Chapter 2221 – Sudden Change ... ... ... An overwhelming inferno of rage surged in the Soul Emperor’s heart. He hated! He hated Lin Ming, hated Sheng Mei, hated Immortal Sovereign! Even with that last strike he had still failed, and now it would be incredibly difficult to kill Lin Ming. Lin Ming’s life force had reached unbelievable heights. His Nine Stars of the Dao Palace were opened to the eighth Dao Palace, his acupoints and meridians were thoroughly connected and linked, and with him having swallowed a totem level abyssal and dual cultivating divinity and demons, as well as comprehending two of the highest Laws, whether it was his body, inner world, or divine soul, they had reached mind-boggling levels. Everyone knew that Lin Ming had contributed the most strength to this battle. He had consumed the most blood vitality and had fought for the longest time. And as the fight continued on, Lin Ming still had strength left. Rather, it was more accurate to say that Lin Ming had already overdrawn his strength, but his powerful mortal body allowed him to recover some energy in a short period of time. As for Clear and Ink, they had already returned to their old and wizened appearance and their strength had precipitously weakened; they might have even dropped boundaries. As for Sheng Mei, her spiritual sea had split open and her consciousness was blurred; she had lost any power to resist. The Soul Emperor gripped his fists. With his face torn open by the black flames from within, he looked fierce and hideous. With the near collapse of the Emperor Bone Sea, he no longer dared to transfer any of his own strength. But at this time, from far off in the void, rainbow-hued energy beams soared towards him. This was an energy attack condensed from a multitude of Laws. “What!?” Feeling this energy hurtle towards him, the Soul Emperor glanced over. He saw that the many human Empyreans had gathered into an array formation under Emperor Shakya’s leadership and had actually attacked him! “Just a bunch of ants that have no idea of death or danger!” The Soul Emperor fumed. In his most glorious state, Empyrean level attacks were no different from scratching an itch. With a thought he could have tuned all these Empyreans into ashes. But now, after being severely wounded and facing a situation in which the Emperor Bone Sea had almost collapsed, the great attack formed from the human Empyreans was now actually a threat to him! If the chain reaction of energy were to rush into the world of the Demon God’s Tomb, then it might become the final straw that broke the camel’s back and cause the Emperor Bone Sea to utterly collapse. “All of you, remember me!” The Soul Emperor said, so angry his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He grabbed the bone staff and poured in energy one more time before firing it towards Lin Ming! Hum - ! The bone staff was like a meteor that contained the world strength of the Demon God’s Tomb. It pierced through the energy wave sent out by the numerous Empyreans and thrust towards Lin Ming’s chest. “Protect Lin Ming!” Emperor Shakya roared out. Many Empyreans immediately shifted their target. For a time, all sorts of different weapons and Law lights shot towards the bone staff shot out by the Soul Emperor. If there were enough ants, even an elephant could be bitten to death. Moreover, the bone staff shot out by the Soul Emperor didn’t have much strength behind it to begin with. In the mighty waves of energy, the bone staff was like a fish caught in a swamp, rapidly forced to a slow crawl. But at this time, the Soul Emperor had turned around and was rapidly flying towards Sheng Mei! “Damn!” Lin Ming was panic-stricken! At this time, everyone’s attention was turned towards Lin Ming. They were well aware that the Soul Emperor’s goal was Lin Ming and he was the greatest threat to the Soul Emperor. As everyone was guarding Lin Ming, they never thought that the Soul Emperor would also change targets, instead focusing on Sheng Mei! In the final moments, in order to help Lin Ming block the Soul Emperor’s all-out attack, she had risked her life and had now fallen into a half-unconscious state; she was powerless to resist the Soul Emperor. Hum – A black vortex swirled and Sheng Mei was sucked into a black space by the Soul Emperor. “Let her go!” Lin Ming’s eyes turned red with rage. He didn’t have much strength remaining, barely enough to protect himself, much less attack the Soul Emperor! “Die!” Lin Ming recklessly attacked. He lifted the Black Dragon Spear and threw it with all his recently restored strength. However, the might of Lin Ming’s current attack couldn’t even compare to the attack formed from the condensed power of Emperor Shakya and the numerous Empyreans. Bang! With a loud ring, the Black Dragon Spear crashed into the Soul Emperor’s protective energy. It was only able to pierce halfway through the energy shield before being drained of all energy and no longer able to pierce in. The Soul Emperor turned towards Lin Ming. What dwelled in his eyes was a hint of contempt, a hint of hatred, and a hint of sinister ruthlessness. “I will make sure you always remember today! Since this bitch is so desperately willing to rescue you, then I will have her die for you!” As the Soul Emperor spoke he ripped open the void and stepped into a space channel. “All of you, will die...” The Soul Emperor’s final words were like a demonic curse that reverberated through space. Lin Ming rushed forwards as if he had gone crazy. Even the many human Empyreans moved at this time. However, they were too slow. They could only stare blankly on as the space channel ripped open by the Soul Emperor sealed itself up. “Ahhhh!” Lin Ming roared out in unwillingness. In the final moment he shot out a True Divinity mark onto the Soul Emperor. The Soul Emperor only coldly sneered, allowing the mark to fall onto his body. “Damn it all!” Lin Ming’s fist smashed into the void. His arms shivered with rage and his eyes were red with anger, his blood nearly frozen in his body! He never thought that at the end, Sheng Mei would be captured by the Soul Emperor! Without Sheng Mei risking everything to defend against the Soul Emperor’s last strike, he feared he would have already perished. And if Sheng Mei hadn’t tried to save him then her spiritual sea wouldn’t have been torn apart and she wouldn’t have fallen into a stupor, thus being captured by the Soul Emperor without any resistance at all! “It’s all my fault. What do I say to... Jiu’er!” Lin Ming clenched his fists together and fell to his knees. Because of anger and worry, his nails had already dug into his flesh and blood. Lin Ming knew of Sheng Mei’s past and also knew of how sad her fate and life experiences had been. Because of these things, Lin Ming had always felt a sense of pity for Sheng Mei. After their relationship had been clarified, Lin Ming had resolved that he would protect Sheng Mei. But, he never imagined that today it would be her protecting him instead. She had overdrawn her life in order to block that final strike, and in the end was captured by the Soul Emperor, her life or death unknown... What he felt was hate! “The Soul Emperor took away Sheng Mei, but his final goal is still me. He captured Sheng Mei because he is waiting for me to rescue her!” Lin Ming had already guessed the Soul Emperor’s goal. Since the Soul Emperor wouldn’t be able to kill him for some time, then he would simply wait for Lin Ming to personally deliver himself to his door. To keep Sheng Mei hostage was the same as holding onto his fatal weakness! He needed to restore his wounds as quickly as possible and rescue Sheng Mei! “Lin Ming...” Emperor Shakya spoke up. He could feel how turbulent Lin Ming’s mood was. His tone was hesitant and somewhat remorseful. During this battle, he hadn’t been able to play any role. Divine Dream, Clear, Ink, Sheng Mei, they had paid a great price in order to preserve Lin Ming’s life, but Emperor Shakya had only managed to lead a crowd of Empyreans here and send out a not-too-powerful attack at the end. In the end, they hadn’t even been able to save Sheng Mei, causing the situation to deteriorate even further. “Lin Ming, do you plan on going to rescue her...?” Emperor Shakya didn’t know who Sheng Mei was, but he could see that she was extremely important to Lin Ming. “If I don’t...” Lin Ming gripped his fists together. He understood that this was a trap! But even though he knew it was a trap, he still had to jump in. Emperor Shakya opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. He didn’t want Lin Ming to go, but he also felt that he didn’t have the qualifications to persuade Lin Ming to do anything. “You... will die...” An old voice sounded out – the one who spoke was Clear. Lin Ming turned, all sorts of complex emotions on his features. Thousands of years ago when Lin Ming first saw Clear and Ink at the Asura Road’s final trial, they had both been overflowing with life, glowing with boisterous health. But today, their beards and hair had gone white and their eyes had become as filthy as the Soul Emperor’s, overflowing with a faint death aura... Seeing Clear’s appearance, Lin Ming felt an inexplicable pain clutch at his heart! Clear and Ink had become like this because of him! Before, he had said to Divine Dream that he didn’t want anyone to die for him. But he never imagined that even after he stopped Divine Dream from burning away her life, Sheng Mei would also fall into a crisis for him and Clear and Ink would exhaust their lives. “That old demon has certainly set up a trap to wait for you. In our home ground, all of us are here and yet we were beaten into such a state by just an avatar. If you were to fight in a place that he set up instead, you would surely die...” Ink also said. How could Lin Ming not understand his words? If he were to try and rescue Sheng Mei, it couldn’t even be described as a slim chance of survival! “Senior, I know this, but I...” As Lin Ming spoke to here he fell silent. No matter what, he couldn’t finish those final words of ‘I must go’. In particular, as he looked at Clear and Ink who had lost a great deal of their life force, who had placed all their hopes in him, he couldn’t bear to face their dirtied eyes...