123: If you're looking for death, don't take me with you!

At the same time, above the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven barrier.

Amidst the sky-filling world-ending fireballs, a figure suddenly appeared, dazzling like a scorching sun.

Upon closer inspection, it was a phoenix wreathed in world-ending divine flames!

It was swiftly streaking through the vast void, plummeting towards the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven.

Wherever it passed, the void was annihilated.

Gazing at this scene, Ling Kongzi was instantly alarmed: "Old Luo, this isn't good, the battle has spread here!"

Luo Wenzhou, who was beside him, saw this, and his originally nonchalant expression immediately turned grim.

"This is utterly ridiculous! Do they think the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven has no one, that we're easy to bully?!"

No sooner had he spoken than he took a fierce step forward.

The Quasi-Emperor aura radiating from him instantly extinguished the myriad world-ending fireballs.

Just as he was about to act and intercept the figure in the void, a voice suddenly came from the depths of the void.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, I am Shen Ningshuang of the Jueqing Immortal Sect. That is my disciple. Please, Fellow Daoist, lend me a hand and save her!"

"Sect Master Shen of the Jueqing Immortal Sect?" Luo Wenzhou's eyes narrowed slightly.

Before this, he had not expected that this great battle would be related to the Jueqing Immortal Sect.

One must know that as the immortal Dao tradition of the Jueqing Immortal Domain, the Jueqing Immortal Sect was undoubtedly the greatest power in the Jueqing Immortal Domain. Who would dare to provoke them?

Yet, they were now being forced to such a state. Who exactly was the opponent, to be so formidable?

Thinking this, he couldn't help but look towards the depths of the void.

He saw Shen Ningshuang approaching, traversing the void with her Quasi-Emperor cultivation, her aura slightly disheveled.

To make a Quasi-Emperor Seventh Layer expert of her caliber so flustered, it seemed the Jueqing Immortal Domain had provoked someone they shouldn't have.

If he were to intervene now, he would surely anger the opponent, and it was possible that even the entire Red Dust Grotto-Heaven would be lost.

As the Master of the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven, he naturally wouldn't engage in such a losing business.

Moreover, today's matter involved an Emperor Armament!

He had only with great difficulty cultivated to his current realm and hadn't yet truly enjoyed life; he didn't want to perish like this.

Your Jueqing Immortal Sect disciple has nothing to do with me.

Luo Wenzhou simply pretended not to hear anything, ignoring Shen Ningshuang's plea.

However, just as he was about to step into the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven barrier without looking back.

Ling Kongzi, who was inside the barrier, had already sensed Shen Ningshuang and her cry for help.

His aura surged, radiating brilliant light, and with a single step, he stood beside Luo Wenzhou.

Unlike him, Ling Kongzi at this moment wore an expression of righteous indignation, showing no intention of retreating.

"Sect Master Shen, rest assured, within this Red Dust Grotto-Heaven, no one can harm you all!"

As a contemporary great Confucian, Ling Kongzi naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing. Moreover, as fellow cultivators of the Jueqing Immortal Domain, they should unite against a common enemy.

However, his actions made Luo Wenzhou feel as if he had been utterly bewildered.

"Oh, what the hell, Old Ling, if you want to die, don't drag me into it! Besides, is this Red Dust Grotto-Heaven yours?"

"Back then, out of friendship, and because you were a Quasi-Emperor Seventh Layer great Confucian, I let you open a Red Dust Inn here!"

"At such a critical moment, you old fellow are truly unethical! Even if you want to show off, there's a time and a place."

"Now even Shen Ningshuang, that woman who has been heartbroken for ten thousand years, is in such a state. The enemy is clearly not to be trifled with."

"If the opponent is truly so formidable, won't we both be finished? Old Ling, Old Ling, you're being foolish!"

Luo Wenzhou felt extremely frustrated, as if a thousand mud horses were galloping through his mind.

Before he could stop him, Ling Kongzi had already waved his hand, condensing a colossal sky-reaching hand to catch the rapidly falling figure.

Just as he was pondering how to protect himself and the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven later.

A blinding, world-ending thunder force suddenly ripped through the void, striking from behind Shen Ningshuang, narrowly missing her and heading straight for the falling figure.

Clearly, this was the enemy's attack!

"No! Yanran! Wake up!"

Shen Ningshuang's face paled, her expression utterly panicked.

That attack had just grazed her, and she keenly felt the terrifying destructive power it contained—it was an Emperor Armament!

Because of its extreme speed, and because Xuan Tianchen had concealed its aura, it only appeared like world-ending thunder.

In reality, it was an Emperor Armament itself, which was why she couldn't stop it. If this attack fully landed on Yanran, the latter would undoubtedly die!

In this moment of crisis, her still-charming face was filled with determination.

Without the slightest hesitation, she pushed her cultivation to its limit, hoping only to appear beside Yanran as quickly as possible.

On the other side, Ling Kongzi was furious to see someone dare to attack another in front of him.

"Presumptuous! I have spent my life immersed in scriptures, seeking nothing but 'benevolence and righteousness,' and I never act lightly.

But for you to wantonly kill in my Jueqing Immortal Domain today, you have crossed my bottom line.

If you do not retreat, do not blame this old man for 'correcting' you with 'rites,' to let you know the integrity of a scholar and the righteous qi between heaven and earth!"

His voice resonated like a great bell, shaking heaven and earth, instantly maximizing the gravitas of a Quasi-Emperor Expert.

The Confucian cultivators within the Red Dust Grotto-Heaven looked at this scene, all filled with excitement and pride.

"Sir is truly worthy of being the contemporary great Confucian of the High Heavens. Not only is he profoundly learned, but he also possesses the integrity to protect all living beings. To be born in such an era and receive such teachings is truly the fortune of us Confucian cultivators!"

"Just now, Sir's words were like gold, shaking the universe. My shallow Confucian cultivation was actually stirred by the literary qi, and even my breathing slowed by half a beat!"

"So, the 'rites' of a Quasi-Emperor great Confucian are both the principles of a sage and the power to protect the world. To witness Sir's action, when I cultivate the literary Dao in the future, my heart will gain a thousand jin of confidence!"

...Unlike these Confucian bookworms, the martial arts cultivators who had traveled here couldn't help but scoff at Ling Kongzi's words.

At this moment, they couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves, quietly complaining.

"What 'correcting with rites,' what 'righteous qi of heaven and earth'? You talk for half a day and don't move. Why don't you actually make a move, you bastard!"

"If it were a Quasi-Emperor Expert of the martial arts lineage, they would have already charged up with their magic artifact. Where would there be so much fuss? He's truly mastered showing off."

"What good is profound knowledge? Protecting all living beings relies on solid cultivation, not shouting 'integrity' and 'righteous qi.'"

"Who says it isn't? Just start fighting, why drag it out with a bunch of grand principles first? This show of superiority is giving me goosebumps."

"Only Confucian cultivators bother with these superficial things. We martial artists believe in 'resolving the situation with a single strike.' Unlike Sir Ling Kongzi, who only relies on his voice to shake the stage, his words are longer than my master's sermons. If he drags it out any longer, that terrifying blood-colored lightning power will kill that person!"

...Ling Kongzi was completely unaware of this. At this moment, his colossal sky-reaching hand had already caught the falling body of the Heartless Empress.

Immediately, golden light radiated from his palm, righteous qi swirled, and runes flowed, making it as solid as a fortress.

He firmly believed that the blood-colored lightning power that had ripped through the void alone could not break through its defenses.

Just then, Shen Ningshuang's sudden warning exploded in the air: "Fellow Daoist Ling Kongzi, do not underestimate it, that is an Emperor Armament!"

Ling Kongzi heard this and instantly turned pale with shock, "What? An Emperor Armament! Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Before he could make any reaction, the blood-colored lightning had already landed on the colossal sky-reaching hand he had condensed.

In an instant, vast Emperor's might surged forth.

The blood-colored lightning power entwined around it receded, and a blood-colored, eerie battle-halberd was fully revealed.

It was indeed an Emperor Armament itself!

"Damn it, it really is an Emperor Armament!"

At this moment, Luo Wenzhou felt as if the sky had fallen!

Old Ling, Old Ling, you just had to show off.

Now they come with an Emperor Armament. Even if you and I are Quasi-Emperor Seventh Layer experts, I'm afraid we can do nothing to turn the tide.