Monarch Of Time

Chapter 1077 Death’s door (3)

A handful of spatial blinks and a few seconds later, and Shun Long had already arrived in the northwestern entrance of Blackstone Haven.

And as expected, the same scene that had played out in the southwestern entrance replayed itself once more.

The moment Shun Long’s figure appeared in the sky, the same suffocating pressure descended alongside him, the aura of an early-stage Sovereign crashing down like a mountain on everyone below him.

The entire entrance fell silent in an instant.

Whether it was the cultivators queuing to enter the city or the city guards manning the walls, their gazes all lifted in unison, towards the azure-robed old man who now stood high above the city gates, hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold and unyielding.

Shun Long looked down at the trembling Nascent Soul cultivators and the dozen or so Dao Kings, before his voice spread out, carrying past the city gates and into the city like a torrential wave.

”Liang Qingshan, come out!”

His words weren’t loud, but for some reason, they carried forward with unstoppable momentum, effortlessly piercing through the protective formations that covered the gates and into the city.

The faces of the city guards turned deathly pale from horror.

But Shun Long didn’t pay them any attention. His soul sense had already locked on the sole early-stage Dao Emperor in his surroundings.

A middle-rank 2 Dao Emperor who was now cowering behind the city gates and was staring at him with a gaze filled with confusion and fear.

Liang Qingshan’s blood ran cold as the terrifying pressure focused in his direction, far heavier than what the others were enduring. His breath hitched, and a sharp, instinctive fear surged through his chest.

This aura...This presence...

This was the same as Lord Xia’s... no, it was even stronger!

For the first time since he had taken command of Blackstone Haven’s northwestern gate, Liang Qingshan felt a true chill crawl up his spine. When he faced Liu Mei, he was only slightly wary of her undead army.

But this time, the middle-aged Dao Emperor could feel the azure-robed man’s killing intent as it pressed down on him.

Slowly, with visible effort, he stepped forward from behind the city walls.

”Senior... have I perhaps offended you somehow?” Liang Qingshan asked, forcing his voice to remain steady despite the crushing pressure. ”If so, I beg for your forgiveness. But I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

Shun Long nodded once, his expression unchanged, and cut straight to the point.

”A couple of days ago, a woman came here to take your life. A rank 9 Dao King. Where is she?”

All color instantly drained from Liang Qingshan’s face.

For a moment, he considered turning around and making a run for it deeper into the city. But the moment it formed, he forced himself to suppress it. Liang Qingshan knew it was pointless.

After all, his opponent right now was a Sovereign. There was no chance for him to escape.

Clenching his teeth, the middle-aged man lowered his head and bowed deeply before answering in a strained voice,

”Lord Xia... the brother of our city lord’s... personally intervened and executed her.”

The moment his words rang out, Shun Long’s soul sense exploded once more. This time, it didn’t hold back in the slightest.

The invisible pressure crashed down like a mountain, slamming the proud Dao Emperor straight into the ground. Stone cracked beneath him as his body was forced to its knees, blood surging up his throat.

”She is... dead?” Shun Long asked, his raspy voice barely audible this time.

Liang Qingshan wanted to respond but he could barely breathe under the horrifying pressure. Mustering whatever strength he had left, he weakly raised an arm and pointed toward the east as he answered,

”She escaped that way...” *cough* ”Or at least... she tried.”

Shun Long threw Liang Qingshan a deep look, and for a moment, he considered killing him on the spot.

He knew that if Liu Mei had taken on this mission, the man most likely deserved to die.

Liang Qingshan felt the killing intent clearly, and despair flooded his heart.

But the pressure suddenly lifted.

Shun Long threw the man a deep look before actually turning away.

His eyes shifted toward the eastern horizon, and with a single motion, he slashed the air in front of him, opening a massive space tear, while his soul sense spread outward in that direction.

Before stepping into it, however, he said coldly,

”Tell that Lord Xia of yours that I will visit him in the near future and settle this debt.”

He paused, then added coldly,

”That will also be the day you die.”

Then, under the terrified gazes of the surrounding cultivators and the humiliated Liang Qingshan, he stepped into the space tear and vanished from Blackstone Haven.

...

Shun Long tore through space again and again.

Each step carried him tens of thousands of miles forward, as forests, ravines, and barren plains flashed past beneath him. With every spatial tear he opened, his soul sense swept outward, searching for even the faintest signs of Liu Mei.

But the more he looked, the more he realized how bad the situation was.

There was no lingering death qi in the air.

No signs of an undead army.

Nothing.

For a moment, he thought about using his ’World Zero’ again.

Even if he had to face that unstoppable Heavenly Tribulation again that nearly took his life the last time around... he would do it in a heartbeat for Liu Mei. Even if that meant attracting the attention of all the Immortal Dimension cultivators on the continent, he would still do it.

But before that, he had to find her first.

He moved faster, opening one space tear after another, pushing farther east without slowing down.

Still nothing.

By the tenth space tear, his soul sense stretched farther than it should have, brushing against some middle rank 6 magic beasts and scattered cultivators, before a wave of pain assaulted his mind.

He was really pushing himself to his very limit.

Then, on what must have been the twelfth space tear or so, Shun Long finally felt it.

It was indistinct, barely noticeable, but he could still feel it.

It was death qi.

He narrowed his eyes and focused, letting his soul sense condense together instead of spread. The feeling was weak... it was already fading... but that familiar aura of malice was something he couldn’t possibly miss.

The aura of Liu Mei’s Death Eater.

Without any hesitation, Shun Long tore space open once more and arrived directly into a small, unremarkable cave inside a narrow mountain ridge.

...Just in time to witness the Death Eater finally fade from existence.