Chapter 49: No Escape?

Just as Su Yuexi’s voice fell, a completely different aura erupted from outside the carriage.

It was a vast and terrifying aura that instantly shattered the late-stage Great Ascension pressure that had confined the entire carriage into pieces.

Buzz —

The spatial confinement collapsed instantly.

Lu Ning felt the carriage suddenly become light.

“This…”

Lu Ning subconsciously lifted the curtain and looked out.

Su Yuexi was still sitting in the driver’s seat, her pale green dress fluttering gently in the wind, and her face still wore that gentle and warm smile.

But at this moment, emanating from her seemingly fragile body was a terrifying pressure enough to make heaven and earth tremble.

Late-stage Great Ascension!

No!

This aura was even stronger than the Imperial Ancestor’s from earlier!

This was… the peak of the late-stage Great Ascension!

Lu Ning’s brain went completely blank at this moment.

‘She actually chose to expose her strength. What on earth is she trying to do?’

Stormy waves surged in Lu Ning’s heart.

This seemingly gentle and harmless Sect Master of the Hundred Flowers Valley was the true player in this chess game.

Meanwhile, even more shocked than Lu Ning was the Imperial Ancestor atop the Heavenly Capital’s city gate.

Her cloudy eyes were now filled with horror.

“The peak of the late-stage Great Ascension… how is this possible!”

She cried out in shock, her voice trembling.

How could the leader of a mere second-rate sect like the Hundred Flowers Valley hide such terrifying strength?

What exactly was she plotting?

Countless thoughts flashed through the Imperial Ancestor’s mind, but she had no time to think further, because Su Yuexi had already made her move.

She gently raised her right hand and waved it casually toward the void.

In the next moment, a torrent composed of countless petals appeared out of thin air, carrying a terrifying power capable of annihilating all things as it swept toward the Imperial Ancestor atop the city gate.

The Imperial Ancestor’s expression changed drastically.

Without thinking, she immediately mobilized her entire cultivation base, laying down an incredibly thick spatial barrier in front of her.

However, she still underestimated Su Yuexi’s strength.

The seemingly gentle torrent of petals erupted with unparalleled piercing power the moment it touched the spatial barrier.

Boom! —

With an earth-shattering bang, the spatial barrier shattered.

The Imperial Ancestor groaned and was sent flying backward.

With just one move, a powerhouse of the late-stage Great Ascension had been severely wounded!

Lu Ning watched from the carriage in terror.

‘This is way too fierce. Luckily, I didn’t cross her just now, or I’d be the one lying on the ground.’

Inside the carriage, Gu Qinghuan and Ji Linglong were also equally shocked by the strength Su Yuexi displayed.

Especially Gu Qinghuan; looking at Su Yuexi’s back, her cold eyes showed an incredibly grave expression for the first time.

She knew she had been tricked.

This seemingly gentle ally had been using her from the start.

At that thought, Gu Qinghuan subconsciously pulled Lu Ning closer into her arms, the vigilance and hostility in her eyes growing even thicker.

Right then, a golden stream of light streaked from the direction of the palace at an incredible speed, appearing before the city gate in an instant.

As the light dissipated, the cold and beautiful face of Empress Ji Liuyun was revealed.

Behind her followed an elderly woman dressed in gray cloth, whose aura was as vast as an abyss.

Ji Liuyun glanced at the Imperial Ancestor lying on the ground with a weakened aura, then at the unscathed green-cloth carriage, and finally at Su Yuexi, who stood before the carriage with a beaming smile.

“Sect Master Su has quite the calculating mind.”

Ji Liuyun’s voice was frigid.

She glared at Su Yuexi, her phoenix eyes burning with towering rage.

“Your Majesty overpraises me.”

Su Yuexi bowed slightly to her, her posture still humble.

“Yuexi only wishes to take an old friend away from this place of conflict and has no intention of making an enemy of the Great Desolate Dynasty.”

“An old friend?” Ji Liuyun sneered.

“Why don’t you tell me, Sect Master Su, which person in my little Heavenly Capital is your old friend?”

Her gaze bypassed Su Yuexi and locked onto the green-cloth carriage.

She had a strong premonition that the answer she sought was inside it.

However, Su Yuexi acted as if she didn’t see that sharp gaze, merely smiling gently without answering.

Just as the atmosphere reached a peak of deadlock and a great battle was about to erupt, Mother Yun, who had been silent beside Ji Liuyun, suddenly stepped forward.

Her cloudy eyes watched Su Yuexi quietly as an even more terrifying aura slowly radiated from her seemingly withered body.

The moment that aura appeared, the entire heaven and earth instantly lost color.

Great Ascension perfection!

This seemingly inconspicuous old woman who had always followed the Empress was actually a supreme powerhouse standing at the peak!

Feeling that world-destroying pressure in the carriage, Lu Ning almost fainted on the spot.

‘The foundations of the Great Desolate Dynasty are too terrifying! How can we even fight?’

The smile on Su Yuexi’s face finally froze.

She looked at Mother Yun, and for the first time, an incredibly solemn expression appeared in her gentle eyes.

She knew she was in real trouble this time.

With her strength at the peak of the late-stage Great Ascension, escaping alone from a Great Ascension perfection powerhouse wouldn’t be difficult.

But now, she also had to take the three burdens in the carriage with her.

That made things difficult.

“Sect Master Su,” Mother Yun’s voice was hoarse and ancient.

“This old servant advises you to give up. You alone cannot take them away.”

Su Yuexi fell silent.

She knew Mother Yun was telling the truth.

Just as her mind was racing through countermeasures, the carriage door was pushed open from the inside.

Surrounded by Gu Qinghuan and Ji Linglong, Lu Ning slowly stepped down from the carriage.

She knew she couldn’t hide in the back anymore.

The situation was no longer something she could control.

She had to stand up and face it all.

When Lu Ning’s figure appeared before everyone, the atmosphere became even more bizarre.

The moment Ji Liuyun saw Lu Ning, her pupils constricted.

‘It’s her! The “little maid” I saw in the Zichen Hall! Why is she here?

Wait!

The Saintess of the Heaven Demon Sect, Gu Qinghuan!

My imperial sister, Ji Linglong, whose mind is like a child’s!

And even the Sect Master of the Hundred Flowers Valley, Su Yuexi, whose strength is unfathomable…

All three of these seemingly unrelated people are gathered around this “little maid,” even acting as her protectors.’

A ridiculous and terrifying thought grew wildly in Ji Liuyun’s heart.

Her gaze fixed on Lu Ning, her voice trembling slightly.

“Little Maid, who exactly are you?”