"Aren't they afraid of offending the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?" Li Luo asked. He had already gotten his hands on the Sovereign Pearls, yet they were trying to s.n.a.t.c.h them away. They truly weren't showing any respect for their backers.
Xia Yu answered, "Those rogue cultivators are willing to risk everything for a Sovereign Pearl. If they get their hands on it, they won't mind leaving the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent completely. Nonetheless, you don't need to worry too much. Even if they catch you, they'll just pilfer the Sovereign Pearl from you. They wouldn't dare to take your life. Rogue cultivators are smart—they know where to draw the line."
After all, a Quasi-Triple Crown King was standing guard in Heavenly Dragon Peak. If Li Luo and his team weren't strong enough to protect their treasure, it was reasonable that it would be s.n.a.t.c.hed away. But if his life were threatened, the Dragon's Fang Lineage’s Lineage Chief would not sit idly by.
Li Luo shook his head helplessly. There was no way he would accept having his Sovereign Pearls taken away from him. After all, this was the key to evolve a Heavenly Dragon resonance.
"Looking at the situation right now, we can only rush back to Heavenly Dragon Peak at full speed. Once the news of the Sovereign Pearl gets out, even more people will have their eyes set upon us. We don't have any upper-grade Dukes with us, so we're not strong enough to put up any meaningful resistance," Xia Yu explained.
Even with Dragon Fang Envoy Jiang Qing'e and all five thousand Guardians gathered up, they only had the strength of a fifth-grade Duke at best. This would barely suffice in a chaotic setting like the World's End River Region.
With the Sovereign Pearls at stake, using their lineage to intimidate the rogue cultivators was pointless.
Moreover, their pursuers included members of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao.
"Four groups of a thousand Guardians will take turns supplying me with energy. We need to reduce our consumption as much as possible,” Jiang Qing'e said calmly.
"Hongyou, take control of the remaining group of a thousand Guardians and keep me bolstered."
The trip back would be full of danger and battles could hardly be avoided. As such, it was essential for them to be prepared and to keep a little in reserve instead of mindlessly draining all their energy on the escape.
"Yes!" the Guardians answered in harmony.
With that, Li Hongyou was given control of a thousand Guardians. She utilized their power and used her Crimson Heart Golden Seal to ensure Jiang Qing'e remained at peak condition for any potential fights.
Jiang Qing'e and the thousands of Guardians rode along the beam of light and shot across the sky, heading towards Heavenly Dragon Peak at full speed.
Sonic booms could be heard behind them.
Many signals of various shapes and sizes were blasted into the sky. They scattered in all four directions to garner more reinforcements.
Their full speed escape then proceeded on for another two hours. They did not encounter any obstacles thus far, but Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo did not relax in any way. Instead, their faces became more serious.
They could tell that there were many hunters hiding in the shadows, closely observing them.
The news of the treasure had already spread far and wide.
No one had taken the lead to strike first, but it was only a matter of time. After all, they knew that this opportunity would be up in flames if Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e managed to reach the vicinity of Heavenly Dragon Peak.
An immense and invisible pressure weighed down on the minds of the Guardians.
However, none of them showed any signs of fear. The five thousand Guardians were all elites that had been through multiple rounds of arduous selection. Even their cultivation journey was no walk in the park. All of them possessed ironclad resolve and would fight to the death no matter how strong their enemy was.
Suddenly, a bright divine light shone out from the Sacred Crown of Thorns on Jiang Qing'e's head. Her gaze flickered and her voice softly sounded out in everyone's ears. "They are coming."
Li Luo's gaze turned serious as soon as he heard this. He looked forward and saw multiple figures flying towards them from a distant mountain. They were clearly here to obstruct his escape.
As the figures blocked their path forward, towering Duke Bergfrieds materialized in the air.
There were four third-grade Dukes! They were all garbed in white, and a chilly air permeated the surroundings.
"Hand over the Sovereign Pearl, Li Luo!" they shouted. For a moment, the temperature in the surrounding area appeared to have plummeted.
Twelve gigantic Duke Bergfrieds stood in front of them like a monolithic wall, preventing Li Luo and group from taking any further steps forward.
"They're Dukes from the Enchanting Ice Sect. The Enchanting Ice Sect has always treated the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao as their leader; they must have received orders from them!" Xia Yu quickly told them.
However, Jiang Qing'e had no intention of slowing down even with four third-grade Dukes standing in her way. Light burst out of the Sacred Crown of Thorns and a crystal-clear Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried materialized in the air. At the same time, enormous energy poured out from the four thousand Guardians behind her.
Jiang Qing'e flicked her finger, and a beam of light shot out from her Sacred Crown of Thorns. Unrivaled Divine Mist rose up from her Duke Bergfried and fused with the beam of light.
Sacred Crown of Thorns, Nail of Piercing Light!
Bang!
A deafening noise broke out as the beam of light penetrated the sky, heading straight for the four third-grade Dukes.
The sky appeared to be sliced into half as the beam of light arced across.
With the aid of four thousand Guardians and Li Hongyou's boost, Jiang Qing'e's strength was frightening.
The faces of the third-grade Dukes changed immediately when they saw this. They quickly formed hand seals, and the twelve Duke Bergfrieds roared out at the same time. Icy Divine Mist rose out of their Duke Bergfrieds and condensed into a nine-cornered ice s.h.i.+eld in front of them.
Ancient runes could be seen on the surface of the ice s.h.i.+eld.
The beam of light that sliced the sky apart did not hesitate for even a single moment. It crashed directly into the ice s.h.i.+eld that was thousands of feet tall.
Kacha!
The third-grade Dukes were horrified when the two attacks clashed. Fault lines rapidly spread out across the ice s.h.i.+eld, and the terrifying light resonant power continued to purify and erode away at their resonant power at an alarming rate.
"This is bad! Retreat!" the leader of the group of Dukes shouted.
Bang!
As soon as he spoke, the ice s.h.i.+eld shattered. The beam of light gradually grew larger in the eyes of the third-grade Dukes. In the next moment, it pierced through the resonant power s.h.i.+elding their bodies.
The sound of an object piercing through their bodies could be heard.
Everyone who had been sneakily watching from the sidelines were stunned by this scene. The Duke Bergfrieds from the third-grade Dukes dissipated rapidly, turning into motes of light that were absorbed back into their bodies. The four of them spat out copious amounts of blood and then plummeted into the mountain range.
In just an instant, Jiang Qing'e had crushed four third-grade Dukes.
It was such a clean victory that it sent chills up the spines of those who were secretly observing.
They had seen for themselves how tyrannical an unrivaled talent like Jiang Qing'e could be. A Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried coupled with the triple ninth-grade light resonances was nothing to scoff at.
Silence reigned momentarily.
Nonetheless, Jiang Qing'e did not slow down at all. She continued to lead the Guardians, zipping across the sky.
She knew that this lightning-fast victory had achieved the purpose of shock and awe. However, it wouldn't be enough to stop all their pursuers. An even stronger fellow was sure to appear before them in the future, one that was likely to spell trouble for her.
This trip home was harder than she had imagined.
Jiang Qing'e's eyes turned cold. She gripped her sword so tightly that green veins surfaced on her snow-white skin.
Surely things wouldn't be harder than what happened in the Housemeet, right?
Bang!
A terrifying energy storm swept across the sky. Immense light resonant power blanketed the horizon, lighting up the sky as if the sun had risen.
“Argh!”
Light resonant power surged, and pathetic cries could be heard. Two people fell from the sky and attempted to make their escape. Above them, four Duke Bergfrieds appeared to be melting away, as if the light resonant power was purifying them into nothingness.
"Dragon Fang Envoy Jiang is incredible!"
The Dragon's Fang Guardians cheered excitedly. They looked at the beautiful and dazzling G.o.ddess in front of them with eyes full of respect and admiration.
It had been half a day since they had made their hasty retreat out of the Golden Stone Valley.
During this period, more than ten groups had appeared before them, all attempting to steal the Sovereign Pearls. However, even fourth-grade Dukes were unable to slow their advance. They were nothing worth mentioning in front of Jiang Qing'e.
With four thousand Guardians a.s.sisting her, Jiang Qing'e had reached the strength of a lower fifth-grade Duke.
Her invincible track record in battle had left a lasting impression on everyone.
"It should take us a little more than a day to reach Heavenly Dragon Peak. As we get closer, fewer people will be willing to risk it and stand in our way. When we get to the districts near the Heavenly Dragon Peak, the powers affiliated with our Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li will render a.s.sistance. As such, we should be safe if we can hold on for another day!" Grand Commander Xia Yu said.
"If we can successfully fight our way back to Heavenly Dragon Peak, we'll have one more epic story to tell amongst the Heavenly Dragon Five Guardian Armies," one of the Thousand Guardians said with a laugh.