"The cultivation art you practice is indeed that of the Fire Clan. It seems there's no mistake, you must be Cui Hong of the Fire Clan."
While Cui Hong was scrutinizing the two figures, they were also examining him. Soon, one of them spoke.
"We should leave this place. These guys are most likely from the Guardian Faction. They have probably already sent out messages, and their companions may be arriving soon," Cui Hong said to Xiao Xiao.
Although both Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao possessed considerable strength, the Guardian Faction had many Deities. Once more of their Deities arrived, two fists would be no match for four hands, and they would likely be overwhelmed.
"Brother Cui, there's no need to be nervous. We are from the Restorer Faction. I already spotted you, Brother Cui, back in that valley earlier."
Just as Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao were preparing to execute movement techniques to flee, one of the figures suddenly spoke.
Moreover, he took out a token and activated it, causing divine radiance to bloom.
"This is indeed a token of the Restorer Faction," Xiao Xiao said.
"But that doesn't prove anything. Many traitors have emerged from the Restorer Faction. A single token is insufficient to confirm their identities," Cui Hong transmitted to Xiao Xiao via Sound Transmission.
"Yes, I've also heard that many traitors did appear within the Restorer Faction," Xiao Xiao said upon hearing Cui Hong's words, startling herself as she realized she had almost been deceived.
"Brother Cui, I know a token alone isn't enough to prove our identities. But both of us truly are from the Restorer Faction. The reason we sought you out is primarily to ask about Young Master Ye. Where is he now?" one of the figures inquired.
Cui Hong did not answer. Instead, he glanced at Xiao Xiao, and then both simultaneously executed movement techniques to swiftly retreat, instantly putting a considerable distance between them and the two figures.
"It seems he doesn't trust us."
Seeing Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao act in this manner, the two figures did not give chase. They wore helpless expressions, and one of them sighed.
"Can't blame them. Our Restorer Faction has produced traitors. This matter has spread throughout the entire Void Sea. Now, with just a token, it's indeed very difficult to gain people's trust," the other figure also remarked with a sigh.
"Forget it. We'll go look for Young Master Ye ourselves," one figure said.
Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao dashed rapidly toward the edge of this ruined world, wanting to escape.
Suddenly...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Seven to eight figures radiating powerful auras appeared simultaneously, blocking their path.
"Hahaha... Cui Hong, I never thought you'd be here too. What a pleasant surprise," an old man roared with laughter.
Looking at the Deities who had suddenly appeared before them, Cui Hong's eyes couldn't help but narrow, for all these Deities belonged to the Guardian Faction.
Not long ago, Cui Hong had seen them.
"Cui Hong, so it's true your Fire Clan colludes with the Restorer Faction. What, planning a rebellion? This time the evidence is irrefutable. You can deny it all you want, but it won't work. From now on, there's no need for your Fire Clan to exist," the old man sneered, glancing at the two figures behind Cui Hong.
"We apologize, Brother Cui. These Guardian Faction members secretly followed us two. We didn't notice them before, so we've implicated you. In a moment, the two of us will make a move to stall them. You and this young lady find a chance to flee," the two figures who had just approached CuI Hong and Xiao Xiao from behind transmitted via Sound Transmission.
"It seems they truly are from the Restorer Faction," Cui Hong transmitted to Xiao Xiao.
"What should we do now?" Xiao Xiao asked.
"Young Master Ye is also a member of the Restorer Faction. Since the Guardian Faction has already deemed my Fire Clan an enemy, then my Fire Clan naturally stands on the same side as the Restorer Faction. I will stay and fight alongside those two. You look for an opening to break out and go find Young Master Ye. The True Phoenix Tomb is full of terrifying perils everywhere. You're too vulnerable alone. It's best you find Young Master Ye," Cui Hong transmitted his reply.
"No, Elder. I'll stay too, and fight alongside you," Xiao Xiao said after a moment of thought, gritting her teeth.
"The Guardian Faction has also made enemies of our Flower Goddess Palace. If that's the case, our Flower Goddess Palace has nothing left to be concerned about," Xiao Xiao added.
"Brother Cui, be ready. The two of us will cover your retreat from here," the two Restorers transmitted to Cui Hong simultaneously. Then they took a step forward, erupting instantly like two volcanoes. Two divine treasures shot into the sky, activated at the same time, unleashing a furious barrage of attacks forward.
One of the Restorers suddenly manifested a pure white, jade-like beast bone in his hand and smashed it forward with force. With a deafening boom, the space ahead was instantly pierced, creating a spatial black hole.
"What is that thing?" The Guardian Faction Deities were all startled, dodging frantically.
"It should be the bone of some ancient ferocious beast or divine beast," Cui Hong glanced at that white jade-like bone and noticed a vague, sky-scorching roar from a giant beast phantom looming above it, emitting overwhelming baleful aura.
While the two Restorers made their move, Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao also attacked without hesitation.
Cui Hong took a single step, appearing before a Guardian Faction Deity. He threw a punch, his fist erupting with a radiance so dazzling one dared not look directly, as if wielding a blazing sun. He directly forced that Deity to retreat a great distance.
Xiao Xiao charged in front of another Guardian Faction Deity. A sea of flowers instantly exploded, engulfing that Deity within it. A dense multitude of flowers spun rapidly, incredibly sharp, continuously slashing at the Deity's body.
Both Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao possessed formidable combat strength. With a single move, each had forced back a Deity.
"Since you few want to die, very well, we'll grant your wish," the old man who had spoken to Cui Hong earlier said with a darkened expression, his voice icy. Then, with a wave of his hand, all Guardian Faction Deities charged forward.
This old man was an Intermediate Void God. The Guardian Faction Deities present followed his lead.
The Guardian Faction had eight Deities here, and possibly even more were on their way.
Cui Hong's side only had four, half the number of their opponents. Fortunately, the two Restorers, along with Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao, were all quite powerful.
One of the Restorers gripped that white jade-like beast bone. Each time he struck forward, a massive ferocious beast phantom would manifest, accompanied by roars of the beast. The Guardian Faction Deities dared not confront this bone head-on.
"This is a treasure. We must get our hands on it!" The leading old man gazed at the white jade-like bone with a greedy expression as he spoke.
"If you want to seize my treasure, let's see if you have the ability," sneered the Restorer holding the bone. He stepped forward, appearing before that old man, and brandished the bone in his hand, directly forcing the old man back.
In fact, the Restorer holding the bone was only an early-stage Void God. Yet relying on the bone in his hand, he actually forced back an Intermediate Void God, illustrating just how powerful that beast bone was.
"You won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Do you think you lot can escape today?" The Guardian Faction's old man sneered.
As the old man's words fell...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Six figures came surging over.
Six more Guardian Faction Deities had arrived!
"Hahaha, don't even think about fleeing today. Accept your deaths obediently," the old man released a triumphant laugh.
Now there were over ten Guardian Faction Deities on the scene, each exuding a palpable, rising murderous aura. Among these ten-plus Guardian Faction Deities, four were Intermediate Void Gods, the rest were early-stage Void Gods. The disparity in strength between the two sides was quite evident.
"Apologies, Cui Hong. It's us who have implicated you two. In a moment, the two of us will do our utmost to stall them, allowing you two to escape," at this moment, the two Restorers looked at the many surrounding Guardian Faction Deities, knowing escape would be very difficult. One of them transmitted to Cui Hong.
"If we escape, then we all escape together. My Fire Clan and the Guardian Faction are already enemies now. Even if not because of you two, they would have eventually come for me," Cui Hong replied.
"Enough chit-chat. Attack! Kill these three men. That little girl looks rather nice; keep her alive," an Intermediate Void God of the Guardian Faction declared.
Upon hearing this Intermediate Void God's words, the other Guardian Faction members all directed lecherous gazes toward Xiao Xiao.
"You beasts! You're asking for death!" Xiao Xiao flew into a rage, her willow-leaf eyebrows shooting up as she scolded them.
"Little whore, get all fierce while you can. Later, you'll be obediently listening to us," the Guardian Faction Deities, upon hearing Xiao Xiao's words, all revealed lewd smiles.
Driven by fury, a massive flower materialized above Xiao Xiao's head, spinning rapidly. A great quantity of flowers poured out endlessly from this massive flower, forming layers upon layers of floral seas that spread out in all directions, surging toward the Guardian Faction members.
However, although Cui Hong, Xiao Xiao, and the two Restorer Faction Deities were all quite capable, their opponents were numerous, and there were several Intermediate Void Gods among them. This lopsided disparity in strength allowed the Guardian Faction side to hold an absolute advantage.
"We must stake everything in one desperate push to cut a bloody path through," the Restorer holding the beast bone transmitted to the other three.
"I'll lead the breakout. You three coordinate with me," this Deity transmitted again.
The beast bone in his hand erupted with rolling divine radiance, its might overwhelming the sky, even causing the Intermediate Void Gods to hesitate engaging it directly.
"Watch out, these four are trying to flee! Block their escape route; don't let them get away!" The Guardian Faction Deities saw Cui Hong's group's intent to escape and coordinated tightly, surrounding them closely to deny any opportunity.
During the fight, all ten-plus Guardian Faction Deities unleashed their divine treasures, using them to parry attacks from that white jade-like beast bone.
Although the Guardian Faction's unleashed divine treasures were continuously knocked away, they barely managed to withstand the assaults of the beast bone.
Thus, Cui Hong and the others had even less advantage and were completely suppressed.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei, following the various markers left behind by Cui Hong, was rapidly approaching this ruined world.
"Elder, I can't hold on much longer," at this moment, amidst the brutal combat, Xiao Xiao had been struck several times in succession by an Intermediate Void God on the opposing side, her injuries growing increasingly severe.
Not only Xiao Xiao, but Cui Hong and the two Restorer Deities had also begun to sustain injuries.
After all, the enemy force was too numerous, and with four Intermediate Void Gods among them, Cui Hong's side was simply no match.
"Xiao Xiao, apologies. I shouldn't have brought you out to gain experience. If anything happens to you, I don't know how I'll face A Fang," Cui Hong looked at Xiao Xiao, whose body was drenched in blood, and felt immense guilt. As an elder, he was unable to protect this junior; moreover, she was a junior of the woman he loved.
"Xiao Xiao, I'll cover your escape."
Suddenly, Cui Hong made a decision. Flames began to surge and blaze from his body.
"Elder, you must not!" Xiao Xiao, seeing this, was startled. She knew Cui Hong intended to burn his foundational essence to stimulate his potential, aiding her in escape.
One must understand Cui Hong's current form was a fusion of an energy body and a corpse; his foundational essence was already nearly depleted. Once burning commenced, it would likely completely destroy his body, energy body, and remnant soul in a short time, possibly resulting in complete annihilation of body and spirit.
"Xiao Xiao, do as I say. I will cover your escape right now," Cui Hong seemed resolved, for he had deeper feelings with the palace master of the Flower Goddess Palace long ago. Over the years, due to various reasons, though they hadn't been together, the bond of affection still ran deep between them. He could not watch Xiao Xiao fall here; afterwards, he wouldn't know how to account for it.
As he spoke, even more flames poured out from Cui Hong's body.
"Brother Cui, there's no need for this. If the four of us combine our strength, there is still a sliver of hope to carve a way out," seeing Cui Hong's body engulfed in raging flames, both Restorers understood what he intended and immediately tried to dissuade him.
"Cui Hong, thinking of a last stand? But before absolute power, a desperate struggle is useless," the leading old man of the Guardian Faction chuckled.
At the same moment, Ye Yunfei had entered this ruined world. His powerful Soul Power energy instantly swept out with perception, immediately detecting the auras of Cui Hong and Xiao Xiao.
"Excellent. Today, I shall slay gods!" Ye Yunfei's killing intent shot skyward.