As the shout subsided, the protective barrier outside the palace trembled violently.
Three powerful pressures from the Divine Sea Realm descended from different directions.
A chilling Sha Qi seeped into the hall through the gaps in the array, causing the nine ancient bronze lamps to sway simultaneously, their flames reduced to tiny dots.
The temperature inside the hall plummeted.
The joy on Ling Xueyao's face froze instantly.
What happened?
She turned her head sharply and looked towards the palace gate.
Within his sea of consciousness, Xiaoxiao Dragon's voice also became serious.
Three people.
"Two at the Divine Sea Realm Eighth Level, and one at the Divine Sea Realm Seventh Level."
"Their cultivation techniques are from the same lineage, and their auras resonate with each other. If the three of them join forces, even an ordinary Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level might not be able to defeat them in a short time."
Chu Yunfei looked towards the palace gate, his gaze darkening.
"Three experts at the Divine Sea Realm have arrived outside."
Ling Xueyao immediately asked, "What is your cultivation level?"
"Two at the Divine Sea Realm Eighth Level, and one at the Divine Sea Realm Seventh Level."
Ling Xueyao's hand gripping the sword sheath tightened suddenly, and her breath caught in her throat.
Shen Qianyue was damaged, and his cultivation level had dropped to the Divine Sea Realm Sixth Layer. Facing the combined attack of two eighth-level and one seventh-level cultivators, he could not hold out for long.
What's more troublesome is that Ling Zhantian is at a critical moment in the recovery of his soul. If he is hit by an external force, his newly solidified soul may collapse again.
By then, even if another Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill were given, it might not be enough to save him.
Ling Xueyao took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"This is deep within the palace."
" Elder Shen's shout has already spread, and the other elders will arrive soon once they sense the fluctuations of the Divine Sea Realm."
He only needs to hold on for a moment.
Chu Yunfei glanced at her.
Of the five royal retainers, only Elder Shen truly stands by your side.
"The remaining four have close ties with the three princes; even if they come, they might not be willing to fight to the death."
Ling Xueyao fell silent.
The emperor had been in a coma for many years, and rifts had long since formed among the five attendants.
When there are no external enemies, these conflicts can be suppressed.
But the enemy tonight is too strong, and no one can say for sure whether those four are willing to risk their lives.
Bang!
A muffled thud came from outside the hall.
The translucent array is concave inward, with ripples spreading across its surface.
The next moment, Shen Qianyue's figure flew backward over the array and crashed heavily onto the stone steps in front of the palace.
The jade steps shattered on the spot.
Shen Qianyue knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his palm on the ground, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth.
He didn't even have time to wipe it off.
High in the sky, a gray palm print pressed down once again.
Shen Qianyue gritted his teeth and stood up, his silver spear sweeping out and colliding head-on with the palm print.
boom!
A storm of spiritual energy swept through the deep palace.
Several outer arrays lit up one after another, forcibly blocking the aftershocks outside the Poison Hall.
Chu Yunfei turned to look at Ling Xueyao.
"You stay here and look after the Emperor; I'll go out and take a look."
"No."
Ling Xueyao drew her golden slender sword and blocked his way.
"You're only at the First Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm."
"Once we get out, we might not even be able to withstand the aftershocks of their fight."
She turned her sword and said in a deep voice, "I have already reached the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer. I will leave; you will remain in the palace."
"It is precisely because your cultivation level is higher that you must stay here."
Chu Yunfei pressed down on her wrist holding the sword, lowering the blade.
These three may not be all of them.
"If someone uses a feint to infiltrate the palace from another direction, you can at least hold them off for a while."
"I will only observe from the vicinity of the formation; I will not engage in direct combat with those at the Divine Sea Realm."
Ling Xueyao stared at him for a moment.
The roar outside the hall continued, and with every moment of delay, Shen Qianyue faced increasing danger.
She eventually sheathed her sword.
"If anything seems amiss, retreat back into the formation immediately."
"I can activate the defensive array within the palace. As long as the clan elders remain in the palace, the Blood Baleful Intent Tower members will not dare to linger."
Chu Yunfei released her wrist and chuckled softly.
Don't worry, I'm very lucky.
"I haven't had enough of being the prince consort yet, I can't bear to die so soon."
Ling Xueyao's cheeks felt slightly warm.
Normally, she would have already smashed it with her sword sheath.
But at this moment, the murderous intent outside the hall was approaching. She did not refute, but simply stuffed the white jade token into Chu Yunfei's palm.
Don't be reckless.
Chu Yunfei nodded and turned to walk towards the palace gate.
The white jade plaque lit up.
A passage opened up from the center of the array, and a chilling, Sha Qi rushed towards us.
Just as Chu Yunfei stepped out of the formation, a gray sword beam slashed down from the sky to his right.
Dark gold spiritual energy erupted beneath his feet, and he activated the Divine Movement Art to its fullest extent, moving his entire body more than ten zhang to the side.
Swish!
The sword's edge grazed his afterimage as it fell.
A crack more than ten feet deep was cut into the jade steps in front of the palace, and rubble flew everywhere.
Chu Yunfei did not continue forward.
He stopped close to the edge of the formation, concealing his figure with the aura of the formation's patterns, and looked up at the battlefield.
In mid-air, Shen Qianyue's robes were stained with blood.
Three gruesome wounds appeared on his chest, and his right hand, which was gripping the gun, was trembling slightly.
Each sweep of the silver spear stirred up a spiritual energy storm dozens of feet high, but the three people attacking him were too well-coordinated.
All three were dressed in gray robes and had golden masks covering their faces.
One person wielding a sword pressed down from the front.
One person continuously bombarded Shen Qianyue with palm techniques.
The last person lingered on the periphery of the battlefield, neither rushing to attack nor engaging in direct confrontation.
But every time Shen Qianyue tried to retreat back into the formation, that person would cut off his escape route one step ahead.
The Golden-Masked Assassin.
Within the Blood Baleful Intent Tower, he is a top assassin second only to the Purple-Faced Deputy Tower Master.
Chu Yunfei stared at the three people's positions, a growing chill creeping into his heart.
During the battle on the Cloud-Chasing Boat, Ling Xueyao used the jade pendant left behind by Ling Zhantian to kill a blue-faced assassin.
Instead of stopping, Blood Baleful Intent Tower sent three Golden Masks tonight to break into the Great Qian Imperial Palace.
Such a lineup is enough to surround and kill an ordinary Divine Sea Realm Eighth Level.
"You've come at just the right time."
Chu Yunfei did not only observe the techniques used by both sides.
His gaze swept over the landing points and escape routes of the three assassins.
The three men kept Shen Qianyue under control, but did not rush to take his life, nor did they launch a forceful attack on the palace.
While their moves may seem ruthless, they always leave themselves room to retreat.
Within his sea of consciousness, Xiaoxiao Dragon let out a cold laugh.
"You call that a coincidence?"
" Ling Xueyao exposed her identity at the auction and then spent three million mid-grade spirit stones for a sixth-grade pill that could repair the soul."
"That man in black robes kept testing her limits."
"If the Blood Baleful Intent Tower isn't a bunch of idiots, they should have guessed that someone in the palace has a problem with their soul."
Chu Yunfei's gaze sharpened.
"Are the men in black robes at the auction house from the Blood Baleful Intent Tower?"
"Good."
Xiaoxiao Dragon reminded him, "That person's cultivation level is far higher than Shen Qianyue's, and his movement technique is also very strange."
"If he's not from the Blood Baleful Intent Tower, then there's no way to explain these three golden-masked assassins tonight."
The clues quickly connected.
Ling Xueyao had just returned to the capital when she took Chu Yunfei into the inner palace.
The next day, she personally purchased the Soul-Consolidating Origin-Returning Pill.
As long as Blood Baleful Intent Tower keeps an eye on her, it won't be hard to guess that Ling Zhantian's situation has changed.
However, the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison has long been lost.
Since the person who poisoned it back then was aware of its toxicity, they wouldn't easily believe that anyone in the Eastern Continent could remove it.
Therefore, the three masked men are not here tonight to assassinate anyone.
They wounded but did not kill, nor did they launch a full-scale attack on the Poison Palace.
To put it bluntly, they are forcing the royal family to reveal their hand.
They needed to confirm whether Ling Zhantian had recovered.
If Ling Zhantian remains unconscious, and the Soul-Devouring Nether Poison lingers in the Poison Palace, then the other party will be able to obtain the answers they seek.
But what if Ling Zhantian has already awakened...?
The Blood Baleful Intent Tower's hidden power is definitely not limited to just these three people.
Just as Chu Yunfei thought of this, Shen Qianyue was struck by another palm strike.
The sword-wielding assassin gripped the side of the silver spear with his five fingers, forcefully deflecting the blade.
Another masked assassin swept past Shen Qianyue from behind, his gray sword grazing his back.
Blood splattered.
Shen Qianyue staggered a few steps, his breath catching in his throat once more.
" Elder Shen!"
Ling Xueyao couldn't shake her unease and had already reached the edge of the array.
Seeing Shen Qianyue injured again, she drew her golden slender sword completely, and the spiritual power of the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer flowed along the blade.
She took a step forward, intending to break free of the formation.
Chu Yunfei immediately retreated to the front of the array and blocked her with his arm.
Don't go.
Ling Xueyao's phoenix eyes blazed with suppressed anger.
" Elder Shen can't hold on any longer!"
"I cannot stand by and watch him be surrounded and killed."
"Get out of my way. I still have the array jade tablet left by my father. If I can hold one person off, Elder Shen will be able to catch his breath."
Chu Yunfei did not back down.
"They didn't intend to kill Elder Shen. This is the royal family. If they actually killed Elder Shen, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the royal family."
Ling Xueyao stared intently at him.
Chu Yunfei pointed to the air.
"If that sword had been three inches off target, it would have pierced the Divine Sea."
"But the assassin only scratched Elder Shen's back."
Ling Xueyao looked in the direction he was pointing.
Although Shen Qianyue was covered in blood and had many wounds, he avoided attacking his heart meridian and Divine Sea.
The three masked men had the opportunity to kill.
But they never actually stabbed him.
Blood Baleful Intent Tower doesn't want Shen Qianyue's life.
They are using Shen Qianyue to force the royal family to send someone.
They even forced Ling Zhantian to show himself.
Just as Ling Xueyao calmed down, a rapid whooshing sound came from afar.
A streak of azure light traversed hundreds of feet, forcefully crashing into the battlefield.
boom!
The cyan fist imprint slammed into the sword-wielding assassin's chest, sending him flying back dozens of feet.