Zhao Tu was the first to react.
He looked up at the black Spirit Boat, his expression shifting. He drew the long saber at his waist and unleashed the full spiritual pressure of the late spirit transformation stage.
"What stray dog dares trespass into the Purple-Gold Immortal Vein's forbidden airspace?"
The Spirit Boat gave no response.
Rotten death qi seeped down along its hull, staining even the air it passed through with a layer of gray.
Chen Changgeng and the newly healed sect masters scrambled to the edge of the square. None of them wanted to come into contact with that stench.
The secret chamber's stone door was pushed open.
The Alliance Leader emerged first, followed by Old Ancestor Xuanming and Old Ancestor Cangwu. All three looked up at the Spirit Boat hovering overhead, and the Alliance Leader's brows knitted.
"This aura..." The Alliance Leader paused, then turned and spoke quietly. "Young friend Zhou, that Mu Qingyun from the Myriad Forms Pavilion whom you had Wuchen drive away earlier has an old ancestor behind him who has lived for nearly ten thousand years."
Zhou Xuan walked to the stone doorway, his Right Arm still wrapped in blood-soaked bandages and his left hand holding his unfinished cup of tea.
"Who is he?"
"Mu Tianshu."
The Alliance Leader lowered his voice.
"The true master of the Myriad Forms Pavilion. He's had half his body buried in a coffin for three thousand years and never shows his face."
"Over seventy percent of Central Province's underground intelligence networks have ties to him. Half the major powers' dirty dealings pass through his hands."
The Alliance Leader paused.
"Half a step into the longevity realm. He never managed that final step, but he's far stronger than an ordinary peak spirit transformation cultivator."
Zhou Xuan gave a