Zhou Hong noticed that Lu Yu showed no expression, assuming he didn't recognize the power of the Candle Dragon Lamp, and proudly said, "It seems you don't know this supreme treasure."
He picked up the Candle Dragon Lamp and said, "This is the legendary supreme treasure—the Candle Dragon Lamp."
Lu Yu's expression changed slightly, his mind racing, "Candle Dragon Lamp? Is it related to the mythical Candle Dragon?"
Seeing the black and white colors constantly shifting, and the changes in the sky within the Space-Time Secret Realm alongside the flickering light, Lu Yu began to suspect it was indeed the divine lamp associated with the Candle Dragon.
According to the legend, when the Candle Dragon opened its eyes it was day, and closed its eyes it was night.
This description perfectly matched the mysterious behavior of the Candle Dragon Lamp.
Noticing the look of surprise on Lu Yu's face, Zhou Hong was a bit displeased; he would have been much happier if Lu Yu had shown a look of shock.
Glancing at Lu Yu, Zhou Hong didn't want to waste more words with him. It was better to eliminate such a threat soon.
Zhou Hong infused his power into the Candle Dragon Lamp, activating it.
Lu Yu's Slaughter Avatar sensed the speed of time within its body accelerating rapidly. It wouldn't be long before this avatar would completely collapse.
The Slaughter Avatar decided not to wait any longer, wielding the Slaughter Divine Saber, it struck vertically.
A line of blood split the heavens and earth, slicing through space, moving right in front of Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong, seeing Lu Yu's formidable attack, was surprised but not at all nervous. The Candle Dragon Lamp in his hands radiated light.
The power of space-time erupted, and the bloodline slashed by Lu Yu vanished into thin air.
The space severed in the Space-Time Secret Realm also healed rapidly under the force of space-time, becoming even stronger.
"Stop struggling, you cannot withstand the power of the Candle Dragon Lamp!" Zhou Hong said with a grin.
Though his face was smiling, the movements of his hands didn't slow down at all; they intensified instead.
The space-time around the Slaughter Avatar began to twist, as the avatar could feel its power continuously being devoured by the surrounding space-time.
Space-time force was tearing at its body.
The avatar attempted to escape the grip of the space-time force, unleashing power, slashing continuously, hundreds of times, forming a dense net of intersecting bloodlines, aimed at Zhou Hong.
Space was shredded by this web; the blood net closed in on Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong also felt enormous pressure, desperately urging the Candle Dragon Lamp, unleashing its might.
The space-time force around the Slaughter Avatar increased continuously, shattering the approaching blood net, ultimately suppressing it in this situation.
The blood net, unable to shatter space, was eventually depleted of all its power and dissipated into the heavens and earth.
The force of space-time twisted, and the space-time where Lu Yu stood seemed to be chopped into countless cubes, rotating rapidly like a Rubik's cube, with his body torn by the force of space-time.
Everywhere in space bore Lu Yu's image, yet there was no complete Lu Yu.
The Slaughter Avatar having resisted the power of the Candle Dragon Lamp, after a brief stalemate, was sliced into tens of thousands of pieces, scattered throughout the confined space-time.
The power of the Candle Dragon Lamp was too strong, and the Slaughter Avatar simply couldn't withstand it.
Gurgle gurgle~ flesh wriggled, converging toward the center, resurrecting again.
Zhou Hong urged the Candle Dragon Lamp, and a white flame shot out from it, dissolving the flesh of the Slaughter Avatar into dust.
Masses of flesh turned to dust; the Slaughter Avatar struggled for a moment as its power faded with the flesh, rapidly weakening, losing its ability to resist.
Whoosh~ the Slaughter Avatar turned to dust, disappearing before Zhou Hong's eyes.
Zhou Hong's face turned somewhat pale. Seeing Lu Yu's disappearance, his face revealed a look of joy and relief.
Finally... finally, this heartache was resolved!
Suddenly, Zhou Hong's smile froze as he sensed this space-time being taken over by another force, slipping out of his control.
His heart tensed immensely, hurriedly mobilizing his remaining internal power, driving the Candle Dragon Lamp to seize control of space-time.
The power of the Candle Dragon Lamp was indeed formidable; the other force receded inch by inch in the face of the Lamp, continually yielding its occupied space-time range.
Just as Zhou Hong was about to reclaim control of the Space-Time Secret Realm, preparing to escape, his internal power exhausted, the flame of the Candle Dragon Lamp quickly diminished.
The space-time range occupied by the Candle Dragon Lamp rapidly contracted, and the Space-Time Secret Realm was instantaneously usurped by another unknown power.
Zhou Hong's expression became very grim; he never saw who was vying against him for control of the Space-Time Secret Realm.
But to counter the power of the Candle Dragon Lamp, the opponent must surely be at the Vortex Realm.
He looked up and loudly asked, "May I know which senior is outside? This junior is Zhou Hong from the Zhou Prince's Mansion."
Zhou Hong brought up his identity, hoping the Vortex Realm Martial Cultivator outside would back off.
Otherwise, even with the Candle Dragon Lamp, it would be difficult for him to safely endure under the hands of a Vortex Realm Martial Cultivator, let alone having expended all his power against Lu Yu previously and unable to activate the Candle Dragon Lamp now.
After waiting for a moment, there was still no movement outside; the Space-Time Secret Realm gradually fell under the opponent's control.
Zhou Hong's heart sank, knowing this was troublesome. The opponent was likely eyeing the "Candle Dragon Lamp" in his hand, willing to offend the Zhou Prince's Mansion just to kill him.
Facing the apocalyptic crisis of the Divine Martial World, a Vortex Realm expert could, without any attachments, leave this world to flee elsewhere.
In such circumstances, the deterrence of the Prince's Mansion is greatly reduced; it's not impossible that the opponent has a mind to take a risk.
"Senior, the Candle Dragon Lamp is a supreme treasure granted by the Great Zhou Founding Saint Ancestor to the Zhou Prince's Mansion. Anyone outside the Mansion possessing it would be hunted by the Great Zhou Dynasty, opposing the Dynasty..."
Zhou Hong continued to try persuading the unknown senior while still activating life-saving treasures.
He was the direct descendant of the Zhou Prince's Mansion, the foremost figure of the contemporary era, naturally having life-saving artifacts left by the Mansion's strong ones.
Suddenly, a massive pressure descended, rendering Zhou Hong speechless, his face tense, tightly fixing his eyes on the direction from which the pressure came, as a figure gradually emerged in the Space-Time Secret Realm.
"Here's my chance!"
Zhou Hong roared internally, seeing the unknown expert appearing in the realm, decisively activating his inner power.
Power of the Vortex Realm exploded from within him, an illusory Vortex True Form surfaced behind Zhou Hong, its face unclear, raising a hand for a strike toward the entering unknown expert.
Boom~ the unknown expert's strike was blown apart, along with the surrounding space which was shattered.
The illusory shadow of the Vortex True Form behind Zhou Hong gradually faded, feeling the diminishing pressure, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thankfully, I had the power left by my father; otherwise, I'd be in big trouble this time..."
Before he could catch his breath, Zhou Hong's expression changed dramatically as the pressure returned, even stronger this time.
"Damn it! That wasn't his true body just now? Was it the Vortex True Form?" Zhou Hong was filled with mixed feelings of shock and uncertainty.
His father's left-behind power had been exhausted, leaving him powerless to deal with a deceitful Vortex Realm Martial Cultivator.
The pressure intensified, he felt as if the Spiritual Qi around him solidified, unable to mobilize power, like a helpless little insect trapped in amber.
Just as he thought it was the end, a force erupted from within him, feeling the presence of that force, his heart leaped for joy.
It was the power of the Prince from the Zhou Prince's Mansion, the power of his great-grandfather.
Boom! Without a doubt, the unknown expert who attempted murder for treasure inside the Space-Time Secret Realm was blasted to pieces with one blow.
Zhou Hong was overjoyed; suddenly something crossed his mind, his expression froze, cautiously eyeing the sky, hoping not to see a third figure.
He was sorely disappointed as the third figure appeared, causing him to break down, cursing aloud...
Lu Yu stood in the sky, gazing down at the Space-Time Secret Realm below, surrounded by avatars. He had just sent an avatar inside, only for it to be blown apart by internal forces.
"Zhou Hong is indeed difficult to kill. If I had gone in myself, I estimate I'd be done in by the hidden force within him," Lu Yu thought.
Yet another avatar was blasted apart, his pressure also shredded by the Vortex Realm's force.
With the dispersal of Vortex Realm force, pressure locked onto Zhou Hong again, casting a dangerous killing intent upon him, forcing his inner powers to erupt.
"It's already the sixth avatar; just how much power is hidden in his body?"
Lu Yu pondered, sending in the seventh avatar.
The avatars sent in were those drained of power by him, mere empty shells, devoid of power and consciousness.
