An Empty Bluff. "Do you think I had no way to stop that altar from operating just now?"
"No! You're wrong!"
"I merely..."
Jiang Fan paused, his gaze playful as he continued.
"Did it to lure you out!"
"I just wanted to see with my own eyes what this so-called Holy Master really was!"
The moment those words fell, the Black Mist churned violently.
"Impudent!"
The pressure inside the great hall grew even heavier, and the cracks in the palace walls continued to spread.
"I am the master of the Saint Sect, ruler of hundreds of millions of believers!"
"Even the Holy Masters of your four great holy lands would show me some courtesy if they saw me!"
"You're nothing but a junior. How dare you be so arrogant?"
"Pfft!"
Jiang Fan could not hold back a snort of laughter.
"Ruler of hundreds of millions of believers?"
"You're the only one who believes that!"
He took a step forward, his gaze like a sword as he stared straight at the scarlet eyes within the Black Mist.
"If you were truly that powerful, why would you need to descend upon Yunlan City in such a sneaky way? Why would you need to rely on an altar to drain your believers' source?"
"If you really possessed heaven-defying cultivation, you could take my life with a single thought. Why go to all this trouble?"
"Now... the fact that you're creating this illusory facade only proves two things..."
Jiang Fan's voice was clear and rational.
"Either you're just an empty shell, putting on a bluff!"
"Or you're under some kind of restriction and cannot descend in your true body. Perhaps... you can barely even maintain an avatar!"
Inside the palace, there was dead silence.
The agitation around the Black Mist settled, and the scarlet