At Heavenly Hammer Mountain, the original dense forest had nearly vanished. The great tree before the grotto, though severed at the waist, still stood tall and straight like a massive pillar.
The place where it had been cut had already been smoothed flat, and a black-robed figure sat cross-legged atop it.
On either side of the grotto beneath the tree, six black-robed figures stood at ease. They showed no signs of vigilance and seemed to be communicating through voice transmission.
With a Grandmaster standing guard, there was no need for Grandmaster-level martial artists like them to keep watch.
The Grandmaster sitting cross-legged atop the tree was a mid-stage Grandmaster. Even among Grandmasters, he was considered a powerful figure.
Though he might not defeat a perfected Grandmaster, he could still retreat if he wished.
Unless lured by enormous profits, the other Grandmasters would not act rashly. After all, antagonizing a powerhouse of the same realm was ultimately unwise.
Of course, things would be different if enormous profits were at stake. Yet although Heavenly Hammer Mountain was a precious spirit-medicine ground, outsiders knew nothing of it.
Besides, ordinary precious spirit-medicine grounds were not worth antagonizing a Grandmaster over.
The black-robed man sitting cross-legged atop the tree was dressed just like the two previous Grandmasters. The only difference was the white leaf embroidered on his chest.
A white leaf, long and slender like a willow leaf.
Xu Yan and the other two made no attempt to conceal their tracks. They flew straight over, brazen and utterly unafraid of whatever powerhouse might be guarding the precious spirit-medicine ground.
The black-robed Grandmaster opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Someone's coming!"
The black-robed figures on either side of the grotto immediately perked up. They gripped their curved blades and grew vigilant.
If a