The Xuantian Hall headquarters lay hidden beneath the bottomless depths of the Nine Nether Abyss, its vaulted ceiling supported by seventy-two Bone-Corroding Black Jade Pillars.
Blood-red talismans coiled around the pillars, as though every one of them contained endless resentment and power.
The ghostly nether flames floating above flickered bright and dim, casting the entire hall into something like an underworld hell—grim and oppressive.
Xuantian Hall's master, Xuan Feng, sat upright in the seat of honor. Under the glow of the nether flames, his sharply defined face seemed to shift between light and shadow.
His gaze was like a blade as it swept over those in the hall, his voice low and cold. "Why did news of Kang Yeyu's death come back from the Anyuan Dynasty?
Have all the people in the branch halls in Dagan died? Why has there been no word from them until now?"
The instant his words fell, Xuan Feng slammed his palm onto the table beside him. The table instantly turned to dust, splinters scattering in every direction as if venting the fury in his heart.
The elders in the hall all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Xuan Feng's eyes, which seemed ready to spit fire.
The air was thick with oppression, as though even breathing had become difficult.
An elder in gray robes stepped forward, his expression grave. "Hall Master, this matter is certainly not simple.
We have numerous branch halls in Dagan, and every one of them is guarded by a hall master at the Spirit Severing Peak.
Moreover, those branch halls are spread across a wide area. It is impossible for them all to have run into trouble at once, and even more impossible for there to be no news at all.
What is more, the soul lamps of every