450: The King of Shadows makes a move

The day Xun Xiuyuan had previously predicted for his emergence was drawing closer, and at this critical moment, Xiao Xuan's slightly weary voice suddenly rang out clearly in the depths of everyone's consciousness.

"The current energy reserves are almost exhausted. If I continue to force myself to hold on, I fear it will damage my Origin Foundation, and it is even highly likely that I will fall into a long slumber once again."

Xiao Xuan was not exaggerating or being melodramatic; it was simply stating an objective and grim reality.

Hearing these words, Shadow King and the others immediately understood what Xiao Xuan meant.

They sensed from Xiao Xuan's tone that the situation outside was clearly not optimistic.

As the spirit of Xun Xiuyuan's Lifebound Treasure, Xiao Xuan had always regarded protecting its master as its highest mission.

It would do everything in its power to prevent any crisis that might interfere with Xun Xiuyuan's Cultivate and Breakthrough, no matter the cost.

Shadow King's expression was grave, and he was the first to break the silence, his voice steady and resolute: "The enemies outside are extremely powerful, and even the weakest among them is at the Eight-System Saint King level. If you go out now, not only will you be unable to help, but you might also sacrifice yourselves in vain. It would be better for me to go out and face the enemy alone; I will hold them off for as long as I can."

Mortal World's lips moved, as if wanting to say something, but Yuan Yi spoke first, his tone respectful yet firm: "We will follow Senior's arrangements and wait here, ready to provide support at any time."

Hong Yu, standing to the side, did not speak, but his gaze was calm and his Aura was hidden, clearly having long prepared for a full-scale battle.

Seeing that Yuan Yi had already stated his position, Mortal World finally nodded and said nothing more.

Bai Huang watched intently as the protective golden light outside the xuanhuang one qi pagoda gradually dimmed, and waves of irrepressible joy surged uncontrollably in his heart.

Over the past few months, the pagoda had remained unchanged, and no matter how fiercely they attacked, the protective golden light remained motionless, solid to the point of despair.

To be honest, if it were not for the Void Spirit Beast insisting repeatedly that the xuanhuang one qi pagoda's defense was slowly weakening, Bai Huang and the others would likely have already lost the will to continue the attack.

After all, this group of experts who prided themselves on their high cultivation had actually joined forces to besiege a defenseless Magic Treasure for so long without being able to break it, and this persistent sense of frustration had caused a significant impact on their Dao Heart.

Just as joy surged in Bai Huang's heart, thinking he finally saw a glimmer of hope, a figure radiating dazzling light appeared without warning on the perimeter of the xuanhuang one qi pagoda.

The person's Aura was majestic, with light flowing around him, and his cultivation was clearly unfathomable.

Bai Huang keenly sensed the dangerous Aura coming from the opponent and, without hesitation, immediately withdrew and retreated back into his own camp.

Except for the Void Spirit Beast, everyone present retreated a significant distance, each distancing themselves, trying to find a relatively safe position to avoid being caught in the impending battle.

Although they knew full well that the Shadow King opposite them was at the bottom of the hierarchy in terms of combat power within the Hongmeng Realm, everyone still looked grave, not daring to be even slightly relaxed or careless.

Because since ancient times, there had been an iron rule in the cultivation world—in history, there had never been a precedent of a Cultivator in the Guiyi Realm defeating a Hongmeng Realm Experts.

Even if the Shadow King was known as the weakest of the Hongmeng Realm, his strength was definitely not something that the Guiyi Realm level could withstand.

The gap between the Realms was like a natural chasm, difficult to overcome.

At this moment, the Void Spirit Beast stared sharply at the figure in front emitting the Aura of the Hongmeng Realm Middle Stage, and suddenly recalled the instructions previously given by its master, Bai Guang.

Although it instinctively did not want to fight to the death with such a powerful expert, by comparison, it feared Bai Guang's methods even more.

For many years, it had struggled to survive under Bai Guang's tyranny and was all too familiar with his cold and ruthless style of doing things.

It did not even dare to imagine the consequences of disobeying orders.

On the other side, seeing this Hongmeng Realm beast charging straight at him without hesitation, the Shadow King, though not fond of fighting, knew that there was no way to retreat at this moment and had no choice but to bite the bullet and face it.

As soon as the two figures crossed, a violent clash of energy erupted, and the sweeping shockwaves of the battle instantly engulfed the entire hall, causing the four walls to hum and dust to fall in flurries.

Surprisingly, although the Void Spirit Beast only had the cultivation of the Hongmeng Realm Early Stage, it displayed quite formidable combat power.

It engaged in a fierce confrontation with the Shadow King, who was in the Middle Stage, and for a time, they fought to a standstill, even gaining a slight upper hand.

Seeing that it could temporarily stabilize the battle situation on its own, the Void Spirit Beast was greatly encouraged, raised its head, and shouted: "What are you still standing there for? Quickly gather all your strength and attack the xuanhuang one qi pagoda! We must break into the Yuan Ling Universe as soon as possible!"

Even now, the Void Spirit Beast's true goal had not changed—it had always coveted the vast, sea-like, and endless Soul energy within the Yuan Ling Universe, vowing to make it its own.

Seeing that the Void Spirit Beast could actually withstand the Shadow King's fierce offensive on its own, Bai Huang's confidence soared. He let out a clear, long whistle that echoed across the battlefield, then ordered all his troops to launch a fierce attack on the xuanhuang one qi pagoda together.

Seeing the situation turn sharply and the enemy rushing towards the pagoda with full force, the Shadow King was not flustered. He flipped his right hand and took out dozens of strange-looking, doll-like Puppet beasts from his personal spatial equipment.

As soon as these Puppet beasts appeared, they grew in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, their size swelled to that of ordinary beasts, revealing their ferocious forms.

Even more alarming was that the Aura they emitted had all reached the level of the Eight-System Saint King, and among them were several terrifying entities with unfathomable strength that had already stepped into the Guiyi Realm.

Although Bai Huang's side still had an absolute advantage in numbers, far exceeding the number of those Puppets, these Puppets had no fear, and every move and style they used was an extreme tactic of trading life for life, without any regard for their own damage.

They were like dead soldiers without a sense of pain, knowing only to charge forward and use their bodies to block every attack.

Because of this, Bai Huang and the others were dragged down by this group of fearless Puppets, their offensive repeatedly thwarted, and they were completely unable to spare the manpower and energy to attack the xuanhuang one qi pagoda in the rear.

The battle fell into a stalemate for a time, and every moment of delay made Bai Huang's camp feel increasingly anxious.

On the other hand, the duel between the Void Spirit Beast and the Shadow King also fell into a bitter struggle, with both sides evenly matched and unable to distinguish a winner.

The Void Spirit Beast took advantage of its rich combat experience and agile skills to gain the upper hand repeatedly, while the Shadow King relied on his higher Realm cultivation, as well as an endless stream of Magic Treasure and auxiliary items to keep circling.

These strange items from the Shadow King's hand often caused interference, making it difficult for the Void Spirit Beast to exert its full strength, forcing it to fight quite passively and laboriously.

At the same time, the main force led by Bai Huang, composed of Guiyi Realm and eight-system experts, although imposing and fierce in the scene, fought quite conservatively because they were unwilling to suffer too many casualties on these Puppets.

They held back in the confrontation and did not use their full strength, which caused the battle to look fierce but actually progress slowly, making it difficult to break through the desperate defense line of the Puppets for a time.

After quietly leaving the three of Mortal World, Xiao Xuan stepped alone into the depths of the Time Layer. As far as its gaze could reach, it saw Xun Xiuyuan sitting quietly with his eyes closed, immersed in the profound state of Cultivate.

At this time, Xun Xiuyuan had already reached the critical finale of his realization, and an invisible energy fluctuation permeated his body, as if he had merged with the entire Universe.