As the voice from the Jade Talisman faded, the atmosphere in the Secret Chamber froze for an instant.
He was more useful alive than dead.
Those words became a thorn lodged in the hearts of the Alliance Leader, Old Ancestor Xuanming, and Old Ancestor Cangwu.
Having lived for tens of thousands of years, they naturally understood their weight.
But hearing them from a young man in the Spirit Transformation Realm still sent a chill through them.
Emperor Jiang Wu sent no further messages. Clearly, he had already set off.
Zhou Xuan put away the Jade Talisman and looked at the three Longevity Realm cultivators in the Secret Chamber.
"Seniors, the farce in the Northern Lands is over."
"But the show here isn't finished yet."
Purple-gold laws slowly flowed around the Alliance Leader's phantom as he looked at Zhou Xuan, reassessing the young man.
"What do you intend to do?"
Zhou Xuan gave a single word in reply.
"Wait."
Old Ancestor Xuanming, who had only just settled down, was on his feet and pacing again.
"Wait for what?"
"Just wait for Emperor Jiang Wu to drag that old dog back?"
Zhou Xuan's gaze pierced the stone wall, turning toward the Grand Hua Immortal Vein.
"We wait for him to return, and for the oriole beyond the mountain to lose patience."
"We surround them without attacking."
"Then the Court Guardian Pavilion Master will never know what happened in the Northern Lands. She'll only think the Grand Hua Old Ancestor is still stubbornly holding out."
Old Ancestor Cangwu stroked his long beard, grasping Zhou Xuan's intent.
"Let her keep watching an empty mountain while we take the time to deal with our spoils."
Those spoils, naturally, referred to the Grand Hua Old Ancestor.
One day later.
Inside the Main Hall of the