「Heavenly Moon Mega Church.」
The church square was a sea of corpses and a river of blood, with a sickeningly sweet wind filling the air, resembling Hell on Earth.
The sect followers, looking at Luo Xiu confronting the Pope, wore ferocious expressions, wishing they could pounce on him to devour his flesh and drink his blood!
But recalling how the Pope had subdued a terrifyingly powerful Venerable One in just a few moves moments before, the sect followers felt a surge of confidence and pride.
With His Majesty the Pope presiding over the Mega Church, who in the world would dare to attack?
Anyone who comes will die!
All shall be subdued!
"Your Holiness, kill this rebel and avenge our fallen Elders and Offerings!"
"Please, Your Majesty, execute this traitor!"
"..."
The sect followers raised their arms and shouted, each one wishing they were the Pope at that moment.
The Heaven Moon Pope merely raised his hand slightly, and his supreme dignity caused the very air to congeal.
Silence instantly fell upon the scene.
Staring at Luo Xiu, the Heaven Moon Pope squinted slightly and spoke, "I heard you mention the Heaven's Aegis Army... Could it be that you are a descendant of one of its members?"
However, Luo Xiu ignored him completely. As if no one else was there, he held Xia Chan's hand and walked toward the large pit nearby.
The Heaven Moon Pope gnashed his teeth in anger. Luo Xiu's disregard was undoubtedly a provocation, an attitude of utter contempt. But the Heaven Moon Pope did not give chase, nor did he fly into a rage. He quickly calmed his Dao Heart.
"I give you time to listen to his last words."
「Elsewhere.」
Luo Xiu stopped at the edge of the large pit, looking thoughtfully at the Body of the Dark Land lying within, which was rapidly disintegrating.
He discovered that not only was the Body of the Dark Land disintegrating, but even the Residual Soul of the Heaven-Supporting Venerable was vanishing, beyond capture with the Soul Capturing Technique.
Suddenly, he asked, "What's happening?"
The Heaven-Supporting Venerable turned his head gently to look at Luo Xiu and said faintly, "I do not know... but this silver flame seems to contain some kind of Law's Breath, preventing the Dark Land from reassembling."
With that, he suddenly laughed. "Actually, this is good. This way, my true self can escape your control and truly regain its freedom."
"It seems that in this world, there is no such thing as being 'immortal and indestructible.'"
"However, boy... Although I hate you very much, my Wind Dao Principle has ended up with you, after all. I hope you won't... disgrace it in the future..."
Luo Xiu watched as the Heaven-Supporting Venerable's Residual Soul vanished, his heart untouched by any ripple.
He suddenly turned around and said, "Farewell."
At this moment, he couldn't help but recall his time in the Shanhai Territory, when an outer Elder of the Heavenly Moon Cult had used Dao Jade to attack a Body of the Dark Land that he had created, which subsequently wouldn't reassemble.
That outer Elder was none other than Zhong Mudao.
It seems that a certain Taoist Art or cultivation technique practiced by the Heavenly Moon Cult can restrain my Elysian Nether Earth.
What is it exactly?
Could it truly be the power of some Law?
As Luo Xiu pondered silently, his vision suddenly darkened, and an overwhelming pressure came crushing down on him. The Heaven Moon Pope had appeared before him like a specter.
"Now that the last words have been heard, it's time for you to be on your way."
Luo Xiu gazed at the Pope as his body was suddenly enveloped in black qi, and he instantly entered the Grim Reaper Form!
The terrifying aura of death spread out in all directions. The Heaven Moon Pope's gaze shook as he felt a lethal threat. "Step back, everyone!" he cried out. "Do not get too close to him!"
However, it was too late.
Those sect followers who were closer to Luo Xiu, within range of the Aura of the Dead, had their lives stripped away in an instant. The precious flowers and Spirit Plants in the flowerbeds withered in a flash. The costly Spiritual Fish in the fountain pool turned belly-up in a split second.
This terrifying spectacle left the sect followers utterly dumbfounded.
Luo Xiu looked up at the Heaven Moon Pope, his lips curling slightly. "Old Pope, I think you might be misunderstanding something—the Swordfire Divine Sect was annihilated by me alone. I am my own backup."
The Heaven Moon Pope's expression became grave, and he no longer dared to hold anything back. His whole body suddenly radiated with a brilliant silver light. Behind him in The Void, the Great Dao Destiny Wheel emerged. At the same time, a phenomenon appeared in the sky—a dazzling silver moon!
Luo Xiu fixed his gaze on the Heaven Moon Pope and suddenly furrowed his brow, feeling a sense of disbelief. He was astonished to find that the Divine Sense he released was being eroded by the silver light, and the Heaven Moon Pope could even block his Divine Sense from locking on.
This eerie silver light could even erode a powerful Divine Soul! This also meant that any technique related to Divine Sense was useless against the Heaven Moon Pope.
However, Luo Xiu never relied on Divine Sense to kill. For him, his powerful Divine Soul merely played an auxiliary role.
CRASH!
A loud sound suddenly erupted as if space itself had burst!
A thick Tricolor Glazed Thunder, like a giant python, tore through The Void!
Luo Xiu and his sword became an afterimage of lightning, shifting horizontally in an instant. He pierced through the Heaven Moon Pope's body and appeared several meters behind him.
The next moment, the Heaven Moon Pope's aura dissipated, the Life Wheel behind him vanished, and the phenomenon in the sky faded away.
"Sword Nine - Strike the Vast Seas!"
The Power of Laws merged with the Ghost Valley Supreme Knowledge, executed with a Mysterious Yellow Instrument. Such a terrifying strike was something not even the Heavenly Emperor would dare to face head-on!
The "Strike the Vast Seas" technique could instantly condense boundless sword momentum into a single point, then explode in a straight line, penetrating its target with unavoidable speed. It was a perfect match for the velocity of the Glazed Thunder.
BOOM.
The Heaven Moon Pope knelt on both knees, his hand clutching his chest, his trembling gaze filled with unwillingness.
All the sect followers were utterly dumbfounded, as if they hadn't awakened from a dream. Just a moment ago, His Majesty the Pope was overwhelmingly powerful, crushing everything in his path. Why was he defeated in an instant...?
"What is this... why... why can you..." The Heaven Moon Pope struggled to turn his head, looking at Luo Xiu's back as he asked the question.
Luo Xiu turned around and looked at him with an indifferent expression. "I will ask you only once: was the Heaven's Aegis Army annihilated by you, and where are their Heaven's Aegis?"
Upon hearing this, the Heaven Moon Pope suddenly laughed. "No matter who you are, you will never know the whereabouts of the Heaven's Aegis, hahaha..."
Luo Xiu shook his head lightly, unwilling to waste any more words. He slowly raised his sword, preparing to send the Heaven Moon Pope on his final journey.
But just as his sword was about to fall, a war halberd appeared from nowhere and plunged from the sky, striking the ground before him with a thunderous impact!
The terrifying force made the whole plaza tremble!
Luo Xiu stared at the war halberd, his brow furrowed slightly. He then lifted his eyes toward the sky, and his gaze suddenly wavered.
「In the sky.」
A middle-aged man clad in battle armor had appeared at some unknown point. Behind him stood a group of similarly armored War Soldiers!
Supreme majesty surged like clouds, as if a host of Celestial Soldiers and Generals had descended to crush everything in the mortal world!
Amidst the silence, the middle-aged man spoke, "Tian'er, that's enough. Stop now. The Pope cannot die yet!"
The newcomer was none other than the Heavenly Azure King—Luo Yunnie!
Luo Yunnie was the father of both Luo Hao and Luo Xiu.