Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1154 - 1154 0672 Between a Rock and a Hard Place_2

Chapter 1154: Chapter 0672: Between a Rock and a Hard Place_2 Chapter 1154: Chapter 0672: Between a Rock and a Hard Place_2 Bai Huiwen and Pan Yunping had not even had the chance to feel relieved for having retrieved their war soldiers before they shockingly discovered that the tips of their war soldiers’ spears and lances were all missing a small piece, with the break being neat and tidy, as if someone had chopped it off with a knife.

Bai Huiwen and Pan Yunping were exceedingly alarmed; their war soldiers were of Half-step Nascent Soul level—not only was their offensive power mighty, but their quality was also extraordinarily high. Yet despite such high-quality war soldiers, a piece had been bitten off by the ghost face. From this, one could gauge just how formidable the strength of the ghost face on the tomb’s door was.

This fact was not only noticed by Bai Huiwen and Pan Yunping, the other Gold Core Realm powerhouses had also seen it, and they all looked to Emperor Bahuang, hoping that their prince could give them further instructions.

Emperor Bahuang also did not know what to do next. If he had been the overall commander of the team, then at this moment he would undoubtedly have ordered an immediate retreat for everyone, but Qi Tian was above him, and with borrowing courage, he didn’t dare to directly order a retreat; he could only do as his subordinates did and looked to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian was very reluctant, but the situation had come to such a pass that it was definitely not a good choice to insist on his original view and go after the Saint’s Tomb. He said, “Temporarily halt the attack on the tomb door, and everyone should retreat beyond the slope first. We still need to discuss this further.”

Having spoken, Qi Tian sighed with relief and so did everyone else, including Emperor Bahuang; they all retreated from the slope and returned to the ground. Qi Tian instructed the others to remain vigilant while he gathered several princes around him to start discussing.

Qi Tian did not shy away from the issue; he got straight to the point and said, “The situation we have encountered is something I had not anticipated before. I really did not expect the Saint’s Tomb to be so dangerous. With the methods at my disposal, I can determine that the ghost face on the tomb door possesses strength that exceeds that of anyone among us, its power may even be above that of Manager Chen.”

When the princes heard this, they all inhaled sharply. Although they could also judge that the ghost face on the tomb door was formidable, and that no one among them could provoke it, they dared not assert the extent of the ghost face’s strength, much less make such a claim as Qi Tian did, that the ghost face’s power exceeded that of Manager Chen.

To the several princes present, Manager Chen was an existence that could casually beat them up; if the ghost face was even more formidable than Manager Chen, wouldn’t it be like a nightmarish existence?

The Huoyang Emperor did not quite believe Qi Tian’s judgment and queried, “Master Qi, are you so sure? Is the ghost face really stronger than Manager Chen?”

Qi Tian replied, “There’s no need for me to deceive you on this matter—indeed, the ghost face on the tomb door is extremely powerful. I can tell all the princes explicitly that it should possess Nascent Soul Stage strength.”

Just now, when Qi Tian said that the ghost face was stronger than Manager Chen, some of the princes had already suspected that the ghost face might be at the Nascent Soul Stage, but they still harbored great hopes that the ghost face was not that powerful. However, now that Qi Tian had personally stated it, the little illusion they held in their hearts was completely shattered.

Emperors like Jianwu and Bahuang, who were Qi Tian’s Immortal Slaves, knew that Qi Tian had no need to invoke alarm or exaggerate in front of them. Qi Tian did not deign to lie in their presence, and while the Huoyang Emperor was somewhat skeptical of Qi Tian’s judgment, he wisely did not continue to question Qi Tian.

Qi Tian continued, “I was not eager to leave this Saint’s Tomb so soon, but given the current developments, there is no choice but to leave. Let’s quickly pack up and prepare to leave this place. I know all the princes are not willing, but no matter how reluctant, we have to recognize the reality and accept it. Princes, give the order, collect all the belongings we can take with us, and then let’s prepare to retreat.”

Emperor Jianwu, Emperor Bahuang, and the other princes exchanged glances, seeing in each other’s eyes some unwillingness, but what they saw even more was a sense of relief, a sense of fortune.

Just as the princes were about to turn around and convey instructions to their subordinates, at that very moment, the several Gold Core Realm powerhouses whom they had dispatched shortly before to scout the surroundings, incredibly returned all at once and unsummoned.

Not one of these Gold Core Realm powerhouses had a pleasant expression, and in the eyes of some, there was an undeniable terror and fear.

“Prince, Master Qi, something terrible has happened. Following your orders, we went to the outskirts to scout, and what we discovered was not good at all. From this Saint’s Tomb, the paths to several other Saint’s Tombs have all been blocked without exception. On these pathways, restrictions and arrays have been set up by someone, and they’re guarded by people with powerful abilities. Based on our manpower, there’s simply no way to pass through these restrictions and arrays.”

Emperor Jianwu hastily inquired, “What exactly is going on? Have you determined how these restrictions and arrays came about? Who set them up?”

The Gold Core Realm powerhouse reporting the situation responded, “Prince, these restrictions and arrays cover a not insignificant area and block a considerably long stretch of road. We stood at this end trying to communicate with the people at the other end, but they wouldn’t give us the time of day.”

Emperor Jianwu urgently pressed, “If they ignore you, then surely you must have seen who those people are to some extent. Are they from other palaces?”

The Gold Core Realm powerhouse answered, “Prince, I dare not claim to have memorized the names and faces of all Gold Core Realm powerhouses under the other princes’ commands, but I can say with certainty that those people don’t look like they’re from other palaces. Their attire, the way they move, it all resembles that of Shen Ziyu to some extent, and the arrays and restrictions they’ve set up are not in the same vein as the ones we usually use in our palaces. I suspect that they might very well be sent by Manager Chen, who took advantage of our unguarded moment to completely cut off our retreat. I fear that if this continues, Manager Chen might turn against us. To make an inappropriate analogy, what Manager Chen is doing is akin to ‘blocking the door to beat the dog’.”

Hearing this, a chill ran down the spine of Emperor Jianwu, the other princes, and Qi Tian. If indeed Manager Chen was behind this, then he could quite possibly be intending to cut off their contact with the outside world, sever their escape routes, and then isolate and attack them. Given the power of Manager Chen’s faction, if they decided to target Qi Tian and his group, there could only be one outcome for them, which was unavoidable doom.

Manager Chen had ample reason to do this. From a power standpoint, he could easily crush anyone from Qi Tian’s side. Backed by Wanjie Commerce, he wouldn’t even consider Emperor Jianwu’s people significant. From the perspective of personal grudges, Qi Tian and his followers had killed Shen Ziyu, so it was only natural for Manager Chen to seek revenge.

At this point, they were caught between a rock and a hard place. If Qi Tian’s team continued to follow the retreat command he had issued earlier, they might very well end up in a direct confrontation with Manager Chen’s side.

At this stage, the outcome of such a confrontation was obvious. The most likely outcome for Qi Tian’s side was total annihilation. Even if the situation was slightly more optimistic, at best, only a very few might escape to the heavens, while most would probably die at the hands of Manager Chen.

Once again, everyone turned their eyes toward Qi Tian, waiting for him to give new instructions.

At this time, whether to retreat or stay seemed to offer no choice but the same outcome, a hopeless one.