Subduing the Gold and Silver Elders, Gu He on the Verge of Collapse

The Gold and Silver Elders stood like two pillars, their four aged eyes wide as they stared fixedly at Meng Chen, their faces filled with shock and fury.

They had seen everything that had just happened! The mighty Medicine Emperor of the Black-Corner Region had been suppressed without even the slightest ability to resist, and even his Heavenly Flame had been extracted.

From the moment Han Feng rushed to the stone platform, the whole thing had taken no more than a few breaths!

The elder in golden robes swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, while the elder in silver robes clenched his back teeth so tightly that his cheeks tensed.

The two kept looking from Meng Chen to Qing Yanjing and back again.

"Save him!"

The elder in golden robes finally shouted.

Han Feng could not die. At least, not before they got what he had promised them!

Elder Gold thrust out a palm, sending golden light straight at the formation patterns, trying to pull Han Feng out of the golden light.

But the instant his palm force touched the patterns, the golden lines merely swayed slightly. Then, an even heavier and hotter force surged back, blasting him away!

He flipped backward three times before regaining his footing, leaving two shallow marks in the stone beneath his shoes.

The two attacked almost simultaneously.

With a flick of his hand, the elder in golden robes rapidly formed a seal. Golden battle aura exploded with a boom, condensing into nine golden rings along his arm, each one humming violently.

The elder in silver robes was not idle either. Rubbing his palms together, he spread out silver battle aura that instantly transformed into dozens of silver needles, their tips gleaming coldly.

"Silver Needles Sealing Acupoints, Golden Rings Shattering Bones!" the elder in golden robes roared.

The two charged Meng Chen from opposite sides, their coordination smooth and practiced, clearly the result of countless repetitions.

The nine golden rings flew from his hand with shrill whistles, smashing toward Meng Chen's chest and abdomen. At the same time, dozens of silver needles circled in from the side, blocking off every possible direction he could evade.

Hai Bodong frowned and was about to step forward to help, but Meng Chen raised a hand to stop him.

"Aunt Qing."

The moment Meng Chen spoke, the golden formation patterns on the ground suddenly trembled, as though a massive serpent had abruptly come alive.

Immediately afterward, dozens of golden threads shot out from beneath his feet, weaving into a net of light in midair.

The nine golden rings slammed into it amid a chaotic chorus of clanging. The net contracted and twisted, instantly crushing the rings into fragments. Golden debris exploded everywhere like a rain of light.

The elder in silver robes saw this, and his expression immediately darkened. Lowering his voice, he said, "Stop wasting your effort. This formation..."

He stopped there without finishing his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

The Eight Desolations Burning Flame Formation had suppressed them all completely.

Before his words had even faded, Medusa turned her head. Her gaze shifted away from Han Feng and onto the Gold and Silver Elders, the corners of her lips lifting slightly as though she were simply enjoying the spectacle.

Meng Chen clenched Han Feng's Storage Ring in his hand. His gaze swept over the faces of the Gold and Silver Elders before landing on Fan Ling, who was huddled within a cloud of blood mist in the distance.

Fan Ling had been badly scorched by the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's purple flames. His blood mist had shrunk considerably, revealing a face so pale it was frightening.

The moment he sensed Meng Chen looking at him, his whole body stiffened visibly.

"You three," Meng Chen said in an ordinary tone, as casually as if he were commenting on the weather, "Han Feng has already lost. If you don't want to be buried with him, then agree to one condition."

The Gold and Silver Elders exchanged a glance, but neither spoke.

Fan Ling was the first to crack. His cloud of blood mist trembled several times, and in a hoarse voice like a broken gong, he forced out the words, "What do you want us to do?"

"Submit."

The moment those two words fell, the lava hall went completely silent. The silence lasted for a long while.

The elder in golden robes turned livid, while the elder in silver robes furrowed his brows into a knot. Fan Ling, the Blood Sect's leader, closed his eyes as the blood mist around him withered even further.

"You..." The elder in golden robes clenched his fists until they crackled. Golden battle aura snapped wildly between his fingers as he opened his mouth to curse, but the elder in silver robes grabbed his arm.

The elder in silver robes lowered his voice. His gaze first swept over Han Feng's position, then toward Medusa and Hai Bodong, before finally settling on Meng Chen. In such a situation, the Gold and Silver Elders had no way out.

He remained silent for a long time before finally loosening his grip. His back sagged slightly, and his voice carried the exhausted weariness of someone whose spirit had been ground away. "What benefit do we get from submitting to you?"

Meng Chen did not answer immediately.

He slowly walked down from the high platform, his grayish-white cloak dragging across the stone steps with a rustling sound.

He stopped before the Gold and Silver Elders and looked down at the two men who had flaunted their power alongside Han Feng for more than a decade.

"Benefits? Follow me, and you get to keep your lives." He raised a hand and tapped the golden-robed elder on the shoulder. The man stiffened all over but did not dodge.

"I'll give you two choices. Either I erase your consciousness and refine you into puppets, or you submit willingly, hand over your blood essence, and acknowledge me as your master!"

The veins on the golden-robed elder's forehead bulged. His lips trembled, but he could not say a single word.

The elder in silver robes sighed and extended his right hand. A drop of blood essence drifted from his index finger, floating unsteadily before Meng Chen.

Meng Chen flipped his palm, and the drop of blood essence entered the Small Pagoda.

After hesitating for a moment, the elder in golden robes followed suit.

Fan Ling was the last. Looking ashen, he handed his over as well.

Once all the blood essence had been collected into the Small Pagoda, Meng Chen revealed a satisfied expression and nodded.

After settling all of that, Meng Chen finally turned his attention toward the entrance of the hall.

Gu He stood beside Yun Yun, his expression indescribably complicated.

From the moment Meng Chen exposed the fact that the Heavenly Flame had long since disappeared, to Han Feng being pinned down and dealt with, to Medusa's sudden sneak attack, and finally to the Gold and Silver Elders bowing their heads in submission—

He had witnessed every single part of it.

The instant Meng Chen's gaze fell on him, the hairs on Gu He's back stood on end.

"Gu He," Meng Chen called, his tone much gentler than before. "You're different from them. You weren't involved in Han Feng's dirty business, and I don't want to make things difficult for you."

Gu He's lips moved. He stood stunned for a long while before recovering enough to ask, "Then what do you want?"

"Join my Divine Court and become an alchemist for my Divine Court." Meng Chen did not beat around the bush at all.

You've gone too far!

Gu He's emotions churned violently. He had come for the Green Lotus Core Flame, invited Yun Yun, and owed countless favors, only to end up with nothing at all after all that effort.

And now Meng Chen wanted him to join some Divine Court.

He was starting to fall apart...

This was not the outcome Gu He wanted.

But given the situation, did Gu He dare refuse?!

Han Feng's bloody fate was right in front of him. Behind Gu He stood only a Three-Star Battle Emperor, hardly enough to fill anyone's teeth!