The sea breeze stopped abruptly, and the spiritual energy congealed.
Even the distant roar of the surging tides seemed to have been cut off.
The confrontation was like a mighty bow drawn to its limit, taut enough to snap metal, eerily suffocating.
Qing Chen stood alone in midair, his black robes snapping, the Blood River God-Slaying Spear pointing diagonally downward and the Thunder Marsh Sword hovering beside him, their edges fully bared.
His expression was indifferent, his brows utterly unmoved.
Behind him, every Demon Lotus Sect disciple wore armor, the cultivators of Condensed Jade Hall had drawn their Dharma Swords, and the phantom of True Lord Budong's scarlet gold grotto-heaven flickered beneath his feet;
even the disciples of the Shushan Sword Sect stood among them, Ye Wushang waiting for battle with narrowed eyes. Although Heavenly Shu True Lord had yet to arrive and they had not fully committed to a side, their preference for Qing Chen was already plain as day.
Mad Shark True Lord leaned against a broken stone pillar, toying with the Bone Blade in his hand. His gaze was full of ferocity as it swept across the opposition-he had just slain Yuan Lingzi and his companion, and the bloody reek had yet to leave him.
At the other end of the confrontation, however, stood an entirely different sight.
It was a vast traditional alliance led by the Vajra Zen Sect, followed closely by the Blissful Union Tower, the Guixu Sea Tower, and the Thousand Puppet Sect, along with the many wavering, retreating small and midsized factions under their influence.
These major factions were all high-ranking giants among the Upper Eight Cave Spirit Islands of the Gouwu Sea, with deep foundations and enormous influence.
Even without counting those Dharma Nascent Souls, they had twenty Nascent Soul True Lords