"There seems to be something happening up ahead!"
"Not good! Someone's beaten us to it. We can't let them succeed. Hurry..."
The sounds of battle alerted the people outside the cavern, and a group rushed inside, anxiety written on their faces.
They were members of the Divine Dragon Cult who had likewise slipped in to fish in troubled waters: the cult's Grand Elder Zhuang Dongwang, the Wind and Thunder Envoys, and their followers.
All three were Core Formation experts. Several others followed closely behind; although only at Foundation Establishment, they were extraordinary experts blessed with special talents or an innate Dao body. Barely a dozen strong, they possessed power surpassing an army of thousands, even on the Mystic Continent, where the path of providence flourished.
They had come determined to succeed and brimming with confidence, but immediately sensed something amiss upon arriving, and anxiety inevitably gripped them.
Meanwhile, the Golden-Haired Lion King slipped along alone, following close behind them.
He had encountered the Divine Dragon Cult members on the way, and they had reached a temporary agreement.
Unwilling to engage in a pointless struggle at the foot of the mountain, they had agreed to rely on their own abilities and, if the opportunity arose, join forces against their enemies.
Unlike the anxious cult members, however, he felt a secret delight when he sensed the chaotic auras inside.
He thought nothing of ordinary Core Formation cultivators, but Grand Elder Zhuang Dongwang was an expert who had been renowned for over a thousand years. His strength was no small matter.
The Golden-Haired Lion King had little confidence in dealing with him. If someone else seized the Dragon Heart Stone, he might instead have the chance to reap the fisherman's profit.
Moments later, the two groups arrived in succession, only to discover that