“I should never have coveted that desolate beast's carcass!”
In his hiding spot, Luo Chen rarely showed a trace of regret.
Yet this regret came quickly and vanished just as fast.
With someone interfering, it would have been impossible for him to force his way across the Yellow Springs Sea anyway.
Besides, ghosts only knew why an almighty sovereign of the Tianyuan Dao Sect had suddenly arrived here, and by the looks of it, even intended to turn this place into a battlefield to clash with Monarch Qixia.
Simply because Monarch Qixia had mounted a fierce assault on the Tianyuan Dao Sect?
The reason was certainly sufficient.
Yet Monarch Qixia's sheer might had already been made abundantly clear when she managed to withdraw safely even in the face of Soul Formation sovereigns descending from the Xuan Realm. Under such circumstances, why would the surviving Five Elders of Tianyuan still seek to fight to the death?
Luo Chen did not know what conviction of certain doom compelled them to prepare for this battle.
He only knew that he was now caught in a dilemma.
Leaving was impossible!
If he leaked even the slightest stir, Sovereign Chunyuan, stationed at a vantage point overlooking the entire island, could easily detect him.
And staying behind?
Once the battle erupted, he feared he would become the innocent fish in the moat when the city gate caught fire.
“No!”
“Actually, there is a chance.”
Luo Chen narrowed his eyes, a plan of escape taking shape in his mind.
……
Life on Soul Island was exceptionally desolate and lonely.
Entering this place was difficult enough, but leaving was harder still.
Through multiple scouting excursions, Sovereign Chunyuan had already confirmed this fact.
Whatever lingering hopes she had harbored for the upcoming clash gradually sank to rock bottom alongside the results of her exploration.
“By choosing this island as the battlefield, a life-and-death outcome between us and Monarch Qixia is truly inevitable!”
Letting out a soft sigh, her footsteps gradually brought her to the northern side of Soul-Severing Cliff.
When she caught sight of that massive, concave boulder, surprise flitted across her face.
Soon, however, that surprise hardened into ruthless vigilance.
“Someone was living on this island not long ago!”
At this thought, her vast divine sense poured forth.
She took to the air, flying repeatedly around the eight-hundred-li Soul Island.
Even though this place naturally suppressed divine sense, under such a sweeping, mobile scan, any living creature would scarcely escape her eyes.
Yet after circling three or four times, she found nothing.
Sovereign Chunyuan looked hesitant, her gaze drifting toward the churning waters of the Yellow Springs Sea.
“Could they have already left?”
From what she observed, the lingering aura in that crude cave abode had not reached the Soul Formation realm; it was presumably someone below that stage.
If such a being remained on Soul Island, they could never hide from her.
Since her search had yielded nothing, that was likely the only explanation.
Just to be safe, however, Sovereign Chunyuan refused to give up and swept across the island once more.
Only late into the night did she return to the sealed and bound Qingshuang.
The moment she landed, Qingshuang's faint voice drifted over.
“Must you be so cautious?”
Sovereign Chunyuan did not care about the mockery veiled within the question. Solemnly, she replied, “That elder sister of yours is no ordinary being. In the vast Mountain Sea Realm, practically no one is her match. If we wish to kill her, we must assemble all three conditions: right timing, geographical advantage, and the unity of people.”
“Because of the desperate dying counterattack of the three patriarchs of the Mingyuan Sect, she was struck by heavenly tribulation, and subsequently collapsing the Central Plains caused worldly ley qi to entangle her. It can be said that right timing is not on her side.”
“This Soul-Severing Cliff is rumored to have been formed from the Diaohun Desolate Beast, born ignorant and fond of devouring souls. Where it rests, heaven-and-earth origin qi is shackled, and divine soul thoughts are suppressed. Moreover, it was a native Great Desolate Beast of the Mountain Sea Realm whose realm broke through to the sixth-rank Void Refinement stage. Even if Monarch Qixia once possessed peak Void Refinement might, how much of it can she unleash here?”
“Finally, we Five Elders of Tianyuan are staking our lives, using you as bait. The harmony of people is also on our side.”
“This is our only chance, and our most promising opportunity to kill her. I cannot allow any step to go awry!”
Having said this, she glanced at Qingshuang.
“The reason you were captured by me was that an error occurred in your cultivation. Though exceedingly faint, details determine success or failure. I do not wish to see such an occurrence befall my Tianyuan Dao Sect.”
Hearing these words, Qingshuang's calm expression shifted slightly.
Had she not slipped up and been captured, matters would never have come to this.
Even if the Tianyuan Dao Sect sought vengeance, they would at most have marched upon Mount Cangwu.
At that point, at least two of the three factors—timing, terrain, and people—would have been on her sister's side. How could it have devolved to such a state?
Her heart grew heavy, and being naturally taciturn, Qingshuang did not utter another word for the rest of the night.
Sovereign Chunyuan said nothing more either, merely waiting with quiet patience.
As dawn approached, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Far in the distance, an enormous streak of light was cutting through the Yellow Springs Sea, steadily closing in on Soul-Severing Cliff.
“They are here!”
That massive streak of light was not particularly fast, yet its course was not swayed in the slightest by the raging waves, holding true toward Soul-Severing Cliff.
About the time it took an incense stick to burn, the light split into four and descended onto the soft sandy beach.
Instantly, four men of distinctly different bearings came into view.
The most prominent among them was a burly, bearded elder with a ruddy complexion, his entire body radiating a powerful aura.
The moment he came ashore, he looked up at the cliff top and let out a hearty laugh.
“Junior Sister Chunyuan, we have kept you waiting!”
Above, Sovereign Chunyuan gave a light smile. “Senior Brother Zhan, please come up!”
Zhan Buxiu chuckled, casually waving a large hand behind him without looking back.
“Junior brothers, let us go!”
Unlike his surging fighting spirit, the other three wore varying expressions.
Dressed as a scholar in white, Tan Fengyue held a feather fan. Though he still appeared suave and poised, a touch of gloom lingered between his brows.
The youngest and most youthful-looking, Lian Cheng, wore an exceedingly dark expression, carrying even a faint air of fluster, and his footsteps seemed quite heavy.
Smack!
An aged hand clapped down onto his shoulder.
Lian Cheng looked back to see Senior Brother Mo.
Yet in the eyes of their normally stern sect master, there was now a look of encouragement.
“Do not worry. We have prepared more than enough for this battle. We can win.”
In a dry, hoarse voice, Lian Cheng said, “But during the great battle in the Central Plains, nine Soul Formation senior brothers descended from the Xuan Realm, and all died at the hands of that demonic phoenix! Can just the five of us truly pull this off?”
Mo Shouzhuo shook his head. “That was different. Crossing the Star Gate and forcibly descending to the lower realm depleted most of their strength from the start. That Monarch Qixia was able to wait at her ease and pick them off one by one was entirely expected. This time, we are early prepared; the advantage lies with us.”
Lian Cheng opened his mouth to say more.
In front of them, Tan Fengyue interjected in a somber tone, “This is a death order handed down by the main sect in the Xuan Realm, and an instruction Elder Baihu gave across the realms before the Star Gate was seized. Now that it is upon us, what room do we have to resist? Do not think too much about it; better to face it with some grace!”
Lian Cheng parted his lips, full of reluctance. “I cultivated bitterly for several centuries, finally reaching Soul Formation with great difficulty. Yet right after emerging, I was first defeated by You Li, and now I must wage a fight to the death against a demonic phoenix! How can you tell me to be graceful about it?”
“Heh.” Tan Fengyue gave a dry laugh that seemed carefree on the surface, but anyone could hear the bitterness underneath.
At the head of the group, Zhan Buxiu stopped and turned back to look at the two with a stern face.
“Cowering before the fight even begins—have all these years of easy living made you soft? Where is the bearing of Soul Formation sovereigns? Where is the composure forged through centuries of cultivation?”
Lian Cheng lowered his head in shame, while Tan Fengyue merely pursed his lips.
In daily life, they addressed one another as martial brothers, but when all was said and done, the Tianyuan Dao Sect of the Mountain Sea Realm was dominated by various family factions, and their ties were not all that deep.
Zhan Buxiu flaunting his seniority here was not something everyone was willing to swallow.
In the end, it was Mo Shouzhuo, the head of the Tianyuan Dao Sect, who stepped forward.
With a light cough that drew everyone's attention, he said gravely, “In this battle, only victory is permitted; failure is not an option. Even if we cannot best the demonic phoenix, we must inflict grievous wounds upon her and force her to remain in this realm. The subsequent mop-up will naturally be handled by the main sect in the Xuan Realm, and Elder Baihu has already prepared to send a slaughter avatar to forcibly descend into this realm.”
“Should anyone harbor thoughts of fluke survival, even if you manage to escape with your life for a moment, you will never evade the punishment of the main sect.”
“Therefore, hold nothing back during the battle. You must give your all to slay the demonic phoenix!”
With taut faces and tight lips, the crowd nodded heavily in assent.
Before long, the four joined up with Chunyuan.
Without resting for even a moment after regrouping, the Five Elders of Tianyuan immediately began making all manner of preparations.
As for Qingshuang, who served as the bait to lure Monarch Qixia, her five senses and divine sense were blocked, and her entire body was laden with restrictive formations.
Everything was in place, waiting only for the demonic phoenix to arrive!
……
Will she come?
This question surfaced from the depths of Luo Chen's soul.
Knowing full well that an ambush awaited her, would that woman truly come?
If it were him, Luo Chen would certainly never take the bait.
Yet recalling that woman's haughtiness, and the phoenix figure that had stormed right into the Mingyuan Sect, Luo Chen subconsciously arrived at the answer.
She would come!
Moreover, since the Five Elders of Tianyuan dared to use Qingshuang as bait, it proved that this woman was vital to Monarch Qixia, leaving them unafraid that she would refuse the trap.
This was an open gambit.
Therefore, she would definitely come!
And his own opportunity to leave lay at the very beginning of the clash between both sides!
Not before the battle, not after the battle, and not in the midst of it.
Showing himself rashly before the battle, no one could say whether someone might strike him down.
After the battle, whether he would even still be alive was a question.
During the heat of combat, the same held true.
Only at the exact onset of the fight, by charging recklessly into the Yellow Springs Sea, would no one have the leeway to deal specifically with him.
Moreover, doing so would also prevent him from being caught in the catastrophic aftershocks of their battle.
“May everything go smoothly!”
Stones were laid out in specific positions, without a single spirit stone to power them, relying purely on the most basic secular Qimen Bagua.
Luo Chen's physical body hid among them.
He did not set up any wondrous grand concealing formation.
Before Soul Formation sovereigns, the spiritual qi emitted by ordinary formations would be sensed instantly; instead, a mundane baffling maze devoid of spiritual qi could offer a sliver of concealment.
His entire aura was restrained to the absolute limit, and even his divine soul gradually slipped into slumber.
He left behind only an early-warning array on his body using the Myriad Formations Gu.
Once the battle outside erupted and powerful fluctuations of spiritual qi were detected on this barren Soul Island, the warning array would awaken him.
At that moment, he would plunge into the Yellow Springs Sea regardless of the cost!
And that chance arrived three days later.
……
“She is here!”
Zhan Buxiu, the strongest among the Five Elders of Tianyuan, was the first to detect an anomaly in the Yellow Springs Sea.
Amidst the murky, yellowish waves, a golden light crossed the sea toward them.
It was none other than Monarch Qixia!
Towering battle intent surfaced on Zhan Buxiu's face as he declared, “Let this old man exchange a few blows with her first to test her condition. Then activate your spirit treasure, trap her within, and refine her together!”
The others nodded in succession.
Formidable though Monarch Qixia was, restricted by the suppression of this world, the power she could unleash was limited strictly to the Soul Formation realm.
Perhaps she had once achieved the pinnacle of the Void Refinement stage, but under such suppression, it was not impossible for them to fight her.
The fact that the three patriarchs of the Mingyuan Sect had managed to wound her severely before their deaths was proof of this.
Among the five of them, Zhan Buxiu possessed the highest realm and the strongest combat power; he was fully capable of attempting a direct confrontation.
However!
As the golden light accelerated sharply, their expressions grew increasingly grave.
A shrill, piercing shriek rose above the endless tidal roars.
Fierce winds whipped up thousands of towering waves.
Golden flames spread outward, as if poised to incinerate everything under heaven.
The Yellow Springs Sea—which devoured all living things, pulled Luo Chen into peril, and required the combined strength of the Five Elders of Tianyuan relying on dharma treasures to cross—seemed no different from an ordinary stretch of water before Monarch Qixia, unable to hinder her in the slightest!
Two resplendent wings carved their way through the surging waves.
In what seemed like a single instant, that lofty, commanding voice echoed in everyone's ears.
“I have arrived!”
Before the words had finished echoing, a plume of Nirvana Holy Fire had already descended.
Zhan Buxiu soared into the sky, his vast sword light cleaving through everything as he sought to slay the demonic phoenix.
Boom!
Without drawing upon any worldly spiritual qi, it was merely the simplest clash of spells and the most direct collision of magic power, yet in a split second it churned the world into chaos, scattering the wind and clouds.
Even the void seemed unable to withstand such terrifying power, tearing open fissure after fissure.
As swiftly as Zhan Buxiu had charged upward, that was how fast he came crashing back down.
Seeing this, Mo Shouzhuo's pupils constricted, and he blurted out, “Kill Qingshuang first!”
Without hesitation, Chunyuan thrust out a finger.
At the edge of the cliff, the green-robed woman's hair drifted faintly in the breeze, her expression placid, as if indifferent to everything.
The next instant!
From within a void fissure, a pale, jade-white wrist emerged, seized the green-robed woman, and pulled her straight into the void fissure.
Sovereign Chunyuan did not dare touch the void fissure and hastily withdrew her hand.
When they looked again, two figures were slowly emerging from the void.
One was proud and dignified, her eyes looking down disdainfully upon all creation.
The other was cool, aloof, and detached, appearing utterly unmoved by anything in the outside world.
All of this unfolded in the blink of an eye, too fast for anyone to react.
Monarch Qixia looked at the Five Elders of Tianyuan, the corners of her mouth curling into a slow smirk.
“Are you prepared to face my wrath?”
Right at that moment, Mo Shouzhuo slammed a palm into the ground.
“Rise, grand array!”
Instantly, boundless spiritual light erupted violently from Soul-Severing Cliff, spreading rapidly in an attempt to envelop the entire Soul Island.
Chunyuan's hands shifted through incantation gestures, pointing a finger toward Qingshuang from afar.
“Iron Tree Blossoms!”
A hazy green glow radiated from Qingshuang, like vegetation sprouting branches and bursting into flower.
Monarch Qixia seemed to have anticipated this; standing within the grand array, she showed not the slightest fear.
Confronting the anomaly manifesting across Qingshuang's body, she merely knitted her brows slightly and pressed a hand against Qingshuang's shoulder.
A single press!
That hazy green light was instantly forced down, and the signs of sprouting and blossoming vanished without a trace.
With another sweep of her hand!
A crackling sound erupted from Qingshuang's body, and restrictions of all sizes instantly dissolved.
“Go!” she said indifferently.
Qingshuang nodded slightly, and her form began to slowly fade into the void.
Seeing this, the hearts of the five Soul Formation cultivators of the Tianyuan Dao Sect sank.
Here, communicating with heaven-and-earth origin qi was exceedingly difficult, and ordinary law true intents were largely useless.
Yet the law true intent of space seemed completely unaffected.
After all, time and space existed eternally and ubiquitously.
They had intended to slay Qingshuang right after luring Monarch Qixia here, but their prearranged measures had failed one after another.
As a result, Qingshuang, who had been firmly under their control, had instead become an unpredictable variable in the battle to come.
Just as their hearts grew heavy, a streak of spiritual light suddenly erupted in the distance, shooting toward the Yellow Springs Sea with the speed of a thunderclap.
“Oh?”
Monarch Qixia let out a soft exclamation of surprise, a hint of wonder flashing in her eyes.
Then she smiled as she turned toward the Five Elders of Tianyuan.
“That person is a traitor of your Tianyuan Dao Sect, isn't he? Are you just going to stand there and watch him escape?”
At this moment, the array had just been initiated, and none of them truly had the leeway to turn their hands against Luo Chen.
However!
Mo Shouzhuo lowered his eyelids and let out a deep, carrying voice that traveled far across the distance.
“Luo Chen, do you still care for your life soul?”
With those words, the figure that had already begun melting into the Yellow Springs Sea suddenly froze in his tracks.
Chapter 977