Lily, Are You Well?

Margaret was seething with a mix of shock and fury. Moments ago, she had ordered her Qingshui Saintess Legion to conceal their tracks using the Water Concealment Formation, silently approaching her target. She was supremely confident; this formation was a wondrous array she had employed against the Fiendkind during the War of Fallen Gods, truly capable of erasing all traces of life, allowing one to approach a target imperceptibly. And indeed, her opponent hadn't detected her or the Saintess Legion!

Yet, the opponent's invisibility spell was in no way inferior to the Water Concealment Formation. If not for the jostling sedan curtain, she might not have even noticed the attack until after it struck!

Hmph! To let an enemy burst into her sedan, barely a dozen centimeters from her — where was the prestige of a Skylands Marshal, the dignity of humanity's foremost expert after the Divine Emperor's demise?! Margaret was incandescent with rage. A sharp palm strike, laced with mist, shot forth. Though she couldn't see her invisible foe, the howling palm wind enveloped the entire area in front of the soft sedan, an all-encompassing attack!

Inside the Precious Lotus Scripture, Du Chen cursed silently. Heavens above, is that Goddess of Fate playing games with me again?! Although he didn't recognize the woman before him, if he couldn't deduce her identity after hearing "Qingshui Saintess Legion," then Du Chen's brain might as well be chopped up and fed to pigs!

"It's the Old Hags..."

Margaret's hand struck like lightning. Du Chen's Divine Sense didn't even have time to utter a complete sentence. Fortunately, Fifth Brother shared his thoughts. In a flash, he took control of the Precious Lotus Scripture, releasing Green Cloud, which sent wisps of flowing clouds spiraling out of the sedan...

Boom!

The palm strike whizzed past Green Cloud, erupting into a bluish splash of water in front of the sedan!

Barely evading it, Du Chen wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Thank goodness, thank goodness Green Cloud is fast enough... With Margaret here, fighting her purely with personal prowess was out of the question. He'd have to gather the Batuk Family before taking her on! Glancing at the situation in the tunnel, Du Chen dared not hesitate. "Dus, the left passage!" "Understood!" Fifth Brother rapidly maneuvered Green Cloud towards the nearest opening.

At Margaret's Military Edict, even as she reached out to seize Du Chen, the hundred-plus members of the Qingshui Saintess Legion reacted instinctively. A layer of cerulean light shimmered across each of their bodies. In an instant, all the lights connected, forming a fully enclosed battle qi shield—or rather, a cage—attempting to trap the invisible foe!

The lights rapidly converged, but just as they completed their closure, Green Cloud darted through the last sliver of a gap, rushing straight for the passage...

Green Cloud's speed was indeed sufficient to escape even Margaret's grasp!

With the passage entrance right before them, Du Chen's heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally eased slightly...

"Duding, damn your grandmother!" Dus suddenly roared a curse. Duding's grandmother... wouldn't that mean cursing the Life Tree's old mother?

Du Chen was stunned. The current situation revealed why Dus was swearing profusely. It turned out that the damned Labyrinth of Life had actually... begun to change! The escape passage whooshed out of existence. Fifth Brother frantically halted Green Cloud to avoid crashing straight into the wall due to the immense inertia. But looking back, after the change, the only remaining exit was behind Margaret...

By then, the Saintess Legion's cage had fully formed, completely blocking the tunnel—they were trapped within this cramped space!

"Hmph! To think there's such a master of concealment in the world today!"

Margaret slowly descended from the soft sedan. Her slender, graceful figure was clad in silver-white battle armor and a cape. Her hair, too, was surprisingly silver-white, falling loosely down her back. She was tall, and though her face bore the marks of someone in their thirties, she still possessed a captivating charm. One could easily imagine what a peerless beauty she must have been in her youth!

"What skill is there in hiding and lurking? Come out!" Margaret's voice was filled with authority, faintly reminding one of her grand Marshal's demeanor when she commanded countless armies in the past.

Du Chen glanced at the thoroughly sealed tunnel and inwardly cursed his luck. Events had unfolded too suddenly! Only at this moment did his mind truly catch up, his thoughts becoming clear again. Why the Old Hags was here, why they almost collided—none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was how to escape from right under the nose of Skylands Marshal Margaret! Du Chen hastily commanded via Divine Sense: "Dus, shrink the Precious Lotus Scripture to its smallest size! Find a crevice in the life-wall's bark and hide in there first!"

Margaret ordered the Saintess Legion to seal all escape routes. She then strolled through the now-enclosed space, her cold gaze sweeping over every inch of the inner wall. "To evade my palm strike right before my eyes, your speed is indeed exceptional. In a thousand years, I've only witnessed such swiftness from Winged Elves! However, your strength certainly hasn't reached the Twelfth-Tier. Otherwise, you would have already smashed through the wall and used your speed to escape... You're still here. Do you intend to reveal yourself, or shall this Marshal use a Secret Technique to evaporate every inch of air in here and force you out?"

As she spoke, faint blue flames suddenly flickered around Margaret. Instantly, the temperature inside the entire "cage" began to surge!

Du Chen, Dus, and Andy, hidden inside the Precious Lotus Scripture, exchanged dismayed glances. Green Cloud might be fast, but what good was it in a completely sealed "cage"?!

Clapping the Water Veil Shield and Fire Lotus Lantern onto their heads, barely resisting the flames, Dus eyed Margaret with shifty eyes and muttered, "Francis, how did the Old Hag suddenly get here?"

Du Chen gave a wry smile. "Need you ask? She must be after that fire-elemental Aberrant Beast. Damn it, this is too much of a coincidence! I actually crashed right under Margaret's nose!"

Andy, the weakest of the three, currently only possessing titled power, grimaced. "Master, Andy has a dream. You, how much food do you have on you? Let Andy eat his fill before he dies. It's too hot..."

Margaret chuckled coldly. "Still not coming out? I'll control the flame intensity at the critical point between Eleventh-Tier and Twelfth-Tier. This intensity won't burn down the life-wall, but it'll be enough to roast someone below the Twelfth-Tier alive. You have thirty seconds to consider before the flames reach that temperature: surrender, or death!"

Dus glanced at Du Chen. "What now? If you get burned to death, Fifth Brother here is finished too!"

If the main body doesn't perish, the clone doesn't die. But if Du Chen's main body were burned to death, Dus, as a clone, would only follow him into reincarnation...

At this point, as the flame intensity surpassed the Eleventh-Tier, Andy's snowy-white wolf fur began to subtly singe. His large mouth opened and closed as his Battle Soul pleaded: "Master, Andy can't take it anymore! You, just give me some food!"

At a time like this, and you're still thinking about food?!

Du Chen glared at Andy, then his eyes lit up, only to quickly dim again. It was true that when faced with a mortal threat, Andy could temporarily form an agreement with the Golden Behemoth and transform into the Composite Aberrant Beasts Pamir. But Du Chen had never personally witnessed Pamir's full strength—Pamir hadn't gone all out during the Grand Chasm incident! Even if Andy truly transformed into Pamir... his opponent was Margaret!

The Eleventh-Tier involved gathering two elements, the Twelfth-Tier merged three... the Fourteenth Trigram signified the complete fusion of five elements, and the Fifteenth-Tier was the unification of all five elements, where one's body integrated with all creation, reaching the culmination of the Battle God's Path and coexisting with heaven and earth! Currently, Margaret possessed all five elements and was seeking a way to unify them, aiming for the Fourteenth Trigram to achieve eternal life!

Beyond the Tenth-rank, the gap between each level was exponential. Even if Andy, after transforming, reached Twelfth-Tier or even Thirteen, could he truly contend with Margaret, who was nearing the peak of the Fourteenth Trigram and commanded all five elements?!

Du Chen rubbed his nose, deep in thought. Andy, unable to endure the Eleventh-Tier flames, suddenly banged his fangs, and his eyes turned dark gold—the Golden Behemoth had also sensed the threat of death and begun to cooperate with Andy...

Dus suddenly said, "Francis, even if Andy transforms into Pamir, he won't be able to defeat Margaret. But... he should be able to smash through the life-wall!"

"That's right! Andy did it when Bonis appeared!" Du Chen whipped around, grabbing Andy by the scruff of his neck, and his Battle Soul demanded: "Last time you transformed into Pamir, how long did it take you to break through the life-wall!?"

Andy froze, then thought for a moment. "Th-this... Master, last time I was just thinking about eating, and Tyr next to me had already fainted from hunger, so I didn't see clearly... I don't know how long it takes!"

Heavens! Can't you forget about eating for once?! Du Chen, with both his Battle Soul and Divine Sense active, exclaimed anxiously: "Andy, after transforming, certainly has the ability to break through the wall, but it definitely won't be as easy as it was for Bonis—he needs time! Dus, give me Green Cloud. Then, you and Andy drill open the life-wall here. I'll go out and buy you time. Once you succeed, give me a signal, and we'll use Green Cloud to escape!"

Dus cried out, "Buy time? Are you crazy? Margaret has wanted to kill you for ages. The moment you step out, she'll likely strike immediately!"

Du Chen rubbed his nose and chuckled. "How can one escape death without taking risks?" As he spoke, he used his battle qi to subtly lift the tip of his nose, and some subtle facial muscles shifted. "The moment she sees Francis, Margaret will certainly attack immediately. But... what if she sees an old lover with whom she's shared a thousand years of love and hate? Even if she finds it strange, she'll at least be stunned for a while, perhaps ask a few old-time questions, right? It's only human nature!"

Dus was momentarily stunned. At that moment, Du Chen let out a muffled, wry chuckle. "Lily, it's been many years. Are you well?"

Lily?!

Margaret's body stiffened. This was her childhood name, a name that, besides her deceased parents and herself, only one other person in the world knew!

Indeed, but that person's Divine Pet had already told Du Chen the name...