CHAPTER 1858: CHAPTER 1851: ANOTHER CRISIS

Cheng Ziang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his heart was unable to be at ease, the muscles on his face twitching. Unable to hold back his anger, he gritted his teeth and shouted fiercely, "Go to hell for me!"

With his command, a massive amount of magic power poured down, Zhang Yi and the Ghost Granny widened their eyes, watching helplessly as this intensely bright magic power came crashing down on them.

No one can withstand such intense magic power, not even a Magic Conductor or a high-level Cultivator. The human body’s endurance limit dictates that relying solely on the physical body cannot maximize the power of magic.

The cascading magic power fell like a waterfall, transforming into a viscous liquid state, and upon hitting the ground, it immediately evaporated and vaporized, dispersing back into the atmosphere, losing its radiance.

The entire process lasted more than ten seconds, and when everything settled, the scene left only two corpses that had completely turned into statues.

The two were kneeling on the ground, fingers bent, staring terrified at the sky, maintaining their state from the moment of death, yet their whole bodies had entirely crystallized, emitting a dazzling flash under Liseya’s light.

After the rage subsided, Cheng Ziang’s mind finally calmed down slightly, feeling extremely surprised by everything before him.

Magic power does not generate heat; this is a basic principle they had already mastered.

The previous explosions caused by magic power outbursts occurred mainly because the fundamental particles of magic power carried atmospheric molecules, creating friction, thereby generating light and heat.

When Liseya unleashed a massive amount of magic power, although the power converged during this process, the basic particle movement was not as intense as during magic power outbursts, so it did not generate light and heat through air friction.

Thus, it was apparent that these two crystalline statues were caused by the massive amount of magic power passing through the objects.

The massive magic power passing through objects and causing them to crystallize was a scenario previously unnoticed by research.

Research by the Academy of Sciences’ Otherworld Research Center shows that excessive magic power passing through the human body leads to Magic Power Erosion. But if this amount is multiplied by ten, the center does not know what would happen; they can only vaguely speculate.

After all, they cannot conduct human experiments, so the application of magic power often remains at the theoretical stage. Unexpectedly, Liseya’s inadvertent attack turned this theory into reality.

However, Cheng Ziang at this moment was in no mood to focus on this scientific phenomenon. Although Zhang Yi and the Ghost Granny had sacrificed for science, his heart’s resentment still couldn’t be calmed.

He squatted down again, disconsolately hugging Hun Jiansi’s gradually cooling corpse. Memories of the past surfaced in his mind, and he felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, unable to hold back his tears and voice.

Soon, the late-arriving Hu Daoke and Baiyue, who came to reinforce them, saw this incredible scene.

"Old... Old Cheng, are you alright?" Hu Daoke cautiously asked, holding a gun.

"I’m fine..."

Cheng Ziang lowered his head, but his voice was very somber.

"Who are you holding?"

"Hun Jiansi..." he said, then suddenly looked up, his red eyes gazing at Hu Daoke, pleadingly asking, "It’s called Hun Jiansi, right?"

"Yes, it’s called Hun Jiansi..."

In this situation, Hu Daoke maintained high emotional intelligence, following his words instead of arguing.

"But I, but I..."

"Has she passed away?" Hu Daoke cautiously asked.

"Yes..."

"Alas, my condolences..."

Hu Daoke pursed his lips, resisting the urge to question further.

Unlike the observant Hu Daoke who immediately noticed Cheng Ziang, Baiyue’s first glance caught Liseya floating in mid-air and the two eerie glistening statues.

On the way, she sensed a strong magical fluctuation in the atmosphere, boldly suspecting that Liseya had launched an attack before their arrival, and those two statues were likely products of a magic attack.

Thinking of this, she turned, casting a sympathetic glance at Cheng Ziang, then took a deep breath and slowly approached the two statues.

The air was filled with a bizarre scent, somewhat similar to burned protein mixed with a pungent chemical odor.

The closer she got, the more she noticed that on the grass beneath the two statues, crystallization had also occurred, spreading outward with the statues as the center.

Within a one-meter radius of the statues, the vegetation was entirely crystallized; beyond that distance, only some parts were crystallized, and the rest remained unchanged.

Baiyue, under Liseya’s radiance, leaned into the two statues, took out paper and pen, squatted down, and carefully observed and recorded data.

Although she had many questions in her mind now, given Cheng Ziang’s current condition, she decided to hold them, documenting the current phenomena for future inquiries when the occasion was right.

On the other side, not long after Cheng Ziang and others had left, Luo’er and Tangmo encountered troubles as well.

The trouble came from the Wu Dynasty’s pursuit troops. Amidst the rumbling sound of hooves, a force of elite Forbidden Army cavalry over five hundred strong appeared near the Advance Team’s camp.

"Luo’er, trouble’s here," Fulajie’er reminded.

"I know..."

Luo’er sighed lightly, seemingly calm.

"The Advance Team isn’t fully assembled, and Liseya isn’t with us. Are you sure this is okay?" Fulajie’er anxiously asked.

"It’s just five hundred men; what’s there to worry about? Aren’t you here too?" Luo’er smiled slightly.

"I’m not worried about myself; I’m anxious about you," Fulajie’er said, suddenly pausing, her tone turning to surprise as she asked, "So, do you mean to let me take action?"

"Just scare them a bit."

"Scaring them won’t work; they’re a force of five hundred soldiers!"

Fulajie’er raised her voice.

"It will work. As long as we can stall them, we just need to wait for Ziang and the others to return," Luo’er replied calmly.

"You still can’t bear to let the flashlight make a move, can you?" Tangmo sighed softly and asked.

"If I had a choice, I’d rather never have picked up a gun. Some things, if you don’t have to do them, don’t do them, and certainly don’t take the initiative," Luo’er replied.

"Alright then, I’ll try to scare them, but I don’t promise that I won’t take action," Fulajie’er hesitated.

"Okay, let’s go meet our guests," Luo’er said, opening the car door and stepping out gracefully.

By this time, the camp was completely surrounded by the cavalry, armed with either torches or belt-bound Magic Crystal luminescent stones, looking ready for travel by night, clearly targeting the Advance Team.

Seeing Luo’er step out of the carriage, the leading cavalry officer immediately rode forward, courteously cupping his fist and saying, "National Teacher, His Majesty invites the National Teacher to accompany us to the capital."

"We just left Shengjing, and His Majesty is eager to summon us back; what is it for?" Luo’er smiled and asked unhurriedly.

"After all, the National Teacher is a distinguished guest from a foreign land, yet it’s unfortunate that the Heavenly Dynasty is in turmoil, which might cause the National Teacher to see a joke. His Majesty plans to summon the National Teacher back as a gesture of apology."

"His Majesty is overthinking," Luo’er shook his head with a smile, "Justice is recognized by all, and whether or not one is embarrassed is not up to me to determine. Given the current crisis in the Heavenly Dynasty, we are in a hurry to return home and thus cannot stay, hence we bid farewell to His Majesty. Please convey to the Manor Lord that there is no need for His Majesty to worry about me."

"His Majesty sincerely invites; how could the National Teacher refuse?"

The officer’s expression immediately changed.

"Oh, so, the invitations of your Heavenly Dynasty cannot be refused?"

Luo’er continued to smile, but his tone was sharp.

"Well then," the officer took a deep breath, looking at Luo’er, and continued, "If that’s the case, please hand over the Princess. If the National Teacher wishes to leave, we do not wish to hold you, but the Princess is His Majesty’s flesh and blood and cannot be casually taken away by the National Teacher."

"When did we take away your Princess?"

Luo’er’s expression changed slightly, falling into brief contemplation.

At first, he thought the officer was referring to Yichuan Ying. But after thinking it over, he supposed it was Feng, who had left the Advance Team.

Feng actually left; this was something Luo’er hadn’t expected. Although he could roughly guess Feng’s decision, he never thought she would be so determined. After the Advance Team left Shengyuan Qilan, she unhesitatingly left her father.

"National Teacher, don’t think I’m joking. Taking the Princess away is inappropriate both emotionally and logically, please return the Princess," the officer said coldly.