Saint Emperor Devourer of Heaven

"I ask you people of Great Liang, are you done making a scene?"

"This符阵 (Fú Zhèn - Talisman Array) competition, are you actually going to compete or not?"

Guan Cihu was losing his patience, eager to use his Talisman Dao to crush and humiliate that Yuanchu who dared to scorn him!

So what if he was personally taught by Jinyun?

So what if he had a peerless talent of the sixteenth grade?

Exceptional martial talent doesn't apply to the Talisman Array Dao.

"Looks like you're in a hurry to humiliate yourself?"

Jun Wuxie's words today were all sharp; he had turned into Jun Dui Dui (怼怼 - '懟' means to rebuke), always rebuking when he opened his mouth.

His arrogance and dominance were deeply imprinted in everyone's heart.

The Great Liang citizens watching the excitement, although they felt he was very arrogant, he had been helping the County Princess and the Qin King's Mansion all along, and they had a deep affection for him.

Whether it was the envoys of the three nations or the Great Liang courtiers, it was obvious that they were targeting the Qin King's Mansion.

At first, they were deceived by their hypocritical pretense, thinking that the rumors of discord between the courtiers and the Qin King were false.

Only now did they realize the true faces of the courtiers.

They pushed the County Princess forward in everything; they had no good intentions.

You must know that the Talisman Array Grandmaster they sent was Guan Cihu, who was at the half-step Fifth Realm.

Yet the courtiers forcibly pushed the County Princess out; what were their intentions?

Today, Young Master Yuanchu was probably angered as well, which is why his words were so sharp and merciless, even to the point of publicly beating a first-rank official.

Jun Wuxie didn't know what the people were thinking; if he did, he would have to sigh with emotion.

When a person gains recognition, no matter what they do, there will naturally be great scholars to defend their actions.

"Enough nonsense, today is a competition of Talisman Arrays and Martial Dao, not of eloquence.

No matter how much you say, it's useless; in the end, the victory or defeat will still be decided on the Talisman Array!"

Guan Cihu raised his head, assuming a posture of looking down on the world.

"How shall we compete? There are three rounds in total. How about for the first round, we construct a Talisman Array, and you go into the array to break it?"

"Why not!" Guan Cihu didn't believe that the other party could construct a profound Talisman Array at all, stroking his beard as he said, "Your Talisman Array is just child's play; this Grandmaster only needs an instant to break it!"

"Hopefully, your skill is as tough as your mouth.

However, we have to set a time limit; if you, Guan Cihu, can't break it, we can't just wait here for ten days or half a month.

We limit the time to construct the Talisman Array to half an incense stick's time, and the time limit to break the array to within three days; beyond the time limit, it will be considered a failure."

"Good! Half an incense stick; I'd like to see what you can construct in half an incense stick's time."

"Then you shall wait and see."

As Jun Wuxie spoke, he signaled Qin Keqing to go on stage.

Qin Keqing nodded slightly and walked towards the center of the competition arena under the gazes of countless eyes.

"County Princess Anping, please, construct your Talisman Array.

This Grandmaster will give you half an hour to construct the Talisman Array; half an incense stick's time is too short, lest you say this Grandmaster is bullying a junior."

Guan Cihu was full of disdain; he knew that Qin Keqing was proud and would not want more time, deliberately putting on a magnanimous appearance.

"This County Princess doesn't need to take advantage of you.

Although half an incense stick's time is short, it is already very sufficient for this County Princess."

After Qin Keqing finished speaking, she moved and walked to the center of the competition arena, communicating with the Primordial Talismans that Jun Wuxie had given her with her Primordial Spirit.

Instantly, a large number of runes appeared around her body.

Her feet were also like this; with the place where she stood as the center, wisps of runes spread out, intertwined with each other, changing in countless ways, and evolved into an array at an extremely fast speed.

"Creating an array out of thin air; you actually have such means?

A Talisman Array constructed in advance, right?"

Guan Cihu was a little shocked at first, but after thinking carefully, with County Princess Anping's age, it was impossible to cultivate the Talisman Dao to such a degree.

It must be a Talisman Array constructed in advance.

These runes looked quite profound and had many changes, but in his eyes, they were nothing more than a small trick.

In just over ten breaths, a complete Talisman Array was formed.

The Talisman Array was a multi-angled rhombus with a total of ten sides.

The runes inside were branded on the ground, flowing with golden light, constantly intertwined and evolving.

"Grandmaster Guan, this County Princess's Talisman Array has been constructed; please, Grandmaster Guan, come in and break the array."

Qin Keqing withdrew from the Talisman Array and kept retreating to the edge of the arena before stopping.

"A mere Talisman Array can only trap Talisman Array Grandmasters below the Third Realm at most; in front of this Grandmaster at the half-step Fifth Realm, it's simply laughable."

Guan Cihu was incomparably confident, his face full of contempt, and he strode towards the Talisman Array.

The moment his foot stepped into the Talisman Array, the contemptuous smile on his face froze instantly, and then a look of horror surged out, his eyes widened.

Clearly, when he was observing outside before, the Talisman Array was nothing to him at the half-step Fifth Realm at all.

But as soon as he entered, the Talisman Array instantly became extremely terrifying, only then revealing its true appearance.

At this moment, he couldn't see the outside at all; he could only see a vast void, the surroundings were pitch black, and even his senses had weakened a lot.

Inside here, he couldn't see the sky, couldn't see the ground, couldn't see anything, and couldn't even feel the passage of time.

An uncontrollable sense of fear arose in his heart, as if he had been abandoned by all time and space, exiled by the world, like a rootless duckweed floating in an boundless void black hole.

This feeling was too terrifying; once it grew in his heart, it would be out of control and impossible to restrain.

What followed was emptiness and fear of the unknown silent environment.

As time passed, in Guan Cihu's emptiness and fear, something suddenly appeared in this unknown space.

Those were pale corpses, flowing with black blood, everywhere, floating in the void, emitting a kind of indescribable evil aura.

This aura came head-on, penetrating everywhere, dominating the fear in his heart, making him even more terrified.

Guan Cihu racked his brains to break the array, but all the runes he inscribed, branded in the void, were like stones sinking into the sea, without the slightest ripple.

Such a scene made him feel despair.

His face had already turned pale, and bean-sized beads of sweat kept rolling down between his forehead and temples, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Immediately after, he heard an evil voice.

That voice made his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end.

An indescribable, uncontrollable fear spread throughout his body, making him feel that every inch of his flesh and blood had become incomparably cold.

Even his Primordial Spirit began to tremble.

How could this be?

Guan Cihu suddenly covered his ears; he wanted to isolate that sound, but the sound was pervasive and could not be isolated at all.

The fear and coldness brought by the sound, like substantial evil energy, drilled into his body.

He could even clearly feel those evil forces wandering inside his body.

His Primordial Spirit couldn't stop trembling.

… …

The inside of the Talisman Array could not see the outside, but the outside could see the inside.

The people outside the Talisman Array couldn't see the world inside the Talisman Array; in everyone's eyes, the Talisman Array was still as it was when it was first constructed, only a dozen meters in size.

Guan Cihu stood in the middle of the Talisman Array, his face pale, covered in cold sweat, his body trembling, his eyes full of horror, and he even screamed, as if he was experiencing something terrifying.

"What's going on? Grandmaster Guan, please break the array quickly!"

"Grandmaster Guan, you are a quasi-Fifth Realm Talisman Array Master; how could a small Talisman Array possibly stump you!"

The faces of the Great Zhen envoy and the prince were ashen; they simply couldn't believe their eyes.

Was County Princess Anping a Talisman Array Master?

They had never received any information about this aspect.

It was certain that County Princess Anping cultivated Martial Dao immortal power.

Even if she hid it very well, the world didn't know that she also cultivated the Talisman Dao.

Then, how could she have such a high level of attainment in the Talisman Array Dao while practicing both the Martial and Talisman paths?

There was no such heaven-defying person in the world!

How could the Talisman Array she constructed stump Guan Cihu, who was at the half-step Fifth Realm!

They hoped that Guan Cihu's situation could suddenly improve and break out of the array.

However, reality slapped them hard in the face, shattering their last bit of luck and fantasy.

Guan Cihu was becoming more and more broken down; he had already collapsed on the ground, his body spasming, his eyes red, his eyeballs covered with bloodshot, his pupils dilated, and even white foam began to overflow from the corners of his mouth.

"County Princess Anping, what did you do? You must have tampered with something; it's not just a Talisman Array!

You cheated and used other means to harm Grandmaster Guan!"

The Great Zhen delegation couldn't accept this fact and didn't believe it at all.

It was too much of a fantasy.

A half-step Fifth Realm Talisman Array Master was almost the strongest in all the Yu Province dynasties; it would be difficult to find a few people who could compare!

Today, he was planted in County Princess Anping's Talisman Array!

"Great Zhen Envoy, you say that County Princess Anping cheated, do you have evidence?

If there is no evidence, We cannot allow you to slander the County Princess of Our Great Liang Qin King's Mansion at will!"

The Liang Emperor came back to his senses from the deep shock, and when he heard the Great Zhen Envoy's words, he thought that the other party wanted to act shamelessly.

Great Liang could lose the Martial Dao duel, and it was necessary to lose, because Yuanchu had to be killed.

But the Talisman Array could not be lost, otherwise, if Great Liang lost both major competitions, wouldn't it be a laughing stock?

"What evidence is needed!

The world knows that Grandmaster Guan is at the half-step Fifth Realm, and County Princess Anping mainly cultivates the Martial Dao; even if she is more amazing, it is impossible to cultivate the Talisman Array Dao to such a degree while practicing both the Martial and Talisman paths!"

"Hmph, these remarks are just your subjective assumptions and malicious speculation.

We said, you have to produce evidence!

If you can't produce evidence, don't be unreasonable here.

What do you take Our Great Liang for? Is it a place where you can be unreasonable in front of Us?"

The Liang Emperor's eyes were cold, the Emperor's majesty was vast, and the chaotic peak aura swept towards the Great Zhen Envoy like a tide.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger; it was this foreign minister who misspoke."

The envoy from Great Zhen realized that he had no evidence to present, and further arguing would be futile, especially on Great Liang's territory.

After he finished speaking, the aura of the Liang Emperor quickly receded.

All eyes focused on the rune array, watching Guan Cihu, the half-step into the fifth realm cultivator, who had previously boasted that no one could rival him in the art of rune arrays.

What exactly had Guan Cihu experienced within the rune array to be so terrified?

At this moment, he was slumped on the ground, convulsing, his pale face twisted beyond recognition, his eyes bulging, and he was emitting terrified screams, with white foam constantly bubbling from his mouth.

The faces of everyone in the Great Zhen delegation were extremely gloomy.

The same was true for Great Yan and Northern Mang.

They had originally thought that with Guan Cihu present, Great Liang was destined to lose the rune array competition.

What did losing the rune array competition mean?

It should be known that rune array masters are an offshoot evolving from rune masters, created to enhance and manufacture specialized military equipment.

The stronger the rune array master, the stronger the equipment of the imperial dynasty's army.

The strength of the army is significantly influenced by the quality of its equipment.

Winning the rune array competition could create psychological pressure on the Liang Emperor and his ministers, and perhaps even gain some advantages.

But now, everything had fallen through.

What methods had the Anping County Princess used?

They all looked at Qin Keqing, their eyes burning with the desire to see through all her secrets.

At this moment, not only the delegations from the three countries were looking at Qin Keqing, but also the ministers of Great Liang.

What happened today was too unbelievable.

Was this ability because Qin Keqing had been hiding too deeply, and they had never noticed it, or was it the work of that Yuan Chu?

In any case, the Qin King's Mansion had become increasingly terrifying.

The Liang Emperor was thinking the same thing at this moment.

This Yuan Chu must not be allowed to live, and neither should Qin Keqing.

It was impossible to determine whether it was Qin Keqing's own ability or Yuan Chu's.

The result was the same.

If such rune array techniques were used to enhance the Qin Family Army, that would be terrible! The Qin Family Army, which he was already wary of, would become even more powerful!

At the edge of the competition arena, Qin Keqing's heart was also surging with emotions.

She knew that her Lord was very capable, an existence who could even refine the cataclysmic torrents of the Three Realms. His methods were definitely unimaginable to others.

But she had not expected her Lord's abilities to be so terrifying.

What realm was her Lord in now? He cultivated both runes and martial arts, and his attainments in the art of runes had reached such a state.

Guan Cihu was a half-step into the fifth realm!

If corresponding to the martial arts realm, that would be the half-step Chaos Realm!

It was one thing for the rune array to trap Guan Cihu, but to cause his mind to collapse in such a short period of time was astonishing.

It was hard to imagine what kind of scene was inside the rune array that could scare a rune array master who was half-step into the fifth realm to such an extent.

That Guan Cihu had completely collapsed.

Even if he were released now, his Dao heart would probably be ruined. With his primordial spirit so affected, it was hard to say whether he could recover his sanity!

Her Lord didn't act often, but every time he did, it was so astonishing.

At this moment, Qin Yu, who was standing behind Jun Wuxie, was even more shocked.

She looked at Jun Wuxie with a bit more fear and awe.

This young man, the direct disciple of Jinyun, was truly terrifying.

"County Princess, our Great Zhen concedes this match!

County Princess, quickly withdraw the rune array and release Celestial Master Guan!\

,"The Great Zhen prince said urgently.

He couldn't bear to watch Guan Cihu be destroyed within the rune array.

His imperial father had spent so much effort to invite a half-step into the fifth realm celestial master to serve in the imperial dynasty.

If he were to be lost here, the loss to Great Zhen would be immeasurable!

"Great Zhen Prince, your words are strange.

Rune array masters are all people of integrity and pride.

Although Celestial Master Guan is my opponent in today's competition, I deeply respect him.

At this moment, Celestial Master Guan has not personally said that he concedes defeat, nor has he expressed any intention to concede. How can I withdraw the rune array just because the Great Zhen Prince says he concedes?

That would be disrespectful to Celestial Master Guan, and I absolutely will not agree!".

Qin Keqing was intelligent and insightful, how could she let Guan Cihu out?

Even if Guan Cihu was crippled and his attainments in rune arrays declined, no longer posing a threat to the Qin Family Army, she would not release him like this.

Unless her Lord spoke.

What kind of scene was inside the rune array, and what did Guan Cihu see inside?

These were all secrets of this rune array.

If Guan Cihu were allowed to live, wouldn't the secrets be exposed?

Before it was certain whether the scene inside the rune array could be made public, she would not release the rune array.

"Anping County Princess, you! Don't go too far!

Celestial Master Guan is competing on behalf of our Great Zhen. As a Great Zhen prince, I naturally have the right to concede on his behalf!

County Princess, quickly release Celestial Master Guan!"

"I have said that, in order to show respect to Celestial Master Guan, unless he personally concedes defeat, I will never withdraw the rune array.

Great Zhen Prince, do not mention this matter again."

Qin Keqing's attitude was firm.

Everyone else present remained silent, their minds as clear as mirrors. It was obvious that Qin Keqing was not releasing him, wanting to completely ruin Guan Cihu, or even let him die within the rune array.

Wait for Guan Cihu to concede himself?

That Guan Cihu couldn't hear the outside sounds in the rune array. He had already been scared to the point of collapse, and was probably already mentally unsound. He couldn't even speak, acting like a madman. He had already lost his mind, so how could he concede?

"Anping County Princess is right. For such a remarkable person as Celestial Master Guan, our Great Liang Dynasty must maintain respect.

Whether he can break the array or persevere is something that Celestial Master Guan himself knows best. Why do you need to concede on his behalf?"

The Liang Emperor spoke.

"Your Majesty is wise. Such a celestial master does indeed need to be given respect.

Since he himself has not expressed his position, it means that he can still persevere, and that he firmly believes that he can break the array. The County Princess naturally cannot withdraw the rune array at this time."

The ministers of Great Liang echoed, naturally following the Liang Emperor's will.

A rune array master who was half-step into the fifth realm, although he seemed to be ruined, who could say for sure that he wouldn't have a chance to recover once he returned to Great Zhen?

Once he recovered, Great Zhen's military strength would be greatly enhanced, which would be a great threat to Great Liang.

Especially after solving the Qin King, the combat power of the Great Liang army would be affected to a certain extent.

Under such circumstances, wouldn't Great Liang's borders be in danger?

Since there was an opportunity to completely cripple Guan Cihu, of course they had to seize it. How could they let a tiger return to the mountain?