Urgent, heavy footsteps approached from afar, echoing through the empty hall.
A middle-aged man with a composed face hurried into the great hall. It was Elder Yan.
"Elder Yan..." Red-haired Old Ghost spun around abruptly, his crimson beard and hair stirring without wind. Seeing that Elder Yan had returned alone, he furrowed his brow and demanded anxiously, "Why are you alone? Where are Azure Wave Cave Heaven's reinforcements?"
Elder Yan stopped and let out a heavy sigh, his voice low. "...Azure Wave Cave Heaven refused."
"What?!" Red-haired Old Ghost's pupils contracted sharply, like two dancing flames.
Meeting Red-haired Old Ghost's nearly fire-spitting gaze, Elder Yan said with difficulty, word by word, "They said the Twin Golden Palace Gods have personally issued a decree. For these three months, no one is permitted to directly interfere or meddle in the affairs of our Flame God Cave Heaven."
"Bastards—"
Like a volcano suppressed for ten thousand years erupting with a thunderous roar, his deafening bellow tore through the silence of the hall. Every strand of Red-haired Old Ghost's beard and hair bristled, blazing red like fire, while violent divine power exploded around him.
"They've gone too far!"
"Those wolf-hearted, dog-lunged scum from the Nine Nations Alliance—are they going to stand by and watch everyone in Flame God Cave Heaven die out?"
Crack!
In his towering rage, he swung his palm onto the sandalwood table beside him.
With a deafening bang, the sturdy Spirit Wood treasure table instantly turned to powder, wood chips scattering through the air like smoke and dust.
"Don't panic. This time, I didn't return empty-handed either."
"Though Azure Wave Cave Heaven cannot send people to help, they gave us this..."
Elder Yan flipped his palm.
In an instant, an immense, irresistible oceanic aura spread through the hall, making even the