Shu Wanqing certainly possessed formidable abilities, but Jiang Chen was no pushover. The moment Shu Wanqing showed even the slightest hint of making a move, Jiang Chen had already perceived it.
The four brothers of the Colossal Stone Clan surged forward as one, leaving Shu Wanqing no room to maneuver. Meanwhile, the other Bewildering Soul Puppet was dispatched by Jiang Chen to pin down Xiahou Jing.
Xiahou Jing could handle a single Bewildering Soul Puppet with ease.
But when two of them closed in on him simultaneously, the pressure increased dramatically.
"No good — I can't stay tangled up like this. Of all the strategies, retreat is the best!" Xiahou Jing took in Shu Wanqing's sorry state and knew that the tide of today's battle could no longer be turned.
He intended to flee!
While there was still time, Jiang Chen released the Nine Palaces Bewildering Soul Formation.
But the very instant that thought flickered through his mind, Jiang Chen activated the Nine Palaces Bewildering Soul Formation once more. That maddening labyrinthine space materialized before them yet again.
Xiahou Jing's guts twisted with regret. He knew he had likely just missed his one and only chance to escape.
When Shu Wanqing saw the formation reappear, a wave of despair crashed through his heart.
He possessed numerous secret techniques, each carrying some probability of allowing him to break free. However, with this space locked down by the formation, unless he commanded some heaven-defying formation-breaking Divine Ability or treasure, there was simply nothing he could do.
No matter how powerful he was, he could not reverse his fate.
Just then, from outside, the roar of battle shook the heavens.
Jiang Chen reached out with his senses, and his heart swelled with joy. The main army of the Glazed Royal City had already breached the Wind Cloud Sect's defenses without breaking a sweat.
The core forces of the Glazed Royal City had utterly seized control of the Wind Cloud Sect's entire territory!
Experts poured in one after another.
"Young Master!" the Peerless Great Emperor and the Well Great Emperor were the first to charge in.
The other Great Emperors filed in rapid succession. Upon seeing Jiang Chen, they were overcome with excitement.
Truth be told, when Jiang Chen had played the lone hero and infiltrated the Wind Cloud Sect, they had been harboring considerable worry in their hearts.
Only now, upon seeing Jiang Chen with their own eyes, did they realize that all their concern had been for nothing. Not only was Jiang Chen completely unscathed — he looked entirely at ease.
With the Glazed Royal City army's arrival, the Wind Cloud Sect's headquarters was thoroughly sealed off. All that remained was to harvest the crop.
"Young Master's orders: Heaven cherishes all life. Those who followed the rebellion and possess genuine remorse may be spared. However, they must swear a binding oath that for the remainder of their lives, they shall never again betray the human race or oppose the Glazed Royal City — and under no circumstances shall they defect to the foreign races. Should they break this oath, may Heaven itself strike them down!"
Jiang Chen was no bloodthirsty man. Those who needed killing had already been killed in great numbers. The effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey had been achieved.
Moreover, Jiang Chen firmly believed that after this battle against the Wind Cloud Sect, no one in the human domain would ever dare oppose the Glazed Royal City again.
After all, the Glazed Royal City now stood without equal among the human race.
Jiang Chen's decree spared the Wind Cloud Sect from a full-scale massacre.
Nevertheless, a small faction of diehards still stubbornly resisted. Jiang Chen showed them no mercy whatsoever, executing every last one without hesitation.
Inside the Nine Palaces Bewildering Soul Formation, the battle still raged on.
But Shu Wanqing was already spent — an arrow at the end of its flight.
"Jiang Chen, you will regret this! You will certainly regret it! If you kill me, other reclusive powerhouses will surely come to your Glazed Royal City and make you pay for my death!"
Shu Wanqing's voice, brimming with venom and resentment, echoed through the sky above.
Jiang Chen simply smiled and replied, "Other reclusive powerhouses? How many years has it been? The human race has fallen into crisis time and again, yet not once have I seen any so-called reclusive powerhouses step forward. I should thank you, really — using your life as bait to draw out all those hidden powerhouses sounds like a rather worthwhile exchange. Perhaps I might even broaden my horizons?"
These words snatched away whatever last thread of composure Shu Wanqing had been clinging to. Unable to draw another breath, he toppled straight to the ground.
Fueled by rage on top of his already grievous injuries, Shu Wanqing perished on the spot.
Jiang Chen immediately summoned Little White and Little Xuan.
"Your opportunity has arrived!"
The fall of a Heavenly-seat powerhouse — this was an exquisite feast. For Little White and Little Xuan, it was even more so.
Over on the other side, when Xiahou Jing saw Shu Wanqing collapse, his soul nearly fled his body. He cried out frantically, "Jiang Chen — Brother Jiang Chen — I, Xiahou Jing, have something to say!"
"Go ahead. Take your time. Don't take it with you to the underworld," Jiang Chen said coolly.
Xiahou Jing grew desperate. "Brother Jiang Chen, before this I was blinded by foolishness, opposing you every step of the way. It was because I was too blind to recognize greatness standing right before me. Now I fully understand just how childish I've been — to go up against a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius of the human race! It was nothing short of suicidal stupidity!"
"I know my mistakes now. Please, Brother Jiang Chen, let me go. I swear, the moment you release me, I'll scram straight back to the Myriad Abyss Island. I'll even plead on your behalf to my Third Brother!"
"You know this, don't you? Your Dao companion, Lady Huang'er, will soon be handed over to my Third Brother as a cultivation furnace. Surely you don't want your beloved to wither away and die like that — pathetic and inglorious?"
It had to be said, Xiahou Jing was quite the silver-tongued orator.
But to Jiang Chen's ears, these were nothing more than the whimpers of a defeated dog — the ugly spectacle of a dying man's last stand.