Chapter 1159: Chapter 1157: Things Remain the Same, But People Change - Part 1
"Is that you, Senior Sister?"
Fairy Yunni looked around. Her real name was Ban Shujuan, a secret known only to the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, and no one else.
The other women were also visibly shaken. They had spent day and night with the master of Illusion Orchid Tower and, given the extraordinary memory of a martial artist, they certainly remembered her voice.
Since their Vigorous Air was sealed, Fairy Yunni could not transmit her voice and had no choice but to shake her head desperately, signaling the master not to endanger herself by plunging in and getting involved as well.
But the moment the words fell, a fragrant breeze wafted through, and the master of Illusion Orchid Tower was already in front of the women, releasing their sealed Vigorous Air, and said, "Let’s go!" and turned to rush out.
Seeing this, the women had no time to speak and could only grit their teeth and follow. Not taking the chance to escape now would only involve the master of Illusion Orchid Tower and betray her deep, risky affection.
Along the way, the guards of the prison lay on the ground, and their complex Array Systems were completely shattered, leaving the women astonished.
After all, among these guards, even the least skilled was a peak Earth Immortal, and there were more than ten Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors. For the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, killing them wouldn’t be hard, but to kill them all without a sound was nearly impossible.
Not to mention breaking the Array Systems before anyone could react!
"Senior Sister, was there a master helping us?"
Fairy Yunni couldn’t help but ask.
"A master? Yes, and it’s a master we’re all familiar with."
In the eyes of the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, Shi Xiaole truly qualified as a master. Young as he was, he seemed capable of anything; you never knew what kind of tactics he was hiding, or when he would burst forth with them.
Hearing the master admit this, the women’s hearts settled a bit, but they dared not hope too much for survival. Full of questions, they rushed to the tunnel’s entrance in an instant.
What they saw was a figure in a blue robe, swiftly manipulating his hands, causing the Array System to falsely appear stable, while two Heaven Realm Martial Emperors inside a remote hall had long since perished beyond any doubt.
"Run!"
Seeing the women, Shi Xiaole immediately pushed his power to the limit, rushing out of the hall with everyone, like a long rainbow piercing the sun, invisible to the naked eye.
Previously, with only the master of Illusion Orchid Tower to escort, Shi Xiaole was confident he could elude everyone in the Heavenly Palace. But now, that was no longer possible.
So, he had no reservations; what he needed was speed. As long as he could lead the women out of the Heavenly Palace before the masters stopped them, they would have nothing more to worry about.
Clang!
A beam of light appeared in the void, Shi Xiaole leading the way, pulling the women with his robust Vigorous Air along the beam toward the outside.
"Scoundrels, stop!"
An earth-shaking roar burst from the central left hall. An old man with a goat beard heavily slapped the light beam, causing it to vibrate violently before splintering inch by inch. The force of his palm caused chaos in the Array System, like tidal waves attacking the women, threatening to engulf them.
Shi Xiaole, as cold as ever, pointed with his sword, miraculously creating another light beam in the chaos, protecting the women just in time.
"Those who trespass into the Heavenly Palace, die!"
A burly old man from the right hall took action as well. His weapon was a long spear emitting a black glow. When he thrust the spear tip onto the light beam, it made a cracking sound, and the overwhelming force shook the women so hard their chests seemed about to explode.
Fortunately, a Sword Qi emerged, shattering the pressure.
With the power of life-and-death martial arts, Shi Xiaole rapidly extended the light beam, issuing sword points in the brief moment between the two vice hall masters’ attacks.
The next moment!
He led the women out of the Heavenly Palace successfully.
"You take them and go first, I’ll cover our retreat."
Shi Xiaole turned around and shouted to the master of Illusion Orchid Tower, with the Cleansing Evil Sword already drawn.
"Brother Shi!"
A piercing scream. Bai Ruiting’s face was already streaming with tears. She looked flushed with excitement, unable to contain the turmoil in her heart.
No matter what, she couldn’t imagine that the master who the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had brought was none other than the man she had been daydreaming about, the man who haunted her dreams.
After parting with him at Wuyuan Palace, she thought she would never see him again. When she was captured by the Heavenly Palace and threatened by the evil young hall master, Bai Ruiting still thought of the man with the cool demeanor but passionate heart.
She was not afraid of death, but what was more terrifying than death was dying without him knowing; would he remember me, think of me?
And now, there he was, right in front of her. His blue robe was the same, his face was the same, but his demeanor had become even more ethereal and mysterious. Bai Ruiting felt so happy she wanted to cry.
"Is it really... Young Hero Shi?"
Qu Ni was equally shocked, with feelings she had believed were long lost and buried deep in her heart now surging uncontrollably.
Fairy Yunni, An Rumei, Pei Qiuyan, Su Bi, and Zhang Xiaoting were also in disbelief, their minds went blank, finding fate to be so astonishing and always catching them off guard.
But the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had no time for astonishment. Seeing the expressions on the women’s faces, she felt both exasperated and anxious. Ignoring her still-unhealed wounds, she forcibly executed "Orchid Realm," transporting them all to another location.
"No, Brother Shi..."
Bai Ruiting yelled, unwilling to leave. Fortunately, the shift using "Orchid Realm" wasn’t far, appearing just a hundred thousand meters away, from where she could clearly see the distant scene.
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower could only force a bitter smile; her power had not fully recovered, and even her ultimate moves were affected.
Seeing the expressions of the other women, the master of Illusion Orchid Tower did not continue to act. She couldn’t bear to leave Shi Xiaole alone in such a dangerous place. If Shi Xiaole could withstand the attack, all the better; if not, she would at least make an effort to help.
Though this tale seems long, in reality, the moment the "Orchid Realm" appeared, the two vice hall masters had already activated the Array System and rushed outside the hall.
Hot on their heels were other masters from the temple beyond the sky, each with fury piercing the clouds. Their potent aura mingling together made the sky darken with oppressive clouds, lightning flickering and thunder roaring. The terrifying aura made every woman miles away tremble in fear for that solitary figure.
"Five top Heaven Realm Martial Emperors, thirteen Heaven Realm Martial Emperors."
With a quick glance, Shi Xiaole had a clear idea.
At present, only the top Heaven Realm Martial Emperors could affect him. Heaven Realm Martial Emperors would have to step back, and Earthly Realm Martial Emperors and the like could be ignored.
Among all, only the two vice hall masters posed a strong threat to Shi Xiaole. Contrary to what the master of Illusion Orchid Tower had mentioned, the main hall master was nowhere to be seen.
"You little thief, daring to offend our temple beyond the sky. You’ve got guts, but you won’t escape. Why not surrender gracefully?"
The burly elder took a step forward, his angry shout causing the void to tremble.
That Shi Xiaole could break through the triple Sky Origin Array spoke of his alarming expertise in formations. However, the two vice hall masters were not worried. The opponent’s aura was merely Void Origin Realm, and his earlier actions proved that he was not confident in confronting the temple beyond the sky.
"Who said I was going to run?"
Shi Xiaole responded.
The burly elder burst into a grating laugh and gestured, "Capture those women!"
Immediately, numerous experts responded, including six Heaven Realm Martial Emperors and sixteen Earthly Realm Martial Emperors. Among them stood a youth in the crowd, who yelled viciously, his expression malevolent.
With the Cleansing Evil Sword raised high, a beam of cyan Sword Qi suddenly surged, piercing through the dark clouds and lightning, extending to the farthest reaches. As Shi Xiaole made a downward strike, the cyan Sword Qi split the heavens and the earth, slashing towards the crowd with an unstoppable force.
"Scram!"
A lifelike massive sheep horn blocked the mid-air, radiating a light that seemed to illuminate all beings. The Sword Qi struck the sheep horn, immediately exploding into a dazzling shower of light fragments, like countless diamonds flying through the air, piercing the space full of holes.
From within the massive sheep horn, the goat-bearded elder looked on with icy determination, his hands raised high, pushing against the Sword Qi.
"Spear Wave Reaching All Seas!"
At the same time, the burly elder also made his move, swinging his black spear to launch a light beam more blinding than a comet that shot straight at Shi Xiaole.
With the two of them holding him back, the others felt no fear and charged at the master of Illusion Orchid Tower and her companions.
But then!
An earth-shaking Sword Qi burst forth from Shi Xiaole as its center, rapidly spreading in all directions, instantly forming a sky-obscuring rain of swords, infinite and omnipresent.
After breaking through to the realm of "Sword Qi," Shi Xiaole needed no deliberate preparation to unleash powerful offensive moves. While individually these sword rains were not very strong, their sheer number was overwhelming, even denser than a torrential downpour, terrifying to witness.
Thud, thud, thud...
Screams mixed with blood fog blended together creating havoc. With the proactive attacking the unprepared, a large number of high-ranking experts from the temple beyond the sky fell, including three Heaven Realm Martial Emperors and sixteen Earthly Realm Martial Emperors.
Even the three top Heaven Realm Martial Emperors, though they did not die, were gravely injured, their bodies riddled with bloody wounds. The Sword Qi, like countless fine needles, burrowed into their bodies. Unable to destroy these immediately, their faces turned deathly pale from shock.
"What?!"
The fighting women in the distance were dumbstruck.
Even though they knew that Shi Xiaole had the ability to rescue them, and thus must be extremely strong, perhaps even beyond their imagination, witnessing it firsthand still left them in indescribable shock.
In the memory of the women, the Elder of Wuyuan was only slightly stronger than Shi Xiaole. Relying on the Wuyuan Array, he could barely exert the power of a Fake Sky Origin Realm fighter, and his true strength might not even reach the forbidden level.
"Everything has changed, it happened so fast," Fairy Yunni murmured to herself.
During the Wuyuan Palace battle years ago when Shi Xiaole defeated the Asura Martial Emperor, she knew his potential was boundless. Yet, she never knew this day would come so quickly. The current Shi Xiaole had become a world-class, unrivaled master, capable of overrunning all directions.
"Looking back through the ages, how many can match such talent?"
An Rumei was awed and full of admiration.
Once a slave in Wuyuan Palace and one of the three young giants of Rainbow State, the Great Sorrow Knife Emperor, even with access to countless resources, had only become a top Heaven Realm Martial Emperor, and even this had won him special favor from the Elder of Wuyuan.
But compared to Shi Xiaole, he was nothing, not even qualified to be mentioned in the same breath.
"You should die, Sheep Dominating the World!"
The instant toll instigated the goat-bearded elder to rage. The massive sheep horn writhed and grew to the size of a hundred yards, transforming into the phantom of a giant goat. The two horns glimmered brilliantly, oozing with extreme mysterious force and lethal power.
"Bloody Spear!"
The burly elder was not slow either. Swinging his black spear, the force spread out into an endless wheel that pressed down on Shi Xiaole.
The individual strength of these two, each on their own terms, was a notch above the Falling Sky Sword Emperor, and marginally weaker than the Lonely Lance Emperor. Joined together, even the Lonely Lance Emperor would need to retreat.
