As the Boundless Heaven’s titled Celestial Emperors who were assassins, Dugu Wu and Dugu Wen did not simply accept assassination jobs. They only dared to kill those without extraordinary backgrounds, connections, or powerhouses. If it was not absolutely necessary, they would not kill Xu Lang, the Verdant Prairie Celestial Emperor, in fear of offending the Heavenly Pool Palace. In fact, even killing an ordinary disciple or a prodigious disciple carried the risk of offending the Heavenly Pool Palace. Therefore, accepting the job to kill Duan Ling Tian came with certain risks. Who knew if the Heavenly Pool Palace would send all their titled Celestial Emperors after them.
Apart from that, there were other titled Celestial Emperors the duo was unwilling to provoke as well. One of them was Zheng Yu Yi, the Copper Mountain Celestial Emperor. Although he did not belong to a heaven-grade force, his biological elder brother was one of the three strongest titled Celestial Emperors in a heaven-grade force. If they killed Zheng Yu Yi, there was no doubt they would offend his eldest brother.
Zheng Yu Yi’s appearance caused Dugu Wu to completely lose interest in the battle. He only wanted to leave at this moment. Unfortunately, it seemed like Zheng Yu Yi had no intention of letting him leave.
“Since you’re already here, you should just stay!” Xu Lang said with a scoff before he and Zheng Yu Yi attacked.
In the end, Dugu Wu was forced to revert to his true form, a Tenacious Heavenly Bamboo. His aura was terrifying as he shot through the sky toward Xu Lang and Zheng Yu Yi.
“Xu Lang, Zheng Yu Yi, since you insist on this, don’t blame me for not holding back!” Dugu Wen, who was being suppressed, was furious. He unleashed all his strength in hopes of turning the tide of the battle. However, despite his words, he did not continue to attack after gaining the upper hand. Instead, he seized the chance to run away instead. With his current strength, it would be difficult for him to fend off Xu Lang and Zheng Yu Yi’s joint attacks for long. Moreover, the longer the battle dragged out, the higher the risk of the reinforcement from the Heavenly Pool Palace arriving. At that time, he would not be able to escape even if he wanted to.
After Dugu Wu left, Zheng Yu Yi asked curiously, “Xu Lang, who did your seventh disciple offend?”
“I have no idea.” Xu Lang shook his head with a dark expression on his face. Before Duan Ling Tian teleported away, Duan Ling Tian had sent him a Voice Transmission. For this reason, he knew Duan Ling Tian had no contact with people in the Boundless Heaven except for those in the Heavenly Pool Palace. The biggest suspect was Han Yun Jin, the disciple of the Profound Heaven Celestial Emperor. However, since this was an internal matter in the Heavenly Pool Palace, he did not reveal this to Zheng Yu Yi.
Zheng Yu Yi asked again, “Does it mean Dugu Wen is chasing after your seventh disciple?”
Xu Lang nodded. A hint of worry flashed in the depths of his eyes at this moment. Although Duan Ling Tian had told him he was confident facing Dugu Wen, he still could not help but worry about Duan Ling Tian. After all, despite how talented Duan Ling Tian was, Duan Ling Tian was just a titled Celestial Lord. On the other hand, Dugu Wen was not just an ordinary Celestial Emperor; he was a titled Celestial Emperor.
In the end, Xu Lang said to Zheng Yu Yi, “Thank you for helping me… We should return now.”
After bidding farewell to Zheng Yu Yi, Xu Lang led Huan’er and the others back to the Heavenly Pool Palace. Although he really wanted to help Duan Ling Tian, there was nothing he could do now.
Wen Wan’er said, “Let’s wait for Little Junior Brother’s message… He said he’ll notify us once he’s safe.”
Before Duan Ling Tian left, he had told them he would contact them again once he was safe. Although they were eager to send Duan Ling Tian a message, they did not do so because they were afraid it would distract him. A slight distraction was the difference between life and death when hunted by a titled Celestial Emperor after all.
Therefore, even Huan’er dared not send Duan Ling Tian a message. She could only fervently pray for Duan Ling Tian to be safe.
…
Somewhere in the Boundless Heaven Territory.
“Boy, you can’t run from me even though you’ve comprehended the Teleportation Profundity to the mastery stage!”
The teenager was like a phantom as he trailed closely behind the person ahead of him. As time passed, the distance between them began to grow closer and closer.
‘As expected of a titled Celestial Emperor, he really is fast.’ Duan Ling Tian who was being chased kept casting the Teleportation Profundity. However, his expression was turning grimmer and grimmer as time passed.
At this moment, the World Cleansing Divine Water’s voice rang in Duan Ling Tian’s ears. “It’s almost time. You will overexert yourself if you continue like this. I’ll take something for Dugu Wu to arrive. I believe Xu Lang is able to keep him occupied.”
Naturally, Duan Ling Tian was unaware that Xu Lang had sought help from Zheng Yu Yi and that they were successful in delaying Dugu Wu.
After Duan Ling Tian responded to the World Cleansing Divine Water, he stopped casting the Teleportation Profundity. He turned to look at the teenager who had just arrived in a blink of an eye.
“You should have just come to a stop earlier,” Dugu Wen said as the corners of lip lifted. “Since you didn’t obediently cooperate with me, there’s no need for me to leave you an intact corpse.” Based on his words, it was obvious he had no doubts Duan Ling Tian would die.
“How arrogant! You’re just a puny flower…” Duan Ling Tian said before he smiled disdainfully.
“Die!” Dugu Wen’s eyes shone with killing intent as his green Celestial Origin Energy surged out violently. Soon after, vines shot out in the air like dancing dragons toward Duan Ling Tian.
Dugu Wen was a Seven Stars Celestial Emperor, to be precise. His Celestial Origin Energy that had been boosted by the law of wood weighed down on Duan Ling Tian. Duan Ling Tian took a deep breath when his expression changed slightly.
All of a sudden, a translucent small tree appeared in front of Duan Ling Tian. In just a short time, the tree grew rapidly into an enormous tree. At first glance, the tree looked like a giant pine tree. However, upon closer inspection, one could see its branches and leaves were that of a willow tree.
“A Pine Willow Divine Tree?! You’re not human?” Dugu Wen’s eyes narrowed when he saw the tree. After a moment, he added, “No, you’re not a Pine Willow Divine Tree! It’s the Godly Image Phenomenon!”
In just a brief moment, Dugu Wen discovered Duan Ling Tian was using the Godly Image Phenomenon to manifest the Pine Willow Divine Tree. The Pine Willow Divine Tree was similar to his true form, the Hundred Colors Flower, in the sense that they were comparable to top-tier Celestial Beasts. He scoffed before saying contemptuously, “Boy, so what if you’re capable of using the Godly Image Phenomenon? You’re a mere titled Celestial Lord, don’t tell me you think you can go against a titled Celestial Emperor like me?”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At this moment, the vines reached Duan Ling Tian, ready to reap his life. However, he remained unfazed. Grey energy rose from his body before merging with the Pine Willow Divine Tree from the Godly Image Phenomenon.
Concurrently, a seven-color sword ray shot out of his body as well merged with the Godly Image of the Pine Willow Divine Tree, giving colors to the tree’s branches and leaves.
‘Clear Heavens Divine Wood!’ With just a thought, the Clear Heavens Divine Wood in Duan Ling Tian’s body sent its energy into the Godly Image of the Pine Willow Divine Tree.
With this, the Godly Image of the tree began to solidify and turned into a real Pine Willow Divine Tree.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The branches and leaves of the Pine Willow Divine Tree shone with seven colors as they collided with the vines.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A huge shockwave from the collision rippled out into the surroundings and many small mushroom clouds bloomed in the air as thunderous explosions rang out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The backlash from the collision caused the ground to quake violently. Soon enough, cracks began to appear on the tall and huge mountain beneath Duan Ling Tian and Dugu Wen’s feet. The mountain shook for a moment before it collapsed, stirring up a huge cloud of dust.
“I didn’t expect you to be able to block my attack. Your strength is not any weaker than that of an ordinary Celestial Emperor!” Dugu Wen said in shock as the huge mountain collapsed.