Inside the formation.
A deathly silence.
The dust and smoke slowly dispersed, leaving behind the scorched scent of lightning in the air, mingled with the faint lingering echoes of the Five Elements Annihilation power.
Where several hundred Grandmasters of Subduing Dragon Temple had once stood, there now remained only a stretch of charred earth and scattered Storage Rings.
Chen Xuan stood where he was with his hands behind his back. The five-colored blazing sun above his head had already returned to his body, and the Five Elements Canopy Treasure Umbrella had vanished without a trace.
He lowered his head and glanced at the scattered Storage Rings on the ground. With a wave of his right hand, a gentle force swept them all up and stored them away.
These were his spoils of war.
The collections of several hundred Grandmasters contained no shortage of rare spiritual treasures, medicinal pills, cultivation techniques, and secret manuals. He could keep what was useful to him, while handing the useless items over to the Grandmasters—enough to raise the sect's foundations by an entire tier.
"Chief Chen is mighty!"
On the mountain peak, the Grandmasters of Guiyuan Sect finally recovered from their shock. Someone shouted, their voice trembling faintly with excitement.
That cry was like the opening of floodgates. Cheers like mountains roaring and seas crashing poured down from the peak, resounding throughout the entire mountain range.
"We won! Chief Chen is mighty!"
"Subduing Dragon Temple's Dao Child is dead! Several hundred Grandmasters are all dead!"
"Immortal Core! Chief Chen formed an Immortal Core—a seventeen-year-old Golden Core Grandmaster!"
The Grandmasters of Guiyuan Sect were so moved that tears streamed down their faces.
They had been trapped atop this mountain for days, watching Subduing Dragon Temple's great formation tighten ever further, watching Dao Child Jiang Daoxuan descend