Meng Yao halted her footsteps the moment she heard Yu Yan's voice. Her delicate face was flushed with anger. She simply couldn't understand why Yu Yan would suddenly tell her to stop at a time like this.
"What? I need to get justice! Don't you dare stop me!" Meng Yao shouted, her chest heaving with anger.
Yu Yan didn't beat around the bush. Her beautiful face was unusually serious. "For some unknown reason, the Sect Master recently left the sect in a hurry. Many elders soon followed behind him."
Her gaze turned solemn. "The only Elder left behind to oversee the sect is Third Elder Wang Hao, Long Wei's master."
Hearing these words, Xu Xing nodded inwardly. This was reasonable. Pursuing the matter right now, when the backer of their enemy was the only elder left in charge, seeking justice was simply asking for trouble. It was better to swallow his anger. He immediately intended to drop the grudge for the time being.
But Meng Yao possessed a hot-headed temper. How could she care about such logic?
"That doesn't matter!" Meng Yao gritted her silver teeth, her eyes practically spitting fire. "I'm still going to beat him to a pulp! My master can handle the rest."
Although Meng Yao wasn't exactly a tyrant who constantly stirred up trouble, she absolutely never feared anyone—especially when a person dared to offend someone under her protection! She had a powerful backer, so why should she fear anyone?
Yu Yan merely shook her head, a trace of helplessness flashing through her beautiful eyes. "Grand Elder cannot be contacted right now."
Meng Yao didn't feel surprised by this news at all. In the past, it was common for her master to go out wandering the mortal realm for several days and be unreachable. Usually, his trips were short. Therefore, her footsteps didn't halt in the slightest.
"No matter! I am still going to break his dog legs today!"
"If you still consider me your friend, then stop right there."
This time, Meng Yao's body trembled. She stopped completely. She turned her head, her watery eyes filled with disbelief.
Why was Yu Yan so hellbent on stopping her today?! Usually, no matter what kind of trouble she caused, her good sister would always firmly stand by her side! To throw their friendship onto the table as a staking chip... this was simply too much!
Meng Yao opened her mouth, wanting to argue further, but Xu Xing's voice suddenly cut her off.
"It's alright, Senior Sister. Let's listen to the Saintess this time. We can pursue this matter some other day."
Seeing Xu Xing concede, Meng Yao could only helplessly shut her mouth. She coldly snorted, turning her head away in annoyance.
"Hmph! Fine!"
Xu Xing frowned. He felt that things were definitely not so simple. Yu Yan wouldn't have brought out their friendship just to stop Meng Yao from throwing a beating. There was something he didn't know!
He glanced at Yu Yan. Her behavior today was far too weird, and her beautiful face carried an unusual seriousness.
But Yu Yan did not offer a single word of explanation. After confirming that Meng Yao wouldn't pursue the matter and cause trouble, she directly turned and left.
As she walked further and further away from Xu Xing's bamboo house, Yu Yan couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh, looking exhausted.
"Things are so weird lately..."
She was supposed to take on the Sword Ancestor's trial a few days ago, but Shen Jian, the sect master of Xuantian Sect and her master, stopped her and told her to wait.
After that, Shen Jian's complexion had suddenly turned extremely unsightly. He had left the sect in a hurry.
She had tried using every method to fish for information from the mouths of the various elders, but not a single person dared to give her a clear answer.
A few days later, the other elders vanished as well! Only after relentlessly pestering Third Elder Wang Hao did she finally find out the truth. The elders had all followed behind Sect Master Shen Jian to back him up.
As to what kind of terrifying existence they were aiding him against, no one explained!
An ominous premonition swelled in Yu Yan's heart. To make an existence like Shen Jian reveal such an ugly expression... whatever was happening was absolutely no trivial matter. She could only gaze up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky and silently pray for their safe return.
Meanwhile, on the desolate borders of the Eastern Region...
Violent winds howled, shattering the surrounding mountains. An old man stood proudly in the void, currently locked in a world-shaking deathmatch with a figure that looked far less like a human and more like a corpse. This corpse-like person's eyes were entirely pitch-black, his skin wrinkled and dried like a thousand-year-old mummy.
This old man was none other than the Grand Elder of the Xuantian Sect, Li Xuanji!And the terrifying entity fighting him? One of the infamous Demon Ancestors from the Western Region—Jue Ming!
"Jie jie jie... Xuanji, you cannot stop us today!" Jue Ming released a harsh, ear-piercing laugh.
Li Xuanji simply coldly snorted, not willing to waste half a word of breath on this demonic scum. He directly thrust his palm forward!
Boom!
A golden palm print materialized in the void, instantly tearing through the air with a sharp sonic boom. The palm continuously expanded in size, becoming as colossal as a mountain as it smashed toward Jue Ming!
Jue Ming's pitch-black eyes flashed with a vicious light. He hurriedly swung his demonic sword upward to block the descending golden palm.
Yet, no matter how much he wildly circulated his demonic Qi, he simply couldn't halt the descent of that terrifying palm!
Crack! Crack!
Jue Ming felt as though every single bone in his body was being crushed under the weight of a towering mountain. Pain transmitted from all parts of his body, causing him to roar in sheer agony. He felt as if his internal organs were shifting and tearing!
"You truly have gotten a lot stronger, Xuanji!" Jue Ming spat out a mouthful of thick, black blood. A hideous grin split his face.
"But as I said, you cannot stop us today!"
Suddenly, a strange, ancient scroll appeared in Jue Ming's withered arm.
The moment this scroll saw the light of day, a horrifyingly demonic and bloodthirsty aura exploded outward! It was so terrifying that even an existence like Li Xuanji felt a sudden chill run down his spine, his scalp going completely numb with goosebumps!
"Not good!" Li Xuanji's complexion drastically changed.
He immediately executed his supreme movement technique, trying to retreat at full speed. But it was far too late!
The demonic scroll unfurled. Inscribed upon the parchment was a terrifying, complex formation. The blood-red formation rapidly expanded in size, tearing itself out of the scroll and chasing after Li Xuanji!
Li Xuanji frantically burned his spiritual Qi, pushing every escape technique he knew to the absolute limit to boost his speed. He became a blur of afterimages. But no matter how fast he flew, he simply couldn't outrun the locking aura of the formation!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thick, pitch-black chains suddenly sprang out from the center of the formation like venomous vipers.
They locked onto Li Xuanji's limbs. He could only watch helplessly as he was forcefully bound and firmly restrained on the ground!
Seeing this, Jue Ming's pitch-black eyes lit up with killing intent. He desperately wanted to use this heaven-sent opportunity to end Li Xuanji's life for good! He surged forward, raising his cracked sword to sever the Grand Elder's head.
But the very second he tried to step closer, a massive, invisible pressure suddenly descended from the heavens!
Bang!
The terrifying pressure directly forced Jue Ming to heavily crash onto his knees! The rocky ground beneath him was filled with cracks.
Beside the restrained Li Xuanji, a yellow-colored flying sword was quietly floating. It radiated an extremely pure and holy feeling. Yet, at this moment, anyone who looked at it could clearly feel that this sword was furious! It hummed with a desire to kill!
This was the natal sword of Li Xuanji!
Even though his body was securely bound by the demonic chains, Li Xuanji's face remained calm. When he had mentally commanded his natal sword to break the formation, he quickly realized that even his sword couldn't pierce through those bizarre chains.
Forced to kneel on the ground, unable to move a single inch forward, Jue Ming could only click his tongue in unwilling defeat.
"I won't take your dog life today!" Jue Ming spat maliciously, trying to salvage his pride. "But I will let you know... The entire Xuantian Sect will soon be completely turned into a sea of blood! Jie jie jie!"
He paused, his hideous face twisting into a mocking sneer. "We have specially invited the Mad Demon, Tian Mo, to restrain that monster Shen Jian! In front of Tian Mo, even a monster like Shen Jian will absolutely not be a match!"
Having completely failed to take Xuanji's life, Jue Ming was merely spouting these words to disgust and mentally torture him. He wanted to plant the seeds of despair in the Grand Elder's heart.
After saying his piece, Jue Ming sneered and attempted to stand up and leave. He needed to rejoin the demonic horde and witness the slaughter.
But the moment he tried to push himself up, his expression drastically changed. He realized he still couldn't move!
That massive, invisible pressure was constantly forcing him down on his knees, pinning him to the earth like an insignificant ant!
Horror instantly flooded Jue Ming's pitch-black eyes. He looked up at Xuanji in dread, only to realize that the old man had peacefully closed his eyes, his face completely indifferent.
"My Xuantian Sect isn't so easily destroyed."
Li Xuanji's voice was utterly calm. "Why don't you stay right here and tell me a bit more?"
At this moment, realization finally struck Jue Ming's mind like a physical blow.
So this was Li Xuanji's strength! The legendary Demon Slaughter Venerable who rose to this peak by single-handedly slaughtering many demonic cultivators.
He had underestimated this old monster far, far too much!
Even while firmly restrained by a peerless demonic formation and heavily suppressed, this old man could still easily release enough pressure to force a Demon Ancestor down on his knees, entirely unable to move a single inch!