Chapter 1158: Chapter 1156: Rescue (Happy New Year to everyone!)_1
"Go alone?"
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower’s eyes flickered momentarily, her expression turning serious as she spoke, "Young Master Shi, the temple beyond the heavens is very dangerous. Believe me, just the two of us going won’t be able to save anyone."
Not to mention the master of the temple beyond the heavens, merely those three-layered Sky Origin Realm Array Systems were enough to stop her and Shi Xiaole.
According to the master of Illusion Orchid Tower’s plan, they would need several experts of the same level as Shi Xiaole to lure out the temple master and capture him in order to rescue Bai Ruiting and the others.
"Although there are many experts in this place, I must say, I don’t know many, and can’t find anyone at short notice. We might as well go and scout the situation first," Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
If the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had not deceived him, and as long as he was careful, Shi Xiaole was fairly confident he could rescue people. Of course, it would also depend on the level of those three-layered Sky Origin Realm Array Systems; if they were too high-level, it might prove difficult.
"Is that so... Then we have no other choice."
Over the years, the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had also gotten to know quite a few people, including several within the top two hundred, but as far as she knew, these people were currently not on the main island, and for now, they could only take things one step at a time.
However, as she observed Shi Xiaole’s calm and composed face, the master of Illusion Orchid Tower couldn’t shake off a bad feeling.
The two of them continued on their way.
Shi Xiaole made a point of first visiting the Ruthless Gang Wind River and indeed found Ling Cunwei, who was wandering nearby, nearly out of his mind.
Upon seeing Shi Xiaole, Ling Cunwei visibly lightened up, torn between excitement and anger, "You’re too bold, do you think your life is not a life? Come back with me right now."
Shi Xiaole responded, "Uncle, you go back first. I still have a few people to save. Once I’ve rescued them, I will leave immediately."
Considering the other party was a regular here, there was no need to worry about him running into trouble.
Ling Cunwei wanted to argue, but for some reason, even though he was the younger one, Shi Xiaole had a kind of invisible dignity that made him hard to refuse or even dare not refuse, which was completely at odds with his childish and cute name.
The air went out of Ling Cunwei as he said helplessly, "Well, then be careful. If something happens, I won’t let you off the hook!"
"Don’t worry, uncle."
After bidding farewell to Ling Cunwei, and under the guidance of the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, the two headed west, flying for a long while.
They had already penetrated thousands of millions of kilometers into the third sector; the stretching mountains and rivers were shrouded in mist, oddly tinged with black, deserted and uninhabited with no sign of any creature’s activities.
"Master, how did you come to know of this place?"
It wasn’t that Shi Xiaole had a low opinion of the other party, but the Forbidden Martial Emperor wouldn’t dare to delve so deep, let alone the master of Illusion Orchid Tower.
"That time when I was being chased and had to flee deeper, I ended up here. After passing through the forest up ahead, I encountered An Rumei and the others."
Shi Xiaole had always had a question and couldn’t help but ask now, "I remember they became slaves to Wuyuan Palace; is Wuyuan Palace really on the main island?"
"Yes! Not just Wuyuan Palace, according to An Rumei, the entire Rainbow Island is on the other side of the main island! However, there are restrictions, and most people can’t cross over."
Shi Xiaole’s heart shook violently.
When he had first arrived at Bee Island, he felt that the air was similar to that of Rainbow Island, and now it seemed to be true.
But how could the shattered Rainbow Island end up here?
Was it really by chance that Ling Yujie discovered Bee Island?
And that man in blue with a golden mask, was he really Shi Xuanzhong?
Question after question piled up in his mind, and while talking, Shi Xiaole’s gaze fell on the forest mentioned by the master of Illusion Orchid Tower. This forest gave him a very strange feeling, and the Demon Bone inside of him actually started to vibrate.
As the two passed over the forest, threads of hallucinatory energy weaved through Shi Xiaole’s surroundings, all of which were completely absorbed by the Demon Bone, allowing him to see the path ahead clearly.
Otherwise, Shi Xiaole suspected, he too would become lost!
Looking at the master of Illusion Orchid Tower beside him, who seemed completely unaware and naturally able to discern the way forward, what did this mean?
Soon, they crossed the forest.
What appeared before Shi Xiaole was an expansive desert of swirling sand and stones, with a fiery red sun hanging high in the distance, scorching the void into a blur, the wind hot and dry.
Turning back, the forest still stood, wafting with a mist of bewilderment.
The masterful chest of the master of Illusion Orchid Tower trembled, and she said in a deep voice, "I suspect this is another world, and the forest is the entrance! I’ve tried not going through the forest and found it’s impossible to get here."
Shi Xiaole remained silent.
Half a 2-hour period later.
A group of high palaces, as if forged from gold and with an extremely cold, hard sense of line, appeared in their sight. The vast sandstorm around the golden palace automatically dispersed within a hundred miles of it, like a temple in the desert, containing unfathomable power.
"That is the divine temple beyond the heavens—any closer and we’ll be discovered!"
Seeing that Shi Xiaole showed no sign of stopping, the master of Illusion Orchid Tower urgently reached out her slender hand and grabbed Shi Xiaole’s right arm, holding him back.
The last time she, along with An Rumei and the other ladies, were acting in the vicinity and were detected by the experts from the divine temple beyond the heavens; only she managed to escape successfully. In order to rescue people, she had investigated this area for a long time but also attracted the attention of two ugly old men; it was a close call that she did not fall into their clutches.
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower was well aware that, aside from the temple master, there were two deputy masters in the divine temple beyond the heavens with formidable strength, no less formidable than Shi Xiaole. If their tracks were exposed, rescuing people would be hopeless.
Shi Xiaole indeed stopped, which relieved the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, but after a short while, she heard Shi Xiaole say, "Let’s go inside."
"What did you say?"
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower thought she had heard wrong.
Go inside, but where?
"If we don’t enter the divine temple beyond the heavens, how can we save people? You find a place to hide first, I’ll be back soon."
Shi Xiaole stated matter-of-factly.
The observation results delighted him; the triple Sky Origin Array System cloaking the Heavenly Temple was within his range of deciphering. With caution, there should be no errors.
"No, it’s too dangerous."
The master of the Illusion Orchid Tower clung tightly to Shi Xiaole’s right arm, even pressing half of her delicate body against him. Her body fragrance was like orchids, and her voluptuous softness caused Shi Xiaole’s heart to waver momentarily.
The next moment.
Whoosh!
The two figures dashed out together. To be precise, Shi Xiaole charged toward the Heavenly Temple with the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower. He thought about it and decided that leaving her outside would be unsafe; at least rendezvousing would be a problem. It would be better to act together.
"You..."
The Illusion Orchid Tower master’s face turned pale with a premonition of ill omen being confirmed—it was this young man’s doing.
With his skills, a full-on attack might draw out the two vice-masters, possibly even the temple master, but still, they wouldn’t be able to enter the Heavenly Temple; how could they think about rescuing anyone?
Charging into the Array System?
That was a Sky Origin Array, and moreover, entirely different from the martial world of the South Sea; it was impossible for outsiders to break through.
While she was lost in her thoughts, the Illusion Orchid Tower master saw Shi Xiaole flex his fingers in succession, dazzling to the eyes. As a series of silent Sword Qi struck the void, it seemed like the void shook slightly.
Seizing this opportunity.
Shi Xiaole sped up once more, easily penetrating the barrier and rushing into the corners of the Heavenly Temple, with speed that surpassed the visual capture ability of the experts stationed outside the temple.
"You, you..."
The master of the Illusion Orchid Tower was utterly shocked, completely unable to express her feelings with words. Only now did she realize the source of Shi Xiaole’s confidence—he actually had the ability to break through the triple Sky Origin Array!
With extraordinary strength and outstanding swordsmanship, now adding amazing expertise in array systems, the gaze of the Illusion Orchid Tower master was enormously complex for a moment.
Shi Xiaole had no time to care about the beauty’s reaction. His spiritual power spread out in an instant, frequently moving along with her. Before long, his eyes lit up, and he swooped toward the palace complex on the east side.
"Hmm?"
Just as Shi Xiaole was crossing through the Array System, in a gigantic palace on the left side of the palace complex, an old man with a goat beard opened his eyes.
"The Array System seemed to fluctuate just now."
The old man with the goat beard was highly vigilant and immediately transmitted a message to the burly old man in the palace on the right.
The burly old man scoffed, "Vice Palace Master, are you joking with me? Aside from a Fake Sky Origin Realm expert or higher, who could silently pass through the Array System? Have you gone mad with your training recently?"
"Hmph, with the Palace Master in deep retreat in the great desert, we need to be more careful in his absence."
"Then why don’t you release your spiritual power and see if any thieves have sneaked in?"
The burly old man kept shaking his head.
This was the Overlapping Land; aside from Sky Origin Realm experts, not even Fake Sky Origin Realm experts existed here. There were rumors of some in the South Sea, but they weren’t of the bloodline from beyond the heavens, and they simply couldn’t pass through the Lost Forest.
And if they were Fake Sky Origin Realm experts—who could easily handle the Palace Master—would they need to sneak around?
Ignoring the burly old man’s sarcasm, the goat-bearded old man actually did release his spiritual power, but unfortunately, Shi Xiaole was more cunning, always detecting it in advance and neatly avoiding it.
Since the goat-bearded old man was only slightly suspicious and didn’t take it seriously, symbolically scanning once before he gave up.
In a dim and secluded side palace at the back of the main palace, there was a long passageway that led to a prison several thousand kilometers underground.
The prison held various martial artists, some nailed to the ground with iron spikes through their limbs, some bound by iron chains, others boiled alive in cauldrons, and still others flayed and tendoned ... a vivid picture of hell.
In one of the cells.
Several women stood together. Although haggard and pale, they were still recognizably breathtakingly beautiful women.
"These beasts, none of them deserves a good death!"
The woman who scolded had a pure temperament and her eyes were very bright.
"Instead of cursing them, Junior Sister, it would be better to save some strength and take them down with us," said a woman as pure as a Snow Lotus from Sky Mountain, her hair disheveled but not concealing her grace. It was An Rumei, the former Senior Sister of the Illusion Orchid Tower.
There were also Pei Qiuyan, Zhang Xiaoting, Su Bi, and Bai Ruiting--the four women who had become slaves of the Wuyuan Palace and former belles of the Illusion Orchid Tower, all imprisoned here.
They all looked towards the woman standing at the center, a figure of mature nobility, their martial aunt, Fairy Yunni.
Fairy Yunni sadly said, "Once the Decomposition Technique is executed, our souls will surely disperse. I know you have made up your minds, so I must remind you to pay attention to the timing of the activation. If we must die, we must take some of them with us."
"Have no worries, Martial Aunt, we are clear on that," they responded in unison.
The Decomposition Technique was the ultimate secret technique of the Illusion Orchid Tower, powered by spirit and martial arts—a tactic of complete self-destruction. However, the women had no regrets.
That young palace master, to humiliate them and force them into degeneracy, performed unspeakable obscene acts before them every day, but their apparent indifference evidently enraged him.
Perhaps, within a few days, he would seek to shame them by force.
At that point, their only option would be to uphold their honor through death!
As for being rescued, they had long since lost hope. With the power and arrangements of the Heavenly Temple, who could save them, and who was able to save them?
Looking at all the people they knew, there was no one!
"Shu Juan, An Rumei, we have come to save you."
Just as the women were ready to embrace martyrdom, a familiar female voice suddenly echoed in their ears, booming like thunder.
