Before the sea of clouds at Main Peak, the Dao Sages on both sides faced off across the distance. The air felt heavy and still, and swords seemed ready to leave their sheaths.
Heaven Sun Dao Sage's face was cold, but Moon-Tide Dao Sage's question had stopped him short and left him faintly uneasy.
He knew perfectly well that Chiyan and the other three had not been passing through on their travels. They had entered the Southern Border under orders to spy.
But whether he was in the wrong or not, as the ancestor leading the Setting Sun Divine Palace's delegation, he could not let the Western Wastes lose momentum.
If he bowed his head and admitted it, the Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley would sweep away the Setting Sun Divine Palace's dignity today. They might even become the laughingstock of Tianhua Domain.
Heaven Sun Dao Sage forced down his unease, set his face, and argued in a cold voice:
"Moon-Tide Dao Sage, you have it wrong!"
"Our four fellow Daoists were merely traveling through the Southern Border, taking in its mountains and rivers. They passed through your territory and stopped to look around on a whim. How does that amount to sneaking in to spy?"
"They happened to pass through, and the Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley calls it spying? Isn't that rather far-fetched?"
The nine Setting Sun Dao Sages behind him joined in, their voices fierce.
They were utterly certain—
The Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley had no concrete evidence!
If this became a dispute, it would be nothing but endless argument.
As long as they refused to admit anything, the accusation would remain one person's word against another's.
Seeing them cling stubbornly to their claim that Chiyan Dao Sage and the others had only passed through the