667 Declaring War on the Federation (1/2)

It was unlikely that there was anyone on the ancient sword who knew the identity of the woman who was currently gazing at Earth. Even if there was someone who did, they wouldn't have the chance to enter the fourth level in the battleship and gaze upon the figure in the glowing sphere of light.

It didn't matter whether what she practiced was the Star-Seeding Dao or the Heaven-Seeding Dao though. This had almost nothing to do with Wang Baole at the moment. His final battle with Daoist You Ran had awakened his scabbard and released a hexed strand that it had absorbed previously, killing the latter.

If news of this were to spread, it would surely shock the entire Dao Palace and the Federation. It was an impossible feat!

Wang Baole had relied on numerous external powers, such as his various mystic techniques—Soul Guiding, Dream Spinning, Ten Thousand Tribulations, and A Thousand Lives. He had also relied on the Thearch Armor's self-destruction mechanism and the spirit energy he had drained from the Death Dao Battle Robes. In addition, Daoist You Ran hadn't been fighting at peak condition. Wang Baole's final blow had been the result of something unexpected as well.

Daoist You Ran had frozen for an imperceptible moment during his attempt to teleport away and avoid the black strand. Wang Baole, Little Missy, and even the mysterious woman hadn't noticed that.

That was the true cause of Daoist You Ran's death. With his cultivation, he would have been able to avoid a fatal hit even if he couldn't avoid being hit at all.

His death had led to the mysterious woman's construction of a new Daoist You Ran. She might have inserted Daoist You Ran's memories into the new body, but there was still a time-lapse between his death and his rebirth.

Perhaps she hadn't cared about that, or perhaps it was like she said and what she practiced was the Heaven-Seeding Dao. She followed certain laws that she had been enlightened of and set herself. She observed the fates of the others. Instead of interfering with destiny directly, she transformed herself into a supreme consciousness that tried to influence and nudge others along discreetly.

That was how… Zhao Yameng had appeared in the sword handle after being teleported out of the battleship and had enough time to run away. Others wouldn't have been able to return to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace in such a short period of time, but Zhao Yameng was a true inner sect disciple of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. She had the right to activate a small part of the array formation on the ancient sword, as well as the knowledge to do so.

This had allowed Zhao Yameng to locate a teleportation array formation on an island in the shortest possible time, modify it, and teleport herself a farther distance.

This had allowed her to establish communications with Sect Lord Xu and the others in the Dao Palace. When the Sect Lord received Zhao Yameng's voice transmission and heard the contents of her frantically conveyed message, his breathing quickened, and alarm flashed across his face.

”Mie Liezi has been enslaved. Feng Qiuran's status is unknown. Daoist You Ran is from the Never-Ending Clan! The mission was a trap. Most of the cultivators who participated in the mission are dead or enslaved. Sect Lord Xu… you must evacuate everyone immediately!”

Shock colored Sect Lord Xu's face. He didn't hesitate though and chose to believe what Zhao Yameng had told him. There was no time for him to consider the matter in detail. He immediately contacted the giant tree. The latter was to gather all cultivators from both the Dao Palace and the Federation. He was going to activate what they had set in place prior to and during the mission.

Wang Baole had left orders prior to the mission. Sect Lord Xu was an old and cunning fox himself. He hadn't approved of the rescue mission and had prepared for the worst. Even though he was still shocked by what he had just found out, he didn't panic. Instead, he carried out his plans meticulously.

It took but six hours for everything to be in place. When Sect Lord Xu had first arrived with the second batch of Federation seedlings, he told Wang Baole that his mission was to construct a second teleportation array formation in secret. This was to be their contingency plan.

This should've been a difficult task. However, with Wang Baole, the fourth Grand Supreme Elder, supporting and covering his tracks, everything went smoothly. While the rest had been away on the rescue mission, he was the sole Nascent Soul realm cultivator in the entire sect. He might not have the rights to activate the Dao Palace's teleportation array formation, but he had his backup teleportation array formation ready for deployment.

After activating the smaller teleportation array formation, Sect Lord Xu immediately sent the Federation cultivators away in batches. Their numbers were few. As a result, their departures progressed swiftly even though the teleportation array formation was a relatively small setup.

The giant tree led the first batch home so that he might inform the Federation of everything that had happened on the ancient sword. He himself stood quietly inside the teleportation array formation, modifying the array formation so that it would self-destruct after the final teleportation. He didn't activate the self-destruct mechanism though. Instead, he held onto his voice transmission ring and gazed into the distance, waiting anxiously.