Chapter 173: The Lunar Saint Descends
The Lunar Saint Descends
Damien’s fingers tightened slightly around his jade.
He knew that much.
But he also knew something else.
Some secrets were better left buried until the right moment.
The moment the three Ancient Tomb Jades appeared—
The darkness above them moved.
A pair of lowered eyes suddenly snapped open.
They seemed to have awakened from an ancient slumber.
"Ancient Tomb Jade..."
A hoarse voice slowly emerged from the darkness.
There was excitement hidden within it.
"Heh."
"It seems this old man’s trip to this backwater Celestial Capital Domain wasn’t in vain..."
The voice drifted across the mountain.
Then the heavens darkened.
Dense clouds began gathering from every direction.
They rolled across the sky like enormous waves.
Black.
Thick.
Oppressive.
Like someone had poured endless ink across the heavens.
The sunlight vanished.
The entire Red Cliff Mountain seemed to sink beneath an enormous shadow.
Austin’s smile disappeared.
Nux’s expression became cold.
Damien’s hand slowly moved toward the Eternal Tribulation Sword.
A terrifying aura descended.
It locked onto all three of them.
Then—
A wrinkled face slowly materialized within the clouds.
Its features were old.
Ancient.
Yet its eyes were terrifying.
Within those eyes, suns and moons seemed to rise and fall endlessly.
The old man’s gaze swept across the three young men.
"Hand over the Ancient Tomb Jades, and I’ll spare your lives..."
His voice thundered across the heavens.
It was not loud merely because of volume.
The voice itself carried an overwhelming authority.
The surrounding air trembled.
Mountains groaned.
Countless weaker cultivators felt their knees buckle beneath them.
Nux reacted first.
The honest smile that usually rested upon his face vanished.
His expression became terrifyingly cold.
Boundless killing intent erupted from his body.
A crimson crescent phantom rose behind him.
It was as though an ocean of blood had suddenly appeared beneath the heavens.
At the same time—
Austin moved.
Pale flames erupted from his body.
The Death Illusion Demon Flame twisted violently.
One flame became two.
Two became dozens.
Then countless crimson lotuses bloomed across the sky.
Each lotus carried terrifying heat and an equally terrifying illusion.
Austin raised his hand.
The flames climbed toward the heavens.
Damien drew his sword.
SHING!!
The Eternal Tribulation Sword left its sheath.
Sword Intent instantly filled the world.
Cold.
Absolute.
Unyielding.
Killing intent surged like an endless tide.
Flames bloomed like demons.
Sword Intent reigned like the heavens.
The three attacks erupted simultaneously.
BOOM!!
The combined power of Nux, Austin, and Damien created countless phenomena.
The sky seemed to crack.
The earth shook.
The crimson crescent tore through the darkness.
The countless fire lotuses rose like a sea of burning flowers.
And Damien’s Sword Intent descended from above like the judgment of heaven itself.
Their combined strength was astonishing.
Yet—
The wrinkled face hanging across the heavens merely smiled.
It was an indifferent smile.
A smile filled with absolute superiority.
Like heaven looking down at mayflies.
Like a giant watching insects struggle beneath its feet.
The old man’s smile carried no anger.
Only amusement.
As if their attack was nothing more than a child’s tantrum.
Then—
RUSH!!
A profound and mysterious technique suddenly erupted.
The heavens changed.
The world fell silent.
In broad daylight—
A new moon slowly rose into the sky.
It was enormous.
Cold.
Magnificent.
It hung above the heavens and overshadowed the sun itself.
The instant it appeared—
BOOM!!
Terrifying pressure crashed downward.
The entire Red Cliff Mountain seemed to sink several meters beneath an invisible hand.
Mountains cracked.
Trees bent.
The surrounding space distorted.
Every prodigy present trembled.
Some fell directly to their knees.
Others gritted their teeth, desperately trying to remain standing.
Then—
Damien’s Sword Intent extinguished.
Nux’s killing intent scattered.
Austin’s fire lotuses withered.
Everything they had released was destroyed in an instant.
The difference between them was simply too vast.
Their attacks had been powerful.
But before such overwhelming strength...
They were nothing.
The oppressive aura made heaven and earth themselves change color.
This was a true Lunar Saint-level expert.
Not someone who had merely touched the threshold.
Not someone who had stumbled into the Lunar Sovereign Realm and barely managed to control its power.
This was a genuine Lunar Saint who had fully mastered the power of law.
A being capable of manifesting the lunar phenomenon itself.
Unlike Rafael Bluestone, who had only barely stepped into the Lunar Sovereign Realm, this existence had already walked far beyond that boundary.
His strength was deep.
His control over law was near-perfect.
His very presence was enough to suppress everyone beneath him.
Damien frowned deeply.
His fingers tightened around the Eternal Tribulation Sword.
He could feel it.
The terrifying power surrounding that old man was not something he could currently resist.
The opponent was even stronger than anything Damien had encountered during his previous life.
A true Lunar Saint.
A figure who controlled vast territories.
A being who held countless lives within his grasp.
Yet such a person had actually lowered himself to attack three juniors.
Damien found it difficult to understand.
But the old man clearly had no intention of explaining himself.
Instead, his voice became calmer.
"Promising young ones..."
"I’ll give you a chance. Become my disciples."
"The Ancient Tomb Jades stay with you."
"Staying in this border domain, in this backwater nation, you’ll amount to nothing in the end. Follow me, and this Lunar Saint will show you the true heavens!"
"The true brilliance!!"
His voice rolled across the sky like thunder.
Then the enormous face slowly dissolved.
The clouds parted.
A figure descended from above.
A middle-aged man wearing magnificent purple robes appeared in the sky.
A crown rested upon his head.
The instant his feet touched the air, faint cries of dragons and tigers seemed to echo around him.
Behind him, countless heroic figures appeared.
Generals.
Warriors.
Ancient soldiers.
They seemed to emerge from an endless battlefield, fighting beneath his command.
This was a Lunar Saint who had mastered the Law of War.
His gaze fell upon the three young men.