"Alas..."
The sigh drifted down.
The next instant!
Whoosh!
A ray of crimson light surged from behind the Phoenix Carriage's curtain!
Like a rainbow streaking across the sky, it struck after the fact yet arrived first, hitting the blood-red astral gleam Du Min had unleashed.
Hiss!
Like lingering snow cast into a blazing furnace, the blood-red gleam melted away in an instant and vanished without a trace.
The entire courtyard fell silent!
The sound of heavy breathing and the roar of astral force disappeared together.
Du Min's pupils contracted. She instinctively stepped back, her heart churning with towering waves, and murmured:
"Heavenly Dipper..."
Anyone who could dissolve her attack so effortlessly had to be at least in the Heavenly Dipper Realm!
Across Cangzhou's Nine Prefectures,
the renowned Heavenly Dipper experts could be counted on two hands at most.
Most were now in seclusion, seeking a path to the Innate Realm.
Why would one appear in this remote prefecture?
Zhao Qianjue silently withdrew his fist. The poison miasma filling the sky rolled back toward him as his narrow eyes fixed on the Phoenix Carriage, jaw clenched and face grave.
"Rustle..."
The gauzy beaded curtain parted.
Crimson light flared, dyeing the courtyard's roof tiles and flagstones red.
A figure appeared in a red dress embroidered with golden phoenix patterns.
The woman was tall, her skirts spreading like phoenix wings. Crimson light flowed around her, and she bore a regal, awe-inspiring air, like a divine phoenix descended from the ninth heaven as she hovered in midair.
At the sight of her,
Xie Hui's eyes flew wide.
His Adam's apple bobbed. He took half a step back and pulled Zuo Muxian in front of him as a shield.
Zuo Muxian, however, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Shen Xiuhan and said: