"Great Emperor Taihuang!"
Everyone looked at the figure approaching through the void, their hearts trembling with fear.
The weaker cultivators were so terrified that they did not even dare raise their heads.
And though Sages were powerful, they were nowhere near enough before an Emperor Realm expert.
This was a qualitative gulf. There was no comparison.
They had just been wondering whether Yun Lan's words were true. After all, her words carried some weight.
But now, the Great Emperor himself had appeared. Even if Yun Lan had told the truth, what did it matter?
They all spoke up.
"Greetings, Great Emperor Taihuang!"
Their only regret was that they did not know whether they could still pick up any scraps.
Great Emperor Taihuang's personal arrival and his words said it all. Trying to pick up scraps now was no different from wagering the heads on their shoulders.
Yun Lan's expression shifted slightly as well. She had known the Great Desolation Holy Land might come, but she had never expected Great Emperor Taihuang to descend in person!
This had already slipped beyond her control. Even if Chen Fan was a Great Emperor, when immortals fought, the fish in the moat could still suffer.
Whatever they chose might not be right. There was no need to stay here, so there was no need to choose...
"Chanyue, let's leave," she reminded her.
Su Chanyue nodded, knowing that their circumstances were unusual.
Meanwhile, a burning eagerness lay hidden in Great Emperor Taihuang's expression.
He paid no attention to anyone else, looking instead at the land before him.
"Such concentrated power. This must be an emperor crystal vein! And an enormous one!"
Their Great Desolation Holy Land had a saint crystal vein, and a rather large one at that.
But this power was clearly countless times stronger than a saint crystal vein's.
He had his reasons for coming in person. An emperor crystal vein was something ordinary emperor-tier factions dreamed of obtaining. It could sustain a holy land's fortune for endless ages.
It could produce more experts and turn them into an even more elite emperor-tier faction.
Who could remain unmoved?
"I must obtain it. Then this trip won't have been in vain!" Great Emperor Taihuang prepared to act directly.
Daoist Jiyuan hurriedly reminded him, "Great Emperor Taihuang, forgive this old man's boldness, but there is a powerful formation here."
"What of a formation? I need only break it." Great Emperor Taihuang paid it no mind.
Beside him, Sage Wuhui said, "Great Emperor Taihuang, the Falling Cloud Sect Master said this formation was laid by a Great Emperor."
At that, Great Emperor Taihuang noticed Yun Lan, who was trying to leave.
"Falling Cloud Sect Master, you say this place is guarded by a Great Emperor?"
He thought nothing of a mere sect master. But anything involving a Great Emperor was another matter.
Yet he had never heard of such an Emperor Realm expert in White Emperor Province.
Yun Lan's heart lurched. She did not dare simply grab her disciple and flee.
Turning around, she said, "Great Emperor Taihuang, this place is extraordinary. It was only a guess. I have not confirmed it."
After all, she had not seen him with her own eyes. She did not dare make wild claims now and anger an Emperor Realm expert.
Daoist Jiyuan and Sage Wuhui felt Yun Lan truly had a heart with seven ingenious apertures.
They suspected she had come to cause trouble, casting a fog over everything.
Great Emperor Taihuang immediately turned cold. "Making wild guesses without confirmation-isn't that diminishing your own prestige? Then I must wonder: could the Falling Cloud Sect want it all for itself?"
Yun Lan immediately let out a muffled groan.
"Master." Su Chanyue hurried to support her.
Yun Lan paid it no mind. "Chanyue, let's go."
The situation was unfavorable to them. More importantly, they had not come for the power here in the first place.
There was no need to risk themselves now.
Master and disciple hurried away.
Meanwhile, the Lord of Illusory Sound looked at Fang Yuehua beside her.
"Sage King Yuehua, interested in joining forces?" As the master of the Illusory Sound Pavilion, she was far stronger than Daoist Jiyuan and Sage Wuhui.
It was roughly the difference between the middle and late stages.
Fang Yuehua was on par with her.
Before Fang Yuehua could answer, however, Great Emperor Taihuang's voice rang out. "The Divine Dao Holy Land of Burning Province is reaching this far too? Do you think White Emperor Province has no one?"
Fang Yuehua's expression tightened slightly. "Great Emperor Taihuang, I would not dare."
She was indeed a Sage King, but before the strongest expert in White Emperor Province, she could not show the slightest temper.
She then glanced at the Lord of Illusory Sound, who could only abandon the idea and quietly watch how things unfolded.
Afterward.
Having given a few people a warning, Great Emperor Taihuang looked toward the city again.
"The Chen Lineage. Interesting..." He had never heard of such a small lineage.
Mainly, the Great Desolation Dao Domain was extremely far from here.
Nor did he know how such a small lineage could possess an emperor crystal vein!
But he was determined to obtain it.
Then he struck directly.
An unending tide of imperial might poured forth.
Atop the city wall, Chen Luoyu and the others looked grim.
"Great Emperor Taihuang!" Fear surged uncontrollably within them.
The gulf was simply too vast, enough to drive anyone to despair. And this was an enemy Great Emperor.
Even with the formation protecting them, feeling it at such close range was terrifying.
Even a Great Emperor had come!
This had become serious.
Without Chen Fan here, none of them felt certain. Could the few of them really defend their home...?
Bai Fengyao's thoughts were always different from everyone else's.
"Great Emperor Taihuang, my master isn't home. Why don't you come back once he returns?"
Of course, she did not dare be too arrogant either, sensibly reining in her tone considerably.
Hearing that, everyone thought it really had to be her.
"Little girl, I have no time." Great Emperor Taihuang laughed.
A newborn calf truly did not fear the tiger, daring to speak to him like that.
He was not joking.
Seeing that it was Bai Fengyao, Daoist Jiyuan immediately grew angry. "Great Emperor Taihuang, this girl's master is the owner of this place, but he's merely a young man in his early twenties."
Thinking of how a little girl had intimidated him earlier left him deeply displeased.
"Exactly. She tried to scare us by saying her master was an Emperor Realm expert," Sage Wuhui hurriedly agreed.
Great Emperor Taihuang truly froze for a moment. An Emperor Realm expert in his early twenties?
Then what did my two hundred thousand years amount to?
He swept his gaze over the crowd and found them all nodding in agreement.
Daoist Jiyuan and Sage Wuhui would not dare deceive him either.
Then he thought of Yun Lan and grew even more displeased. A mere sect master had come spouting nonsense and nearly frightened even him. She was lucky she had run fast!
Now, a mere little girl carried no such weight.
His expression darkened slightly. "Great Desolation Emperor Palm!"
He struck directly.
The Great Emperor's palm imprint shrouded heaven and earth. Space lost its color, and the enormous phantom was unstoppable, its imperial might boundless.
Under that terrifying pressure, even Sages could only give it a wide berth.
Boom.
The formation's barrier surged, releasing an enormous, thunderous crash.
"Hiss! It actually blocked that! What kind of formation is this?"
"Terrifying indeed." Everyone exclaimed in shock. It was far too tough.
Even a Great Emperor had failed to break it in a single strike.
Chen Luoyu and the others relaxed. Anything their ancestor produced was worthy of trust! It really could block an Emperor Realm expert!
Bai Fengyao's little face was solemn. She had to defend her master's home. All she needed to do was stand here and watch.
Having failed to break the formation with his first attack, Great Emperor Taihuang looked rather grim.
Leaving aside whether a Great Emperor in his early twenties was real-he did not believe it anyway-this formation was certainly emperor-grade!
Unbelievable.
But even if the other party was a Great Emperor, so what?
Such a small place could not hold on to its resources.
He struck again. Once he exhausted the formation's power, he refused to believe it would not break!
Yet after several attempts, Great Emperor Taihuang began questioning his life!
Because this formation showed no sign of being depleted at all.
"Could this formation be drawing its power from the emperor crystal vein?" All formations needed a supply of power.
What a squanderer! This was utter disrespect toward an emperor crystal vein.
Not far away.
The Lord of Illusory Sound sighed with feeling.
"Just who is the head of this Chen Lineage...?"
It truly made one curious.
"Perhaps they're simply too mysterious." As Fang Yuehua said this, her heart suddenly lurched. The Chen Lineage? Chen Fan...
Could it be...?
"Fellow Daoists, lend me your aid." Great Emperor Taihuang did not want to seek help from others, but for the sake of the emperor crystal vein, he had no other choice.
If he could obtain it, it would still be worth it.
Daoist Jiyuan and Sage Wuhui joined in without another word.
The Lord of Illusory Sound and Fang Yuehua exchanged a glance. They were dragged into it as well, lest Great Emperor Taihuang make trouble for them.
Boom, boom.
Soon...
It was time for another intermission.
Even Great Emperor Taihuang began questioning his life. Am I really a Great Emperor?
Why is there such a tough formation?! he roared inwardly.
Fang Yuehua shook her head.
"It shouldn't be possible..."
How could it be?
"Sage King Yuehua, what isn't possible?" the Lord of Illusory Sound asked beside her.
"Yes, what isn't possible?" Chen Fan appeared silently beside the two women, watching them try to steal his base crystal. Unfortunately, interference had been activated.
His heart remained utterly calm. He even wanted to enjoy the spectacle.
He had sensed the disturbance and come a step ahead.