Chapter 799 780: Escape

Ding Lie looked at Du Qingteng and said, "The three great Holy Lands have never involved themselves in personal conflicts. I don't care what you did in the ancient ruins, but right now, you must leave with me!"

"You are my Guardian! As long as my life isn't under threat, you cannot interfere in my affairs!" Du Qingteng refused to back down. He looked at Ding Lie and suddenly pleaded, "Grandpa Ding, I'm begging you, please help me just this once!"

Ding Lie coldly shook his head. "No!"

"You and Ancestor Shen Ru of Celestial Brilliance are good friends! Are you really going to just stand by and watch them die?" Du Qingteng demanded angrily.

"That is their conflict! And it was their choice!" Ding Lie said evenly.

"Grandpa Ding, I refuse to believe you're such a heartless person!" Du Qingteng said.

Ding Lie said, "You are still too young. You can afford to act on impulse, but I cannot!"

"Then let me have my way!" Du Qingteng looked at Ding Lie, then glanced at the silent Xu Luo beside him. "He is my friend!"

"The three great Holy Lands have rules," the plain-looking old man beside Gao Ping said slowly. "We cannot get involved so easily in these conflicts."

Gao Ping said, "In the ancient ruins, people from Blazing Flame Province attacked us without any provocation, and they showed zero respect for the three great Holy Lands. I'm not just trying to stir up trouble; countless people can attest to this. I think it's precisely this attitude from the Holy Lands that has made those people so arrogant!"

"Whatever happens inside the ancient ruins is considered normal. But out here, you can no longer cause trouble!" Ding Lie said.

Yu Tianjie, Ming Youyue, Tang Xiao, and Shao Zheng all remained silent. They were well aware of the rules of the three great Holy Lands and knew they had no grounds to ask for help.

Xu Luo cupped his fist toward Ding Lie and the old man beside Gao Ping. "Seniors, I ask that you protect my junior brothers and sisters. As for my own affairs, I will bear the consequences myself!"

Ding Lie glanced at Xu Luo in surprise, then looked over at Ming Youyue and the others. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Du Qingteng and Gao Ping looked nervous.

After a long moment, Ding Lie finally nodded slowly and said, "Fine. I'll do it as a favor to Shen Ru. I can help look after them, but as for your business... I really can't get involved!"

Xu Luo nodded. "For you to help me this much, Senior... I am eternally grateful!"

"Senior Brother!" Mist welled up in Ming Youyue's eyes as she looked at Xu Luo. "What about you?"

Xu Luo smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be safe!"

With that, Xu Luo gave Tang Xiao and the others a deep look, then saluted Du Qingteng and Gao Ping. He turned and sped away in the direction he had come from.

Yu Tianying and the others were still in the world of the Bronze Divine Hall. Although Spirit Medicines were keeping them from death's door, they needed proper treatment immediately.

That was why Xu Luo had no time to say more. With the two Celestial Venerables from Blazing Flame Province and the Jin Family having departed, he had to seize this chance to flee.

When the members of the Jin Family's contingent saw Xu Luo, they flew into a rage. They wanted to surround him but were intimidated by the two old men standing beside Ding Lie and Gao Ping.

By now, they all knew that the two old men were Guardians from two of the great Holy Lands, both Celestial Venerable Great Powers. They were no match for them at all.

All they could do was send a message to the Jin Family's ancestor, informing him that Luo Tian had appeared here.

Seeing Xu Luo trying to escape, the Jin Family members and the Blazing Flame Province ancestor fighting Xie Wanrou all roared in fury, wanting to rush forward and stop him.

But Xie Wanrou blocked them with all her might, shouting, "Quick, go help him!"

Even without her command, Jiang Botao and the Old Golden Monkey transformed into two streaks of light and charged directly at the Jin Family crowd. At the same time, Jiang Botao threw something to Xu Luo and roared, "Hurry! You'll be safe once you're back at the sect gates!"

Xu Luo caught it and saw it was a battle boat. Overjoyed, he infused it with his Spiritual Power. The boat instantly expanded, growing to about ten feet long.

The boat was a bright silver color. It wasn't large and had pointed ends, clearly a vessel built for extreme speed.

Xu Luo jumped into the battle boat, poured in his Spiritual Power, and with a WHOOSH, the boat shot through the air and was gone!

Just then, the entire world trembled violently, and an enraged roar echoed from the distant horizon.

A giant hand, shimmering with a dazzling Gold light, slapped down directly at the battle boat!

A speck of light suddenly appeared in the sky, flying directly toward the giant golden palm.

Compared to the giant golden palm, the speck of light was so faint as to be negligible.

But to everyone's astonishment, when the giant golden palm met that speck of light, it was shattered to pieces!

The golden radiance burst across the sky, shattering into fragments. An enraged roar followed, "Who are you?! How dare you ruin this ancestor's plans!"

"Get lost!" A cold, ancient voice drifted from the distant heavens. "Keep showing off and I'll eat you!"

"You..." The Jin Family's ancestor was so furious he was about to explode. He couldn't imagine someone in this world could be so arrogant as to boast about eating a Celestial Venerable.

"Are you joking with me?" the Jin Family ancestor roared.

"Son of a bitch! Even if my stomach bursts, this grandpa is going to eat you today!" a roar echoed from beyond the horizon. Immediately after, a violent ripple spread across the sky.

PLOP!

The Jin Family ancestor suddenly let out a cry of pure terror. "You are—"

His voice cut off abruptly.

Nearly everyone was left gawking, utterly dumbfounded.

Even the Blazing Flame Province ancestor battling Xie Wanrou seemed to realize something. He glanced in that direction, his expression turning frighteningly grim.

Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and fled.

The other ancestor from Blazing Flame Province had just rushed back. He hadn't even had a chance to pursue Xu Luo's battle boat before he witnessed this scene.

A look of horror crossed his face. Then, after apparently receiving a voice transmission from the other Celestial Venerable, his expression changed drastically, and he too turned and fled.

Just like that, the two Celestial Venerables from Blazing Flame Province departed without a word.

As for the Jin Family's Celestial Venerable Ancestor, he had vanished without a trace, and no one knew if he had truly been devoured.

Xie Wanrou wasn't even sure what had just happened, but she didn't dwell on it. She charged directly into the Jin Family's ranks and, along with the Old Golden Monkey and Jiang Botao, slaughtered their remaining forces, leaving no one alive.

The three gathered together, ignoring the distant onlookers, and looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Old Golden Monkey asked, "What just happened? Why did those two old monsters from Blazing Flame Province suddenly leave?"

"And where did the Jin Family's Celestial Venerable Ancestor go? Was he actually eaten?"

The scene just now had unfolded too quickly. First, the Jin Family's ancestor attacked Xu Luo's battle boat. Then, a speck of light from the sky shattered the giant palm formed from pure law. After that, the Jin Family's ancestor cursed, and the other being declared it would eat him even if its stomach burst.

And then... there was no 'after that.'

The Jin Family's ancestor had vanished!

And the sky where it happened had gone completely silent.

What exactly happened? Almost no one knew.

Xie Wanrou shook her head and said softly, "I could sense some fluctuations, but the being's power is too immense. It's beyond the comprehension of someone at my cultivation level."

At this moment, Yu Tianjie, Tang Xiao, Ming Youyue, and Shao Zheng hurried over to join them.

Du Qingteng and Gao Ping also approached with their respective Guardians.

Seeing only the four of them, Xie Wanrou was taken aback. "Where are the others?"

Jiang Botao also looked tense. Nine of them went in. One just left, and now only four remained. Where were the other four?

"Don't worry, Martial Aunt. They are all in Senior Brother Luo Tian's Small World. They were injured and need immediate medical attention," Ming Youyue explained.

"That's good!" Xie Wanrou let out a long sigh of relief. She glanced in the direction Xu Luo had disappeared and thought, 'He should be out of danger now!'

With that thought, she and Jiang Botao went to thank Du Qingteng's and Gao Ping's Guardians.

Although they hadn't fought, they had protected the disciples of Celestial Brilliance, which was a great favor in itself.

Ding Lie and Gao Ping's Guardian both waved their hands dismissively without saying much. Instead, they stared blankly in the direction where the Jin Family's ancestor had vanished.

Xie Wanrou asked, "Seniors, did you discover something?"

Ding Lie said, "A Great Calamity has been born into the world. The Divine Domain... it seems it's truly about to descend into chaos!"

Gao Ping's Guardian nodded. "I couldn't see clearly what it was, but it's obvious its cultivation realm is far beyond ours. Thankfully... that being didn't seem to have any interest in us."

Du Qingteng and Gao Ping glanced at each other. They, along with Tang Xiao and the others, actually had a guess in their hearts.

The one that devoured the Jin Family's ancestor was very likely the Black Tortoise from the Ancient Ruins World!

At that moment, Shen Ru and the others returned from beyond the firmament. The four ancestors of Celestial Brilliance looked somewhat listless. Although it was impossible to tell how severe their injuries were, the fact that Celestial Venerable Ancestors were showing signs of fatigue was telling enough.

"Ancestor, are you alright?" Jiang Botao asked anxiously.

Ancestor Shen Ru waved his hand. "I'm fine," he said in a low voice. "We didn't fight to the death. They seemed to have received some news and left in a hurry."

"What about Luo Tian? Is the little guy alright?" another ancestor asked.

Xie Wanrou shook her head. "Luo Tian has already left with the heavily injured disciples!"

"That's good!" The ancestors nodded, exchanged a brief greeting with Shen Ru and Gao Ping's Guardian, and then boarded their own battle boat to depart.

Du Qingteng and Shen Ru, as well as Gao Ping and his Guardian, also departed shortly after.

The battle at the Grand Canyon had finally come to an end.

But everything that had happened here would soon spread throughout all of Jiuzhou.

And Luo Tian... this unfamiliar name would, for the first time, become known across all of Jiuzhou.

「...…」

On the battle boat, as soon as the four Celestial Brilliance Ancestors came aboard, they immediately began coughing up blood. The full extent of their injuries erupted, a shocking sight to behold.

Only then did Xie Wanrou realize what a terrifying battle the four ancestors had endured beyond the firmament.

"It's nothing..." Seeing everyone's concerned gazes, Ancestor Shen Ru waved his hand and said in a heavy voice, "The old monsters from Blazing Flame Province are about on par with us in terms of strength, but they all possess an extremely potent poison. More than likely, it comes from one of the Forbidden Zones."

The more scholarly-sounding ancestor added from the side, "Blazing Flame Province has grown more and more arrogant over the years. Perhaps they've truly made some sort of deal with certain existences from the Forbidden Zones. Maybe they're already in collusion!"

"Those bastards!" Jiang Botao gritted his teeth. "If only the past ancestors of Celestial Brilliance hadn't all left after reaching a certain realm! If they were all still here, we could wipe out a mere Blazing Flame Province with ease!"

Shen Ru shook his head. "Where do you think Blazing Flame Province's truly powerful experts have gone? However... today's battle was not without its gains. At the very least... we now know that Blazing Flame Province has connections to the existences in the Forbidden Zones. That alone is enough!"

"The existences in the Forbidden Zones... could they be planning to emerge?" Xie Wanrou suddenly muttered softly to herself.

Her words, however, plunged the entire battle boat into an instantaneous, dead silence!