Eternal Thief

Although the Prosperity Matriarch was an Ascension King, she didn't dare to underestimate Damien's Judgment Field at all. After even laws failed to subdue Damien, and she failed to escape the Judgment Field, she knew holding back wasn't an option anymore.

In the end, with deep resentment and unwillingness, Prosperity Matriarch decided to use one of her trump cards, which she had never expected she would use, to defend against an Ascension General.

At this moment, an old, worn-down, yellowish talisman appeared in her hand, and after a moment of hesitation, she activated it.

The worn-down talisman immediately turned into fine dust, leaving behind an ethereal, dark sliver rune symbol in front of her. Right at this moment, the scarlet chains reached the Prosperity Matriarch, but the runic symbol in front of her suddenly shimmered, releasing a profound brilliance.

"Bang…"

The chains suddenly obstructed their path, and they were no longer able to approach Prosperity Matriarch as if she had shifted into another space.

The Prosperity Matriarch coldly glared at Damien, her gaze filled with deep resentment, as she had just used a precious, limited talisman that had saved her life twice before.

It had been with her since she was an Ascension Lord; she found it in an ancient remnant after staking her life on the line. After becoming an Ascension King, she had never expected that to be used in this kind of situation.

Nonetheless, this talisman was still one of the least essential trump cards, but she still felt resentful and now wanted to flay Damien.

However, when she thought that Damien would be feeling despair at this moment, she was surprised when she noticed that he appeared as calm as before. There was even a hint of ridicule in his eyes as a faint sneer played on his lips.

Prosperity Matriarch's eyes narrowed at that moment as she sensed something was amiss. Just as she was wondering where Damien's confidence was coming from, a sharp creek rang in front of her.

At this moment, the light in front of her suddenly shuddered before black cracks emerged in front of her as if something was breaking the reality like a mirror.

The Judgment Phantom's fiendish face looked even more ferocious as it yanked the chains. Countless pitch-black symbols appeared on the scarlet chains and suddenly hummed with terrifying primordial Qi.

'Boom!'

With a deafening boom, the light barrier suddenly shattered, and it was so fast even Prosperity Matriarch couldn't react in time, and the serpent-like chains already touched her body.

The Prosperity Matriarch wanted to use her power to escape, but was horrified when she noticed that her Qi was suppressed entirely; even her connection with the laws seemed to have been severed.

She instantly realized that it was because of those chains. The scarlet chains didn't stop despite her dismay, and coiled around her entire body, binding even her soul, rendering her completely immobile and powerless.

When Damien saw Prosperity Matriarch struggling like a helpless child, he couldn't help but feel a sense of mirth.

"Stop struggling! You have been judged as a sinner, and no sinner can escape the Chains of Retribution. Enjoy your punishment!" Damien coldly declared as he was clearly gloating at Prosperity Matriarch's misfortune.

He had repeatedly warned her again and again, yet she was too selfish and stubborn to see past herself. In the end, she forced him to use the entire Judgment Field against her.

Although he knew Prosperity Matriarch was impossible to kill with his current power, it was enough to gravely wound her and scare her away into hiding for a long time.

Now that the PHW King Sect had lost its law legacy, and once others found out about Prosperity Matriarch's situation, the PHW King Sect would suffer a huge disaster.

At that moment, the Prosperity Matriarch's expression was filled with fear and disbelief as she couldn't break free from these chains. She wanted to say something, but her voice was also blocked.

Suddenly, the fiendish Judgment Phantom yanked the Chains of Retribution again, and a terrifying malevolent aura was released. Prosperity Matriarch's eyes went wide as she felt terrifying pain infiltrating her very being; no matter how high her pain tolerance was, this pain wasn't like normal pain. It was as if it were a law that seemed to follow the rules of the world.

Those chains started to dig into her body like worms as Prosperity Matriarch was nearly driven mad by pain, and the most terrifying part was that she couldn't lose her consciousness or even cry. She needed to suffer every bit of this pain.

The chains dug into her body, leaving behind black-scarlet markings on her skin like etched tattoos. This was the Mark of Retribution, representing a sinner judged by the Heavenly Justice. The Mark of Retribution will be a mark of her sins that will be etched on her soul, and she'll suffer pain every time she uses her powers or tries to cultivate and commit sins again.

Furthermore, this mark was permanent and couldn't be removed until she paid for her sins with pain and misery. This has another meaning; now her cultivation path has been severed until the Mark of Retribution remained on her!

This was the cruelty of the Chains of Judgment. If Damien were slightly more powerful, she wouldn't even get the chance to receive the Mark of Retribution, for the Judgment Phantom would've killed her with dealing with another crueler punishment.

Nonetheless, she won't be able to obstruct Damien anymore or anyone as a matter of fact.

Damien, with a hint of satisfaction, averted his eyes from Prosperity Matriarch; he wasn't interested in her anymore since she no longer posed any threat to him, nor would she dare to anymore.

As for the Prosperity Elders, they had already been sent away by the Prosperity Matriarch earlier to take control of the chaotic situation of the sect. She was extremely confident in taking care of Damien and didn't want those elders to hinder her. But alas, she turned out to be wrong.

At this moment, Damien's eyes darted around searching for Ace, but to his surprise, Ace had vanished without a trace.

'Where did he go! He was just lying there!?' Damien was surprised as he was paying attention to Ace earlier, but when the Prosperity Matriarch showed signs of resisting, he was distracted, and now Ace was nowhere to be seen.

'His restrictions should've been stopped working…' Damien couldn't help but curse Prosperity Matriarch again for obstructing him once more.

Nonetheless, he was confident that Ace wouldn't run away efficiently. But at this moment, Damien's expression changed as the profound Judgment Field started to wane.

Damien turned pale as a sense of weakness overwhelmed him, 'No!'

The Judgment Field was coming to an end!