Chapter 336: Breaking the Siege and Showing Might, Changes Arise (Ten-Thousand-Character Chapter)

Although he was annoyed and dissatisfied with the absence of Du En and the others, now that he saw them finally appear, he had to admit that a feeling of being able to finally set his mind at ease welled up in his heart.

Upon realizing this, Nangong Sheng's state of mind became even more complex.

Conversely, the others, who under his leadership could be said to have been struggling desperately—having only lost three people in three years—felt remarkably unanimous at this moment.

Finished!

We're dead!

Because their pillar of strength had just been caught by the enemy, who seized an opportunity to launch a combined attack, blasting him away head-on; he didn't know where he had flown off to, and he still hadn't returned!

This left the other seven, who were still struggling and had long since reached their limits, with nothing but miserable despair in their hearts; amidst the ravages of various shockwaves, they swayed and collapsed to the ground one after another, relying on their final breath to hold on so as not to lose face or show cowardice before the enemy.

"Jie jie jie!"

The six cultivators of the Twilight Azure Immortal Gate, their faces hidden beneath black robes, were all stained with blood, their auras fluctuating; they were clearly fighting with total disregard for themselves, yet they didn't care in the slightest, only emitting a uniform, strange, and wicked laughter.

"Hahaha! Let's see if you die now!"

Of the Twelve Earthly Branches of the Volant East Immortal Gate, after Chen Long and the others died violent deaths, and Hai Zhu and Mao Tu were successively killed in single combat—plus Shen Hou, who had been finished off by Nangong Sheng's side at the very beginning—only five remained; led by Zi Shu and Yin Hu, they could not hide their exhaustion from the bitter battle, yet they were also smiling cruelly.

The two groups actually had no hesitation or pause, and they had no time to appreciate the despair of the bunch before them, because if they didn't finish them off in one go, those puppet-masters from the Rotten Forest would jump out to cause trouble again!

The reason they had joined forces to hunt this side for three years without being able to finish them off was not only because that battle-maniac Nangong Sheng was always impossible to break—losing repeatedly yet fighting repeatedly, and being outrageously resilient—but also because of those troublemakers from the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate!

They didn't really want to help the Falling Feather Immortal Gate; they just wanted to reap the greatest possible benefit as the third party, so they lurked on the sidelines, hidden in the shadows, helping whichever side was weaker.

At the beginning, before Twilight Azure and Volant East had joined forces, Nangong Sheng had suddenly erupted, killing Shen Hou, and just as he was about to take advantage of the momentum to finish off the other two Earthly Branches who were isolated at the time, it was the people from Rotten Forest who jumped out to stop him.

Otherwise, the subsequent situation would not have reversed so thoroughly, and they would have at least been able to grit their teeth and hold on for another year or a year and a half.

"Go to hell!"

"Die!!!"

Neither side hesitated; after catching their breath, they gathered a burst of magic power and struck out fiercely once again.

A wave of violent attacks plowed through the ground once more, causing the already unstable spiritual environment to collapse, and the space itself began to crack and spread.

It's over!

It's really over!

The seven from the Falling Feather side couldn't help but close their eyes, preparing to welcome and experience the arrival of terrifying death.

Then, in the next moment, they were sent rolling forward against their will.

Damn it!

They are actually going to humiliate us too!

A scholar may be killed, but not humiliated!

Filled with shock and anger, they opened their eyes wide, ready to stake their dignity on one last desperate struggle.

Then, they saw a long river of magical artifacts crossing the sky, vast and mighty, with no end in sight; there were only various kinds of spiritual light, dazzling and eye-catching, stirring up air currents that left one feeling terrified.

This, what is this?!

"It's Du Yingcai!"

Someone couldn't help but blurt out, feeling tears welling up in their eyes, as if they had finally seen the dawn.

The others were also incredibly excited; they stood up abruptly, straightened their backs, and felt their strength return, ready to follow the river of magical artifacts and launch a counterattack against the enemy.

"Rest for a moment."

Du En appeared before them, speaking calmly to suppress their agitated emotions, and took out some healing pills from Lou Shuyue's possessions that were of no use to him, just to clear up some space.

Upon receiving these pills, the seven let out a sigh of relief and immediately collapsed back down.

Not wanting to waste the good intentions, they took the pills and recovered at top speed.

As for the eleven from Twilight Azure and Volant East, they did not have such luxury.

That river of magical artifacts had arrived, tearing through the air and directly destroying their offensive to annihilate the enemy; now, facing the surging river rushing toward them, they were all shocked and furious.

"That Du En?!"

"Damn it!"

"How did he get here?!"

"Has he been hiding in the shadows the whole time?"

"No... there's no time to think about that now, scatter!"

It was truly a case of every man for himself when disaster struck; the eleven had been standing far apart with their own defenses, and now they scattered very naturally.

It was just that the river, composed of thirty thousand magical artifacts, did not lose control from rushing too hard; instead, it was as obedient as an arm, naturally splitting into streams, showing great finesse, and maintaining its speed as it continued to charge and pursue them.

"Damn it! How can there be so many magical artifacts of the same rank! Did he sneak into the Dragon Palace's treasury before and empty it out?!"

Wu Ma of the Volant East Twelve Earthly Branches was exceptionally shocked and angry; after all, a great opportunity had been ruined in an instant, and the situation had turned sharply, making him so angry that his horse-faced mask twisted.

Then, a figure appeared before him.

?!

"Woof woof!!!"

He was also quite decisive; without wondering why he was the unluckiest one, he immediately transformed his body into blood, using the Blood Infant Beast Transformation, and amidst a strange sound like a dog barking—which was actually a long, shrill horse neigh—he revealed his trump card.

There is a beast, its shape like a horse but with sheep's eyes, four horns on its head, a tail like an ox, and a sound like a howling dog; its name is Youyou.

This strange beast, Youyou, stared with its sheep's eyes at this moment, emitting a strange light that could corrupt people's hearts, inciting suspicion and distrust, leading them to attack and fight each other; it just so happened that those troublemakers from the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate were nearby, and they were already harboring ulterior motives—truly, fortune was on his side...

Du En directly changed his grip to the War Halberd and struck down head-on, completely unaffected; with a loud boom, he knocked the strange beast back into the incoming tide of magical artifacts, where it immediately suffered the pain of a thousand cuts.

"Ah!"

It didn't even have time to wonder why he wasn't affected; there was only endless pain, and death on the other side of that pain, truly descending upon it.

The others were still fleeing for their lives; catching a glimpse of this, they saw blood-colored fragments flying like red snow, and their hearts shook violently, causing them to run even faster.

Generally, they were all depleted, and they harbored mutual suspicion with no consensus, so naturally, they wouldn't rashly engage the enemy and risk dying on the spot!

Of course, not everyone chose to flee; after all, people come in all shapes and sizes, and just like that, one of the Twilight Azure cultivators, whose nature was arrogant and haughty, recovered from his shock, became enraged by his own shame, and immediately stopped to turn back.

"A mere Ten Thousand Imperial Arts, a mere few tens of thousands of Dharma artifacts of the same rank—watch me shatter them on the spot! Rise!"

Only a sound of ghosts wailing and wolves howling was heard, and a Natal Soul Banner rose up; it was precisely their Dharma treasure, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner!

With gloomy Yin Qi and raging ghost energy, one by one, Fourth-rank resentful spirits—who had suffered extreme torture in life, enduring skinning, blood-draining, flesh-corroding, and soul-refining—flew out violently, carrying their full agony and madness, wanting only to tear apart the enemy's flesh and blood and gnaw on their spirits and Nascent Souls to slightly appease their own hatred.

Truly a fine Demonic Dao cultivator!

Du En had just strangled that mutated beast, and with a calm gaze, he shifted his focus; as his heart moved, his artifacts responded, and twenty thousand Dharma artifacts lunged fiercely, each manifesting its own form and displaying its own divine might.

Twenty thousand Fourth-rank supreme-grade Dharma artifacts and over ten thousand Fourth-rank resentful spirits clashed directly under the eyes of all, just like two armies at war, covering the entire wilderness.

"Hahaha! When it comes to numbers, this cultivator has never feared anyone!"

The Mucang cultivator laughed wildly, and their companions also felt a jolt in their hearts; seeing the situation changing rapidly, they immediately prepared to reorganize their forces, stop retreating, and attack again.

However, on the side of the Luoyu cultivators, they were quiet, one after another, and some even revealed looks of anticipation and excitement.

What were they anticipating?!

The Mucang cultivator did not understand, and the Fudong cultivator did not understand either, but soon, they both saw clearly.

Because of self-detonation!

Who said I wanted to compete with you in numbers?

Well, it was indeed about numbers, just a little different from what you thought.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Amidst the bursts of thunderous roars, those Dharma artifacts damaged by the resentful spirits did not hesitate, directly perishing together with the resentful spirits—who were dozens to nearly a hundred times more numerous—completely ending their pain and grievances.

"You, you, you!"

Who uses Dharma artifacts like this!

The attacking Mucang cultivator's mind was shaken, their whole body trembled, and they could not help but vomit blood.

Essence blood, like mercury beads and precious jade, was spat out wildly as if it were worthless.

Because the resentful spirits in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner were part of their own cultivation method, and now, in the blink of an eye, thousands had been blown to death, so naturally, they suffered heavy injuries and could not stop vomiting blood.

Seeing that such results were achieved by exploding only a few hundred, Du En immediately chose to press the advantage, simultaneously using spatial movement to appear in front of another Fudong cultivator.

Weiyang, who had just slowly turned their head back, felt their soul flee in terror at this moment.

Ah, no, why aren't you going to strike while the iron is hot and kill those arrogant and wicked Mucang fellows, instead of coming to target this humble one?!

She revealed a pitiful look, attempting to use her beauty to lure him, but seeing Du En calm and unmoved, his killing intent resolute, she was immediately decisive; without the slightest hesitation, she also pulled out her trump card, transforming into her own mutated beast cultivation method.

There is a beast there, its shape like a sheep but with a long horse's tail, named the Qian Sheep.

A thick layer of blood-colored grease surged from the hair follicles on the sheep-beast's body, like amber, instantly covering its entire body.

It secretly hardened its resolve, and by exerting its full strength, it could use this move to create a false shell, avoiding harm from others, and could also shed it to cast off the damage it had received.

Hmph! To actually be blind and come to target this humble one—I will let you see what a wrong move this is, and let you end up with the outcome of striking here and there, ultimately achieving nothing!

Weiyang thought this to herself, sneering inwardly.

One must know, this was the foundation she relied on to survive, enduring the constant torment of that extremely tyrannical Chen Long!

Even if that terrifying group of Dharma artifacts were all directed here now, wanting to grind her to pieces, it would take at least a dozen breaths of time!

Just as she was secretly smug, just as the Mucang cultivator was gritting their teeth to hold on, and just as the other enemies saw the situation change and were about to counterattack, very suddenly, the mutated beast Qian Sheep was blasted away, violently smashing into the front of that Mucang cultivator.

Hm?!!

"You!"

Caught off guard and filled with shock and rage, they were violently struck.

By the time they recovered from the pain, what their divine sense saw was that the resentful spirits had been wiped out in the chaos, and the whistling group of Dharma artifacts was lunging over with extreme ferocity.

Pfft!

A mouthful of old blood sprayed out; they were truly broken in both body and mind!

"Damn fellow, I..."

Before the words were finished, they were submerged by the group of Dharma artifacts.

Amidst the teeth-aching sound of cutting, Weiyang, who had just been stunned by the sudden impact, woke up from the pain and realized her grease shell had been cracked and shattered, and an overly delicate human body was embedded there.

People from the Rotten Forest Immortal Sect!

"Truly..."

"Sigh..."

Looking at each other, they still wanted to express something, and then, before they could finish, they were swallowed up by the group of Dharma artifacts; it didn't even take a few breaths, and with a few sounds of self-detonation, the three piled up here all perished on the spot.

Seeing this, the others naturally and decisively abandoned all thoughts of counterattacking, choosing to retreat first without any hesitation or delay; their speed was incredible, and in the blink of an eye, only black dots remained.

Since only three Fudong cultivators remained and five Mucang cultivators remained, their strengths were quite disparate, and in the following, there would likely be no more joint efforts.

This was Du En's goal, which is why he had intentionally chosen to strike the Fudong Immortal Sect side just now.

Mainly because he understood this side better.

At the same time, from the speed at which this group fled, one could also see the gap in their respective strengths.

Especially on the Mucang side, everyone was dressed the same, hiding their heads and showing their tails; for those unfamiliar with them, it was actually hard to make an accurate judgment, and it was easy for them to pass off fish eyes as pearls, but now, the leading two envoys of Yongliu were clearly highlighted.

As for the Fudong side, as expected, Zi Shu and Yin Hu lived up to their reputations; they were the strongest at the moment and ran the fastest, not even looking back, having disappeared in the blink of an eye just now.

Still the same saying, they had already been exhausted from the fierce battle with Nangong Sheng, their state was already greatly damaged, and facing Du En's side, who were fresh and rested, along with those exaggerated thirty thousand Dharma artifacts, seeing that it was completely impossible to fight, of course, a quick retreat was the best policy!

Once they recovered to normal and returned to their peak, they would naturally be able to get their revenge!

As for the other guys, if they could run, that was their ability; if they couldn't run, then they could only blame their own bad luck!

Du En did not go to pursue them, but looked to the other side.

The direction from which that Rotten Forest cultivator had just flown.

Jiang Ying did not appear here earlier, naturally because she went to fight them.

At this moment, one against ten, they were fighting fiercely, locked in close-quarters combat; that overly exquisite puppet body could actually barely withstand the tyranny of a supreme physical body.

However, it was they themselves who felt even more shocked.

Exhausting their efforts and resources, the puppet body they had painstakingly stacked up—which could be called the pinnacle of the genius Nascent Soul stage—could not take down the opponent even when ten, no, eleven of them attacked together; instead, they were caught off guard, and one was directly beaten until it flew away and cracked!

Looking again at Du En, who was already peering over, he was an even more terrifying fellow!

Although their puppet bodies had already been cracked and leaked, their strength still far exceeded ordinary magical artifacts of the same rank; the fact that they could be destroyed by just a few self-destructing magical artifacts was clearly the result of him spotting the flaws within and acting along their weaknesses!

We cannot keep fighting; let's retreat.

They made the judgment with extreme calmness, temporarily joined forces to force back Jiang Ying, left one behind to cover the rear, and then performed a secret technique to teleport and vanish, fast to an astonishing degree, appearing as if they had been prepared long ago.

"Hahaha, well, for the sake of my sect's True Lord Juanzhi, can this little girl surrender?"

Having previously entrusted Du En to pass on a message, this person, who had a True Lord overhead and an ambiguous relationship with Meng Changqing, now faced with attacks from front and back, only had a wry smile as she attempted to surrender.

"For the sake of the resolution, letting you surrender is acceptable, but how can we be sure you are completely harmless now?"

Du En spoke, and Jiang Ying stopped.

Looking at the delicate fist only a few inches from her face, Jin Miao'er's pupils shrank, and she felt a chill in her heart; glancing again at Nangong Sheng, who had already run back, the three great experts presented a pincer attack, and she could not help but sigh and moan in her heart.

This little girl is just an ordinary-looking genius at the Nascent Soul perfection stage; why are you three strong geniuses of the same rank targeting me together?

Thus, she hurriedly followed Du En's words and said: "This little girl can hand over my Natal Infant Core, so that you all can control this little girl's life and death, but it can only be handed over to Young Master Du here."

For the sake of the friendship between Meng Changqing and True Lord Juanzhi, he might even return the Infant Core to her afterwards, thereby preserving her little life.

This was also the reason why the others of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate left her behind to cover the rear, and why she herself had no hesitation and made a decision in an instant.

Because for the others to stay behind was basically a death sentence; only she might have a slim chance of survival among nine deaths.

"Infant Core?"

Du En was somewhat interested in this, and with a spatial shift, he arrived close in front of her.

Jiang Ying blinked and chose to retract her fist and step back.

Although Nangong Sheng wanted to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, especially to sever the secret dealings between his sect's upper echelon and the enemy sect's upper echelon, he did not say anything at this moment.

Because he was still curious and interested in the background of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!

At the same time, this Jin Miao'er was not some great expert or general, so letting her off in the end was actually not a big problem.

The premise was that she could provide corresponding intelligence value.

Thus, she relaxed even more, the expression and spirit on that overly exquisite face frozen, with only her eyes able to reveal her emotions.

"This little girl is Jin Miao'er."

Making a formal self-introduction, she pointed to her own face and body, directly expressing her sincerity: "As you can all see, this is a puppet body. Our sect is basically like this now, using self-refined puppet bodies to replace innate physical bodies, to make up for innate deficiencies and better cultivate immortality. The path is completely different from the mutated beasts of the Fu Dong side, so the conflict between us is very deep."

"Oh? Can even spiritual roots be changed?"

Du En asked with interest.

"Yes, there are methods for molding spirits. For example, this little girl originally only barely had low-grade spiritual roots, but by now, it is basically equivalent to the situation of top-grade spiritual roots. Furthermore, one can also add various method components, either standard or unique, so that the puppet body can do various things and possess various functions."

"Was that why they could disappear in unison just now?"

"Yes, we collectively have set up the same type and frequency of spells engraved with fixed-point spatial teleportation, so that under our combined efforts, we can exert teleportation that is further and faster than our own thought-driven movement."

Jin Miao'er seemed to tell everything she knew and mentioned the key point: "As for the Natal Infant Core, it is naturally the result obtained by combining cultivation techniques and puppet methods, just like you all, from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul."

"It is actually a type of Nascent Soul, but it also has the characteristics of a puppet core; it is not an exaggeration to call it a natal magical treasure, which is why it has such a name..."

As she spoke, she opened her cherry mouth, and from it flew a polyhedral mana crystal core that seemed to have exhausted all heavenly craftsmanship.

Letting the three people's divine senses probe and observe, she did not have the slightest emotional fluctuation, nor would she feel embarrassed or shy, clearly different from a normal person.

At the same time, her puppet body went silent and closed its eyes, becoming cold and lifeless, appearing very different from the situation of a normal Nascent Soul stage body after the Nascent Soul leaves it.

Jiang Ying could not help but run over and poke her.

"Big sister, please be careful, don't break it."

Jin Miao'er's voice came from the Infant Core, making Jiang Ying beam with joy.

This "big sister" sounds really comfortable; you are quite observant and sensible!

Thus, she magnanimously stopped her clumsy hands.

Seeing this situation, Du En immediately said: "Since that's the case, you keep the puppet body, and I will hold this one, to prevent her from playing any tricks."

Facing such blunt words, Jin Miao'er could only secretly smile bitterly and say nothing, while feeling a faint sense of relief.

As long as it wasn't Nangong Sheng!

He already had opinions about this side, and had been obstructed by them before, so there was even more accumulated resentment; handing the puppet body or the Infant Core to him for safekeeping would basically be like a meat bun hitting a dog.

Consequently, Jiang Ying did not say a word and very quickly stored the puppet body, stuffing her into the already full storage bag with great effort, yet she was very satisfied.

After all, this puppet body looked extremely exquisite and was actually very much to her taste; the thought of tapping and knocking on it to see if she could secretly remove any parts could not help but pop into her mind.

As for the Natal Infant Core, it obediently landed in Du En's hand.

"The methods of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate are indeed quite unique."

After sighing with such a remark, Du En changed the subject: "Where did the one leading your team go?"

There were twelve of them on their side, but excluding the one just eliminated, only ten remained, and facing Jiang Ying's close-combat offensive, ten against one still seemed difficult; it was obvious that the outstanding leader was not among them.

"This..."

"Also, you look like you were prepared long ago and must have had some prior investigation of the Dragon Palace; tell us, what do you know?"

"That..."

Jin Miao'er immediately stammered.

The dark-faced Nangong Sheng immediately jumped out: "Speak quickly! Otherwise, I will destroy you directly!"

Man is the knife and the chopping board, and I am the fish and the meat.

Jin Miao'er sighed: "This little woman does not know!"

Nangong Sheng was immediately dissatisfied, directly slamming his Battle-Fighting Spear onto the ground, which immediately intensified the collapse of this partitioned space.

"This little woman truly does not know; otherwise, this little woman would not have been the one left behind to cover the rear."

"..."

"She does not appear to be lying; the fluctuations of her divine soul are very sincere."

Relying on his superiority in this aspect, Du En monitored her as minutely as a lie detector, and judged thusly at this moment.

Such a situation was actually within reason; the previous questioning was merely to confirm the issue of her attitude.

Now it seemed her attitude was passable; she had not been spouting nonsense or attempting to deceive.

"Tsk!"

Nangong Sheng retracted his spear with great annoyance; his attitude toward this bunch of troublemakers was extremely poor, but he did not dwell on it too much.

Jin Miao'er immediately breathed a secret sigh of relief.

"However, it seems this kind of disparate technique has also caused significant artificial distortion to your emotions and mentality; perhaps there also exists a programmed setting, with the possibility of being triggered from the outside when necessary."

Du En's subsequent words made Nangong Sheng's brows twitch and left Jin Miao'er wanting to cry but having no tears.

Whose side are you actually on!

"Yes, this little woman cannot deny that it is possible there are indeed memories that have been deleted, or edited and hidden, and then secretly set up; however, as the situation stands, in the hands of the three of you, I cannot actually stir up any waves, and that is also a fact, is it not?"

This was indeed true; if they could not effectively restrain even such a person who had actively disarmed and separated herself, then the three of them would truly be unworthy of the name of powerful geniuses!

Nangong Sheng's expression immediately smoothed out again.

"Prepare for the enemy with caution, examine with stillness; I hope you do not have any small tricks, otherwise you know the result."

Du En was stiff and formal, making no extra movements, yet he made Jin Miao'er clearly understand that he was merely stating a fact: as long as she had the slightest unusual movement, the outcome would absolutely be being directly crushed into powder; there would not be a second possibility!

So, pinning her hopes on this side was perhaps just her overthinking it!

"You really are quite different from that Meng Resolution!"

She could not help but exclaim, and Du En did not refute it.

He simply, with practiced ease, stuffed Jin Miao'er's nascent core—which possessed the characteristics of a puppet core—into his own storage bag, keeping company with the crowded and dense variety of materials.

In short, it was very uncomfortable, but compared to before, compared to Jiang Ying's side, it was actually quite spacious, as a small portion of the magical artifacts had exploded.

Looking again at this partitioned space that was about to collapse, and joining the others who had already gathered, there was no need for further words at this moment; they turned and left this place together.

Arriving at a new partitioned space, closer to the center of the Dragon Palace, the person of Falling Feather appeared joyful and elated at this moment, walking with slowed steps, silently recuperating from injuries and recovering rapidly.

In such an atmosphere, only Nangong Sheng felt himself to be completely out of place.

Watching the two fellows walking leisurely on his left and right, unable to wait for any proactive explanation, or rather, being unable to wait any longer, he directly used divine sense transmission to interrogate them.

"Why did you disappear for so long? Also, why did you not use the Phoenix Blood Spear just now, but instead used a group of magical artifacts? Although that was also very strong, it clearly exposed your background as an artifact master; it will be difficult to achieve sudden success in the future!"

Regarding these things that were "agreed upon in advance" but had not been realized, he was now only resentful and petty; if Du En did not give a reason... actually, there was nothing he could do, as they had to stick together now and could not continue to split up.

Thinking of this, he felt even more depressed!

Jiang Ying felt guilty like a thief, her face tense, just waiting for Du En to perform.

You are the boss, you are the senior brother, you are the foreman; this matter should rightfully be explained by you!

She thought this to herself at this moment, with absolute certainty.

Du En was unruffled, having long prepared his draft: "It is very simple; because the existence of the Falling Feather Heavenly Scar severely stimulated the Phoenix Remnant Hatred, it has been going mad since three years ago. If it were allowed to run out, everyone would suffer, so I needed to suppress it before, and it only barely calmed down recently, but it cannot be taken out at will, lest we fall short of success."

Eh?

There is such a thing?

Jiang Ying was immediately suspicious and uncertain in her heart, but on the surface, she only nodded silently and seriously, indicating that this was indeed the case.

Although she was prone to leaking the truth, as long as she kept her expression tight, at most it would only arouse suspicion; she really could not leak anything concrete.

"So that's how it is..."

Nangong Sheng was indeed half-believing and half-doubting; mainly because Du En had a bit of a prior record, so although his words were reasonable, it was difficult to believe him for a moment.

Not to mention Jiang Ying's expression, which was also somewhat strange; normally, she should be quite boisterous.

"Besides that, I also needed to prepare new alternative methods, and then I happened to run into Jiang Ying; while solving the difficult problems she encountered, we worked together to scrape the land, refine artifacts, and prepare, which is why it took so long."

Hm?

Did I encounter any problems?

Are you talking about the matter of that scoundrel Bu Yi?

Jiang Ying became more and more confused the more she listened.

Nangong Sheng also frowned and examined her, as her thoughts were easier to see through, which made her immediately prepare more heavily and try hard to restrain her chaotic thoughts.

In the end, seeing nothing, he could only look back at Du En.

"That Rui Yi of the Limitless Immortal Gate—we encountered her while coming over, and from this, we generally determined that she possesses a divine ability; she was able to exert influence on Jiang Ying before, which is truly not to be underestimated."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm! That fellow actually dared to deceive my feelings; it is truly hateful!"

Regarding this fact, Jiang Ying naturally nodded repeatedly, convinced without doubt.

At the same time, her little brain was quite flexible; she had already thought of the reason why Du En said this, and could not help but secretly sigh at his wit and cunning—he was worthy of being the fellow who could lead her around in circles and make her work for free!

Glancing at Jiang Ying, who was finally no longer tense but still had an affirmative attitude without flaws, Nangong Sheng's half-belief and half-doubt finally gradually faded.

In this matter, they should not be lying to him, and for Jiang Ying to be tricked into leaving, it indeed required a divine ability or similar means to be effective.

Perhaps that Rui Yi wanted to control her secretly, but happened to run into Du En, who was suppressing the Phoenix Remnant Hatred; by a stroke of luck, they got together and worked hard to supplement their methods.

It was just that these two fellows must have noticed his difficulties, yet neither of them appeared in advance to help...

"I believe in your strength."

"That's right! I also believe in your strength very much!"

"..."

"I only want to find you all and have a fight!"

Nangong Sheng, having his train of thought interrupted, clenched his fists, yet was left speechless.

After all, he couldn't very well refute that, could he?

If he were to offer a rebuttal, wouldn't that be admitting his own strength was insufficient?

Damn it, his weak spot had been grabbed!

He had no choice but to change the subject, frowning as he asked, "What about Lou Shuyue? Did you encounter her?"

"No."

"On the first day I entered, I ran into Du En very quickly, and I didn't encounter her at all."

Then, what was going on with her now?

There were two possibilities: one, naturally, was that she was already dead; the other was that she was lurking in the shadows, though it was unclear what she was planning.

Relatively speaking, the former was more likely; after all, the team leaders from the Rotten Forest and the likes of Rui Yi from the End of the World had both the time and the strength to strike at her while she was alone.

Not to mention that Rui Yi had once tried to make a move on Jiang Ying; it was quite normal for her to hatch one scheme after another.

"Forget it, let's not worry about her. We don't have time to look for her right now, so let her fend for herself!"

Nangong Sheng still held a grudge regarding these three unreliable teammates, so he very decisively planned to leave them to their own devices.

Du En and Jiang Ying naturally had no objections.

Because one of them was the killer, and the other had never liked Lou Shuyue.

Following that, they communicated with each other regarding the situation at the End of the World and the Rotten Forest, comparing the information they each knew.

Then, Jiang Ying asked about something she was very concerned about: "Why do they have no hard feelings at all?"

"They," of course, referred to the others on their side.

Although the two of them had just turned the tide, just as Nangong Sheng was full of complaints, they shouldn't normally be acting like this, which was why she asked.

"... The reason is simple. I told them you all had other 'important matters' and therefore needed to carry out 'operations' in secret, understand?"

Nangong Sheng was silent for a moment, then spoke through gritted teeth, feeling nothing but frustration; just mentioning it now made him angry.

He hadn't wanted to say much about cleaning up their mess in the first place, but since Jiang Ying was so blunt and insisted on asking, he wouldn't blame himself for taking the opportunity to vent.

And so, as they continued to advance, Nangong Sheng began to use all sorts of sarcastic remarks and veiled insults toward the two, mainly Jiang Ying.

Du En noticed his behavior but did not touch upon or mention it; at this moment, he could only feel helpless regarding the pleading look Jiang Ying cast his way.

Although he was actually also a target of the complaints, the extent was minor, and he didn't care in the slightest, treating it as nothing more than a light breeze past his ears.

Just like that, the Luoyu party continued to close in on the center of the Dragon Palace, amidst a process where the generals spoke in secret, the soldiers were jubilant, and they walked while recovering and gathering spiritual treasures, unhurriedly.

At the same time, the other three parties also had their own movements.

First were the cultivators from the Mu Cang and Fu Dong sects, who had scattered in flight and then quickly regrouped.

The atmosphere among them was not as harmonious as before, because under the current circumstances, although the great enemy still remained, the internal situation had changed.

Due to Du En's intentional targeting, two from the Fu Dong Immortal Sect had died, while only one from Mu Cang had died—and that was an idiot who, out of arrogance, had taken the initiative to turn back and clash head-on with him.

The comparison of combat power had become very subtle.

Mu Cang now had five people, while Fu Dong only had three.

Although it was still two-to-two among the generals, if a conflict were to truly erupt, the remaining pawn, Shu Gou, from the Fu Dong side would be quickly finished off in a three-on-one, and the next situation would be four-on-one.

Even though Zi Shu and Yin Hu were quite confident, they were somewhat lacking in confidence toward each other; what if one of them was just a "silver-plated pewter spearhead" and was quickly finished off while being surrounded? Then they would be facing a five-on-one situation!

Two strong geniuses of the same level and three who could be considered top-tier ordinary geniuses—no matter how much confidence they had, they wouldn't dare say how long they could hold out against such a formation.

Looking at it this way, although there was the factor of an extra troublemaker, one had to admire Nangong Sheng; facing the siege of their four generals, his resilience was truly sufficient—the more he lost, the more tenacious he became!

"Yong and Liu Envoys, what are your thoughts now?"

Zi Shu, wearing a white rat mask, did not look tall, and his figure seemed to sway as if he were about to fall. After speaking, he coughed softly, as if he had consumption, which made the five from Mu Cang opposite him feel a secret sense of wariness.

"I have no other thoughts."

The Yong Envoy spoke first, the voice relatively sharp, sounding like a woman's, though because they were hiding their head and tail, it was impossible to determine their specific gender.

"If Luoyu is not eliminated, everything remains the same."

The Liu Envoy spoke next, the voice beyond doubt, likely a man's, but similarly hiding their head and tail, making it impossible for others to know the specific situation.

"That sounds nice, but how are we supposed to eliminate them now?"

Yin Hu was extremely tall, reaching ten feet, his muscles bulging all over his body. He wore only a simple, short martial robe that was stretched tight. At this moment, beneath his tiger-face mask, his gaze was cold, and at the end of his speech, there was an unusual tone, as if he were secretly grinding his teeth and sucking blood.

The question he raised was also very direct.

With the official return of Du En and Jiang Ying, plus Nangong Sheng—who was incredibly resilient, not to be underestimated, and who, after being worn down for so long, could not be defeated but could certainly stall them—the four of them, despite having a numerical advantage, were not of one mind and needed to guard against each other. How could they continue to fight and continue to eliminate them?

"If you ask me, I blame you all. We were fearless of death, yet you kept holding back. You only brought out your ability to transform into beasts after the Nascent Soul change when you were about to die. Now, you actually have the nerve to come and argue back?"

The Yong Envoy accused them unceremoniously, because the situation was largely as described; on the Mu Cang side, apart from the generals holding back, the others were truly fearless of death and fought with all their might, whereas Fu Dong—even the three pawns were holding back!

"That's right! As things stand, since our side has suffered unexpected losses, you must provide corresponding compensation!"

The Liu Envoy was even less polite, directly demanding compensation. Their gaze swept toward Shu Gou, the meaning self-evident, scaring her into subconsciously wanting to tuck her tail, though unfortunately, she wasn't beast-transformed now and had no tail to tuck.

"Hmph! What a bold statement!"

Yin Hu was instantly enraged, the 'King' character pattern on his mask pulsing constantly, as if he were about to devour someone.

Damn it, before Chen Long died suddenly, I was already being suppressed by him, and now that he's dead, you actually still want to stand on my head and shit? This is absolutely intolerable!

If the tiger didn't show its might at this moment, wouldn't Chen Long have died in vain!

"Cough, cough, cough! It seems that we can no longer cooperate!"

Zi Shu, on this side, had no objections to this and echoed Yin Hu's words.

The cooperation between them had been very reluctant to begin with; it was only because they saw a good opportunity regarding the Luoyu side that they thought to join forces.

Since that good opportunity had already been lost, it was time to return to the right track!

"Heh, as expected, you really are arrogant and daring!"

"Disobeying the honored order, you deserve to die!"

Without another word, the two sides began to fight.

They touched and immediately separated, both sides eyeing two water vortex nodes to escape this partitioned space.

Although both were furious and wanted to kill the other, they could not let the snipe and the clam fight to the benefit of the fisherman, so they forcibly restrained their killing intent, exchanged one move, and then each retreated.

While this side chose to part ways, the other end sent out a message to rendezvous.

The nine people from the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate, after successive teleports and confirming there was no pursuit, immediately and coldly shifted their actions, sending a message to their commander to seek a rendezvous.

After all, the situation had already changed!

To this message, their commander's reply was very simple.

Go outside the center and wait for him to come over.

And so, this side concealed their tracks and quietly hurried over, without the slightest questioning or noise, only absolute obedience to orders.

(End of this chapter)