"Who?"
The Skynet agents followed Dongfang Xuan's gaze. They had worked alongside Skynet's second-in-command for over a century; unless she was facing an expert at the half-step Void Refining realm or higher, Dongfang Xuan had always looked down on all creation.
And now, she was actually saying they could no longer leave?!!
"My painting told me."
A trace of bewilderment flashed in Dongfang Xuan's eyes.
She saw a figure emerge from the clouds. The woman was in the form of a spirit soul, dressed in a white robe. She lay flat against the sky, like a piece of cotton drifting without direction.
Painters placed the utmost importance on cultivating the Primordial Spirit, yet under Dongfang Xuan's Divine Soul probe, the woman seemed like someone who did not exist in this world. It was as if she had completely severed her own connection to it!
But as the figure drew closer and closer, the pale-faced woman opened her eyes!
And in that very moment, Dongfang Xuan could feel it. The woman's connection to the world was re-established, and she began to merge with it!
"Early-stage Divinity Transformation? A spirit soul? A soul cultivator?"
Although Han Yun was arrogant, he didn't dare to underestimate the arriving woman's cultivation. After all, not just anyone could capture Dongfang Xuan's attention—let alone someone who could appear silently within their Primordial Spirit's perceptive range!
"Li Yaowen of the Li family," Dongfang Xuan stated, her voice heavy. "The one who used the Arts of Fate to sever Tian Xing's line of fate."
The old man's expression turned grave. He knew of Tian Xing!
It was because of Tian Xing's existence that their Skynet, despite being right beside the Eternal Sun Prefecture, had never dared to step even a single inch into its territory.
They had always wondered just who could have destroyed Tian Xing, and now, the person responsible had arrived!
"Soul cultivators are one of the most difficult systems of cultivation in the world," he said, his voice low.
"The spirit soul is fragile and has the most difficulty accommodating Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi; they have the hardest time surviving a thunder tribulation. But you must never underestimate any soul cultivator. Without a physical body, they are forced to strengthen their spirit soul through all sorts of methods."
The old man let out a long breath.
At that moment, Daoist Poxu no longer had any thought of breaking the formation.
Hiding behind his three guardians and looking around nervously, he could see the solemn expressions on the experts' faces.
He watched as the arriving Li Yaowen slowly rose from the clouds and approached with a serene grace.
He couldn't help but ask, "Miss Dongfang, Old Man... I... should I still try to break the formation?"
"You fool!"
Han Yun, whose Primordial Spirit was vigilantly scanning the surroundings, seethed with anger at the question.
"A few lousy formations, and it took you a full hour! A stupid bird like you would get thrown in the slammer every single time you tried to be a thief! And now, thanks to you, look at this mess!"
"..."
Daoist Poxu's expression soured.
What does he mean, "thanks to him"?
Breaking three grand formations in one hour—which Rank 5 Formation Master in the world could possibly do that?
The old man shook his head. "Don't blame him. Prince Qian had us split up to assassinate the Li family members, emulating Tian Xing's methods from all those years ago.
Now, Baimei has perished, and it seems everything Prince Qian planned was anticipated by the Li family.
Especially Li Yaowen. All these years, we've been searching for her whereabouts… perhaps, she was also searching for ours."
"Perhaps our very identities were known to the Li family long ago."
The old man tightened his grip on his cane. "Miss Dongfang, what about Gu Yinming? And the others from our group?"
He had only just asked when the Skynet agents froze, stunned.
In the distance, they sensed a familiar aura approaching.
As their Primordial Spirits reached out, they saw an old acquaintance from Skynet—Gu Yinming!
This Gu Yinming looked frantic, wielding a black banner as he fled for his life. While running, he formed a series of hand seals, and a coffin shot out from behind him. A hundred vengeful spirits, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, poured out of it, only to be instantly annihilated from the world.
Seemingly sensing the presence of Dongfang Xuan and the others, Gu Yinming's face lit up with immense joy!
"Miss Dongfang, it's me! I've come to help!"
"..."
Silence. If not for the dire circumstances, the Skynet members present would have ganged up on Gu Yinming and killed him just to vent their fury.
How was he here to help?
Behind the frantically fleeing Gu Yinming, a silver coffin appeared.
Black clouds swirled across the sky, but they were not storm clouds. They were a Domain, filled with deathly Qi and an endless swarm of dead souls!
On top of the silver coffin stood a middle-aged man with his hands clasped behind his back. Flanking him to his left and right were a cold and elegant woman in a black dress with a moon wheel glowing behind her, and a withered old man in tattered clothes.
The former avatars of Tian Xing had all been turned into zombies. They no longer possessed Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, but the raw physical power of their bodies allowed them to charge through the air, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws like the most frenzied of wild beasts!
"Li Dalong!" one of the Skynet members exclaimed in shock.
The old man thought to himself, This is bad.
As the 'black clouds' pressed closer, the Tian Xing zombies halted, landing on the ground and kicking up clouds of dust. Countless dead souls soared in all directions as the dead shrieked. Li Dalong, flanked by two Corpse Emperors (the Moon God and the Soul Duke), stood opposite Li Yaowen, calmly staring down the members of Skynet.
By now, Gu Yinming had regrouped with his Skynet companions.
Seeing their furious expressions, he furrowed his brow and said, "That brat Li Kuangren of the Li family went too far with his bullying. I had already spared his life and was just about to leave Eternal Sun Prefecture, but unexpectedly, this Li Dalong blocked my path. I anticipated a trap and was worried for your safety, so I came specifically to warn you."
"Senior Gu... is truly a friend worth having!" one of them retorted, their voice dripping with sarcasm.
Han Yun's voice was squeezed from between his teeth as he gripped his golden throne.
That Gu Yinming was truly thick-skinned. He moved to stand behind his fellow Daoists, right beside Daoist Poxu, and stared gravely at Li Dalong.
On the home turf of Eternal Sun Prefecture, he hadn't even dared to fight Li Dalong.
And there was more.
Li Dalong's strength far exceeded their Skynet intelligence!
Ever since the Li family had defeated Tian Xing, Li Dalong had become the Prefecture Lord and hadn't personally fought since.
According to what Gu Yinming knew, when Li Dalong first took the title, he received a boon from Heaven and Earth that brought him to the mid-stage Divinity Transformation realm.
But the gains Li Dalong had obtained from Tian Xing were far greater than any intelligence report had indicated. Li Dalong…
Peak Divinity Transformation!