In the center of Chaotic Bone Ridge, dust and splintered wood filled the air.
Under a relentless bombardment of Five Elements Techniques, Black Sheep’s mountainous, wooden form was already scarred and broken.
He realized in terror that no matter how desperately he drew upon the Earth Vein Yin Qi, his regeneration could never keep up with the monster’s destructive pace.
"One last round. Time to send you on your way."
Chu Bai’s voice calmly echoed over the ruins, utterly impassive.
With a slight tremor of his fingertips, his Microscopic-level Magical Power guided the moisture in the air to instantly condense. Hundreds more ink-black Spirit Water Needles materialized from nothing, plunging once again into Black Sheep’s charred wounds like a dense swarm of bees.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
After three more relentless waves of impact, the ancient wood that formed Black Sheep’s core finally began to splinter and crack, unable to bear the strain.
The roots connecting him to the Earth Vein were torn apart by the grinding assault of both Fire and Metal Spiritual Power, snapping inch by inch and dissolving into foul-smelling Black Water.
"No... Spare me..."
Before Black Sheep could even finish his hoarse plea for mercy, Chu Bai was already in motion.
This time, he didn’t use a Magic Technique. Instead, he relied on the astonishing explosive power of Fire Step Ascension, transforming into a streak of dark golden light and smashing straight through Black Sheep’s broken defenses.
"Get out here!"
With a cold shout, Chu Bai’s hands blurred into the afterimages of the Formless Cloud Hand as he unleashed the full Power of his Iron Bone Casting Body.
Relying on his brutish, inhuman strength, he tore right through Black Sheep’s final layer of scorched bark armor. His hand clamped down like an iron pincer, seizing the neck of Black Sheep’s true form, which had withered and shrunken from the extreme lignification.
CRACK!
With a single-handed squeeze, Chu Bai’s Microscopic-level Magical Power precisely sealed every acupoint in Black Sheep’s body.
At that moment, this Wild Cultivator at the Ninth-Layer Perfection of Qi Cultivation—a being who had terrorized the entire region—was like a wild animal caught by the scruff of its neck. Under that horrifying grip, all his Magical Power fluctuations were instantly extinguished.
From an all-out assault to a live capture in mere moments!
"Lord Chu’s might is divine—!"
The few Demon-slaying Guards who had been coordinating attacks nearby were stunned for a moment, then erupted in deafening cheers.
In their eyes, capturing a cultivator at Qi Cultivation Perfection alive from a lower Small Realm wasn’t just the work of a genius—this was the descent of a true War God!
In that instant, the morale of the two hundred-odd soldiers of the Official Army surged. The grim, murderous aura that had accumulated in their chests for days transformed into a heaven-storming fervor.
"His Lordship is mighty! Victory to Great Zhou!"
Their roars echoed across the desolate Chaotic Bone Ridge, so powerful they shook the lingering yin mist until it dispersed.
Meanwhile, the battle on the other side had also come to a close.
The dozen or so Wild Cultivators attempting to break out with the "great treasure" were met by two hundred elite, well-trained soldiers of the Official Army formed up in a Spirit Locking Array.
Under the command of Pang Song, Feng Qin, and Hu Hao, the area had already been surrounded, leaving no path for escape.
"Get on the ground, all of you!"
Pang Song swung his heavy iron whip, smashing the Dharma Artifact of a Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer Wild Cultivator to pieces before stomping on the man’s back and pinning him to the muddy ground.
The surrounding guards advanced in an interlocking formation, Powerful Crossbows in hand. These Loose Cultivators, accustomed to their lawless ways in the wilds, stood no chance against the grinding assault of the Official Army’s iron will and coordinated formations.
"We caught them red-handed with the loot! Not a single one escaped!"
Feng Qin strode forward, carrying a long, black-cloth-covered case. Though his armor was spattered with blood, his eyes shone with the exhilaration of surviving the battle.
"Captain, the great treasure is secured!"
Chu Bai nonchalantly tossed the limp form of Black Sheep at Feng Qin’s feet, letting his subordinates pierce the man’s collarbones with specialized Spirit-Locking Hooks.
He scanned the area.
On the ruins of Chaotic Bone Ridge, two hundred soldiers of the Official Army stood with weapons at the ready, their presence formidable.
As for the Dharma Remnants, they were all kneeling dejectedly on the ground, bound together in a single line by heavy iron chains.
In this shadowy land beyond the reach of the Law Net, the Anping Evil Suppression Department had not only avoided a setback but had, with an overwhelming show of force, ripped out this cancerous tumor by the roots.
Before the smoke of battle had even settled over Chaotic Bone Ridge, Feng Qin hurried forward, presenting the long case covered in black talismanic cloth to Chu Bai with both hands.
"Captain, this is the great treasure that group of Wild Cultivators was fighting to the death to escape with."
There was a grave note in Feng Qin’s voice. The aura emanating from the case was intensely cold and sinister, and a faint, lingering wisp of Resentment seemed to cling to it.
Chu Bai took the case without a word. With a light flick of his finger, he released the Magical Power clasp.
CLICK. The case swung open.
Inside was not the evil Dharma Artifact he had expected. Instead, a Seal and Ribbon of an antique, cyan-blue hue lay quietly within, woven entirely from Ice Silkworm Silk.
An intricate Water Cloud Pattern was embroidered upon the Seal and Ribbon. Though its edges were slightly frayed, the unique Divine Dao Authority of a Great Zhou True God was clearly perceptible, even through the enchantments meant to contain it.
"Is this... the Seal and Ribbon originally worn by Water Uncle?"
Hu Hao, who was standing nearby, craned his neck to look and gasped in astonishment.
The very instant Chu Bai’s fingertip touched the silk Seal and Ribbon, something unexpected happened.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the golden Fate Chart Panel, which had long been dormant, suddenly erupted with an immeasurable golden light. A magnificent and solemn aura instantly swept through every meridian in his body.
[Fate Chart: Golden Seal Decree, Jade Scroll of Heaven]!
Chu Bai felt a sudden heat in his palm as an incredibly pure, magnificent energy, as heavy as a mountain, surged from the Seal and Ribbon’s pattern and flooded into his body like water from a burst dam.
It wasn’t Spiritual Power, nor was it Yin Qi. It was something forged over many years from the incense offerings of thousands of households, the very power a Divine Spirit accumulates while performing its duties—it was Divine Dao Merit!

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