Chapter 1191: Intent to Leave
“Who are you all?”
Although the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance and the mysterious young man in white both displayed remarkable strength, with several other experts of equal prowess by their side, Cao Shaoqin, as a high-ranking official of the imperial court and commander of the Jinyiwei, wielded immense power and was by no means afraid of these people. After scanning them with a critical gaze, he still spoke in the condescending tone of a superior.
“And who are you?”
In fact, Happy and the Thousand-Faced Fox had escaped from the collapsed pyramid. They found it strange to see groups of Jinyiwei soldiers outside the desert—since the desert had always been uninhabited, the sudden appearance of so many people was suspicious enough. Now, being addressed rudely by a man with a delicate appearance only increased their irritation, and one of the barbarians blurted out in anger.
This time, Cao Shaoqin did not act rashly. He could clearly see that the combat skills of those barbarians were quite strong; they were not ordinary foes who could be easily killed with a simple weapon.
“Dare you!”
Cao Shaoqin didn’t need to intervene. A Jinyiwei officer stepped forward with a fierce expression and scolded, “My lord is an official appointed by the imperial court, the commander of the Jinyiwei! Hurry up and pay your respects!”
Jinyiwei experts usually had keen eyesight, but this time it was no wonder they dared to act arrogantly in front of those Heaven and Earth experts—after all, their commander was behind them, along with thousands of elite Jinyiwei soldiers, making them invincible and unafraid of anyone.
Moreover, the people before them—men, women, old, and young—were all covered in blood. Aside from the young man in white, few of them seemed unharmed, and those with strong auras were severely injured. Naturally, they couldn’t serve as a deterrent.
“Jinyiwei?” The Evil King sneered.
Master Qin and Ye Gucheng merely lifted their eyelids to glance at the “commander” without saying a word.
The Thousand-Faced Fox, supporting Osaaya, lowered his head and dared not speak—among them, he was the only one who was reluctant to deal with the authorities.
While the Jinyiwei officer was showing off, Happy glanced at the arrogant figures over there, then shifted his gaze past the group of Jinyiwei soldiers to the players behind them, immediately understanding the situation.
He had initially been puzzled by the large number of powerful individuals outside the desert, but after seeing Yinhu and Meiying among them, it became clear that a narrative task conflict had arisen.
“Well… things seem to have gotten more complicated now…”
Happy ignored the confrontation between the barbarian experts and the Jinyiwei, keeping his focus on the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance in the air.
The Tiger Soul, sealed in the Desert Palace, has reappeared. Taken out by the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, it is bound to cause tremendous upheaval in the martial world of the Central Plains! It’s unknown which direction the subsequent plot tasks will take.
“Hahahahah…”
As he pondered, suddenly the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s fierce and unrestrained laughter rang out in the air:
“It turns out to be the imperial forces. With the Tiger Soul in my hands today, I’m in a good mood—perfect to use you all as sacrifices to the world.”
His murderous words reached every ear present clearly!
The Jinyiwei members immediately fell silent and looked up at the mysterious powerhouse in the sky; the several Heaven Path masters here also frowned and gazed upward…
Now everyone understood that with the Tiger Soul in the hands of the Heaven and Earth Alliance leader, not only was it the biggest variable in the martial world, but it would also determine their lives and deaths—no one could restrain the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance once they left the Desert Palace.
“What audacity!”
Cao Shaoqin was the only Heaven Path master above the desert, aside from the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, who maintained his peak strength. Hearing the latter’s arrogant words, he was instantly enraged:
“Defying the imperial court! I’ll exterminate your entire family!”
Before his words faded, a tangible mental shock crashed down.
Cao Shaoqin’s gaze turned cold!
A several-meter-wide blade of light descended from the sky!
“Shatter it!”
Under attack, Cao Shaoqin finally realized just how terrifying that immense power was. His expression changed, and without hesitation, he grabbed a dozen long knives and rubbed his hands together.
“Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!”
The dozen steel knives shattered simultaneously, turning into hundreds of fragments that, with a shrill tearing sound through the air, charged toward the tiger-shaped blade of light with astonishing force.
Seeing Cao Shaoqin underestimating the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance so much, Happy, Evil King, Ye Gucheng, and the others all shook their heads…
As expected!
The hundreds of steel knife fragments shot back at even greater speed, while the tiger-shaped blade of light still carried immense force, slashing down at Cao Shaoqin.
Whoosh!
Startled, he reflexively jumped off his mount.
Boom!!!!!
The priceless warhorse didn’t even get a chance to scream before being swallowed by the tiger-shaped blade of light. Its skin, flesh, and blood were instantly consumed, leaving only a withered remains scattered in the air.
Dozens of Jinyiwei members behind him were also killed on the spot!
“What boldness!”
Having suffered such a heavy loss at first sight, even Cao Shaoqin, though highly cunning, was utterly enraged. His face darkened as he snatched a sword from a Jinyiwei officer beside him and charged at the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, sword and man becoming one!
“Insect.”
Cao Shaoqin clearly still underestimated the strength of the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader, as well as just how terrifying Tiger Soul could become in that leader’s hands.
Just as he had reached halfway through his flight, the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader waved his wrist, and a tiger roar echoed across the desert.
Roar!!!!
A tiger-shaped blade flashed forward in an instant, reaching Cao Shaoqin’s face.
As the head of the Jinyiwei and the top expert of the imperial court, Cao Shaoqin was no ordinary opponent either. Mid-air, he suddenly exploded into several black shadows, successfully dodging the attack from the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader.
Hm?
In mid-air, the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader saw his attack miss and flashed a hint of surprise in his eyes, before a smirk of contempt appeared on his lips.
Cao Shaoqin thrust his sword skyward with remarkable precision.
In mere moments, the shadows reassembled, merging sword and warrior into one, as he charged at the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader with blinding intensity.
The latter remained calm until Cao Shaoqin’s sword was right in front of him, then let out a cold snort.
A sound wave infused with immense internal energy and psychic power rippled through the air, creating visible waves!!
Before Cao Shaoqin’s sword could reach those waves, it suddenly bent, as if stuck against an impenetrable wall of steel, unable to move forward another inch.
Cao Shaoqin widened his eyes in shock, only to meet the cruel, indifferent smile of the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader.
Bang!!!
Those below couldn’t see what the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader had done. Cao Shaoqin trembled slightly in mid-air before flying like a cannonball toward the swirling sand below.
……
“A Forbidden Zone-level mission—forcing us to snatch Tiger Soul from the hands of the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader…”
“They actually let such a fierce opponent loose.”
The expressions of Shadow, Silver Fox, and the others changed dramatically.
When the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader made his reckless threat of a blood sacrifice, they received a system prompt asking whether they wanted to accept the mission to hunt him down and seize Tiger Soul.
The Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader!
Tiger Soul!
Now, with several Heavenly Dao experts involved as well, even though they knew the rewards for a Forbidden Zone mission were enormous, the group still felt utterly helpless.
……
“Strange.”
“Wu Kuo, I remember you saying there are seven Heavenly Dao experts at the ruins of Longmen Inn. The Heaven and Earth Alliance’s leader shouldn’t be among them; the last one should be Wu Zun Bi Xuan…”
“I find it strange too.” Hearing Shadow’s question, Wu Kuo scratched the back of his head. “What’s wrong with these Heavenly Dao experts? They’re all injured. Did they fight among themselves in the Desert Palace for Tiger Soul?”
With Wu Kuo’s words, the others nearby also voiced their doubts:
“Look at those injured Heavenly Dao experts…”
“Strange! Aside from the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, it seems other experts of the Heavenly Dao have secretly formed an alliance to deal with him together.”
Hearing this, everyone reached a terrifying consensus:
The strength of this leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance is simply terrifying!
…
Some in the crowd didn’t focus entirely on the experts of the Heavenly Dao.
Ever since that stunning sword strike, Silver Fox’s eyes had been fixed on the young man in white, who seemed to have a low level of cultivation.
Among the crowd, even among the experts of the Heavenly Dao, only the young man in white appeared the cleanest, with few scars on his body.
Moreover!
What puzzled Silver Fox was that a low-cultivation scion from a prestigious family stood at the forefront of the group, with several experts of the Heavenly Dao seemingly taking him as their leader.
“Who exactly is that young man?”
…
After landing, Happy realized the situation had become even more complicated.
Without the spatial constraints of the Desert Palace, the chances of taking the Tiger Soul from the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance were practically zero!
With the Tiger Soul, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance could slay countless enemies, and no one could stop him—trying to take it was nothing but seeking death.
If Master Qin and Osaaya still had their peak strengths, they might be able to fight against the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, but now…
“I didn’t expect we still couldn’t get the most important thing from the Desert Palace… Ten thousand years—let’s leave!” After assessing the situation, Happy decisively decided to evacuate.
Not only was the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance currently unbeatable, but the complete Ancient Demon Artifact, the Tiger Soul, was not something players should possess…
“You’re right, Young Hero Happy. Since we’ve left the Desert Palace, our partnership ends here. I must take my disciples away while there’s still a chance…” Master Qin spoke up. “If there’s a chance in the future, Young Hero Happy, you can use the token of the Qin Sect’s leader to summon my disciples.”
“This…”
Happy was surprised.
Although he knew Master Qin would surely reward him, the fact that the latter was giving him such a precious token surprised him somewhat.
At that moment, the Evil King and the Dark Queen also came over:
“Young Hero Happy, it’s thanks to your help that our two disciples were able to escape the Desert Palace safely. We, the Evil King and the Dark Queen, will remember this kindness. From now on, the disciples of the Flower Sect and the Yin Gui Sect will never be enemies of yours.”
“…”
Happy nodded slightly, but inwardly groaned: Never being enemies meant he couldn’t take matters into his own hands against the Yin Gui Sect and the Flower Sect in the future.
Was this a reward or a punishment?
Happy was utterly speechless.
But…
With the Divine Crystal Sword in hand now, he no longer regarded the disciples of the demonic sect as a threat and didn’t need to pay them much attention. Ye Gucheng and Dongfang Bubai seemed unwilling to leave this place either, so they didn’t come over. “Daring to oppose the imperial court, no matter who you are, you must die!” Cao Shaoqin’s furious shout resounded through the Sand Vortex: “All Jinyiwei, follow my orders! Target the leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance—kill without hesitation!!” As soon as his words faded… thousands of arrows were shot at once!