With Zhou Qin’s permission, Jiang Yin didn’t delay any further and covered a small amount of Yellow Spring Water over the surface of the outer city’s earth veins.
The temperature of the earth vein’s lava was extremely high, like divine fire, capable of burning everything in its path.
However, Yellow Spring Water was a ghostly water from the underworld, containing pure and unparalleled nether power, which couldn’t be immediately incinerated by mere intense flames.
When the ghostly water met the divine fire, it instantly sparked violently, like water poured into a boiling oil pot, continuously exploding with extremely hot lava.
The scorching fire stream rushed forward, almost engulfing everyone present.
For a moment, the ground shook, and the underground rock layers showed signs of collapsing and cracking.
The power of the divine fire was extremely strong.
Tang Muxi and the others, who were only at the Nascent Soul stage, could barely protect themselves from the fire’s poison, and facing it head-on would leave them with no place to be buried.
Wen Fei immediately set up a barrier, doing her utmost to keep the heat flow at bay.
The force was so overwhelming that even she, originally at the Tribulation stage, felt her strength rapidly depleting in just a moment.
Fortunately, the area was close to a spiritual vein, rich in spiritual energy, allowing for constant replenishment.
Tang Muxi quickly activated her Illusion God to help her master share the burden, while handing over a cup of cold pool water to replenish strength and relieve fatigue.
“This isn’t good, the commotion is too big.
If this continues, it might affect the city and expose us prematurely!” Zhou Qin’s eyes were sharp, full of shock.
Jiang Yin didn’t expect it to be so intense either and immediately set up a formation, forcibly suppressing the fluctuations with the help of the spiritual vein.
Her reaction was swift, her actions decisive, and before the violent tremors could affect the entire city, she forcibly calmed them down without revealing a single flaw.
“Quickly retreat! The tremors here have been forcibly suppressed by me.
Now the earth veins are in chaos, and the city’s protective formation can no longer be activated.
Once we take the Guiyi Order, we can leave smoothly!” The process of obstructing the formation went smoothly.
After suppressing the aftermath, Jiang Yin and the others would meet up with Exquisite Delicacies House and Wen Mingyu, waiting for the second batch of support from the demon realm to arrive before officially taking action.
During this time, with the help of Xu Qingwan and others, Wen Mingyu had already transferred the Seven Mysteries’ Treasure Pavilion.
The shopkeepers and clerks were temporarily dismissed, and to avoid alarming others, the goods in the pavilion were not moved on a large scale but were all packed into her personal small world.
The Seven Mysteries had many shops selling spiritual plants and treasures, but the Treasure Pavilion was the largest one.
Its closure attracted a lot of speculation from cultivators, with many rumors circulating on the streets, but no one knew the real reason.
Recently, Feng Yuan and Cheng Ze were distracted by the princess’s escape, leaving them with no time to pay attention to other matters.
They only made a symbolic inquiry about the Treasure Pavilion and then stopped caring, not even realizing that the staff had quietly dispersed.
On the second day after the Treasure Pavilion closed, the second batch of support from the demon realm finally arrived late.
Due to Jiang Yin’s private reminder, Wen Mingyu had to temporarily transfer Lin Anjing out of the city, having him guard outside at all times.
As soon as the second batch of people from the demon realm arrived, he immediately brought them into the immortal boat outside the city.
Unlike the first batch of advance troops, the second batch was stronger and more numerous, with a total of twelve Divine Transformation cultivators.
They held powerful Earth-grade magical artifacts, and even in the demon realm, they were elite cultivators.
With all the support in place, including the accompanying personnel, Wen Mingyu had over twenty Divine Transformation experts and many Nascent Soul cultivators at her disposal.
She could command one divine artifact, two Heaven-grade magical artifacts, and many Earth-grade treasures, making her stronger than many third-rate forces.
In the current situation where the capital was isolated and without support, even if the palace master came personally, it would be difficult to resist without deploying the divine artifact Nine Fiends Sword.
Everything was ready, just waiting for the right moment.
After a final discussion, everyone decided to act at midnight tonight.
* The night wind was bitterly cold, with dark clouds gathering in the sky.
The bright moon was obscured by wind and snow, plunging the entire land into darkness.
After midnight, even the night watchmen packed up and returned to their homes to rest.
In Seven Mysteries City, except for a few places still lit with scattered lights, the rest of the area fell silent.
Two Golden Core guards stood at the city lord’s mansion gate, shivering in the cold wind.
“The winter in Seven Mysteries is truly cold.
Even with protective spiritual energy, it’s hard to endure, unlike the southern cities.” The other guard, hearing this, couldn’t help but be curious.
“The south? I heard you used to work in the Xuanling area.
How is it different from here?” The man rubbed his hands, circulating his spiritual energy again, and smiled with his neck shrunk.
“There are many differences.
Xuanling is warm, like spring all year round, with at most some light rain.
There’s no such heavy snow.
And the wine there is a unique delicacy in the spiritual cultivation world! I have a bottle that’s been stored for over ten years.
How about a sip?” Saying this, he really took out the wine, and as soon as he opened the cork, a rich aroma spread.
Just smelling it made one’s mouth water.
The other guard swallowed and declined, “This isn’t right… we’re on duty.
If the city lord finds out…”
“Hmph, how would he find out? If you don’t drink, I’ll have it myself.
It’s good to warm up in this cold weather.”
“No, no, I’ll drink, I’ll drink.” They didn’t dare to make a fuss, standing at the gate, each taking out a small cup and happily drinking, unaware of the shadows quietly entering the mansion’s high walls.
The city lord’s mansion was surrounded by a formation.
If someone entered, it would immediately pull the intruder into an illusion and sound the alarm, summoning guards to capture them.
But Zhou Qin held a Heaven-grade magical artifact, the Floating Dust Umbrella, which was a whole level higher than the formation, making it easy to avoid detection.
Tang Muxi entered the mansion and, seeing no one noticed, couldn’t help but marvel, “This Floating Dust Umbrella is really useful.
With it, no one can catch us.
If only I had one too.” As she spoke, she sighed and looked at the Illusion God with hopeful eyes.
She remembered that the Illusion God could mimic countless forms, so maybe…
The Illusion God, seeing her bright eyes, instantly understood her thoughts.
Its body stiffened, and it quickly turned its head away.
If it hadn’t already taken shape and was wearing the new clothes its master had given it recently, it would have wanted to revert to its original form and fly back to the spiritual sea.
“Don’t look at me, I can’t do it.” Although it was made from precious materials, the bones of a divine being, its “imitation” was mostly in appearance, and stealing functions was not very realistic.
Tang Muxi pursed her lips, looking disappointed.
Jiang Yin saw a guard approaching from a distance, and her junior sister suddenly froze in place, not moving.
She quickly pulled her into the shadows, waiting for the guard to leave before saying, “What are you doing? Don’t get distracted.” Tang Muxi responded quietly and dared not lose focus again, closely following the group’s steps.
The city lord’s mansion was luxurious and spacious, with more than a dozen buildings.
They circled the perimeter for a while before reaching the house where Cheng Ze usually rested.
Cultivators mostly didn’t need sleep, often meditating and cultivating at night.
When Tang Muxi and the others arrived, Cheng Ze was sitting in a spirit-gathering formation, leaning against a divine tree to cultivate.
Upon reaching the Divine Transformation stage, cultivation speed drastically slowed down.
Mere dense spiritual energy wasn’t enough; one needed exceptional insight to comprehend the Dao.
Without enough insight, one could only rely on treasures, or their cultivation would stagnate.
Cheng Ze liked to cultivate his primordial spirit, letting it attach to the divine tree during enlightenment, enhancing his cultivation while tempering his soul, with excellent results.
But this method was particularly dangerous.
If someone launched a surprise attack, it could severely damage the primordial spirit.
The primordial spirit was a cultivator’s most precious asset, serving as a second life if the physical body was damaged.
But if the primordial spirit was severely injured, it could be obliterated.
Cheng Ze was very cautious, using a top-grade Earth artifact, the Mixed Yuan Cauldron, as a reliance, setting up a protective formation.
Ordinary magical artifacts couldn’t harm him, and even with a Heaven-grade artifact, it could buy him time to defend.
Wen Mingyu immediately recognized the Mixed Yuan Cauldron, her eyes showing a heavy expression.
“It’s actually the Mixed Yuan Cauldron, truly cautious.” Wen Fei also frowned, recalling Zhou Qin’s artifact, and asked, “Can the princess’s Floating Dust Umbrella bypass the protective formation and pull him into an illusion?” Zhou Qin hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
“Cheng Ze’s cultivation has reached the peak of the Divine Transformation stage, almost two major realms above me.
The chance of success is less than thirty percent.”
This statement made everyone look serious.
“If we can’t pull him into an illusion, can we at least temporarily confuse his mind, preventing him from using his spiritual sense and energy?” Jiang Yin pondered for a moment before asking.
“This… is not a problem, but what about the Hunyuan Cauldron? Who can destroy it?” Jiang Yin smirked, “Leave it to me and my junior sister.”
Although she and her junior sister had only reached the Nascent Soul stage, they possessed the divine artifact Imprisoning Demon Sword and the powerful Heaven-grade artifact Illusion God.
Together, destroying the Hunyuan Cauldron wouldn’t be an issue.
Wen Fei thought the idea was good and nodded in agreement, “In that case, I’ll handle restraining Cheng Ze.”
Zhou Qin was still somewhat doubtful of Jiang Yin and Tang Muxi’s abilities, but seeing no objections from the others, she had to suppress her unease and brace herself to step up.
Facing Cheng Ze, who was far more advanced in cultivation, she dared not relax.
As soon as she made a move, she pushed the Floating Dust Umbrella to its limits, hoping to strike with precision.
The Hunyuan Cauldron was known for its strong defense, but in other aspects, it was lacking.
Zhou Qin didn’t confront the cauldron directly but instead utilized the Floating Dust Umbrella’s stealth capabilities to blend into the protective array unnoticed.
She then released a confusing aura to bewilder Cheng Ze’s mind.
This process wasn’t simple.
Cheng Ze’s spiritual sense was sharp and almost detected the anomaly, but fortunately, the Floating Dust Umbrella, being a Heaven-grade artifact, excelled in stealth, ultimately deceiving him without incident.
She didn’t overreach by pulling him into an illusion but instead used all her strength to isolate his spiritual sense, making him unaware of the external changes, achieving a non-aggressive effect.
Seeing her success, Jiang Yin and her junior sister followed closely, both summoning their artifacts.
The Illusion God could transform into anything in the world, but only in the form of a bow and arrow could it unleash its full power.
Therefore, Tang Muxi didn’t forcefully wield a sword but used the bow and arrow form to attack in unison with her Senior Sister.
She could mobilize the five elements’ spiritual power, accepting all forces in the world.
During the attack, she had a sudden inspiration and transformed into a five-colored spiritual arrow, infusing it with various elemental powers.
The extreme cold of ice crystals, the vitality of plants, the fierce and domineering fire, the solidity of metal, and the softness of flying sand—these five forces were vastly different yet mutually reinforcing and counteracting, bursting with powerful waves.
The surface of the Illusion God shimmered with light, and the runes at its center glowed brightly, reflecting its intense and excited mood.
The five-colored spiritual arrow, a signature skill of its master from ten thousand years ago, was finally about to be used again.
At the same time, Jiang Yin summoned the Imprisoning Demon Sword, and the demonic energy around her surged violently, concentrating all her power to deliver a thunderous strike.
