"Get out of my way!"
A middle-aged man with a pair of curved horns threw a punch at the water-men. With a loud boom, a tall water-man shattered under his fist, sending a massive spray of seawater splashing outward.
This middle-aged man was a high-ranking True Immortal with decent combat strength. After several consecutive punches, he shattered all dozen-plus water-men, then reached out to grab a golden lotus.
However, in the next moment, the shattered water-men transformed back into seawater, only to reform, gaining new life, and charged toward the middle-aged man once more.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of towering water-men surged forth, surrounding and attacking him.
Below, even more seawater was continuously coalescing, giving birth to countless more water-men charging upward.
Under these circumstances, the middle-aged man had no chance to seize the golden lotuses.
Shocked and furious, the man plunged into a fierce battle with the water-men, who were repeatedly shattered and reformed.
"What's going on? Those water-men seem unkillable!"
Seeing this, the others were somewhat taken aback.
"Let's move together! Those Great Dao Golden Lotuses are extremely precious treasures. This sea blocks our path forward, and we must cross it to continue!" someone shouted, taking the lead and charging into the ocean.
Swoosh...
Before them, the sea churned violently as a vast number of water-men were born within its depths and surged upward.
Kill!
A large group of creatures charged into the ocean, clashing fiercely with the water-men.
"Let's go in." Su Qingluo said to Ye Yunfei, then led the way, stepping into the ocean.
Boom...
Hundreds of towering water-men simultaneously charged at Su Qingluo and Ye Yunfei.
Whoosh!
A ring of white energy radiated from Su Qingluo's body. Wherever it passed, the water-men were directly pulverized, reverting to seawater.
Su Qingluo didn't even need to strike; merely releasing her energy pressure was enough to shatter a wave of water-men!
Su Qingluo manifested a pristine jade hand and effortlessly scooped up two golden lotuses.
"You take these," Su Qingluo said, handing the two Great Dao Golden Lotuses to Ye Yunfei.
"Qing Luo, these Great Dao Golden Lotuses should be useful for you too. You should take them for your cultivation," Ye Yunfei replied, feeling warmth in his heart.
"You keep them. They are of greater use to you. Besides, there's more than just two here!" Su Qingluo directly pressed the two lotuses into Ye Yunfei's hand.
"Alright then," Ye Yunfei had no choice but to store the lotuses away.
"These water-men are quite powerful, and there are too many of them. Don't engage; just follow behind me," Su Qingluo instructed.
Su Qingluo walked ahead, her sleeves sweeping out continuously. Wherever she passed, batch after batch of water-men were shattered as she continuously gathered more Great Dao Golden Lotuses.
"An Earth Immortal expert!"
The creatures around them witnessed Su Qingluo's terrifying combat prowess and paled, scrambling to retreat.
"She's the Palace Lord of the Reincarnation Palace!" someone recognized Su Qingluo.
Boom...
Su Qingluo suddenly swept her sleeves wide, which expanded continuously, crushing several creatures not far away, utterly destroying both their forms and spirits.
"People from the Western Sect. Deserve death."
Su Qingluo said calmly. Those creatures indeed belonged to the Western Sect.
Recently, whenever Su Qingluo encountered members of the Qingxuan Sect, Qiantang Empire, Western Sect, or the Five Immortals Sect, she would strike to kill without mercy. Now that the Reincarnation Palace was completely at odds with those major forces, Su Qingluo revealed her decisive, ruthless side, seeking to eliminate as many of the enemy as possible.
"Qing Luo, don't worry about them. Let me handle it. You focus on dealing with the water-men and collecting the lotuses. Just tell me who the enemies are," Ye Yunfei suddenly laughed.
"You deal with them? Those I just killed were all True Immortals. I'm afraid you're no match for them," Su Qingluo replied.
She was beginning to get used to Ye Yunfei calling her 'Qing Luo' now.
After spending time together recently, deep within her heart, the version of herself from the Tianxuan Continent and Canghuang Realm seemed to be gaining the emotional upper hand.
"This ill-fated bond... perhaps I cannot escape it. Let nature take its course," Su Qingluo couldn't help but utter a melancholy sigh each time she thought about her relationship with Ye Yunfei. She desperately wanted to ruthlessly sever her feelings for him, but found it far too difficult!
"Don't worry, I have my ways. I'm actually not as weak as you might think," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
"Are you planning to use formations against them?" Su Qingluo asked. She knew Ye Yunfei's strongest current asset was his formation mastery.
"No."
Ye Yunfei shook his head and took out a large bow—the Soul-Locking Bow!
Ye Yunfei drew the bow forcefully. Immediately, three long arrows materialized, notched on the bowstring.
"So it's that artifact," Su Qingluo glanced at it and nodded slightly. She had seen Ye Yunfei use this Soul-Locking Bow before—during her first ambush by several Earth Immortal experts. Ye Yunfei had used it to restrain the True Immortal experts from those factions, helping the Reincarnation Palace forces escape and ultimately distracting the Earth Immortals to create an opportunity for Su Qingluo to break free and flee.
"Just tell me, which ones are enemies."
Su Qingluo raised a delicate finger and gently pointed at Ye Yunfei's forehead, transferring a stream of information directly into his soul sea.
Instantly, Ye Yunfei knew which surrounding creatures belonged to those hostile major forces.
Clang! Clang...
Ye Yunfei released his grip. The three arrows on the Soul-Locking Bow shot forth, directly piercing into space and disappearing.
Moments later.
A man, currently besieged by dozens of water-men, suddenly sensed danger behind him. With his soul power perception, he discovered three long arrows had abruptly appeared, already speeding toward the back of his head.
In desperation, the man roared, swinging the longsword in his hand with utmost speed to strike behind his head, colliding with the three arrows. The man staggered back several steps, his face paling dramatically.
Boom! Boom...
Dozens of water-men swarmed him, directly blasting him flying, making him cough up several mouthfuls of blood.
"A pity," Ye Yunfei shook his head with a smile. This man was a True Immortal expert; Ye Yunfei understood it would be difficult for him to directly kill such a target.
Clang! Clang...
After that, Ye Yunfei repeatedly drew and shot arrows, specifically targeting the members of the major forces hostile to the Reincarnation Palace.
These members were embroiled in intense battles with the water-men. Precisely at these tense moments, Ye Yunfei's arrows caused significant interference. Some, while dodging his arrows, were instantly overwhelmed and killed by swarming water-men. Others, locked in fierce combat with the water-men, were either shot dead or injured by Ye Yunfei's opportunistic arrows. After all, arrows shot from the Soul-Locking Bow were exceedingly difficult to evade.
Due to the large number of creatures charging into this sea, the water-men born from its depths were also increasing rapidly. A glance revealed a dense, countless mass—the water surface was completely covered with them!
Moreover, these water-men were unkillable; shattered to pieces, they would reassemble moments later!
"Damn it! That brat is too despicable, shooting cold arrows from afar while we're fighting these water-men!"
Members of those major forces gnashed their teeth in hatred at Ye Yunfei's actions but could do nothing about it.
Su Qingluo forcefully cleared the path ahead, leading Ye Yunfei forward swiftly while harvesting one Great Dao Golden Lotus after another.
Ye Yunfei saw that apart from Su Qingluo, several other Earth Immortal experts had also entered this sea, striding forward purposefully.
An unknowable amount of time passed.
"We're almost across this sea," Su Qingluo suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
Sure enough, not long after, Ye Yunfei saw the coastline appearing ahead.
"Go!"
Su Qingluo flicked her sleeves, lifting Ye Yunfei. In mere steps, they dashed onto the shore.
Simultaneously, a few other Earth Immortals also rushed onto the shore.
"The core region of this Small World should be up ahead soon! Let's pick up speed!"
Su Qingluo took Ye Yunfei and charged forward.
Soon, many more creatures crossed the sea and rushed to the shore.
"Damn it! Because of that brat's interference, I didn't get a single Great Dao Golden Lotus!"
"My head was hit by that brat's arrow, injuring my soul sea! I will have my revenge!"
...
The members of the Qingxuan Sect, Western Sect, Five Immortals Sect, and Qiantang Empire who had been constantly harassed by Ye Yunfei's arrows were in sorry states. None had a chance to obtain any Great Dao Golden Lotuses from the sea, and half of them were even injured! Their faces were livid with rage as they cursed Ye Yunfei incessantly.
Boom! Boom...
Several figures radiating terrifying auras rolled forth, crossing the sea in moments.
"Sect Master Li!"
"Elder Taishan!"
"Sect Master!"
...
The members of the Qingxuan Sect and other major forces were overjoyed, shouting one after another.
The five Earth Immortal experts—Sect Master Li, Prime Minister Wang, Monk Taishan, the Five Immortals Sect Master, and the Ghost Formation Heavenly Master—had all arrived!
Additionally, four other Earth Immortal experts had come with them!
Nine Earth Immortal experts in total!
Originally, the Five Immortals Sect Master and Ghost Formation Heavenly Master had entered this Small World first and were ahead. However, these two Earth Immortals had chanced upon a palace, barged in, found some treasures, and thus were delayed, allowing Sect Master Li and the others to catch up.
"Sect Master Li, didn't you say you hired seven Earth Immortal experts in total? Where are the other three? Haven't they arrived yet?" The Five Immortals Sect Master asked Sect Master Li.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Right then, three more figures exuding terrifying auras rolled in from behind.
"They're here!" Sect Master Li smiled.
Moments later, three more Earth Immortal experts arrived, joining forces with Sect Master Li and the others.
Thus, there were now twelve Earth Immortal experts!
"This time, Su Qingluo won't stand a chance of escape!"
The five Earth Immortal experts—Sect Master Li, Prime Minister Wang, Monk Taishan, the Five Immortals Sect Master, and the Ghost Formation Heavenly Master—all wore cold smiles. With twelve Earth Immortals to deal with Su Qingluo, it would be effortless!