Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
After leaving the stone platform, You XiaoMo left the way he came, heading for the prisons.
However, he wasn't planning on going there to save the people in the prison. He couldn't even ensure his own safety right now. He didn't have that much of a bleeding heart. It was only because the middle aged man had said that if the Absolute Death Array was activated, then they would all be trapped inside the TongTian Palace.
You XiaoMp hadn't personally seen the TongTian Emperor in action, but since he was the strongest man in the entire TongTian Continent, then he definitely wouldn't be weak. He was afraid that the TongTian Emperor would go berserk if he knew his plan had been thwarted, so he had to give him and Ling Xiao an escape. He couldn't let the ancient barrier around the TongTian Palace activate.
The middle aged man hadn't said anything about how to prevent the barrier from activating, and You XiaoMo didn't know either, but he knew that if the people in the prisons escaped and the array couldn't gather enough energy, then the Absolute Death Array wouldn't activate.
The white robed person that had originally taken him hadn't blindfolded him, so he knew the way back. It didn't take long for him to reach the prisons and hear the sounds of fighting.
Not far off, the entrance to the prisons had been blasted into debris.
So after he had left, He Dong and company’s plan was successfully being executed.
The Iron Devouring Beast had said that he would only save four people, but with You XiaoMo's spiritual water, he had the others had freed everyone and the two guards at the entrance had long since been dealt with.
It wasn't out of sympathy that they freed the others, it was just that one more person meant one more body to help fight the white robed people, making them safer.
People were selfish at heart.
However, something had gone wrong: the Absolute Death Array.
When You XiaoMo had been taken, the Absolute Death Array had been secretly activated under the middle-aged man's command. He Dong and the others didn't know that the Soul Disappearing Array was actually the Absolute Death Array.
To free the others inside, they had wasted quite some time in the prison. By the time they made to escape, the Absolute Death Array had fully activated, surrounding the prison in red light. Only the few who had escaped first managed to avoid it.
By the time You XiaoMo arrived, the people trapped in the array were all letting out blood curdling screams of pain, hugging their heads and rolling around, faces distorted, eyes red. The prison had long since been destroyed. Not a single person of the hundred something prisons was left standing.
You XiaoMo inhaled sharply. No wonder the middle-aged man looked so triumphant. All these elite practitioners couldn't deal with this single Absolute Death Array. If he hadn't come, then they'd probably have all died here when the array activated.
There were no white-robed people nearby anymore, possibly because they knew of the Absolute Death Array.
You XiaoMo went over, having seen He Dong. He Dong's strength hadn't been impacted as much, so he was a little better than the others, but his face was still pale.
Seeing You XiaoMo, He Dong didn't bother wondering why he came back, struggling up and stuttering, "The array… array core… att… attack…"
"Array Core? Where is it?" You XiaoMo was nervous. He hadn't looked into arrays. If he knew that this day would come, then he would've asked Ling Xiao to teach him.
"Near… nearby… There mu… must be someone… there… guarding… find them… quick…" He Dong fell onto the ground once more, having spent almost all his strength on that one sentence.
You XiaoMo nodded and hurried off to find the array core.
According to He Dong, there was someone nearby controlling the Absolute Array. That made it much easier to find.
You XiaoMo immediately went in the direction where there were people. His soul power spread out with a radius of fifty meters. The white-robed people in the palace had all gone outside to fight and the prison was in a relatively out of the way area, so there were barely any people nearby. As soon as someone entered the range of his soul force, he would notice immediately.
However, before he could find the one controlling the array core, he was found by two other white robed people. You XiaoMo thought that they would charge over and attack, but the two fled as soon as he prepared himself for a fight.
"…"
The TongTian Palace had been thrown into complete chaos. Though they had the advantage, not all the white-robed people were willing to fight. Those who were actually willing to sacrifice themselves for the TongTian Palace were those who had been taken and brainwashed from since they were young. As for the other people who were forced to pledge their loyalty, all they wanted was to escape.
This was a huge opportunity. Though they had sworn their everdying loyalty to the TongTian Emperor, and even made a binding oath, the outsiders had managed to kill countless of them already. If they wanted to escape now, they just had to find a body and fake their deaths. So long as the TongTian Palace thought they were dead, they were free.
An oath meant nothing in the face of their freedom. Even if they would forever remain in the same level, they were happy with that. Plus, there were no absolutes. Maybe, after they had their freedom, they could find a way to advance. Even if they died, then it would at least be worthwhile.
So, You XiaoMo didn't see another white robed person as he looked around. By the time he finally found one, he was practically hyperventilating with desperation.
The white-robed person was in a tall structure behind the prison. It was a pointed tower of thirty to forty meters tall, though the top was gone due to being damaged in the fighting.
You XiaoMo saw something white flash through the window of the fifth floor. No matter if it was or wasn't, he had finally found someone. He ran over without hesitation.
The white-robed person hadn't run away yet, so they were clearly different from the others. Probably someone that had been faithful ever since they were young, thus why they were so loyal.
The white-robed person's strength was unexpected, about the same level as You XiaoMo's. Logically speaking, with such strength, they should've been out there fighting. If he was here, standing guard, You XiaoMo thought to himself, then they had probably been planning on activating the ancient barrier from the very start.
If it was a divine level practitioner in You XiaoMo's place, then they wouldn't be a match for the white-robed person at all, and then their plan would've been executed successfully.
You XiaoMo couldn't help but be glad that it was him who had come, and they were at about the same strength. With that, he immediately entered his dimension…
The dimension slowly approached the white-robed man from the back, as a speck of dust. At around a meter away, he immediately left the dimension and struck at the white-robed man's head. Just as he thought he had succeeded, his hand went through the white robed man, but there was no impact.
You XiaoMo paled; it was a trick! A razor sharp blade of light, brushed past his cheek, hitting the wall and creating a large hole.When he turned, he saw a white-robed person standing not far off.
The white-robed person was holding a large scythe, facing him. His hood wasn't on, revealing a very pale face. It seemed like he was born that way. His pale his face held a malicious smile, like that of a cat toying with a mouse.
Yu XiaoMo tensed. This person didn't seem like any ordinary Sacred level practitioner. How did he notice You XiaoMo?
"Where's the array core?"
Something dark flashed through the white-robed man's eyes, and he said in a raspy voice, "Array core? It's behind me. If you want to get to it, you'll have to defeat me first.
You XiaoMo looked over and found that there was a red array drawn on the wall. There was a lot of spirit gems around it, massive chunks, glowing white and seeming to be providing the array with energy.
The array core He Dong was talking about was probably this. So long as he destroyed it, then the Absolute Death Array would stop.
You XiaoMo took out a knife from his dimension. He had found the sword in the Peach Springs. He didn't know how good it was. It was the first time he had used a sword.
That was when the white-robed person suddenly moved.
White flashed before his eyes and You XiaoMo hurriedly raised the sword. With a clang, the white-robed person's scythe hit his sword. The sound echoed, the tremors practically breaking through his eardrums and making his purlicue uncomfortably numb.
The white-robed person's attacks were fast and strong, relentless. His expression was wild, laughing crazily as he got faster and faster. It made You XiaoMo uncomfortable.
He was only using his sword to defend. He could barely keep up with this attack speed, never mind counterattack. You XiaoMo soon noticed that the sword was being chipped away at.
He felt like a masochist. Clearly, he couldn't compare to Ling Xiao at all. The other could immediately master it the first time he used it, while, for him, he just struggled even more.
After pulling away from the white-robed person, he discarded the sword.
The white-robed person attacked again, and this time, You XiaoMo dodged easily. He relied primarily on speed, but that didn't mean his attack speed would see improvement.
You XiaoMo gave up.
His easy dodge had the white-robed man surprised. The other hadn't thought that You XiaoMo would become more dexterous without the sword. With that moment of shock, You XiaoMo sent a kick his way. He blocked with his scythe and stumbled back from the force.
The situation reversed itself.
This time, the white-robed person was the one who could do nothing but defend. Every time he raised the scythe, the other would attack before he had a chance to strike, so he could only do everything he could to turn his offense into a defense. Sometimes he wouldn't have the time, and would only be able to dodge, and then his opponent's attacks would hit the walls or floors, punching holes through the pointed tower.
It wasn't until You XiaoMo slammed his fist into the ground and the cracking sounds underfoot didn't stop that the white-robed person paled, realizing what the other was trying to do. It was, however, too late.
"BOOM——"
The remainder of the pointed tower collapsed with a rumble, turning into a pile of rubble under startled gazes. As for the Absolute Death Array array core, the pointed tower had fallen, was there any way the array core would still exist?
If the white-robed person ever had the chance to meet You XiaoMo again, You XiaoMo would give him a single word: dumbass!