"No... this matter is too important!"
"Now, we can only return to Longting and ask the emperor to make a decision!"
At that moment, Zhou Huangye felt his fighting spirit wane. Fighting? The uncertainty of survival weighed heavily on him. The thought of escaping right under a great emperor's nose flickered in his mind. Though the hope seemed slim, he knew that without trying, he'd never know.
As Yan Yun's Eighteen Cavalry bore down on him, Zhou Huangye's desperation grew. The other six powerful Martial Saints of Longting were paralyzed with indecision. Should they fight? Should they surrender?
Casting furtive glances at Emperor Qingyun nearby, they noticed he showed no signs of intervening. A wave of relief washed over them; as long as the enemy's Martial Emperor remained passive, they might have a chance.
When faced with the attack of Yan Yun's Eighteen Cavalry, the six Longting Martial Saints decided to confront the threat head-on. However, reality hit them hard when they clashed with their opponents.
Their expressions twisted in horror as they realized the disparity in power. Yes, the opposing Martial Saints were formidable, but they hadn't anticipated facing peak-level opponents. In their world, even a slight difference in cultivation could mean the difference between life and death.
Boom! Boom!
In the initial exchanges, the Great Zhou side lost two of its powerful Martial Saints. Their bodies were shattered, their souls extinguished—two Saint Realm powerhouses annihilated without a trace.
Shock rippled through the remaining four Great Zhou Martial Saints. Two down already? How could they continue fighting?
"No... we must plan a retreat immediately!" Zhou Huangye urged, a deep sense of unease taking root in his heart. If they kept fighting like this, they wouldn't need the powerful Martial Emperor to intervene; they would be defeated by the Martial Saints they faced.
"Now... the time has come!" Zhou Huangye's eyes darted nervously. As those around him succumbed to despair, he seized his opportunity amidst the chaos.
Facing the relentless onslaught of the Eighteen Cavalry, he feigned a move, then swiftly produced a jade slip from his space ring. With a swift motion, he crushed it, and in an instant, a blinding light enveloped him, forming a dark spatial vortex that pulled him in.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Huangye vanished without a trace.
The Longting warriors around him stood frozen, stunned by his sudden disappearance. A heavy realization settled in their hearts. It was over. Even their ancestors from the Great Zhou Dynasty had fled.
Demon Tu, witnessing Zhou Huangye's escape, cursed under his breath. This old fox had made a quick getaway! But he too recognized the urgency of the situation.
With a powerful Martial Emperor at his side, Demon Tu couldn't afford to linger. He activated his trump card, the art of demon transformation, and swallowed a few pills to bolster his strength.
He had no intention of fighting to the death—he simply wanted to escape!
As his aura surged, a dark energy enveloped him, shadowing the sky.
"Haha! Goodbye, everyone!" Demon Tu laughed, vanishing thousands of miles away.
What was the emperor to him? He had successfully evaded the great power!
"Snort!"
Just as two figures escaped, Emperor Qingyun let out a cold huff.
But before he could act, Luo Yi interrupted him. "Emperor Qingyun, leave this one to me! The other escapee is yours!"
"Very well," Qingyun replied, his hesitation brief.
With a gleam of determination, Luo Yi readied his purple gold bow, his gaze sharpening like that of a predator.
"Ha! You think you can run so easily?"
As he observed Demon Tu growing more distant, Luo Yi's expression turned relaxed. He drew a feathered arrow, taking aim at the fleeing figure nearly 100,000 miles away.
Whoosh!
A piercing whistle echoed as the arrow, imbued with destructive intent, shot toward Demon Tu.
Feeling an impending doom, Demon Tu turned just in time to see the arrow expanding in his vision.
"No!" he screamed, panic-stricken.
But the arrow struck true, obliterating him in a burst of crimson mist.
As the remnants of his demonic form attempted to reform, they found themselves ensnared by Luo Yi's arrow, rendering them lifeless.
And so, Demon Tu fell.
Meanwhile, in the void, Zhou Huangye breathed a sigh of relief. The teleportation jade slip given by the envoy had saved him.
"Surely, the great emperor can't catch up now," he mused. "After all, this jade slip was a gift from the envoy himself!"
A smug smile crossed his face.
But on the battlefield, Emperor Qingyun watched as Zhou Huangye teleported away, a knowing smile creeping onto his lips.
"Escape? Can you truly escape...?"
Qingyun murmured, his eyes shifting into a deep, starry expanse. With a gaze piercing through the void, he tracked Zhou Huangye's fleeting figure.
In the emptiness of space, Zhou Huangye felt a shiver run down his spine.
"What's happening?"
He frowned, releasing his spiritual awareness to scan his surroundings. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, and he shook his head dismissively.
"It must have been my imagination."
Traveling through the void was typically safe unless one encountered turbulence or powerful foes.
But as he relaxed, a colossal hand shattered the barriers of time and space, reaching for him.
"!!!"
Zhou Huangye's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the approaching hand. From this distance, how could another emperor reach him?
He attempted to resist, condensing his spiritual energy, but it was as if he were a mere insect before the might of that colossal palm.
With a flick of a finger, Zhou Huangye was rendered unconscious, his fate sealed as he was pulled back through the layers of the void.