In the Star Lord Mansion's grand hall, the banquet's lingering warmth had yet to fade, and the tables of delicacies still gave off their fragrance.
But Ke Xishan and his trusted Great Sages and Upper Sages stood frozen, staring toward where Li Yun had vanished, their minds blank.
Even after that streak of light had disappeared beyond the horizon, none of them could collect themselves.
Every one of them had been prepared for Li Yun to seize their treasure—and perhaps kill them to silence them.
In this chaotic world, a man could be innocent, yet the treasure he carried made him guilty. Far too many had met disaster that way.
Otherwise, Ke Xishan would not have been so nervous, probing Li Yun's intentions again and again. Only when that failed had he offered up the stone pagoda, hoping Li Yun would spare them his wrath.
But the way things unfolded had caught them all completely off guard.
Not only had this unfathomable top expert, possibly a Lord Sage, shown no desire to take the Nine-Turn Saint Pagoda, he had even imprinted the method for operating it onto a Jade Slip and left it behind.
Ke Xishan's emotions had risen and plunged like a roller coaster. He could not calm down for a long time, and even wondered whether this was a dream.
His treasure had not been taken, and he had received the method he had dreamed of obtaining. Did such good fortune truly exist?
He could hardly believe it.
After standing there in a daze for a long while, he reached out with a trembling hand and carefully picked up the ancient-looking Jade Slip from the table.
He sent his divine sense into it. The method for activating the Nine-Turn Saint Pagoda was clear and orderly, without a single