At this very moment.
The long street was already deathly silent.
Above, drifting clouds hung low, and over a dozen terrifying auras mingled together like the collapse of Mount Tai.
Before such magnificent heavenly might, ordinary commoners were already scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
They couldn't even summon the thought of peeking.
The Demon Suppression Guards looked at each other, their eyes filled with bewilderment and helplessness.
Although they possessed some level of cultivation.
What difference was there between them and the commoners before this group of aloof Tower-Ascending Martial Immortalss?
With just a single thought, their lives could be decided... they couldn't even resist for a moment longer.
But when their gaze fell upon the girl's figure.
Their originally panicked minds miraculously settled a bit.
No one felt the slightest bit of resentment.
Nor did anyone wonder why Your Highness would provoke such powerful enemies.
They only knew that if not for the girl before them, the Great Tang would have become a living hell during the earlier demon crisis.
"Your Highness..."
A Demon Suppression Deputy General finally stepped forward, bracing himself against the suffocating pressure.
"These people have come with ill intent; I fear this won't end well. Should This subordinate go to the General Bureau and request Deputy Commander Zhao..."
Hearing this.
Jiang Yuechu turned her head. "No need."
She raised her hand slightly, her tone indifferent.
"All of you, retreat. Get further away; do not linger here."
"..."
The Deputy General took a deep breath and shouted, "Retreat!"
Although the guards were unwilling, they knew that staying here would serve no purpose other than distracting Your Highness.
They could only grit their teeth and recede like the tide.
The area suddenly became much emptier.
The Old Scarlet Flood Dragon stood behind Jiang Yuechu, his heart full of conflict.
More than half of the killing intent filling the sky was aimed at his Jinx of a Master.
Even a mere leak of the residual might was almost more than his old bones could handle.
Run?
If he ran now, he would likely never have the face to cling to this thigh he had worked so hard to find.
Even a dog must have the awareness of being a dog!
If you don't bark a few times at the critical moment, what use does the Master have for raising you?
Thinking of this, the Old Scarlet Flood Dragon steeled his heart and suddenly straightened his hunched back.
Pointing at the group of aloof figures in the sky, he strained his throat and let out an angry roar.
"Presumptuous!"
This shout actually startled Running Ox beside him.
The Old Scarlet Flood Dragon's hair and beard bristled with righteous indignation. "A bunch of nobodies from who-knows-where, how dare you put on airs before my Master?!"
Then, he turned to Jiang Yuechu and said, "These scumbags have gone too far. Such disrespect toward you is simply an inversion of the heavenly order! This old servant will... this old servant will teach them a lesson for you!"
Having said that, the old fellow actually started jumping around, pointing at the sky and hurling foul-mouthed insults.
Wang Ziyu had long since put away his usual playful grin; his delicate, porcelain-like face was full of seriousness.
He looked up at the sky, then at Jiang Yuechu, and finally sighed helplessly.
"This matter... I cannot help you."
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I truly cannot."
"Neither can my Master."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the familiar and unfamiliar Dao Lineage spiritual rhythms in the sky, and lowered his voice.
"If they were ordinary Loose Cultivators, if you killed them, you killed them; my Xuanzhen Grotto-Heaven would cover for you."
"But those standing up there now involve several Dao Lineages like Wuxiang, Fuluan, and Cinder of Calamity, and there are even a few I haven't encountered before."
"If I take action, it would represent the will of Xuanzhen Grotto-Heaven..."
No matter how good their personal friendship was.
In the face of Dao Lineage interests, one ultimately lacks autonomy.
It was better to state it clearly beforehand to avoid hurting their relationship.
Jiang Yuechu hearing this, her expression remained unchanged as she gave a slight nod.
"It's fine."
Two simple words.
Neither disappointment nor blame.
On her journey thus far, she had never relied on any background or backing, let alone the charity or pity of others.
All her confidence.
Came from the blade in her hand and the conviction in her heart.
Wang Ziyu gave the girl a deep look, said no more, and silently stepped aside.
Although he couldn't intervene.
But he didn't leave either.
This was the limit of what he could do.
Right now.
On the long street, the atmosphere was fraught with tension.
Sky and ground stood in confrontation.
On one side were over a dozen aloof Tower-Ascending Martial Immortalss from various Dao Lineages.
On the other was a solitary Girl in Black Robes within a mortal Dynasty.
No matter how one looked at it, this was a crushing defeat with no suspense.
Above the clouds.
Over a dozen figures remained silent.
They merely scrutinized the girl below with cold gazes.
After a long time.
Someone finally broke the deathly silence.
"Cough, cough..."
Accompanied by several aged coughs, a figure slowly approached from above.
An old woman in dark green robes looked down from above, her eyelids drooping as she spoke unhurriedly, "Little friend, your actions have ultimately gone a bit too far."
"Although Daoist Master Cang Xuan was somewhat offensive, his crimes did not warrant death."
"Not only did you destroy his Physical Body and extinguish his Primordial Spirit, you didn't even spare his Disciples..."
"To be so ruthless and heartless, treating the face of the Dao Lineages as nothing..."
Before she could finish.
She was interrupted by the girl below.
"So what?"
"..."
The old woman, who had intended to continue, stiffened, a hint of bewilderment flashing in her eyes.
So what?
Listen to that!
Is that even human speech?
You killed a Dao Lineage Immortal Master and treated the orthodox sects as nothing... yet you dare ask'so what'?
With such self-righteousness, do you expect us to praise you?
Above the clouds.
Another woman in white robes suddenly spoke, "Presumptuous! Do you know who we are? Do you know what stands behind us..."
Jiang Yuechu was already too lazy to listen to any more.
Talking about the face of Dao Lineages, arguing about actions being too extreme.
In every word, they were merely trying to rely on their superior numbers.
What if they had to stand before her alone?
With that thought.
The girl slowly raised her head, and a smile suddenly bloomed on her exquisite, picture-perfect face.
In the next moment.
Boom—!!!
Her entire body slowly floated into the air.
As she rose higher.
The terrifying aura that had been dormant within her for so long was finally unleashed without reservation.
Hum—
Golden light, like a prairie fire, instantly surged through her body.
Accompanied by ten thousand shrill roars.
Rolling black mist came howling forth.
The black mist surged to the heavens, blotting out the clouds and the sun.
In an instant, it forcibly pushed back the brilliant divine light that originally belonged to the various Dao Lineages.
Crack—
Crack—
Heart-palpitating cracking sounds rang out one after another.
Everyone looked on in horror.
Under the intertwining of golden light and black mist.
Her originally fair, jade-like skin eerily cracked open.
From deep within the cracks, countless streaks of ominous red light jostled to squeeze out.
Two streams of white mist, seemingly solid, flowed down from her shoulders, several yards long.
Seen from a distance.
The girl's figure hung suspended in mid-air.
Surrounded by billowing black mist, she looked like an abyss or a hell.
Cracks covered her entire body, and red light emanated through them, looking mournfully beautiful and resolute.
The white mist flowing from her shoulders added a touch of the supernatural.
The dozen or so Tower-Ascending Martial Immortalss, who had been calm and composed just moments ago.
Now, before such ferocious power.
Finally showed expressions of gravity...