Rushou did feel a lingering fear. The enemy was simply too powerful. It was only thanks to Qin Yun"s Misty Rain Array, which stood unparalleled in the Three Realms, that they managed to withstand the joint attacks of thirty-two perfected Great Dao experts and survive the ordeal."How long will they continue this pursuit?" Goumang could not help but ask.
"It will come down to how long either side can last." Qin Yun shot a glance at the experts who encircled the array.
"Sword Immortal Qin, you"re using a great deal of Dharmic powers, but with the might they are delivering, will they be able to maintain it constantly?" Rushou added. By the side, Goumang quipped, "It"s hard to tell what means the experts from other universes have, but what Sword Immortal Qin said was right. That mysterious existence that controls thirty-two envoys at the same time must be paying a huge price. The longer it takes, the greater the price."
"Our pills can last five days," said Qin Yun. "If they are still pursuing on the last day, we shall fight it out!"
"Okay." Goumang and Rushou nodded.
They had many plans as well.
If the enemy was too powerful, they would naturally chose to flee.
If fleeing wasn"t possible, they would fight to the death! This involved tactics such as expanding the Misty Rain Array suddenly and enveloping a number of the melee combat enemies. They would then counterattack by divide and conquer! However, the enemy simply had too many on their side. It was possible that one of the three of them would perish. It was even possible that they would all end up wiped out. Unless cornered, they would not choose to fight to the death.
…
Finally, after spending a day and two hours, the mysterious existence failed to hold out.
"With the power supplied by the Eternal G.o.d King, all my avatars can maintain the a.s.sault without any worry about the energy drainage. But to maintain so many envoys is extremely burdensome on my soul. I have to burn my soul to barely continue. But the longer I persist, the weaker my soul. If this continues… my soul might be in danger." The mysterious existence sighed secretly.
Ordinary perfected Great Dao experts would have one main body. Even if they cultivated a handful of avatars, their avatars would be much weaker.
On the other hand, this mysterious existence controlled the other experts" bodies and was able to allow them to deliver their fullest power.
It seemed heaven-defying, but every body controlled burdened the soul by another 100%. In fact, controlling three avatars was already the limit under normal circ.u.mstances. It would not deal any harm to the soul, and if one burned one"s soul at the risk of damaging the soul, one could control thirty plus avatars. However, the longer one burned their soul, the graver the damage to their soul.
At a certain point, the soul would suffer the burden of all the avatars and crack. The only solution was to enter a long slumber.
"I can"t last any longer."
"This sword array"s power isn"t fated to be mine." The mysterious existence gave up. He had a feeling that even if he spared no expenses, the chances of his soul cracking within the next six hours were low, but another half a day would cause his soul to crack. When that happened, Qin Yun and company would counter attack!
"Whoosh."
Qin Yun and company were still escaping when they discovered the thirty-two experts had stopped attacking. Simultaneously, a gigantic phantom appeared.
It was a silver-haired elder with sharp ears. He looked at Qin Yun as his voice resounded through the spatial tide and reached the trio"s ears. "I, Fate, never expected that having reigned supreme in the spatial tide all this while, I would fail at your hands. The expert who uses the sword array, might you tell me your name?"
"You can"t consider it as a failure. You did not lose. All we did was flee." Qin Yun said. "As for my name, Fate, you can address me as… Sword Immortal!"
Qin Yun did not reveal his real name. It was a known fact that there were hexes among the magi that could attack a target simply from knowing them name. He had to be wary of the means available to experts from other universes.
Fate was probably not a real name either.
"Sword Immortal?" The mysterious existence muttered and smiled. "I"ll remember this name. Consider me the loser this time. I lost three envoys. Sword Immortal from a different universe… if we meet again, I"ll definitely win. I will make you my envoy."
"The next time we meet will be the moment of your death," said Qin Yun as well.
The mysterious existence laughed and vanished.
Hua!
A mountain opened up as the thirty-two experts descended into the mountain before the mountain flew in another direction.
"They are finally gone." Rushou heaved a sigh of relief.
Goumang looked suspiciously at the flying mountain. "It seems they are not returning to their original spot?"
"With their strength completely exposed, why would they dare return to their original spot?" Qin Yun said. "If they dare return, I"ll definitely invite Hou Yi and company here and slay this expert from another universe. He actually managed to enslave so many experts. His means are rather sinister. However, he also has many treasures. Many of those envoys had powerful weapons. I estimate about six Connate Cardinal treasures. It would be enough to invite Hou Yi and other experts of similar strength."
"Yes, if Hou Yi were to come, he will definitely be killed." Rushou and Goumang agreed.
Hou Yi"s arrow, even a normal one, was already at the apex of the half-step Heavenly Dao realm. If he fought for his life… his offensive means matched that of the Heavenly Dao realm!
Who wasn"t afraid of Hou Yi"s arrows in the Three Realms?
Even Qin Yun, who was a half-step Heavenly Dao realm existence, lacked the confidence to withstand Hou Yi"s arrow with his Misty Rain Array.
Although he withstood the thirty-two experts, all of them added up was about three or four times the silver-haired woman"s strength. Qin Yun felt that he was still far from the Heavenly Dao realm.
"With your sword array"s protection and Hou Yi"s arrow to kill, it would truly be invincible," marveled Goumang in agreement.
"If Hou Yi were to come, he would be here in person. He would be risking his life, so it wouldn"t be easy inviting him here." Rushou smiled as he looked at Qin Yun. "I was able to invite Sword Immortal Qin here because of the threat of his Itinerant Immortal tribulations. His need for great merit prompted him to risk his life with me. To convince Hou Yi to risk coming here… it will probably be much harder."
"If we inform him of Fate, he will definitely come where there are so many treasures," said Goumang. "Unfortunately, it seems Fate has escaped elsewhere." It was an unknown when they would b.u.mp into each other in the vast spatial tides.
"Fate? He sure is arrogant to dare use this as a name," muttered Qin Yun. "However, he is indeed very strong."
"Very! Based on the information we have about the experts from other universes, he would be one of the best," said Goumang.
"The one I chose ended up being so strong. My luck…" Rushou shook his head helplessly, "It can be said that I fulfilled my wish. I obtained treasures and wouldn"t easily come here again. However, I wouldn"t mind if Sword Immortal Qin joins."
"Whether I need to come to the spatial tide again will depend on how much merit sacrificing these three corpses will gain me." Qin Yun looked at the bound giant"s corpse. "This giant has no signs of life again. I"m guessing that he"s really dead this time." With that said, the giant was stored away without any resistance.
"He"s really dead." Qin Yun laughed. "Let"s go, time to head back."
"Back to the Three Realms." Rushou and Goumang smiled.
Qin Yun had obtained the corpses of three experts while the other two had split the weapons and treasures.
…
"I completely exposed myself this time."
In the spatial tide, the thirty-two experts entered a slumber. A mysterious elder sat on a throne in a palace within the mountain.
The mountain had also transformed into an island.
"To fully expose oneself in the spatial tide would mean death isn"t far. The sword immortal might bring an expert that is perfect at dealing with me the next time." The elder naturally made a decision. "I"ll change spots and switch my ident.i.ty."
Those that could prey on others in the spatial tide were extremely careful.
After all, they would be long dead if they weren"t.
"Sword immortal? I"ll remember you." The elder"s figure dissipated as the island continued flying in the spatial tide.
******
Time flew by.
It took them the same 68 years to return.
When Qin Yun and company saw the familiar Chaos spatial rift, they felt as if they were returning to their hometown. The rift effused the Chaos aura from the other end. When they pa.s.sed through the spatial rift, they arrived in the Chaos beyond the Three Realms.
Upon arriving, Qin Yun sensed the Three Realms.
"We are back." Qin Yun heaved a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile in Green Touring Palace.
Numinous Treasure Dao Ancestor, who sat cross-legged on a bed of clouds, opened his eyes and looked into the distance where the Chaos spatial rift was. He smiled. "This disciple of mine is finally back."