Rampant gravitational forces were exerted from above, the black hole was incredibly gargantuan, pulling in all light, energy, essence, and mana with forceful, almighty strength. The environment immediately contorted and distorted into a moving darkness slowly pervading the world. If not for a cultivator's Spiritual Sense, they would be utterly blind, but even then, with the compounded effects of intense gravity and the frigid spatial seal, their senses couldn't extend very far and were pulled into a singular direction.
"AHHH!!"
"HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!"
"I can't die!"
Agonized and panicked howls and shouts erupted all over as Chosen from throughout the vast lands were pulled upwards as if they were children yanked by their angry parents against their will.
The An Sisters' kilonova-induced black hole was too terrifying! No matter how reluctant they were, and how they circulated their forces and auras, few could escape from its devastatingly attractive force.
Among these few was a young woman, as valiant as a war goddess, as imposing as an eternal monarch of the starry skies, her body transformed beautifully as she invoked the 3rd Grand Transformation of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method! Roiling waves of Imperial Heaven Aura and Mortal World Intent wildly emanated from her, suppressing heaven, earth, and astronomical forces.
Wu Baozhai!
The Eternal Monarch Saintess was, shockingly, in her strongest state! Moreover, there was no sign of distress in her aura or eyes, simply pure, unadulterated imperial might. Within her enhanced state, her visual ability was abnormal to an extreme, and she saw everything in slow motion. The struggles of Chosen to the growth of the black hole above.
She had blocked Yao Houyi's arrow earlier, preventing the Archer from seizing the crown from afar. Those eyes of his had strange, mysterious powers, and he had incredible powers of retrieval. If an arrow had touched the crown by even the slightest bit, the Evercrown would've been his without a shadow of a doubt. She couldn't allow that.
However, her eyes emanated a grimness. If Xue Yifei hadn't interfered and forced him to prematurely launch his arrow, even her strongest state wouldn't have been able to veer it off-course. None of the Prime Ascendants were ordinary! Regardless if it were Zuhei, Su Mei, Shui Fengbao, or Yao Houyi!
NONE OF THEM WAS ORDINARY!
A heavy pressure mounted her heart, riding it until it grew too weighty to beat consistently, but this only furthered her desire for the Evercrown. Her starry eyes and long hair glistened with radiant light. With a wave of her hand, she called back her halberd.
Whoosh!
Xue Yifei was on the move. Her movements were fast and forceful as a dragon, as terrifying and pervasive as a demon, and her heartbeat was consistently unleashing roars of spiritual strength as she pushed through. Her eyes were effused with the light of calculation reinforced by an unyielding resolve.
She instantly shot within five hundred meters of the Evercrown!
As she reached that distance, Yi Yun was among the individuals dragged upwards. Yi Xuehan tried to grab him, but alas, she was violently pulled upwards too despite her Demi-Mystic State. The gravitational force was beyond her imagination, and she felt completely powerless despite clutching Yi Yun's body.
San Yongli was also among those pulled up. She had tools and means to counteract the gravitational force, but she hadn't pulled them out. When she wanted to, she was aghast to discover it!
Frigidity of Space! Her Saint Ring was sealed; there was no way for her to bring forth any of her stored tools. She resorted to trying to use her runic nails, but she was even more horrified to realize that she couldn't properly interface with these external forces of strength.
"It's one of the Calamitous Spirit Amplification Array's effects!" The soul in the jade within her Sea of Consciousness hurriedly relayed as she found herself in a situation of great restriction. The Calamitous Spirit Amplification Array was a mysterious array with three effects that was once renowned throughout the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone of her age.
The first effect was the most commonly known: the Amplification of Spiritual Strength of a single person. The second effect was what gained its reputation and name: Spiritual Disruption of all within a range of five thousand miles. The third effect was the ability to detonate the flags or individuals to unleash a type of Spiritual Self-Detonation.
"The effects of the Spiritual Disruption haven't failed yet! There are more flags hidden in the frigid space!" The soul in the jade immediately alerted as, despite Bei Weiwei being pulled apart, a portion of her hidden trump card was unknowingly revealed. Clearly, what was exposed was only the surface!
Despite that, there were some unaffected by the array's disruptive effects. These individuals had a certain degree of Spiritual Strength, unique treasures, or means, such as Xue Yifei or Wu Baozhai's 3rd Grand Transformation. However, San Yongli was still a Timelord, and her means were almost all either external or required her to spiritually connect. How could her Spiritual Strength rival these Starlords? Especially when there was a limit to each cultivation stage!
"Shit!" She gritted her teeth as she was pulled in, helpless to stop it. An unfathomable hatred surged in her heart as she was reminded of her past life, when she was just as helpless and unable to stop herself from suffering death. She hated how she was weak. She hated how she finally realized how reliant she was on external forces. She hated! She hated! SHE HATED!
"I got you!" A voice entered her ear as her slender waist was tightly held.
Her eyes widened as she turned her face. A beautifully handsome face emerged in her view, exuding an aura of strength and warmth. Her heart skipped two beats. Memories flooded every ounce of her Sea of Consciousness.
"..." She didn't speak verbally, but her mind was exclaiming loudly: Tian Yinwu!
The Imperial Prince was fast. He grabbed San Yongli first, then the barely conscious Xiao Yanyue, and after, snagged the flailing Yi Yun and Yi Xuehan using astral force manifested arms that elongated and pulled. With a headlong dive, he smashed into the ground that was being slowly uplifted toward the sky.
Tian Yinwu was in a unique state that was almost on par with Wu Baozhai's 3rd Grand Transformation!
EXALTED TRANSFORMATION!
Tian Yinwu tethered himself into the depths of the vast lands, preventing himself and the others connected to him from being lifted upwards.
"Don't let go," Tian Yinwu said.
San Yongli stared intently at Tian Yinwu's profile, emotions rising unbidden within her heart, and she nodded firmly as her hands clutched onto his body, refusing to let go. She could faintly feel that Tian Yinwu's power was exuding incredible strength.
Meanwhile, Tian Yinwu looked to the side. From the beginning he acted till now, there was a lovely figure that followed him silently. Wen Mingna had been by San Yongli's side and when Tian Yinwu moved, he had made a move to save her along with Xiao Yanyue, but she skillfully avoided his grasp toward her slender waist, and she had kept up with him as if she was entirely unrestricted by the gravitational forces of the black hole.
"..." He easily recognized her as a Heavenly Seer.
She smiled at him. It was as delightful as a field of peonies and a wave of soothing cool air, and it was hard to not trust her. He realized that, regardless if he had acted or not, chances were that this woman would have interfered to save the four. Still, he couldn't help but be wary knowing the reputation of ancient Heavenly Seers and their profoundly sinister schemes despite her astounding beauty.
He didn't say anything as he looked away to stare at the ongoing developments. The fight for the Evercrown wasn't over yet!
How was Na Xinyi doing?
As he wondered about such things, the Extreme Yin Saintess in question was standing in mid-air, her body ethereal and illusory as the gravitational forces couldn't impose their attractive powers on her physical form. She couldn't move very fast in this ethereal yin state that had form, not substance, but she was gradually approaching the Evercrown. She was, however, careful as her expression was unnaturally grim.
Why exactly?
SHIIING!
The saber howl was still ringing in the air! As the World Forbiddance Array collapsed, a ray of dark light scorched across the world as it approached the Evercrown at speeds that were unsurpassed by anyone present! Even Na Xinyi couldn't follow the trail of light!
Su Mei was so fast that the word 'fast' couldn't catch up to her! She had accumulated an astronomical amount of momentum, all unleashed at this moment. Unlike the others, she was very simple.
She applied the theory of absolute strength!
And she was fully testing it now!
Her movements split the frigid space and gravitational force with invincible sharpness, slicing through them like a blazing knife toward melted butter, it was as if there was no resistance whatsoever!
While everyone was struggling to reach a few hundred meters closer, pulled away by gravity, or struggling to maintain their position, Su Mei, the First Ascendant, reached the Evercrown in the blink of a Mystic Overlord's eye! It was beyond the perceptive range of everyone! Not even the enhanced San Yongli from earlier matched the speed!
A hardy hand that had seen numerous battles and claimed more lives grabbed the Evercrown, breaching the faint radiance still lingering on the crown, the same radiance that prevented others from directly pulling the Evercrown to them via mana or far-range spatial means! It was this lingering radiance that caused Bei Weiwei to just be a short distance away!
It was all blasted aside as Su Mei grabbed the Evercrown.
However, she didn't stop!
There was no victorious speech, nor any cool display or words of superiority, or giving a slight chance to fight for it as one might expect from the fearless First Ascendant!
When she grabbed the Evercrown, she flew away! She was gone.
Just gone.
"..."
