What a pity, after burning away that Black River, Wu Zhukong did not see the Spirit Crystal belonging to the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit somewhere in the sky; he knew then that he had been deceived.

Indeed, this Black River was just used by the You River to confuse these human experts. With a name containing "You," it couldn't possibly be so simple.

It summoned an illusory Black River to make these human cultivators think it was using the river to escape, but in truth, You River's true body had long hidden in a special space.

"Everyone, be careful, it's charging at us!"

Just when the three Sovereigns were slightly stunned, Qingmu Wu, the Dean of Lianyun Mountain's Sky Poison Institute, suddenly changed his expression. His Power of Soul was the strongest here, making his senses the sharpest.

It seems that at this critical moment, Qingmu Wu sensed a trace of a special energy hidden in the shadows. Even if he couldn't clearly sense its real nature, he instinctively raised the alarm.

And among them, three directions were guarded by the strong of the Lingyun Realm. Perhaps this side, with only a few humans from the Floating Life Realm, became the breakthrough point chosen by the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit.

After Qingmu Wu issued his warning, Qian Sanyuan, who also reached the Heaven Rank Soul, finally sensed something. His facial expression immediately became extremely serious.

Whoosh!

An invisible river suddenly surged toward these experts of the Floating Life Realm. When that sound of flowing water was heard, even Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue clearly sensed it.

"Block it!"

In the distance, Xue Tianao shouted loudly. His figure moved, flying toward this side with incredible speed. Unfortunately, even though he was fast, it was undeniably a bit too late.

"Everyone, block it together!"

At this moment, Qingmu Wu knew that with his cultivation at the Floating Life Realm, it was impossible to block the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit by himself, even if the latter was already at the end of its strength. So he immediately shouted as well.

Upon hearing Qingmu Wu's words, Qian Sanyuan and Lian Yuluo, standing beside him, resolutely nodded. However, Vice President Lu Tianrun of the Spirit Fighting Commerce and Vice Palace Master Fu Lingxue of Wuyan Palace remained indifferent.

At this moment, Qingmu Wu and Qian Sanyuan didn't pay too much attention to the attitudes of the two; they each summoned their strongest powers, hoping to intercept the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit.

They all knew that if they could hold on for a quarter of an hour, waiting for the three great Lingyun Realm experts to encircle, this battle would be over, and their task would be perfectly completed.

Boom!

Yet at this moment, a tremendous power suddenly erupted from the void. When Qingmu Wu and the others sensed this power, their faces instantly turned extremely pale.

Because this aura was not a bit weaker than those of Xue Tianao or Wu Zhukong, giving Qingmu Wu and Qian Sanyuan every reason to believe that if they dared to confront it, it would likely result in broken bones and death.

"We'll fight!"

At this moment, Qingmu Wu, Qian Sanyuan, and Lian Yuluo clearly knew if they retreated, this Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit would definitely break through, making their efforts all go to waste.

So, after a silent roar in their hearts, these three showed a look of determination, not retreating even half a step. Regrettably, while the three did not retreat, the other two made a regrettable decision.

Compared to the two from Lianyun Mountain and the Vice Hall Master of Xuanyin Hall, Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue cherished their lives very much. Neither of them ever thought of fighting to the death with a Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit.

After all, it was a Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit. Even if it was seriously injured and not restored to its peak state, who knows whether it might unleash its final strength in desperation, crushing them to death?

Not to mention, the imposing power right now wasn't much inferior to the great Sovereigns of the Lingyun Realm. At least in the minds of Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue, they did not believe they could survive such a strike.

Qingmu Wu and the other two knew they were doing the impossible, while Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue had a completely different idea. If killed by a heavily injured Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit at this time, what would it mean?

The saying "as long as the green hills last, there'll always be firewood to burn" made sense. Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue thought, if they died here today, they would be revered by countless cultivators on the continent, but what would that have to do with them?

Therefore, at this moment, when the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit was using its last strength to break through here, Qingmu Wu, Qian Sanyuan, and Lian Yuluo tried with all their might to resist. Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue, however, chose to back down at this crucial moment.

In fact, if those two hadn't retreated, gathering the power of five great experts could surely stall the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You River for a few moments. By then, with the three Sovereigns encircling, even with wings it wouldn't fly away.

Regrettably, with the retreat of the two, the three who were struggling to resist could no longer hold up, being blasted in three directions under the immense power.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The force behind You He's powerful attack was immense. Even the three from Qingmu Wu of the Floating Life Realm couldn't withstand it, spitting out three mouthfuls of bright red blood as they were knocked backward.

In contrast, Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue, who had already harbored thoughts of retreating, were not injured at all, thanks to You He not wanting to engage in a futile battle with them.

It goes to show that sometimes, you can't compare people. While Qingmu Wu's three were gravely injured and near death, Lu Tianrun and the others emerged unscathed, leaving the underlying causes unclear.

"Damn it!"

This situation of the five naturally caught the attention of the three Sovereigns clearly. Seeing that invisible river had already swept past Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue and vanished into oblivion, Xue Tianao couldn't help but curse.

Meanwhile, Wu Zhukong and Wei Duzheng, although somewhat resentful of their two deputies, remained silent, their faces less than pleasant.

No matter how they looked at it, the aura of the Sacred Heavenly Spirit had vanished into thin air. Coupled with its unique Concealing Technique, any attempt to pursue it was futile.

This attack on the Sacred Heavenly Spirit was clearly doomed from the start, just like the situation back at Xuanyin Hall. Since things had reached this point, there was no point in pursuing accountability.

Of course, this was only Wu Zhukong and Wei Duzheng's viewpoint, as it was their subordinates in question. Naturally, they would support their own people.

On the other hand, watching Qingmu Wu, Qian Sanyuan, and even the Deputy Hall Master Lian Yuluo from his own hall, all severely injured by the attack from the Sacred Heavenly Spirit, Xue Tianao felt like his lungs were about to explode from anger.

"Well, I didn't expect that Wuyan Palace and the Spirit Fighting Commerce would be filled with such cowardly people. Xue is truly enlightened today!"

Xue Tianao rushed forward to help Lian Yuluo up while turning his head, loudly mocking, causing Lu Tianrun and Fu Lingxue to blush with embarrassment.

"Master Xue, you're wrong to say that. It is, after all, a Sacred Heavenly Spirit. Do you really think a few cultivators from the Floating Life Realm could stop it?"

Wu Zhukong naturally had to support his deputies at this time, and his words, even though seemingly twisted, carried a semblance of reason.

"Indeed, Master Xue, even you couldn't stop the Sacred Heavenly Spirit earlier, yet you demand the unexpected from others. Isn't that asking too much?"

Wei Duzheng, on the other hand, spoke with a glint in his eye, his words "logical and factual," rendering one momentarily at a loss for rebuttal.

What Wei Duzheng said was the truth. Even Xue Tianao, with his late-stage Lingyun Realm cultivation, hadn't managed to hold back the injured Sacred Heavenly Spirit. Its breakout and escape were understandable.

"Pfft!"

The back-and-forth left Xue Tianao's face turning a shade of green, and Lian Yuluo, whom he was supporting, was so angered by their words that she spit out a mouthful of blood once more, aggravating her injuries.

"Forget it, Master Xue. It's pointless to reason with such cowardly types, so why waste your breath?"

Given that Qingmu Wu was the Dean of the Sky Poison Institute and a Low-level Heavenly Poison Vein Master, he was in slightly better condition than Lian Yuluo. Approaching now, he advised with a gloomy face.

"Yes, Master Xue, finding Yun Xiao is more important!"

What Qian Sanyuan valued most was the young man he had invested in on the Hidden Dragon Continent. Though angry about earlier events, he knew that anger wouldn't help. If delayed further, they might only find Yun Xiao's corpse.

"Indeed, Yun Xiao is still in the lake!"

Prompted by Qian Sanyuan's reminder, Xue Tianao finally remembered this fact, directing his gaze back at the Big Lake, and disregarding those cowardly individuals.

Splosh!

And just as the focus of Xue Tianao and his group returned to the lake, the previously calm surface suddenly rippled, a sound of breaking water echoed, and a figure soared up into the sky from the lake.

"It's Brother Yun Xiao!"

Hu Ying'er, who had already rushed to the lakeside intending to dive in to find Yun Xiao, found herself pleasantly surprised by the sudden turn of events. Though she hadn't clearly seen the figure's true form, she cheered in delight.

"It really is him!"

Once the water dispersed to reveal a rough-clad figure with Silver Light Thunder Wings on his back, the bystanders were no longer in doubt. They were indeed witnessing the heaven-defying youth they all held dear, though for varying reasons.

Upon confirming the figure, the likes of the Lianyun Mountain Xuanyin Hall team let out a huge sigh of relief, while members from the Spirit Fighting Commerce and Wuyan Palace exhibited less than cheerful expressions.

Previously, they had all but cursed the rough-clad youth to perish at the bottom of the lake. That way, they could eliminate a significant potential threat.