Huangfu Tong smiled, shook his head lightly, and said, "Zong Xin, I am truly sorry for the Xiao Yun Kingdom, but for the sake of the Huangfu family, I must make a move against you."
Above the Dead Water Prison, a deep and sonorous bell suddenly tolled, and a colossal bronze bell descended from the sky. Its chime was distant, and its radiance intensified.
An intensely heavy and oppressive aura bore down from the bronze bell. The light emanating from the giant bell seemed almost tangible, shooting out in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of beams directly toward Gu Ya's head.
Simultaneously, all the Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters lying in ambush suddenly leaped from their concealment, creating a surge of immense energy in an instant. A dazzling array of attacks rained down, all targeted directly at the old man from Tianshan standing there.
Huangfu Yue had also emerged from the shadows at some unknown moment, gripping the Golden Sky-Shattering Cone forged by the Huangfu family from rare stones and precious metals gathered from across the realm. She poured fierce elemental energy into the golden weapon, which immediately emitted a piercing, grating shriek.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Accompanied by the sound of tearing air, the Golden Sky-Shattering Cone flew toward Gu Bang like a meteor about to crash to earth, carrying with it unparalleled sharpness.
The power released by the Golden Sky-Shattering Cone in Huangfu Yue's hands was more than ten times greater than when it was wielded by Huangfu Jingwei!
Golden light glittered, streaks like swords accompanied the Golden Sky-Shattering Cone, seemingly intent on piercing the heavens themselves!
Tu Bazi, Huangfu Tong, Huangfu Yue, along with the matriarch of the Du family, Zhang Yueqin, the arrivals from the Chu family, and numerous other experts, all struck at once, hoping to seize the opportunity to slay Gu Bang.
All manner of attacks cascaded down, making Gu Bang the ultimate target of every assault.
Inside the Dead Water Prison, Ji Changkong looked up at the sky, his expression solemn, yet he made no move. Ever since meeting Cao Xuanqi of the Guiyuan Sect outside Xuanyuan Valley previously, he had realized that experts of the Nine Palaces Heavenly Realm were absolutely not comparable to ordinary Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters.
Although Huangfu Tong and the others' offensive was currently ferocious, Ji Changkong did not believe that these means would be enough to harm Gu Bang.
As expected!
Amidst the dazzling flurry of attacks, Gu Bang's expression remained normal. Only when the attacks reached him did he slowly make his move.
A colossal character, "Qian" (Heaven), materialized mysteriously behind Gu Ya, spreading across the entire space of the Dead Water Prison like a celestial curtain. A strange ripple, difficult for ordinary people to comprehend, emanated from this massive "Qian," gradually spreading outwards in all directions.
Every attack directed at Gu Ya was instantly shattered upon encountering that strange ripple. The golden beams from the Golden Sky-Shattering Cone dissolved like mist, and the massive bell, before it could even reach Gu Bang's head, was knocked flying away by the oscillation from the character "Qian."
In just an instant, all offensive power vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Gu Ya, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes as deep as the starry sky, saw a flash of light. The character "Qian" that filled the space subtly trembled and suddenly transformed into the character "Kun" (Earth). Destructive sharpness violently shot out from the character "Kun," sweeping in all directions like thousands upon thousands of steel needles.
The faces of the experts besieging Gu Bang, including Huangfu Tong, changed drastically, and they quickly retreated, summoning their divine weapons to fiercely guard their small patches of ground.
Thud! Thud!
The matriarch of the Du family, Zhang Yueqin, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, slamming backward against the hard stone wall and punching a bottomless great hole into it.
Huangfu Tong, Huangfu Yue, Tu Bazi, Murong Tuo, and the others, none could evade Gu Bang's offensive. Each looked disheveled; some were wounded, others breathless.
"Gu Ya, don't you care about your grandson's life?" Huangfu Yue shrieked in frustration. "Kill Ji Changkong for me!"
Beneath the Dead Water Prison, two eel-like shadows quickly darted through the sluggish water, rushing toward Ji Changkong like sharks.
These two Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters had remained submerged and had not participated in the assault on Gu Bang; they had been waiting solely for Huangfu Yue's command.
Gu Ya frowned slightly. The "Kun" character, arrogantly suspended in the void, twisted out a stream of icy white energy and blasted down toward the Dead Water Prison.
The icy white energy descended silently, carrying a chilling cold and piercing sharpness. However, just as the icy sharp energy was ten zhang away from the bottom of the prison, layers upon layers of colorful barriers suddenly materialized above the Dead Water Prison—roughly several hundred layers at first glance!
The icy white energy struck these layers of barriers, causing earth-shattering explosions to erupt from the Dead Water Prison. Each explosion signified the destruction of one barrier.
The Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters who helped construct the barriers, such as Tu Bazi and Murong Tuo, watched their painstakingly erected defenses crumble as if they were made of paper. Their faces turned deathly pale, and fear of Gu Ya unexpectedly surged in their hearts.
If his power was this immense even while injured, what would have happened if he were whole? Tu Bazi and the others thought.
"It's too late," Huangfu Yue sneered. "The last three layers of barriers won't break so easily."
Indeed, just as Huangfu Yue finished speaking, Gu Bang's attack stopped just short, hovering before a layer of oily green barrier. This viscous, green mass, like densely packed insects, instantly enveloped the icy white energy, managing to separate it.
At this very moment, the two Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters who had been lurking in the dead water reached Ji Changkong.
Two purplish-green, snake-shaped short swords were held to Ji Changkong's neck, one from the left and one from the right. The swords were covered in fine, intricate markings that slowly writhed like earthworms, giving anyone who looked at them a feeling of scalp-crawling dread.
The owners of the snake-shaped short swords were two identical old eunuchs, stooped over, gazing at Ji Changkong with sinister, soft eyes. Their sword-holding arms were as pale as a woman's, with verdant veins clearly visible.
"Green Twilight Mist!" Gu Bang looked down at the green barrier that was still splitting the icy white energy and murmured, "Green Twilight Mist... It comes from the Dead Star Domain in the Endless Star Field. To deal with me, you actually gathered the evil Green Twilight Mist from the Dead Star Domain? How many people did you kill?"
Huangfu Yue chuckled lightly. Seeing that Gu Ya had stopped attacking, she secretly nodded toward the two old eunuchs below, then looked at Gu Ya to explain: "To gather things from the Dead Star Domain, one must pay a price in souls. To obtain this Green Twilight Mist, our Huangfu family sacrificed the souls of thirty-seven Seven Star Heavenly Masters. This was to ensure you would have difficulty using divine arts to rescue Ji Changkong. You can't expect to take the life of a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master without some sacrifice."
"What do you want?" Gu Bang looked at Ji Changkong, his expression complex.
"Sorry, we just want you dead!" Huangfu Yue bowed slightly, regretfully.
A melodious bell tone sounded again. The giant bell flew back, its overwhelming, heavy aura filling the air above the Dead Water Prison, as if intending to crush the prison entirely.
At the same moment, those Eight Trigrams Heavenly Masters who had been hiding launched their attacks once more.
"Sect Master, as long as you do not strike back, we will not kill Ji Changkong. If you make a move, Ji Changkong will die immediately," Huangfu Tong shouted lightly, shooting toward Gu Bang like a rainbow.
Gu Ya frowned slightly, raised his head, and a massive cushion materialized out of thin air, obscuring the sky above like dark clouds.
The giant bell struck above the cushion. A deafening explosion roared within the Dead Water Prison, but no matter how immense the bell's force, it could not shake the cushion through repeated impacts, unable to breach this layer of defense.
A silver-white glazed shield, like a gigantic cabinet, enveloped Gu Ya. Various attacks rained down, striking the shield and igniting dazzling colors, yet they could never shatter the glaze.
A Nine Palaces Heavenly Master was, after all, a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master. Even injured and restricted to defensive measures, these people could not harm him.
Inside the glazed shield, Gu Bang's eyes held deep worry.
With the snake-shaped short swords held against his neck, Ji Changkong’s expression remained as usual. He looked up at Gu Bang steadily resisting the onslaught from all directions, and a meaningful smile even touched the corner of his mouth.
No one knew why he was smiling.
Suddenly, an aura of extreme, desperate death flooded the air above the Dead Water Prison. In that moment, everyone felt as if they had plunged into hell, wondering if they were already dead.
Piles of ghostly white bones suddenly thrust out from within the giant bell in the sky. In an instant, beneath the bell, it was as if a dreadful white-bone flower of death had bloomed. These bones formed a bizarre pattern, and a young man in his early twenties appeared, his eyes stark white, devoid of any human emotion.
Evil, tyrannical, and chilling—all manner of negative energies washed over them.
Boom!
A tremendous roar came from the giant bell. Countless white bones shot downward, and the young man in his twenties threw a punch. The air of despair, evil, and coldness seemed poised to destroy the world, instantly piercing the cushion above Gu Ya's head and charging straight toward him.
Crack! Crack!
The silver-white glazed shield, which had remained unscathed under the desperate attacks of Huangfu Tong and the others, shattered inch by inch!
"Who are you?" Gu Bang's eyes suddenly shot out piercing cold light as he stared at the young man in his twenties and roared.
"Sect Master, don't move! If you move, your grandson dies," Huangfu Yue reminded him with a smile.
The two old eunuchs holding the snake-shaped short swords to Ji Changkong's neck subtly moved their wrists. The blades were pressed tight against the arteries in Ji Changkong's neck; any exertion would certainly mean his death.
"He is not human!" Ji Changkong roared and cried out, "Huangfu Tong, Huangfu Yue, you actually colluded with the Ghost Demon King of the Gray Darkness Mountain Range! Are you trying to bring annihilation upon the Water Cloud Kingdom?"
The eyes of the twenty-something young man, completely lacking human feeling, suddenly fixed on Ji Changkong. He said, "New Xuanyuan, I have emerged from the Nether Ghost Domain, and I came to find you!"