Prince Qian smiled with an air of nonchalant confidence.
He slowly walked out of the cabin and onto the open deck of the spirit ark, where he saw Ah Xiu and the ugly woman squatting in a corner, talking about something.
Prince Qian narrowed his eyes and murmured under his breath, "It seems Ah Xiu truly likes this wife of mine. For him to have reached the Divinity Transformation realm at such an age, the influence of the Human Emperor's Blood on him is getting smaller and smaller. It's very likely he'll be able to control it in the future, and when that time comes, it's even possible he'll surpass Baimei".
"I really should treat him better, to gain another powerful ally. In that case, even gifting him my principal wife wouldn't be out of the question."
In those few short, murmured words, Prince Qian had already decided. He would train the ugly woman to be completely obedient and then place her by Ah Xiu's side.
"Ah Xiu…"
Just as he was walking over with a warm and gentle expression, intending to foster a good relationship with the pair, Prince Qian suddenly whipped his head around, his eyes filled with terror.
But what Prince Qian didn't see was a cold glint that flashed in the ugly woman's eyes. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly—a complete departure from her usual timid and submissive appearance!
"BOOM!!!"
An explosion roared from behind them as the spiritual power of cultivators erupted in an instant!
Everyone on the Spirit Arks was startled. When Prince Qian whipped his head around, he saw it: the supreme-grade Spirit Artifact-level spirit ark flying at the very rear had been blown to pieces!
Their vessels were flying at extreme speed. All they could see were flames flaring up and dust and smoke filling the sky. As the spirit ark shattered, cultivator after cultivator scrambled to escape the wreckage.
In that moment, the cultivators on all the spirit arks cried out in alarm.
"We're under attack!"
"Quick, use the formations! Protect His Highness, Prince Qian!"
"Where is the enemy? How is this possible? Our spirit arks have formations that shield them from heavenly secrets—no one should be able to find us!"
"There's a spy!"
Cries of terror echoed endlessly as all the cultivators aboard the spirit arks scrambled in a frantic panic.
Prince Qian stood on the stern of his spirit ark, his mind a complete blank.
Boom!
Following the destruction of the first vessel, another was torn apart in the span of a single breath.
The spirit arks were moving so fast that the clouds were but a white line in their eyes. In an instant, the smoke from the shattering vessel was already shrinking in the distance, and the cultivators who had escaped it were nothing more than black dots.
But in the perception of Prince Qian, enhanced by his Nascent Soul's 'Leaving the Body stage', the smoke from the shattering spirit ark was glaringly obvious.
*Shiiing!* (sound of a sword cutting through the air)
His Nascent Soul clearly heard it: the ring of a longsword tearing through the air.
The blade's edge was blindingly brilliant.
The figure that had startled Prince Qian from his nightmares for many years, the one that made him recall the words "I was wrong" time and time again, was now approaching, a sword held in one hand behind his back!
That person tore through the spirit ark, tore through the dust and clouds, his white robes fluttering in the vast sky's wind.
That person…
He was staring at him without a single change in expression, just as cold as the day he had faced him in the Prince's Mansion.
Even now, it seemed he didn't even consider him worth a second glance.
Boom!
Another spirit ark was blasted apart by a flash of sword light.
The man didn't say a word. His longsword was a flash of cold light, a Sword Immortal emerging from the mist.
It was as if he disdained to waste his breath on words.
"Your Highness, it's Li Yaozu of the Li family!"
"What do we do, Your Highness? He's too fast—faster than our spirit arks!"
"This is bad! Your Highness, he's fled… The elder from our Aeternus Sect has fled!"
Those "loyal and devoted" subordinates began to panic as the spirit arks were destroyed one after another.
Thirteen spirit arks were shattering.
Under Li Yaozu's sword, it seemed these supreme-grade Spirit Artifacts were as fragile as paper. A mere flash of cold light, and another vessel would be torn apart.
The cultivators aboard them fled for their lives, but Li Yaozu did not pursue them; no one was willing to fight him to the death.
He was getting closer and closer!
The face of the subordinate reporting to Prince Qian was deathly pale. The high and mighty His Highness, Prince Qian… was trembling!
And then.
His Highness, Prince Qian, slowly turned his head. He still wore a gentle expression, as if victory were already in his grasp. He smiled at all the cultivators on the spirit ark.
"He's just the Li family's Sword Venerable, nothing more. Go and stop him. You only need to hold him off for 30 minutes, and this Prince has a brilliant plan to ensure he'll meet a brutal end."
But as his words faded, the cultivators on the spirit ark—those from the Three Great Powers who had been coaxed into coming—all looked at him with complex expressions.
Everyone saw it.
Prince Qian… was trembling!
His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He was clearly smiling, yet his face was as pale as paper, and his very head and neck were quivering with fear!
Meanwhile, Li Yaozu was drawing closer and closer.
At that moment, aside from the roar of another spirit ark being sliced apart behind them, the vessel was terrifyingly silent.
The subordinate who had been reporting let out a long sigh, bowed to Prince Qian, then, without another word, walked to the edge of the spirit ark and departed on his sword.
Afterward, all the cultivators from the Three Great Powers on board followed his example.
In just a short time, only a handful of people were left.
Prince Qian still wore that warm, gentle smile.
With no one left to maintain the formations, the fierce wind whipped up his long hair. Like a walking corpse, he moved step by step back into the cabin.
Behind him, the spirit arks that had been following were shattering one by one, just like his despairing heart.
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