CHAPTER 564: CHAPTER 539: FAILURE

"It’s now!"

The Dark Night Saint Venerable’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

At that moment, he ignored the nine Golden Dragons fiercely attacking him and raised both hands.

"What’s he doing?"

"Soul power... terrifying soul power!"

"It’s the Sixth Layer of ’Zheng’! Even from this distance, my soul is affected. Just how frightening is this move?"

The Saint Venerable Ancestors were shocked, their eyes unblinking.

Is this truly the Sixth Layer of ’Zheng’?

The Perfection of the Chaos Primordial Technique, just how terrifying is it?

...

As the Dark Night Saint Venerable raised his hands, an immense soul power overflowed in the void above his head, forming into a massive grinding plate spanning several light years.

This was a grinding plate composed of soul power.

The mere presence of such soul power was enough to change the expressions of the many Saint Venerable Ancestors below.

How vast must the amount of soul power be to form such a gigantic grinding plate?

"The Sixth Level, the Grinding Plate Great Space-Time, no wonder I can’t even touch the threshold. The soul power required is more immense than I imagined," Wang Xu thought, seeing this, equally shaken.

The grinding plate slowly rotated in the void, distorting the darkness, pulling at the void.

Soul power itself is an elusive force.

But once it grows powerful enough, it becomes an existence of unimaginable terror.

Just like spiritual consciousness, before it’s powerful, it can only be used for reconnaissance, but once cultivated to a terrifying degree, it can turn into blades that instantly destroy the enemy’s spiritual sense, or even tear a weaker person to pieces.

Soul power is the same.

When weak, it is nearly useless; Wang Xu never used soul power when weak.

But once powerful, soul power can captivate and shake the enemy’s soul, altering their beliefs permanently.

This is why soul power ranks as one of the three great powers of Chaos.

"Buzz... buzz... buzz..."

The enormous grinding plate slowly rotated, emitting a soul-chilling hum.

Even from afar, Wang Xu still felt the soul power emanating from the grinding plate’s rotation, making his soul shiver involuntarily.

"The power of the Sixth Level is just too terrifying; compared to it, the Fifth Level is like the difference between heaven and earth," Wang Xu was shocked.

"Grinding Plate Great Space-Time."

The voice of Dark Night Saint Venerable was ethereal and grand, as if transmitted from ancient times.

He suddenly thrust his raised palm towards the weak Golden Dragon below!

In a flash, a sky full of dark light vanished, followed by the sorrowful wail of the Golden Dragon.

In a fierce struggle, the Ancestor Realm Golden Dragon’s body violently twisted, agitated in the void, and from its lament, it was evident the dragon was suffering great torment.

The Grinding Plate Great Space-Time, made of soul power, enslaved living beings. The twisting and turning force was like putting the soul into a blender, destroying and collapsing it bit by bit, and gradually infusing it with soul power to form an indelible faith, enslaving creatures.

The Golden Dragon rolled and struggled in the void, its painful wails clearly heard by the Saint Venerables, ancestors, and Wang Xu.

"Success or failure hinges on this moment!" Wang Xu’s heart hung in suspense.

If the Golden Dragon is enslaved, nothing would stop the Dark Night Saint Venerable; he would undoubtedly pass the trial.

In that case, all of Wang Xu’s previous efforts would be in vain.

Although Wang Xu was unwilling to see this outcome, he was powerless, forced to wait silently for the final result.

The remaining nine Golden Dragons assaulted Dark Night Saint Venerable frantically.

Currently channeling the Grinding Plate Great Space-Time, even if Dark Night Saint Venerable could spare effort to deal with these nine Golden Dragons, it wouldn’t be as easy as at his peak.

"I shall succeed! I must! I am the Dark Night, destined to be a great figure. I will not allow failure!" Dark Night Saint Venerable roared in his heart.

Beads of sweat as big as beans rolled down his face, his complexion was pale.

He was simultaneously channeling the Grinding Plate Great Space-Time and resisting the Nine Golden Dragons’ attack.

Dark Night Saint Venerable had reached an unimaginable level; if that struggling Golden Dragon finally submitted, he’d create an unprecedented legend, his name immortal like so many Great Emperors!

"Aaaah——"

A sharp dragon roar echoed through the void.

"Succeeded?"

The Saint Venerable Ancestors, Wang Xu, all stared intently at the Golden Dragon.

Dark Night Saint Venerable also watched the Golden Dragon’s changes closely.

However...

A life force suddenly extinguished.

The struggling draconic body of the Golden Dragon went still, stopping its frantic twists, becoming completely calm.

"Dead?"

The Saint Venerable Ancestors were astonished, and Wang Xu was confused.

But Dark Night Saint Venerable’s face slowly became ferocious.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Dark Night Saint Venerable roared.

The enslavement attempt failed this time.

The Golden Dragon’s soul was directly destroyed by him, not even a soul remained, let alone a breath of life.

"Why! Why is this happening?!"

Dark Night Saint Venerable howled towards the sky, "Everything had already reached the pinnacle, I clearly reached the pinnacle as a Saint Venerable, why still did it not succeed!"

The enslavement failed, with no reason given.

But the primary reason was nothing but lack of strength.

Yet Dark Night Saint Venerable had reached the pinnacle of the three great powers, ’Zheng’ had been cultivated to the highest Sixth Level, there was no further progress to be made.

Enslavement still failed.

Dark Night Saint Venerable howled repeatedly, venting his inner anger.

He was a genius, an unparalleled Kedan, a one-of-a-kind prodigy.

At the moment ’Zheng’ reached the Sixth Layer, he believed he’d inevitably succeed, that nothing could stop him from obtaining the Great Emperor’s Treasure.

But reality still gave him a harsh slap in the face.

Failure is simply failure, indicating his strength was not enough, insufficient to pass the trial!

...

The fight between Dark Night Saint Venerable and the ten Golden Dragons continued for a long time; one use of the Grinding Plate Great Space-Time exhausted him, leaving insufficient soul power to launch a second time.

"Lan Ji, I give up." When he said this, there was anger, unwillingness, and helplessness in the tone of Dark Night Saint Venerable.

What’s missing?

The three great powers had reached their pinnacle, ’Zheng’ had reached the highest realm, so what’s missing?

Lan Ji’s figure appeared, binding the Golden Dragon with a wave of his hand.

"Lan Ji, can you tell me, why have I clearly reached the utmost, yet still cannot enslave the Golden Dragon?" Dark Night Saint Venerable sought guidance from Lan Ji.

This was his first time asking someone for advice.

As a genius, Dark Night Saint Venerable prided himself on omnipotence, considering even Ancestor Realm figures as "old men" who simply cultivated earlier than him; given enough time, he believed he’d surpass everyone!

"I don’t know the answer to your question, but I must correct what you said. Your power might match the Ancestor Realm, but can it contend with the Great Emperor Realm? Since that’s impossible, don’t consider your strength as having reached its utmost," Lan Ji said.

"Utmost... As a Saint Venerable Realm, to be capable of killing an Ancestor Realm, isn’t that the utmost?" Dark Night Saint Venerable protested somewhat defiantly.

For a Saint Venerable Realm to kill an Ancestor Realm was an extraordinary feat in the eyes of the world.

Yet it failed to earn Lan Ji’s acknowledgment.

"Utmost? Even the Mysterious Dragon Great Emperor dared not claim his power reached the utmost." Lan Ji smiled slightly, no longer discussing ’utmost’ with Dark Night Saint Venerable, then sent him back to the island.

"He failed."

While the Saint Venerable Ancestors were vexed, they also breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the Great Emperor’s Treasure was not taken.

"Reach such heights, yet still unable to succeed?"

Wang Xu took a deep breath.

He knew that the Dark Night Saint Venerable had failed; killing a being during enslavement equated to failure.

"Though the reason for his eventual failure is unknown, this outcome is precisely what I hoped for!"

Wang Xu’s eyes flashed, needing time. Regardless of whether he could ultimately succeed, he must at least challenge the Golden Dragon to try it himself. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)