Not far away, Zhou Qingyue stared at Ye Chen with a venomous expression, her heart pounding with excitement.
'The heavens have eyes!'
'Even the heavens must think Ye Chen has committed too many sins, so they've sent people from the Lei Province government to take him away!'
Soon, on a distant mountain path, an old man in black robes was slowly walking up the mountain. Upon seeing Shen Yanyue and the others, he took a single stride and appeared not far from them.
His ghost-like movement sent a shiver through everyone's hearts.
"I heard that an esteemed guest from the Lei Province government was to arrive. I am overcome with reverence. May I ask the purpose of your visit?"
Shen Yanyue quickly led a group of Elders forward to greet him.
"Hm?"
"I heard Sect Leader Xu wishes to present his tribute early. Where is he?"
The black-robed old man glanced dismissively at Shen Yanyue and the others, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Elder Zhong, I am here."
Just then, Xu Yingwu walked over with a reverent expression.
"I hear you have refined a batch of Five-Elements Pills?" Seeing Xu Yingwu, Elder Zhong's expression shifted slightly.
"Indeed." Xu Yingwu nodded hurriedly. "This batch of Five-Elements Pills is exceptionally precious. I prepared it specifically as a tribute for the Venerable Ming Lei. I heard that Elder Zhong was passing through recently, and since I happened to be performing alchemy here, I made sure to have you notified."
The Lei Province government ruled over Lei Province as its supreme overlord.
Within Lei Province, all sects, large and small, were required to submit regular tributes, and Elder Zhong was the expert from the provincial government responsible for collecting them.
"Excellent, excellent." Upon hearing this, Elder Zhong immediately smiled. "With such sincerity, offering even the Five-Elements Pills as tribute, I imagine the Venerable One will be very pleased."
"In the future, it's entirely possible that your Luoyun Sect could be elevated to the same status as the three major sects!"
The Five-Elements Pill possessed the chaotic power of the five elements. In addition to raising one's cultivation level, it could also enhance a cultivator's comprehension.
After consuming one, a cultivator's innate talent would essentially be raised a full tier, greatly benefiting their future cultivation path.
"You flatter me, Elder Zhong. I only hope that in the future, you might speak a few good words for me before the Venerable One!" Xu Yingwu took out a bottle of pills from his robes. His face remained impassive, but a deep reluctance flickered in the depths of his eyes.
'I finally managed to refine the Five-Elements Pills, only to be forced to hand them all over to the provincial government. How could I not be heartbroken?'
Seeing this, a look of envy flashed in the eyes of Shen Yanyue and Mu Shanhong, who stood to the side.
This was especially true for Shen Yanyue. She bit her red lip, filled with unwillingness.
These were Five-Elements Pills; even she coveted them greatly.
However, she also understood Xu Yingwu's intentions.
'He spread the news about tributing the Five-Elements Pills for the sole purpose of luring Elder Zhong here as quickly as possible!'
'And the reason, of course, was to deal with Ye Chen!'
Sure enough, just as Xu Yingwu was about to hand the Five-Elements Pills to Elder Zhong...
He suddenly put on an expression of immense grief. "Elder Zhong, this may be the last time I ever refine Five-Elements Pills. My Luoyun Sect is no more. From this day on, I will retire to the mountains and never emerge again!"
"What?" Hearing this, Elder Zhong was stunned. "What is the meaning of this? The Luoyun Sect may not be on par with the three major sects, but it is still renowned. How could it suddenly be gone?"
"It's all his fault!" Xu Yingwu suddenly pointed at Ye Chen, his face twisting into a savage snarl. "My Luoyun Sect went to great lengths to take in this boy and nurture him into a peerless prodigy. We never expected that he would secretly collude with the Demon Dao and practice their cultivation techniques!"
"Just now, while I was here at the Cold Wind Sect performing alchemy, he secretly released all the Demon Dao remnants from our dungeons! Then he stabbed us in the back, slaughtering my sect's disciples and Elders, causing the Luoyun Sect to be overrun by the Demon Dao and utterly destroyed!"
"Elder Zhong, this boy has committed countless atrocities and pledged allegiance to the Demon Dao! But he has always hidden his true nature. His strength is extraordinary—not even Sect Leader Shen Yanyue is his match!"
"I implore you, Elder Zhong, to seek justice for us!"
Xu Yingwu spoke with tears streaming down his face, his voice choked with sobs.
The disciples of the Cold Wind Sect were moved by his display of emotion. Amid their sorrow, a shared fury toward Ye Chen ignited within them.
Only Fairy Luoxia remained serene and aloof, like a celestial maiden untouched by worldly dust, coolly observing the unfolding drama without a word.
"What? Such a thing actually happened?"
Elder Zhong was shocked. His expression changed as he looked toward Ye Chen.
"It's true! We can corroborate his story!" Shen Yanyue and Mu Shanhong chimed in one after another.
With even the upper echelons of the Cold Wind Sect and the Nine Nether Sect backing Xu Yingwu, Elder Zhong's gaze turned icy.
"I never would have thought someone so young could be so vicious and merciless, and guilty of so many evils!"
"Rest assured. The provincial government has accepted your Five-Elements Pills; we will not stand by and do nothing! Moreover, members of the Demon Dao are savage and cruel—a scourge upon Lei Province! They are a blight that everyone has the right to exterminate!"
With a dark expression, Elder Zhong made sure to take the Five-Elements Pills from Xu Yingwu's hand before addressing Ye Chen. "You're Ye Chen, correct? I've heard you were the favored son of the Luoyun Sect. I never imagined you were involved in such vile schemes behind the scenes!"
"Come back with me to the provincial government obediently. You will await the Venerable One's judgment and prepare to receive your punishment."
Hearing this, the crowd turned to cast mocking glances at Ye Chen.
So what if Ye Chen was powerful? So what if not even the Cold Wind Sect and the Nine Nether Sect could suppress him?
Now that an expert from the provincial government had spoken, would Ye Chen dare to continue his desperate struggle?
The look of grief on Xu Yingwu's face slowly faded. He stared venomously at Ye Chen, the corner of his mouth curling into a triumphant smile.
He had, of course, already learned from the fleeing Elders that Ye Chen had destroyed his sect. He also knew that the current Ye Chen was far too powerful to be confronted head-on.
Therefore, even before he had started the alchemy, he had already notified Elder Zhong, planning to use the pretext of tributing the Five-Elements Pills to summon him and use the power of the Lei Province government to suppress Ye Chen.
The Luoyun Sect had spent countless resources cultivating Ye Chen, this tool for creating Five-Elements Pills. But in the end, before the pills were even finished, Ye Chen had turned around and destroyed the sect. Xu Yingwu's heart ached with loss, and at the same time, he was consumed by a towering rage.
'I must see this little bastard suffer death by a thousand cuts! Only then will the hatred in my heart be appeased!'
Under the weight of all those gazes, Ye Chen finally understood the deeper meaning behind Fairy Luoxia's earlier words.
'No wonder she told me to get through this ordeal first.'
'She must have known all along that someone from the Lei Province government would pay a sudden visit, didn't she?'
Ye Chen stared at Elder Zhong and suddenly broke into a grin. "Go back with you to the provincial government? You old fossil, what gives you the right to order me around?"
"Insolence!" Elder Zhong's brows shot up. "How dare a whelp like you act so presumptuously before me!"
His figure flickered and appeared in front of Ye Chen in an instant!
His cultivation erupted, revealing the power of the Spirit Sea Realm's Third Layer—in no way weaker than Shen Yanyue!