Chapter 1828 - A Sudden Strike

The first to charge through the portal were Jing Cheng, Jing Hongyu, and the other experts of the Giant Whale Spirit Race.

Yun Jiu, Xie Changque, and the Great Martial Stage experts of the six prominent factions hostile to Su Yi charged in shortly after. When they passed through the portal, they disappeared completely.

Seeing this made Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, the other divine children, and their group of experts from the Eastern Sea all the more eager.

There was no need to even question it. That spacetime portal led to the treasury of the Dragon Palace!

During the Primeval Era, the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea had collected all manner of strange and wondrous treasures from all over the world. Now, the entrance to their treasury had been opened, and its good fortune was waiting for them. Who wouldn’t slaver at the mouth at the thought of it?

All eyes were instantly on Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, and the others.

Qing Xiao looked calm and clear-headed. He ordered, “Qing Wu, Jin Zhuliu, and Gongyang Yu, have your attendants lead the others into the treasury first.”

“Understood!” The three of them agreed, and their servants stepped forth.

One was a droopy-eyed, red-nosed old man in black. He was Qing Wu’s attendant, and his name was Zuo Huai.

Another was a tall, well-built, middle-aged woman. She was unexceptional looking, with a massive black sword case on her back. Her name was Lin Gu, and she was Jin Zhuliu’s attendant.

The third was a thin middle-aged man with a prominent mustache. He gripped twin knives, one in each hand. This was Gongyang Yu’s attendant, Huang Chongjia.

All three attendants were in the Great Unity Stage. After emerging from the crowd, they immediately led the experts of the Eastern Sea’s various factions through the portal.

Soon, only Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, Qing Wu, and Gongyang Yu remained outside.

“I just wonder where Qin Jianshu’s gotten off to.” Qing Xiao frowned.

Not long ago, Qin Jianshu left alone out of dread for Su Yi’s strength. He was no longer willing to work with them, and there’d been no word from him since.

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Are you worried that he’ll try to swoop in and snatch the benefits?” Qing Wu laughed and shook her head. “If you ask me, he doesn’t have the guts.”

At the mention of Qin Jianshu’s name, the others’ expressions glinted with a hint of disdain. He was a lofty divine son, yet he’d fled from battle. It was truly shameful!

“Fellow Daoist, Su Yi and Xi Ning have already beaten us into the treasury. When will we take action?” asked Jin Zhuliu.

Qing Xiao smiled. “No rush. Let’s let them pave the way ahead. That way, no matter what dangers lurk inside, they cannot reach us.”

“Very well. Let’s wait a while longer.” Jin Zhuliu inclined his head, slipped a thin flying sword from his sleeves, and distractedly trimmed his nails.

Qing Wu fixed her beautiful gaze on Gongyang Yu. “Brother Gongyang, how are your injuries?”

Gongyang Yu said expressionlessly, “Care to test me?”

Qing Wu chuckled. “You aren’t even afraid of divine misfortune; naturally, nothing else scares you either. I cannot say the same.”

Qing Xiao suddenly took out a bow refined out of thick, black beast bones. Its surface was covered in intricate, inscrutable Dao Markings, and lightning arced around it. It was an imposing sight.

“Qing Wu, what do you think of this treasure?” Qing Xiao asked with a laugh.

“A Thunder Whirlpool Demon-Slaying Bow forged from the bones of a Zhuyan?” exclaimed Qing Wu. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d have brought this Great Profound weapon with you.”

Qing Xiao said flatly, “They say that when you shoot, you should aim for the strongest, and that when you capture your enemies, you should capture their leader first. Would you like to see this treasure’s strength for yourself?”

“Sure!” Qing Wu’s beautiful eyes lit up.

Qing Xiao pulled back the bow string, and a heaven-shaking thunderclap rang out as the bow suddenly locked onto the nearby spatial portal.

Boom!!

Qing Xiao let go of the bowstring, and a divine arrow manifested out of lightning shot forth. Heaven and earth tore like canvas, creating a perfectly straight rift; terrifying destructive power shook the sky on all sides.

The Thunder Whirlpool Demon-Slaying Bow!

This was a divine weapon of the Great Profound Stage. It could kill a Great Profound Stage expert in a single strike if it caught them off guard!

Jin Zhuliu was trimming his nails when suddenly he leaped to his feet and into the air.

Boom!

He swung his sleeves, and his thin flying sword produced one hundred and eight thousand overlapping sword shadows that enveloped the distant skies.

The depths of Gongyang Yu’s gaze erupted with murderous intent, and his suppressed cultivation base rose, rising beyond the Great Martial Stage. His murderous intent was focused on a spot in the distance. His entire body was like an arrow ready to strike.

The four divine children had been chatting idly just moments prior, but the moment Qing Xiao attacked, they followed suit. Furthermore, their secret arts and treasures were each terrifying beyond imagination!!

In the face of such an onslaught, anyone else would have died on the spot, unable to respond in time.

But as the divine children unleashed their joint attack, the air around the spacetime portal produced a subtle spatial ripple. Su Yi, Xi Ning, and Fan Zhuo, who they'd thought had dashed into the treasury already, appeared out of thin air.

Clang!!!

Xi Ning reacted the quickest. She grabbed a short blue halberd and blocked the arrow shooting toward her.

The surrounding skies split and collapsed on impact. Xi Ning was unharmed, but the destructive power made her stagger on her feet and take several steps backward.

At the same time, Jin Zhuliu’s one hundred and eight thousand sword shadows descended.

Fan Zhui’s eyes erupted with divine radiance, and his voice boomed like spring thunder. “Break!”

A glittering golden shield hovered in front of him, then expanded until it was one thousand feet across.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions rang out in rapid succession, and the golden shield split like paper window paneling.

Fan Zhui coughed up blood, his expression full of horror.

But just as he was about to meet with disaster, Su Yi swept his sleeve right in the nick of time.

Kaboom!

The illusory sword filling the sky collapsed, and Qing Wu instantly came back into view. She raised her jadelike hand, and blood-red divine chains descended from the heavens.

Just too quick!

Su Yi swung his sleeves just as this attack descended upon them.

The fiery-red divine chains were full of strange, taboo power. They were obviously no ordinary treasures.

“The Ninebend Divine River Chain!” Xi Ning’s gaze focused, but just as she was about to rush to Su Yi’s aid, a terrifying murderous intent locked onto her.

Gongyang Yu launched himself at her before she could react.

He attacked like mad, his cultivation rising higher and higher. Shockingly, he showed no fear of the threat of divine misfortune. He was using his true Great Profound Stage cultivation!

This presented an incomparably enormous threat to Xi Ning.

Off in the distance, a smile tugged at Qing Xiao’s lips.

He’d planned this death trap himself!

Everyone else had thought Su Yi and his companions had fled into the treasury, but Qing Xiao knew that they’d done no such thing. Instead, they’d hidden themselves! Admittedly, they’d hidden themselves so seamlessly that almost no one could possibly have discovered them, but they couldn’t escape Qing Xiao’s notice.

Not long ago, he and Su Yi clashed, and he was all too familiar with Su Yi’s movement technique. It let him come and go without a trace, and not even divine treasures could lock onto his location.

However, Qing Xiao had a wondrous secret treasure called the Flawless Pearl. It was one of his clan’s ancestral secret treasures, and it could perceive everything hidden between truth and lies.

Thus, Qing Xiao had merely feigned ignorance earlier. On the surface, he chatted casually with his friends, all the while quietly telling them to ready themselves for battle.

Just as he expected, when they attacked, they caught their opponents off guard!

He led the ambush, Gongyang Yu and Jin Zhuliu restrained Xi Ning and Fan Zhui, and Qing Wu used her killer weapon to suppress Su Yi!

Everything happened all at once!

When he saw Xi Ning attempt to save Su Yi, only for Gongyang Yu to threaten her, Qing Xiao felt a powerful urge to laugh.

He could say with certainty that if Xi Ning kept her cultivation base suppressed, she wouldn’t be able to save Su Yi, and she wouldn’t be able to stave off Gongyang Yu’s attacks either. Their offensive was as fierce as could be, and they struck with unstoppable force, giving Xi Ning no time to even think.

If she hesitated, she wouldn’t just endanger herself. She’d plunge Su Yi and Fan Zhui into peril with her!

Given the circumstances, Xi Ning was sure to reveal her true strength, but if she did, the power of karma permeating the palace was sure to strike her. The way Qing Xiao saw it, this was more than good enough already.

As one of Xi Ning’s old enemies, he longed for nothing more than to ruin her chances of becoming a goddess. If he achieved divinity and she didn’t, she’d never be able to oppose him ever again!

All of this took some time to describe, but it happened in an instant.

Just as Qing Xiao expected, Xi Ning didn’t hesitate to undo her seal and unleash her true Great Profound Stage strength!

Boom!!

Heaven-shaking divine majesty erupted from Xi Ning’s graceful figure, collapsing the surrounding skies.

She disregarded the charging Gongyang Yu completely. Her jade-like hands gripped her short blue halberd, and she swung it through the air. The divine chains descending upon Su Yi were sent flying.

Qing Wu, meanwhile, was sent flying back.

Just like that, Xi Ning neutralized Su Yi’s imminent lethal threat.

However, Gongyang Yu’s fist was already upon her, and it struck with enormous force.

But against all expectations, as powerful as his fist was, it couldn’t break through her defensive Dao Light!

Gongyang Yu’s expression shifted, and he retreated without hesitation.

Xi Ning snorted coldly and swung her halberd. It struck like a flash of blue lightning.

Splurt!

Even though Gongyang Yu dodged in time, her attack brushed him, tearing open a startling wound in his chest. Blood splattered the air.

Practically simultaneously, Jin Zhuliu retreated, not daring to get tangled up in battle. He returned to Qing Xiao’s side.

Qing Wu and Gongyang Yu quickly did the same.

Their ambush happened in a flash, and it was over in the blink of an eye.

The dangers therein startled the heart and shook the soul. The slightest incaution was the difference between life and death!

It might have

seemed

as if their attack had ended in failure, but all of them broke into cold grins, and they looked at Xi Ning with sadistic glee.

The moment they forced Xi Ning to reveal her true strength, they’d achieved their goal. There was no further need for them to intervene. Xi Ning was sure to suffer the suppression of the Laws of heaven and earth!

Then, it would be time to draw in their net!