Zhao Li, having failed to persuade the Great Elder in the Imperial Court and believing they had no chance of winning, quietly left during the chaos.
He quickly found an exit, but didn't dare to leave right away. Fortunately, he soon encountered someone from the Soul Hall. His heart stirred, and he suppressed them.
Under Zhao Li's interrogation, Protector Qing briefly explained the drastic changes in the Imperial Court.
The Great Elder of the Imperial Court, relying on numerous Dou Venerate Puppets, had held off the outsiders for a long time. However, controlling nearly a hundred puppets by himself, he only managed to last two days before being unable to continue.
Without his control, the puppets, relying solely on instinct, had their power greatly reduced and could no longer pose a threat to everyone.
The Nine Heavenly Venerates displayed their might, destroying more than half of the puppets alone. With their hands freed, everyone stormed into the Imperial Court.
But they didn't know what method the Great Elder, suffering from heart and kidney failure, had used. He sacrificed himself and summoned a Divine Statue Projection.
And the Divine Statue Projection possessed the power of a Saint.
Before they could even begin their search, they were driven back.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Li felt a sense of regret for the old man's demise. Like his predecessors, he had fought against external enemies and protected his clansmen and descendants until death.
Zhao Li was silent, but Protector Qing urged him:
"Please, Senior, quickly go and inform the Saint, otherwise, we will all die."
Zhao Li snapped back to attention. His Soul Power erupted, and he killed Protector Qing.
With a wave of his hand, he drew the clothes into his grasp and put them on.
Suddenly, he frowned slightly. This black robe had many similarities to the one his Master had used when tempering his Soul Power. Zhao Li found it quite strange:
"Hmm? What's going on? Where did Master get that black robe?"
There were too many possibilities and too little information. After a brief thought with no result, Zhao Li gently shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Immediately, his form changed again, becoming identical to Protector Qing just moments ago.
Looking at the dark passage before him, which seemed to be waiting to devour him, as if waiting for him to jump in, Zhao Li hesitated for a moment before finally stepping inside.
When Zhao Li arrived in this world, he absolutely did not expect to encounter so many things, even alarming a Half-Saint expert.
This feeling of not having control over his own life and death was truly unpleasant.
The Saints outside weren't fools. If they didn't see any movement for a long time, they would definitely come in to investigate. At that time, he could still be killed.
For a moment, Zhao Li had no other options, so he decided to take a gamble and enter the passage.
Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Court, a Divine Statue Projection stood above it, tall and majestic, its face blurred.
But it merely stood silently in the air, with no intention of actively attacking.
The outsiders tried several times. After discovering they couldn't subdue the puppets, they exerted all their strength to shatter them and break into the city. But before they could rejoice, they were attacked by the divine statue.
Terrified, they finally retreated from the Imperial Court after losing about ten people, and then they noticed the projection had stopped attacking.
And immediately, the Nine Heavenly Venerates threw Protector Qing towards the passage, telling him to relay a message.
Then, under his threat, after losing a few more Nobodies, he finally confirmed that the projection would not actively attack and a stalemate ensued.
Zhao Li jumped into the passage. After a period of shaking, he appeared inside the Ruins.
He saw the people who had left the Pocket World earlier were still there, but they weren't moving, seemingly trapped. Zhao Li breathed a sigh of relief. Not being killed upon exiting was good.
Just as he was about to act, he felt a Spatial Energy restricting him. Saint Blazing Sun waved his hand and brought him forward:
"Why did you come out alone? What happened inside?"
Zhao Li sighed inwardly. It seems there's no avoiding this. He said urgently:
"Reporting to the Great Heavenly Venerate, the Nine Heavenly Venerates sent me to ask for your help. They encountered a Saint inside."
Zhao Li didn't say more. This news was enough to make the two of them cautious.
Indeed, upon hearing this, Saint Blazing Sun looked at Saint Evergreen, who was the High Grade Half-Saint expert from the Pill Tower who arrived later. It was his appearance that allowed those outside the Soul Hall to enter the passage.
Both of them heard Zhao Li's words, exchanged glances, and their expressions were solemn.
Then the two nodded, implicitly reaching an agreement.
The Great Heavenly Venerate and Saint Evergreen stepped into the passage together, without even releasing the restriction on Zhao Li. A Soul Hall Protector was indeed beneath their notice.
Zhao Li shouted:
"Great Heavenly Venerate, wait for me!"
When he came out of the passage, he was gambling that he wouldn't kill someone from the Soul Hall, especially at this critical time.
Fortunately, Zhao Li gambled correctly, but he was trapped here like the other Rogue Cultivators.
Zhao Li pretended to shout, but Saint Blazing Sun naturally wouldn't pay attention to such a minor character.
After confirming that both Saints had entered, Zhao Li began to break the spatial restriction.
After all, this was just a spatial restriction casually set up by a Half-Saint, still within Zhao Li's ability to break.
After spending a little time, he finally broke the restriction and was about to leave.
A wise man does not stand under a precarious wall. Zhao Li looked at the people around him but didn't pay them any mind. Every moment he stayed here increased the danger, and he didn't know what he would face next.
Suddenly, the void here vibrated violently, and the passage Zhao Li had just opened also dissipated.
Zhao Li looked up and saw Space collapsing, a world gradually breaking through Space and about to squeeze into this realm.
Where the two worlds intertwined and compressed, Chaos Energy surged, attempting to annihilate the world being forcibly pulled here and return it to Chaos.
This was a Pocket World that had been knocked out of a Pocket Dimension and revealed itself on the continent, about to descend upon this unknown mountain range.
Although it was squeezing into the continent, everything happened incredibly fast.
In that instant, it seemed to penetrate a membrane, already entering a different world.
Even though it had been mostly ground away by the Chaos, it was still immense, covering a large area of mountains and rapidly descending.
Seeing it about to crash down, Zhao Li tried to open a passage again, but with the two worlds intertwined, Spatial Energy was extremely chaotic and no longer under his control.
His attempt was fruitless, and Zhao Li didn't dare to delay. He pushed his speed to the limit and quickly left the area.
A few breaths later, the entire mountain range vibrated violently, and dust and smoke rose everywhere.
After the dust and smoke cleared, when Zhao Li looked again, the place had completely changed.
Originally, there were towering mountains here. The continent crashed down among the peaks, and the collision of the two worlds should have resulted in mutual destruction, smashing the area to pieces. But now, it was as if this place had always existed among the surrounding mountains, seamlessly integrated and harmonious, without any abruptness.
The merging of the two worlds was like water entering the sea, leaving no trace. Heavenly Craftsmanship was truly unparalleled.
As the dust settled, Zhao Li saw a Divine Statue Projection with an unclear face standing with its hands behind its back above the Imperial Court. Even though it was a projection, it still intimidated the two Outsiders who were Saints, preventing them from advancing further.
Seeing the appearance of the projection, Zhao Li felt an urgent desire for strength. He had progressed very quickly in recent years and seemed to have become somewhat complacent and lax.
Although the two sides were in a standoff, with the Pocket World appearing here, it was likely that the two had already made a move, but were unable to do anything against the projection, which was why they stopped.
Before the Imperial Court, the two drew closer.
Looking at the tall projection, Saint Evergreen was extremely wary. When the two had arrived here just now, they had attacked it, but achieved nothing and instead suffered a considerable loss.
The clash between the Saints had even knocked this already declining Pocket World out, almost destroying it.
Fortunately, for some unknown reason, the projection did not actively attack.
He extended his Soul Power, sensing that there was almost no life here, and advised:
"Saint Blazing Sun, I see there are no living people left here. Why don't we just leave?"
The Great Heavenly Venerate was also startled. This projection was far superior to the two of them, definitely a true Dou Sheng expert. However, seeing that it wasn't attacking, he was unwilling to give up:
"Since it's not attacking, we'll just wear it down here. I don't believe it can exist forever. Old Nine, tell me, what exactly happened after you arrived here?"
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