Chu Feng and Little Fisher waited patiently.
As time passed, events unfolded increasingly in line with Chu Feng's predictions.
Jie Tian's methods, though unorthodox, were indeed capable of opening the palace gates.
And powering that array took an enormous toll on him.
But the gates were gradually breaking apart.
Crack—
At last, accompanied by a crisp sound, a gap appeared in the palace gates.
The moment the gates parted, dazzling radiance surged out from within. Even though it was only a crack, the sheer volume of light that poured forth was staggering.
This was no ordinary radiance. It contained special barrier runes, formidable martial power, and traces of starlight.
It was a force composed of martial power, barrier energy, and unique starlight.
And that force carried a most extraordinary sense of the divine.
Once bathed in that radiance, one's desire for the palace would multiply tenfold in an instant.
It granted no direct benefits.
But it was a reminder—a promise of the power and treasures hidden within that palace.
Inside, there absolutely lay treasures so magnificent they could shake the entire vast Martial Cultivation World.
Upon sensing all this, Jie Tian grew ever more exhilarated.
He began powering the array with everything he had, determined to wrench the gates open in one decisive push.
Under these circumstances, not only was Jie Tian fully concentrated, but the power within him was being consumed at an alarming rate.
"Big Brother, if I launch a sneak attack now, wouldn't that be an unfair victory?" Little Fisher asked Chu Feng.
"Against good people, that would be an unfair victory. Against bad people, it's called being smart—it's called outwitting the enemy," Chu Feng said.
"Heh heh, then here I go!" As Little Fisher spoke, she opened her palm. A starlight array was spinning above it, and within that swirling formation hovered a starlight arrow of truly terrifying power.
This girl had been prepared all along. The starlight arrow was no simple weapon—if it struck its target, it would be enough to wipe Jie Tian out completely.
"Wait a little longer. Let him burn through more of his energy first," Chu Feng said.
Though Little Fisher's starlight arrow was already immensely powerful, Chu Feng felt the timing wasn't quite perfect yet.
They could wait for Jie Tian to expend even more power—and let his guard down further—before striking.
"Okay." Little Fisher nodded in agreement.
Then Chu Feng watched intently, and at last, in his eyes, the perfect moment arrived.
"Now!" Chu Feng called out immediately.
Little Fisher had been poised and ready. The instant Chu Feng's voice rang out, she struck.
With a single palm thrust, the starlight arrow shot forth like a beast freed from its chains, hurtling straight toward Jie Tian.
And as it flew, the starlight arrow rapidly expanded, transforming in the blink of an eye into a colossal bolt a thousand meters long.
Jie Tian was entirely focused on breaking the array, utterly oblivious to what was coming.
By the time he realized it, the massive starlight arrow was already right behind him.
ROOAR—
Yet, just as the starlight arrow was about to strike Jie Tian, a mass of dark aura surged from within his body, transforming into a barrier shield that enveloped him.
Little Fisher's starlight arrow was formidable, but the dark barrier was no weaker.
Under a piercing roar of collision, the barrier shattered piece by piece—yet the arrow's remaining force was spent at the same moment.
Jie Tian was unscathed.
"A guardian array?"
"That evil power placed it on him."
Chu Feng had long suspected that someone like Jie Tian would carry a guardian array.
But he hadn't expected it to be this powerful.
And Chu Feng could tell at a glance that this particular guardian array had not been placed by the Seven Realms Holy Mansion.
It was unmistakably the evil power's own strength.
The evil power valued Jie Tian so highly that it had laid such a powerful guardian array upon him.
Though it was a single-use guardian array.
It had indeed saved Jie Tian's life.
But Jie Tian, it seemed, had been shaken by the sudden attack—he stood frozen in place, unable to react immediately.
It was Little Fisher who responded first.