The group hurried onward, piercing clouds and cutting through mist, and soon reached the area around the mine vein's entrance indicated by the intelligence.
Yet the scene before them made Gu Xuan and all the accompanying elders and disciples suddenly narrow their eyes.
The entrance to the mine vein, which should have been exceedingly well concealed, was now filled with fluttering banners and shifting figures.
The Heavenly Sword Sect's sharp-sword emblem, the Myriad Law Gate's Wheel of Ten Thousand Laws, the Star Hall's constellation pattern, and the Netherworld Cult's sinister ghost mask.
The flags of the Four Great Powers stood prominently around the mine vein's entrance, each clearly separated from the others, as if they had already divided the place among themselves.
Beneath every banner stood heavily armed guards. Their auras were formidable, and they were clearly elites of their respective sects.
"This... what is going on!" one Chaos Sacred Sect elder cried out in shock.
Gu Xuan's face sank like water, his heart churning with doubts.
This place was extremely well hidden. How had the Four Great Powers learned of it?
And they had acted so swiftly, as if they had been waiting here all along.
Could there be... a traitor within the sect?
A terrifying thought flashed through his mind.
But he immediately suppressed his suspicion. This was no time for internal strife.
"Go forward and negotiate." Gu Xuan drew a deep breath and ordered in a low voice.
He stepped out from the crowd and called toward the camps of the Four Great Powers: "I am Gu Xuan, an elder of the Chaos Sacred Sect. This place is a mine vein belonging to our Chaos Sacred Sect. May I ask what brings all of you fellow Daoists here?"
His voice rang out like a great bell and