Outside the seal, a profound silence reigned, the disturbances within the Xianqin Divine Palace disturbing no one. On the expansive grounds, only Guixian paced back and forth, his face etched with deep worry.
“Senior, you are finally out. It’s a relief that nothing happened to you.”
Seeing the seal open and Nie Kong, Taiyan, and the others emerge, Guixian let out a sigh of relief, joy blooming on his face as he hurried to meet them.
But after only a few steps, Guixian froze abruptly, his small eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at Yu Longyue and the Sea King she held in her hand, stammering incoherently: “Elder Yu… Elder Yu… Your Majesty, the Sea King…”
“Elder Guixian, save…” The Sea King suddenly cried out loudly, but before he could finish, Yu Longyue snorted and struck him unconscious with a single palm strike.
“Brother Guixian, both the Great Divine Minister and Elder Divine Minister are dead by our hands, and this Sea King must die too!”
Nie Kong’s words landed like a clap of thunder, instantly stunning Guixian into a daze. At that moment, Nie Kong’s right palm shot out like lightning and struck Guixian’s chest.
“Pfft!”
Guixian snapped back to his senses, staring at Nie Kong with an expression of utter disbelief, seemingly never imagining that Nie Kong would attack him without any warning.
Taiyan was also startled: “Brother, why did you…”
“Brother Guixian brought us here; it’s safer if he sustains some injuries,” Nie Kong explained, then looked at Guixian with a hint of apology in his voice. “Brother Guixian, don’t worry; you will recover in half a month at most.”
“Senior, I… I…”
Guixian struggled to articulate what he wanted to say, his lips moving soundlessly before he collapsed limply onto the ground, his face rapidly covered by a black pallor. The vitality within him flickered faintly, seeming ready to extinguish at any moment.
Seeing this, Taiyan couldn't help but ask, “Brother, is he really alright?”
“He’s fine!”
Nie Kong smiled. Guixian’s appearance was terrifying, but as Nie Kong struck, he had sealed a mass of Primordial Chaos Divine Power within him. This divine power contained intense vitality that would slowly spread over time, driving out the death energy.
Once the death energy dissipated, Guixian would heal.
The mass of Primordial Chaos Divine Power Nie Kong left within him might even serve as a benefit to his cultivation in the future. Nie Kong’s method was sufficiently subtle, ensuring that the Spirit God Avatars would not detect it. Anyone seeing Guixian would assume he was gravely wounded, near death.
“Taiyan, don’t worry; Nie Kong knows what he is doing.”
Yu Longyue nodded approvingly toward Nie Kong. “Before anyone outside notices, we must leave here immediately.” With that, she flicked her right hand, and the portly body of the Sea King shot toward the just-opened entrance, a flash of azure light piercing into him like an arrow leaving a bowstring.
“Go!”
The three figures streaked toward the distance at breakneck speed.
All three were Spirit Gods; pushing their speed to the absolute limit, even peak Ninth-Rank powerhouses nearby would struggle to detect their forms, let alone sense their auras. In a moment, Nie Kong, Taiyan, and Yu Longyue had vanished from the bustling undersea city.
“Elder Guixian, Elder Guixian…”
Nearly fifteen minutes later, the motionless Guixian on the ground was discovered by a Sea Clan male who cried out in alarm and hastily carried him away.
Not long after the Sea Clan male departed, the seal that had closed was opened once more.
A total of ten figures emerged from the “Abyssal Heart Sea Pit.” As soon as these individuals appeared, a terrifying aura that made the soul tremble emanated from their bodies.
Ten auras intertwined and crisscrossed, enveloping an area spanning twenty to thirty li.
Instantly, the entire Heavenly Dragon Sea Trench vibrated, and figures darted rapidly through the void. In moments, several hundred peak Ninth-Rank Sea Clan powerhouses had gathered outside the seal of the “Abyssal Heart Sea Pit.”
The identities of those ten figures were soon revealed.
They were all Sea Clan Spirit God Avatars descended from the “Supreme Reverence Spirit Realm,” and many of the Ninth-Rank powerhouses who had rushed over were their own descendants.
Next, even more momentous news swept through the crowd, causing a massive stir.
Remnants of the Crimson Star Clan from the Supreme Reverence Spirit Realm had disguised themselves as Sea Clan Spirit Gods, infiltrated the Xianqin Divine Palace under the guise of petitioning the Sea King, slain the Great Divine Minister and Elder Divine Minister, among others, and colluded with the newly ascended Sea Clan Spirit God Elder, Yu Longyue, using despicable means to ambush and kill five of the descending Spirit God Avatars.
They had even killed the Sea King!
Upon learning this, the crowd grew furious, and someone immediately suggested summoning Guixian for questioning. However, they soon received unfortunate news: Guixian was severely injured. Worried onlookers speculated that the Crimson Star Clan remnants and the traitorous Sea Clan member had struck him while fleeing.
Then, a Ninth-Rank powerhouse guarding the teleportation illusion array sent a message…
Just moments ago, Elder Yu had forcefully used the illusion array leading to the southeast region of the Xianqin Sea, bringing one male and one female with her, and had even injured two Sea Clan members who tried to stop them to inquire about the situation!
Once the confirmed information was received, the ten Spirit God Avatars immediately proceeded toward the illusion array…
“…Aunt Yue, where is this?”
Glancing around, Nie Kong appeared somewhat surprised.
The place where he, Taiyan, and Yu Longyue now stood was an island spanning several hundred meters. The island was barren, containing nothing but a single teleportation illusion array. The sea surrounded the island, but in the distance, the outlines of continuous mountains could be seen, indicating they were not far from shore.
Yu Longyue laughed: “This is ‘Rift Sky Island’ in the southeast sea region of Xianqin Sea. Let’s go.”
“Wait!”
Nie Kong suddenly called out to Yu Longyue, who was about to leave. He crouched down, placing his right palm onto an illusion rune on the ground. Primordial Chaos Divine Power rapidly spread along the interwoven lines. Within seconds, almost every rune was enveloped in a milky-white aura, making the island seem shrouded in white mist.
Sensing for a moment, a strange smile surfaced on Nie Kong’s face. The continuous Primordial Chaos Divine Power began to flow and coalesce along the runes. Before long, the teleportation illusion array became clear, with only sixteen areas, each about one meter in diameter, still covered in the dense divine power.
Bang, bang, bang…
With a thought from Nie Kong, the sixteen masses of divine power detonated simultaneously.
The illusion array appeared undamaged, but the previously vivid runes now looked dim and lifeless, as if all vitality had been drained.
Yu Longyue examined the illusion array with surprise for a few moments, then couldn't help but sigh with emotion: “Nie Kong, you have remarkable skill. After you dealt with this array, the time and effort required to repair it will certainly far exceed building a new teleportation array from scratch.”
Nie Kong chuckled: “If we hadn’t done this, those descending Sea Clan Spirit Gods would probably have caught up quickly.”
“Don’t worry; it won’t take long for the boundary gate to the Divine Void Realm to open,” Yu Longyue said with a gentle smile. “Besides, once we reach the land fragment belt on the edge of the Divine Void Realm, it won’t be so easy for those descending Sea Clan Spirit God Avatars to find us. What we need to do now is reach the edge of the Divine Void Realm as quickly as possible… Hm, if I remember correctly, this journey should be about one hundred thousand li.”
“Covering those one hundred thousand li might not be so simple.”
“Oh?”
“Aunt Yue, don’t forget, this land belongs to the Grandmist Celestial Mansion and the Pill Immortal Sect. Before entering the Xianqin Sea, Taiyan and I killed three Spirit Gods. It’s possible that the Spirit Gods from those two sects will also descend their avatars to hunt us down,” Nie Kong laughed heartily, his tone quite relaxed, clearly not overly worried. However, a moment later, the smile on Nie Kong’s face vanished, and he exclaimed in a strange tone, “It can’t be that coincidental, can it?”
…… ……RO