Just as the leader a gaunt man with eyes like chips of frozen obsidian was about to give the signal to attack, the world around them changed. The gentle mist of the valley coalesced into solid, tangible intent. The very air became a prison.
Protector Ming did not roar or shout a technique's name. He simply unfolded a fraction of his power. His Spiritual art, the "Garden of Unyielding Order," manifested instantly. It wasn't a flashy explosion of light and sound. It was a subtle, absolute rewriting of the local spiritual energy. The chaotic, wild energy of the world was smoothed, organized, and bent to his will. The assassins found their spiritual energy sluggish, their movements hampered as if wading through solid jade. Their own Spiritual art, which they had begun to summon, flickered and died like candles in a hurricane.
"An ambush?! How?!" the lead assassin hissed, his vertical pupils contracting in shock and fury. They had expected resistance from the known Nascent Souls on the ship, not an attack from a hidden powerhouse of this magnitude.
"Don't let him focus! Combined Art, now!" he screamed to his subordinates.
The five Stage 4 Nascent Souls reacted with the desperate speed of seasoned killers. Ignoring their personal safety, they formed a pentagram in the air, their hands moving in unison. A monstrous, three-headed serpent of corrosive shadow and screaming souls materialized before them the "Soul-Devouring Abyssal Serpent," a fusion technique designed to overwhelm even a higher-stage cultivator through pure, concentrated malice.
The Serpent lunged at Ming, its maws open, capable of devouring spiritual sense and corroding nascent souls.
Ming looked at the approaching horror with an expression of mild distaste, as if a fly had buzzed too close to his meditation. He raised his right hand, index finger extended.
"The nail that sticks out shall be hammered down," he murmured.
He did not point at the Serpent. He pointed at the space between the five cultivators.
A single, perfectly straight beam of gray light, no thicker than a needle, lanced through the air. It did not explode. It did not roar. It simply was. Where it passed, the Coefficient of Reality spiked to an absolute 1.00000, if only for a nanosecond.
The effect was catastrophic for the combined technique. The Soul-Devouring Abyssal Serpent, a construct of chaotic, unstable energy, simply ceased to exist where the beam touched its core. It wasn't destroyed it was invalidated. The backlash was immediate and violent. The five Nascent Souls screamed as their spiritual connection to the technique was severed with the finality of a guillotine's drop.
Two of them, those at the center of the formation, bore the brunt. Their bodies did not just die they unraveled. Flesh, bone, and spirit dissolved into motes of gray dust, their nascent souls erased from existence before they could even think of fleeing.
The other three, on the periphery, were not spared. They managed to detonate their own physical bodies in a desperate, last-ditch effort to propel their nascent souls to safety. Two glowing, miniature figures shot out from the explosions, flickering weakly as they tried to teleport away. The third, too slow, had his nascent soul caught in the lingering edge of Ming's ordered space and was torn apart.
The entire exchange, from the manifestation of the Domain to the obliteration of the five Stage 4 assassins, had taken less than ten seconds.
The lead Stage 6 assassin watched in horror, his mind reeling. This was not part of the plan. This was a catastrophe. He gathered his power, not to fight, but to flee. A swirling vortex of darkness opened behind him.
"You have overstayed your welcome," Protector Ming said, his voice now carrying the weight of judgment.
He finally moved his hand, sweeping it horizontally. The "Garden of Unyielding Order" contracted, the walls of space itself closing in on the fleeing assassin. The spatial vortex flickered and collapsed. The assassin grunted in pain, blood trickling from his nose as his escape art was forcefully negated. He managed to parry the brunt of the spatial compression with a desperate slash of his own obsidian dagger, but the force still sent him flying backward, his ribs cracking, his spiritual sea in turmoil. One of his surviving subordinates, the one who had barely escaped with his nascent soul, was caught in the edge of the contraction and had his fragile spirit-form critically wounded, its light dimming to a faint ember.
Seeing no other option, the lead assassin grabbed the crippled nascent soul of his comrade and performed a forbidden blood teleportation, sacrificing a portion of his own life force to tear a ragged hole through Ming's Spiritual art and vanish into the void.
Protector Ming did not pursue. He watched the space where they had disappeared, his expression unreadable. His task was protection, not eradication. The message had been sent, And he said in a curious tone "i wonder who they are...? hugo clan? shadow viper? or wind illusions sect?"
Aboard the "Vermilion Bird's Grace," the sensation was like a distant earthquake felt through the hull. A wave of immense, clashing spiritual pressures washed over the ship, making it shudder. Grand Elder Lina, who had been meditating in her cabin, snapped her eyes open. Her four guards were instantly at her side, weapons materializing in their hands.
"That aura... a Stage 6 Nascent Soul clash. And others. They're attacking our rear!" one of the guards reported, his face grim.
Lina's mind worked rapidly. An ambush. They were targeting the delegation. Her first thought was for Lux. "Prepare to defend the ship! I will investigate," she commanded, her voice cold as ice. She and two of her guards moved towards the deck, intent on confronting the threat.
Just as they emerged into the open air, a figure shimmered into existence before them, standing casually on the railing as if he had been there all along. It was Kyle.
"Grand Elder," Kyle said with a slight nod, his posture relaxed. "My apologies for the disturbance. A minor pest control issue has been resolved. There is no need for concern. Please, return to your quarters."
Lina's sharp eyes scanned Kyle, then looked past him towards the now-fading echoes of the battle. She could sense the absolute, orderly power that had just dominated the conflict. Protector Ming. So, the Sect Master had indeed deployed their ultimate guardian. She had suspected as much, but having it confirmed was... enlightening.
"I see," she said, her tone neutral, though a flicker of complex emotion perhaps frustration, perhaps respect—passed through her eyes. "My compliments to the... pest controller. The Sect Master's foresight is, as always, impeccable."
Without another word, she turned and swept back into the ship, her guards following. The crisis was over before it had even begun for them.
Inside his cabin, Lux had felt the terrifying auras clash. He had frozen mid-meditation, his heart pounding. But as quickly as it had come, it faded, leaving only a profound silence. He had no idea that his fate had just been decided in a battle he couldn't see, fought by guardians he couldn't perceive.
The rest of the journey passed without incident. The sky-ship, unharmed and unmolested, finally began its descent the following day. The landscape below had transformed into a breathtaking vista of endless, vibrant green. Towering, ancient trees formed a canopy so thick it looked like a rolling emerald ocean. The air was thick with the scent of blooming spiritual flora and the potent, life-giving energy of the Life Root Sect.
As the ship broke through a final layer of cloud, their destination came into view. Nestled in the heart of the colossal forest, built in and around the gargantuan trees themselves, was the capital city of the Life Root Sect, a sight that stole the breath away from even the most jaded cultivator.
The "Vermilion Bird's Grace" gracefully navigated towards the designated landing platform, a massive, living branch of a world-tree that had been smoothed and reinforced. As they drew closer, the sheer scale and unique beauty of the city became apparent. But Lux's eyes, along with everyone else's on deck, were drawn to the dozens of other sky-ships already docked or arriving, each bearing the unique banners and emblems of the most powerful factions in the Verdant Lotus World. They had arrived at the epicenter of a gathering of giants, and the air crackled not just with spiritual energy, but with palpable tension, ambition, and the whispers of impending intrigue. The Grand Auction was about to begin.