"Give the order, Sect Master. If you don't, we won't even have a place to stand," Xiao Bai said.
"Shenxing Sect disciples, heed my command! Kill all intruders with all your might," Sect Master Leng said in a deep voice, his voice resonating in all directions.
Simultaneously, the various sect masters and peak lords also unfurled their figures, swiftly moving towards the seaside.
Upon receiving the order, the Shenxing Sect disciples unleashed a barrage of divine abilities, techniques, and magical artifacts, engulfing the surrounding turtles. Beams of light and energy crisscrossed, painting a dazzling and vibrant spectacle.
The turtles silently and slowly retracted their heads into their shells. The divine abilities, techniques, and flying swords struck the turtle shells, erupting in sparks and streams of light. However, the shells remained completely undamaged. Some of the techniques even rebounded, causing the Shenxing Sect disciples to be injured and fall to the ground.
After the initial onslaught, all the turtles extended their heads and spat towards the upper-斜 direction. A red light band shot out, like a thread, piercing over everyone's heads, through the peaks, and all the way to the other end of the island. Turtles on the other side also spat red light bands towards this coast.
Thousands of light bands connected, intertwining to form a massive net that ensnared the entire "island." The "net" was rapidly descending, seemingly about to bind everyone in an instant.
Shenguishan descended into chaos. Before Sect Master Leng could issue another order, everyone unleashed their magical treasures, striking at the "net." A cacophony of explosions erupted, accompanied by blinding light. The net was sometimes lifted, sometimes lowered, but it remained unbroken.
Misfortune never comes singly. At this moment, Shenguishan began to slowly sink. If they didn't find a way to break through, everyone would be dragged into the sea. Although cultivators generally possessed the art of breath-holding, they couldn't abstain from breathing indefinitely.
Many Shenxing Sect disciples fell into despair. Without regard for their own safety, they flew up and charged at the giant net. In the next moment, many of them indeed broke through, their faces filled with elation. However, their joy quickly turned to terror as their bodies were sliced into pieces by the net, splitting into irregular shapes and falling back onto the island. As they passed through the net again, they were cut even finer. A rain of blood drizzled from the sky.
"Ah!" Many people screamed in despair, as if driven mad. They realized that even before the entire island submerged, as long as the giant net descended, they would all perish.
Elder Leng remained relatively calm and shouted, "Everyone, follow me and attack one point. As long as we create an opening, we can escape."
As he spoke, he unleashed his flying sword, which, imbued with the power of wind and fire, surged towards the giant net. Xiao Bai and the others also unleashed their techniques, divine abilities, and magical artifacts, all directed at the same point on the giant net. Thousands of lights converged into a cone, focusing on a single point. With a thunderous roar, a section of the red light shattered, dissipating into the air as red mist. A large hole was torn in the giant net.
"Now is the time! Follow me and fight our way out!" Elder Leng declared. Before he finished speaking, he soared upwards, lunging towards the breach in the net. Xiao Bai, Ling Xu, and others who were closer to him also swiftly moved, heading for the opening.
Most of the other disciples were on the outer edges of the island, farther from this opening. Seeing a glimmer of hope, they desperately surged towards the hole. However, to their horror, they discovered that the broken threads at the torn section were already extending, showing signs of rejoining.
These disciples were greatly alarmed, fearing that the opening would close, trapping them forever. They accelerated their flight with all their might. Elder Leng and the others ahead managed to escape just as the opening closed, forming a complete net once more. Many who were close to the closing gap collided with it, their bodies pulverized.
Those behind them immediately halted their advance and were forced to retreat rapidly, as the net continued to contract at high speed.
"Sect Master, save us!" Those trapped inside, fighting a desperate battle, unleashed their divine abilities at the red net while crying out for help to those outside.
However, this time, the attacks were scattered. The nets unleashed by each individual rose and fell, but none managed to create another breach.
After escaping, Elder Leng and the others let out long sighs of relief. Looking back, they saw that the space within the net had become very small, making it virtually impossible to concentrate their attacks on a single point. They were momentarily troubled, their brows furrowing.
Xiao Bai, sensing his worry, quickly said, "At this critical juncture, time is life. We can only save as many as we can."
Sect Master Leng immediately understood. He raised his voice again, "Whether you are inside or outside, follow my attack point and strike at that single spot together!"
As he spoke, Sect Master Leng unleashed his flying sword, sending a red light from the outside towards the giant net. The other elders and peak lords also attacked the same point in unison. Simultaneously, countless people within the net unleashed their divine abilities towards that point. Due to the angle of the mountain, many attacks struck their fellow disciples, who suffered innocently. Some divine abilities merged with those from the outside.
With a resounding boom, the red light shattered, and the giant net tore open a small hole. However, those too close to the opening were struck by the falling red light and the residual power of the external attacks, either being pulverized or completely corroded. The scene was gruesome.
Those farther away flew towards the opening, but it closed just as they approached, causing many more to crash into the net and perish.
"Alas!" Elder Leng and the others outside sighed in unison, believing that those trapped inside were beyond saving.
Indeed, in the next moment, as the net contracted, it touched the people inside. Their flesh and blood instantly burst apart, and cries of agony filled the air. Those outside could not bear to watch and turned their faces away.
Some within the net were still searching for empty spaces within the net. Some sought refuge inside buildings, while others hid beneath protruding rocks. However, the net, upon encountering any structure, would slice through it, and the protruding rocks were even less able to withstand it, shattering into pieces.
Furthermore, Shenguishan was gradually sinking. As it descended, the turtles began to climb upwards, their circles shrinking, leaving less and less space to hide within the net. With a deafening roar, the buildings within collapsed, and Shenguishan gradually submerged into the sea. Most of the turtles followed, diving into the water to feed on the corpses. A dense mass of turtles still floated on the water's surface, their heads raised, silently staring at the survivors in the air, seemingly unwilling to accept their fate.
Everyone turned their angry gazes towards the divine turtles. They faintly discerned humanoid figures within the turtle shadows, surmising that these turtles had become spirits, and some had even cultivated human forms. Their sheer numbers and apparent strength suggested that they were no match for them.
Sect Master Leng sighed and said, "Let's go. We can no longer save them. Moreover, we can only use flight techniques to return now. We have no foothold in this Hongmeng Southern Sea."
"Let's go. Staying here is of no use," the others replied.
"Want to leave? It won't be that easy," a voice from below called out. Simultaneously, all the turtles raised their heads towards the sky. Those few people opened and closed their mouths, as if chanting incantations. Everyone's head began to throb with pain. Qiu Chuyue and the others clutched their heads, struggling in mid-air before falling from the clouds into the sea. The turtles, like famished wolves, pounced on them, tearing them apart and devouring them in an instant.
Only Sect Master Leng, Xiao Bai, and Ling Xu in the sky managed to suppress the pain with their spiritual power, hastily fleeing into the distance.
In the An Nan Realm, above a certain country, Xue Nü was traveling by cloud. She had previously wandered aimlessly around the An Nan Realm and was now preparing to return to the Divine Pill Sect in the Nine Divine Realms. Suddenly, the light flickered, and several figures descended, blocking her path. Xue Nü asked with some trepidation, "What do you want? I'm just passing through."
There were five people, surrounding Xue Nü from five directions. They were all masked, dressed uniformly in black clothes and pants. Upon hearing her question, they remained silent. Each of them cast a thread from their hands, which intertwined in the air, instantly forming a net that descended upon Xue Nü. Xue Nü immediately dropped rapidly to the ground, but the net followed like a shadow, still aiming to ensnare her.
In a moment of inspiration, Xue Nü placed her hands on the ground. The air turned frigid, and a chilling aura spread outwards. The surroundings instantly entered a deep winter, covered in ice and snow. The ground trembled, and cracks appeared, widening continuously. A giant beast resembling a white bear emerged, but its white covering was not fur, but white feathers. As soon as it appeared, it leaped into the air, raising its sharp claws. With a hissing sound, it tore the giant net to shreds.
Xue Nü then noticed that the snow beast bore wounds, with numerous unhealed bloodstains on its body. It didn't seem to have been injured while tearing the net. Could it have been injured when it emerged from underground? Was the rock too hard?
She had no time to ponder further and immediately took flight, breaking free from the net's restraint.
Simultaneously, she formed a hand seal and pointed to the sky, shouting, "Snowflakes fill the sky!" Sparse snowflakes began to fall from the sky. These snowflakes, unlike ordinary ones that drifted gently, plummeted like hailstones, smashing towards the five individuals.
The five people dodged and weaved, moving through the gaps between the snowflakes, appearing quite disheveled.
"Fireworks!" one of them exclaimed, forming a hand seal with their right hand and opening their left palm. Five-colored light shot up into the sky and instantly expanded infinitely, filling the entire space with a riot of colors, as brilliant as fireworks. The lights engulfed the snowflakes, and with sounds of explosion, they struck towards Xue Nü.
Xue Nü erected an ice wall in front of her. The fireworks, however, continued unabated, piercing through the ice wall and striking Xue Nü on her shoulder and leg. Xue Nü grunted and fell to the ground.
The snow beast lunged forward again, attacking the masked figure who had cast the spell. The masked figure's body suddenly expanded, instantly reaching the same size as the snow beast. Simultaneously, it unleashed a palm strike, hitting the snow beast squarely on the head. The snow beast staggered, its head twisted unnaturally, before rolling away and coming to a stop a considerable distance away.
Seeing Xue Nü fall, the other four masked figures immediately cast threads from their hands again, binding Xue Nü's limbs from four directions.
Just as Xue Nü was about to be captured, a flute melody suddenly echoed from the surroundings. It was melodious and clear, yet filled with an invisible lethality. The sound waves seemed to carry layers of sharp blades, slicing and dicing. They severed the threads and continued to slice at the masked figures. The four who had cast the threads, sensing danger, immediately fled, but not before losing a layer of skin. The other, who had grown in size, had no time to revert and was instantly stripped of flesh and skin, leaving only bare bones. Before the bones could collapse to the ground, they were instantly reduced to dust and dispersed into the air.
The snow beast seized the opportunity and escaped. Xue Nü slowly stood up from the ground, looking around with a mixture of hope and confusion in her eyes.
At this moment, the flute melody ceased, and an old man appeared in mid-air, with white hair and a silver beard, exuding an ethereal aura. Xue Nü's face lit up with joy: "Grandfather!"
The white-haired old man also revealed a gratified smile: "Good granddaughter, have you missed your grandfather all these years?"
Xue Nü leaped to the old man's side and smiled, "Of course, I've missed you every moment."
"Good, you'll come home with me now, and you won't have to miss me every day," her grandfather said, stroking his beard with a smile.
Xue Nü paused for a moment: "But I still need to go to the Northern Territory for training?"
The white-haired old man shook his head: "There's no need. You have completed all your cultivation in the Nine Divine Realms. I have already informed your sect. Now, you will come home with me."
He then extended two fingers and tapped her between the eyebrows. A wisp of black energy rose from the top of her head and dissipated into the air.
"Now that your merit is complete, it's time to lift your restrictions. Without the restrictions, is there still a need for you to train in the Northern Territory? If I had lifted your restrictions earlier, those people just now probably wouldn't have been your match, would they?" Seeing that Xue Nü did not deny it, her grandfather continued, "Have you not neglected the cultivation techniques of our clan, besides your ice and snow divine abilities, in these past years?"
"Of course not. I always remember your instructions, Grandfather," Xue Nü replied. She paused for a moment and then asked, "Who were those people just now?"