This great battle concerned every cultivator in the Immortal Bone Realm, which was why most of the realm's factions had joined the fight. Yet many familiar faces were absent as well, such as the Qin Clan of Thunder Region.
When Akatsuki had seized the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder jade pendant from the Qin Clan, Heavenly Court assassins had appeared within the clan, making many people suspicious. Quite a few believed the Qin Clan had ties to Heavenly Court, but the clan explained that they had merely hired assassins and had not known those people belonged to Heavenly Court. Since no one had evidence proving their connection to Heavenly Court, the matter had ultimately been dropped.
But now, the Qin Clan's absence from this battlefield spoke volumes. They might truly have pledged allegiance to Heavenly Court.
This was no secret. During this period, quite a few people had chosen to submit to Heavenly Court because they saw it as their hope of rising to power and as a chance for change in the cultivation world. Under the existing order, these people and factions had little room left to advance. They could not wrest cultivation resources from the hands of those entrenched interest groups. Rather than be left behind by the competition, they might as well take a gamble. Perhaps they could rise straight to the top.
It was like the changing of dynasties in the mortal world. No one could say who would have the last laugh.
Lin Chuan and the others also understood that if they continued deeper into the second layer of the Immortal Bone Realm, the enemies they faced might no longer be merely ferocious beasts. Cultivators who had pledged themselves to Heavenly Court would also meet them head-on. More importantly, Heavenly Court's assassins, as well as the