The outcome of the battle between Zhou Yuan and Yan Xu undoubtedly shocked the experts of both the all-heaven and the Sacred Race.
They witnessed a Saint being suppressed.
Furthermore, that Saint wasn’t a fake Saint, such as the one who Chu Qing, Li Chunjun and the others joined hands to kill, but a true top double-lotus Saint!
An expert of that level could be ranked among the top Saints of the all-heaven.
Within the Sacred Race, his status was second only to the seven prime Saints.
But Zhou Yuan had suppressed and imprisoned such a person. Furthermore, from the looks of it, Zhou Yuan clearly wanted to kill him!
The loss of a top double-lotus Saint would be unignorable even to the mighty Sacred Race.
It was precisely because everyone was aware of the weight that Yan Xu had that both sides’ experts were stunned.
Wu!
A strange sound suddenly rang out from the Sacred Race army, echoing across the sea domain space. And that cry made the great Sacred Race army begin to retreat like a receding tide.
Evidently, the loss of a top double-lotus Saint made them realize their attack had failed and there would only be greater loss if they continued to attack.
The people on the Cangxuan Heaven’s side erupted in earthshaking cheers and their eyes were filled with awe and respect as they gazed at Zhou Yuan’s figure from behind.
“We only managed to get rid of a fake Saint after much difficulty, but he easily suppressed a top double-lotus Saint.” Chu Qing exclaimed, staring at Zhou Yuan.
Li Chunjun nodded. Although he had finally broken through to the Saint stage, he still felt the huge gap between him and Zhou Yuan.
“The well-fed doesn’t know how the starving suffers. You both have reached the Saint stage but that level is still far away from us,” said Zuoqiu Qingyu snappily.
Everyone gathered together. Li Qingchan, Luluo and the others nodded in agreement. Their eyes glinted with undisguised envy as they looked at Chu Qing and Li Chunjun. After all, the Saint stage was their lifelong goal, and Chu Qing and Li Chunjun were clearly one step ahead of them.
Chu Qing shook his head, saying gravely, “There is no need to envy me. This breakthrough made me feel a little despair.”
“What?” Everyone exclaimed, staring nervously at Chu Qing. Could there be something wrong with his breakthrough?
Chu Qing said sorrowfully, “Because I found that my hair hasn’t grown back even after reaching the Saint stage. Can it even be fixed?!”
Everyone fell silent. After a few breaths, the several women, led by Li Qingchan, clenched their fists and struck Chu Qing's head.
This guy is too annoying. Countless people in the world wouldn’t even mind having no scalp if they reached the Saint stage, let alone have no hair!
Chu Qing cried out in exaggeration while clutching his head. His response eased the heavy atmosphere and made smiles appear on everyone’s faces.
“It’s so lively over there.” Zhou Yuan’s laughter suddenly sounded.
He had unknowingly appeared in front of the group of people who were joking around.
Chu Qing, Li Chunjun, Zuoqiu Qingyu, Li Qingchan and the others all lit up with joy.
Zhou Yuan smiled at everyone and then shifted his gaze to Li Chunjun and Chu Qing. “I haven't congratulated you two for breaking through to the Saint stage.”
Chu Qing scratched his bright head, smiling, “If junior brother Zhou Yuan hadn’t used the Blessings Tower to add several years to our foundation, we very likely would never touch upon the Saint stage even if we were tortured to death.”
Li Chunjun nodded silently.
“Everything is for our Cangxuan Heaven.”
Zhou Yuan waved his hand. Then, he fell silent for several breaths and said, “Also, I am very sorry about the five sect masters’ death.”
Everyone also fell silent.
The smile on Chu Qing’s carefree face faded as he let out a sigh. “The old man sought benevolence and got benevolence. They know they have reached their full potential and even the Blessings Tower can’t help them breakthrough to the Saint stage. It’s because of this that they fought with their lives to help weaken the female Saint and create opportunities for us.”
Li Chunjun said hoarsely, “Now that the all-heaven is in danger, sacrifice is inevitable. We also wouldn’t hesitate to follow their footsteps when the situation calls for it.”
The others nodded, their eyes red and welled with tears.
“The people in Cangxuan Heaven will never forget their contribution,” said Zhou Yuan softly.
While they were talking, several silhouettes appeared with a flash — it was the other nine Saints headed by Zhuan Zhu.
All the Saints gave Zhou Yuan a cupped fist salute, a trace of admiration glistening in their eyes. Zhou Yuan’s prestige in the all-heaven would increase even more after he suppressed a top double-lotus Saint.
“Junior brother Zhou Yuan, the Sacred Race has withdrawn their army. What do you plan to do next?” asked Zhuan Zhu.
Zhou Yuan paused to ponder. After a few breaths, he let out a long sigh and said, “I plan to give up this place and retreat with everyone.”
All Saints were stupefied.
Zhuan Zhu also sounded puzzled, “Didn't we win? Why do we have to give up here? This is a subspace that connects to all directions. If this place falls into the Sacred Race’s hands, they could use this as a springboard to rapidly enter Cangxuan Heaven.”
Zhou Yuan's expression turned grave. “From what Yan Xu said earlier, the Sacred Race has dispatched prime Saint Zhang Lei, but he is first heading over to the defense line guarded by supreme sovereign Wan Zu and supreme sovereign Zi Xiao.”
The pupils of Zhuan Zhu, Chu Qing, Li Chunjun and the others shrank.
If a prime saint is coming…there’s going to be a problem on supreme sovereign Wan Zu and Zi Xiao’s side!We still don’t know whether the two defense lines’ central space has been destroyed or occupied. It’s fine if it was destroyed since that could buy us some time but if it has already been occupied, it will be bad news.
“It’s been a while since we heard from them so it’s very likely that their defense has collapsed. Prime saint Zhang Lei will come here after he succeeds.” Zhou Yuan pursed his lips, his expression grave. He couldn't defend against a prime saint and it would be unwise to defend to the death.
Everyone was silent, and the atmosphere instantly turned heavy. The joyous atmosphere from successfully driving back the Sacred Race army had instantly vanished.
In the end, Zhou Yuan broke the silence. “Pass on the order to prepare to retreat and destroy this space.”
Even if they were to retreat, they had to destroy the space because that could at least delay the Sacred Race from coming.
Zhuan Zhu and others nodded bitterly.
As the order quickly spread, there was a low commotion within the Cangxuan Heaven army. Although they didn’t understand why they had to retreat, they still followed the order because of Zhou Yuan’s powerful prestige.
At the same time, many Genesis Rune scrolls containing mighty Saint power were set up around the space, ready to detonate when they retreated from the subspace.
Hovering in the air and grasping the saint refining gourd, Zhou Yuan watched the large army retreat in an orderly manner.
He took a deep breath. I hope it won’t be too late.