“City Lord, why is the Azure Dragon King not out yet?”
Cracks appeared on the city walls; pavilions and buildings on streets of various sizes broke. The enemy attacked with increasing ferocity, announcing a cold fact—the city was going to be destroyed.
Some outer sect elders could no longer resist asking for news of Xiao Chen.
Lan Shaobai smiled bitterly as he looked at the group of people before him. He remembered that the one who asked was the first grandmaster-level Martial Sage that Jin Dabao managed to invite back from the Black Sea. This person had already been on Heavenly Star Island for more than a year and could be considered rather senior.
After this person spoke, the other outer sect elders all looked towards Lan Shaobai.
“Never mind, you guys may go. I left Black Astral Coins in the City Lord’s Residence and two copies of Profound Martial Techniques. After you get them, you can use the underground passage to slip away.”
For these outer sect elders to last until now, they had put in a lot of effort already. After all, these people were only in a consecrate kind of relationship with Heavenly Star Island.
It was already pretty good for them not to have changed sides after seeing that the city was going to be destroyed.
Easy come, easy go. Now that Heavenly Star Island lost the momentum, there was no need for this group of people to die with them.
The old man who spoke earlier realized that something was wrong when he heard this. Something must have happened to the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen. He probably would not be able to come back at short notice.
“City Lord, thank you for worrying about us. This old man can be considered to have watched Heavenly Star Island develop step by step. Although my feelings for Heavenly Star Island are not as strong as the willingness of the City Lord and the various inner sect elders to die together, I am still willing to defend it to the last moment. As long as this city stands, this old man will not take a step away from Heavenly Star Island.”
“That’s right. Before this city breaks, we will never leave.”
This response surprised Lan Shaobai. The group of outer sect elders did not choose to leave immediately, choosing instead to defend until the last moment.
At which point, it would be difficult for these people to flee.
Lan Shaobai felt somewhat moved in his heart. He smiled and said, “Thank you, everyone. I hope everyone will continue with their assigned responsibilities. If any cultivators from the other side come through the cracks in the barrier, I’ll leave them to you.”
Although the seven azure-colored dragon images blocked most of the Buddha image’s attacks, some of the attacks made it to the barrier.
The many cultivators of the eight factions would make use of the cracks in the barrier to charge in before it recovered. They wanted to go straight to the source and destroy the core of the Dragon’s Gate’s Heaven Locking Formation.
That way, Heavenly Star City would fall easily into the eight factions’ hands. Liu Ke, Jin Lin, and the others all stood guard at the core of the great formation, not leaving it for even a second.
The city walls required a large number of people for defense. For these outer sect elders to say such words, even Lan Shaobai could not help feeling moved.
“Whoosh!”
Lan Shaobai’s figure flashed, and he arrived at a quieter place on the city walls. Elder Qin was currently using his energy to treat Yue Chenxi’s injuries there, not pausing for even a moment since he started.
“How is Chenxi?” Lan Shaobai asked in a rush as hatred flashed in his eyes.
Elder Qin sighed, but he did not stop what he was doing. “The situation is more or less stabilized. There is no more threat to her life. However, the rebound of her Martial Technique injured her heart vessels and broke her meridians. If there is no medicine for repairing meridians, she can only become an ordinary person.”
On hearing this, Lan Shaobai clenched his fist tightly. Veins popped on the back of his hand as torrential hatred surged in his eyes.
---
However, no matter how much Lan Shaobai hated the shameless Fu Lianyun, who injured Yue Chenxi, Fu Lianyun’s face was currently filled with smiles, appearing very cocky as flattery poured over him.
Back on the Metal Blood Warship, when Zhuang Zhenghe heard of Fu Lianyun’s “magnificent feat,” he could not help smiling and said, “Old Brother Fu is a good example. After we take Heavenly Star City, I will let you have priority in choosing a treasure.”
Overwhelmed by Zhuang Zhenghe’s favor, Fu Lianyun demurred quickly, “I don’t deserve such honor. Brother Zhuang is the one who made the biggest contribution. If not for Brother Zhuang rushing over and using the Amitabha Buddha image, the situation would not be what it is now.”
The other people of the eight factions acted pragmatically. Now that they had seen the Amitabha Buddha image’s might, they felt a deep fear of Zhuang Zhenghe.
Everyone flattered Zhuang Zhenghe, speaking respectfully to him.
“However, it seems like the Azure Dragon King, Xiao Chen, never appeared at all from the very beginning. I wonder where he went?”
“He probably has something holding him up. Otherwise, he would have appeared by now.”
“Fortunately, he is not around. Otherwise, the conquest of Heavenly Star Island would not be so easy.”
Seeing that Heavenly Star City was about to fall, the leaders of the eight factions all appeared rather relaxed. As they chatted, they started to become fearless.
“Humph!”
Just at this moment, the group heard a cold snort. Zhuang Zhenghe said unhappily, “Even if Xiao Chen comes, this old man can easily kill him.”
Seeing Zhuang Zhenghe’s expression change, the others immediately stopped speaking, not daring to say another word.
That Amitabha Buddha image aside, Zhuang Zhenghe’s current aura reached an incredible level.
This aura inspired a sense of fear in the other Small Perfection quasi-Emperors before him.
It was not like they had never met Zhuang Zhenghe before. However, the feeling that he gave off now was very different, his current aura appearing quite frightening for some reason. When these quasi-Emperors saw him becoming angered, they all trembled in fear.
The Metal Blood Sect’s Sect Master changed the topic. “The city looks like it’s going to fall. Everyone should make your preparations.”
The group of people looked over quickly. They saw the seven azure-colored dragon images circling outside Heavenly Star City turn into azure lights that fell like rain.
When everyone in the city saw these azure motes of light, they revealed expressions of despair.
They knew that without the seven azure-colored dragons protecting them, Heavenly Star City’s barrier would not last even one blow from the Amitabha Buddha image.
Lan Shaobai bowed slightly and said to the many outer sect elders still fighting, “This time, Lan Shaobai thanks all of you greatly. Please leave!”
Suddenly, an outer sect elder shouted in joy as he pointed to the rear, “City Lord! Look!”
Lan Shaobai turned his head back and saw a familiar white figure rushing over at lightning speed.
“Boom!”
The Amitabha Buddha image’s large figure suddenly descended, encasing the entire Heavenly Star City in darkness. The pitch-black world plunged everyone into horror and despair, leaving them feeling breathless and helpless.
Before Lan Shaobai managed to see the face of that white figure, the Amitabha Buddha image’s palm strike shattered their final defensive barrier, the Dragon’s Gate’s Heaven Locking Formation.
A strong Buddha Might surge over. An entire stretch of the city wall instantly crumbled and collapsed.
Under this horrifying might, buildings of various sizes fell over. In one moment, close to two years of effort—the Heavenly Star City—was destroyed.
Just as it looked like this descending palm would kill everyone, a disdainful dragon roar rang out.
The voice of a dragon shook the air, roaring ferociously and spreading out quickly. It squelched the sound of scriptures that had never stopped all the while.
The sound wave propagated in all directions, kicking up splashes and waves on the sea, lapping and overlapping, surging without end. With this roar, the Buddhist statues on the various satellite islands of Heavenly Star Island all shattered.
A saber light flashed in the pitch-black space, chopping the Buddha image’s hand in half, right down the middle.
A ray of sunshine descended from the split, looking holy and dignified. A white figure stood beneath the light, standing upright while holding a saber in the air.
One man and one saber broke through the humongous palm that filled the air with Buddha Might. It was like this ray of sunshine froze the scene, making it look unforgettable.
After that, the gigantic palm disappeared, and sunlight filled the land once more. Heavenly Star City regained its light. All the cultivators fighting hard in the city saw that figure clearly.
If this was not the Azure Dragon King, Xiao Chen, who else could it be?!
“It’s over. The Azure Dragon King is back!”
The Metal Blood Warship had already flown close to Heavenly Star Island. When someone of the eight factions saw this scene, they could not help crying out.
Who could have expected that Xiao Chen, who had been absent all the while, would show up at this critical moment?
Furthermore, the moment Xiao Chen showed up, he chopped apart a palm strike that rivaled the full-power strike of a peak Consummation quasi-Emperor. How could the people of the eight factions not feel fear?
Zhuang Zhenghe shouted coldly in anger, “Why are you all panicking? I’m not afraid, so why are you all afraid?”
Chen Ming knew that the leaders of these other factions still had value to them. He picked an opportune time to calm them down. “Don’t exaggerate his strength in your hearts. It was just a trick, using a sound wave to break the Buddhist sounds, suppressing the might of the palm strike. Then, he barely dealt with it.
“Brother Zhuang’s strength is more than enough to deal with him. Furthermore, there is the Amitabha Buddha image. That will not be broken so easily.”
Zhuang Zhenghe said, “That’s right. Later, just help me to hold back that group of weaklings. There is no need for you to worry about the rest.”
Fu Lianyun and the other faction leaders calmed down. Now, there was already no turning back for them; they could only bet their lives.
After the Amitabha Buddha image’s hand broke with one chop, it retreated into the clouds. However, Xiao Chen did not press his advantage and chase after it. He glanced at the ruined Heavenly Star City and quickly headed towards Lan Shaobai.
Lan Shaobai looked at the descending Xiao Chen, and guilt flashed on his face. He said, “Sorry, in the end, I still could not defend this city.”
Xiao Chen patted Lan Shaobai’s shoulder and replied, “Don’t say that. I should be the one apologizing. You already did your best—and you did it well. How is Chenxi?”
Xiao Chen looked to the side and saw Yue Chenxi, whom Elder Qin was protecting. Xiao Chen’s face sank, and he immediately asked about her.
Lan Shaobai quickly described everything that had happened. After that, he discovered that the air around suddenly turned glacial. He sensed murderous intent that ran bone-deep and could not help trembling slightly.
When Xiao Chen came out of the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove, he had picked up on the extraordinarily strange atmosphere of Heavenly Star Island. So, he left Mo Chen behind and rushed over first.
What a shameless and despicable old man!
Even when Xiao Chen saw the ruined Heavenly Star City, his murderous intent still remained within control. However, when he heard Lan Shaobai’s report, he could no longer control his murderous intent, and it leaked out.
Lan Shaobai was still doing fine. After all, he was a quasi-Emperor and an outstanding talent. This amount of killing intent would not injure him. However, those outer sect elders found it hard to endure.
“Whoosh!”
Mo Chen, who was slower than Xiao Chen, noticed Xiao Chen’s state when she arrived. Immediately, she said nervously, “Big Brother Xiao, you are hurting them.”