Mu Qianning was a little puzzled. Before she could speak, Yu Qishui had already smiled and said:
"This is our Lihuo Sect's Saintess, Mu Qianning. Her cultivation is modest; please forgive her, Princess."
He paused, then added, "As for Qian Ning's master, it would be inconvenient to say more. I hope you'll understand, Princess."
By rights, Mu Qianning's master was Wei Yushan, but the cultivation she possessed had come from Senior Li's gift.
Senior Li had never said he'd taken Qian Ning as his disciple, so Yu Qishui naturally didn't dare overstep.
At this, a complicated look flashed through Huo Ling'er's beautiful eyes.
And they called that modest cultivation?
That was just infuriating!
She was the Fire Kingdom's Princess, after all. She'd had unlimited cultivation resources from childhood, everything she could want, with abundant pills and spirit treasures. And every one of her teachers was at the Cave Void Level!
Yet she'd only reached the Nascent Soul Eighth Heaven. Even so, she ranked among the top of her generation in the entire Fire Kingdom. And now, in this remote southern borderland, there was a genius even stronger than her, one who was almost about to break into Divine Separation?
She felt utterly crushed. Truly crushed.
This was definitely one of the Fire Kingdom's most outstanding geniuses.
At the same time, a thought stirred in her heart.
Yu Qishui had just said it was inconvenient to mention Mu Qianning's master?
If her master were any of the people present, what would be inconvenient about saying so? Could there be some mighty figure behind the Lihuo Sect?
Perhaps that was what gave the Lihuo Sect the confidence to challenge Lie Huo Mountain?
She had a vague feeling she'd figured something out.
"Princess, please, please come into the main hall!"
Wei Yushan extended a hand.
Before long, in the main hall,
Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and the others sat across from Huo Ling'er.
"May I ask what brings the Princess all this way?"
Wei Yushan asked.
Before answering, Huo Ling'er said, "First, I'd like to ask: does your sect have an extraordinary figure backing it?"
At this, Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and the others' expressions tightened slightly.
The Fire Kingdom's Princess was clever.
"Your royal family may be powerful, but it's only an Extraordinary Force. In Senior Li's game of Chess, it's probably nothing more than a chess piece!"
That was what they were all thinking.
Wei Yushan said calmly, "What does that have to do with your reason for coming, Princess?"
Hmph. She wanted to pry into Senior Li? The royal family might not even be worthy.
Huo Ling'er smiled faintly. "To be frank, what's happening in the southern part of the Fire Kingdom this time involves a great deal—and affects a very wide area!"
"The Lie Huo Mountain you're facing is no ordinary opponent. If the person backing you isn't powerful enough, then there's no need for us to cooperate."
She was confident!
The Fire Kingdom Royal Family was an Extraordinary Force with Mahayana Stage experts in residence. Even if the Lihuo Sect was on the verge of becoming a Sun Level Force, it still meant nothing to the Fire Kingdom Royal Family!
Wei Yushan and the others grew even more tense.
"Master, what do you think?"
He asked Yu Qishui through divine sense.
Yu Qishui thought for a moment. "From what we've seen, Senior Li's game of Chess is probably vast, and more and more people are getting involved."
"What kind of person is Senior Li? If we'd done anything wrong, he would have given us some indication long ago. The fact that he hasn't given us any instructions now proves that everything we're doing is still within his calculations."
"So we should simply let things take their course."
Wei Yushan nodded too, then turned to Huo Ling'er and said, "Princess, you can rest assured."
"That senior is more than capable of handling anything."
Seeing Wei Yushan's confidence, Huo Ling'er smiled beautifully and said leisurely, "Even the Evil God?"
The Evil God!
At those two words, the Lihuo Sect's people changed color in an instant!
In the Profound Heaven Realm, those two words carried a special meaning.
When cultivators took the final step beyond the Body Integration Realm, they would touch the legendary Immortal Realm!
But nine times out of ten, they died trying.
Among them were many once-unrivaled figures who had one foot in the realm of immortals but couldn't comprehend the true meaning of the immortal path. Instead, their inner demons devoured them!
Such beings generally became Evil Gods.
Because they had already touched the immortal path, their power was terrifying—surpassing even the Supremes.
But they had lost all humanity and might even become mad, twisted monsters.
The Evil God was a byword for extreme danger.
Whenever an Evil God appeared, the entire Profound Heaven Realm would often be thrown into turmoil. Lives were lost, powerful cultivators bled, and it could even trigger a Supreme War!
"So this actually involves an Evil God..."
Yu Qishui was stunned. He murmured, "No wonder. For a peerless figure like Senior Li to make a move, how could it be over anything ordinary?"
"For an Evil God-level being to be involved in this game of Chess—Senior Li's plans are simply too grand! This is practically a Supreme Game!"
Wei Yushan murmured as well, "Perhaps Senior Li set this game in motion to spare all living beings a great calamity?"
Mu Qianning was also stunned for a moment, but then a resolute look appeared in her eyes.
She believed that even an Evil God wouldn't be able to stir up trouble with Senior Li around.
After a long while, Yu Qishui and the others gradually regained their composure.
"Although the Evil God is terrifying, Princess, you can rest assured about that figure's strength!"
Wei Yushan finally spoke to Huo Ling'er.
Huo Ling'er couldn't help feeling surprised.
Even the Evil God—how could this tiny Lihuo Sect regard it so calmly?
Could there really be a Supreme-level figure behind the Lihuo Sect?
After all, Evil Gods were created when Supremes failed midway through taking that final step. Anyone who dared to speak this way had to be a Supreme at the very least, and one of the most outstanding among them!
But in the entire Southern Domain of the Profound Heaven Realm, Supreme-level forces could be counted on one hand!
Living Supremes, meanwhile, existed only in legend. There were just two or three of them.
Could one of them be standing behind the Lihuo Sect?
It was hard to imagine!
"Very well. Since you're so confident, I'll tell you another piece of news."
Huo Ling'er continued, "When an Evil God wants to descend upon a place, the first thing it usually does is slaughter every living being there!"
"Because an Evil God has already touched the immortal path and will be detected by this world. Only by destroying all living beings and creating a Blood Domain can the Evil God arrive."
"According to the information we've received, that Evil God is very likely to descend upon this region soon!"
Yu Qishui and the others were all greatly alarmed.
Did this mean that, in the near future, the southern part of the Fire Kingdom—or even the entire Fire Kingdom—would be destroyed?
"If Senior Li really set this game in motion to await the Evil God's descent, then this news is important to him too."
Wei Yushan spoke to Yu Qishui.
Yu Qishui nodded as well. "This is a grave matter. It's beyond our ability to take part in. All we need to do is tell Senior Li about it!"
Huo Ling'er's heart stirred. So that figure's surname was Li? Which Supreme in the Southern Domain of the Profound Heaven Realm was surnamed Li?
She rose to her feet and said, "May I go with you to pay this senior a visit? Perhaps I can provide him with information that will be useful!"
She was growing more and more curious about that figure!
Yu Qishui considered it briefly, then said, "All right!"