Under the gaze of countless scorching eyes across the assembled crowd, the pillar of black energy ascended slowly, encircled by streaks of purple-black lightning, radiating an aura of destruction. As time wore on, the color of this energy pillar gradually faded, transforming from an inky black to a shade like a faint black tornado, within which a colossal palace could vaguely be perceived, manifesting and receding.
Ye Chen stared deeply at the spot where the treasure was emerging. As he drew closer, the physical call intensified, and though he struggled to suppress it, his body trembled involuntarily from sheer excitement.
Fu Xi and the others beside him were also focused on the treasure’s emergence point, but Ye Chen’s subtle agitation did not escape their notice. They glanced over, then thought little of it; after all, even they would be thrilled upon seeing such a treasure, let alone a junior cultivator.
Bai Yijun, standing nearby, subtly furrowed her brow, glancing at Chen. Seeing that he offered no explanation, she refrained from asking further, though a flicker of concern crossed her mind. She knew that given Ye Chen’s disposition, he wouldn't usually lose his composure so completely over mere treasure; there had to be another reason for such excitement.
Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and swept across his surroundings. He observed dozens of spacecraft or structures—some shaped like castles or palaces, others in various configurations—suspended in the void around the Heavenly Emperor Castle. Each vessel was separated by millions of kilometers, yet with the powerful detection systems aboard these massive ships, such a distance was effectively like standing face-to-face, reachable instantly via a spatial warp.
“Quite the crowd has arrived…” Ye Chen’s eyes flickered slightly, and then he closed them.
A moment later, as his eyes snapped open, the black energy pillar vanished completely, and the mysterious field enveloping the area for tens of millions of kilometers dissipated with it. A majestic castle materialized before everyone’s sight. This castle spanned over a million kilometers in diameter, soaring high, with two stone statues holding doves at its entrance, resembling benevolent goddesses of peace.
“Charge!” Nu Wa roared.
The instant the mysterious field lifted, those who had been watching closely ignited their pre-warmed traversal engines and instantly teleported, arriving before the towering palace.
The Heavenly Emperor Castle completed its jump and materialized before the grand edifice. At the moment of arrival, the entire structure suddenly shuddered with a deep hum, immediately followed by an urgent blare from the alert system, displaying data that warned of a fierce assault from the rear.
Nu Wa abruptly turned her head, looking through the external view screen. Not far behind them, the gun barrels of the Demon Realm civilization’s spacecraft were locked onto the Heavenly Emperor Castle, focusing dazzling light filled with killing intent in their colossal bore barrels.
Boom!
The Heavenly Emperor Castle was suddenly rocked by a violent tremor, and the alarms sounded again, indicating a fierce attack was being launched on its port flank. Nu Wa’s heart seized. Turning sharply, she saw a palace-like vessel suspended in the void to the left, its main cannon aimed at the castle, currently channeling energy for the next assault.
“Gubabylonian Civilization!” A chilling light flashed in Nu Wa’s eyes. Clenching her delicate fingers, she spun around sharply to face the Yellow Emperor and Fu Xi, speaking quickly: “Exit the castle and engage in close combat!”
Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor had anticipated this move. Their figures blurred, vanishing instantly. At this critical juncture, neither had time to bid farewell to Ye Chen.
Whoosh!
As soon as Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor departed the castle, Nu Wa rapidly shrunk the structure hundreds of times, reducing it to only about ten zhang in size. Instead of attacking the Demon Realm civilization, she darted straight toward the massive gate of the magnificent treasure-castle. At this moment, the other factions were already swarming through that gate. Though enraged, she knew the Demon Realm civilization dared to intercept them at such a juncture because they had likely allied with other factions, specifically tasked with delaying them.
Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor, both keen-witted, understood the enemy's plan immediately. They unleashed their most powerful attacks, the Xuanyuan Divine Sword and the Eight Trigrams Mirror tearing across the void, shattering space into fragments and turbulence, covering the retreat of the Heavenly Emperor Castle.
“Get lost!” From the Demon Realm civilization, the oddly handsome man roared, unleashing the full force of his main cannon. A white beam of light ripped across the void, slamming toward the Eight Trigrams Mirror.
Even though the Eight Trigrams Mirror was a top-tier, immensely powerful weapon, facing the main cannon attack from a flagship of Peak Dao Artifact level, it still shook and trembled violently. The white beam pressed against the mirror, the two forces locking in a stalemate, forcing the Eight Trigrams Mirror to retreat step by agonizing step.
Fu Xi’s face flushed red. A cold light flashed in his furious eyes as he roared, lifting both arms. It seemed as if the very blood in his body was churning and ready to burst forth. “Open!”
Boom!
The Eight Trigrams Mirror violently repelled the white beam projectile, refracting it into the distant void where it vanished as a small point of light.
Fu Xi wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, let out a cold laugh, flipped his hand to retract the Eight Trigrams Mirror, and swiftly turned to retreat behind the Heavenly Emperor Castle.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Emperor, wielding the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, advanced through the air like an ancient god of war. The divine sword in his hand burned with a milky-white divine flame, scorching the surrounding void and emanating a vast, profound, and pure aura. He brought the long sword up and cleaved outwards in a sweeping motion!
It was a seemingly simple slash.
Swish!
The entire void was violently torn open, revealing a black, fractured expanse of space. The sky appeared to be sliced into two dimensions by this light beam, and a torrent of sword energy shot out, meeting the main sword's arc as it hurtled toward the Gubabylonian Civilization’s vessel.
Boom!!
The energy shield of the entire vessel instantly flashed a reddish hue. With just that single strike, the shield of a Peak Dao Artifact flagship had been forced nearly to its breaking point!
The Yellow Emperor breathed slightly heavily. He looked at the shield, which was quickly reverting to its normal color, and frowned. Deciding not to linger in combat, he rapidly followed Fu Xi in retreating.
“Chase them!”
A roar of anger erupted from the Demon Realm civilization. The strangely handsome man’s eyes showed fury. He had not expected the Three Sovereigns of the Spiritual Civilization to all be present here, nor had he expected Fu Xi’s Eight Trigrams Mirror to be even stronger than rumored, capable of repelling the main cannon of a Peak Dao Artifact flagship—how terrifying was that?
One must remember that Peak Dao Artifacts were the strongest weapons below the Heavenly Artifact level!
And among Peak Dao Artifacts, ranked from weakest to strongest: Weapons, Armor, Sets, Flagships, and Domain-Type Artifacts!
Among these, Flagships were the second most powerful; only a Domain-Type Peak Dao Artifact could surpass a Peak Dao Artifact Flagship. The Eight Trigrams Mirror was clearly not such a treasure; it was merely a weapon, yet this weapon had repelled the ultimate attack of a Peak Dao Artifact Flagship!
One could imagine that the Eight Trigrams Mirror was far from an ordinary Peak Dao Artifact weapon!
The fierce assault by Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor bought the Heavenly Emperor Castle a precious moment. Though it was only a fleeting instant, it was enough for the Heavenly Emperor Castle to enter the majestic treasure-castle.
Just as the Heavenly Emperor Castle was about to enter the treasure-castle, the entire structure suddenly shuddered violently, its trajectory skewed, and both the balance and propulsion systems went haywire. The ten-zhang-tall castle slammed directly into the gate of the towering city.
Inside the Heavenly Emperor Castle, Ye Chen and Bai Yijun were both violently jolted. Had it not been for their own formidable strength, their bodies would have been flung by the intense inertia, crashing into the strong metallic glass nearby, which would have at least stripped off a layer of skin, if not resulted in death!
Nu Wa stood at the command seat, unaffected by the inertial impact of the collision. Her pretty face shifted, and she abruptly looked eastward. She saw a spacecraft resolutely plunging into the towering city, with faint traces of energy fluctuation still visible on its main cannon.
“Damn it!” Even with Nu Wa’s composure, a surge of anger erupted. Staring at the markings on that spacecraft, she recognized the mark of the Earth Temple, causing her to clench her silver teeth, her heart filled with fury and frustration!
It was clear that in a faction of the Earth Temple’s standing, that spacecraft must have carried numerous super-experts, perhaps even the Earth Temple Master himself. In such a scenario, no matter how she tried to rally the other Immortal Realm or Buddhist Realm civilizations, it would be useless. Against such a behemoth as the Earth Temple, the combined strength of a mere dozen civilizations stood no chance!
Just then—Whoosh! Whoosh!
Fu Xi and the Yellow Emperor arrived swiftly from behind. Seeing the condition of the Heavenly Emperor Castle, their expressions changed slightly. Without pausing, they unleashed their respective Cosmic Domains, supporting the Heavenly Emperor Castle, and, coordinating with the castle’s thrusters, they charged toward the towering city together.
“Heh heh, you can’t escape!” The Demon Realm civilization and the Gubabylonian Civilization ship flanking it sped forward. During that momentary pause, they engaged their thrusters to the maximum, closing the distance, and unleashed a barrage of cannon fire—all main and secondary cannons firing at full power.
Although the recoil during firing affected the ships' speed, amidst such a dense torrent of shells, the Heavenly Emperor Castle’s speed was suppressed even more severely. It could only frantically evade; even grazing the edge of a single projectile would affect its balance and momentum.
“Die! Die!”
In the Demon Realm civilization vessel, the strangely handsome man glared at the Heavenly Emperor Castle. Recalling the mission assigned by the Civilization Alliance, which he had confidently accepted, he was now on the verge of being escaped by this group. If the Heavenly Emperor Castle hadn't intercepted the Earth Temple’s path and been struck by a cannon blast, this mission would have been declared a total failure.
Swish, swish, swish~
A sky full of cannon light erupted. The Demon Realm civilization’s ship fired its massive cannon barrels like a berserker, roaring beams of light that enveloped the entire Heavenly Emperor Castle.
Boom!
The Heavenly Emperor Castle failed to dodge in time and was struck on a corner, swaying violently a few times, its speed drastically reduced. The pursuing shells quickly caught up, slamming into the energy shield. The entire shield instantly dropped to the warning line, blazing blood-red.
“Not good!” Nu Wa’s pretty face paled. She urged hastily, “Hold on!”
Fu Xi knew the situation was dire. Once the protective shield ruptured, the Heavenly Emperor Castle would suffer damage that would be difficult to repair. He immediately activated the Eight Trigrams Mirror to deflect some of the incoming shells and quickly summoned his own spacecraft to join the defense.
Seated within the Heavenly Emperor Castle, Ye Chen watched the sky filled with raging fire. With the Demon Realm civilization tying them down, it seemed hopeless for the Heavenly Emperor Castle to enter the treasure ground anytime soon.
“You want to die!” A fierce light flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes as he clenched his fists. (To be continued)