Chapter 169: Arrived

Tiansang Linggong.

In the inner courtyard, at the door of the council hall.

The old huai tree rustled gently in the wind, but beneath it stood a dense crowd of people in black clothing, each with a solemn expression.

Zhao Xidong stood beside the elders, holding the Shier Zhu Linglian Pan.

The dim light of evening cast a hazy glow, making this once-magnificent treasure appear somewhat worn, with three of its beads now dulled and a large crack at the base of the disk.

Everyone knew that the upheaval at Tianxuan Men was now a reality, and that formidable intruders must have infiltrated it, or else the spirit disk wouldn't have this breach.

This was a sign that the small world of Tianxuan Men could no longer hold and was on the verge of collapse!

A black-clothed person stepped forward and bowed.

"Dean, the personnel count is complete."

Ye Xiaotian hovered in the air, his gaze not on the scene below but fixed beyond the horizon, as if staring at something distant.

He simply nodded lightly in response, showing no reaction.

Zhao Xidong grew anxious. How could they wait any longer? Were they really going to hold off until this small world exploded before opening the gates?

He nudged Qiao Qianzhi with his elbow.

He knew he didn't have much influence, so Qiao Qianzhi might be more reasonable.

Qiao Qianzhi turned his head helplessly and said,

"Open the array?"

Ye Xiaotian slowly shook his head.

"Wait!"

A breeze blew through, making the old huai tree rustle again, and not a single person in the crowd of black-clothed figures below dared to make even the slightest sound of unrest.

"Still wait?"

Qiao Qianzhi, less bound by formalities, spoke directly,

"Two days and three treasures have already been taken. If we wait longer, Tianxuan Men might really explode."

If four of the twelve boundary-guarding treasures were lost, Tianxuan Men would become extremely unstable, and if it detonated, the inner courtyard would bear the brunt, likely resulting in heavy casualties.

Ye Xiaotian's gaze remained fixed on the horizon as he said softly,

"How are preparations on the other side?"

Qiao Qianzhi replied,

"It's ready. Old Xiao is keeping watch. If they dare come again, they'll regret it badly this time."

"Hmm."

The scene fell silent once more.

Waiting...

It seemed endless.

"Crack!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the protective barrier on the fourth bead of the Shier Zhu Linglian Pan shattered, its light flickering erratically.

Zhao Xidong nearly cursed out loud.

This meant...

Someone had located the seal of the fourth boundary-guarding treasure?

He quickly looked at Qiao Qianzhi, his eyes clearly asking, Aren't we starting now?

Qiao Qianzhi didn't ask this time. He frowned and glanced at the floating white-haired boy nearby.

Ye Xiaotian couldn't possibly be unaware of the urgency, yet he still stared at the sky...

What was he looking at?

Shengnu?

"They've arrived."

Ye Xiaotian suddenly spoke, and the enforcement personnel in front of the hall tensed up. Was it happening now?

Zhao Xidong was also taken aback. The infiltrators hadn't even shown themselves yet—how could the others have arrived?

Were those people really so fearless, daring to come and extract their people in this situation...

Though this was the elders' judgment, Zhao Xidong was still reluctant to believe that the Shengnu group would return.

After all, they had made massive preparations this time, just waiting to trap them.

"I'll go meet them." Ye Xiaotian added, then vanished from in front of the hall.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.

So, it wasn't the Shengnu who had arrived—it was reinforcements...

Unlike the tense atmosphere in the inner courtyard, the outer courtyard was full of vigor even as the sun set in the west.

The new disciples recruited by Linggong had adapted well in the past few days. Around Goose Lake, in the groves, and at the pavilions, shadows of future spirit refiners could be seen practicing everywhere.

"Wow, look, a flying person!"

The exclamation broke the calm like a thunderclap, drawing everyone's attention as they ended their cultivation and looked curiously.

In the outer courtyard, those who could fly were rare among the thousands—probably only a handful, easily countable on one hand.

"Flying... That must be an innate expert, right? So envious. I haven't even opened my first realm yet."

"Heh, you're out of the loop. In the ten realms of spirit refining, you can fly too."

"Are you kidding? I've been attending classes these past couple of days!"

"Tch, so ignorant. You probably don't know about the legends of our outer courtyard?"

"Oh?"

"Rumor has it we have a senior brother Xu in the outer courtyard. With just his acquired cultivation, he can ride a sword through the air, slay innate experts in rage, and his sneeze could kill several people!"

"Senior Brother Xu? I've heard of him, but... uh, he doesn't count as human, right?"

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"The rumors say he has three heads, six arms, and four pairs of wings, plus two heads?"

"Really?"

"Truer than real gold!"

By now, the figure riding the clouds had flown closer and stopped above Linggong, apparently unable to enter.

Everyone grew excited, because they saw that on the cloud, it wasn't just one person but three.

Besides the gray-haired middle-aged man at the front, the handsome young man and woman behind him seemed no older than the disciples present.

"No way, those two aren't innate experts too, are they?"

"Impossible. They must be following their elder. How could they be so young and already able to fly?"

"Exactly. If they can fly, what does that make us? Trash?"

The crowd checked their own qi seas, only to find that most didn't even have one...

The next second, they saw the cloud above divide into three, with the figures standing in the void.

Everyone: ...

What a blow!

At an age similar to theirs, there were actually innate experts.

What was the background of these three? So terrifying?

Just then, a rift opened in the void, and a white-haired boy slowly emerged.

"Holy crap, tearing space?"

"Where did this boy come from? Was he cultivating in the womb?"

"Shut up! That's the dean of the inner courtyard!"

Ye Xiaotian glanced at the noisy crowd below, reached out to open the Linggong grand array, and let them in.

"Jiang Dianzhu, my apologies for the laughter."

"Not at all. Your Linggong is full of talent and vitality—it's a sign of great prosperity!"

Jiang Bianyan stroked the gray whiskers at his temples, smiling broadly.

Ye Xiaotian's gaze shifted to the two young man and woman behind him and said calmly,

"If we're talking talent, which force on the continent dares claim to surpass Shengshen Diantang?"

"Ha ha ha, Ye Gongzhu flatters us. It's just a minor branch hall—nothing noteworthy."

"Jiang Dianzhu is too modest. Even a branch hall is superior to most other forces."

This string of unreserved compliments made the young man behind straighten up proudly, his eyes filled with arrogance.

Indeed, coming from Shengshen Diantang, even a branch hall placed them above most on Shengshen Continent.

The veiled woman beside him showed no expression, her starry eyes calm and still.

Ye Xiaotian nodded inwardly. One was a waste, the other was passable. For a branch hall...

Not bad.

But...

Why bring two disciples?

To their deaths?

His gaze swept further back, but saw no one else.

"Ye Gongzhu, shall we go inside to talk?"

Jiang Bianyan smiled faintly. With anyone else, he would have left in a huff for being kept at the door.

Ye Xiaotian raised an eyebrow. From his words, it seemed no one else was coming?

"Just you three?"