"Everyone, be careful. The newcomers are hostile, and they appear to be powerful figures!" A Deity from the Guardian Faction immediately sent Sound Transmissions to his peers.
"Who are these women? Who is the person inside that flower-draped palanquin? Could they all have come to aid the Fire Clan?" Ye Yunfei stared at the group of women and the palanquin at their center, his mind full of uncertainty and doubt.
"Elder, do you know who they are? Arriving at the Fire Realm under these circumstances, it's highly likely they came specifically to aid your Fire Clan." Ye Yunfei sent a Sound Transmission to the Fire Clan's Great Elder.
"Young Master Ye, I too do not know the identity of these women. This is the first time I've seen them, and I've never heard of any connections between our Fire Clan and such a group of women." At this moment, the Fire Clan's Great Elder was also astonished as he looked at the women and the palanquin. Upon receiving Ye Yunfei's transmission, he replied promptly.
"Elder, you don't know their identity either? That is strange," Ye Yunfei said.
"By our Palace Lord's command, you, the people of the Guardian Faction, are to depart the Fire Realm immediately. Otherwise, do not blame us for not showing mercy." At this point, one woman from the group stepped forward and declared in a clear voice.
"Seeking death!" Hearing her words, the dozen or so Deities of the Guardian Faction all showed expressions of fury.
"Kill all these reckless bitches!" Master Gong suddenly barked the order. With a sharp wave of his hand, one of the battle Formations immediately rumbled into motion, launching its attack and charging toward the group of women.
"Your Guardian Faction certainly behaves with great swagger," a cold female voice emanated from inside the palanquin. Then, a single flower flew out from within it.
It was a pink blossom, stunningly vibrant in color. Illusory bees and butterflies even danced around it, and an intoxicating floral fragrance radiated outward in all directions.
Rumble...
After flying out from the palanquin, this single blossom began to expand rapidly, instantly transforming into a flower of staggering size. The energy it released grew increasingly terrifying, shaking the surrounding spatial fabric until it became unstable, undulating like ripples on water.
The enormous flower then began to spin at an incredible speed. Immediately after, everyone saw countless flowers gushing out in an endless stream from its stamen – densely packed and infinite in number.
In an instant, the surrounding space was utterly submerged by this terrifying profusion of flowers, transforming into a veritable sea of blossoms.
Then, all the flowers swept forward with a roar, utterly engulfing the battle Formation that had charged at them. Every Watcher who comprised the Formation found themselves trapped within what seemed like an endless sea of flowers.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Screams rose up one after another. Encircled by the dense mass of flowers, these blossoms all began to rotate frenetically. Each petal was like a sharp, miniature blade, madly slicing into the bodies of the Watchers, causing them to wail in agony.
Some Watchers' bodies were dismembered by the flowers in mere moments. Not only their physical forms vanished; even their Soul Bodies were completely shredded and dissipated by the flowers.
Just like that, a formidable battle Formation was effortlessly intercepted by the flowers, and its Watcher members suffered heavy casualties.
"Damnation!" Witnessing this, the dozen or so Guardian Faction Deities and Master Gong himself all paled. They hadn't expected the flowers to possess such dreadful power. In just a few breaths, they had annihilated an entire Formation.
"Send both Formations into action together. We will attack as well," one of the Guardian Faction Deities roared, stepping forward aggressively.
Rumble…
The dozen Guardian Faction Deities simultaneously unleashed their energy auras and nearly all of their magical treasures. Then, leading the two battle Formations, they charged toward the group of women.
"Since you are determined to meet your doom, very well. Today, I shall eliminate all of you from the Guardian Faction, so you may learn that in this stretch of void, you are not necessarily the masters of everything." That same icy female voice echoed once more from inside the palanquin. The colossal flower hovering before the palanquin suddenly shot skyward, spinning at extreme speed. Even greater numbers of flowers poured forth continuously from its immense stamen.
These vast quantities of blossoms spread outwards in all directions, each one rotating rapidly and slicing through the surrounding space. Gathering around the group of women, they coalesced into sprawling seas of flowers.
"You wretched little hussies, you dare kill our Guardian Faction men! Once you fall into our hands, I, your elder, shall entertain you all quite thoroughly," growled a tall and burly Guardian Faction Deity who had charged ahead and reached the front of the female group. Looking upon these beautiful, fragrant women, other ideas suddenly arose within him; he considered capturing a few alive to bring back.
"You dare to flirt with our Flower Goddess Palace disciples right before our eyes? Your crime merits death ten thousand times over." A cold voice resonated from inside the palanquin. Immediately, a massive swarm of flowers swept in from all sides, engulfing this Deity in an instant. Each flower spun violently, slashing towards his body.
"Hahaha…! I've practiced body tempering since childhood! My physique is far tougher than that of Deities of my same rank! These flimsy petals think they can harm my body? Impossible!" Seeing the countless flowers slicing toward his form, the burly Deity threw his head back and laughed uproariously.
Rumble…
Powerful Deity-level energy erupted from his body, shaking the surrounding space. Simultaneously, a shield shot out from the top of his head, activating instantly and radiating dazzling light that cascaded down, tightly enveloping his body to block the oncoming flowers from every direction.
This shield was a Deity-ranked treasure with formidable defensive capabilities. Combined with his own robust physical strength, the tall Deity believed he had absolutely nothing to fear from these seemingly delicate, tender blossoms.
But in the next moment—
"How is this possible?!" An expression of utter disbelief crossed his face. He realized that the shield hovering above his head had, within a few breaths, developed numerous cracks after being assailed by the massive onslaught of flowers.
Then, in less than another breath, the shield exploded with a loud boom, scattering into fragments.
Immediately, the endless mass of flowers swarmed upward, grinding away all the energy he had released. Finally, they frantically began slicing his body apart.
The tough physique he prided himself on was utterly incapable of resisting these seemingly soft and tender blossoms. In under two breaths, half of his tall frame was carved to pieces; both arms, legs, and one side of his torso vanished completely. Even half of his head was gone, leaving only a bloody, mutilated remnant of a body.
"Ah! Impossible! Save me, quickly, brothers!" Panic completely overwhelmed the Deity now, and he screamed in terror.
All the other Deities shouted angry curses and rushed to his aid. However, as soon as they moved, immense swarms of flowers rushed at each of them, instantly drowning all dozen-plus Deities in expansive seas of blossoms. Every single one came under fierce assault by the spinning flowers.
Even the two battle Formations commanded by Master Gong were encircled by a tremendous number of flowers.
"So powerful!" Ye Yunfei gazed at the terrifying, densely-packed multitude of flowers, feeling a tingling on his scalp. Not only were there a vast number, but the power contained within each individual flower was formidable.
Ye Yunfei estimated that even if he were surrounded by such dreadful blossoms, he might not necessarily be able to withstand them.
"Flower Goddess Palace! That woman just said they're from the Flower Goddess Palace. I just remembered—some time ago, numerous ancient factions, secret realms, and forbidden grounds emerged across the Chaotic Void Sea. There were even ancient factions never heard of before that suddenly surfaced. Among them was indeed an extremely mysterious realm called the Flower Goddess Palace. You should recall this too, because at that time, it was Kong Lao who reported it to you," Hun Lao suddenly communicated via Sound Transmission to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, it's coming back to me now. There really is such a secret realm—the Flower Goddess Palace. However, because it is so mysterious, and its conduct exceedingly low-key, almost never interacting with outsiders, nobody knew the true strength of this Flower Goddess Palace. I never imagined it would be this powerful," Ye Yunfei now recalled Kong Lao reporting on the Flower Goddess Palace's situation previously. However, during that period, many ancient factions were emerging simultaneously, so Ye Yunfei hadn't paid particular attention to the Flower Goddess Palace, merely noting the name once before letting it fade from focus.
"Could it be this Flower Goddess Palace shares some sort of connection or friendship with the Fire Clan? And that's why these Flower Goddess Palace members purposely came here to aid them?" Ye Yunfei wondered to himself.
"So you're from Flower Goddess Palace! Ever since your realm emerged, you've kept to yourselves, avoiding conflicts. Our Guardian Faction has never provoked your Flower Goddess Palace either. So why are you suddenly here opposing our Guardian Faction? Does your Flower Goddess Palace intend to declare war against our faction?" By now, the Guardian Faction Deities also suddenly remembered about this secret realm, and their lead Deity spoke furiously.
In truth, these Guardian Faction Deities had long known of the Flower Goddess Palace's existence. However, since its emergence, the Flower Goddess Palace had been extraordinarily low-key, rarely having contact with the outside world. Consequently, even the Guardian Faction possessed relatively scant information about the faction.
Precisely due to this limited understanding, the Guardian Faction had thus far held off on dealing with the Flower Goddess Palace, merely dispatching agents covertly to gather intelligence. To think that Flower Goddess Palace would now suddenly move against the Guardian Faction.
"Save your idle words. If you are wise, then get out of the Fire Realm now. Otherwise, you shall all perish here," the same cold female voice emerged once again from the palanquin.
"Fine. I will now report what transpired here to headquarters immediately. Starting now, your Flower Goddess Palace shall become enemies of our Guardian Faction." The Guardian Faction's lead Deity spoke coldly, his face consumed by rage. The messaging jade slip in his hand had already sent the information away.
"Enemies it shall be, then. That is no major concern. Since you refuse to retreat, very well. I shall kill every last one of you. All of you, move out. There's no need to wait any longer," the icy voice rang out once again from the palanquin.
"By the Third Palace Lord's order, slay every Watcher here now," a woman standing beside the palanquin raised a longsword in her hand and cried out in a clear voice. Immediately, all the Flower Goddess Palace women around them charged forward.
To his surprise, Ye Yunfei discovered that within this group of women, there were actually six Deities.
"The strength of this Flower Goddess Palace is truly terrifying. They possess at least six or seven Deities, and these Deities' combat power is formidable. The moment they engage, they immediately press back those Guardian Faction Deities, forcing them into constant retreat. I believe those countless flowers have actually formed a grand floral array. This array controls this space, having established a powerful domain. As long as the Guardian Faction Deities remain within this region controlled by the flowers and engage in combat here, they are definitely no match for the Flower Goddess Palace disciples." Hun Lao sent a Sound Transmission to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, indeed those innumerable flowers have already assembled into a Formidable Formation and have even constructed an energy domain," Ye Yunfei nodded. "Within this range of the energy domain, it essentially becomes Flower Goddess Palace's home ground. These Flower Goddess Palace women have completely leveraged their advantageous position. No wonder the Guardian Faction Deities can't contend."
"Elder, the Flower Goddess Palace has come to assist us. We cannot stand by idly," Ye Yunfei looked at the Fire Clan's Great Elder and spoke.
"Absolutely right! The Flower Goddess Palace's young ladies made a special trip here to aid our Fire Clan. We, members of the Fire Clan, cannot stand on the side and be mere spectators. Move into action at once! Join the fight and wipe out those Guardian Faction fiends." Receiving Ye Yunfei's transmission, the Fire Clan's Great Elder suddenly snapped to realization. He slapped his own forehead, then immediately issued the command to engage.
As the Great Elder’s order sounded, the Fire Clan rapidly reassembled the Fire Bow Grand Formation. Ye Yunfei immediately drew the bowstring and shot. With a roar, a fiercely blazing arrow of fire shot toward one of the Guardian Faction's battle Formations.
"Trouble! The Fire Clan is launching a counterattack as well!" Seeing this, the dozen Guardian Faction Deities were thrown into disarray. Dealing solely with the Flower Goddess Palace's forces was proving challenging enough; now with the Fire Clan's forces thrown into the mix, their side would struggle even more.
"Comrades, the situation is deteriorating. We cannot continue fighting here. Should it persist, our Guardian Faction would likely sustain massive casualties. With the aid of these Flower Goddess Palace wenches, our faction is currently no match for the Fire Clan. I have already dispatched a message to headquarters, informing them of the situation. I believe our reinforcements will arrive shortly. Let's withdraw for now. Let's wait just outside the Fire Realm for a time. Once our Guardian Faction's reinforcements arrive, we will re-engage our assault." The Guardian Faction Deity responsible for this operation communicated secretly to his fellows via Sound Transmission.
Facing the combined onslaught of Fire Clan and Flower Goddess Palace, the other Deities found themselves growing more apprehensive as the fighting wore on, and they all quickly voiced their agreement.
Thus, on the lead Deity’s command, all Guardian Faction forces began to retreat.
"Let them flee; do not pursue them." Witnessing the retreat of the Guardian Faction forces, some Flower Goddess Palace women prepared to give chase. However, that cold voice transmitted instructions from inside the palanquin.
Upon hearing the voice, all Flower Goddess Palace women immediately halted their advance, gathering once again around the palanquin.