This time.

His gaze once again seemed to pierce through the layers of the earth, staring directly into the Earth Realm.

"It’s been so many years, yet they’ve grown ever more aggressive."

Li Haotian’s tone was calm. "This time, they’ve even set their sights on the Supreme Spirit Realm. It seems you have all forgotten the terror of the Great Tang."

Upon closer inspection, one would discover a raging fire burning in the depths of Li Haotian’s eyes, along with an immensely powerful Battle Intent. It was as if the roars of countless dragons were echoing throughout the cosmos.

「The Great Tang Space-Time Hall.」

Xu Qing and the others had arrived.

"Everyone."

Zhao Gao stood at the entrance, his tone respectful. He gestured and said, "Please."

"Master Xu."

Shang Ying was a short-haired woman, tall and statuesque at a height of 1.9 meters. Her perfectly straight, shapely legs were especially long and eye-catching. "As we head to the Supreme Dynasty this time, is there anything you need to instruct us on?"

"..."

The other eight people around them couldn’t help but look toward Xu Qing.

"There’s nothing special to brief you on."

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "The only thing to be aware of is that we might encounter danger right after we descend into the Supreme Dynasty."

"What kind of danger?"

Murphy Rain paused, startled. She had solid black pupils, and her long hair cascaded down her back like a black waterfall.

"Because the last time I went to the Chiyun Dynasty, I was ambushed by enemies the moment I arrived via the Great Tang Space-Time Hall. I nearly died there."

Xu Qing said, "So, it’s possible we’ll run into danger this time as well. You all need to be vigilant."

"I see."

A look of realization dawned on Kong Desheng’s face. "In that case, we should get our Dragon Orders ready. If we really are ambushed upon arriving in the Supreme Dynasty, we can activate them immediately to form the Great Tang Emperor Dragon Qi Array."

"Agreed."

"Good!"

"..."

Everyone nodded slightly.

As they spoke, Xu Qing and the others entered the Great Tang Space-Time Hall.

Teleport!

BUZZ! BUZZ!

In the next moment, an intense spatio-temporal fluctuation surged. A blinding white light flashed before their eyes, and Xu Qing clearly perceived the shift in space-time.

This time,

Xu Qing’s perception didn’t vanish, nor did he feel the world spinning. He could clearly see himself entering a space-time tunnel, and watched as he and the others traveled through it.

SWOOSH!

With a single step, Xu Qing emerged from the space-time tunnel. The surrounding scenery rapidly filled his vision, and the figures of Shang Ying and the others appeared one by one.

"We’ve arrived."

Surveying the area, Xu Qing found himself standing in the Void. He noted the earth below and gazed through the clouds into the distance, seeing one majestic city after another.

Shang Ying and the others were also scanning their surroundings. Thanks to Xu Qing’s earlier warning, their expressions were wary, and they gripped their Dragon Orders tightly.

After a moment, nothing had changed in their surroundings. A hint of suspicion appeared on their faces, and their tense vigilance began to relax slightly.

"Master Xu, it looks like we’re fine this time."

Si Yu was silent for a moment before glancing at Xu Qing and speaking up.

"Yeah!"

Nie Buqun nodded. "After all, this Ancient Text Incident is different from the last one. The Chiyun Dynasty was only a Middle Grade Dynasty, but this is an Upper Grade Dynasty."

"Regardless, it’s never wrong to be careful,"

Sun Buyu said.

"..."

Lv Buwei and Xu Xing didn’t say much.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. He shook his head, his expression grim and his tone somewhat detached. "It seems none of you have realized that we’ve already fallen into an enemy trap."

"Hm?"

"What?"

"A trap? Master Xu? What do you mean?!"

"..."

Instantly, Shang Ying and the others were stunned, their expressions filled with bewilderment. They all stared at Xu Qing, finding his words hard to believe.

"Sword, come."

CLANG!

With the ring of a sword, Xu Qing raised his right hand. The Level 10 Meridian Seven Star Sword landed in his grasp, and a powerful Sword Dao Power erupted from his body.

SWOOSH!

Without hesitation, Xu Qing swung his right hand forward, unleashing an incredibly terrifying wave of Sword Qi. It took the shape of a crescent moon, seemingly cleaving space itself as it shot toward the Void ahead.

BANG!

Finally, Xu Qing’s strike hit an invisible barrier. The impact sent countless ripples spreading out across its surface.

"An Array!"

"This is..."

"We’re in..."

"..."

Horrified and shocked, they saw that Xu Qing’s single sword strike had revealed the light barrier of a massive Array. A vast screen of light enveloped the entire area, forming an independent world and space-time.

"This is an Array Space-Time."

At that moment, Nie Buqun, the prodigy from the School of Diplomacy, spoke with a grave expression. "Master Xu was right. We’ve fallen into a World Array."

"A World Array?"

Everyone looked startled.

"Correct."

Nie Buqun nodded slightly. "Only a World Array can manifest a true, separate space-time, just like a real world. It even fooled all of us. If Master Xu hadn’t seen through its flaw, we would have remained completely in the dark."

"What do you mean?" the others asked.

Nie Buqun took a deep breath. "If we hadn’t seen through this World Array, we would have been trapped inside it indefinitely. The Array has created an Illusion Realm of the Supreme Spirit Realm and the Supreme Dynasty. Unable to see through the illusion, we would have been completely submerged in it. Everything that happened from that point on would have only been taking place within this World Array."

"In that case,"

"we would never be able to complete our mission, and our lives might even be in danger."

"This..."

"I see..."

HISS...

A chill of fear ran through them. They couldn’t help but look toward Xu Qing. If he hadn’t seen through the illusion, they likely would have been trapped inside this World Array for a very long time.

"Nie Buqun, it seems you know quite a bit about this Array."

Xu Qing looked at Nie Buqun and asked, "Do you have a way to break it? I just tested it with a sword strike. The World Array is quite strong; breaking it with brute force will be difficult."

"Mm."

Nie Buqun nodded slightly and said with a smile, "The School of Diplomacy specializes in the Array Dao. And I am the strongest and most talented Array genius the School of Diplomacy has ever seen."

"Heh."

Nie Buqun gave a smug smile and continued, "So, yes, I do have a way to break this World Array. But I’ll need time."

"How long?" Xu Qing asked.

"One hour," Nie Buqun said.

"Good."

Xu Qing nodded. "Then I’ll leave breaking this Array to you."

"Also..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over everyone as he said in a low voice, "We need to prepare for battle. For the next hour, we protect Nie Buqun while he breaks the Array."

The moment his voice fell,

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!!!

In an instant, the Array began to operate and transform. It abruptly shifted, unleashing an infinite killing intent as countless streams of gray-black mist surged forth from all directions.

Gradually, within the gray-black mist, Black Shadows began to appear. They emerged from the mist, revealing their true forms: humanoid monsters condensed from the gray-black vapor. Seemingly without physical bodies, they were numerous and quickly swarmed toward Xu Qing and the others to kill them.

"Great Yin Yang Hand!"

BOOM!

Si Yu was the first to act. With a great shout, he raised his right hand, manifesting a gigantic Yin Yang hand that blotted out the sky. It descended from above, and more than ninety percent of the humanoid monsters were instantly shattered by the impact.