Juno's eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction. The Crow Merchant Guild had a collection of over a hundred powerful formations, and a small portion of these required massive sacrifices of lives to activate, thus they were classified as forbidden arts!
But now, with the support of the Western Continental nations, these forbidden arts, which require life as a sacrifice, could finally be fully unleashed!
...
Amid the vast sea and sky, Fang Yuan and his three companions stood in mid-air.
According to Lily's intelligence, they had already entered the ambush circle of the Western continent, so Fang Yuan decided to stop using the flying boat.
After all, he valued his possessions, and if the flying boat got damaged, he would have to repair it himself.
"Everyone, are you ready?" Fang Yuan asked softly. The sea breeze howled, lifting his snow-white robe, but his handsome face remained as calm as ever.
Gao Shang nodded steadily, "Ready for battle."
"Heh, hopefully this time won't be as dull as the conquest of the Eastern Continent," Mo Tianxing grinned, his eyes burning with battle intent.
Before he could finish speaking—
Boom! A brilliant energy torrent tore through the sky, carrying a destructive force, coming from a distant point in the horizon!
"Let me handle it!" A voice, impatient and eager, came from Ruan Chao'an as he flashed forward like a bolt of lightning.
With a single arm swing, his five fingers curled like hooks, gripping the destructive beam of light!
In the deafening roar of explosion, the chaotic energy surged like a furious dragon in his palm but could not break through what seemed to be an ordinary hand.
The violent residual force created a hundred-foot-wide crater in the sea below, with mist rising like rain!
"How... How is this possible? With just one hand, he can block this energy blast?!"
Juno's voice suddenly rose in pitch inside the Star Fortress control room. Her pupils contracted sharply, staring intensely at the feedback from the formation.
That attack was strong enough to shatter mountains!
"Blocked with one hand?!" The elder of the Iron Spine Sect trembled, his face growing serious. "Could it be that the Emperor of Xia personally intervened?"
"No..." Juno's voice sounded dry. "It's just one of his attendants."
"Attendant?!" The elder clenched his fists. "An attendant has this kind of strength?!"
"Hmm..." Juno adjusted the formation on the array plate, the data on the light screen fluctuating wildly. "The detection formation shows that the opponent is at least at the semi-Holy Martial level!"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment. The elder's breathing became heavy, and he urgently asked, "Then the Emperor of Xia himself..."
"The detection formation... has failed," Juno's voice was barely audible, "His presence... has exceeded the detection limits of the formation."
"Fuck!!!"
...
Ruan Chao'an shook his slightly numb palm and gave a sinister smile, "Heh... this blast still had some force, it made my hand tingle!"
"Good job." Fang Yuan rarely complimented him, this move certainly impressed him.
But one had to admit, as a semi-Holy Martial expert, Ruan Chao'an was already an unparalleled existence in the present world.
With his assistance, this Western campaign would definitely be a major boost.
"Someone's coming!!!" Gao Shang suddenly shouted in a low voice.
Before he could finish speaking, dozens of figures shot through the air, surrounding the four of them in an instant, and the killing intent in the air solidified into something tangible!
Fang Yuan remained calm, his gaze sweeping over the heads of the group.
Federation, Misty Court, Iron Spine, Crow Merchant Guild, Aodian, Dragon Anvil...
Heh... it's quite lively.
The elegantly dressed Pope hovered in the air, her gaze icy as she stared at the young man before her.
This was their second meeting, and perhaps because there were so many people present, she did not behave as unnervingly as the last time. Instead, she had returned to her usual holy arrogance:
"Emperor of Xia, today is the day you die!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan only smiled lightly: "You've tried to kill me three times already, yet you still dare to come to your death. I have to say, your persistence is admirable."
A hint of mockery appeared in his eyes, as if confirming one last thing, he asked:
"So, has everyone arrived?"
"If anyone is still missing, I don't mind waiting a bit longer."
Just as Lily had said, all the factions of the Western continent had gathered, but to be cautious, Fang Yuan still asked one more time to ensure that he could wipe them all out in one go today.
"Wait? No need to wait any longer! The peak experts of the Western continent are all here, and today, this place will be your burial ground!"
The second elder of the Iron Spine Sect spoke, his beard and hair bristling, and the battle axe in his hand gleamed with cold light.
He couldn't understand why the Emperor of Xia, clearly trapped in a deadlock, could still remain so calm.
His voice, light and carefree, made it seem as though it was not they who were surrounded, but rather it was their side!
Just as the battle was about to break out, Juno's urgent transmission suddenly exploded in the minds of all the Western continent's experts:
"Be careful, everyone! The energy cannon fired by the Star Fortress earlier was single-handedly neutralized by one of their members!"
This sudden warning made the previously aggressive group pause. Juno's voice grew even more urgent:
"They deliberately concealed their presence, but the Heavenly Machine Formation shows that two of the four are Grandmasters, one is a semi-Holy Martial expert..."
"And the Emperor of Xia at the head... even the Heavenly Machine Formation cannot detect a thing about him!"
"I suggest we split up and attack, just like we planned before!"
Juno's words caused the faces of the Western experts to change drastically. They hadn't expected that even the weakest among the four were Grandmasters!
The Pope furrowed her brows and immediately made a decision:
"Alright, we'll do as you say. Let's separate them and deal with them now!"
"No problem!"
Juno gave a light command and adjusted the array plate in her hand: "Spatial division, open!"
The artifact in her hand, called the "Grip of the Stars", was a national treasure even in the Federation.
Its most terrifying feature was its ability to refine mountains and rivers and use them as one's own.
Once the refinement was complete, that land and sky would become a toy in the palm of her hand, to be manipulated at will.
At this moment, Juno's fingertips flowed with the power of mountains and rivers, and the sea around them had already been completely refined by her.
However, she could not refine it alone. With the help of the Western nations, and the sacrifices of tens of thousands of people, she had turned this vast sea into her personal domain!
Here, she could manipulate formations at will, any formation at her fingertips. She could even control the space of this world!
Now, it was time to unleash the full power of this treasure!