Eastern Xuan Region, Yuan Region, Yuan Gate Ancestral Land.
Inside the Spirit Keeping Hall, an old man with a strangely pale face looked up at the shattered jade pieces on the floor. His withered and eerie face showed no abnormality, only a stillness like stagnant water.
Silently sweeping up the pile of broken jade, the pale-faced old man stood quietly in the hall, waiting. Soon, three figures shrouded in eerie black mist appeared in the Spirit Keeping Hall.
Tian Yuanzi glanced at the mostly empty stone platform, then focused his gaze on the eerie old man, and said in a deep voice.
"Great Elder, what's the specific situation?"
"Sect Leader, a few of these disciples' Soul Jades shattered some time ago, but the rest shattered just now."
The terrifyingly pale old man was the Yuan Gate's newly promoted Great Elder, whose strength was also extremely impressive. He was a contingency plan prepared by Tian Yuanzi and the others for themselves, a trump card to deal with Lin Xuan and the Dao Sect.
It could be said that the status of this newly promoted Great Elder was extremely high, even no less than Tian Yuanzi and the other two.
Tian Yuanzi didn't speak upon hearing this, simply nodding to indicate he understood, without asking further. The fact that a small portion had shattered some time ago clearly meant they had encountered danger in the Otherworldly Demon Domain, a problem Tian Yuanzi didn't want to concern himself with.
In Tian Yuanzi's eyes, these were minor matters. Even if all the Yuan Gate disciples who went to participate in the Sect Tournament died, it was a trivial loss, not worth mentioning.
What Tian Yuanzi truly cared about were the hidden pieces of information behind the fall of these Yuan Gate disciples. These pieces of information were what Tian Yuanzi cared about.
After all, Yuan Cang's strength was still considerable, and he had the special treasure Tian Yuanzi had given him to protect his life. Even Ling Qingzhu, the reincarnation of the Ice Master, might not be able to keep Yuan Cang down, even if she used some special forbidden techniques.
This wasn't Tian Yuanzi being arrogant, but rather, his own strength far surpassed the current Ling Qingzhu, and he had more means at his disposal. Moreover, the difficulty of completely obliterating someone versus barely preserving their life was on a completely different level.
Therefore, Tian Yuanzi wanted to know how Yuan Cang had been forced to use the life-saving means he had given him, leading to Yuan Cang's direct death.
The main reason Tian Yuanzi wanted to understand was that he was worried that the person might have directly entered the Otherworldly Demon Domain, causing his plan to fail.
In fact, Tian Yuanzi's plan wasn't simply to release the sealed Otherworldly Demon General. A mere Otherworldly Demon General was only a Revolving Wheel Realm-level combatant, something Tian Yuanzi didn't even care about now. How could he spend so much effort doing such a thing?
The Otherworldly Demon General was just the first step, the initial link in the plan, and also a crucial one. Without that Otherworldly Demon General, his subsequent plans would be impossible to implement.
The real reason was related to the Yuan Gate's Ancestral Land. Beneath the Yuan Gate Ancestral Land, a great secret was hidden. Therefore, even when Lin Xuan attacked, and even with the encirclement of Bo Xuan and many other top experts, Tian Yuanzi didn't choose to escape, but instead chose to activate the Sect Protecting Grand Array and defend to the death.
Was it that they didn't want to escape? Or that they couldn't escape? No, it was that they couldn't escape.
In fact, if Tian Yuanzi and the other two had escaped at that time, the entire Yuan Gate would have been fine, because Lin Xuan, the Dao Sect, and Bo Xuan wouldn't have really massacred the entire Yuan Gate.
After all, the Yuan Gate hadn't been Demonic Contamination at that time, and there was only one top expert. As long as Tian Yuanzi and the other two were gone, most of the Yuan Gate disciples could be said to be innocent.
Moreover, Lin Xuan and the others couldn't wantonly massacre. At that time, the real war hadn't completely broken out, and the Dao Sect's forces didn't have enough top experts to guard the entire Eastern Xuan Region. If they had massacred the Yuan Gate disciples, then later, Tian Yuanzi and the others could freely massacre the people of other super sects.
It could be said that from any perspective, it would have been the best strategy for Tian Yuanzi and the others to escape at that time. But instead, Tian Yuanzi and the others didn't leave, but chose to risk defending to the death.
What were the consequences of defending to the death? It was the worry that if Bo Xuan and the others joined forces to attack, fighting to the death without retreating, plus a mad Sword Saint, there was a risk of the Sect Protecting Grand Array being blown up.
But even so, why did Tian Yuanzi still defend to the death? Naturally, it was because of the huge Demon Corpse Cave beneath the Yuan Gate, which was the Yuan Gate's biggest secret.
There were countless Otherworldly Demon corpses there, but with the strength of Tian Yuanzi and the others, it was difficult to control them, because they were Demonic Contamination humans, and their affinity for Otherworldly Demonic Qi wasn't high enough, so they couldn't control such a powerful force.
This was also why Tian Yuanzi would go to great lengths to set up the Otherworldly Demon Domain, to try to release that Otherworldly Demon General, because Tian Yuanzi needed a helper, someone with enough ability, who could also be controlled by him and listen to his orders.
Tian Yuanzi didn't want all his efforts to be in vain, to be done for the benefit of the powerful Otherworldly Demons of the Otherworldly Demon race. He hoped that these things could be used on him, to improve his strength.
But unfortunately, he had never been able to find a suitable helper. Coincidentally, that Otherworldly Demon General could be.
First of all, in terms of strength, that Otherworldly Demon General was only comparable to the Revolving Wheel Realm, which Tian Yuanzi and the others could easily suppress, thereby using the Otherworldly Demon corpses to prioritize improving their own strength.
Secondly, this matter, afterwards, can also cultivate some of our own people to enhance my position in the Otherworldly Demon race.
But now, this plan has gone awry. Yuan Cang and all the Yuan Gate disciples who entered the Otherworldly Demon Domain are dead. Even more, Tian Yuanzi is worried that the Otherworldly Demon General may have been killed as well.
Because, Tian Yuanzi has an extremely bold guess in his heart, that is, that damned madman has entered the Otherworldly Demon Domain and can exert his full strength, thereby eliminating that Otherworldly Demon General.
If that's the case, Tian Yuanzi will have to find a new target.
Therefore, Tian Yuanzi directly asked about the specific situation, he wanted to judge whether that Otherworldly Demon General was still alive.
"Sect Leader, among the remaining Soul Jades, the weaker ones shattered first. After that batch shattered, the Soul Jades of Yuan Cang, Ling Zhen, Lei Qian, and many other elite disciples shattered."
The newly promoted Great Elder, with a pale face, replied in a calm tone.
This Great Elder naturally knew Tian Yuanzi's true intentions, because he was the first beneficiary of this plan. It was precisely because of his appearance that Tian Yuanzi was so eager to utilize those Demon Corpses, because the power within them was too strong.
To think that he was originally just an elder of Yuan Gate, and one who almost died, but as a result, due to a small accident, he fused with an Otherworldly Demon Corpse and actually obtained power comparable to the Reincarnation Realm. How could Tian Yuanzi not be envious?
Yes, this newly promoted Great Elder almost died, dying a hundred years ago, the very one Zhou Tong killed back then.
Originally, he was almost dead, with only his last breath left. Then, he was thrown into the Demon Corpse Cave and struggled for a hundred years. Finally, it was recently, when the Sword Saint attacked the Sect Protecting Grand Array, that the Otherworldly Demonic Qi in the depths of the earth was impacted, and he was able to survive and successfully control the power of that Demon Corpse.
The power was strong, and the fusion was difficult, so Tian Yuanzi and others gave up the idea of directly fusing themselves, and had to find a suitable Otherworldly Demon expert to help him.
"You're saying, a batch of weak ones shattered first, and the rest were killed by another group of people?"
Tian Yuanzi's brow furrowed slightly. He knew quite a bit about the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury. Although Tian Yuanzi had not entered the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury, nor had he opened it before, Yuan Gate had gone through great pains to obtain the key, so they naturally knew the special secrets of the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury. Otherwise, Yuan Cang would not have prevented disciples below the Eight Yuan Nirvana Realm from entering in the first place.
Precisely because he was clear on this point, Tian Yuanzi was somewhat puzzled. From this perspective, Yuan Cang and others should have opened the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury first, and then the Yuan Gate disciples left outside the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury were besieged and killed by Dao Sect disciples.
As for Yuan Cang and others who entered, they were killed later.
If that crazy swordsman also entered the Otherworldly Demon Domain, unless he didn't encounter them, otherwise, according to that madman's nature, he should have directly drawn his Sword and killed Yuan Cang and others...
No, that's not right!
That madman would definitely cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, so he would definitely ensure that all plans were destroyed and everyone was killed. That is to say, that person would definitely let Yuan Cang open the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury, and then, after killing that General-level Otherworldly Demon, kill Yuan Cang and others together.
"Did the Soul Jades of Yuan Cang and others shatter at the same time?"
Tian Yuanzi suddenly thought of something and quickly asked. If they shattered at the same time, then the deaths of Yuan Cang and others were caused by that person, and if he had taken action against Yuan Cang and others, it seemed that he would not have the strength to erase that Otherworldly Demon General.
But if not, then that General-level Otherworldly Demon should also be almost non-existent.
"No, the approximate time was within that moment, but they did not shatter at the same time, but shattered one after another, with Yuan Cang's shattering last."
The Great Elder, whose face was frighteningly pale, narrated expressionlessly. Since changing his body, he was no longer a normal person.
After hearing the Great Elder's words, Tian Yuanzi couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh softly. Now there was no need to guess, that madman must have entered, and that General-level Otherworldly Demon must have died.
As for the protective treasures of Yuan Cang and others, needless to say, either they were forced out or scared out by that madman before entering the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury, or they were forced out in the Burning Heaven Cauldron within the Burning Heaven Ancient Treasury, and then besieged and killed by Ling Qingzhu, Ying Xiaoxiao and others.
With that person's methods, entering the Burning Heaven Cauldron and wanting to leave safely would inevitably require using that life-saving treasure.
Di Yuanzi, who had been standing beside him without speaking, now had a fierce look on his face and couldn't help but say.
"Tian Yuanzi, since that guy has already entered the Otherworldly Demon Domain, why don't we..."
While speaking, Di Yuanzi couldn't help but make a ruthless gesture. Tian Yuanzi naturally understood his thoughts, which were nothing more than wanting to take this opportunity to directly start a war with Dao Sect, Nine Heavens Great Purity Palace, and at most, add the Darkness Hall.
But is that really the case?
"No, if I'm not mistaken, besides Dao Sect and Taiqing Palace, forces like God Sect and Symbol Valley must have also contributed to the encirclement of Yuan Cang and the others. They would definitely unite in secret."
Tian Yuanzi didn't even need to think about this to be sure; after all, they were natural allies.
Now, the secret of Yuan Gate hasn't been exposed, it's just that it hasn't been made public. Those who should know, know almost everything. How could those forces not help Dao Sect and instead defect to them?
Not everyone dares to be as spineless as they are, directly defecting to Otherworldly Demons.
"Then what do we do? Are we just going to do nothing? Let Dao Sect start forming alliances and then target us bit by bit?"
Di Yuanzi said with some dissatisfaction. Although they were at a disadvantage now, and a significant one at that, doing nothing would be like sitting around waiting for death.
If that were the case, what was the point of defecting to Otherworldly Demons? They might as well just offer their necks for execution.
"No, we haven't lost yet!"
Tian Yuanzi's expression turned slightly cold, and he glanced at Ren Yuanzi, who was standing beside him like a wooden figure, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Since they know, then let's just start a war. We'll use the deaths of our Yuan Gate disciples as an excuse to directly start a war with Dao Sect!"
"But..."
Di Yuanzi was dumbfounded. Start a direct, head-on war at this time? What a joke! Their opponents could overwhelm them with numbers, especially that madman. If he came charging at them with a sword again, how would they fight?
"Hmph, don't worry. The war is just to divert their attention. Since the Otherworldly Demon Domain plan failed, we'll go to the Chaotic Demon Sea to search. Haven't we been looking for the Thunder Emperor Cave Abode all along?"
"Thunder Emperor Cave Abode?"
Di Yuanzi's eyes lit up. That was true; they had been searching for the Thunder Emperor Cave Abode, wanting to control another Ancestor Symbol—the Thunder Ancestor Symbol. The Thunder Emperor Scripture was something the Demon Prison side had given them early on, and it contained some clues.
Now, they were close to finding it.
"You mean, we'll drag all their attention to the Eastern Xuan Region, and then we'll secretly release that Otherworldly Demon King who was suppressed by the Thunder Emperor back then?"
"Exactly! If we can release him, our chances of winning will increase exponentially!"