At last, the assassin let out a breath and gave voice, but at that moment it sounded more like a howl of despair. The Sword Qi he had kept locked down and restrained within himself erupted then, yet it was all futile.
Only then did the beautiful maid outside the waterside pavilion realize something was wrong. Crying, "Madam!" she rushed inside, yet no matter what she did, she could not approach Madam Hua, though they were clearly only a few steps apart.
At the same time, the dozen or so gilt-painted red pillars supporting the waterside pavilion began to tremble in sequence. The surrounding formation restrictions activated accordingly, and vital energies crisscrossed above the Lotus Pond.
Yu Ci paid no heed to how Madam Hua would respond. The void turned with his will and drew the assassin in, while he reached out to subdue this blind fool of an assassin.
Yet at that moment, the Inner Void's operation clearly faltered. The intersecting vital energies outside were like cast fishing nets, throwing the formerly orderly flow of primordial energy into disarray.
The formations in this damned place suppressed friend and foe alike!
Yu Ci had not expected this turn of events. Moreover, he had already restrained the assassin, and the Inner Void was contracting. Caught off guard, the void quivered slightly and became unstable.
The most immediate consequence was that the maid outside crashed in, lost her balance, and fell to the ground.
Yu Ci merely glanced at her, but an even sharper and more direct warning exploded in his heart.
He whipped his head around and saw that, a thousand feet away, atop a lush green willow at the bend where the Lotus Pond connected to the outer waterway, a figure had abruptly appeared. No one knew when he had