The army only numbered slightly over a thousand, but the minimum level of the soldiers was in the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. Furthermore, there was only a single vehicle—a carriage pulled by two seahorses. Ancient patterns decorated the walls of the carriage, and there were also a great many holes that had been created from being pierced by weapons. However, they did not affect the grandeur of this carriage, but rather made it look even more aged and majestic.
When Ling Han's eyes turned in that direction, his mind suddenly blanked out. He could only see a gigantic hand appear out of thin air which aimed to grab him.
This humongous hand was really too terrifying. It was as if even if the sky itself collapsed, this colossal hand would be able to support it with a mere lift. But upon close examination, this was actually a female's hand, the skin as smooth and fair as snow, close to perfection.
Too powerful!
Ling Han did not have a second thought. He directly took Hu Niu and ducked into the Black Tower, his heart throbbing wildly. Though it was only a single instant, that had been the most dangerous instant he had experienced in this lifetime.
If he had been the slightest bit slower, he would definitely have been grabbed by that gigantic hand, and would definitely not have a chance of entering into the Black Tower.
A high-level Heaven Tier, or perhaps even… Shattering Void Tier!
Ling Han shook his head. He was not able to deduce that person's true power at all. He merely had a sliver of divine sense left over from the Heaven Tier—perhaps he could still see through the cultivation level of a normal Heaven Tier cultivator, but in the case of a high-level Heaven Tier cultivator, they would be a complete mystery even to him.
Moreover, there were actually Shattering Void Tier cultivators amongst the Sea Race.
However, he could confirm one fact, and that was that the elite cultivator inside the carriage could not possibly be Xuan Kong Yun—he was merely in the Deity Transformation Tier.
"En?" An exclamation of surprise arose from within the carriage.
"Mistress, is there something wrong?" a warrior from the Sea Race immediately asked.
"There's a very interesting troublemaker!" the person inside the carriage replied. Her voice was seductive, as if it possessed an endless entrancing ability.
The gaze of that warrior of the Sea Race fluctuated as if he wanted to seek out the troublemaker the Princess, Her Highness, had mentioned, but how could he possibly discover the existence of the Black Tower? Thus, he was naturally unsuccessful.
"He teleported," the person in the carriage said, but then mumbled softly to herself, "Had he really teleported? I don't recall feeling any shifting of space! But if it wasn't teleportation, then how could he have possibly vanished all of a sudden?"
The wheels of the carriage rolled, and this army continued its advance towards the Imperial City.
It was only when this huge army had completely disappeared from sight that Ling Han and Hu Niu emerged back out of the Black Tower.
"Scared Niu to death; that woman is very powerful!" Hu Niu exclaimed, patting her chest in relief.
Ling Han nodded. This was one of the greatest people of the Sea Race, strong to an inconceivable level. Could it be that Na Zhi Yan left behind some loose ends? Otherwise, after he had cursed Xuan Kong Yun to death, this whole matter should have ended, so how could it be that a whole army of Sea Race would appear now—and with them, an inconceivably powerful woman?
An ultimate cultivator that might be a high-level Heaven Tier cultivator, or perhaps even in the Shattering Void Tier; if she chose to do as she liked in a place like the north region, who could stand in her way?
Ling Han drew Na Zhi Yan out, and narrated to him what had happened previously. Then, he asked, "Who is that woman? Also, whom else did you speak to about this matter?"
Na Zhi Yan was almost on the brink of tears. How could he dare to reveal this kind of secret to anyone? If it was known to the Sea Race that he was involved in Xuan Kong Yun's death by curse, then wouldn't he be torn to pieces? He answered in a trembling voice, "That, that person should be the Seventh Princess of the Royal Clan, Lady Helian Xun Xue."
"What cultivation level is she at?" Ling Han questioned.
"Apparently, the Heaven Tier." Na Zhi Yan gave it some thought, then said with a note of certainty, "She should be in the Heaven Tier. The Seventh Princess is the most prodigious genius of the Helian Royal Clan, but has not yet advanced into the Shattering Void Tier."
Ling Han had heard him talk about it before. There was a total of three Great Royal Clans in the Northern Sea. They were Helian, Xianyu, and Wenren. All three had an ultimate cultivator of the Shattering Void Tier in their ranks, and they were equivalent to a great sect from the middle state in terms of power.
Even if Helian Xun Xue was not in the Shattering Void Tier and was only in the Heaven Tier, she would be more than adequate to sweep aside all resistance in the north region. Furthermore, Ling Han felt that she was far stronger than he had been in his last life. As for the question of whether she was on par with the Sword Emperor and the others, this was not so easily gauged. That was because he had not even seen her face-to-face.
From the look of things, she should have come for the Vial of Curses. Otherwise, she would not have appeared so coincidentally at this moment.
But since Na Zhi Yan did not leak the secret, how had she known about it? Could it be that Xuan Kong Yun leaked the information to her just before his death?
Ling Han thought for a moment, then once again knocked Na Zhi Yan out and threw him back into the Black Tower. Then, he, too, headed towards the Imperial City. Taking a different route, he surpassed the army of Sea Race, and arrived in the Imperial City ahead of them. Honestly speaking, this army was not really advancing very quickly.
However, no matter how slow they were, another two days later, the Sea Race had still arrived outside the Imperial City.
Everyone in Fire Country felt like they were facing a great calamity. Upon the city walls, every soldier had a sword in hand or an arrow mounted on their bow, and war seemed about to begin at any moment. However, in front of an army where the lowest level was the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, any resistance seemed futile.
…This shouldn't really be considered as an army, but rather Helian Xun Xue's private guard. After all, their numbers amounted to too few to be considered an army.
"I don't care who obtained that item. Hand it over immediately. Otherwise, three days later, I will incite a great tsunami wave and flood the whole of the Desolate North!" From within the carriage, Helian Xun Xue's melodious yet cold voice could be heard.
She released a sliver of her aura, and instantly, even the skies changed color. Pa, pa, pa, pa. All dropped their weapons, and aside from those who were in the ranks of rulers for martial arts, were forced to their knees.
Everyone was in a state of extreme shock. The battle had not even begun, and things were already like this. The enemy was so strong one could only shiver at their might!
What were they to do?
They had absolutely no idea what "item" she was talking about, so how were they supposed to hand it over? When they thought about it, they were really having a bout of extreme bad luck. Just some days ago, someone charged into the Imperial Palace and forced them to agree to an unjust treaty which was a great humiliation to them. And now, someone else charged into the Imperial City and threatened them.
Yet they could not show the slightest bit of their infuriation.
Though the woman inside the carriage had not even shown her face, no one dared to doubt her words. She merely released a bit of her aura, and it was enough to have everyone know that she was definitely not joking.
She had that kind of power, and at the same time, would really do as she had said.
Ling Han frowned. Now, he could absolutely confirm that the item she wanted was the Vial of Curses. After slight hesitation, he had Hu Niu enter into the Black Tower first, then ascended up the city walls.
"Milord!"
"Milord!"
"Milord!"
When they saw Ling Han, everyone knelt down as if they had seen their savior.
Ling Han laughed, and said, "Don't look at me. Now, even if there were 10,000 of me, it still wouldn't be enough to stand against a single finger of hers."
When they heard Ling Han say that, everyone wore disappointed expressions. Even Ling Han was no match for her, so what were they to do now?
Ling Han looked into the distance and called out loudly, "We can negotiate. But if you make another move against me, I will immediately run, and I guarantee you will never find me again."
"Insolence!"
"How dare you speak to our Mistress in this way!"
The warriors of Sea Race all yelled in indignation. In their hearts, Helian Xun Xue was an existence on par with a divine deity, and they could not allow the slightest bit of blasphemy against her. A mere human actually dared to negotiate with their Mistress? He had to be delusional!
Yet a voice was heard from within the carriage as she said, "Then, let us negotiate."
Obviously, Helian Xun Xue at the very least admitted Ling Han was very capable at fleeing after he had managed to successfully escape from her once. Otherwise, she would have simply apprehended him for interrogation rather than give him a chance for a negotiation.