The two of them were still contemplating their next move when a thunderous boom echoed from within, followed by intense spiritual energy fluctuations.
Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang exchanged a glance. Such violent spiritual energy fluctuations—what had happened?
In the next moment, the aura permeating the Divine Dragon Hall suddenly churned, surging backward as if with conscious intent. At first, the phenomenon was slow; they merely sensed the Breath of the Divine Dragon gradually flowing toward the position of the Divine Dragon statue. But then it grew faster and faster, as if something behind was sucking it away!
Their astonishment mounted. They were certain something had gone wrong, but for the moment, they didn't know what to do.
The stone corridor ended at this great hall enshrining the Divine Dragon, with no other paths. The trouble must be coming from behind the Divine Dragon Hall. However, within this underground palace, the oppressive might of the Breath of the Divine Dragon was too great; divine sense simply couldn't spread out. The only way was to personally go to the end of the hall to see what had happened. But with such an anomaly before them, going in person was fraught with unknown dangers.
Before they could think further, a heavy thud came from deep within the hall. It sounded like a stone door being smashed open, followed by chaotic footsteps interspersed with urgent shouts: "Quick, get out of here!"
That voice...
The two turned around and ran headlong into several people rushing out in a panic.
"Junior Brother Tang!"
"Senior Brother Jiang!"
Jiang Shanghang and Tang Fang stared at each other, momentarily stunned. Then Tang Fang ran over, grabbed Jiang Shanghang's hand, and pulled him into a run. "Senior Brother Jiang, hurry!"
Mo Tiange swept her gaze over them. The Zhengfa Sect cultivators fleeing from behind the Divine Dragon Hall numbered only four: Tang Fang, Yu Xiaoran, Qiu Zhiming, and Xia Houyuan.
All four looked panicked, their faces deathly pale. Yu Xiaoran was even wounded! The other four were nowhere to be seen.
As soon as these four emerged, Tang Fang dragged Jiang Shanghang into a desperate sprint outward. By extension, Mo Tiange had no choice but to follow. The Zhengfa Sect cultivators were incredibly fast with their water escape techniques. Even with her Cloud-Treading Boots, Mo Tiange found it somewhat strenuous to keep up.
"Junior Brother Tang, what's wrong? Where's Senior Brother Ren and the others? Why are we running? What happened?" Jiang Shanghang asked as he ran.
Tang Fang gasped for breath. "Senior Brother Ren... Senior Brother Ren he..."
Before Tang Fang could finish, Qiu Zhiming angrily interjected, "Still calling him Senior Brother Ren? He's been scheming against us from the very beginning!"
Jiang Shanghang was taken aback. "What? Did Senior Brother Ren also..."
Qiu Zhiming, supporting the wounded Yu Xiaoran, pointed at the injury on Yu Xiaoran's chest. "This was done by Senior Brother Ren! There were never any treasures here. He just used us to enter this underground palace so he could inherit the Breath of the Divine Dragon himself, and then silence us all!"
"What?" Jiang Shanghang was shocked. Although he had suspected this earlier, he thought the possibility was zero! He never imagined Ren Yufeng truly intended this. "Is he out of his mind? Even our Nascent Soul Patriarchs wouldn't dare offend that Breath of the Divine Dragon. How could he..."
Xia Houyuan cut in, equally furious. "Actually, he obtained a secret art from here last time, one that allows him to use the aura of an ancient Divine Beast to transform his body and possess the beast's inheritance. After getting this secret art and preparing everything himself, he used us to enter the underground palace. Once done, he even planned to silence us!"
Hearing this, Mo Tiange wasn't surprised. She and Jiang Shanghang had just discussed that Ren Yufeng must have some secret method to covet the Breath of the Divine Dragon. Xia Houyuan's words precisely confirmed this speculation.
"What about Senior Brother Lu and the others?"
A look of sorrow crossed Tang Fang's face. "Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Xiang had exhausted their spiritual energy and were injured by the Water Carp Beast while maintaining the formation. They couldn't run at all. Senior Brother Ren killed them right at the start. Senior Sister Ai too... Senior Sister Ai was always close to Senior Brother Ren. Who would have thought he'd even kill Senior Sister Ai..."
"And now?" Jiang Shanghang asked nervously, turning to look behind them to see if Ren Yufeng was pursuing. "Senior Brother Ren is already at late-stage Foundation Establishment. He still has over a hundred years of lifespan left and clearly has hope of forming his Core. Why would he do such a thing?!"
"Who knows," Qiu Zhiming said coldly. "I found it strange from the start why he refused to find late-stage cultivators he was on good terms with and specifically sought us out instead. I originally thought he just wanted to take the lion's share. I never imagined he had this in mind!"
The difference between late-stage and early-stage Foundation Establishment was significant. Back during the beast tide incident at the front ridge of Tianhuo Mountain, when friction arose between our Xuanqing Sect disciples and the Ancient Sword Sect disciples, it was precisely because of the presence of Kuang Zhu, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, that those Ancient Sword Sect disciples didn't dare act recklessly. Later, it was only because that Wan Hong'an harbored ill intentions and stirred things up, preparing a sword formation, that a fight broke out. But once Kuang Zhu made his move, effortlessly decisive, victory tipped in our favor.
Ren Yufeng was at late-stage Foundation Establishment. Besides him, Lu, Xiang, and Mo Tiange were at mid-stage, while the remaining six were at early-stage. Three mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators joining forces could still defeat a late-stage one, but six early-stage cultivators were no match for a single late-stage opponent.
Looking at it this way, Ren Yufeng had calculated everything from the beginning. For the three mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he had Lu Rongsheng and Xiang Zhiyang maintain the formation, effectively neutralizing two. Then, when opening the restriction of the Divine Dragon Stele, he schemed against Mo Tiange. Thus, all three mid-stage cultivators were rendered incapable of opposing him. The remaining six early-stage cultivators were no match for him either. Once inside this underwater palace of the Divine Dragon Stele, he called all the shots!
Mo Tiange sneered inwardly. She felt no sympathy for these Zhengfa Sect cultivators because when Ren Yufeng schemed against her, they had all stood by and watched. However, now that they had turned against Ren Yufeng, it was possible to join forces with them.
"Senior Brother Jiang," she secretly transmitted her voice to Jiang Shanghang, "ask them about the current situation, what happened to Ren Yufeng."
Jiang Shanghang gave an imperceptible nod and continued asking, "So what's Senior Brother Ren's situation now? Did he really obtain the Breath of the Divine Dragon? Can we escape?"
"We don't know," Qiu Zhiming answered again. "We followed him all the way into this underground palace, entered the Divine Dragon Hall, and went to the Dragon Bone Altar at the back, where we saw a dragon's skeleton. At that moment, Ren Yufeng suddenly laughed wildly, saying he had finally seen the dragon bones, that he would obtain the Breath of the Divine Dragon and become a Child of the Divine Dragon. Then he performed some unknown secret art, and sure enough, the Breath of the Divine Dragon above the dragon bones surged toward him. Senior Brother Lu was shocked and asked him what was really going on. He proudly said that last time he entered this underground palace alone, he found a stone stele outside the Divine Dragon Hall with murals depicting this inheritance of the Breath of the Divine Dragon, and he got the idea. Over the past few months, he fully comprehended the murals, then had us help him enter the Divine Dragon Hall again so he could perform the Divine Dragon secret art!"
Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang exchanged a glance. They had already guessed some of this earlier, but they still hadn't expected Ren Yufeng to go this far. Bringing them all in was simply to silence everyone!
However, if that was the case, was the Breath of the Divine Dragon truly the Breath of the Divine Dragon? There were even dragon bones? Could it be that dragons truly existed? The legendary king of spirit beasts, the race closest to gods—if the aura they left behind was already this powerful, how strong must a real dragon have been? And what was this sacrificial temple about? Could it be a burial ground for dragons from the Ancient Era?
Qiu Zhiming continued, "Senior Brother Lu questioned him, asking if he had been using us all along. Ren Yufeng flew into a rage, saying he had now inherited the Breath of the Divine Dragon, was no longer human, and was about to become a descendant of the Divine Beast. How dare Senior Brother Lu speak to him like that. Then... he killed Senior Brother Lu..." At this point, anger flashed in Qiu Zhiming's eyes. "After he killed Senior Brother Lu, we were all shocked. Junior Sister Ai asked him one more question, and Senior Brother Xiang also questioned why he would harm a fellow disciple. Then he... he killed both Junior Sister Ai and Senior Brother Xiang together!"
Hearing this, Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang exchanged a look. It seemed Ren Yufeng had completely lost his mind, to the point of ruthlessly attacking even his fellow disciples!
Although the cultivation world was harshly realistic, they were, after all, part of the righteous path, a Daoist sect. Within the sect, there were still sect rules prohibiting disciples from harming each other. How could Ren Yufeng disregard the sect rules like this? Did obtaining the Breath of the Divine Dragon mean he no longer needed to stay in the Zhengfa Sect? Or was he certain that none of them could escape?
Considering the latter possibility sent a chill down Mo Tiange's spine.
If it were the original Ren Yufeng, she was fairly confident that with her numerous treasures, she could hold her own against a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. But a Ren Yufeng who had supposedly obtained the Breath of the Divine Dragon—how strong would he be? She didn't know.
Jiang Shanghang asked the question she wanted answered: "Is Senior Brother Ren very strong now?"
Qiu Zhiming fell silent. It was Tang Fang who answered: "Senior Brother Ren is terrifying now. After he killed Senior Brother Lu, Senior Brother Xiang, and Senior Sister Ai, we realized something was wrong. He was indeed stronger than before, so we fled immediately. Senior Brother Ren seemed to want to pursue us, but his absorption of the Breath of the Divine Dragon wasn't complete yet, so he stopped. Therefore, we don't know exactly how strong he is now. But the Breath of the Divine Dragon is so powerful; he definitely won't be weak!"
Hearing Tang Fang's words, Mo Tiange felt a deep sense of foreboding. Ren Yufeng truly had a method to absorb the Breath of the Divine Dragon. But they all knew how immensely powerful that Breath of the Divine Dragon was. If he had truly withstood the backlash of such tremendous power, how strong would he become? It might be impossible for him to instantly advance to the Nascent Soul level, but for him, originally at late-stage Foundation Establishment, obtaining the Breath of the Divine Dragon could very likely propel him straight into Core Formation!
Mo Tiange acknowledged that she could hold her own against a fifth-rank spirit beast and could even escape with the help of the Void Heaven Realm, but she absolutely could not withstand a Core Formation cultivator! Because humans possessed wisdom that spirit beasts lacked. With relatively equal intelligence, overwhelming power was enough to determine the outcome—no matter how many treasures she had, they would be useless. In the face of sufficiently powerful force, cunning schemes were also futile.
Her mind raced, and she already had thoughts of escape. The simplest method was to enter the Void Heaven Realm. But then, how could she avoid the eyes of the people present? Moreover, regardless of the others, she at least wanted to protect Jiang Shanghang.