The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 586: Patriarch Xin’s Strength

After killing her own husband with her own hand, Sect Master Baek looked at her daughter, who was still hugging her headless father. There was only sadness in her eyes as she remembered the slight smile her husband made the moment before she decapitated him.

Seeing her daughter still clinging to his now-limp body truly pained her. She pulled Baek Jimin away, even forcing her to separate from her father as she held his body tightly. The moment Baek Jimin and Donghyun were separated, his body instantly fell to the ground, but Sect Master Baek had already wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace to keep her from seeing her father’s corpse.

In her mother’s arms, Baek Jimin could no longer hold back. Her cries finally escaped, echoing clearly through the surrounding area. Though the battle still raged nearby, the death of the undead Donghyun had made this part of the battlefield far safer.

Sect Master Baek also shed tears without stopping, though she made no sound like her daughter. Instead, she only tightened her embrace. In that moment, they sought comfort in each other amid the chaos of the battle. A few elders of the Thorny Flower Garden understood this and stood guard around them, ensuring no undead disturbed the family’s moment.

After a while, Baek Jimin finally stopped crying and wiped her eyes. Her face remained still for a few seconds, without any clear expression, until she clenched her teeth and her eyes burned with fury.

"It must be the Sloth Devil. She must be here," she said, her voice filled with rage.

"That bitch... She did this to Father. She’ll pay for what she’s done!" she added, glancing around at her surroundings.

Sect Master Baek nodded.

"Yes, I thought so. And I believe we know exactly where she is," she said, glancing toward the Hydra and the sudden appearance of the Chimera. The two beasts had just launched attacks that collided with each other.

She knew that the commander of this army, Patriarch Xin was fighting the leader of the undead and beast forces.

Just as she had guessed, Patriarch Xin was besieged by the two powerful beasts, and attacked simultaneously by them. The Chimera unleashed its red flame, while the four-headed Hydra—well now reduced to three heads after losing one to Patriarch Xin, spewed black flame.

Being attacked at such close range by both beasts would have been nearly impossible to avoid. But Patriarch Xin had mastered the light laws and a movement technique based on them, allowing him to evade even the fastest strikes.

Just as their attacks were about to reach him, he vanished, using his movement technique to reappear elsewhere a split second later. The flames collided in his absence, producing a deafening explosion as fire surged across the surrounding battlefield.

Fortunately, their battle was at the rear of the devil’s lines, where no other fighting was taking place, only Patriarch Xin and the Sloth Devil were there.

After using his movement technique, he closed in on the Sloth Devil at a speed even she struggled to follow. But she was someone who possessed many tricks.

Just as Patriarch Xin was about to reach her and strike, the turtle shell shield appeared again. At the same moment, a beam of light emerged from the ground along his path. Patriarch Xin, seemingly prepared for the reappearance of the turtle shell, shifted his movement to the side and prepared to unleash a sword strike.

However, from the light on the ground, four black chains suddenly erupted, shooting toward him at high speed. Without hesitation, Patriarch Xin canceled his technique and dodged, but the chains pursued him relentlessly, as if they had already locked onto him as their target.

The Hydra and Chimera, having failed to kill him earlier, also launched another attack, both unleashing their flame breath once more. Surrounded from all sides, Patriarch Xin decided to use one of his techniques. In that moment, he suddenly came to a stop.

Once he stopped, the chains instantly caught up to him, wrapping tightly around his legs and other limbs. With the flames from both beasts approaching and his body unable to move, he had no way to defend himself.

The Sloth Devil smiled as she watched.

"Got you," she thought. The chains were summoned by a trapping talisman she had set up long ago, one capable of restraining even a peak Emperor stage cultivator. The talisman had been a gift from her lord, which was why she had been so confident.

But then, she frowned as Patriarch Xin’s body suddenly erupted in blinding light. The brilliance was so intense it felt as though it burned her eyes and skin. She instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes. The light’s effect was far beyond anything she had expected, and a sudden sense of danger gripped her heart.

Without hesitation, she activated her defensive artifact. The turtle shell reappeared, shielding her from the radiance.

However, a moment later, the turtle shell suddenly cracked, making the Sloth Devil’s eyes widen. In a rare move, she escaped, rising high into the sky in a split second, just before the turtle shell was completely destroyed.

As the blinding light finally receded, she was able to see what had happened.

What she saw made her solemn, and a drop of sweat rolled down her forehead.

At this moment, Patriarch Xin had unleashed one of his techniques which was an avatar technique. A giant avatar of light now enveloped him, its glowing form moving in perfect sync with Patriarch Xin’s own. Both the real figure and the silhouette stared at her together.

The translucent avatar held a sword in its hand, and its luminous form bathed the battlefield in light, like a lone illumination crystal glowing in the middle of a dark desert.

The ground around him was scorched, blackened patches spreading in a three kilometer radius around the avatar. The Chimera and Hydra, along with the four chains that had bound Patriarch Xin had all been obliterated by the radiance.

Seeing all of this, the Sloth Devil had to admit that Patriarch Xin was truly powerful. The energy he exuded was far greater than any opponent she had ever faced. It felt heavier, more oppressive, something different from ordinary energy. It carried an intimidating weight that set it apart.

Even his energy could suppress the surrounding negative energy, much like holy energy would. That alone had made her wary of him from the beginning. The fact that he had shattered her defensive artifact and broken the binding chains from her trapping talisman, which was strong enough to restrain a peak Emperor stage cultivator, proved that the power he had just displayed was already beyond the emperor stage.

Powerful, agile, and incredibly fast, Patriarch Xin was the worst kind of opponent for her. He was a natural counter to everything she relied on. Most of her techniques didn’t draw from her physical strength, instead depending on external forces like summoned beasts and undead. Against someone like him, her usual advantages meant little.

She then glanced at the battlefield. She could sense and see that her undead were being pushed back and destroyed at a rapid pace. The situation was clearly turning against her, yet she only smiled.

Without a word, she crushed the escape talisman hidden under her sleeve. But a split second before the teleportation activated, she caught sight of a blinding sword slash flying toward her. Her eyes widened in shock, it nearly cut her in half. But her body had already vanished, and the slash sliced through empty air, continuing into the sky.

Patriarch Xin clicked his tongue as he saw the Sloth Devil successfully escape, irritation flashing across his face. He turned toward the battlefield and saw that his troops were nearly finished, most of the undead had already been wiped out.

Then he looked up and saw the roc in the sky, still being held at bay by five Emperor-stage cultivators. Without hesitation, he struck at the beast using the sword wielded by his avatar.

The five cultivators, still locked in combat with the roc, were stunned when the massive creature suddenly split in two, killed instantly. They turned toward the source of the strike and saw the giant light avatar with Patriarch Xin in it. They immediately understood that his battle was over, and he had now come to aid them.

The rest of the battle did not last long. With Patriarch Xin joining the others, the remaining undead were quickly eliminated.

Once the battlefield was cleared, the troops finally had a chance to rest and begin counting their losses. The battle had been chaotic and brutal. The undead had caused them serious trouble, they were difficult to kill, and because of that, they had taken more lives than any other battle in the past two weeks.

Patriarch Xin also needed rest. He had spent a considerable amount of energy fighting the Sloth Devil, especially when using his avatar technique. With a sigh, he sat on the ground, quietly observing his troops as they worked to clear the battlefield.

Not long after, Xin Haotian approached and sat down beside him, casting a glance at his father.

"How is it?" Xin Haotian asked.

"How is what?" Patriarch Xin replied.

"How was it, fighting one of the Seven Deadly Sins?" Haotian clarified, prompting a small smile from the patriarch.

"Not bad. I got to loosen up a bit. Unfortunately, she escaped too quickly. If she’d stayed just a little longer, I would’ve liked to test more of my techniques on her. She was skilled, no doubt, but not enough to force me to go all out," he answered in a confident tone.

Xin Haotian nodded at the response.

Just then, Patriarch Xin sensed a signal from his communication artifact. He pulled it from the pouch at his waist and brought it closer to his ear.

"Patriarch Xin, this is Emperor Ladwin. I need to ask you something."

Patriarch Xin responded immediately. "What is it your majesty?"

"Did you encounter a member of the Seven Deadly Sins?"

He was slightly taken aback by the question, but still answered, "Yes. I just faced the Sloth Devil. Why do you ask?"

"I see," Emperor Ladwin replied. "Then we can conclude that the Seven Deadly Sins have begun to move."

Hearing that, Patriarch Xin frowned.

The Seven Deadly Sins were making their move?

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l