Inside the Seven Sects Alliance Headquarters:
Zhang Yao launched a fierce surprise attack, using the Five Elements Divine Wheel to kill Murong Xiao, but the crisis was not completely resolved.
"Boom!" "Boom!"...
Flying swords, seals, copper mirrors, iron pens, and other magical treasures, along with blade lights, shadows, black rays, and other divine techniques, all hurled towards Zhang Yao's True Body Dharma Form.
The actions of the dozen or so Golden Core Cultivators were only half a beat slower than him and Murong Xiao, at most a third or quarter of an instant.
This small amount of time was enough for Zhang Yao to kill Murong Xiao;
But the same amount of time was also enough for the dozen or so magical treasures and divine techniques to collide with Zhang Yao's body, about to unleash their full might and tear him to pieces!
It was already impossible to dodge, and there was simply no time.
Even if the Infinite Shadow Walking Technique was used to transform into a shadow and shuttle through space, it would still take at least half an instant.
Half an instant, normally such an insignificant amount of time, was now a luxury for Zhang Yao because he didn't even have a tenth of an instant.
Those magical treasures and divine techniques had already tangibly touched his True Body Dharma Form, needing just a flicker of thought for their divine thought to move, power to explode, and to blast him to severe injury, or even shatter him to pieces.
A Treasure Body comparable to a high-level Body Refining Cultivator at the early stage of Golden Core could not withstand so many Golden Core Cultivators' attacks, let alone two of the assailants being powerhouses from the late stage of Golden Core.
"Kill!!"
The minds of the dozen Golden Core Cultivators were still immersed in murderous intent towards Zhang Yao, not even having time to react to the fact that Murong Xiao was already dead.
After a flicker of thought:
"Rumble!"
The power of the dozen magical treasures and divine techniques completely exploded, even with the support of the Array Power, it still implicated the surrounding pavilions and halls for several miles, shattering them into dust.
The remnants of power swept through the air, creating a vast vacuum area, the distant rumble of the Gangfeng Qi Wave at the farthest edge was barely audible.
But the outcome of this sure-kill encirclement suprised all the Golden Core Cultivators.
"Bang!" "Clang!"...
Yet, those flying swords, iron walls, and similar direct magical treasures, penetrated through a mass of formless clear wind, some even colliding for lack of control.
Nearly half of the divine techniques' might fell into emptiness among the different divine techniques, causing no damage at all.
The time of one thought was really too short, Zhang Yao had no time to disengage and leave, but he managed to employ the 'Celestial Wind Formless Body', converting himself into formless air streams to minimize damage.
But even so, he still suffered from the bombardment of seven or eight divine techniques and magical treasures, visibly losing more than half of his Clear Wind body, and as the azure streams dispersed, his magical power mechanism declined sharply.
"What?!"
Only then did shock emerge in the hearts of the many Golden Core Cultivators.
Thirty percent of the shock came from Zhang Yao's unexpected life-saving divine technique, miraculously avoiding being besieged and falling into death and destruction;
But seventy percent of the shock was due to Murong Xiao's death!
And dying so straightforwardly.
But how could he die? How did he die? How could he possibly just die like that?!
He was none other than the 'Chenxing Celestial King', a prominent figure recorded in the Nine Heavens Golden Scroll, a Golden Core Limit powerhouse, acclaimed as a peerless genius in a millennium with the most potential to ascend to Nascent Soul Realm and revive the glory of Chentian Sect!
After today, he was supposed to lead the Seven Sects Alliance to greater glory and even plan a grand return to the Central Plains... but he just died like that?!
He sat high and confident, assured in his excellent baiting plan, and the lured Qingxu scoundrel indeed came to court death, everyone indeed took action... but how was it Murong Xiao who died?!
The immense shock was just shock.
They didn't even have time to feel panic, unease, or fear, as their minds were completely filled with utter disbelief.
But while they were mired in shock, Zhang Yao was not; he seized the divinely gifted opportunity at once!
"Swish!"
He transformed into a distorted shadow, noiselessly vanishing from where he stood.
"..."
After a full breath after he left, the deathly silence was abruptly shattered, the scene bursting into an uproar.
"Celestial King? Celestial King!!"
"Dead... the Chenxing Celestial King is dead!!"
"My God... What do we do now? That fiend also escaped!"
"Done for! It's all over! Without the Chenxing Celestial King, how can we resist that Elder Qingxu?!"
"No, we must leave here, staying is akin to waiting for death!!"
"Chase! We have to catch up immediately! He's already heavily injured, we must seize the chance to eradicate him, we cannot let the tiger return to the mountain!"
"Yes, chase! His shadow-shuttling technique must have a range limit, that Nether Abyss Ancestor must be nearby to meet him, we have to go now to catch up!"
"Catch up my foot, the Nether Abyss Ancestor is also a Golden Core Perfection powerhouse, whose Escape Light can catch up to him?"
"Go, before his injuries recover, hurry and leave, leave Da Mo, leave the southwest, at worst seek refuge under another Major Sect!"
"We can't leave! In this situation, acting alone is seeking death, we can't split up either, otherwise we'll only be picked off one by one, dying even worse!"
"So what do you suggest? Staying together is seeking death too, it's just a matter of early or late death..."
Over a dozen divine thoughts intertwined, various situations stirring wildly, the voices of many Golden Core cultivators clamoring, making this place nearly more chaotic than a marketplace.
Originally, cultivators who could reach the Golden Core realm should never be so unbearable.
But in the previous battle, Elder Qingxu's strength and methods were truly terrifying, just as everyone was in a panic, at a loss, the Celestial King Murong Xiao stepped forward!
He displayed formidable strength and exceptional skills, masterfully managing the situation, not only repelling Elder Qingxu but also forcing them into a desperate retreat, greatly boosting everyone's morale, naturally becoming their backbone and support.
But now, the backbone is gone, the support has fallen, and the Celestial King was killed without leaving even a trace of ashes.
Moreover, it happened right in front of everyone, even after deploying two Nascent Soul level secret treasures, he was ruthlessly slain by Elder Qingxu!
Such terror, such ferocity, at this moment, caused all Golden Core cultivators to fall into chaos and panic, their minds overwhelmed by fear and dread, as if the butcher's knife was about to fall on their necks, making it difficult to calm down.
"Right, the shadow!!"
A Golden Core cultivator's eyes lit up, saying loudly:
"He can traverse space through different shadows, directly penetrating the barrier of the fourth-grade array!"
"But what if there are no shadows for him to traverse?"
"There is light in the world, so there are shadows; we are hiding within the headquarters' array, we can completely isolate and seal any external light sources, creating utter darkness, leaving not a trace of shadow in the gaps."
Hearing his words, many Golden Core cultivators' eyes lit up, instantly thinking of more:
"This is indeed a good idea! Without shadows, he won't be able to traverse here!"
"Right, he can't traverse space, to attack the array he must show himself, he is not a Nascent Soul Lord, he absolutely can't break the great array!"
"That's right, with so many Golden Core cultivators stationed here, even a frontal attack by a Nascent Soul Lord could be delayed for ten days to half a month, even if Elder Qingxu is arrogant, he absolutely can't shake this array!"
At this moment, a faint smile appeared on the faces of many Golden Core cultivators, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Having resolved the immediate survival issue, many Golden Core cultivators regained their calm and immediately considered more aspects:
"Although the Celestial King is dead, we have not lost this battle yet!"
"Indeed, the Celestial King had already considered the possibility of the fishing plan failing before his death and had Fellow Daoist Li who stayed at the Chentian Sect's gate contact the Celestial Continent through the channels of the Three Celestial Palaces, inviting two Golden Core limit experts over in advance!"
"Judging by the escape light speed of Golden Core limit experts, even if they didn't set off immediately after receiving the message, they can definitely arrive in one or two months."
"Hiding within the headquarters' array, relying on geographical advantages for defense, there is absolutely no problem persisting until those two reinforcements arrive!"
"No, two Golden Core limit experts are not enough; we must immediately send a message to invite more experts, three... no, at least four!"
"Yes, with four Golden Core limit experts joining forces, they can fight even against the invincible Golden Core, and Elder Qingxu is bound to die!"
"However, inviting four Golden Core limit experts this time... I'm afraid we'll have to bleed a lot, and if any of those four experts have ill intentions, it might be inviting a wolf into our house..."
"Forget about inviting a wolf into the house; first, we must deal with the tiger outside, at least drive him away!!"
"Yes, what does bleeding matter? With the endless treasure vault of Mo Yuan, what loss can't be compensated for? What price is heavier than our lives?"
Many Golden Core cultivators quickly formulated the entire plan, discussing eagerly.
They made decisive decisions, immediately launching a series of actions, starting with the transformation and isolation of light sources at the headquarters of the Seven Sects Alliance.
......
A few hundred feet away from the headquarters of the Seven Sects Alliance.
The Nether Abyss Ancestor concealed all his aura, hiding behind a small hill, not daring to even extend his divine thought.
Zhang Yao's Infinite Shadow Walking Technique, although cultivated to the realm of Perfection, was limited by his current cultivation, only allowing him to traverse about a thousand feet, or roughly ten miles.
The successful ambush on Murong Hai previously was because the traversal was initiated directly from within Mo Yuan, and Murong Hai happened to be the strongest within the furthest distance he could traverse.
As for this time, it was because Murong Xiao was too overconfident, voluntarily arriving at an array node on the outermost fringe.
"Swish!"
Suddenly, within the shadow of the Nether Abyss Ancestor, a figure appeared.
"Hmm?!"
The Nether Abyss Ancestor felt a surge of joy in his heart, but when his divine thought swept across Zhang Yao's entire body, his expression suddenly changed:
"You're so badly injured?!"
Zhang Yao's complexion was extremely pale, almost devoid of any blood, his aura was very weak, even giving off a sense of a flickering flame in the wind.
In short:
Since the Nether Abyss Ancestor had known him, he had never seen him so severely wounded.
No less than seven or eight Golden Core level magical treasures and divine techniques, including moves from middle-stage Golden Core and late-stage Golden Core cultivators, were surely unbearable. If it were another person, they would probably have died without a trace.
In such urgency, the Nether Abyss Ancestor couldn't afford to ask much, hurriedly lifting Zhang Yao, ready to escape, but was stopped by Zhang Yao:
"No, put me down."
Zhang Yao stopped him, his voice weak but his tone very firm:
"Murong Xiao, has already been killed by me!"
"At this moment, they must be terrified like startled birds, and would not dare to pursue us."
"We can't waste time; I must immediately recuperate, and once I have regained peak strength, I must strike without delay!"
"If they choose to scatter and flee, it will be troublesome!"