Knead, Knead, Knead
Jiang Xiaohua was very troubled.
Before setting off from the Wuji Domain, those wizards agreed with him that he just needed to act as a lifeless corpse ornament and lie down all the way to the Tianshu Domain... But halfway there, he was inexplicably stuffed into this godforsaken place, where he couldn't lie down peacefully anywhere.
If he had known earlier, perhaps he shouldn't have intervened to save those children. Lying stiffly in the Gray World was much quieter than this.
Jiang Xiaohua turned to look in the direction that squad of troops and horses left just now.
He only saw a figure wearing a Tang suit and holding an Awakened Lion Head-dress, currently sprinting wildly through the void at astonishing speed. Even the faint golden Imperial Remnant couldn't catch up to him. Out of anger, it kicked off the head of a personal guard beside it, then continued its full-power pursuit.
"I don't provoke calamities, calamities don't provoke me... I provoked a calamity, the calamity can't catch up to me, can't catch up to me, can't catch up to me, can't catch up to me..."
Sun Bumian muttered something while pushing [Cloud Steps] to the extreme.
He was originally dragged in by Chen Ling, and fundamentally had no intention of clashing head-on with the Emperors of past dynasties. He was just utilizing his speed advantage to continuously deal with that Emperor... Compared to Chen Ling, his Cloud Steps were somewhat different, and moreover brought to the point of perfection. His speed was far too fast. The only ones who could probably compete with him were Master or First Senior Brother Ning Ruyu.
On another battlefield, a figure holding a blood-colored Long Sword, like an unstoppable Asura, forcefully slaughtered his way through a squad of Emperor's personal guards, rushing out from the edge of the formation covered in blood.
The direction Jian Changsheng rushed out from happened to face Jiang Xiaohua. After he finally carved out a path of blood, he caught sight of the stiff Mummy standing by the dirt pit at a glance, and instantly froze:
"Holy shit!! He's alive!!"
Before his words fell, the Imperial Remnant pursuing him raised its palm. A massive golden stone stele descended from the sky, directly smashing the dazed Little Jian headfirst into the ground, sending billowing dust flying up.
Little Jian's warm fresh blood, mixed with the hurricane, rolled onto the bandages on Jiang Xiaohua's cheek not far away. He silently wiped it with snow water, his movements full of disgust.
The personal guards and troops of the three Emperors who led their troops in person had completely occupied this piece of heaven and earth. No matter which direction one went, there were endless flames of war and weapons. Jiang Xiaohua stood blankly in place, not knowing where to go for a moment.
At the same time, in the firmament above the snowfield, four or five more Imperial Remnants led their respective troops and horses, coming in an imperial expedition!
The vast troops and horses seemed endless, surging towards here. The over four hundred Imperial Remnants deep inside the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path had all moved to kill the Thespian Emperor. Crop after crop, they were determined to obliterate Chen Ling in "A Hidden Dragon in the Depths" today!
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe streaked across the horizon, followed closely by a paper money golden dragon.
Seeing the several Emperors charging towards him, Chen Ling's heart instantly sank to the bottom of the valley... If forced to fight, it wasn't that he couldn't beat the Imperial Remnant behind him, but killing this Emperor would only bring an endless stream of Emperors leading imperial expeditions. In the worst-case scenario, this "A Hidden Dragon in the Depths" could accommodate a great battle of a hundred Emperors...
No matter how capable of fighting Chen Ling's trio were, they couldn't carve a path of blood from this absolute numerical suppression.
Chen Ling could utilize a portion of the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path's power to allow him to directly enter the second layer "Leaping Dragon in the Depths", but the problem was that the second layer was entirely Emperor's personal guards. The moment he entered, it would inevitably trigger the siege of even more Emperors, undoubtedly seeking death.
And even if he were to leave, he had to first find Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian, and take the two of them with him.
"Damn it..."
Chen Ling utilized the Judgment Court, shooting off a sharp claw of the pursuing paper money golden dragon with one shot, gaining a brief moment to catch his breath. Before he could go look for the movements of Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian, three faint golden Imperial Remnants descended from the sky, completely sealing off all his paths of retreat!
Boom—!!
The four Imperial Oppressive Auras stacked upon each other, locking down Chen Ling's agile figure... That incomplete golden dragon slowly rose in front of him, roaring at Chen Ling!
[Audience Expectation Value +3]
[Current Expectation Value: 48%]
...
Overwhelming troops and horses filled every corner of this snowfield.
Jiang Xiaohua seemed to feel that the surroundings were too noisy, too chaotic, so chaotic that even his breathing felt somewhat stifled... Oh, although he didn't need to breathe at all.
"So troublesome... The three of them are all so troublesome." Jiang Xiaohua said softly. "If this continues, I'm going to be dragged into it too..."
After hesitating slightly, Jiang Xiaohua finally made up his mind, lowering his head to carefully search for something in the snow.
Beside the pit where he was buried just now, he sequentially found the positions where Chen Ling's trio stood when they buried him. From beneath each of their feet, he dug out a handful of snow, and then bit by bit untied the bandages wrapped around his hands...
A pair of fair, slender hands were exposed to the air, like white jade.
Jiang Xiaohua used his ten fingers to earnestly knead those three lumps of snow in his palms repeatedly...
Knead, knead, knead.
A few seconds later, three little snowmen were sequentially placed in front of him.
Jiang Xiaohua's hands were like a master craftsman's carving knife. With a few casual kneads, he had molded the charm of the three people, even detailing Little Jian's wolf-tail, Chen Ling's Theatrical Robe, and Sun Bumian's small Round Sunglasses...
Jiang Xiaohua sat cross-legged in the snow. After finishing the kneading, he looked at the three little figures with satisfaction, and then formed a mysterious hand seal in front of him with both hands.
"Curse."
In the next moment, the three little snowmen shook slightly.
Almost at the same time, Chen Ling only felt a mysterious power surge from the nothingness. After his vision suddenly blurred, he vanished from his original spot in an instant!
A wave of dizziness surged into Chen Ling's mind. He subconsciously opened his eyes again, discovering that he was sitting cross-legged in a snowfield, his body covered with a thin layer of shattered snow...
In the place where he originally stood, a tiny, cute snowman was smashed to pieces by the roaring paper money golden dragon head-on!
The four besieging Imperial Remnants froze simultaneously.
Also frozen, were Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian who appeared out of thin air beside Chen Ling...
One was covered in blood, holding a sword, seeming to still be preparing for a big fight with someone; the other's legs trembled, almost catapulting up and taking off on the spot to continue running up into the clouds. After the two of them discovered that they had actually suddenly arrived in this snowfield, there was deep blankness in their eyes.
The three exchanged glances, their gazes simultaneously falling onto the "Mummy" in front of them who had loosened the bandages on his hands...
"You..."
"Shh."
Jiang Xiaohua's slender fingertip was raised, making a silencing gesture to the crowd.
Then he opened his arms. Under the blank gazes of Chen Ling's trio, like good brothers putting arms around shoulders, he wrapped all three people in his embrace in one breath...
Bandages fell off from his wrists one by one, revealing large patches of fair skin.
When his skin was exposed, a baffling power spread in the air. The Auras of Chen Ling's trio were as if shielded by something, completely disappearing into the vast wind and snow.