Mo Qi, who was manipulating the Star Luck Stone, also felt intense pain, as if the firmament was collapsing, a feeling of being squeezed, his internal organs on the verge of bursting.
"Where there's life, there's hope," Mo Qi thought helplessly and unfolded his body, fleeing into the distance.
The disk of light descended even faster, continuously expanding and widening its coverage.
Witnessing a dark cloud spreading towards them, the surrounding crowd was terrified, scattering in all directions and fleeing.
However, Mo Qi was fast and ran into the crowd.
"You still call yourself a sage, can you disregard the lives of others?" Mo Qi said as he fled.
"If they die, they die because of you. In fact, you didn't have to implicate them. If you had just stood still, they wouldn't have died," Hongjun said indifferently.
As he spoke, he did not relax his grip, continuing to fuel his magic and enlarge the disk. His formidable divine power poured down, turning many people into meat paste.
Mo Qi continued to flee into the distance.
But the disk of light drew closer to the ground, its divine power growing stronger, leaving Mo Qi with less and less space to escape.
It seemed that only by burrowing underground could he survive.
As Mo Qi was considering whether to burrow underground, a strange light descended from the sky, piercing through the clouds. It was like a massive celestial body that crashed onto the disk of light, shattering it instantly.
Fragments of multicolored light shot out in all directions, mingling with the dark clouds, churning and rolling to form a bizarre spectacle.
Within the surging, wave-like clouds, four statues appeared.
Hongjun gazed at the four statues and said coldly, "So it's the Four Imperial Lords of the Milky Way Heavenly Palace. I wondered who it was. Even the Heavenly Emperor of the Milky Way dares not act presumptuously before me. What courage do you have to meddle in my affairs?"
A voice echoed from the center of the four statues: "The Second Saintess of the Milky Way Heavenly Palace has completed her tribulation. We are now acting under the Heavenly Emperor's decree to escort the Saintess back to the palace. We must ensure her safety and prevent your unsolvable divine ability from harming her. Therefore, we intervened to stop you. It is our duty, and we ask for your understanding for any offense."
As he spoke, a golden light erupted from the center of the four statues, surging downwards and enveloping Shui Han's body. It lifted Shui Han's body, carrying her upwards towards the sky.
Shui Han gazed at Mo Qi below the clouds, her heart filled with reluctance.
At a certain point, her upward ascent halted. She looked up at the four statues, pointing at Mo Qi, and said, "I can return with you, but I must see that person safe. Otherwise, I will die before your eyes, and you will not be able to report back."
The four statues remained expressionless, standing there.
The air was deathly silent.
After a long while, the four statues moved rapidly, occupying four positions and encircling Hongjun.
"Apologies, Old Ancestor. We are powerless and must act against you," one of the statues said, its voice utterly cold.
As Hongjun was still assessing whether his combat power could contend with these four, Mo Qi suddenly appeared. The Star Luck Stone, wrapped in starlight, struck him. Caught off guard, Hongjun hastily unleashed a divine light that countered most of the starlight, but he was still swept by a portion of it, knocking him off balance. He swayed precariously in the air like a leaf in the wind.
Having finally stabilized himself, Hongjun was enraged and prepared to counterattack. He looked up to see Mo Qi already drifting far away.
Hongjun was furious. He unfurled his body to pursue, but the Four Imperial Lords surrounded him again. Four divine lights struck Hongjun simultaneously. Hongjun was left struggling, fighting four opponents. He barely managed to fend them off but could not break through their encirclement.
He unleashed all his skills and with great difficulty repelled one of them, preparing to escape the encirclement.
Mo Qi suddenly appeared, his Sinless Spear surging as it struck him. Hongjun was again caught off guard and tried to catch the Sinless Spear with his bare hands. Initially, he felt it was a sure thing, but he gradually felt the Sinless Spear expanding and its divine power growing as it traversed space. It became increasingly powerful, eventually resembling an unstoppable divine artifact descending from the heavens, traversing from ancient times.
Hongjun no longer dared to catch it with his hands and could only unfurl his body to dodge rapidly. However, the Sinless Spear expanded at a speed far beyond his imagination. It grazed his body and pierced through, causing blood to splatter and gush out.
Hongjun was furious, but he knew he could not continue to entangle himself today. The longer he lingered, the more injured he would become.
He could only sigh and transform into a wisp of red and green, saying, "I will spare you for now, but from this day forward, you will face endless pursuit."
Afterward, Hongjun issued a wanted order for Mo Qi across the myriad realms, which indeed caused Mo Qi some trouble. But that is a story for another time.
Mo Qi retrieved the Sinless Spear and gazed at the distant sky, "If you have the guts, don't run! Let's fight to the death!"
Shui Han rolled her eyes, "If he didn't run, you wouldn't be able to beat him."
Mo Qi chuckled, "If I can't beat him, I can at least scare him." He then turned and cupped his hands to the Four Imperial Lords, "Thank you, four celestial lords, for your righteous assistance."
The Four Imperial Lords ignored him.
Shui Han said with deep emotion, "The ways of the world are unpredictable. I never expected that after meeting you today, we would have to part. I wonder if we will ever have a chance to meet again..."
"It's alright. As long as you don't forget me, I will come to find you again," Mo Qi said without hesitation.
Shui Han's lips curved slightly, "I might forget you."
With that, she flew away with the four statues.
The scene finally returned to tranquility, but the mess left behind and the bodies scattered on the ground served as a reminder of the great battle that had just taken place.
The followers of the Immortal King's Palace had long since fled. Everyone knelt before Mo Qi, kowtowing, "Greetings, Immortal King!"
Mo Qi was troubled. If he left them to their fate, the old officials of the Immortal King's Palace would surely return and re-enslave these people.
"Do a good deed to the end." Since he had already rescued them, he might as well escort them to shore.
Thus, Mo Qi stayed there for several more months.
During these months, Mo Qi established a new dynasty. There were no longer distinctions between commoners and immortals. Everyone had equal rights to cultivation and equal access to cultivation resources. Consequently, the subjects' cultivation rapidly advanced, and an atmosphere of peace prevailed.
During this period, Mo Qi sent people to find members of the former three great families who had fled. Those who refused to submit were killed, while those who were willing were given a chance and bound by soul contracts.
Because their cultivation was far superior to that of ordinary people, they posed a constant threat if not subdued.
As a result, Lin Junchen of the Lin family became a pillar of Mo Qi's administration, helping Mo Qi govern the Jupiter world with perfect order.
However, Mo Qi had to leave eventually. This place would ultimately be handed over to someone else to manage. After much thought, the Chang siblings seemed most suitable.
On a dark and windy night, when they were alone, Mo Qi spoke to Chang Yuning about this matter. Chang Yuning began to cry, "Isn't this place good? Why do you have to leave?"
Mo Qi said somewhat helplessly, "I also feel this place is a pure land, and I don't want to leave. But I have to. The outside world has too many people waiting for me, and I carry the hopes of too many people."
Chang Yuning sighed, "Actually, I was mentally prepared. I knew this small pond couldn't contain a dragon like you. But hearing you say you're leaving still makes my heart ache. I also know that once you leave, you will soar into the vast expanse and never look back, nor will you remember me."
"Be confident," Mo Qi chuckled. "You are still the third young lady I admire, always striving to win the favor of a goddess."
"You smooth-talker!"
"Third Young Lady, may I ask if it's possible..."
"Yes, it is."
"I mean, can you help me guard this place as a home? I will return one day, and I hope it will be warm and harmonious then."
"I am a pessimistic person. I know I don't have the ability, but since you've said so, I will persevere until you return."
Afterward, Mo Qi gave her the Jade Tablet of Creation, along with some scriptures and divine abilities of the Yuqing Sect and some elixirs, before reluctantly departing.
After the teachers and students of the Heavenly Fortune Palace attacked the Red Leaf Empire, countless people lost their cultivation and dared not return to the academy, disappearing thereafter, causing a sharp decline in enrollment.
Not long after, the Palace Master, Pi Donghua, discovered this problem. Upon inquiry, he learned that Zeng Xinbei had led a large number of teachers and students to the Red Leaf Empire and suffered a setback.
He first had Zeng Xinbei arrested and executed according to palace regulations.
Then, he led the academy's highest combat force—Vice Palace Master Bian Zhihuan, the four great tutors, and the ten top prodigy students—to the Red Leaf Empire, determined to destroy it.
Although Zeng Xinbei's unauthorized expedition to the Red Leaf Empire was wrong, the Heavenly Fortune Palace's lost face and dignity had to be reclaimed.
As the most powerful academy in the Ironwood World, the Heavenly Fortune Palace's strength surpassed that of any kingdom, even rivaling that of the Heavenly Dao Sect.
Under such circumstances, how could the Heavenly Fortune Palace tolerate its many students being bullied and remain silent?
Therefore, they had to seek revenge, and this revenge had to be carried out with great fanfare, letting the world know that the Heavenly Fortune Palace was not to be trifled with.
If they could also annex the Red Leaf Empire, it would be even better.
With the backing of a kingdom's resources, the Heavenly Fortune Palace would become even more lawless in the future.
Having calculated all possibilities, Pi Donghua led his entourage and set off directly for the Red Leaf Empire.
Ye Xingchen was currently dealing with rebels in the Orange Leaf Kingdom, while Ye Qingqing continued to direct everyone in setting up formations.
A storm was brewing, and Yao Shuang sensed imminent danger. Worried that her current strength would not be enough to cope with the impending crisis, she secretly withdrew her residual soul into her body...
Upon arriving at the Imperial City, Pi Donghua first circled it, contemplating methods to break through the formations.
Ultimately, he decided to force his way through.
After all, in the face of absolute power, any subtle tactic was futile.
But where this brute force should be applied was quite important.
Pi Donghua chose to attack the weakest side, Sun Qian's.