Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

"It's you?!"

Suddenly finding his path blocked, the Abbot glanced over, his expression faltering in surprise.

The person who had stopped him was none other than the Provincial Governor of Lei Province!

"The Provincial Governor?!"

"I can't believe even the Provincial Governor has stepped in!"

Seeing this, the crowd below grew excited.

With the Provincial Governor involved, their chances of winning this fight against the evil cultivator had just increased!

The experts of the Demonic Sect were also thrilled. At least Ye Chen was no longer fighting alone!

"Why are you here?"

Ye Chen's eyes flickered, a hint of surprise in his heart.

He had been ready to crush the three Spirit Crystals and detonate the Spirit-Gathering Array to unleash a devastating counterattack against the Abbot.

He never expected the Provincial Governor to intervene and save him.

But right now, the Provincial Governor's face was deathly pale.

Clearly, he had been severely injured while blocking the Abbot's last attack.

"Once an evil cultivator emerges, they bring nothing but devastation and death, laying waste to the land... They are a scourge that everyone must unite to destroy!"

"I'll set aside your grievances with the Provincial Government for now. First, we must defeat this common enemy before us!"

the Provincial Governor said coolly.

"I didn't expect you to have also broken through to the Fifth Layer of the Primordial Mansion Realm, Provincial Governor."

"It seems that despite your demanding official duties, your cultivation hasn't stagnated over the years."

The Abbot looked at the Provincial Governor, his expression unchanging. "But even if you join the fray, what can you possibly change?"

"Your presence here changes nothing!"

"Enough of your nonsense!" the Provincial Governor snorted. "I never imagined that you, in your lust for power, would sink to such depraved depths!"

"Collaborating with evil cultivators? Do you know the consequences? You'll become a public enemy to all Cultivators!"

"And Vajra Temple, the number one sect in Lei Province, will only meet its ruin under your leadership!"

"So what?" Hearing this, the Abbot sneered. "When one man achieves greatness, all his followers rise with him!"

"As long as I can break through to Divinity Transformation, I'll have a chance to join the Holy Temple! The fate of Vajra Temple will be irrelevant!"

"So what if you all know I'm an evil cultivator? You can't afford to provoke a Cultivator of the Divinity Transformation Realm, let alone the Holy Temple!"

The Abbot's words sent a jolt of shock through both Ye Chen and the Provincial Governor.

The Provincial Governor, in particular, was filled with a complex mix of feelings.

'A Divinity Transformation Realm Cultivator!'

'An existence beyond the Primordial Mansion Realm, high and mighty, with a status that transcends all.'

'In Lei Province, a Divinity Transformation Realm Cultivator is a god! A single word from them can decide life and death, a single command can make the masses kneel in submission!'

'Everyone knows that Lei Province is a barren and sparsely populated backwater in the Great Hong Dynasty.'

'There aren't even enough Primordial Mansion Realm Cultivators to count on two hands.'

'An existence who can break through to Divinity Transformation is rarer still.'

'Once someone ascends to that realm, they can truly rule as an overlord and completely change the balance of power in Lei Province.'

'The three great sects, the four great families, the Lei Province government...'

'The moment a Divinity Transformation Cultivator appears in Lei Province, this entire stalemate would shatter. All power would be consolidated under one person!'

'Of course, any Cultivator capable of reaching such a realm would have likely left Lei Province long ago. They would have gone to places with denser Spiritual Qi and greater destiny to pursue a higher path, wouldn't they?'

'Why would they ever be content to remain in Lei Province?'

'Breaking through to Divinity Transformation... it's a distant, unattainable dream for the top powerhouses of Lei Province!'

Perhaps the Abbot was right.

'So what if he reaches Divinity Transformation through an evil path?'

'To a Divinity Transformation master, the countless mortals of this world are nothing but ants. Even if they knew the truth, who would dare to speak out against such a being?'

'To put it bluntly, this world is just that cruel.'

'As long as you're strong enough, as long as you have the power, you can crush any and all dissent!'

But now, because of his conflict with Ye Chen, the Abbot had exposed his secret collaboration with evil cultivators!

Right now, he was only at the Ninth Layer of the Primordial Mansion Realm—just one step away from Divinity Transformation!!!

He was not yet untouchable. If the Cultivators of Lei Province united, they still had the power to take down this evil practitioner!

However, what caught Ye Chen's attention was something else entirely.

"The Holy Temple?"

"What kind of place is it that you would delve into the path of evil just for a chance to enter it?"

Ye Chen frowned slightly.

"You fools are confined to this backwater, Lei Province. You're like frogs in a well. How could you possibly comprehend the vastness of the world outside?"

The Abbot sneered. "Once I enter the Holy Temple, I'll have the chance to pursue a higher path and prepare to one day travel to the royal capital of the Great Hong Dynasty!"

"The path of cultivation is endless! Be it the evil path or the Righteous Dao, as long as it increases my power, it is worth using!"

"The world outside is boundless and full of wonders! You can all stay here in this miserable backwater for the rest of your lives and be kings of your own little hill!"

At these words, Ye Chen's eyes flickered, but his expression remained unchanged.

'I will definitely leave Lei Province one day, and even the Great Hong Dynasty.'

'But I will never choose a path that betrays my own principles!'

'Besides, is Lei Province really so worthless?'

'What is Lei Province's actual standing within the Great Hong Dynasty?'

Before Ye Chen could dwell on it, the Abbot's aura surged as he once again assumed an attack stance.

"Once I eliminate you two, no one in Lei Province will be able to stand in my way!"

The ghostly face on his chest licked its lips, its expression one of eager anticipation. "Hurry it up! The vital essence of these two bodies is exceptionally potent. If we devour them both, our chances of breaking through to Divinity Transformation will be even greater!"

"Kid, be careful. We need to face him together. Whatever you do, don't let him pick us off one by one!"

The Provincial Governor's expression was grim. 'If I had known it would come to this, I should have used the Dynasty's power to crush Vajra Temple when it was just an emerging force!'

Ye Chen didn't immediately respond to the Provincial Governor's suggestion.

He simply stared at the Abbot with an indifferent gaze. "I don't care about your ambitions."

"I only have one question for you."

"The Qin family... was it you who destroyed them?!"

The Provincial Governor, standing to the side, looked over in astonishment.

'The Qin family?'

'At a time like this, why is the kid asking such an irrelevant question?'

"The Qin family?"

The Abbot paused, then let out a mirthless laugh. "I'd almost forgotten. You're the one who got away."

Ye Chen's gaze turned as cold as a blade. "So it really was you."

Killing intent rolled off him in waves, so intense that even the Provincial Governor's expression shifted slightly.

"HAHAHA!"

"Kid, you'd do well to remember where the Qin family was located. Their destruction was only a matter of time."

"Besides, there's no point in you pursuing this! You aren't qualified to know the secrets behind it!"

The Abbot's old face twisted into a demonic sneer. With a wild laugh, he thrust out his palm!

"Take your questions to hell with you, along with that man by your side!"