Chapter 299: I Dare You!
In the face of the formidable army of sword dragons, Yun Ni began to chant an incantation, and the pink coloration in her eyes gradually turned a golden hue, while her aura also underwent a drastic change.
Inside the giant artwork in the sky, the clothes worn by all of the barefoot women gradually blurred before transforming into suits of golden armor, and all of the musical instruments that they were holding also transformed into artifacts such as demon restraining vials and devil vanquishing pestles.
At the same time, the intoxicating music ringing out from the artwork also turned into Buddhist chanting, and in the blink of an eye, the entire complexion of the artwork had changed.
Bright golden light was glowing in Yun Ni's eyes, and all of the golden-armored women on the giant artwork flew out at her behest, forming a huge shimmering golden array in the sky.
A massive female projection that was over 10,000 feet tall appeared at the center of the array, and it bore a very close resemblance to Yun Ni, but it was lacking her seductive allure.
The projection was clad in a suit of golden armor and was wielding a golden sword that it slashed toward the oncoming sword dragons.
A vast expanse of golden light erupted from the golden sword to clash against the streaks of white swordlight, and the golden light exploded violently to illuminate all of the dark clouds in a golden hue, while gusts of fierce wind were sent sweeping in all directions.
Everyone on the plaza below was astonished by what was unfolding up above, and they all stopped what they were doing to look up at the sky.
After a brief impasse, the army of white sword dragons was able to break through the golden light before surging into the golden projection.
A burst of rumbling rang out as the golden projection was instantly split apart down the center, exploding into countless specks of light alongside all of the white dragons.
The sound of tearing fabric rang out, and the giant scroll in the sky was also torn apart down the center, then rapidly shrank down amid erratic flashes of golden light before drifting down from above.
Yun Ni was struck by a sense of tightness in her chest, and she forcibly suppressed the blood that was threatening to gush out of her throat as she stowed away the two halves of the torn scroll.
At this point, Bai Fengyi had already arrived by her side, and she hurriedly approached Yun Ni asked in a concerned voice, "Are you alright, Mistress?"
"I'm fine," Yun Ni replied with a wry smile.
A dejected look appeared in Bai Fengyi's eyes at the sight of Yun Ni's expression, and she heaved an internal sigh.
She knew that Yun Ni had done everything in her power, but the Holy Puppet Sect was simply beyond saving.
However, the inevitability of the outcome made her feel as if a heavy load had been removed from her shoulders, and a bright smile appeared on her face as she said, "Take Suyuan and leave, Mistress. I am honored to have been your disciple this lifetime."
A forlorn look appeared on Yun Ni's face upon hearing this, and she opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. In the end, she could descend toward the plaza down below with Bai Fengyi.
Lu Ji's expression eased slightly upon seeing this, and he turned to Xue Han before extending a grateful salute.
"You have my thanks."
"Don't worry about it, Fellow Daoist Lu Ji," Xue Han replied with a dismissive wave, then said, "I don't know what Zhong Luan is up to, but he suddenly left the main island and is already outside of my spiritual sensory range."
Lu Ji's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he replied, "You were the one who recruited him for this mission. Surely he hasn't been overcome by greed and decided to take that incomplete immortal puppet, has he?"
"I don't think so. His branch of disciples have never been interested in puppetry, so he's probably gone to do something else. In any case, I'll be sure to contact him after everything is said and done to recover that immortal puppet for you," Xue Han assured.
"That would be best. For now, let's eradicate the Holy Puppet Sect," Lu Ji replied in a cold voice.
As soon as Yun Ni and Bai Fengyi descended onto the plaza, they were immediately surrounded by remaining Transient Guild members.
"Fellow Daoist Qilin 3, while it's true that you're the leader of the mission, if you continue to try and force us to stay here and sacrifice ourselves, then don't blame us for resisting your orders!" one of them immediately said.
He wasn't communicating to her through voice transmission. Instead, he had spoken out loud, instantly drawing everyone's attention as he did so.
"Indeed, we've already done everything that can be reasonably expected of us!"
"Even if we raise this matter to the guild's supervisory division, we have a watertight case!"
All of the other Transient Guild members also immediately chimed in with their complaints.
Yun Ni took a glance at Bai Fengyi and Bai Suyuan, then turned her gaze toward the other Transient Guild members as she declared, "This mission is over, you're free to leave as you please now."
She summoned a batch of storage rings as she spoke and handed one out to each Transient Guild member.
After receiving their reward, all of the Transient Guild members briefly inspected the contents of the storage rings with their spiritual rings, and ecstatic looks appeared on their faces before allo of them departed one after another, with the exceptions of Bai Suyuan and Qilin 9.
For some reason, they were allowed to leave by the Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators and the azure-armored Dao Warriors.
Before long, all that remained on the plaza were Yun Ni's group and what little remained of the Holy Puppet Sect's forces.
Qilin 9's gaze roamed back and forth between Yun Ni and Bai Suyuan, and he appeared to have been rather hesitant.
"You can go as well," Yun Ni sighed.
Qilin 9 was silent for a moment, then cupped his fist in a salute toward Yun Ni before flying away as a streak of light.
……
Meanwhile, in an area of the Thunderstorm Sea tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Holy Puppet Sect's main island.
A loud thunderclap suddenly rang out as a pillar of lightning as thick as a water vat crashed down from the heavens, striking the surface of the sea to churn up massive waves and raise a vast expanse of water vapor.
Immediately thereafter, a figure emerged from the lightning, standing on the surface of the water.
It was none other than Han Li, and as soon as he appeared, he immediately released his spiritual sense to encompass the entire surrounding area in a radius of thousands of kilometers.
A few moments later, a hint of befuddlement appeared on his face.
Could it be that he's not coming after me? Wait, no...
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he cast his gaze toward a certain direction, and the space several dozen kilometers away began to ripple, following which a cloud of black mist emerged out of thin air before transforming into Zhong Luan.
The befuddlement in Han Li's eyes faded upon seeing this, and he made a hand seal to conjure up another lightning array to teleport himself away.
A mocking sneer appeared on Zhong Luan's face upon seeing this, and he also vanished from the spot as a cloud of black mist.
……
Back on the plaza, the Holy Puppet Sect had fewer than 1,000 members left, and almost all of them were carrying injuries. At this point, they had lost all hope and had already prepared themselves to sink to the bottom of the sea with the main island.
"You should go as well, Mistress," Bai Fengyi said as she took a long glance at Bai Suyuan.
"Ancestor..."
Tears began to well up in Bai Suyuan's eyes.
"Work hard in your cultivation under Mistress, and don't consider vengeance until you've reached a sufficient cultivation base," Bai Fengyi said as she slipped off her storage bracelet before putting it on for Bai Suyuan.
Bai Suyuan was silent for a moment before nodding firmly in response.
"Are you really not going to come with us? Even if I bring the two of you with me, there's no way those two will be able to stop us as long as I sacrifice some of my cultivation base," Yun Ni said to Bai Fengyi through voice transmission.
Bai Fengyi merely shook her head with a faint smile and offered no response.
Yun Ni could tell that she had already made up her mind, so she latched onto Bai Suyuan's hand and was just about to fly away when a loud voice rang out in the distance.
"You're not getting away!"
Yun Ni was rather taken aback to hear this, and she turned to discover Lu Ji and Xue Han emerging from behind the other Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators, all of whom parted to open up a wide path for the two of them.
"Oh? You think you can stop me?" Yun Ni scoffed with a mocking sneer on her face.
Lu Ji's expression remained unchanged as he said in a calm manner, "I can tell that you have close ties with the Holy Puppet Sect, so if I let you leave now, that'll be sure to spell trouble for us down the line."
Xue Han was originally against the idea of facing a Golden Immortal in a battle of life and death, but after hearing what Lu Ji had to say, he also realized that they had no choice but to strike down Yun Ni here.
He knew that it wasn't going to be easy to slay a Golden Immortal even with their combined powers, but that was still a preferable option over having to constantly worry about vengeance from a formidable Golden Immortal like Yun Ni.
"You must really have fallen deeply in love with me if you want to kill me just to keep me. It's a pity that I already have someone I love, so I must go today," Yun Ni said with a seductive smile as she gently tucked some strands of stray hair behind her ear, and all of the Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators interspersed throughout the azure-armored Dao Warriors were instantly completely enraptured by her charm.
"Don't fall for her seduction!" Xue Han yelled, and his voice wasn't very loud, but it was clearly audible to all of the Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators, who shuddered in unison as they snapped back to their senses before turning to Yun Ni with lingering fear in their eyes.
If Xue Han hadn't snapped them back to their senses, they would've fallen under her control and been reduced to mindless puppets.
"Don't be such a spoilsport. We're significantly outnumbered here, so I was just trying to borrow some people from you," Yun Ni chuckled.
On the surface, she appeared to have been quite relaxed, but internally, she was already considering using that secret technique that would burn through her cultivation base.
"We'll hold them at bay while you get away, Mistress," Bai Fengyi said with a determined expression.
Xue Han immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this, as if he had just been told the most hilarious joke. "You think you can stop us with this ragtag bunch of scrubs? What a joke!"
Before Bai Fengyi had a chance to respond, a thunderous voice suddenly rang out in the heavens.
"I dare you to lay a hand on them!"
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