As the royal palace's defensive formation was broken, more than half of the Great Yan Royal Palace was destroyed.
The cultivators in the Great Yan Royal Capital finally noticed the anomaly at the palace.
Wang Xuan looked at the nearly one hundred Golden Core cultivators who had gathered, a hint of contempt playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Everyone, I am Wang Xuan, the Supreme Elder of the Xuanyu Sect. I have come here solely to seek revenge against Chen Changsheng!"
"Unfortunately, Old Ghost Chiyan would rather tear all face with me than give up protecting that Chen Changsheng."
"Since that is the case, when you die and go to the underworld, make sure you don't hate the wrong person!"
The group of Golden Core cultivators who had just arrived looked completely bewildered.
Ah? We have to die too?
"Chen Changsheng? Isn't that the Great Yan Kingdom's newly ascended Nascent Soul Patriarch?"
At the same time, knowledgeable cultivators had already recognized the Xuanyu Bell.
"Wait! That is the Xuanyu Sect's supreme treasure! The mid-grade spirit artifact, the Xuanyu Bell!"
"What!? A mid-grade spirit artifact!? How could such a supreme treasure appear in our Great Yan Kingdom?"
The group of Golden Core cultivators, who were already panicking, became even more flustered upon hearing that the jade bell in Wang Xuan's hand was actually a mid-grade spirit artifact.
Simultaneously, a sense of resentment welled up in their hearts toward Chen Changsheng for provoking such a formidable enemy.
Wang Xuan looked at the expressions of terror, panic, and resentment on the faces of the surrounding Golden Core cultivators and nodded in satisfaction.
This was exactly the result he wanted. Even if Chen Changsheng escaped, he would make sure that he and the entire Great Yan Kingdom were deeply estranged.
However, in the next moment, Patriarch Crimson Flame let out an explosive shout.
"Wang Xuan, you old scoundrel! Stop sowing discord here! Even if I die, I won't let you have an easy time!"
This Wang Xuan's intentions were truly sinister.
If things really progressed as Wang Xuan intended, the majority of the factions in the Great Yan Kingdom would definitely harbor resentment against Chen Changsheng.
This was simply pushing Chen Changsheng into opposition with the Great Yan Kingdom.
"Hahahaha, since that's the case, why don't you tell us: so many people are implicated because of him, but where is this Chen Changsheng right now?"
Wang Xuan was in no rush to make a move now. Holding a mid-grade spirit artifact, he didn't feel that Patriarch Crimson Flame and the group of Golden Core cultivators before him posed any threat at all.
Now, just as Patriarch Crimson Flame feared, he wanted to push Chen Changsheng to the opposite side of the entire Great Yan Kingdom.
A nation's patriarch and over a hundred of the country's core experts dying because of him—when that happened, Chen Changsheng would inevitably be despised by the billions of people in the Great Yan Kingdom.
As long as Chen Changsheng suffered, he would feel comfortable.
Escaping? That comes with a price!
Seeing this, Patriarch Crimson Flame knew he could no longer waste time bickering with Wang Xuan.
If he let Wang Xuan continue speaking like this, not only would Chen Changsheng be hated by the major factions of the Great Yan Kingdom, but the price he paid to protect Chen Changsheng would also be entirely in vain.
"A mid-grade spirit artifact is not invincible! Although I am no match for Wang Xuan wielding a mid-grade spirit artifact, stalling him for a short while is not a problem. If everyone wishes to leave, now is the best time."
After Patriarch Crimson Flame finished speaking, completely disregarding the damage to his natal dharma treasure, the Great Sun Essence Wheel, he once again transformed it into a small sun and launched it at Wang Xuan.
At the same time, he also attacked with all his might once more. Endless crimson flames, like a roaring sea of fire, enveloped his violent and scorching Nascent Soul domain as they swept toward Wang Xuan.
"An ant trying to shake a tree!"
Wang Xuan snorted coldly. The Xuanyu Bell above his head trembled again, and its ancient chime echoed throughout the Great Yan Royal Capital.
An invisible aura swept out, instantly shattering Patriarch Crimson Flame's attack.
However, Patriarch Crimson Flame paid it no heed. In the next moment, a fierce tide of spells surged toward Wang Xuan again, fully adopting a desperate, life-risking posture.
Seeing this, the majority of the Golden Core cultivators flew away into the distance with all their might, clearly not wanting to get involved in a battle between Nascent Soul experts.
However, a small number of Golden Core cultivators formed hand seals and attacked Wang Xuan with full force.
...
Half a quarter of an hour later, Wang Xuan looked at Patriarch Crimson Flame before him, whose body was covered in cracks and seemed ready to shatter into pieces at any moment. A mocking expression appeared on his old face.
"Old Ghost Chiyan, do you regret it now? If you had wanted to escape, even I would have found it difficult to keep you here."
"Regret? I have protected the Great Yan Kingdom my entire life; I have never thought of abandoning the Great Yan Kingdom to eke out an existence alone!"
Patriarch Crimson Flame did not regret it.
If there was truly anything to regret, it was probably tearing all face with Wang Xuan too quickly.
If he had known this old scoundrel brought the Xuanyu Bell, he should have stalled Wang Xuan for a few hours. Once he was certain the news had reached Chen Changsheng's ears, he could have agreed to Wang Xuan's request.
But despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated that Wang Xuan would have the audacity to sneak the sect's supreme treasure out of the sect without their knowledge.
One must know that although the Xuanyu Bell was a mid-grade spirit artifact, it was used by the founding ancestor of the Xuanyu Sect as the core of their sect-protecting grand formation, not meant for solitary combat.
Its own offensive power was not particularly outstanding among mid-grade spirit artifacts; it couldn't even be considered an offensive spirit artifact.
This was also one of the reasons why he could withstand Wang Xuan for so long.
Only when controlling the Xuanyu Sect's sect-protecting grand formation could the Xuanyu Bell unleash power comparable to an offensive mid-grade spirit artifact, or even a high-grade spirit artifact.
Patriarch Crimson Flame did not believe the Xuanyu Sect would allow Wang Xuan to travel outside with such a supreme treasure.
"Hahahaha!!!"
"Chen Changsheng! The death of Patriarch Crimson Flame today is entirely your fault alone!!!"
Wang Xuan's voice resounded throughout the entire Great Yan Royal Capital, even sweeping in all directions.
Subsequently, he attacked Patriarch Crimson Flame again without any hesitation.
The old scoundrel before him had delayed him for so long that he no longer held any hope of finding Chen Changsheng in a short time.
However, he still needed to cause some trouble for Chen Changsheng.
Yet, just as he prepared to strike and finish off Patriarch Crimson Flame completely, a crimson-white divine light struck toward him from the void.
"Who is it!"
Wang Xuan exclaimed in shock. The Xuanyu Bell above his head emitted a jade-colored radiance in an attempt to block the divine light.
However, the defense that had left Patriarch Crimson Flame completely helpless was pierced through like paper the moment it touched the divine light.
Following that, the divine light pierced into Wang Xuan's body without losing a single bit of its momentum.
Wang Xuan's soul was terrified, but before he could react, tens, hundreds, and thousands of divine lights appeared again in the next moment.
"H-how is this possible..."
Pfft pfft pfft pfft—
Wang Xuan only left behind this last sentence before being completely pierced into a hedgehog by the divine light.
Off to the side, Patriarch Crimson Flame was utterly stunned to witness this sudden reversal of the situation. He simply couldn't believe that Wang Xuan, who had just been throwing his weight around in front of him, had been killed by someone in an instant.
In the next moment, from Wang Xuan's body—which was now reduced to scarce bits of shredded flesh amidst countless divine swords—a miniature Wang Xuan, identical in appearance to the original, suddenly flew out.
This was astonishingly Wang Xuan's Nascent Soul.
As soon as the Nascent Soul appeared, it unhesitatingly tried to escape. However, a large hand grabbed it in one fell swoop.
"Wang Xuan, you old dog, it's been a long time!"