Above the vast sea:
Gu Hai and Bing Ji rode on a flying ship coursing through the sky.
“Your Majesty, Nine-Five Island is right in front!” Bing Ji looked at the vague silhouette of the distant island.
Gu Hai slowly made his way to the deck. When he looked into the distance, he revealed a faint smile. However, he stopped in mid-smile, then suddenly frowned, showing a sullen expression instead.
He saw thick smoke coming from the distant island.
There is thick smoke coming from Nine-Five Island?
How big was Nine-Five Island? It was about the same size as Earth’s continents combined. Even if there were a fire outbreak, the smoke would dissipate quickly. Yet, Gu Hai could see lingering thick smoke from afar?
“Something happened on Nine-Five Island?” Bing Ji’s expression changed.
“Go man the flying ship. Make it go faster,” Gu Hai ordered.
The flying ship could fly on its own once its direction was set. This freed the two to do other things. Now that something happened on Nine-Five Island, Gu Hai’s expression became increasingly sullen.
“Yes!” Bing Ji ran to the bridge.
Whoosh!
The flying ship shot towards Nine-Five Island.
As Gu Hai stood on the deck, worry flashed in his eyes.
“That should not be the case. The Bat Ancestor and the others should not have arrived so soon,” Gu Hai said sullenly.
As the flying ship approached Nine-Five Island, the situation slowly became clearer.
A foggy ritual array covered Nine-Five Island. However, there seemed to be a few holes in the foggy ritual array.
“Did Gu Qin use the Life Trapper Saber to activate the simplified Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array? Oh? Someone broke ten holes in it? Humph!” Gu Hai showed a sullen expression.
Two hundred winged men hovered around each hole, radiating white light. They held swords of holy light, blocking anyone who tried to exit the hole.
“Are those the Supreme Genesis’s angels?” Bing Ji said in shock.
Wings on their backs? Those are angels?
“Angels? Humph! More like bird men!” Gu Hai said coldly.
To think that the simplified Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array got torn open? So, the thick smoke is coming from those holes? Since those angels are preventing people from coming out, it looks like they are nothing good.
“Indeed. Something happened there,” Gu Hai said.
Whoosh!
The flying ship sped through the air, reaching one of the holes in the blink of an eye.
The two hundred angels there felt slightly startled.
“Halt! Who are you?” one of the angels demanded with a glare.
“Your Majesty?” Bing Ji looked at Gu Hai.
One hundred of those angels rushed over to block the flying ship.
“Halt! Stop! Do you hear me?!” one of the angels shouted furiously while glaring.
“Run them over!” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Yes!” Bing Ji answered.
“Humph! Reckless fool. Break the flying ship!” that angel commanded with a glare.
The one hundred angels simultaneously raised their holy light swords and swung at Gu Hai’s flying ship. They showed ferocious expressions, appearing like they wanted to crush the flying ship in one strike.
Gu Hai narrowed his eyes slightly. Just as the holy light swords were about to crash into the flying ship, he gripped the Life Executioner Saber’s handle on his back.
“Humph!” Gu Hai snorted coldly.
Shing!
Gu Hai drew the Life Executioner Saber, and a bright purple light illuminated the surroundings.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Twenty angels exploded into globs of flesh. The remaining eighty angels got blasted back.
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
“Argh!”
With one saber strike, Gu Hai defeated one hundred angels.
The one hundred other angels goggled incredulously at this scene, stupefied.
They even forgot to block the flying ship from entering the ritual array through the hole.
One saber strike to take down one hundred angels? It was not that they forgot to block the flying ship, but they did not know how to block it. Would we die like those twenty who got blasted to smithereens if we charged forward?
The angels did not even see how Gu Hai drew his saber.
Whoosh!
When the flying ship entered the ritual array, Gu Hai and Bing Ji immediately saw the current state of the entire Nine-Five Island.
Indeed, thick smoke rose from everywhere. Fire raged in many of the mountains, rivers, and small cities.
The saber lights and sword images flashed everywhere as various experts flew around in the air.
“Hahahahahaha! The Han Royal Dynasty? How laughable! How laughable! Eight hundred Nascent Soul Realm cultivators? They must be eight hundred island masters of the Thousand Islands Sea. Indeed, you understand how to go with the flow. You recognized that we came from the Solar Divine Palace and defected to us in the blink of an eye. Hahaha! Miao Chen, do you see it? This is the difference between the Solar Divine Palace and an ordinary royal dynasty!” Cui Tong’s sneer suddenly rang out within the thick smoke.
Boom!
A loud report sounded where the sneer came from.
The intense shock waves caused a powerful storm that swept out in all directions. Many places in Nine-Five Island trembled.
“Humph! Miao Chen, you were incredible back then. However, your divine link has already been severed. You are now the weakest among Lower Heavenly Palace Realm cultivators. I gained nourishment from the Solar Divine Palace, which allowed me to recoup my strength. As for you? Humph! You can forget about running. Just stay here and watch this play out!” Cui Tong sneered.
“Cui Tong, how dare you?! When His Majesty returns, he won’t let you off!” Miao Chen roared furiously.
“Are you talking about Gu Hai? He won’t let us off? Ha! What a joke! He was just an ordinary Acquired Realm person a few years ago. What can he do now? Did you not see? Five hundred of your eight hundred Nascent Soul Realm cultivators immediately defected the moment we spoke. That leaves three hundred reckless fools. The reckless fools? They do not matter. Kill them! Humph! How dare you hurt me? Toy with them slowly. Gu Qin, I will show you the consequences of opposing us!” Cui Tong said coldly.
“Cui Tong, you are part of the black tortoise race. Are you going to ruthlessly exterminate those of your own race?” Miao Chen said coldly.
“A talented person chooses the right master to serve. I said before that I would give the black tortoises a chance. I will spare those of your two hundred Nascent Soul Realm subordinates who agree to follow me. Otherwise, what is the point of leaving them alive?” Cui Tong sneered.
Rumble…!
The black tortoises in the surroundings fought, causing the weather to change. Dark clouds churned, thunder roared, and lightning flashed at various places. As the lightning bolts struck the surroundings, fire broke out.
“Save me, Your Highness!”
“Ah! Father! The fire consumed Father. Father!”
“Your Majesty, save me!”
The cries of the citizens rang out in the city. Although there were not many combatants, they possessed great destructive powers. The shock waves from their battle inflicted many deaths and injuries on ordinary citizens.
——
At the distant palace:
Boom!
A loud report came from the palace.
A barrier firmly encased the imperial palace. Jiu Ming landed a palm strike on the barrier from outside, causing large cracks in it.
Buzz!
The Life Trapper Saber flared green in the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza, immediately restoring the ritual array.
“Haha! This is a pretty good ritual array. It’s from the Heavenly Go Pavilion, right? Gu Qin, let’s see how long you can last after everyone else dies. I already said, I only want Ao Shun!” Jiu Ming said coldly from outside the ritual array.
In the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza:
Gu Qin pressed his hand against his cuff. Blood stained his cuff; he had been injured in the earlier chaos.
Chen Tianshan and Gao Xianzhi flanked Gu Qin, but Gu Qin used the Life Trapper Saber to block Jiu Ming outside the barrier.
When Nine-Five Island plunged into chaos, the person watching over Ao Shun disappeared somewhere in a fluster. However, Ao Shun walked over to the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza.
“Bastards. The Han Nation is not in dire straits yet. Who dared to leave his position?” Gu Qin said furiously while scowling.
“Crown Prince Qin, there is no need to blame them. Ha! To think that you made an enemy of the Solar Divine Palace just to protect me?” Ao Shun said as he looked at Gu Qin incredulously.
Gu Qin looked at Ao Shun and said, “Gao Xianzhi, Chen Tianshan, protect Crown Prince Ao Shun with everything you have. Nothing can go wrong.”
“Yes!” the two answered.
“As long as you hand me over, everything will be fine. Why do all this?” Ao Shun asked with a complicated expression.
Gu Qin looked at Ao Shun. “I just need to do as my imperial father says, no matter who it is. The Solar Divine Palace? I have heard of them before. However, Imperial Father said that since we created my Han Nation, we should not fear any faction. My imperial father will deal with the Solar Divine Palace.”
“But…” Ao Shun’s expression grew even more complicated.
Are all of the Han Royal Dynasty’s people madmen?
“Crown Prince Ao Shun, my imperial father said that a nation could not last if it was not trustworthy. Since my imperial father promised to protect you, he will not let other factions snatch you away. Although you are just a prisoner in my Han Nation, you still belong to my Han Royal Dynasty,” Gu Qin said while shaking his head.
Ao Shun nodded and bowed to Gu Qin.
Clearly, Ao Shun disliked being taken away by the Solar Divine Palace’s people even more than remaining here.
Outside the barrier, Jiu Ming showed a sullen expression. “Ignorant fool. How long do you think this barrier can block us?”
Gu Qin looked at Jiu Ming coldly.
The simplified Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array outside had already been torn open. However, Gu Qin felt confident of maintaining this barrier for another two months. Imperial Father should be able to return within two months, right? He said that he would immediately return to Nine-Five Island after his trip to the Yuan Nation.
As for Ao Shun, Gu Qin refused to hand him over, as this matter involved the entire dragon race.
When Gu Hai succeeded in using Ao Shun as a hostage for the entire dragon race, Gu Qin understood Ao Shun’s position in the dragon race. If Gu Qin lost Ao Shun today, the Han Nation would suffer the entire dragon race’s revenge in the future, so he did everything he could to protect Ao Shun.
When Gu Qin did not reply, Jiu Ming showed a sullen expression. “Humph! My subordinates are standing guard outside; no one can go out to report. Gu Qin, if you still do not hand over Ao Shun, do you believe I will kill everyone else on Nine-Five Island? Would you rather keep your prisoner, Ao Shun, or your Nine-Five Island’s citizens?”
Gu Qin’s expression changed.
Just at this moment, the Life Trapper Saber trembled slightly.
Buzz!
The Life Trapper Saber suddenly emitted a strange energy at the thick smoke in the sky.
“Ritual array, form wind and remove the smoke!” A cold shout came from the sky.
That voice suddenly operated the simplified Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array, creating a storm that swept through the entire Nine-Five Island.
Boom!
A loud report rang out as the storm swept away all the smoke. The skies of Nine-Five Island immediately cleared.
“Huh?” Everyone looked up in shock.
“Who said earlier that he would kill all our citizens?” A frosty voice came from the sky.
