushing downward, leaving them unable to muster even a trace of energy to cast spells. They found themselves in a helpless predicament.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Their figures swayed violently, their souls becoming translucent.
“My shadow actually has such power?”
Not only was Su Che overjoyed, but even the cultivators like Tai Hong behind him were stunned. However, they had no idea what was happening and could only guess wildly: if the Four Heavenly Lords’ projected bodies were suppressed by that Tian Yu, who exactly was he? How many more unknown powers did he possess?
Yet Su Che’s joy was short-lived. Even in the Spirit Realm, filled with powerful beings, the Four Heavenly Lords were formidable figures. Each possessed unique abilities, and their reaction speeds to emergencies were nothing to underestimate.
“Burn the magic energy!”
Lord Lin Tian made the first move, instantly igniting all the energy within him. Boom! A strange white flame rose and spread instantly, reaching thousands of feet away.
“Retreat!”

Su Che’s four subordinates in the Refining Void stage also reacted quickly, activating their defensive talismans and protective auras throughout their bodies. Together, they created a defense shield dozens of zhang in diameter to protect Su Che as he fled at high speed diagonally backward. Though he moved swiftly, he was still hit by the surging white flames. Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh… In just an instant, the diameter of the defense shield shrank to around a dozen zhang, and it seemed that in the next moment, Su Che and the others would be reduced to ashes. This showed just how terrifyingly powerful even a simple attack technique from the later stages of the tribulation could be. Before they could escape the threat of being burned to death by the sea of fire, another threat arose. “Nine Heavens Nirvana!” Another Heavenly Monarch ignited the remaining energy within him, transforming into a giant fire phoenix that soared toward Su Che and the others. “Vast Void!” The third Heavenly Monarch also detonated his projection without hesitation. With a whoosh, this explosion lacked an offensive effect but instantly created a virtual void world covering hundreds of li, trapping Su Che and the others inside. Already surrounded by the endless universe, they now found themselves in this illusory void world, instantly filled with a sense of despair—feeling as though they could never escape, no matter how long they flew. Even if they transformed into lightning, they would still never be able to break free. In fact, this “Vast Void” was a domain technique. The domain was filled with countless small, overlapping spaces. If one thought they had flown a thousand li, most of that distance was wasted navigating through these overlapping spaces, with only a few dozen zhang actually covered. In other words, their flight speed was slowed by a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times, creating the illusion of an endless journey. As a result, the attacks that Su Che and his companions could have dodged before now hit them full force, as their evasion speed had been reduced by thousands of times. “Swallow Heaven and Earth!” The last Heavenly Monarch, the gray-bearded old man, also detonated himself, exploding into a white light sphere over ten zhang in diameter. Immediately, an overwhelming and irresistible force of suction emerged. The white sea of fire from the Heavenly Monarch, the fire phoenix soaring through the air, the boundless void domain, and Su Che and the others were all slowly pulled by this suction force, drifting toward that white light sphere bit by bit.

This feeling was as if that white light sphere was the very center of the entire universe. At this moment, everything in the universe was being drawn inward toward that central point, compressed, gathered together… Even time seemed to be flowing backward.
“Bad!” Jing Lanshan shouted telepathically to Su Che and the others at the same time. “The projected bodies of the Four Heavenly Lords are working together to draw us into that light sphere and then transport us to the Spirit Realm. If we’re sucked in, our master will never be able to escape.”
The white sea of fire continued to burn away their defensive shields. The four subordinates at the Refining Void stage pooled their energy and activated their respective defensive talismans, but none of them could withstand it—the size of the defensive shields continued to shrink rapidly.
There was also a fire phoenix, eyeing them hungrily, ready to pounce at any moment. Moreover, they were inside the domain world of the Vast Void, where their flight speed had been slowed down by a thousand times…
Under these multiple crises and pressures, Su Che’s mind had long stopped functioning; he couldn’t think of any solution. It could be said that such a situation was beyond the capability of someone who had only entered the cultivation world for over a decade and was still in the Yuan Ying stage.
Not to mention resisting, even their mental reactions couldn’t keep up with the rapid succession of crises. Indeed, they were completely on a different level—the gap in cultivation strength and realm was far too great…
Tian Yin, however, was different. After all, her past life was that of a great shaman who had experienced countless epic battles. The scene before her was nothing more than a child’s trick compared to what she had gone through.
“We can only rely on you!”
Tian Yin’s gaze fell on Jing Lanshan’s face, and she suddenly said those words.
Jing Lanshan immediately understood and nodded slightly at her.
“What do you mean?”
Just as Su Che raised this question, he saw Jing Lanshan wave his hands and draw a circular mark in front of his chest. Another white light sphere appeared before them.
“Master, I can no longer serve you.”
Jing Lanshan gave a bitter smile. Without waiting for Su Che to ask, he quickly formed several hand seals…
Whoosh!
Su Che and the others, who were right nearby, were sucked into the white light sphere on his chest.
In this critical moment, with no time for further explanation, Jing Lanshan made a resolute decision this time—without seeking his master’s approval. It was also the last decision of his life.

Without hesitation, Jing Lanshan grabbed the glowing sphere floating before him and, using some unknown power, pressed the white sphere containing Su Che and the others into his chest.
“So what if he’s a Heavenly Monarch? With my own cultivation level, I, Jing Lanshan, can still fight!”
Jing Lanshan roared loudly, then exploded…
Both his physical body and his Yuan Ying detonated at the same time!
What terrifying power could a mid-stage Cultivation of Emptiness master unleash by choosing self-destruction?
At the cost of his life, risking everything in a final gamble—this was the strongest strike he could muster in his life.
Boom…
Within a thousand miles, everything was engulfed by this terrifying explosion.
In the universe’s starry sky, a huge glowing sphere ignited instantly, its brightness surpassing even the distant sun, illuminating billions of miles of space…
Boom… Boom… Boom…
After a long while, the aftermath of the explosion gradually subsided. At the center of this area, where the explosion had occurred, only a small glowing sphere remained, floating quietly.
Nothing else was left—no white sea of fire, no phoenix with wings, no vast void, nothing…
All the divine techniques created by the four Heavenly Monarchs through their projected forms vanished.
Even the twenty-two Cultivation of Emptiness masters, including the bearded cultivator Tai Hong, were missing without a trace.
A moment later, the small glowing sphere suddenly shattered, dispersing into specks of starlight that surrounded Su Che and the others who had appeared.
“Jing Lanshan self-destructed!”
Although Su Che had limited knowledge and couldn’t compare to the three Cultivation of Emptiness subordinates around him, let alone Tian Yin, he could still understand: Jing Lanshan had sacrificed his life to fulfill his duty of protection.
That self-destruction had eliminated all threats, with only the small sphere at the center remaining unharmed. The force of the explosion had spread outward from that sphere.
Even though he was a subordinate forcibly transformed after being enslaved by a soul, such a heroic act filled Su Che’s heart with pain…
“I’m sorry… I…”
Tian Yin leaned close to Su Che, speaking softly with a complex expression. After all, at least half of Jing Lanshan’s decision to self-destruct was due to her guidance.
“There’s no need to say more. I understand.”

Su Che gently waved his hand and said in a soft voice, “You don’t need to apologize. On the contrary, I should be the one to thank you. In fact, it was you and Jing Lanshan who saved me…” As he spoke, Su Che raised his right arm and gently wrapped it around her delicate waist, pulling her close to his chest. For the first time, the two were in close contact, with no space between them… “Let’s go!” In the starry sky, danger loomed unseen. Though Su Che had countless thoughts and feelings, this was not the right moment to express them. Let’s go! They had to seize time and return to Wu Huang Star immediately—after all, it was the safest place for now. They definitely wouldn’t dare come out again until some things were clarified or thought through. Whoosh whoosh whoosh… This time, it was another subordinate at the Mid-Refining Void stage, “Heng Yi,” who piloted his flying artifact, traveling at speeds beyond light toward the visible refuge planet. On the artifact, Su Che’s ink-black shadow remained at his feet. No one knew how it had returned…