At the same time, throughout the various locations within Falling God Peak's territory, people everywhere could clearly see the spectacle above Hundred Refinements City in the darkness of the night.
The terrifying sky-reaching fire blazing across the horizon made countless people stop involuntarily in their tracks, struck with a deep-seated awe and fear from the very bottom of their hearts.
"Falling God Peak's true foundation, one of the four great Honored Elders, Scarlet Fire, has made his move."
Tianjin Guards Commander Fu Qiwen looked up toward the direction of Hundred Refinements City, where it seemed as though a sun had risen from the darkness, casting a blazing red like fresh blood across the fire-clouds above.
In that moment, Fu Qiwen's face showed an expression of gravity that it had not worn before.
This, the foremost figure in the Great Li Tianjin Guards, had remained composed and unfazed even in the face of Falling God Peak's various Peak Masters, not giving them a second thought.
But facing the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder, he watched the scene in the distance in silent attention, and a rarely seen wariness surfaced in his eyes.
Hu Rui'an, riding alongside him, also had an expression that was shifting rapidly.
He had not been particularly worried about Li Musheng before, knowing well how formidable the Eighth Prince's martial cultivation was and assuming that even if Li Musheng could not deal with Falling God Peak's powerful martial artists, retreating safely would pose no real problem.
The terrifying ability this person possessed, enough to make the heart seize, was simply too powerful and staggering. It far exceeded anything in his previous experience, and the sight in the sky looked to him like nothing less than a god of fire descending into the world.
And how could any ordinary mortal contend with a god?
"Commander..."
Hu Rui'an's expression changed sharply, and he turned abruptly to look at Fu Qiwen beside him.
But before he could finish speaking, Fu Qiwen seemed to already know what he was going to say, and shook his head, "We are too far from His Highness. There is no time."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and reached into his robe, drawing out a palm-sized blue-green jade box. A clear flicker of hesitation showed in the depths of his eyes.
But in the end he let out a sigh and put the jade box away.
The time to use this had clearly not come yet. Using it prematurely would only waste everything they had built toward.
He then withdrew his gaze from Hu Rui'an's deeply troubled face, looked up at the sky once more, and said quietly, "For now, we can only hope that His Highness can sense the crisis in time and escape from the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder to leave Hundred Refinements City."
Hu Rui'an said nothing. Fu Qiwen's approach was undoubtedly the most rational choice available, setting aside the fact that they could not possibly arrive in time to help the Eighth Prince.
Even if they could arrive, they would be no match for the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder.
In that moment, Hu Rui'an even felt a strange, inexplicable despair rise in his heart.
With an existence of such overwhelming power guarding Falling God Peak, the plan to destroy Falling God Peak that they had brought here was undoubtedly a case of throwing eggs against a stone. Any hope of success seemed to have vanished entirely.
At the same time, almost everyone in the Great Li Tianjin Guards advancing on Falling God Peak, upon seeing the scene above Hundred Refinements City, had thoughts closely resembling Hu Rui'an's rising in their hearts.
The situation among Falling God Peak's Peak Masters and disciples, however, was entirely different.
Before, with two distress signals sent in succession from Hundred Refinements City, and with even Hundred Refinements Peak's Peak Master Zheng Yunfeng falling at the hands of an unknown Great Li martial artist, a string of bad news had begun to unsettle the disciples throughout Falling God Peak's various peaks. Many of them had begun to feel that facing the Great Li court's coming assault would be an extremely hard and brutal fight.
Some had even begun to harbor a quiet and terrible thought that Falling God Peak might actually be destroyed by the Great Li court.
Yet the moment the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder made their move, Falling God Peak's disciples were as though beholding the arrival of a savior. Every one of them felt their spirits lift, and every trace of fear and unease dissolved in an instant.
This was especially true for the Hundred Refinements Peak disciples, who had just lost their Peak Master. They were nearly weeping with joy and celebrating, and were barely restraining themselves from using the birthday banquet that had been prepared for Zheng Yunfeng to hold a premature victory feast over the annihilation of the Great Li court's dogs.
At the same time, aside from the Peak-Cleaving Summit Peak Master still in seclusion, the remaining six Peak Masters of Falling God Peak all raised their heads and looked quietly toward the direction of Hundred Refinements City.
The mirror image of Jade Wave Peak's Peak Master Yumian Jiao and the Fifth Peak Master Ouyang Mingqi stood side by side, watching the firelight that covered the dark sky above, and both showed unusual expressions.
In both of their eyes was desire, and fear, but more than either of those, there was regret.
They both knew well that Falling God Peak's four Honored Elders were existences entirely unlike ordinary people, commanding supernatural powers that regular people did not possess.
Yet people like themselves, who could at most be described as martial geniuses, had simply no path to the terrifying strength of Dual Cultivation of Divine and Martial, nor any way to receive Falling God Peak's truest inheritance. Throughout their lives they could only look up at those heights from a distance.
At that point Yumian Jiao's mirror image let out a sigh, and turned to Ouyang Mingqi beside her, saying, "With an Honored Elder acting, this battle is already settled in our favor. However, an Honored Elder will obviously not bother with the minor Tianjin Guards figures attacking the four peaks. I ask Martial Brother Ouyang to lend Martial Sister a hand, so we can deal with the former Tianjin Guards Commander together."
Though the Hundred Refinements Peak Master Zheng Yunfeng was dead, the Primordial Origin Pill had not yet been delivered, and Yumian Jiao used it once more to secure Ouyang Mingqi's assistance.
"Martial Sister is too generous. This one will accompany you to Jade Wave Peak at once."
Ouyang Mingqi withdrew his gaze. With the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder making their move at Hundred Refinements City, no one needed to watch to know the outcome.
And under the prevailing tide of Falling God Peak's inevitable victory, lending Yumian Jiao a small hand and gaining a Primordial Origin Pill in return was naturally a perfect arrangement for everyone.
Then Ouyang Mingqi glanced back toward the direction of the main peak, shaking his head inwardly, "The Young Sect Master has divine gifts and is an unquestionable martial genius. A shame about his arrogance."
"If he had shown the self-awareness that I have and waited for an Honored Elder to act, none of this would have happened. A waste of gifts that most of us would give anything to have."
...
"Stop! Stop! Everyone stop immediately!"
In a mountain woodland, the elderly man Wu Yong called out urgently, his gaze fixed on the sky-filling fire ahead, as he rapidly signaled the scholar Sui Zhen and the others not to continue toward Hundred Refinements City.
At the same time, the three Lin sisters naturally also saw the shocking spectacle in the sky and immediately came to a halt.
For a moment all four of them were frozen in place, staring at the stunning sea of fire burning through the clouds ahead, every one of them wearing an expression of utter disbelief.
"How can anyone possess innate divine gifts of such terrifying power?"
"How much blood of divine nature have the people of Falling God Peak consumed?"
The elderly man Wu Yong and the scholar Sui Zhen could not help but cry out in shock.
They were also those of divine nature, yet developing their own abilities to produce an effect of such overwhelming power was something they had never seen before, never even imagined.