Chapter 387: Yue Yao to the Rescue
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit
Boom boom boom!
The giant black seal continuously collided with the Mountain Suppressing Hammer. Sikong Wuwei wouldn't stop hurling his giant hammer out with all his might. He would rather it end up destroyed than dare to let up his attacks.
Heavy winds started to billow and mighty waves began to stir from the shock of the powerful clash of transcendence energy and transcendent artifacts.
The black mist from the Demon Refining Gourd was not as light as actual mist and had already sunken down into the depths of the water.
Just a single Demon Refining Gourd required an incomprehensible amount of Crystalline Obsidian. Most cultivators wouldn't even be able to earn such a sum in their entire life. And now there was not even a speck of it left.
With Gu Sanzheng's group joining the fray, the numbers on Miao Yi's side increased to eight, along with six transcendent artifacts. At the moment, Tao Ruchun and Pi Junzi were unable to contribute to the fight, and neither could Miao Yi. Given his cultivation, he would not be able to use the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long.
However, even though Bai Ziliang only had six people on his side, they had over a dozen transcendent artifacts in their arsenal, with each person possessing at least two to three of them. Although they were only able to use one at a time, they were able to switch the transcendent artifacts accordingly. Under the heavy pressure from their assault, Miao Yi's group continued to fall back, struggling to keep their guard up.
Nevertheless, as one who held the upper hand, Bai Ziliang was quite frustrated that they were still unable to triumph after such a long time. It was mainly because Zhao Fei's Spirit Illusion Greatsword had too great of an impact on their progress. The myriad greatsword projections darting across the sky assaulted them endlessly, and there was no way to discern which was the real attack. However, Bai Ziliang and the others did not dare be careless and continued to protect their vitals as best they could.
The Spirit Illusion Greatsword managed to land its attacks on several of them. Had they not been wearing protective artifacts equally powerful in their own right, they could have ended up dead already. Even Bai Ziliang was no exception, suffering a vicious blow to his back and almost spat out blood, his internals quaking from the impact. He had experienced firsthand the might of the Spirit Illusion Greatsword.
Little did he know that even Gu Sanzheng's group had suffered terribly under this Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Using the Thunderclap Flying Sword, the three of them paved a path of blood through countless Yao cultivators, but as soon as they encountered the Spirit Illusion Greatsword, they were rendered helpless. If Miao Yi didn't have the Spirit Illusion Greatsword by his side, he would have been exterminated by Gu Sanzheng a long time ago.
Despite having so many transcendent artifacts in their arsenal, Bai Ziliang's group was still having difficulty dominating the five used by the other party. He was incredibly frustrated. Sadly, the one thing that could hold the Spirit Illusion Greatsword back—the Demon Refining Gourd—was already destroyed. Bai Ziliang finally realized that the cultivators of this realm truly weren't to be underestimated. There truly were all kinds of transcendent artifacts in the world.
Although Bai Ziliang was no stranger to illusion-type transcendent artifacts, he had never seen one with illusions that seemed so real, capable of mimicking sound, shape, and form to such an extent that they were indiscernible even with his transcendence vision. With just this one flying greatsword, Bai Ziliang's group and their mighty arsenal of transcendent artifacts were heavily suppressed to the point that they were unable to launch an attack without staying on guard.
Not to mention, Gu Sanzheng's Thunderclap Flying Swords were added into the mix as well, making things even more confusing. Bai Ziliang's forces could feel their vision blurring and their minds in terrible fatigue as they struggled to deal with the situation. Just these two transcendent artifacts were enough to keep them on their toes. Meanwhile, there was also an elusive whip striking at them from under the water.
Bai Ziliang had no way of venting his frustration. He wanted to mount a swift and aggressive strike at the opposition, but this method was too risky and he could end up failing miserably. Bai Ziliang felt he had really embarrassed himself in front of Fairy Yue Yao today.
Yue Yao was truly astonished as well. She never thought these people could fight against Bai Ziliang to such an extent.
She could tell that Bai Ziliang and the others had the most trouble with the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. Otherwise, these people would not be their match at all.
However, Miao Yi's group was also having it just as rough. If it weren't for the occasional spout of hot red mist from the Tempest Beast, they wouldn't have to fear Bai Ziliang and the others, especially since they had already lost the Demon Refining Gourd.
Although Tan Lao had a way to deal with the Tempest Beast, but given the intensity of the battle, he couldn't spare the attention to play his flute at all. His hands had to constantly move to control the flying shields. Fortunately, Tan Lao's flying shields were always able to form a single, mighty shield to guard against the red mist. Otherwise, Miao Yi and the others would have been defeated a long time ago.
Tan Lao was aware that Miao Yi's cultivation was low and unable to sustain the Mystic Yin Mirror for too long, which was why he helped to guard against the red mist.
The major battle going on now was similar to when Gu Sanzheng and the others first encountered the Spirit Illusion Greatsword. At first, Bai Ziliang's group was in disarray, but they slowly grew accustomed to the situation and started to hold their ground. They began to launch their attacks, immediately increasing the pressure Miao Yi and the others were already under.
Yue Yao found the situation a little confusing. Earlier on, Miao Yi's transcendent artifact was clearly able to contend against the attacks of the Tempest Beast. Why was he hiding all the way at the back now and just sitting still? Why was he still holding onto a woman's corpse in such a dire situation?
How could she possibly know that Miao Yi was forced to this Sea of Constellations despite only having a White Lotus cultivation? It was not that he didn't want to help, but his transcendence energy was severely not up to par.
The rumbling transcendence energy invoked a terrible storm upon the ocean, causing Miao Yi's hair to flutter vigorously from the wind. Holding onto Qi Xiuhong, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The blue-black tone on Qi Xiuhong's face was already gone and her skin had turned fair once again, albeit a deathly pale shade.
Miao Yi had already dispelled all the demonic energy within Qi Xiuhong's body. At first, it trembled heavily and was on the verge of being completely demonified, but Miao Yi managed to stop it in time.
Qi Xiuhong was already dead. Miao Yi would not allow her to be transformed into a mindless fiend as well.
"Just half a day more and we could have escaped! But you couldn't even hold on for that long!" Miao Yi stared at Qi Xiuhong expressionlessly and said, "Don't worry. As long as I'm still alive, I will definitely bring you away from this place. I won't leave you behind. As long as I'm still alive, I will eventually make this 'Sea of Constellations Subjugation Crusade' your funeral offering!"
Transcendence energy was rumbling heavily and the sound of battle was very loud so no one had heard what Miao Yi said. They only saw him take out an empty storage ring and place Qi Xiuhong's corpse inside before putting it on his finger.
He abruptly raised his head and looked in front. Realizing that they were slowly losing their ground and the situation was dire, Miao Yi quickly readied a talisman.
At that moment, Yue Yao finally made her move when she saw how bad things looked for Miao Yi's group. A crescent moon transformed into a streak of light and shot over. Boom! It hacked at the giant black seal Bai Ziliang had tossed out and immediately left a deep imprint on it.
Taking advantage of this opening, Sikong Wuwei hurled out his Mountain Suppressing Hammer, which crashed onto the giant black seal. Bang! The light surrounding the giant black seal instantly dimmed, the impact flinging the seal away.
Bai Ziliang was both surprised and enraged. He quickly called back the shrunken black seal, and snarled, "Yue Yao. What are you doing?!"
The moment the words 'Yue Yao' came out, Miao Yi felt as though he was struck by lightning. His hair billowed in the wind, covering his face as he abruptly turned to look at the young man who attacked with the crescent moon. It was a very beautiful man, or rather, a cross-dressing woman with a beauty capable of toppling nations. As for her mount, he could tell from a single glance that it was one of those extremely rare spiritual beasts.
'The people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons called her Yue Yao? Yue Yao was the one representing the Realm Beyond Heaven? She...is she Little Sister?' Miao Yi's heart started beating loudly as he continued to stare at Yue Yao. He could see some resemblance on her face from the one he remembered. 'Little Sister…'
Yue Yao shouted, "Bai Ziliang. Stop this instant. Otherwise, don't blame me for being discourteous! All of you, stop right now!"
Under her order, Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao, and Ye Xin were the first to stop. Then Bai Ziliang also raised his hand and had his subordinates stop attacking.
Finally managing to catch their breath, Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei stopped as well. Since there was someone that could force the people from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons to stop, they would be able to escape their predicament. The two of them obviously couldn't hope for anything more.
"Yue Yao! What is the meaning of this? Are you absolutely intent on going against my Realm of Ten Thousand Demons?!" said Bai Ziliang, gritting his teeth in hatred.
"Don't misunderstand!" Yue Yao slowly rode the Jade Lion over, "Bai Ziliang. Don't you see I'm doing this for you? The honorable forces from the Realm of Ten Thousand Demons, and yet you could only fight to a draw against them. I'm worried you will continue to lose face like this, which is why I stopped the battle, all so you wouldn't look too bad. How could you doubt my goodwill?"
"A draw? What a nice way of putting it!" Bai Ziliang laughed sarcastically. She clearly only made her move when she saw that he was about to win. If the tables were turned, this woman definitely wouldn't concern herself. She was clearly trying to cover for the cultivators of the Celestial Nation. Bai Ziliang retorted, "Then let us fight again and see if it will still end in a draw!"
Yue Yao smiled faintly, "Bai Ziliang, as someone of your status, aren't you ashamed to hold them back over such a tiny detail? As acquaintances, I was trying to help you save some face, but you didn't give me any face and even doubted my goodwill. In that case, I'll give you two choices now. You can either beat it immediately, or you can choose to fight me instead. However, the chance to fight me won't come cheap. If you lose, you will have to leave all your Geotranscendence Bangles behind. Make your choice!"
"You…" Bai Ziliang pointed a finger at her in fury, but he was helpless against her.
Yue Yao gently touched the black crescent moon floating beside her and said plainly, "Cut to the chase. My patience is limited. If you don't make a choice soon, I will make it for you!"
This was already a blatant threat. Bai Ziliang's face paled then reddened. However, the situation was not in his favor. He could already gauge how powerful the crescent moon was from Yue Yao's attack just now. If they really were to fight, he would probably end up experiencing even more shame.
He took a deep breath and abruptly turned the Tempest Beast around, then barked out, "We're leaving!"
The group held in their frustration and swiftly departed. Biting her lip, Lan Susu turned back and shot a resentful gaze. This time, their losses were severe; the Demon Refining Gourd had actually been destroyed!
Seated atop the Jade Lion, Yue Yao watched as they departed. When she turned around, she inadvertently met with Miao Yi's gaze staring directly at her. She couldn't help being taken aback as she actually felt a sense of familiarity in his gaze. It was an affectionate and warm feeling. However, she didn't seem to recall ever meeting this person before.
Zhao Fei and the others could already guess Yue Yao's identity. After their initial astonishment at her beauty, they quickly lowered their heads as they didn't dare to appear too disrespectful. Only Miao Yi kept staring straight at her.
Greed, lust, ambition, astonishment, admiration, or even reverence. Yue Yao had long since gotten used to the various gazes of men when they looked at her. However, she could not see any of those from this person's eyes. She couldn't tell what it was exactly. They just seemed like they were very conflicted. Nothing more than that.
Yue Yao was a little curious, but when she was about to ask, Lan Ruo, the handmaiden beside her, saw how intently Miao Yi was staring at Yue Yao, and a little infuriated by his impudence, snarled, "Insolent! Why are you still not greeting Lord Sixth?!"
Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei didn't notice Miao Yi's reaction, so they thought she was talking about them.
Zhao Fei bent down with cupped fists and greeted, "Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch, White Cloud Manor Head Zhao Fei respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"
Sikong Wuwei also lowered his body and cupped his fists. "Celestial Nation Fifth Earthly Branch, Faithful Loyalty Manor Head Sikong Wuwei respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"
No one could understand how Miao Yi felt at this moment. He quietly bowed down, causing his long hair to fall over his face, then cupped his fists with difficulty and greeted, "This humble one respectfully greets Lord Sixth!"