Ch. 1351 - Capturing Radiant Gold

When the Demon-Refining Saint Sovereign spoke, both Radiant Gold and Ancient Void narrowed their eyes.

“You think I’ll fall for such petty provocation?” Radiant Gold said coldly.

“Believe it or not,” replied the Saint, “but the Nine Heavens are vast beyond measure. Miss this chance, and the next time you want to capture a demon, it’ll be harder than reaching heaven, unless they walk right into your net.”

Radiant Gold’s gaze deepened. He looked toward Ancient Void. “Watch those three,” he ordered. “I’ll chase down that brat myself.”

With that, he tore open the void before him and vanished, following the lingering trace of Xu Zimo’s energy.

The ever-shifting void roiled around him as he moved. The holy might radiating from his body was immense; by his estimation, his speed far exceeded Xu Zimo’s.

He followed the faint trail through the folds of space, until finally, in the distance ahead, he caught sight of Xu Zimo’s figure.

The figure flickered briefly before disappearing again, but it was enough, he had found him.

Radiant Gold ripped through the space between them and, before he realized it, found himself just outside the borders of the Violet Mist Holy Lands.

Xu Zimo stood calmly before him, smiling faintly, not like someone fleeing for his life, but as if he had been waiting.

“Demonic scum,” Radiant Gold barked, raising his hand. “Submit now and I might grant you a swift death!”

His palm came down like a mountain, crushing the air with divine force.

“What’s the rush?” Xu Zimo said, still smiling. “I’m not running anywhere. I’m more worried about you trying to run.”

The moment the palm descended, a second palm emerged from the void, meeting it head-on.

With a thunderous crack, the collision shook the skies. Radiant Gold was forced back several steps, his expression hardening as he looked at Xu Zimo.

“A Sage Monarch,” he said, eyes narrowing. “You’re one of the remnants from the Ancient Demon Realm.”

As he spoke, the figure of Celestial Devourer appeared beside Xu Zimo, confirming his suspicion.

“You guessed right,” Celestial Devourer said with a grin. “But there’s no prize for it.”

Radiant Gold’s face grew grim. “Today, the Heavenly Court descends upon this world,” he said coldly. “None of you will escape alive.”

“You might want to take a look at your own situation first,” Xu Zimo said lightly, snapping his fingers.

Instantly, four immense auras erupted around Radiant Gold, each radiating the might of a Saint Sovereign.

They were Celestial Devourer, Red-Blade Bull Demon, Seven-Face, and Paimon.

The four didn’t simply surround Radiant Gold, they stood in precise positions, forming the nodes of an ancient peerless formation.

This was no ordinary trap. It was one of the great formations designed long ago during the war between the Ancient Demon Realm and the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court had studied ways to annihilate Ancient Demons.

The Ancient Demon Realm, naturally, also focused on destroying the Heavenly Court.

Now, four Saint Sovereigns stood as the pillars of this “Immortal-Slayer Formation,” and their combined demonic might pressed so heavily that Radiant Gold could barely lift his head.

A chill spread through his body. He finally understood, he had walked right into a massive trap.

In his eagerness to chase Xu Zimo, he hadn’t considered the possibility of ambush. He had assumed that, even if Xu Zimo had allies, they would be nothing more than remnants of a defeated army.

Now he saw how wrong he was. The Heavenly Court had gravely underestimated Xu Zimo, who had already gathered four of the Infernal Archons under his command.

“What are you planning?” Radiant Gold demanded.

“What do you think?” Xu Zimo replied.

“My lord,” Red-Blade Bull Demon snorted, “why waste words? Let him taste the edge of my axe!”

“He’s probably praying for death already,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him die.”

If Radiant Gold were killed outright, his Life-Death Soul would restore him. He would merely suffer grave injury, then resurrect, and could expose everything about Xu Zimo to the Heavenly Court.

Radiant Gold snorted coldly and swung his sword, unleashing a storm of sword intent that slashed wildly at the formation around him.

“Seal his meridian gates,” Xu Zimo ordered calmly. “Capture him.”

At once, the four Infernal Archons activated the formation. Dark infernal energy surged skyward, splitting the clouds apart.

From the heavens, thick black storm clouds churned as chains of demonic iron began to descend.

The Heavenly Court’s power came from immortal energy. It was said that the Court’s founder had created a divine technique capable of refining immortal energy itself, which naturally restrained infernal energy.

But the Ancient Demons had not been idle. They had adapted their cultivation arts, reshaping their infernal energy into a force that could in turn restrain also immortal energy.

Immortal energy subdued infernal energy; infernal energy subdued immortal energy. In the end, the victor depended only on who was stronger.

As the purple-veined, rune-covered demonic chains fell from the heavens, Radiant Gold’s expression twisted in alarm.

He struck again and again, his sword energy violently shredding the air as he roared, “Kill me if you dare, Ancient Demons! Your race will be wiped from existence soon enough!”

“Maybe so,” Xu Zimo replied calmly. “But when I destroy the Heavenly Court, I’ll make sure you see it happen.”

“Infernal Lord!” Radiant Gold shouted, his voice cracking with fury. “If you have any courage, face me one-on-one! Don’t hide behind your lackeys!”

Xu Zimo shook his head. “If it were a duel between Progenitors or Immortal Lords, perhaps. But you? You’re not qualified.”

He ignored the provocation entirely.

He carried the inheritance of the previous Infernal Lord within him. By invoking that power, he could temporarily wield strength equal to his predecessor, but every use diminished it. Until he reached his own peak, he had to conserve it carefully.

Wasting it on Radiant Gold would be foolish.

The chains continued to descend, glowing with demonic light. Radiant Gold struggled desperately, but they wrapped tighter and tighter, binding his limbs, his neck, even his mind.

Soon, he could no longer move or speak. His immortal energy turned stagnant, his meridians sealed as though frozen.

When the last chain locked in place, Radiant Gold stood immobilized. Xu Zimo walked toward him slowly.

“I know,” he said, “that asking you about the Heavenly Court now would be pointless. You wouldn’t talk. So I’ll give you some time to think. If, after that, you still refuse, I’ll destroy your meridians. Believe me, your Heavenly Court has no use for cripples.”

Rage burned in Radiant Gold’s eyes, but he couldn’t utter a word.

Xu Zimo didn’t care. He simply opened a portal to the God World, his personal world, and threw Radiant Gold inside.

Within that world, Xu Zimo was absolute.

With that matter settled, he turned to Paimon. “Did you find the location I told you to track?”

“As expected of you, my lord,” Paimon replied, nodding. “About eight hundred miles from here, there’s an isolated particle world.”

“Then let’s have a look,” Xu Zimo said, smiling faintly. “It’s about time we completed our inheritance.”

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