260: Lin Xiao wakes up

Previously, the Beidou Sea Region was a vast, beautiful expanse of surging waves and boundless scenery.

However, what now met everyone's eyes was a desolate, parched deep valley, stretching as far as the eye could see.

And throughout the world, in every place they looked, space was shattered but constantly repairing itself, a truly magnificent sight.

“This…”

Among the Cultivator army, sounds of gulping and gasping for air continuously echoed: most people's minds were left with only one thought.

Such a vast sea region, just gone???

Is this the power of an Eight-Realm Great Emperor?

At this moment, Du Meng and the other two did not know how much shock this move had caused the Cultivators; of course, even if they knew, they wouldn't have time to care, as they were well aware of their own affairs, and such power was quite normal for them.

At this moment, their entire attention was focused on the spatial passage suspended in mid-air.

Seeing the faint white light emanating from it, the three immediately fell silent, and the world followed suit, becoming quiet.

“Hoo.”

Without the expected surprise showing on his face, Du Meng exhaled and turned to look at the other two, speaking in a deep voice.

“What do we do, gentlemen?”

“Who knows.”

Mulan’s expression was not good; she had considered the possibility of not being able to break the Seal, but when it actually happened, she was at a loss for what to do.

To think they talked about killing him, yet they haven't even passed the first obstacle, the Seal; how could they possibly kill him now?

“Otherwise…”

Du Meng turned his gaze to the silent Ouyang Jie, frowning.

“Brother Jie, could you ask Tower Lord Gu Ran if he can personally intervene?”

As soon as these words were spoken, even Mulan’s gaze shifted over, clearly drawn by that name.

Tower Lord Gu Ran of the Sword Tower, recognized as the strongest Cultivator in the Xuanjian Continent, broke through to Nine Realm Great Emperor two hundred and fifty years ago, and it was precisely because of this that under his leadership, the Sword Tower surpassed the two valleys it had once been on par with, becoming the strongest force.

After his Breakthrough, he had been in seclusion to stabilize his cultivation.

In the current situation, to break the Seal, they could only hope for the intervention of Gu Ran, who was stronger than them.

Otherwise, if that guy on the other side truly broke through to Nine Realm Great Emperor, then the strength between the two worlds would likely fall into balance.

Therefore, Du Meng and Mulan’s thoughts aligned at this moment; the situation had reached a stalemate, and the only solution was for Ouyang Jie to invite Gu Ran out of seclusion to break the Seal.

“This…”

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Jie’s perpetually expressionless face finally showed a hint of hesitation; clearly, he was thinking the same thing as the other two.

“I understand.”

After a moment of hesitation, Ouyang Jie made his decision; he was not an indecisive person, and after weighing the pros and cons, he took action, turning directly and stepping into the spatial passage, disappearing.

After seeing Ouyang Jie off to fetch reinforcements, Du Meng retracted his gaze, then his eyes fell once again on the intact Seal, muttering incredulously.

“It’s strange, who on earth laid this?”

This was the most puzzling point for Du Meng; logically, anyone capable of laying such a Seal would definitely be a powerful Cultivator, but the strongest Cultivator on the other side was only the current Eight-Realm Great Emperor, who was still a Six Realm just a few months ago.

Du Meng would die before believing that the other side had laid it.

But no matter what they thought, they couldn't deny that they, the three of them, couldn't break the Seal before them.

Poison Undying and the others who had rushed back from afar were dumbfounded; they hadn't expected that even the strongest Cultivators from the Xuanjian Continent couldn't break this Seal. Were they now simply to watch Lin Xiao continue his seclusion on the other side?

Fortunately, the news that Ouyang Jie had gone back to invite Tower Lord Gu Ran to act was like a reassurance pill for them.

But looking at the intact Seal, for the first time, their hearts were no longer as unwavering as before, with various thoughts swirling in their minds.

Even if Gu Ran, the strongest in the world, were to act, could he truly break this Seal…

This thought appeared in the minds of every Xuanjian Continent Cultivator.

After all, their hopes had been shattered not once or twice; initially, when Tong Yuan, White Shallow, and several other Seven Realm Great Emperors acted, they thought there would definitely be no problem, but didn't they still fail in the end?

Then came the arrival of the three Eight-Realm Great Emperors this time, creating quite a stir, but ultimately it was all in vain.

Therefore, the morale of the Cultivator army was quite low at this moment.

In contrast to this side, the Wuji Palace on the other side of the spatial passage was the complete opposite.

As early as when the three Eight-Realm Great Emperors made their move, Bone Cultivator and the others had all appeared in the hall, and upon seeing the Seal as reliable as ever, cheers also rang out, a stark contrast to the previous atmosphere.

At that time, learning about the strength of the Xuanjian Continent was a considerable blow to them; subsequently, with Lin Xiao’s continuous Breakthroughs and the Seal’s resilience, the morale of the Wuji Palace, from top to bottom, also received a boost.

And as Lin Xiao broke through to Eight-Realm, everyone’s emotions soared to an unprecedented level.

Now, they were all eagerly awaiting their Palace Lord to awaken and return with even greater power.

“Eight-Realm Great Emperor, huh…”

Dragon Xiaoyao stroked his chin, looking at the figures seated in the Void Realm in the distance. After a few glances, he withdrew his gaze and then looked at the person next to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Bone Cultivator, do you think these guys will finally behave now?”

“I don’t know.”

Bone Cultivator was teasing his precious daughter in his arms, looked up at the spatial passage, then lowered his head again, stroking her little face while thoughtfully speaking.

“According to their usual habits, they probably won’t give up just like that.”

“Indeed.”

An Lan leaned against a pillar in the main hall, his previously closed eyes slowly opening, speaking calmly.

“If nothing unexpected happens, the Eight-Realm Great Emperor who disappeared must have gone to fetch reinforcements.”

“Is it the legendary Nine Realm Great Emperor…?”

Upon hearing this, Dragon Xiaoyao’s expression also became serious; they had already learned about Gu Ran through intelligence, knowing that this Nine Realm Great Emperor was the strongest in the Xuanjian Continent.

And according to the current situation, he would most likely act, and they, a few recently broken through Five Realm Cultivators, couldn't be of much help, only able to place their hope in the Seal.

“Damn it…”

Thinking of this, Dragon Xiaoyao couldn't help but curse under his breath, a hint of unwillingness showing in his expression as he looked at the spatial passage.

This feeling of only being able to passively wait was too unbearable.

In the past, he had always taken the initiative, able to defeat anyone he faced and control everything.

But now, he could only entrust his hope for survival to a Seal; for someone as inherently proud as him, this was simply a humiliation.

“Relax, Brother Long.”

Just then, Qing Luo floated over from the side, sitting on an umbrella, and said with a laugh.

“The Palace Lord said at the time that until this Seal disappears on its own, no one can do anything about it.”

“That’s true.”

Upon hearing this, Dragon Xiaoyao’s expression eased slightly; after all, given their Palace Lord’s personality, if he dared to say that, then there shouldn't be any problem.

What if it's a Nine Realm Great Emperor?

Bone Cultivator swayed his daughter in his arms while looking at the figure on the seat, a slight smile playing on his lips.

In a few more months, whose faction wouldn't have a Nine Realm Cultivator?

“Wah ah ah!”

Just then, the crying from his arms brought Bone Cultivator back to reality. He subconsciously looked down, and the swaying motion in his hand also increased slightly.

The restless Gu Xin Yin gradually quieted down, then, under the loving gazes of several people, she bit her finger and fell into a deep sleep.

At this moment, Blue Heart silently stepped forward, picked up the child, and turned to leave the hall, leaving Bone Cultivator. After seeing his wife depart, he came to a stop in front of the spatial passage, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the dense Cultivator army on the horizon.

And it wasn't just him; An Lan, Dragon Xiaoyao, Lin Dong, and Xiao Yan also stood around. They weren't planning anything, but rather waiting for the opponent's reinforcements, the legendary Nine Realm Great Emperor, to arrive.

They didn't have to wait long before a somewhat familiar figure descended from the sky, none other than Ouyang Jie, the Grand Elder of the Sword Tower, who had left earlier.

“My goodness, you’re finally back.”

Upon seeing him, everyone's spirits lifted. Du Meng immediately turned and pressed for answers.

“How was it? What did Tower Lord Gu say?”

“The Tower Lord agreed.”

Ouyang Jie nodded slightly, smiling with a bow.

“In seven days, he will arrive here to break the formation.”

“Good!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously low morale of the Cultivator army instantly recovered significantly. After all, the title of 'strongest in the world' was quite effective; until they saw him fail, they would still ignite the flame of hope.

Even Poison Undying and the others felt the same way, and as for the seven-day timeframe, they had no objections either.

After all, several months had already passed, so a few more days wouldn't matter. No one believed that Lin Xiao could break through to Nine Realm within this short period, so waiting seven days was fine.

Du Meng, Mulan, and Ouyang Jie had no intention of returning, directly occupying the positions previously held by White Shallow and the others.

And Bone Cultivator and the others also had no intention of leaving; after all, cultivating was cultivating, no matter where.

Thus, the two factions, a group of Great Emperors combined, faced each other across a spatial passage.

There was no communication during this time; in such an atmosphere, White Shallow also found it difficult to openly converse with Hu Qianxue, only occasionally sending a whispered message or two.

Furthermore, the Cultivator army, after withdrawing from the Beidou Sea Region some days ago, had not returned but had set up camp on the spot.

After all, the current situation wasn't very relevant to those who weren't even Great Emperors, and going back in wouldn't be of much use, and might even make the powerful Cultivators hesitant when they made their moves.

Just like that, seven days passed quickly, and the previously calm atmosphere was completely broken by the appearance of a figure.

This was a young man, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a slender build, and a calm smile on his face. A scabbard hung at his waist, making him look less like a Cultivator and more like an ordinary person.

“Tower Lord!”

Yet, this young man, who seemed no different from an ordinary person, caused all the Great Emperors to rise and bow, their faces filled with respect.

This person before them was the strongest Cultivator in their Xuanjian Continent, the contemporary Sword Master of the strongest force, the Sword Tower, Gu Ran, who had cultivated for 780,000 years.

It could be said that the person before them represented the history of the Xuanjian Continent; even someone like Dragon Xiaoyao, who had lived for over 400,000 years, seemed insignificant in his presence.

“Alright, stand up and speak.”

Gu Ran casually waved his hand, raising those who were bowing, then turned his gaze to the spatial passage, looking at the Seal on it, a hint of curiosity on his face.

“Is this the Seal you spoke of?”

“Yes, Tower Lord.”

Ouyang Jie took two steps forward, stopping beside him, and spoke helplessly.

“This Seal was laid by someone unknown; no matter what we did, we couldn’t move it in the slightest.”

Upon hearing this, Du Meng and Mulan next to him also nodded. They hadn't been idle these past few days, trying to attack it countless times.

But let alone breaking the Seal, not even a tiny crack appeared, making the three of them almost doubt their lives.

“Is that so…”

Upon hearing this, Gu Ran stroked his chin, then with a flash, appeared before the Seal, his eyes meeting Bone Cultivator’s, who was guarding it.

“Hello.”

Gu Ran first smiled slightly, then raised his hand and placed his palm on the Seal, closing his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again, then turned and returned, and in the expectant gazes of everyone, he slowly spoke.

“No, I can’t do it either.”

“What?”

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Not just Ouyang Jie and the others, but even Bone Cultivator and the others on the opposite side were the same; they hadn't expected the strongest Cultivator of Xuanjian to say something like this right away.

They had originally thought he would confidently say something like he would definitely break it, but instead, he blurted out something that sounded like giving up.

“No, Tower Lord…”

After reacting, Ouyang Jie opened his mouth, just about to say something, but was interrupted by Gu Ran’s wave of hand.

“I truly cannot. The spiritual power contained within this Seal has already exceeded my limits.

The only way is to wait for it to dissipate naturally. Calculating the time, it should be about three or four months.”

“This…”

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Jie fell silent, and so did the others. They hadn't expected him to say such a thing.

But those who understood his character also knew that if he said this, he must have been absolutely certain.

Thinking of this, the few people looked at the faint white light and the figure sitting there in a deep sleep behind it, their expressions becoming complicated.

Could it be that they truly had no choice but to wait for the Seal to end? They wondered if the other party would advance further before then…

Subsequently, four months passed quickly. Gu Ran did not leave but remained in place; he had a considerable interest in Lin Xiao.

During this time, the Seal also grew weaker and weaker. Just as it was about to dissipate, the figure that had been in a deep sleep for many days trembled slightly, and his previously stable aura began to fluctuate again.

Hmm?

This immediately attracted countless gazes; the sights of countless figures from both worlds converged here.

Most importantly, those tightly closed eyes, under the gaze of all, slowly opened…