The autumn air was crisp, and fierce winds swept desolately through the land.
Somewhere in Wangqing Prefecture stood an immense grove of ancient maples.
The grove stretched for ten miles, like a vast, fiery-red lake.
As the brilliant red maple leaves swirled through the sky, they looked like countless flames dancing in the air.
Ye Jingcheng stood within the grove, letting the maple leaves fall around him, onto his shoulders, and even into his hair.
At any other time, he would have been in the mood to savor the scenery.
Now, however, he was waiting for Prefecture Lord Wang, Prefecture Lord Xiao, and the other cultivators who had covered for him.
Before long, a spirit vessel landed in front of the ancient maple grove.
Prefecture Lord Wang and Prefecture Lord Xiao descended as well.
"I told you Fellow Daoist Qianchen had already noticed us!" Prefecture Lord Wang laughed, his hearty voice ringing throughout the grove.
Beside him, Prefecture Lord Xiao also gave Ye Jingcheng a faint smile.
Both were quite pleased to see Ye Jingcheng waiting here.
"Prefecture Lord Xiao, Prefecture Lord Wang!" Ye Jingcheng cupped his hands. He also took a look at the group and found that, besides the two prefecture lords, there were two Golden Core cultivators.
The other two had clearly been summoned by Prefecture Lord Wang and Prefecture Lord Xiao.
Their cultivation was only at the middle and early Golden Core stages.
Ye Jingcheng further suspected that True Lord Xu Huai and Governor Liu had come in secret as well, but could not conveniently show themselves.
The conflict between the Righteous Path Sect and the Profound Heaven Sect was still confined to their subordinate forces. Providing cover and maintaining order in the marketplace was acceptable, but actively destroying the Mystical Heaven Demon Sect's forces would