"Young master, they're catching up!"
Qin Ruoxue said anxiously. She was already too weak to fight again. Her spiritual energy was almost depleted and hadn't recovered, making even escape impossible.
"It's fine. I told you that joining the Azure Cloud Sect would guarantee your safety."
"Why are you so timid? With this sect here, what do you have to fear?"
"Yes... Sect Leader."
"Ye Bai, send them to see King Yama."
Feng Qingyang said casually.
In the cultivation world where the weak are prey to the strong, the strong dictate life and death with a single word.
Then, without looking back, he continued on his way.
Qin Ruoxue secretly guessed that there must be a powerful figure from the Azure Cloud Sect following them.
But who was King Yama? And why did they need to see him?
A moment later.
Xing Daorong of Great Zhou arrived with his men on horseback. Finding no trace of the three, they were met instead by a black-robed man standing in their way.
"Hey, why are you blocking this general's way? Quickly move aside, or I'll kill you along with them!"
Xing Daorong roared angrily, his spiritual energy erupting from his body.
"Insignificant worm, yet you dare speak so loudly."
"I've already killed more than a dozen arrogant fools like you today."
Ye Bai sneered as he looked at these clowns with mild interest.
"Haha, what empty bragging."
"With the Pear Blossom Mountain-Opening Axe in this general's hands, none who come leave alive—what hope do you have?"
"Charge! Capture the Empress alive!"
Xing Daorong shouted loudly, leading his generals and soldiers to charge forward.
The rumbling sound of spiritual horse hooves the earth.
"Ants."
Having spoken, Ye Bai circulated the spiritual energy within his body.
The overwhelming pressure of the Shattering Void realm swept out.
"Ah! No!"
Countless screams that pierced the clouds came from the front.
In the blink of an eye, Xing Daorong and the others were crushed into a bloody mist by the immense pressure.
Ye Bai coldly smiled, turned around, and flew away.
For such jumping clowns, he didn't even need to lift a finger; a slight leak of his pressure was enough to crush them to death.
On the other side.
Feng Qingyang and the others had already returned to the Azure Cloud Sect.
A thousand miles in an instant.
Inside the Azure Cloud Sect.
"Master? Junior Brother?"
Shi Hao was playing chess with an old man when he sensed someone approaching the sect. He quickly got up to investigate.
As his eyes fell on Lin Bai, he paused. Something had changed. His junior brother looked the same, but his aura—sharper, colder—was unmistakably different.
"Senior Brother."
At the same time, Shi Hao also noticed the woman beside Feng Qingyang.
His first impression—she was absolutely stunning.
"Master sure has a way with women," he muttered. "He just sent off two a few days ago, and now he's brought back another beauty."
"As expected of Master!"
Qin Ruoxue was even more shocked!
She had thought that the Azure Cloud Sect was at most an Overlord-level power.
This... this... could it be that the Azure Cloud Sect was a Holy Land! But that wasn't right either. Did Holy Lands have such a setup?
As the Empress of the Great Zhou, Qin Ruoxue knew quite a bit. The Holy Lands of the Eastern Region didn't have such blessed lands.
Looking around, she saw lofty pavilions and towering halls, shrouded in drifting immortal mist. Spiritual energy condensed into vapor, veiling the scene in ethereal beauty.
Scene after scene simply refreshed her worldview.
"Master, who is this lady?"
"Could it be that Master has found a mistress for us?"
Looking at the disheveled Qin Ruoxue, Shi Hao had already conjured up a story in his mind: a woman being chased, then Master saving the damsel in distress and winning her heart.
"Are you itching for a beating, kid?"
Feng Qingyang was speechless.
"Just a maidservant for serving tea and pouring water, right, Great Zhou Empress?"
"How did he know!"
"Sect Leader, I wasn't deliberately hiding it. The Great Zhou has already changed dynasties, and I, this Empress, have become a thing of the past."
"Empress! Serving tea and pouring water!"
"Master is indeed strong!"
"It's fine, I just don't like being kept in the dark."
At this moment, the old man who had been playing chess with Shi Hao also walked over. "Sect Leader."
Shi Hao's face lit up with joy upon seeing him.
"Senior, you've come too! I must say, your chess skills are truly superb, surpassing this disciple by ten thousand times!"
Li Qingyun simply smiled and stroked his beard.
As a Great Emperor realm expert, he viewed this entire world as a chessboard, and all living beings as chess pieces.
"Let me introduce you two. This is our Azure Cloud Sect's Old Ancestor."
"Old Ancestor!"
Shi Hao knew that the old man he had been playing chess with was a senior in the sect, but he never expected him to be the Old Ancestor!
His cultivation must be heaven-defying!
"Right, you two should cultivate diligently these next two days. The ancient saint's secret realm will open in three days. At that time, go and snatch... there are many resources and fortuitous encounters inside, which can serve as good training."
"Cultivate well and don't disgrace my Azure Cloud Sect."
"Yes, Master."
Shi Hao and Lin Bai immediately became serious when they saw their master speaking of serious matters.
"Old Ancestor, you may continue your leisurely travels. We shall handle things here for the time being."
Feng Qingyang, who was about to turn and leave, suddenly thought of something else.
The sect uniforms hadn't been issued to them yet. Although there weren't many disciples now, he had originally planned to take them out when the sect's reputation shook the Eastern Region and they held a grand opening to recruit disciples.
But since they were going to that ancient saint's secret realm, they had to impress outsiders.
"Wait a moment."
"You've been in the sect for a few days now, and the sect uniforms haven't been issued to you yet. Let's give them to you today."
"System, retrieve two sets of sect attire."
The entire outfit was mainly white with azure accents. On the back was embroidered a Peng bird flying through the clouds, symbolizing soaring to great heights and ascending to the azure sky. On the left chest in the front were the three characters Azure Cloud Sect embroidered in gold thread.
"Holy crap!"
"Master, our Azure Cloud Sect's uniform looks incredibly majestic!"
Shi Hao and Lin Bai held the sect uniforms, unable to put them down, their faces brimming with joy.
"Don't just look at how good it looks. The sect uniform is dustproof, fireproof, and imbued with Daoist charm."
Alright, although he also thought it looked very good, indeed, appearance was justice!
He would have to find the system to customize a sect leader's uniform later.
...
Batian City.
Today, many powerful cultivators suddenly flooded into the city.
However, the residents of the city were not flustered at all. The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was stationed here, controlling everything, and no one who wasn't afraid of death dared to cause trouble.
Heavenly Mystery Pavilion Council Hall.
"The three-day deadline is almost here. Has everyone decided what to do?"
"What to do? What can we do! Could it be that we really have to go to their door to apologize?"
"Where exactly did this Azure Cloud Sect come from? Wasn't it said that they were already declining? Why do they still have such experts? Could it be that there's a Holy Land backing them?"
Though they're considered Overlord-level and top-tier forces in Lingzhou, in the eyes of a true Holy Land, they're nothing more than insignificant dust.
The experts sent by the various sects that day were all killed, leaving only a few people to return and report.
If they didn't come to apologize within three days, not even the dogs and chickens would be spared!
But wouldn't apologizing be equivalent to bowing their heads to the other party?
Fortunately, today the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion had sent out invitations to specifically discuss this matter.
"The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has arrived."
"Everyone, this Azure Cloud Sect killed the elders of my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and slaughtered the experts of your various sects. And they actually want us to go to their door to apologize?"
"We must unite and exterminate the Azure Cloud Sect!"
"I agree!"
As soon as the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion finished speaking, some sects came forward to support and agree.
Asking them to bow their heads? How would they survive in the Eastern Region then?
"But they actually have experts at the peak of the Shattering Void realm. Could there be even stronger beings? They must have a Holy Land backing them."
"That's right. The mysterious woman who appeared that day said she was from the transcendent force of the Central Region, the Jade Clarity Palace, and she was also protecting the Azure Cloud Sect. We can't afford to offend them."
Some sects who wanted to settle things peacefully also expressed their thoughts.
Apologizing was better than losing their lives, and besides, they were indeed in the wrong first.
They had acted because they were instigated by the elders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and promised benefits by the Shi family, which led to the consequences.
"So what if there's a Holy Land backing them? I've already reported to our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's Central Region headquarters. The main pavilion has already sent experts to come."
Hearing the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion say this, everyone felt relieved.
With experts from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion taking the lead, what was there to fear?