Outside the mountain gates of the Tianmo Sect.
As Lu Ning revealed her Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection aura, the crusading army of 3,000 righteous cultivators immediately collapsed.
It was because that terrifying pressure was one they were all too familiar with; it was the overbearing demonic might of the Great Demon, Lu Ning.
Was this a joke?!
When they came to launch this crusade, they thought victory was practically guaranteed.
After all, according to the intelligence they had received, that Great Demon Lu Ning had been severely injured 6 months ago, and her cultivation had plummeted.
Now, she was supposedly just a paper tiger putting on a front.
But looking at it now, the intelligence was wrong!
They were dead wrong!
How was this a front?
This was clearly a meticulously planned trap!
An execution ground prepared specifically for their so-called “Righteous Alliance”!
That Great Demon was not in a state of heavy injury at all.
This realization made the scalps of all the Great Enlightenment Realm experts present tingle with numbness.
Every minor boundary within the Great Enlightenment Realm represented a world of difference.
Not to mention, she was at Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection, standing at the very peak of the Northern Territory’s cultivation world!
Run!
That was the only thought in the minds of all the Great Enlightenment Realm experts at this moment.
Those of the older generation who had perished in the Immortal Burial Mountain Range 6 months ago had only died because they were too slow.
They had no doubt that if they did not leave now, they would likely lose their lives here today.
In an instant, hundreds of streaks of light soared into the sky, fleeing frantically in all directions like stray dogs.
Since even those Great Enlightenment Realm old monsters leading the charge had run away, the remaining cultivators in the Body Integration Stage and Soul Transformation Stage were even more scared out of their wits and scattered like birds and beasts.
Within moments of Lu Ning revealing her aura, the once-aggressive 3,000-strong righteous army, who had been shouting for blood, had completely vanished.
In the end, only three figures remained, suspended alone in the air, appearing particularly conspicuous and awkward.
The Xuantian Holy Lord, the Master of Wanjian Mountain Manor, and the Master of Miaoyin Pavilion.
It was not that they did not want to run.
Rather, they could not.
They were the initiators of this crusade and the face of the entire Northern Territory’s righteous path.
If they fled without a fight like the others, from then on, their three great Holy Lands would become a complete laughingstock throughout the Northern Territory.
Neither their Dao hearts nor their pride allowed them to do so.
But if they did not run, what could they do?
Fight?
Although the three of them were all at Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection, they had no chance of winning a direct confrontation with Lu Ning.
If they had a chance of winning, they would not have had to resort to a sneak attack 6 months ago.
For a time, the three of them were filled with struggle and bitterness.
At this time, in front of the Tianmo Sect’s mountain gate.
Lu Ning looked at the righteous cultivators who had been scared witless and were fleeing in disarray, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that her plan of “the fox borrowing the tiger’s prestige” had been a success.
‘System, how much time is left on the Absolute Deterrence Card?’
Lu Ning asked silently in her mind.
[Ding! Remaining time for the Absolute Deterrence 3-minute trial card: 60 seconds.]
[59, 58, 57…]
Hearing the system’s countdown, Lu Ning’s heart sank.
Time was running out!
She had to use this final time to bluff away the three biggest problems in front of her.
At this moment, a flash of determination crossed Lu Ning’s eyes.
She knew it was time to play her “trump card.”
Lu Ning took a slow step forward.
Her indifferent eyes swept over the three righteous leaders in the distance, whose faces were pale, and a playful arc curled at the corners of her mouth.
“You three, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?”
Upon hearing those words, the expressions of the Xuantian Holy Lord and the others became even uglier.
“Lu Ning!”
The Xuantian Holy Lord’s voice was cold, and her beautiful eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.
“I have disappointed the three of you.”
Lu Ning chuckled, her smile filled with disdain.
“Not only did this Seat not die, but I have also turned a misfortune into a blessing. My cultivation is now even greater than before.”
“Speaking of which, this Seat must thank the three of you for your assistance back then.”
“You — “
The Xuantian Holy Lord trembled with anger at these words but was unable to refute them.
She could clearly feel the terrifying pressure radiating from Lu Ning’s body, which was even stronger and purer than it had been 6 months ago.
“Fine, enough nonsense.”
Lu Ning’s voice suddenly became sharp.
“The debt from the sneak attack on this Seat 6 months ago… it is time to settle it properly.”
As she spoke, she slowly raised her right hand.
“How about the three of you enter my Heavenly Demon Domain to have a proper chat with me?”
Heavenly Demon Domain!
Hearing these words, the pupils of the Xuantian Holy Lord and the other two abruptly contracted.
Domain power — that was a supreme divine ability that only supreme powerhouses at the legendary Tribulation Transcendence Stage or above could master!
‘This demon… she had actually comprehended domain power?’
‘How is that possible?!’
Just as huge waves were crashing in the hearts of the three women and they were even contemplating retreat, a sudden change occurred.
A dazzling golden streak of light suddenly streaked across the sky, racing toward the Tianmo Sect’s mountain gate at an incredibly fast speed.
Wherever that light passed, space distorted as if unable to withstand that terrifying power.
In just a breath, the golden streak of light descended before the mountain gates of the Tianmo Sect.
The light dissipated.
A stunning figure wearing a luxurious golden palace dress, with smooth golden hair flowing casually behind her, appeared before everyone.
She floated in the air without emitting any aura, yet she seemed to be the only deity in the world.
Her innate nobility and dominance made everyone present feel a sense of suffocation.
The newcomer was the Eldest Princess of the Dahuang Dynasty, Jing Linglong, who had returned from the trial in the Phoenix Ancestral Land and possessed unfathomable cultivation.
The moment Lu Ning saw the person clearly, she was completely stunned.
‘Why did she come here?’
‘And at a time like this!’
[Ding! The Absolute Deterrence 3-minute trial card has expired.]
The cold system notification rang in Lu Ning’s mind.
In the next moment, the terrifying Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection pressure on her body vanished instantly.
The atmosphere in front of the Tianmo Sect’s gates became strange.
The terrifying demonic might that had previously made the Xuantian Holy Lord and the others unable to breathe disappeared without a trace at this moment.
Lu Ning’s Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection aura deflated like a punctured balloon.
Peak Soul Transformation Stage.
This was her true current cultivation level.
Although this boundary was considered unattainable for ordinary cultivators, at this moment, in front of several truly top-tier experts of the Northern Territory, it appeared utterly insignificant.
The Xuantian Holy Lord and the other two were the first to recover from the sudden change.
They stared blankly at Lu Ning, whose aura had plummeted to the Soul Transformation Stage.
A flash of astonishment crossed their beautiful faces, followed immediately by endless humiliation and rage.
They had been tricked!
From beginning to end, they had been played by this demon!
What Great Enlightenment Realm Perfection?
What Heavenly Demon Domain?
It was all fake!
This demon was nothing more than a paper tiger putting on a show!
At the thought that she had just been scared by a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator to the point where her Dao heart was almost shaken and she had even thought of retreating, the Xuantian Holy Lord felt overcome with shame.
“Lu! Ning!”
The Xuantian Holy Lord’s voice was filled with soaring killing intent, and the immortal sword in her hand let out a chime.
However, before she could act —
A cold gaze suddenly landed on her.
The owner of that gaze was the newly arrived Jing Linglong.
From the other party’s unfathomable aura, the Xuantian Holy Lord could see that her strength was clearly not below her own.
This realization made the Xuantian Holy Lord’s heart pound with fear.
Had the rumored Eldest Princess of the Dahuang Dynasty reached a level of strength where she could stand on equal footing with her?
She looked at Jing Linglong, her beautiful eyes filled with wariness.
For a time, the Xuantian Holy Lord and her companions did not dare move recklessly.
Meanwhile, Jing Linglong completely ignored them.
Her gaze slowly fell upon Lu Ning, whose face was pale due to the exposure of her true aura.
She walked toward Lu Ning step by step.
“Little liar.”
“I have come to take you home.”