Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Wild and Primal (7)

Divine Power was something that had existed for as long as the Dao itself, perhaps even older than the concept of time.

It did not belong to heaven and earth, nor was it created by the Dao.

It came from beyond the void, an unknown and mysterious force older than laws, older than order and chaos.

It was neither spiritual qi nor any element.

If it had to be described, then even the Dao had only one word for it.

Authority.

An existence that did not borrow power.

An existence that simply … was.

Yet strangely enough, because Divine Power neither clashed with the Dao nor stole from its laws, the heavens did not reject it.

Thus, the two coexisted.

Like parallel truths that never interfered with one another.

And through countless aeons, innumerable mighty cultivators had tried to comprehend and understand it.

In the end, they all reached the same conclusion—

Divine Power could not be understood.

It had no principles.

No logic, no laws to follow.

It simply…worked and yet it could not be cultivated.

It could not be learned.

…It could only be obtained.

As for how one obtained Divine Power, no one knew for certain.

Across millions of years, the number of its appearances could be counted on one hand.

In a sense, it was somewhat similar to a Special Physique…

But while physiques merely transformed the body,

…Divine Power granted something far more terrifying.

And that was—

Authority over reality itself.

In Goldie’s case, its Divine Authority was Gold.

Gold could mean many things.

Fortune.

Wealth.

Hope.

Light.

And above all—

…absolute suppression.

Like an ancient saying passed down since forgotten times:

Wherever golden light fell, even spiritual qi grew heavy…

Like subjects kneeling before their king.

Yet Goldie itself still did not fully understand its own abilities.

It could not explain them and could not define them.

So Goldie simply followed its instincts, using whatever felt most natural, most fitting for the moment.

And right now—

All it wanted…was to stop Yao Xin.

So it subconsciously chose the most basic expression of its Authority.

And that is…

…Suppression.

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Yao Xin finally broke free from the cage of tree vines and smiled triumphantly.

Behind her, the thick vines still writhed in the air like the tentacles of some monstrous beast.

Seeing them fail to catch her, she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

“Ahh… I really have to thank Grandpa once I get back.”

She didn’t slow her steps as the thought crossed her mind.

Without her grandfather’s support, without all the treasures he had stuffed into her hands, she might truly have perished today.

Of course, it wasn’t just to thank him.

It was to …. ask for more talismans.

Specifically, Rank 3 Talismans.

Even though they were difficult to use and drained a terrifying amount of spiritual qi, they were still within her limits.

Just now, she had already used two to defend and escape, while another remained hidden on her body, already pre-activated in case a sudden, unknown attack reached her.

“But it seems like I can save one of them~”

Yao Xin smiled happily.

This secret realm clearly wasn’t simple.

The more treasures she had, the better her chances of surviving.

For now, she planned to find Yan Moxuan.

With him, an emissary of the Divine Blood Sect, her safety would be far more guaranteed.

And he seemed to know something about this place too.

He had mentioned that this secret realm had some connection to the Divine Blood Sect.

“It seems I’ll have to ask him in more detail…”

Just as she was lost in thought—

Her smile froze.

Her body also froze with it.

Then—

Thump.

Her knees slammed into the ground.

“Eh?”

Yao Xin blinked, dumbfounded by the sudden change.

It wasn’t just her.

She could felt all of her clones collapsed at the same time, dropping to their knees as if pressed down by an invisible mountain.

“…What?”

Her breathing grew ragged.

Her body felt heavier.

“No… it’s not just my body… even my qi…”

She muttered in confusion.

It felt as if the very air had thickened, like her spiritual qi was being suppressed, forced down, refusing to circulate.

She quickly checked the hidden talisman.

It hadn’t activated.

Which meant—

This wasn’t an attack.

Nor a spell.

“Then what is it…?”

Yao Xin murmured.

Then suddenly stiffened.

Because she felt one of her clones vanish.

…It was destroyed.

Before she could even react—

Another one was erased.

Her pupils shrank, realizing the threat isn’t over yet.

“Dammit… move…!”

Yao Xin gritted her teeth and tried to move her leg.

But her legs didn’t respond.

It was as if it no longer belonged to her.

No matter how hard she commanded it, her limb simply refused to obey.

How ironic.

Your own body… not listening to you.

The absurdity of the situation almost made her want to curse this damned secret realm out loud.

Step.

A single footstep sounded in front of her.

Yao Xin froze.

With great effort, she forced her stiff neck upward…

And saw the black-cloaked figure standing right before her.

For the first time, she noticed something even stranger.

The world… had lost its color.

The trees, the sky, the earth…

….All washed into dull gray.

Only faint strands of golden light drifted through the air around her like flowing dust.

Like the world itself had been dyed gold.

“Senior—”

BAM!

Before she could finish—

A kick smashed into her abdomen.

BOOM!

Her body shot backward like a cannonball.

Trees and rocks along her path exploded into pieces.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Dust and splinters blasted into the air as tree trunks shattered like rotten wood.

Boulders cracked apart mid-flight.

Her body skipped across the ground like a stone over water, once, twice before crashing through a massive rock and finally grinding to a halt in a cloud of debris.

“Cough—!”

Blood sprayed from her lips.

Her ribs screamed in agony.

Half her meridians felt twisted from the sheer impact.

If not for the defensive talisman hidden beneath her robes activating at the last second…

She would have died from that single kick.

“W-What—”

She didn’t even finish the thought and Goldie fell from the sky like a shooting star.

Golide descended without hesitation with its fist raised.

Goldie clearly didn’t believe this woman still had more of those strange papers.

BOOM!

The fist smashed down.

The earth shattered once again.

BOOM!

The ground caved inward as cracks spread like a spiderweb when the strike landed.

Stone exploded and dirt blasted skyward.

The impact carved a crater several meters wide.

At the center—

Buzz—

A pale blue barrier barely formed around Yao Xin.

And shattered instantly.

Kacha!

Like thin glass.

Some of the remaining force slipped through.

“PUAH—!”

Blood burst from her mouth.

Her body bent unnaturally as she was hammered deep into the ground.

She could felt her bones creaked and internal organs trembled violently.

Her vision went black for a second.

She almost fainted.

And that…

That was only the leftover force after the talisman had blocked everything else.

Then—

A bright flash erupted around her.

Another one of her life-saving treasure finally activated as light swallowed her whole.

For a split second,

The world turned white.

And space suddenly twisted.

Like a scroll being violently rolled shut.

Her body vanished from the crater just as Goldie’s fist crushed down the last inch like a relentless beast.

BOOM!

The ground completely collapsed.

Stone, soil, and shattered roots sank several meters deep, forming a sunken pit like the footprint of a falling star.

But…

There was nothing inside.

Goldie slowly lifted its fist.

The devastated ground beneath it was empty.

“…?”

It tilted its head.

Then,

Hummmmm…

The faint golden motes of light drifting around its body flickered.

Then they spread outward like ripples across water, layer after layer, silently sweeping through the surroundings.

Goldie could felt it Divine Power was still active.

Which meant—

She hadn’t escaped its range….not yet.

—

Several hundred meters away—

The air suddenly twisted.

Space itself warped, then tore open mid-air like fabric being ripped apart.

Thud!

Yao Xin’s body fell out like discarded trash, smashing into the ground and rolling twice before stopping face-down in the dirt.

“Cough—! Cough—!”

Blood spilled from her lips, soaking into the soil.

Her limbs trembled uncontrollably.

For a long while, she couldn’t even stand.

She simply lay there, fingers digging weakly into the mud.

Her body was a complete mess.

Pain screamed from everywhere.

Her organs felt displaced.

Her meridians burned like they were on fire.

Even breathing hurt.

“…haa… haa…”

She forced herself onto her elbows, gasping.

Her mind was still blank from the shock.

A teleportation talisman.

A Peak Rank 3 life-saving treasure.

Something even her grandfather had warned her never to use unless death was certain.

And she had just used it.

Yet—

Her pupils trembled as she scanned the surrounding.

…The world was still gray and colorless.

Which meant…

It wasn’t over.

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