The large cubical prison pulsed with intense, mystifying energy, exerting an unfathomably pronounced will of obstruction, desolation, and annihilation. The esoteric runes illuminated each surface. They were of the mystic-grade, composed of various integrated Mystic Runes, forming uniquely composited esoteric runes.
With a close inspection, any Earthly Saint could tell that this was a prison carefully crafted and constructed by multiple Earthly Saints, involving numerous mystic-graded materials of various attributes and exquisite formations, establishing a miniature array that could shake the soul. It was an astoundingly terrifying cage.
A silence overtook the world.
Su Mei's figure could not be seen in the cube, but the lack of fluctuations was a good sign to those observing. There was still a palpable tension within their hearts, but it was less pronounced than before. Su Mei was an absolutely terrifying force, almost unstoppable, and she hadn't been physically injured from the beginning to the end.
Yao Huoyi pulled down his blindfold as sweat glistened on his forehead, covering his left eye. From the left side of his blindfold, a river of blood leaked out as a subtle, faint saber howl echoed out. Su Mei's saber was within his left eye! Sealed within his Internal World!
"I got you," Na Xinyi softly said as Xue Yifei's figure grew unsteady, her Demonic Dragon Armor gradually receding as she nearly collapsed. If not for Na Xinyi's timely assistance, she would have fallen to the ground.
Na Xinyi could feel Xue Yifei's cells vibrating in pain and suffering, crying out as they were overexerted to an extreme extent. She didn't speak, only helped. Xue Yifei glanced breathily at the beautiful countenance of Na Xinyi, a flicker of gratefulness within her eyes. Then, she looked at the cube and her lips tugged into a smile suffused with satisfaction and excitement.
A flash of silvery light beneath her feet erupted as Ernu arrived, immediately enlarging just enough to be leaned on. The horned dragon gave Na Xinyi a meaningful, cautious look, and the latter maintained her calm expression as she let loose her hold, allowing Xue Yifei to find support with Ernu.
She took a few steps back.
"Is it over?" Da Shan's voice thundered as she spoke in her gigantically titanic form, not shrinking at all. It was clear she was startled by Su Mei's strength and refused to lower her guard. Within her palm, a young woman covered in scorch marks slowly stood up. Her skin was marred by burns and her left eye had lost its light, blinded viciously. However, she was alive.
She took out an elixir, pill, and paste before consuming them all in a specific order. Her injuries rapidly healed to the naked eye. Within a few seconds, her beauty which was as gorgeous as a tundra of snow basking in the divine radiance of a solar star at the right angle returned. She had an innately frigid temperament, yet it did little to lessen her beauty. In actuality, to some, it was further accentuated by such a frosty demeanor.
The An Sisters kept their hands held together. They hadn't taken action due to Su Mei arriving at the spot beforehand, but they were still ready to take action. The anxiety could be felt within their auras. Su Mei, the First Ascendant, was terrifying to an outlandish degree.
Xue Yifei finally caught her breath, slowly climbing on Ernu's back, riding her skillfully. "The World Forbiddance Array formed by eight Illuminating World Cubes is capable of sealing a true Worldly Saint for quite a while, let alone Miss Su."
Those words did little to lessen anyone's tensions, however. Su Mei was just too much of a monster! How could they relax after a few words they didn't fully understand? They stared at the hovering cube of solid energy in a unified manner, not a single person looking elsewhere.
Xue Yifei sighed in her heart. "When I was preparing for the competition, I needed a way to contain certain individuals and ensure my survival, so I sought assistance from the Earthly Saints and the Formation and Array Masters of our starfield. It required quite a lot of coaxing and united effort before I convinced them to work with me. The Illuminating World Cores are exquisite formations that can seal individuals or be used to unleash a strong defense, meanwhile also containing escape mechanisms.
"Each cube has the potential strength of a mystic-graded, medium-sized planet. The World Forbiddance Array can replicate a domain-wide array, drawing strength from each cube, and establishing an indescribable sealing force. I've tested it extensively. None of the Earthly Saints could break out, not even together. Additionally, it prevents the summoning of one's World-Bound Star Domain and unfurling of Worldly Domains." Xue Yifei explained as she winced slightly at the absurd level of effort and pricing to complete all of this.
She didn't reveal the truth that this was all devised for only two individuals: Su Mei and Zuhei. As for the means of escape or defense, she didn't think they'd truly save her from the wrath of those two. The sealing power when used in tandem was the majority of its purpose and where its strength lay.
She simply didn't wish to expose that she had devised counters and contingencies against each of them so thoroughly.
Bei Weiwei asked, "How long will it-"
BOOM!
A thunderous, explosive, ear-deafening, heart-pounding, and soul-churning sound resounded from the cube. There was no sign of movement, yet the sound was abundantly clear. The expressions of everyone went dark.
Bei Weiwei's words were interrupted by Su Mei's attempts to escape.
Xue Yifei, however, kept her emotions well hidden. She had to look confident now. "With her saber? Two seconds at most." She said firmly without the slightest doubt. She had tailored precise strategies on how to deal with Su Mei and taking away her saber was extremely important. It could not be done.
Everyone glanced at Yao Huoyi, whose left eye still seemed to be profusely bleeding out a quiet river. It dripped onto his neck, staining his clothes, but he looked extremely calm and not pained at all.
Yao Huoyi had used a Hollow Breath Arrow, an arrow designed to shatter and disrupt the innate energies of a target, and his Left Eye's unique spatial power to take the saber from its scabbard. Him and only him could do such a thing. This was also why Shui Fengbao had spoken about luck earlier. If he failed, all of this would similarly fail.
Fortunately, everything fell in line perfectly.
"Without her saber, it can seal her for about half an hour." Xue Yifei said confidently, but those words only caused the hearts of everyone to shudder. But she added, "I have ways of strengthening it to last longer. I'll need all of your help to do so."
No one dared to refuse. If Su Mei escaped, they were all in for a difficult fight.
Suddenly, a wisp of flame so tiny that it was barely noticeable flickered on Bei Weiwei's shoulder. Then, it began to erupt with a faint fiery aura of exuberant life and the energy of renewal. The activity caused all of them to look over as the fire began to rapidly flicker about until it started to absorb the world's mana like oxygen, fueling itself to grow explosively.
Bei Weiwei hurriedly moved aside. Then, a flaming humanoid was born. This flaming humanoid wreathed chaotically as if trying to escape out of their mother's womb. When it finally broke out of this invisible womb, it rapidly doused and the flames turned into flesh, blood, and bone. Completely nude as a newborn infant, Shui Fengbao threw his head wildly back as he took in a heavy breath of fresh air.
"HAAAAA!" He deeply inhaled, his eyes slowly opening as his heart pounded fiercely with new life. Everyone saw him and they were stunned. Didn't he self-detonate?! They all saw him self-detonate!
Shui Fengbao rose straight and tall, glancing at all the eyes honed onto him, some even glancing a little lower. "Did we succeed?" His eyes contained a wisp of anxiety and he moved left and right as if to find that terrifying existence that slaughtered Ascendants of the same cultivation like they slaughtered Chosen of the Sealed Region of the same cultivation.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"We didn't?" Shui Fengbao asked awkwardly, finding their reactions a little suspicious.
"Put some clothes on," Yao Huoyi flatly said, his left eye continuing to bleed a small river of blood down his face.
"Clothes?" Shui Fengbao shook as he looked at his Little Shui waving freely in the wind, his eyes widened as he looked back up to see Xue Yifei, Na Xinyi, Bei Weiwei, the An Sisters, and even the gigantic Da Shan, looking his way. None of them looked flustered. However, he was!
He hurriedly coated himself in flames. Within a few seconds, he wore a set of fiery red robes that he used for training his Fire Arts. Clearing his throat, he turned to Xue Yifei and bowed slightly, "I apologize; I hope I didn't offend with my unsightly display."
Xue Yifei was faintly amused. She shook it off with a shake of her head, feeling the tension lessening slightly in the air. "She's sealed for now, but unless we reinforce the array with Solar Stars, there's a slight chance she'll be able to escape before the Chosen King Competition concludes."
"..." They all understood the intrinsic principle of using Solar Stars as array flags to empower or enable domain-wide, starfield-wide, and region-wide arrays.
"Then what are we waiting for?" An Ascendant that survived took a step forward and asked anxiously. Su Mei had slaughtered dozens of ordinary members. Even the First Commander was AWOL, the Second Commander was dead, and the Fourth Commander had been barely saved. The situation didn't look too good.
As for His Majesty's lovers, they might be powerful but Xue Yifei was clearly exhausted and Da Shan wasn't very reliable against such an agile and deadly target like Su Mei despite her size and strength. She was mismatched and definitely had a clear disadvantage given Su Mei's outrageous display of high-speed movement.
Not even a Spiritualist like Bei Weiwei could take her down. Na Xinyi had severely injured herself facing the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel alone. Wu Baozhai's expressions were so pale that the pills and elixirs she consumed did little to alleviate her turbulent aura. It was clear she had invoked Grand Transformations a few too many times.
The Ascendant was feeling quite urgent to seal the threat permanently. While he didn't fear death, he definitely didn't want to experience it.
"It's not so easy," Xue Yifei said. "There's a potential for a backlash and even a chance of destruction of your World-Bound Star Domains. So this isn't a choice that could be ma-"
BOOM!!
"-de easily," Xue Yifei gave everyone a look. "You'll be tethering your Star Domains to a cube. I'll need eight." She swept her gaze over Da Shan, Bei Weiwei, Wu Baozhai, the An Sisters, Yao Huoyi, and the last remaining Ascendants at the Starlord level. Na Xinyi was too injured to participate.
"Of course, I promise to provide hefty compensation after the competition," Xue Yifei added. To the Prime Ascendants and Valkyrie, this was a relatively purposeless offer. What could they not get from Wei Wuyin by asking? But to the ordinary Ascendants, including Bei Weiwei, this was a heavenly promise. They were part of the Legion and had to fight tooth and nail for every opportunity.
They had to earn their spot.
Every ounce of additional resources was needed. The Ascendants all glanced at each other, and they thought about triumphing over Xue Yifei for the Evercrown. They smartly decided that assured compensation from Her Majesty was far better than continuing the competition.
"I'll do it," a tall female Ascendant firmly volunteered.
"Me too," A brawny, bearded middle-aged Ascendant with the air of a Martial Cultivator echoed.
Before long, seven spots were taken by Starlord-level Ascendants. There was one left.
BOOM!!!
The sound intensified by another degree.
08:32.
"I'll do it," Na Xinyi volunteered, shocking everyone. She gave Xue Yifei a look and nodded. Despite being injured personally, Na Xinyi could still unleash her Star Domain.
"Let's hurry then," Xue Yifei transmitted the method of linking their Star Domains with the Illuminating World Cubes. The eight of them all flew in eight different directions, their Solar Stars illuminating above them. They began to perform synchronized hand-seals as beams of starlight infused into each of the cubes from above.
"Will this be enough?" Ernu sent mentally. She had witnessed Su Mei's strength, and it wasn't so simple.
Xue Yifei's eyes exuded a wisp of serenity and clarity. She replied mentally, "No. At most, we can push it to the last twenty to ten seconds. That has to be enough."
"Last ten seconds..." Ernu's mind shook as she realized that Xue Yifei hadn't told the complete truth.
BOOM!!!!
"It has to be," Xue Yifei looked skyward, seeing the Aurora Borealis of Alchemical Light shine brilliantly upon them. "It has to be," she repeated in her heart.
08:12.
07:11.
Time kept ticking on as the last light, the Alchemical Light of Fusion erupted in the sky.
6:10.
5:09...
[Author's Note: As the last light ignites true, the heart sways for dawn, yearning for its bright future. <3]
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