328: Chapter 328 Arrival in the Capital

"Trash!" The Ghost-faced Leader, currently locked in a struggle with Xing Tiexin, caught a glimpse of this scene and was furious.

He hadn't expected that besides the Sea Transformation Realm expert Xing Tiexin, there would be such a tough nut among the opposing Disciples.

Dongfang Xinghe, who had seemingly been slacking off, suddenly had a flash of brilliance in his eyes and slammed his hands downward!

"Hum!"

At the bow of the wave-breaker cloud ship, a Spirit Gathering Cannon that had been charging for a long time shone brightly. A thick, cyan-white beam of light blasted out, slamming heavily into the dark red Formation covering the battlefield.

It was exactly the spot Feng Xuan had secretly marked with runes earlier!

"Boom!!"

The dark red Formation Domain that shrouded the heavens and earth shook violently. The place that was struck flashed with chaotic light, and then a huge crack appeared. The entire Formation's operation became chaotic!

The suppression on the Liuli Xuan Sect Disciples was greatly reduced!

"A Formation Master?! How is that possible!" The Ghost-faced Leader was horrified.

This Soul Refining Formation was his greatest reliance. Even ordinary Sea Transformation Realm experts could hardly find its flaws in a short time, yet it had been seen through and targeted by a young Disciple of the other side?

"Good opportunity!" How could Elder Xing Tiexin miss such a golden opportunity? He shouted sharply, his Sword Qi surged, and he instantly forced the Ghost-faced Leader into a flustered state.

With the Formation showing flaws and the suppression greatly reduced, the Liuli Xuan Sect Disciples were instantly revitalized, and their counterattacks became even fiercer.

A cold glint flashed in Ye Tian's eyes, and his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood. The next moment, he appeared behind the injured blade-wielding deputy, and the sword stabbed toward his heart.

"Careful!" The Ghost-faced Leader's eyes were splitting, wanting to rescue him, but he was entangled by Xing Tiexin.

The blade-wielding deputy only felt a chill in his heart. He looked down in disbelief to see a sword tip protruding from his chest. Violent thunder instantly destroyed all his vitality.

"The first one." Ye Tian withdrew his sword and moved again, sweeping toward the whip-wielding deputy who was kneeling on one knee.

"No!" The whip-wielding deputy's eyes were filled with despair. He swung his whip with all his might, but it was in vain.

Sword light flashed, and a head flew into the air.

"The second one."

In an instant, he had killed two True Martial Ninth Layer deputies!

Ye Tian stood holding his sword, blood dripping from the tip. He swept his cold gaze toward the remaining bandits, and finally, it locked onto the Ghost-faced Leader.

The bandits who were swept by his gaze all felt their hearts turn cold with fear.

"Good! Well killed!" Pei Tieshan laughed wildly, punching a bandit and his weapon into smithereens.

Shui Qingdie, Yu Miaoqing, Feng Xuan, and the others also displayed their own methods, taking the opportunity to expand their results.

Although Tang Yun's expression was a bit ugly (Ye Tian's performance was too eye-catching), he was ruthless, and purple lightning flashed across the field.

The battle situation reversed instantly!

Seeing his two capable deputies killed, the Formation broken, and his subordinates suffering heavy casualties, the Ghost-faced Leader knew that the situation was irretrievable.

He glared at Ye Tian with extreme malice, let out a long whistle, and simultaneously crushed another black talisman.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The three black war ships erupted with thick black fog simultaneously and retreated rapidly. The remaining bandits also took the opportunity to retreat into the black fog.

"Want to leave?" How could Elder Xing Tiexin allow him to escape easily? His Sword Qi was like a rainbow, pursuing relentlessly.

Just then, behind the cloud ship, in the high, distant clouds that had been still, several weak fluctuations that had been lurking finally moved!

They instantly erupted with several powerful Divine Soul attacks, slamming toward Elder Xing Tiexin, who was pursuing, and Elder Qinglan, who was guarding the cloud ship!

These Divine Soul attacks were abrupt and concentrated. Although not fatal, they were enough to make the two Elders feel dizzy.

Taking advantage of this moment, the three black war ships submerged into the thicker black fog. The black fog churned, instantly obscuring the sky for tens of miles, making it difficult even for Divine Soul to penetrate.

By the time the black fog was dispersed by an angry sword strike from Xing Tiexin, the three war ships had already disappeared without a trace.

"Hmph! Rats hiding their heads and showing their tails!" Elder Xing Tiexin's face was livid as he withdrew his Sword Qi.

He knew that the other side had been prepared, perhaps even having accomplices to meet them, and had escaped using the black fog and Divine Soul interference.

His sharp gaze swept toward the clouds behind the cloud ship that had returned to calm, with a cold glint flickering in his eyes.

The owners of those few Divine Soul fluctuations definitely had strong cultivation, and their concealment skills were extremely good. By now, they had already fled far away, making them hard to track.

"Check the casualties, treat the wounded, reinforce the defenses, and leave this place at full speed!" Xing Tiexin suppressed his anger and ordered in a deep voice.

After this battle, although several Liuli Xuan Sect Disciples were injured, fortunately, no one had fallen, which was the greatest fortune in misfortune. Everyone quickly took action.

Ye Tian put away his sword, walked to the ship's rail, and looked in the direction where the three black war ships had disappeared, his eyes deep.

"Black Skull Bandits... are they really just roving bandits?" He muttered to himself.

The Divine Soul interference that appeared at the end was precise in timing and clear in purpose, clearly meant to cover their retreat.

And those fluctuations that had been lurking and tracking... this attack probably wasn't that simple.

Was it aimed at the Liuli Xuan Sect? Or... aimed at someone specifically?

He felt a gaze land on him. He turned his head and saw that Yun Wuji had also walked over not far away at some point, quietly watching him.

Their eyes met and then parted; Yun Wuji turned and left.

"Junior Brother Ye, thank you just now!" Feng Xuan walked over, cupping his hands at Ye Tian with admiration in his eyes.

If Ye Tian hadn't quickly killed the two deputies and disrupted the enemy Formation, their breakthrough would not have been so smooth.

"Junior Brother Ye, impressive! Those two True Martial Ninth Layer ones were like cutting melons and vegetables!" Pei Tieshan also crowded over, slapping his large hand toward Ye Tian's shoulder. Ye Tian dodged, but Pei Tieshan didn't mind and laughed loudly.

Shui Qingdie floated over, smiling sweetly: "Junior Brother Ye is truly hiding his strength. Even Big Sister was scared by you."

Yu Miaoqing just nodded slightly at Ye Tian, considering it an acknowledgment.

Even Tang Yun, looking at Ye Tian, had a little less hostility and a little more complexity in his eyes, finally snorting and turning his head away.

Xing Tiexin and Elder Qinglan finished dealing with the aftermath and summoned Ye Tian to them.

"Ye Tian, your performance today was good. You were calm in the face of danger, decisive in killing, and made a great contribution to defeating the enemy." Xing Tiexin's tone was rarely gentle, carrying praise.

"It was my duty as a Disciple." Ye Tian said humbly.

Elder Qinglan asked gently: "Did you notice the person who was secretly peeping and interfered with Divine Soul?"

Ye Tian mused: "Replying to Elder, when we were sailing before, I vaguely felt weak fluctuations following from very high and far behind, but the other party was excellent at concealment, making it hard to lock onto them. When the attack happened, they were watching quietly, and only interfered after the bandits were defeated, then fled immediately. Their intention... seems not to be to help in the battle, but more like... ensuring those bandits could retreat."

Xing Tiexin and Elder Qinglan looked at each other, both seeing gravity in each other's eyes.

Elder Qinglan said: "This matter is quite suspicious. Although the Black Skull Bandits are roving bandits, this operation seemed premeditated and had outside help. I'm afraid... someone doesn't want us to arrive at the Imperial Capital safely."

Xing Tiexin snorted coldly: "Regardless of what ghosts or monsters they are, whatever means they have, let them use them! Pass the order down, the whole ship is on alert, the itinerary remains unchanged, straight to the Imperial Capital!"

"Yes!"

Two days later, at noon.

The wave-breaker cloud ship pierced through the clouds and slowly lowered its altitude.

The outline of the Imperial Capital finally appeared before everyone's eyes.

Even with Ye Tian's calm Heart-Nature, seeing the scene before him, he couldn't help but feel shocked.

It was not comparable to an ordinary city, but a forest floating above the vast earth.

The outermost perimeter was an immortal city wall a hundred zhang high, with liquid light-like luster flowing on its surface. The mysterious patterns naturally grown on the wall were like the growth rings of a giant tree, with energy pulses that seemed to breathe.

The city wall extended to both sides of the horizon, and as far as the eye could see, there was no end, as if an arc-shaped mountain range gently embraced the world inside.

Inside the city wall, the scene was even more unimaginable.

It was not dense streets, but scattered floating land masses of different sizes and shapes.

Some were like inverted mountains, with waterfalls pouring down from the edges, turning into seven-colored rainbow bridges in mid-air.

Some were regular geometric platforms with towering palaces on them, the glazed tiles refracting thousands of rays of light in the sun.

Some were simply lush islands, with exotic flowers and trees hiding pavilions and towers.

Higher up in the sky, there was a thin, cicada-wing-like seven-colored light film. That was the "Heavenly Dome Imperial Formation" that covered the entire city. Just the naturally emitted pressure made the protective light shield of the wave-breaker emit a light hum.

The entire Imperial Capital was a three-dimensional, layered, sky city full of life rhythms.