Outside Wind-Thunder Valley.
Ji Chen stood beside the pool, his face deathly pale.
His fishing rod had long since fallen into the water. He stood frozen in place, staring at the waterfall cave collapsing in the distance.
Several Shadow Guards from the Heavenly Strategy Pavilion appeared behind him and dropped to one knee.
"Pavilion Master, the laws inside Wind-Thunder Valley have completely collapsed. Should we take advantage of the chaos to go in and seize that origin source relic?" one Shadow Guard asked quietly.
Ji Chen whipped around and glared fiercely at the Shadow Guard.
"Seize it? Have you lived long enough?" Ji Chen's voice trembled.
The Shadow Guard froze.
Ji Chen drew a deep breath, trying to steady his wildly pounding heart.
He had originally thought the Court Guardian Pavilion Master would slaughter the Origin Return Alliance without resistance. He had even prepared to slip in and reap a windfall once both sides had battered each other.
But what had he sensed just now?
The Court Guardian Pavilion Master, that old monster who had loomed over everyone in Central Province for tens of thousands of years, had actually suffered a drop in her aura!
She had fallen from a Peerless Grade Dao fruit back to high grade!
The Heavenly Strategy Pavilion had fought the Court Guardian Pavilion for so many years. Generations of Pavilion Masters had tried every conceivable method, yet none had managed to damage even a fraction of Old Hag's foundation.
Today, a young man at the Spirit Transformation Stage had actually done it.
Ji Chen recalled how Zhou Xuan had looked when negotiating with him outside the array.
He was ruthless.
Not only were his calculations precise, but he dared to gamble his life to achieve his goal.
"Withdraw. Leave Wind-Thunder Valley immediately." Ji Chen made