Xu Wei's sneak attack caught Xue Yue somewhat off guard, but her reaction was lightning fast. The instant she sensed something wrong, she activated her own Force Field to alleviate some of the pressure, while simultaneously activating a brilliant flash of light from her body. An Artifact resembling a jade ruyi was summoned forth, transforming into a curtain of light that enveloped her entirely.
With the curtain of light shielding her, the pressure from the domain field diminished drastically in an instant.
The jade ruyi in her hand was clearly a powerful Artifact capable of negating the domain field of the Void King Realm — much like the Ming Sea Domain-Splitting Mirror worn by Sword Alliance Young Master Gu Jianxin.
Artifacts of this caliber were not something ordinary people could possess. Refining such an Artifact was exceedingly difficult, and the materials required were extraordinarily precious — far beyond what a typical warrior could afford.
But people of her and Gu Jianxin's standing would invariably carry one or two such items on their person, to be prepared for contingencies.
After all, they were only at the Return Void Stage. The greatest obstacle for a Return Void warrior to contend against a Void King was the suppression of one's Force Field by the other's domain field. If that difficulty could be overcome, a Return Void warrior actually stood a chance of surviving a Void King's attacks.
For them, such an Artifact was nothing short of a life-saving treasure.
With the jade ruyi deployed, Xue Yue's pressure eased greatly. Her hunched body slowly straightened, and she turned her head to cast a cold glance behind her, finally seeing clearly who had launched the attack.
"Xu Wei!" Xue Yue roared, a trace of surprise crossing her face. She couldn't fathom what had gotten into Xu Wei that he would choose this moment to ambush her.
After all, doing so brought him not a shred of benefit and would only earn him the enmity of the Heng Luo Commercial Association.
Had Xu Wei lost his mind?
"Third Young Master, I apologize for the offense!" Xu Wei replied. Though unwilling, he had no choice but to submit to Zi Donglai's coercion and continue pressing his attack on Xue Yue. Since his domain field couldn't fully suppress her, he waved his hand and summoned a dagger-like Artifact, pouring Sacred Energy into it. The dagger immediately began to tremble.
"Go!" Xu Wei flung it forward. The dagger transformed into a streak of radiant light and hurtled toward Xue Yue like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Xue Yue's expression changed dramatically. Facing a Void King's strike, she wouldn't dare take it head on. She twisted her body and dodged from her original position, while simultaneously summoning her bracelet Artifact once more. It split from one into two, from two into four, from four into eight…
In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with illusory duplicates of the bracelet Artifact, making it impossible to distinguish the real one from the fakes.
The countless bracelet phantoms orbited around Xue Yue, forming an airtight protective net.
Cling clang clink…
A rapid series of crisp sounds rang out as the bracelet phantoms clashed with the dagger's radiance. Phantoms were struck and dissipated one after another, and the dagger's power was gradually worn down.
"Xu Wei, you're courting death!" Ni Guang had noticed the commotion and flew into a rage, letting out a deep shout.
Xu Wei gritted his teeth in silence, unable to voice his grievances — the bitterness in his mouth surpassed even that of eating raw Coptis root.
He knew that after this incident, he had landed himself in truly dire trouble.
"Mr. Ni, my earlier proposal still stands. You might do well to reconsider it carefully." Zi Long's voice drifted over, unhurried and composed, as though victory were already in his grasp.
The others might not understand why Xu Wei had suddenly gone mad and attacked Xue Yue, but Zi Long knew perfectly well — it was his son's idea. At present, only his son could compel Xu Wei to act.
Zi Long was extremely satisfied with Zi Donglai's decision.
Ni Guang's expression was dark as storm clouds. While controlling his humanoid puppet to compete with Zi Long for the Tree of Immortality, he kept close watch on Xue Yue's situation. Before long, he gritted his teeth and growled in a low voice: "If I can't have it, neither can you!"
"What are you trying to do?" Zi Long's expression shifted.
Ni Guang answered with action. The very instant his words fell, the humanoid puppet suddenly erupted with blinding radiance. Its limbs moved in wide, sweeping arcs as it launched a ferocious assault on the giant serpent puppet.
A barrage of thunderous impacts rang out, and the giant serpent puppet was struck so hard that sparks flew in every direction.
"Ni Guang!" Zi Long howled, his face twisted with fury. His puppet was already under tremendous pressure from the Seven Luminary Treasure Light, having sustained considerable damage. Now, battered by Ni Guang's humanoid puppet's savage onslaught, its damage grew even worse — its limbs had become sluggish and unresponsive.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Ni Guang laughed heartily. Seizing the brief moment the giant serpent puppet was driven back, he maneuvered his humanoid puppet to seize a leaf imbued with Undying Origin Liquid, then yanked it free with a violent tug.
The next instant, the humanoid puppet charged outward without looking back.
But as it ran, a sound like a broken bellows wheezing came from within the puppet, and pieces of its components began dropping off one after another.
This puppet had clearly reached its limit!
Its speed grew slower and slower, as though it might collapse at any moment.
Meanwhile, Zi Long's giant serpent puppet was no better off. After being savagely beaten by Ni Guang's humanoid puppet, its limbs moved stiffly and awkwardly, and its own components had begun to crack and crumble.
Seeing this, Zi Long knew the situation was beyond salvageable. He could only settle for second best — commanding the giant serpent puppet to bite down on a leaf containing Undying Origin Liquid, tearing it free, and then having the puppet retreat.