No one could have expected:
In just the brief moments of two instances of confrontation, the entire situation between the battling sides was reversed!
The Seven Sects Alliance, which was just in a precarious situation, suddenly took the strategic initiative, while Zhang Yao and Nether Abyss Ancestor found themselves in grave danger.
Murong Xiao casually uttered four words — "Kill Nether Abyss first," which not only plunged Nether Abyss Ancestor into a life-or-death crisis but also pushed Zhang Yao into a dilemma from which there's no easy retreat.
What to do?
To save or not to save?!
"Swish!"
Zhang Yao didn't hesitate or think twice, instantly transforming into a dazzling white arc, rushing towards the direction of Nether Abyss Ancestor.
Tactical considerations cannot substitute strategic decisions.
Once the conflict reached this point, they had already become mortal enemies, no matter how strong Zhang Yao's power was, or even if he possessed a trump card capable of killing Murong Xiao, he couldn't possibly fight the entire Seven Sects Alliance alone.
If he chose to retreat and escape today, abandoning Nether Abyss Ancestor, his only strong ally, it would signify a total defeat, forcing him to flee the Southwest, avoid the Seven Sects Alliance, live incognito, and give up everything he had built.
The Seven Sects Alliance is not only affluent and powerful, but also has access to high-level combat forces. If he could secretly orchestrate assassinations, could the Seven Sects Alliance not offer high rewards for other experts to target him?
The consequence of retreating today is something he absolutely cannot accept, leaving him with only one path to choose.
"Come on!"
Murong Xiao noticed Zhang Yao's decision, feeling slightly pleased and relieved.
Zhang Yao feared the overall power of the Seven Sects Alliance, and Murong Xiao likewise dreaded Zhang Yao's tunneling speed and stealth tactics. Now that Zhang Yao wouldn't abandon his life-and-death acquaintance, it perfectly suited Murong Xiao's plans!
"Die!!"
With a flick of his sleeve, Murong Xiao instantly switched his attack target without any hesitation or delay.
In that moment, he unleashed another of his renowned techniques, "Dark Nightfall," emanating thin black light from his body.
How fast is the speed of light?
After the Divine Technique was executed, within less than a tenth of a moment, the thin black light already filled the thousand yards spherical space all around, as if draping the space in a light black veil.
Having preemptively locked onto Zhang Yao's route, he could calmly unleash his Divine Technique in advance, sealing the essential path Zhang Yao had to take!
"Whoosh..."
The white arc into which Zhang Yao had transformed had no time to evade and directly collided with the coverage of "Dark Nightfall."
At that moment, Zhang Yao felt like his body was entangled by hundreds of thousands of layers of webs, covering and stacking over him, dramatically reducing his escape light speed!
The horrifying speed originally eight times faster than thunder reduced to less than one-fifth under the suppression of Dark Nightfall.
"The Celestial King's Divine Technique is impressive!"
"Quick! Take this chance to kill the Qingxu traitor!"
Numerous Golden Core Cultivators instantly rejoiced, redirecting their Divine Techniques and Magical Treasures, collectively launching attacks on Zhang Yao trapped within Murong Xiao's Dark Nightfall!
They were all transparent-minded individuals. When Murong Xiao abandoned the assault on Nether Abyss Ancestor and switched to obstructing Zhang Yao, they understood his intention instantly, so wouldn't they cooperate?
In a mere instant, Zhang Yao sank into an extremely perilous situation!
"Go!!"
Meanwhile, Nether Abyss Ancestor turned and fled without the slightest intent to rescue Zhang Yao.
As Murong Xiao and numerous Golden Core Cultivators focused on besieging Zhang Yao, his escape light broke through the remnants of the array's light curtain and fled directly.
"Hahaha..."
Murong Xiao laughed aloud, his Divine Thought shaking the surrounding space:
"The one you went through so much trouble for, willing to risk your life to save, turns out to be such a coward!"
"Qingxu, although you hail from the remote Southwest Land, you are remarkable and exceptionally talented, but sadly, your judgment in people is really lacking..."
Upon hearing his words:
Zhang Yao suddenly stopped his escape light, his face serene as he gazed at Murong Xiao on the opposite side, as if he hadn't heard anything.
The torrent of Magical Treasures and Divine Techniques from the many Golden Core Cultivators surged towards him, ready to blast him to pieces, yet he remained completely unfazed.
"Hmm?!"
Murong Xiao immediately noticed something amiss, wanting to activate the other variation of "Dark Nightfall" to layer upon layer strangle Zhang Yao.
But he was a step too late.
"Crash!"
In an instant, Zhang Yao's form twisted and melted away into a mass of pure shadow.
Then, under the gaze of many cultivators and the Divine Thoughts of over twenty Golden Core Cultivators, the black shadow vanished without a trace!
"What?!"
The multitude of Golden Core Cultivators were shocked, Murong Xiao astonished.
Hundreds of yards away:
"Buzz!"
Out of a rapidly moving shadow, a figure suddenly leaped out, reorganizing into Zhang Yao's True Body Dharma Form!
Flying stealthily low, Nether Abyss Ancestor was the first to detect Zhang Yao's aura emerging from the shadow below, immediately relieved.
The two had shared life and death so many times, Zhang Yao even confided the Five Elements Divine Wheel's secrets to Nether Abyss Ancestor, how could they not discuss and exchange strategies when planning tactics or conveying their Divine Techniques to each other?
Before initiating vengeance, they had considered various scenarios, including the escape routes and tactics for unfavorable circumstances. Naturally, Nether Abyss Ancestor had prepared in advance.
Just as the situation changed:
Nether Abyss Ancestor knew that truly assisting Zhang Yao would mean being led by the enemy and ending up in misery; only by breaking through the array and escaping was the true strategy to break the siege.
Preserving vital forces to fight another day is the only way to achieve victory in battle.
"Go!"
After Zhang Yao reformed his True Body Dharma Form, he instantly fled upwards, grabbed Nether Abyss Ancestor's shoulder, fully employing the "Aurora Escape Technique," transforming into a dazzling white arc and sped away.
Even with an additional person, Zhang Yao's speed far exceeded what Nether Abyss Ancestor could manage alone, still maintaining a speed over sixfold faster than thunder.
"This..."
In Murong Xiao's Divine Thoughts, he also noticed the shocking change hundreds of yards away and witnessed Zhang Yao emerging from the shadow.
This scene made his heart skip a beat:
"This person's divine technique actually relies on shadows to achieve space travel!!"
"A divine technique capable of touching the basics of the Power of Space even before the Nascent Soul Stage… this… this is probably no less than the supreme secrets of the Nine Heavens Alliance!"
Murong Xiao suddenly felt an immense headache.
When he was in the Celestial Continent, he'd heard of the fame of the Six Celestial Master Lineages, but he never imagined they would be this troublesome!
A mere Celestial Master at the middle stage of the Golden Core, alone, could make him unsure of victory. If this person reached the late stage of the Golden Core, or even Golden Core Perfection, his power might far surpass his own.
"This… this… how could there be such a divine technique?!"
"Space travel?! My heavens…"
"Not good! We absolutely cannot let them escape!"
Numerous Golden Core Cultivators noticed the scene hundreds of meters away and burst into commotion, with many shouting to pursue, and some already making moves.
"Pursue? How do you pursue?!"
Murong Xiao's face darkened as he coldly snorted:
"Whoever can catch up, I won't stop you!"
At his words:
The many Golden Core Cultivators looked at each other and suddenly became silent.
Zhang Yao's Escape Light was terrifyingly fast, faster even with the Nether Abyss Ancestor than any cultivator present, even surpassing Murong Xiao's Escape Light by a slight margin.
This speed of Escape Light was formidable for both pursuit and evasion, leaving others in the dust.
"Forget it."
Murong Xiao waved his sleeve and said solemnly:
"These two thieves, especially Elder Qingxu, are a huge threat to the Seven Sects Alliance!"
"Now, even though they are fleeing, we must not underestimate them in the slightest…"
He paused here and then continued solemnly:
"Transmit my Imperial Decree!"
"Immediately send messages to the guards of each sect's mountain gate, telling them to take away the sect registers, treasures in the vaults, and other important items, and to immediately abandon the mountain gate."
"At the same time, each sect must disperse its disciples, spreading them out in eight directions, without harboring any false hopes!"
On hearing this:
The numerous Golden Core Cultivators murmured and whispered among themselves, but no one openly voiced any objections.
Though there were only two opponents, they were extremely powerful, and it was clear they had strong cards yet to be played, posing a great threat to each sect's mountain gate.
Murong Xiao's approach, though it would cause the Seven Sects Alliance's prestige to plummet and be a disgrace, clearly was not the time to worry about face.
After this battle:
Both sides were left battered and bruised. Qingxu and Nether Abyss were nearly encircled and killed, while the Seven Sects Alliance lost two Golden Core Cultivators, and even Chentian Sect Leader Murong Hai nearly perished at the hands of Elder Qingxu.
The situation in the Da Mo Cultivation Realm, and even the entire Southwest Land, reached a new turning point.
The future course is uncertain and no one dares to assert any conclusion.
......
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Two streaks of Escape Light, one black and one white, shuttled through the clouds above the sky.
After confirming no pursuit, the two separated their Escape Light and slightly reduced their tunneling speed, communicating strategies with their Divine Thoughts.
"Li Yuan Sect's mountain gate was breached, only three escaped… and the Seven Sects Alliance…"
The Nether Abyss Ancestor's face was extremely grim, his heart ablaze with rage almost beyond suppression.
After leaving the Seven Sects Alliance Headquarters, the two casually chose a few passing cultivators to Soul Search, paging through their memories to learn about the changes over the past fifteen years in the Da Mo Cultivation Realm and the entire Southwest.
"Alas…"
Zhang Yao deeply sighed, not knowing how to console him.
Back then, he spoke without intention, only for his words to unexpectedly come true, with the Black Abyss Ascendant and Jiuhua Ancestor facing the worst-case scenario, their life or death unknown to this day.
The only somewhat good news is that the three who escaped the Da Mo Cultivation Realm have remained at large, continuously hunted by the Seven Sects Alliance, but with no confirmed death reports.
However, these lower-level cultivators know very little, unaware of the identities of the three Golden Core Cultivators who escaped, or whether Black Abyss Ascendant, the disciple of the Nether Abyss Ancestor, was among them.
"The Seven Sects Alliance… I will make them pay the price!"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!!"
The Nether Abyss Ancestor gritted out a few words before regaining his composure and said solemnly:
"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, the surprise attack failed, and our situation is now dire."
"After today's battle, the Seven Sects Alliance will surely mobilize all means to deal with us."
"We are only two, with the sole advantage of high mobility and individual average strength surpassing them, but overall they still hold significant superiority."
"Given our situation, to topple the Seven Sects Alliance, we must play to our strengths and their weaknesses, which requires strategic planning…""
"Strategic planning?"
Zhang Yao shook his head and said:
"I don't think so."
"Now is not the time for strategic planning. The opponent is a massive organization, their combined strength far exceeds ours."
"The longer we drag this out, the lesser our chances of victory."
"In my opinion, we must achieve an overwhelming advantage decisive enough to determine success or failure in the shortest time possible, to completely crush the Seven Sects Alliance!"
The Nether Abyss Ancestor's expression changed slightly as he turned to Zhang Yao:
"What do you plan to do?"
Zhang Yao's eyes were profound as he said in a calm tone:
"Today, I'm going to kill that 'Chenxing Celestial King'!"