Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Without much choice, the Imperial Palace powerhouses could only obediently move to the front of the crowd. On one hand, they were terrified of Xu Que’s strength. They worried that Xu Que would throw them into the spell if they resisted him. On the other hand, they were also aware that the Empress was not on their side. While that revelation shocked them, they felt more pity than anything else. Once the Empress of the Tong Tian Nation, she had been unexpectedly won over by an unknown boy. It was like inserting a flower fairy in cow dung!
“Fellow cultivator, let’s make this clear – if we come across any really dangerous spell restrictions, we will not go ahead and sacrifice ourselves in vain!” said an Imperial Palace powerhouse as he looked at Xu Que.
Although now they had agreed to risk their lives, they still needed a bottom line. If they came across an obvious death trap, they couldn’t be expected to jump in and die.
“Sure!” Xu Que said with a nod and some laughter.
The Imperial Palace powerhouses heaved a sigh of relief. With Xu Que’s promise, they didn’t feel as cornered onto a hopeless path and they hadn’t reached the point of falling out entirely with Xu Que.
As for the future, they would have to play everything by ear. After all, they are the noble people of the Imperial Palace. How could they be led by the nose by a youngster? All the people in the Imperial Palace had an axe to grind.
However, Xu Que did not care much about them at all. He had already walked to the front of the team and stood in front of the Illusory Spell.
“This so-called illusory spell is nothing more than the creation of illusions. It triggers the Inner Demons of its prisoners; even if one has no inner demons, it will create them, which is the most dangerous aspect of this formation. Nevertheless, since it is called an illusion, it means that everything is illusory. As long as it’s an illusion, we can break it with one single way!” Xu Que smirked and raised his palms slightly. He grabbed wisps of True Core Strength between his fingers, which began to shine brightly like threads of colorful silk.
“Huh? What is he doing?”
“A magic art?”
“Don’t tell me that this guy is thinking of using magic arts to break the spell?”
“Gosh, and I thought that he had an idea! I’m speechless. I have never heard of any magic art that can be used to break a cell formation!”
Suddenly, the many Imperial Palace powerhouses frowned and shook their heads.
“While others could not do it, it doesn’t mean that he can’t!” Suddenly, a quiet voice of elegance and melodiousness broke through.
Their faces changed as soon as they heard her voice. All turned around and bowed their heads, as they answered respectfully, “The Holy Senior is right!”
There was no doubt that the one who had spoken up was Jiang Hongyan.
With an otherworldly smile, her eyes shone as she looked at Xu Que standing in front of the formation. As always, she believed Xu Que could achieve what others had thought was impossible. After all, this guy had never played his cards adhering to common sense.
Although the Imperial Palace powerhouses seemed to concede to Jiang Hongyan’s statement, deep down, they still disagreed. Most of them thought that Xu Que had deceived their Empress to the point that she had lost all her judgment. Otherwise, she would never utter such absurd words.
What did she mean by no one except Xu Que could do it?
What stood before them was an Illusory Spell, mind you, one that could put a cultivator at the threshold of the Crossing Calamity Stage in great peril once he stepped into it. How could a mere magic art break such a deadly formation?
“Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!”
At this time, some sounds of rapid air flow were bursting from Xu Que’s direction. Spiritual Qi from all directions gathered madly and consolidated in Xu Que’s hands.
His fingers pinched swiftly and quickly. There were many dark and complicated marks, which made people feel like they had lost their minds.
Bang!
Suddenly, a muffled thud came from the void, and the whole void sank in front of Xu Que.
The onlookers were astounded and shocked.
“What was that spell?”
“How could it cause such a huge stir?”
“I think that it’s not simple. However,…it’s still impossible to break through the battle spell with magic arts!”
The Imperial Palace powerhouses all shook their heads. Even the dozens of female disciples from the Exquisite Beauty Pavilion watched Xu Que with curiosity. They marveled at Xu Que’s strength, but they also knew that a magic art was incapable of breaking an Illusory Spell. After all, this battle spell could suppress and kill even a strong cultivator at the threshold of the Crossing Calamity Stage. There was more than enough evidence to show that the spell’s rank and power had greatly exceeded the strength of the people present.
“Sigh, I’m afraid he’ll fail this time!”
“Yes, it’s too difficult!”
“If he wants to break through this formation using magic arts, it won’t be possible unless he has reached the peak of the Great Vehicle Stage like his Majesty or was as strong as a mighty Immortal Cultivator!”
“As strong as he is, he still can’t compare to those powerful entities!”
Several Exquisite Beauty Pavilion ladies whispered among themselves. While they did not mean to criticize Xu Que, they reached their conclusions based on their experience.
However, Xu Que’s pinching of the magic art seal became faster and faster. All his fingers had become blurred at high speed, which made it difficult to distinguish them. From a distance, it seemed to be only a mass of shadows!
Suddenly, his eyes opened abruptly and gazed, torch-like, as he looked directly at the Illusory Spell before him. Then he said, word by word, “The Seal of Heaven and Earth: Fantasy-Killing-Seal!”
Boom!
As soon as his voice fell, he pushed out his palm. A loud crash instantly resounded within the whole void.
The Taoist seal immediately formed in the air – on top, a knife; at bottom, a seal. With a powerful deterrent aura, it carried all the Qi from the surroundings and plowed directly into the Illusory Spell!
Boom!
Within seconds, a loud deafening noise exploded throughout the cave. The ground shook violently as dust and gravel fell from above. There seemed to be a colossal cleaver floating above the entire formation. With great ferocity, it cut down and ripped the formation barrier! With a considerable thud, the whole spell fell away like a fire that encountered water, like water that met thousands of deserts. It tore apart the layer of elusive thick fog instantly!
After a storm comes a calm, and every cloud has a silver lining.
The Illusory Spell was destroyed within seconds, revealing its true profile.
It was a lake separated by a cave passage. Many skeletons were piled up by the lake shores, with dozens of corpses floating on the waters. They were the Saint Palace powerhouses that Xu Que had just thrown in.
Four of them, however, were still struggling in the lake. One choked himself with both hands. Another stabbed himself in the stomach with his sword. However, as soon as the spell broke, they stopped struggling and looked around in perplexity.
“Holy crap, was this place that frightening?” Buttface’s eyes opened wide as he exclaimed.
At the same time, the Imperial Palace powerhouses and the female disciples of the Exquisite Beauty Pavilion, as well as scattered practitioners, all stood frozen and flabbergasted.
“This…how could this be possible?”
“The Illusory Spell…is broken just like that?”
What shocked them was Xu Que’s method of breaking the spell formation. To think that he could demolish such a terrible illusion with a magic art! The magic art seemed to be created only for the sake of countering Illusory Spells. The huge cleaver magic seal was just like the one used to destroy the illusion. It fit so incredibly well that it was almost unreal.
Little did they know, Xu Que’s Fantasy Killing Seal from the Heaven and Earth Seal was indeed designed to control illusory formations and spells and to extinguish all hypocrisy!
Although this Illusory Spell was powerful, it was still a far cry from the spell that Xu Que experienced with Zixia Fairy at the foot of the Five Elements Mountain. Therefore, Xu Que could quickly solve it with a simple Fantasy Killing Seal.
“Sigh, and I wondered how powerful this spell was. I tried to break it offhandedly using only 30 percent of my powers, but I didn’t expect it to burst so easily! Did I overestimate the power of formation, or did I get stronger again? Ahh, how melancholic!” Xu Que sighed absentmindedly, with a forlorn expression only seen on the face of a great master.
Everybody twitched at his sigh and felt speechless.
“Little bastard!”
Suddenly, there was a roar coming from the lake. The four cultivators had finally regained their consciousness. Filled with anger and terror, they suddenly jumped out of the water, aiming to take Xu Que’s life!
“Stop! What are you guys doing?” A figure appeared – it was Wei Zixun, the Young Master of the Saint Palace. He glared at the four and scolded sternly, “You guys must forgive him!”
