Chapter 436: The Imperial Seal

The moment Robert lost control, Li Mochen vanished from the demiplane where he stood. Using a magic scroll, he appeared directly on the deck of the Aglaea.

By now he had expanded his Domain of Silence to its maximum extent, suppressing the formation of those wind blades to prevent damage to the hull and the inverted hexagram array on the deck.

Had Robert been intact, Li Mochen's初级 Domain of Silence would have had almost no effect on her. Even after she lost control, without the suppression of those twenty holy nails, this 'flesh ball' would not have been greatly affected.

But in her current state, though she possessed a sea of mana, she could not cast any spells.

Those artifacts used by the Olympian gods to punish heretics had pinned Robert Yvonne's soul, subjecting her to extreme agony at all times, preventing her from thinking, and also stripping her of most of her spellcasting ability.

After boarding the ship, Li Mochen proceeded without pause to execute his plan.

First, using the energy crystal condensed from three demon hearts, he released his own Yuanchen Spirit. He summoned the three emperors—'Zhongtian Beiji Ziwei Taihuang Dadi,' 'Nanji Changsheng Dadi,' and 'Gouchen Shanggong Tianhuang Dadi'—to guard the Aglaea.

With Li Mochen's greatly increased cultivation and gradually restored divine soul, the divine manifestations of these three emperors now possessed a profound, unfathomable, and sky-covering divine majesty.

After manifesting, they each pointed a finger, causing the holy artifacts that had fallen on the sea surface and on the ship to rise into the air and orbit around them.

With these three legendary-level divine manifestations as protectors, Li Mochen began modifying the inverted hexagram array, moving swiftly and nimbly like a phantom.

Anthony and Angela, who had followed him here, were also helping him alter key points of the array at top speed.

Both were learned and proficient in various magical scripts. However, Anthony was several levels above Angela in inscribing magical arrays and had a grasp of mana flow that she could not match.

In a very short time, the part for which the billionaire was responsible had been altered beyond recognition. He had even made some optimizations to the inverted hexagram array.

In comparison, Li Mochen's task was simple: erase Beelzebub's emblem and demonic name and inscribe the honorific titles of his own Yuanchen Spirit.

Of course, those were not the true 'Ziwei,' 'Nanyi,' 'Gouchen,' 'Zhenwu,' 'Qinglong,' or 'Huanglong.' The ultimate target of this sacrificial array was himself—'Shenxiao Wuji Zixu Xianwang.'

About five minutes later, they had completed all the work. After carefully inspecting everything, Angela let out a light sigh; she had been worried that her momentary reluctance might affect Li Mochen's plan.

"We can begin."

Anthony, wearing his mask, returned to Li Mochen's side and glanced at his watch: "After ten minutes, the quality of these blood essences and souls will decline. Especially the three legendary chain demons—they are only projections, and their demonic sources dissipate easily."

"I am also eager to begin!"

Li Mochen reached out and took the 'Solomon's Scepter' from the center of the altar, then began forming hand seals. The entire array began to radiate spiritual light.

Casari Gates had placed the 'Solomon's Scepter' in the array to establish a more stable channel for Beelzebub's will to descend and to consolidate the contract between them.

But in Li Mochen's hands, this artifact served a different purpose. He intended to use the powerful sealing force of this 'holy relic.'

King Solomon was undoubtedly one of the greatest seal masters in the world. In his later years, he even ascended to godhood, becoming a new deity. Though his time as a god was brief, he left an indelible mark on history and magical history.

And 'holy relics' are not holy artifacts; they specifically refer to objects that have been stained with or retain the 'Traces of Truth'—or 'Dao Marks'—of the gods.

"Wait!"

Anthony called out to Li Mochen, then tossed him another object shaped like a seal: "This is the 'holy relic' I mentioned, called the Ten-Thousand-Year Seal. It is said to be one of the jade seals of the Ancestral Dragon from the ancient Eastern Celestial Empire. It contains residual power from him, something called 'dragon qi,' and is rumored to have been blessed by twelve Eastern scattered immortals. It can help you resist demonic energy and withstand Beelzebub's mental contamination."

"Ancestral Dragon? Ten-Thousand-Year Seal?"

Li Mochen was slightly surprised, then examined the bottom of the seal. There, eight seal-script characters were carved: 'Shou Ming Yu Tian Da Qin Wan Nian'—'Receiving the Mandate from Heaven, Great Qin for Ten Thousand Years.' This was presumably the origin of the name 'Ten-Thousand-Year Seal.'

Thanks to his ever-growing knowledge, Li Mochen recognized that although this was not the First Emperor's Heirloom Seal of the Realm, it was one of the seals used by the First Emperor before he cast the Heirloom Seal from the He's Bi jade. It was likely one of the treasures that had been scattered from that Eastern Celestial Empire during times of weakness and war.

Then his expression shifted: "Sell this to me, Anthony. To you, it's just a dispensable collectible, but to me, it's very important."

He was not lying; in his hands, this item would prove far more useful than Anthony could imagine.

For someone who already possessed 'Son of Heaven's qi,' this jade seal, still retaining residual dragon qi, would only enhance his fortune and destiny. In fact, the moment it entered Li Mochen's hand, his 'Shenxiao Lingyun Zijin Pagoda' trembled incessantly.

Moreover, this was itself a holy artifact of no small power. From the perspective of holy relics, this object, which had accompanied the Ancestral Dragon for a longer time, actually contained more of his 'Dao Marks.'

"Sell it to you?" Anthony looked reluctant, but after a moment's thought, he agreed.

"I won't take advantage of you. I bought this for twenty-two billion gold shields. I'll sell it to you at cost, OK?"

Li Mochen's lips twitched, then he pointed to the side: "I won't haggle, but I have no money now. Either I owe you, as a loan, or you pick some holy artifacts to offset the price. Except for the fake 'Chain of Heaven.'"

"Then you'll owe me another fifteen billion."

Anthony spread his hands, looking helpless. There were few things here that caught his interest—only the fake 'Chain of Heaven' and Garcia's shield.

Just then, Anthony finally noticed something amiss on the altar: the names of the honored gods inscribed there were in scripts unfamiliar to him.

But Li Mochen had already activated the blood sacrifice array to its full extent. His divine soul detached from his body, and hundreds of streams of blood essence and demonic energy—some pure, some impure—surged violently toward him. Accompanying them were hundreds of souls bound around the array.