"Your Majesty, it's time to go. Time is of the essence." Daoyi could tell that Xi Ri wanted to speak some more with the Xi Emperor, but she couldn't discount the chance that Xi Yao contacted the perpetrators before he was killed.
"Alright," The Xi Emperor agreed. He was the rescuee, not the rescuer, so he knew that there should already be a plan in place. All he could hope for at this point was that none of his other children died in the process.
Xi Ri didn't say any words of comfort and asked Dandan to shift the Xi Emperor into the Vast Heaven Islands. Then, the two Buzhou Immortal Sect disciples ran towards the agreement point where they would meet up with Jiang Ziya.
"Do you want to stay inside the Vast Heaven Islands too? You've been trapped for months. It's better not to push yourself." Daoyi asked as she followed Xi Ri towards the side entrance of the Imperial Palace.
Xi Ri shook his head. "No, I want to make sure my other siblings and family are okay."
Daoyi nodded. She already knew that Xi Ri's birth mother, Imperial Consort Wang, had already died under mysterious circumstances shortly after he was born. Most likely killed by Xi Yao or the empress.
Still, she didn't believe that Xi Ri felt any kinship with his fellow princes or princess. Rather, after she witnessed Xi Ri's interaction with the emperor, she believed Xi Ri persisted for the Xi Emperor, which was a surprise because Xi Ri didn't talk much about his life in the Xi Dynasty in the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Daoyi didn't pursue the matter as it was Xi Ri's own personal matter. She didn't have any good feelings towards her family of this life due to how they treated her, but she could tell that Xi Ri was different. Even if Xi Ri was indifferent towards his siblings, but it seems that his relationship with the Xi Emperor was closer than she thought.
"Daoyi, Prince Ri,"
Not long after, Daoyi and Xi Ri arrived at the appointed destination. Jiang Ziya was already waiting with a little less than two hundred people. The Xi Emperor bore nine princes, and their ages varied from the eldest to Xi Ri, the youngest. All in all, the emperor didn't have many descendants if his age of a thousand years was counted.
"Uncle Ri, is it true that the emperor was possessed?"
Xi Ri looked at the speaker and recognized him as one of Xi Yao's sons. He didn't waste any words and decapitated his older-aged nephew. He was thankful that Xi Yao hadn't sired any children recently, so every descendant or woman of Xi Yao he killed were all in adulthood.
"Ninth Brother, what's the meaning of this?!" Xi Chen cried out, shocked by Xi Ri's cold-blooded murder.
"Cutting the grass by the roots. Eldest Prince Xi Yao colluded with external forces to harm the emperor and the Xi Dynasty," Xi Yao explained as he calmly wiped the blood off his hands, shocking the members of the Imperial Family present.
"I-is what Prince Ri said true?" One member of the Imperial Family couldn't help but ask.
"It's true," Daoyi said. "We don't have much time to explain. Otherwise, our plan to escape will fail. Quickly enter the Vast Heaven Islands, His Majesty is already inside."
Although some Imperial Family members wanted to continue questioning, they all complied under the coercion of Daoyi's cultivation. Some of them were jealous of Daoyi's status. She was obviously not a member of the Imperial Family, yet her status became more exalted by virtue of being Mengfei's disciple, making their hearts feel unbalanced.
But what could they do? They can only vent their frustration in the privacy of their homes, not daring to go against her openly. In this world, no matter how unfair you felt it was, only the strong have the right to dictate what fairness was.
Like all things in life, nothing ever goes as expected. Dandan was in the process of sending batches of fifty people into the Vast Heaven Islands one at a time, but during the second to last batch, Daoyi saw that one of the princesses suddenly threw something shiny at Dandan.
Daoyi could never forget the same ephemeral sensation she felt from that jewel sliver. It was Jiang Chunye's fragment of the Spectral Rising Jewel. "Dandan, watch out—"
However, Daoyi noticed too late, and the fragment of the Spectral Rising Jewel had already arrived in front of Dandan, who had already started the transportation process.
Just as Daoyi thought it was over, the Spectral Rising Jewel fragment entered Dandan's body as if it had pierced the surface of a clear lake. Ripples could be seen on Dandan's skin from where the jewel pierced him. "Dandan..."
"Hiss?"
Dandan opened his mouth and hissed with confusion with no apparent sign of injury. Unknown to Daoyi or Jiang Chunye, Dandan's current state was that of a mobile pseudo realm. It was akin to Tianyi's inner cosmos, only the Vast Heaven Islands was Dandan's inner world, and anything that pierced his body would enter the pseudo realm within.
Had Jiang Chunye's attack been physical or something else instead of a soul attack using the Spectral Rising Jewel fragment, then it would have caused more trouble. After the Spectral Rising Jewel entered Dandan's body, Jiang Chunye lost all connection to it.
Daoyi sighed in relief. Dandan was one of the cornerstones of the escape plan. If something happened to him, then it was unlikely they would be able to escape with so many people.
Her expression turned grave as she observed Jiang Chunye, who no longer pretended to act like a member of the Xi Imperial Family. She had always known that Jiang Chunye's stealth capabilities were remarkable, but she never knew that her sister could transform herself into someone else too.
Daoyi saw Hun Jusang coming out of the corner, and along with him, several of his specters emerged from his shadow. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was only him. The two must have only noticed after Tianyi's started causing a ruckus. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the two of them stopping them.
"Tsk, the damn pet is annoying as that bastard." Jiang Chunye cursed as she threw off the complicated imperial dress for the form-fitting martial attire underneath. "Whatever they're planning, we have to stop them, Jusang."
Hun Jusang nodded and sent his specters towards the remaining members of the Imperial Family. At this moment, the silent Jiang Ziya waved his arm. After the specters cross a certain distance, they would disappear as if they had disappeared into another world.
Jiang Chunye focused her eyes on Jiang Ziya. Initially, she thought the most troublesome would be Tianyi's spiritual beast and Daoyi, even though she was only a nascent soul at the moment. "Dear Grandfather, I never expected the most powerful person in the Xi Dynasty would be you and not the emperor. Senior Starsoul should have eliminated you first."
"What, cat got your tongue? The two granddaughters that you deemed useless turned out to be the most excellent. Are you angry? Are you regretful?" Jiang Chunye mocked while casting a glance at Daoyi. "And you, I never expected you to work with our dear family again. You disappoint me."
"And what, collude with outsiders to deal with my master's family like you?" Daoyi shot back without missing a beat.
"True, but the Xi Dynasty was never my home," Jiang Chunye replied without any anger.
"Enough," At this time, Jiang Ziya spoke, his voice full of authority. It wasn't full of dignity like the Xi Emperor, but a certain kind of confidence in himself. "I never harbored any hope for my grandchildren, nor do I expect you two to be grateful to me. Compared to relying on others, I prefer to grasp strength in my own hands. Unfortunately, your father did not understand this point."
At Jiang Ziya's words, both Daoyi and Chunye fell silent. The two were undoubtedly enemies, but on one aspect, they could relate to one another, and that was the abuse they suffered in the Jiang Family.
"Enough small talk, it's time to fight," With those words, Jiang Ziya commanded the tempo of the situation.
Under his Qiankun Law, Daoyi and Xi Ri didn't need to do anything as neither Hun Jusang nor Jiang Chunye was able to break Jiang Ziya's defense. The Qiankun Law was among the best in terms of defense, so Dandan was able to safely store the rest of the Imperial Family members into the Vast Heaven Islands.
Hun Jusang frowned at the deteriorating situation. He already suspected such a day would come when he caught Xi Ri, Daoyi, and finally, Tianyi snooping around. He nor Elder Starsoul of the Nihility Sect took any overt action to delay for time. Now, it was all but certain the Sword Empress Xi would be alerted sooner or later.
Right now, the only thing he could do was capture Xi Ri and Jiang Daoyi in hopes of grabbing hostages. As for Tianyi, he will leave him for Starsoul, the soul immortal.
"Chunye, step back. I'm going to go all out."
Hearing this, Jiang Chunye showed a shocked expression but quickly understood. She didn't say any unnecessary words and retreated as miasma began to exit out of Hun Jusang's orifices.
Jiang Ziya frowned when he detected the ominous energy leaking from Hun Jusang. "This...it feels like an inner devil."
He didn't have to wait much longer as the black miasma covered Hun Jusang like some exoskeleton, revealing only two glowing red eyes for the world to see. The devilfied Hun Jusang leaned back and unleashed a soul-piercing roar.
It wasn't a simple sonar attack, and not even Daoyi's musical attacks could compare. Anyone who heard it would be entangled by negative desires.
"Watch out! Hun Jusang just used a soul attack!" Daoyi shouted in warning.
"No," Jiang Ziya rejected Daoyi's conjectures. "That wasn't a soul attack, but the natural ability of a devil. The Nihility Sect disciple has merged with a devil. If you aren't careful, you could form an inner devil."
"What?" Daoyi said in shock. "How could a cultivator allow such an inner devil to exist within them for long?" Generally, inner devils were created from trauma or a cultivator's obsession. If they weren't careful, the inner devil would become them, a version possessing only negative emotions.
"No, it's not his inner devil. I heard the Nihility Sect dealt with devils, but I never expected that they would be so brazen as to seal a devil monarch in their own bodies." Jiang Ziya gravely said.
Inner devils and devils were related. Inner devils were the negative self formed by cultivators entangled by negative emotions and desires, and devils were formed from the accumulated negative emotions of living beings. They weren't formed in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System but outside in a special location in the Vast Void known as the Devil Abyss.
Inner devils could become true devils, and devils could possess a cultivator that birthed them. Devils didn't cultivate by absorbing any sort of energy like qi but fed on a living beings' negative emotions. Every so often, large numbers of devils would appear and cause havoc in all the realms.
"Be careful, I am not confident in being able to protect you two." Jiang Ziya said. And not a moment later, Hun Jusang, who had grown to ten meters tall, still clad in miasma, charged forward. "He's coming!"
Tianyi frowned as he rubbed his forehead where his third eye was located. It was pulsating as if an alarm was going off, and not only that, Tianyi had an ominous premonition. Something was agitating him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Soon, he would no longer have the leisure to ponder. As he saw the shell of his Emperor-Uncle appear in front of him.
"What is the meaning of this, Tianyi?" The possessed emperor questioned, fury on his face.
"Please, both you and I know that the act is up. Anyways, what should I call you? I can't exactly call you Emperor-Uncle, can I?" Tianyi asked with a slight smile as if all was right in the world. Although he was agitated, he didn't allow it to show on his face.
All the fury on the possessed emperor's face disappeared a moment later as if it was Tianyi's hallucination. "You can call me Starsoul. Tell me, do you think you can escape from a true immortal's grasp?"
"I'm pretty unique and strong, you know?" Tianyi lightly bantered. He didn't bother using his Truth-Seeking Eye as he didn't want to expose it to an enemy that he had no confidence in killing. "By the way, I heard some disturbing news. Is it true that the Nihility Sect is rebelling against the Buzhou Immortal Sect?"
"I won't deny it," Immortal Starsoul openly admitted, surprising Tianyi.
"You aren't even going to struggle a bit?" Tianyi asked. "Are you that confident in defeating the Buzhou Immortal Sect?"
Tianyi, who knew some secrets such as the forbidden grounds, found it laughable that the Nihility Sect dared to rebel. Did they think that just because the Xi Emperor wasn't a part of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, they would be okay in targeting him? This wasn't just slapping his mother's face, but the whole sect's.
"I don't know about the Buzhou Immortal Sect, but what will Sword Empress Xi dare to do anything to us with you and the Xi Emperor as hostages?" Immortal Starsoul asked.
Tianyi's eyes flickered towards the point where Daoyi and Xi Ri should have met Jiang Ziya. Currently, the sound of battle could be heard, and there was a black giant with two horns on its head visible over the palace walls.
He had some thoughts of going over there to provide support, but he knew that it would likely cause their situation to become worse if he brought over a true immortal and a soul immortal at that.
"I know my Emperor-Uncle, what do you think you can do to me with his weak body?" Tianyi asked.
"I won't need to use it," Was all Immortal Starsoul said. Since the two had begun to talk, he had been buffeting Tianyi with an unnoticeable soul attack, but Tianyi didn't seem to be affected. Even if he wasn't affected, he should have noticed something, but Tianyi didn't, confusing Immortal Starsoul.
Immortal Starsoul raised his hand, and the surrounding hundred kilometers turned to a night filled with countless stars.
'Huh, this kinda feels familiar,' Tianyi thought. It was usually him that released his true qi of primordial chaos and replicated a star-filled void, not the other way around.
The countless stars shimmered in the artificial night sky and seemed to become brighter and brighter. 'They aren't becoming brighter. The starlights are attacking me!'
Countless rays of starlight descended towards Tianyi at speeds far greater than sound but still slower than the true speed of light. But it didn't matter as there was just too much, and Tianyi could only cross his arms and block it to the best of his abilities.
"Huh?" Tianyi blinked as he felt the energy inside of him increase. 'I seemed to have absorbed the energy of the attack.'
Because of the constant need to cultivate, Tianyi was always compressing his inner cosmos. This resulted in him absorbing spiritual qi from his environment, slight as it was. When Immortal Starsoul attacked him, the energy rushed into Tianyi's body and was absorbed by him.
He looked to see the equally flummoxed expression of Immortal Starsoul. 'Ha! Tianyi: one, Starsoul: zero!'
"Your attack doesn't seem to be effective. Maybe you messed up. Why don't you try again? Come, I won't do anything." Tianyi taunted as he slapped his chest.
