In an instant, streaks of light tore across the sky, shooting toward the sacred hall in perfect formation.
In less than ten breaths, the doors of the sacred hall flew open with a thunderous boom, and twelve figures strode in first.
They were all dressed in black robes, the hems embroidered with the signature blood-flame pattern of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall. Their auras surged and churned around them—all of them were Nascent Soul cultivators, without a single pretender among them.
They were none other than the twelve consecrated elders of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall!
Behind them, dozens of Golden Core stewards filed in one after another, each holding their breath and keeping perfectly still.
The several core disciples and inner sect disciples stood respectfully outside the hall with their hands lowered. None of them dared to take even half a step inside, let alone make a sound.
When everyone raised their eyes and saw the absurdly young figure seated upon the skeletal throne, the same thought exploded in all their minds—
Young! He was far too damn young!
The man on the throne had a stern face, and his eyes carried an indifferent aloofness, as though he looked down upon all living things. He wore a black robe, whose hem was embroidered with golden dragons that shimmered with dazzling light.
Anyone would have believed it if someone said he was twenty years old!
Yet they clearly remembered that three hundred years ago, when the Hall Master entered seclusion, he had already been a decrepit old man with a face covered in wrinkles.
His face had been so wrinkled that a mosquito landing on it could have been crushed between the folds.
What was going on? Could a cultivator who reached the Deity Transformation Realm actually reverse the aging process and return to his youthful prime?
No, that couldn’t be right… Even someone at the peak of the Deity Transformation Realm should not be able to grow younger to such an extent. After all, the Hall Master had already lived for several thousand years.
What made everyone even more uneasy was the aura emanating from Yin Tianjue.
That aura was not particularly powerful. In fact, it could even be described as peaceful.
Yet it was precisely that serenity that made the twelve Nascent Soul elders feel suffocated at the same time. It was as if an invisible mountain were pressing down on their chests, making it difficult to breathe.
These twelve men were Nascent Soul experts, figures who could run rampant throughout the Eastern Wasteland!
But now, facing the figure on the throne, they actually felt as though they were nothing more than ants.
Even when the Hall Master had been at the peak of the Deity Transformation Realm, his pressure had never been this terrifying!
“What… what the hell is his cultivation level?!” The Eighth Elder had the shortest temper, and his voice cracked as he shouted.
“Unfathomable… utterly unfathomable…” Cold sweat had already formed on the forehead of the Third Elder and was trickling down through the wrinkles on his face.
“He’s not merely at the Deity Transformation Realm… absolutely not! The Hall Master’s cultivation has already far surpassed his peak from back then!”
A sharp gleam flashed through the Second Elder’s eyes. The hand holding his horsetail whisk trembled slightly, shaking the whisk until it looked almost like a fan.
Grand Elder Luo Tianhong said nothing. He merely stared fixedly at that impossibly youthful face on the throne.
Shock, delight, and lingering fear appeared on his aged face at the same time. Three different expressions crowded together on one old face, making for quite a spectacle.
He was shocked that the Hall Master had truly survived.
He was delighted that not only had the Hall Master survived, but his cultivation had also risen to an even higher level.
And what frightened him was that… over these past three hundred years, he had not never entertained a few private thoughts of his own.
Fortunately—fortunately he had been timid. Fortunately he had held himself back. Fortunately, he had bet correctly!
Luo Tianhong took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart. At the same time, his peripheral vision swiftly swept across the hall.
Just as he had expected, those two bastards, Liu Qing and Shen Hao, were nowhere to be seen.
Although his cultivation was only at the late Nascent Soul stage, he was merely one step away from the peak.
Earlier today, he had vaguely sensed the auras of Liu Qing and Shen Hao deep within the sacred hall.
He had no idea what had happened inside the hall over the past few hours.
But combining the tone of the Hall Master’s summons with the unexplained absence of those two men, he had already arrived at a frightening conjecture.
“It has been three hundred years since we last met. You all look as impressive as ever.”
Yin Tianjue slowly opened his mouth. His tone was casual and indifferent, as though he were saying, “The weather is nice today.” It was as if he had not been in seclusion for three hundred years, but had merely taken a nap.
The moment he spoke, the invisible pressure enveloping the entire hall vanished.
“Huu…”
The twelve elders released a collective sigh of relief. Only then did they realize that their backs had long since been soaked in cold sweat, leaving them feeling chilly.
The Golden Core stewards had it even worse. Some of them nearly collapsed to their knees on the spot, barely staying upright through sheer force of will.
“Greetings, Hall Master!”
Everyone bowed in unison, their voices echoing through the hall like thunder. Their attitudes could not have been more respectful.
After three hundred years, not only had the Hall Master failed to wither away and die as the rumors claimed, but his cultivation had instead soared to a height they could not even hope to look up to.
At a time like this, who would dare show the slightest disrespect?
Anyone who did would simply be asking to die.
“No need for formalities. Sit.”
Yin Tianjue waved his hand casually, his calm gaze sweeping across everyone in the hall.
“Thank you, Hall Master!”
The twelve elders took their seats in order, while the Golden Core stewards stood respectfully along both sides.
Once everyone had settled down, however, the two empty seats at the front became particularly conspicuous.
The hall fell silent for a moment. In the end, Grand Elder Luo Tianhong rose to his feet and cupped his hands.
“Hall Master, the two protectors may simply be out and not yet have returned. Shall this old man use a communication token to notify them and ask them to come back?”
His tone was respectful and cautious. As he spoke, he did not even dare look directly into the eyes of the figure on the throne.
The other elders also nodded and chimed in.
“That’s right, Hall Master. Protector Liu and Protector Shen would be overjoyed if they knew you had emerged from seclusion. They’d probably be jumping for joy!”
“Although the two protectors have spent much of these years traveling outside, there’s no denying their contributions to the sacred hall!”
One person after another spoke up, with some even going so far as to praise Liu Qing and Shen Hao’s achievements.
This could hardly be blamed on them. Those two men had put on too convincing an act over the past three hundred years. They had indeed coveted the Hall Master’s position, but in public they had always presented themselves as utterly loyal.
For three hundred years, they had secretly investigated Yin Tianjue’s condition while putting on the appearance of men who were willing to devote themselves completely to the sacred hall in front of the other elders.
Even Grand Elder Luo Tianhong had only vaguely sensed that something was off about the two protectors. He had never imagined that they would truly dare to attack the Hall Master.
As Yin Tianjue listened to everyone speaking, the corners of his lips slowly curved into a faint, mocking smile.
The moment that smile appeared, Luo Tianhong’s heart gave a heavy thump. He immediately realized that something was wrong.
“No need. Those two men were plotting rebellion and attempted to attack me. I have already cut them down.”
Yin Tianjue’s voice was as calm as if he were saying that he had stepped on two cockroaches.
But when those words reached the ears of everyone below, they were like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, exploding in everyone’s minds and leaving their heads ringing.
“What?!”
The Eighth Elder shot up from his chair so abruptly that the flesh on his face trembled.
“Hall Master… this… this, this, this…”
The Fifth Elder’s lips quivered, but he could not force out a complete sentence.
The horsetail whisk in the Third Elder’s hand slipped to the floor with a smack. He did not even notice. He merely stared wide-eyed at the figure on the throne, his old eyes filled with utter incomprehension and disbelief.
The hall fell into deathly silence. Everyone had been stunned senseless by the news.
Who were Liu Qing and Shen Hao?
They were the two protectors of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall!
Two supreme experts at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm!
Across the entire Eastern Wasteland, they were renowned figures who ranked among the strongest!
And yet, just like that, they had been… slaughtered?
And from the Hall Master’s tone, it sounded as though he hadn’t killed two peak Nascent Soul cultivators, but merely crushed two ants with a casual squeeze!
Grand Elder Luo Tianhong’s throat went dry, and his graying beard trembled uncontrollably.
He drew several deep breaths before barely managing to keep himself from passing out. Even so, his voice remained hoarse. “May I ask, Hall Master… is this really true?”
“What?” Yin Tianjue raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze settling on Luo Tianhong. “Do you think I’m joking with you?”
“This subordinate would never dare!”
Luo Tianhong dropped to his knees with a thud, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like rain.
“It’s just… the two protectors were already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Besides, all these years they’ve been out…”
He stopped halfway through his sentence and abruptly fell silent.
Because he suddenly realized that he had asked an incredibly foolish question.
The Hall Master had merely summoned him with a strand of divine sense, yet it had already left this late-Nascent Soul great cultivator’s blood and qi churning.
With only a trace of his aura released, he had made every elder in the entire main hall feel as though they had fallen into an icy cavern.
With cultivation like this, how difficult could it be to kill two peak Nascent Soul cultivators?