The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The old man on the ground saw her, too. He saw the person sitting up from the coffin and couldn't believe such a beautiful woman existed in the world. He couldn't believe she had lived for over ten thousand years, and even less that the terrifying power pinning him down—the power that kept him from even standing—was emanating from this peerless beauty.

The woman gave her head a slight shake, her eyes clearing a little. She stood up within the coffin, and with a light tap of her elegant foot, she floated into the air.

Facing Chen Dong and the old man, she parted her red lips and asked, "Who are you?"

Chen Dong and the old man hesitated. Under the terrifying pressure, they didn't know how to answer.

Before they could respond, the woman's delicate brows furrowed. A fierce expression crossed her face as she looked up and hissed, "So you won't tolerate my existence?"

Though her voice wasn't loud, it thundered in the minds of Chen Dong and the old man. Chen Dong's face went white, and the old man immediately coughed up a large mouthful of blood. If they hadn't been on the island, with its potent restorative properties, her voice alone would have been enough to kill him.

The peerless woman in red soared upwards. With a beckon of her elegant hand, the corroded ancient sword flew from Chen Dong's grasp and into her own.

She formed a sign with two fingers and wiped it across the blade. The sword's edge instantly sharpened, shimmering with a brilliant light. With a wave of her hand, the ancient sword became a streak of light, piercing straight through the cavern's many layers.

A beam of light shone down upon the woman through the passage the ancient sword had created.

The woman's voice was cold as she declared, "If the Celestial Dao will not tolerate me, then I shall sunder this Celestial Dao!" Her body transformed into a streak of red light, shooting up after the sword.

Once the woman was gone, both Chen Dong and the old man let out a breath of relief.

Chen Dong pinched the bridge of his nose.

The old man on the ground was sighing, overcome with emotion. He struggled to his feet. In that woman's presence, he couldn't even sit up. He had been utterly terrified, certain that a tomb raider like himself would be snuffed out of existence with a single breath from her.

Just as the two had calmed themselves, the entire tomb began to shake violently. Open flames flickered in the air, merging into a solid sheet of fire.

Chen Dong said in horror, "This is bad! The Array is changing. If we don't get out now, we'll be trapped here to die."

Hearing this, the old man was panic-stricken and immediately looked to Chen Dong. He had no way of getting out; the deadly lake surrounding the island would have been enough to kill him.

Chen Dong's brows knitted. "It's a gamble!" he shouted. His figure flashed as he grabbed the old man, preparing to hide in the coffin.

But a sudden feeling of weightlessness sent alarm bells ringing in Chen Dong's mind. The tomb was sinking, and the island was disappearing into the lake at a speed visible to the naked eye. If they hid in the coffin, even if they managed to avoid the Array's final killing blow, they would be buried alive deep underground.

Time was tight, leaving no room for thought. Chen Dong waved his hand, sending dozens of Silver Needles into major acupoints across his body. He grabbed the old man and flew up the passage the woman in red had carved.

Thankfully, the red-robed woman's sword strike was unparalleled, and the passage it created was wide enough. The veins all over Chen Dong's body bulged as he flew at full speed, carrying the old man. A trickle of blood was already leaking from the corner of his mouth.

The old man, held by a single arm, was stunned speechless. 'This young man's Realm is beyond Outer Manifestation, because even those in the Outer Manifestation Realm can't fly like this.'

He had been shocked enough to learn that Chen Dong was at the Tiangang Realm, but Chen Dong had shattered his understanding time and time again. In his heart, his initial admiration for Chen Dong had transformed into profound respect.

Especially since Chen Dong hadn't forgotten to bring him along at such a life-or-death moment. It clearly wasn't as Chen Dong had claimed earlier—that he was only saving him to use as a distraction for the giant snake.

Chen Dong's speed was still a little too slow. Even though he used a Secret Technique to forcibly raise his Realm, the earth was constantly collapsing as they flew, and the passage grew narrower.

The exit was in sight, but the tunnel behind them was no longer wide enough for two people.

The old man's heart sank. He shouted urgently to Chen Dong, "Let me go! You can escape on your own!"

Chen Dong spat out a mouthful of blood. "Shut up!" The Outer Manifestation reappeared around his body, blasting away layers of rock. At the critical moment, the two of them finally broke through the surface.

Outside, the sky was ablaze with thunder. An endless, crushing pressure from heaven and earth enveloped the entire region. Behind them, the mountain range roiled as if a great earth dragon were turning over, continuously collapsing and sinking.

Chen Dong spat another mouthful of blood, chose a direction, and flew away swiftly.

On a clear patch of ground atop a mountain, Chen Dong dropped the old man, quickly forced the Silver Needles from his body, and sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing.

At that moment, the old man had none of his Tiangang Realm aura. He lay sprawled on the ground, gasping wretchedly for air. He had finally escaped with his life. Thinking of his three sons and his grandson, tears streamed down his old face.

Chen Dong meditated for a moment before standing up. This was no place to recuperate. He fixed his gaze on the distant speck of red light battling heaven and earth.

'I have no idea how many Realms her power surpasses my own; even heaven and earth can't tolerate her existence. But... I see a reflection of myself in her. One day, I'll face this too.'

Violent thunder crisscrossed the sky. The bolts were shockingly powerful, no longer the ordinary Celestial Thunder of the past. What struck down was not white lightning, but a qualitatively transformed, purple-blue Divine Thunder.

BOOM! BOOM! The rumbling was incessant. The speck of red in the sky was struck down by the lightning, only to charge back up, be struck down again, and soar into the air once more.

The thunderclouds suddenly swirled and unfurled, blotting out the sky and sun. It felt as if the entirety of Jiangzhou was blanketed beneath them.

This display of worldly power made Chen Dong feel a sense of despair. 'Is this the end of the Dao?'

The thunder pool in the clouds roiled and then poured down. A massive stream of lightning, like a waterfall, swept toward the faint red shadow.

After the world-shaking Thunderfall, the red shadow in the sky was gone.