Chapter 23: Crushing

Very soon, the surrounding scenery rewound to twelve hours earlier.

Qin Guyue was already impatient to see who had dared to lay hands on his son.

Dream Return Through the Ages did not merely allow one to observe the past. It could even bring objects from the past into the present.

Of course, it could not retrieve anything too valuable. If it crossed a certain limit, the user would suffer immense backlash, to the point that even Qin Guyue might not be able to withstand it.

But at that moment, a shocking scene appeared before Qin Guyue.

Within the image, there was only a patch of void. He could not see that person’s true face at all.

“What?!”

Qin Guyue’s expression changed dramatically. One had to know that Dream Return Through the Ages was a genuine Immortal Art, something he had only obtained through a fortunate stroke of luck.

After learning it, he had tested it before. As long as a person’s realm did not surpass the Saint Emperor Realm, it was impossible for them to escape Dream Return Through the Ages’ scrutiny.

Yet now, it had encountered something it could not perceive at all.

At that moment, Lu Xunxian seemed to sense something. His brows furrowed slightly, and he let out a cold snort.

“You dare spy on this Venerable One? You are courting death.”

With that, Lu Xunxian raised a finger toward the void before him and pressed it down, sending its suppressive force toward the far distance.

At the side, Chen Wangu seemed to notice something and said thoughtfully, “If I am not mistaken, that fellow Qin Guyue is probably using Dream Return Through the Ages.”

“Dream Return Through the Ages?”

Only after striking back at Qin Guyue did Lu Xunxian seem to realize what was going on, and he asked with some curiosity.

Chen Wangu nodded.

“Dream Return Through the Ages is Qin Guyue’s signature technique. Rumor has it that he climbed all the way to the summit of Chengtian Mountain and obtained an immortal’s inheritance. That is how he learned Dream Return Through the Ages.”

Hearing that, Lu Xunxian also fell into thought.

With his current strength, he could also reverse time. But to truly turn back the flow of time, one had to be at least at the True Immortal Realm and use supreme might to wield the Law of Time.

And even then, it would only be possible for a short span.

Qin Guyue was merely at the Peak of the Saint Emperor Realm, yet he could achieve this much. That alone showed how profound Dream Return Through the Ages truly was.

“It seems that after I return, I will have to pay a visit to the City Lord’s Mansion.”

His earlier strike had not killed Qin Guyue. At most, it would only leave him half-dead.

After all, he was not some overbearing tyrant. He had to give the man a chance.

If Qin Guyue still refused to come to his senses and insisted on seeking death, then Lu Xunxian could hardly be blamed.

Before the city gates of Chengtian City, Qin Guyue’s expression changed drastically.

“This is bad!”

The next second, a colossal finger descended from the sky and suppressed him from above.

Qin Guyue did not dare be careless in the slightest. In an instant, he appeared before the giant finger, his expression grim and ugly.

He could not dodge. Ziyuan was still below. If he moved aside, the one who would suffer would be Ziyuan.

Moreover, he could tell that the power of this giant finger was not enough to kill him. At most, it would only leave him half-dead.

The other party had not only escaped Dream Return Through the Ages’ scrutiny, but had even sensed what he was doing and launched such a heaven-defying divine ability from such a great distance.

That person’s strength had unquestionably reached an inconceivable level.

This was most likely meant as a lesson for him, and he could only swallow it. Otherwise, the one who came next might very well be the owner of that giant finger himself.

“Heaven-Reaching Spirit Armor!”

Qin Guyue formed hand seals with both hands. An emerald-green spirit armor flew out of his Storage Ring and, with Spiritual Energy poured into it, expanded until it was as massive as a mountain.

But Qin Guyue knew that a single Eleventh-Grade Spirit Armor would not be enough to block this finger.

So in the next moment, gritting his teeth, he brought out three more Eleventh-Grade Spirit Armors. Only after doing all that did he finally feel somewhat reassured.

At that moment, the giant finger finally came crashing down onto the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Armor.

In an instant, terrifying shockwaves erupted in every direction.

“Come out at once and help me!”

With an angry shout from Qin Guyue, two figures shot out from the City Lord’s Mansion and arrived in the surrounding area in the blink of an eye.

They were the two Vice City Lords of Chengtian City, both at the Saint Emperor Realm.

As soon as they arrived, they began resisting the shockwaves produced as Qin Guyue blocked the descending giant finger. Otherwise, the shockwaves alone would have been enough to destroy more than half of Chengtian City.

A battle at the Saint Emperor level was entirely capable of destroying a whole Dao Province.

Thus, whenever Saint Emperors clashed, it never took long for other Saint Emperors to appear in order to prevent an even greater disaster.

Although both of them were mighty experts at the Mid Saint Emperor Realm, resisting these shockwaves was still extremely difficult.

Bang!

The Heaven-Reaching Spirit Armor shattered.

Then the second, third, and fourth spirit armors together did not even last ten breaths.

At the sight of this, Qin Guyue’s face was full of pain. Those were spirit armors he had only managed to buy by scrimping and saving, yet they had all been destroyed in such a short time.

But at this point, he no longer had the mind to keep lamenting them.

“Immortal-Blasting Punch!”

Qin Guyue roared. Spiritual Energy surged around his body, and a massive green phantom emerged behind him, like a Heavenly Emperor and like an invincible war god.

With another furious roar from Qin Guyue, the phantom behind him threw out a punch as well.

In but an instant, the phantom’s punch collided with the Heaven-Suppressing Finger. The terrifying force nearly became too much for the two Vice City Lords to withstand.

Very soon, the Heaven-Suppressing Finger shattered the phantom with a single blow and continued crashing down toward Qin Guyue.

Boom!

Qin Guyue was struck by the Heaven-Suppressing Finger and sent plummeting into Chengtian City.

“City Lord!”

The expressions of the two Vice City Lords changed drastically. They hurried into the crater that had been smashed out by Qin Guyue’s fall.

Inside the crater, Qin Guyue looked utterly miserable. His aura was somewhat weakened, but his life was not in danger in the end.

“Dad, are you all right?”

Seeing this, Qin Ziyuan immediately panicked as well.

Though he was usually arrogant and domineering, how could he possibly not be anxious when it concerned his father?

“I am fine. Cough, cough. Let this matter end here.”

Qin Guyue sat down, adjusted the chaotic Spiritual Energy within his body, then looked at Qin Ziyuan and shook his head.

Although Qin Ziyuan was a spoiled young master, he still knew when he could act like one and when he could not.

“I understand, Dad.”

“let's go back first. And remember, this matter must not be spread outside.”

Qin Guyue stood up, but then seemed to think of something and shook his head.

“Forget it. It has probably already spread almost everywhere by now. Just treat this incident as a lesson.”

After saying that, Qin Guyue swept Qin Ziyuan up and hurried back toward the City Lord’s Mansion.

As for Qin Ziyuan’s few trusted lackeys, they all stood frozen in place as they stared at the enormous crater before them.

They had clearly never imagined that the City Lord, who had always seemed invincible, would actually lose.

They swallowed hard and said,

“let's go. Do not speak of what happened here, or I am afraid the City Lord might silence us.”

“Agreed. Hurry up and leave.”

Very soon, they scattered and disappeared.

Other than the enormous crater by the city gates, nothing remained.