“We must leave at once, otherwise we’ll lose our chance,” one of the Dark Faction Sovereign Gods said somberly. Without another word, the three Dark Faction Sovereign Gods spun around and charged toward the palace's exit.
The three Sovereign Gods from the Ziyang Sect immediately utilized movement techniques and followed them, rushing outward.
“Come as you please, leave as you wish? Did you really think the Dark Faction was so easy to bully?”
At that moment, Lü Dandan, who was sitting cross-legged on the black altar, slowly opened her eyes. Her sharp, intimidating gaze fell upon the six Sovereign Gods fleeing towards the palace exit, and she spoke in a voice icy beyond measure.
The moment her words fell, a massive black palm shot forward with a rumble, aiming straight for the backs of the six Sovereign Gods.
Before the enormous black hand could catch up to them, an explosion erupted! A torrent of dark energy, violent to the extreme, surged like a vast black ocean, shaking the interior space of the entire palace as if it were made of water. The six Sovereign Gods then felt an inexhaustible tide of energy raging towards them from behind.
This energy was far too violent, far too terrifying. They simply couldn’t withstand it. On the spot, all six were sent flying, crashing down one by one in the distance.
One of the weakest Sovereign Gods had his physical body instantly blown apart into several pieces, flesh and bone scattering everywhere.
“No good! This truly is the energy of the previous Dark King! We must flee immediately, otherwise we'll all end up buried here!” a Dark Faction Sovereign God shrieked. By this point, the complexions of all six Sovereign Gods had turned deathly pale.
After being blasted back, the six Sovereign Gods clambered to their feet in disarray. The one whose body had been shattered in several places instantly re-formed his flesh. He then swallowed a divine pill to replenish his physical energy and joined the others in streaking toward the Sacred Temple’s entrance at top speed.
BOOM!
That gigantic black hand attacked once more, shooting toward the six Sovereign Gods with frightening speed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three Sovereign Gods in succession couldn't withstand the blow, their bodies exploding outright into a shower of blood, flesh, and bone shards. Not only were their physical forms injured, but their Soul Bodies were also wounded.
However, those three Sovereign Gods whose bodies had been obliterated quickly succeeded in re-forming their flesh and resumed their desperate flight out of the temple.
This time, all six Sovereign Gods, having narrowly escaped with their lives, managed to charge out of the Sacred Temple.
“Excellent! We’ve finally escaped!”
The six Sovereign Gods felt the wild joy of having been granted a new lease on life.
Suddenly, however, a massive black hand shot out from within the Sacred Temple.
“Look out! Run!”
The six Sovereign Gods were terrified, their souls nearly fled their bodies. They hastily leapt into the air, fleeing into the distance.
BANG! BANG! BANG…
The six Sovereign Gods were once again sent flying far away by that black hand. This time, four of them had their bodies blown apart.
“You damn wench! You’re too vicious!” a Sovereign God roared in fury.
To their pleasant surprise, however, that enormous black hand did not continue pursuing them.
The four Sovereign Gods whose bodies had been destroyed re-formed their flesh. Among them, two who had their bodies shattered twice and suffered severe injuries to their Soul Bodies now looked ghastly pale, their auras exceedingly feeble. They had suffered grievous harm to their vitality.
“Damn it! Who knows how long it’ll take to recover from these injuries before we can return to peak condition?”
The Sovereign Gods who had just had their bodies obliterated turned back to glare at the dark Sacred Temple, gnashing their teeth with eyes ablaze, wishing they could rush back and settle scores with Lü Dandan immediately. But where would they find the courage to go back?
“It seems Young Miss Lü has truly gained mastery over that Dark Heart.”
Inside the Sacred Temple, Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged in a corner. Watching Lü Dandan upon the distant altar and recalling the scene of the black hand chasing down the six Sovereign Gods, he felt a flicker of surprise. A transmitted voice from Hun Lao reached his mind.
“Indeed, Young Miss Lü has truly taken control of the Dark Heart. This was the main purpose of her insistence on returning here, and she has finally succeeded,” Ye Yunfei nodded and replied with a smile.
In the time that followed, Lü Dandan remained seated upon the black altar. The Dark Heart pulsated powerfully and relentlessly before her, each throb releasing waves of strange energy. Even Ye Yunfei felt a twinge of wariness toward this particular energy aura.
“As for Young Miss Lü now… I fear even I am no longer her match,” Ye Yunfei said to Hun Lao.
“Of course. She can now defeat six Sovereign Gods with ease. That's something you can't quite manage yet,” Hun Lao replied.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the void at a distance from the Sacred Temple, the six Sovereign Gods from earlier had come to a halt. They turned back to look toward the Sacred Temple, each of their faces dark and brooding.
As Sovereign Gods, the ordeal they had just experienced was utterly humiliating.
In their eyes, the so-called Dark Queen was just an unworthy, upstart girl. They had assumed they could handle her easily.
Especially not long ago, when the Dark Queen was forced to lead a group of Dark Faction higher-ups, hiding east and lurking west from their pursuit, just like stray dogs. Yet in such a short span, the tables had turned completely. Now, in the days to come, they would likely be the ones hunted by the Dark Queen.
They understood that the Dark Queen, having mastered the Dark Heart, would undoubtedly become immensely formidable. Moreover, in the future, she would certainly unify the previously scattered and splintered Dark Faction back into a powerful force. By that time, her power and influence would tower to the heavens.
“The three of us schemed for so long, only to have that damn wench snatch the prize right from under our noses. How hateful!” one Dark Faction Sovereign God ground his teeth. His eyes held boundless fury.
“So we simply let that wench off so easily?” another Dark Faction Sovereign God asked unwillingly.
“No. We still have a choice. We can go and seek refuge with the Guardian Faction, using their forces to deal with her,” a third Dark Faction Sovereign God, standing to the side, finally spoke, his tone resolute.
“But the Dark Faction and the Guardian Faction have always kept their distance, with little contact. Moreover, we know the Guardian Faction’s ambitions well enough. Rushing to seek refuge with them now, given our identity and status, we’d likely just be mocked,” the third Dark Faction Sovereign God interjected again.
“Still talking about ‘our’ Dark Faction? From now on, we don’t belong to the Dark Faction anymore. Do you think that after that wench has consolidated her control over the Dark Faction, she will tolerate us? So why should we harbor so many reservations? From now on, we live only for our own interests! What Dark Faction, what not—it no longer holds any meaning for us!”
Hearing the words of the third Sovereign God, the other two immediately sneered.
“Indeed, going forward, the Dark Faction will belong to that wench, not to us. Fine! Let’s go join the Guardian Faction! With our strength, we’ll surely be heavily relied upon within their ranks! Then we can return and settle accounts with that little wench!”
The three Dark Faction Sovereign Gods now cast aside all their misgivings.