Noticing everyone's gazes.
The two elders could not help exchanging a glance.
Could that old ghost Lan Qing's disciple have been slaughtered by Chu Luo too?
At that moment, Ancient Sage Lan Qing also turned his gaze toward them.
His eyes brimmed with coldness...
"What are you looking at?"
"What's with that look, you old bastard?"
"What are you implying?"
"Don't tell me you think a disciple of our Forbidden Sect did this?"
"Do you have any proof?!"
Elder Zhao Sheng met Ancient Sage Lan Qing's gaze without the slightest courtesy.
Ancient Sage Lan Qing furrowed his brows, his face equally filled with anger.
But he truly could not be certain whether Luo Yu had died at the hands of a Forbidden Sect disciple.
After all, no one had replaced Luo Yu on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking!
"Hmph!"
"Once the other disciples of my sect come out of the secret realm, a single question will tell me who killed my disciple!"
"If your Forbidden Sect really did this, then even if it sparks a battle between Ancient Sages, I will demand justice for my disciple!"
Ancient Sage Lan Qing snorted coldly.
"Heh..."
Elder Zhao Sheng and Elder Qin Yi sneered and paid Ancient Sage Lan Qing no further attention.
Yet a trace of worry flashed in both elders' eyes.
"Second Elder, if Chu Luo really did slaughter that old bastard's disciple, we could be in trouble..."
"Besides those two from the Spiritclear Sect, those old ghosts Flame Lord and Ming Yan from Crimson Flame Valley are also eyeing Chu Luo like tigers eyeing their prey..."
"With just the two of us, dealing with them might be difficult..."
Without betraying anything on his face, Elder Qin Yi secretly transmitted his voice.
"Mm... To be safe, we should secretly call in reinforcements, just in case..."
"If that brat really caused this mess, let his damned master wipe his ass for him!"
Elder Zhao Sheng nodded and replied.
A jade token appeared in his hand, hidden inside his sleeve.
Zhao Sheng decisively crushed it, feeling more assured...
Meanwhile.
In the deepest reaches of the Great Emperor Secret Realm!
Scorching heat enveloped heaven and earth.
For dozens of miles around, not a trace of life remained; everything lay beneath a crimson sea of fire.
At that moment, outside this crimson sea of fire.
Experts from all the major sects who had entered the secret realm had gathered there.
Everyone gazed toward the deepest part of the sea of fire...
In its depths, a pill cauldron floated in the air...
Billowing crimson flames poured out of this pill cauldron...
And a faint imperial might emanated from it.
Clearly, this pill cauldron was an Imperial Artifact...
"It's an Imperial Artifact!"
"Hahaha, that Imperial Artifact is mine..."
"Ah... pfft..."
The many experts outside the sea of fire sensed the faint imperial might emanating from the pill cauldron.
Quite a few rogue cultivators at the Great Beginning Realm charged greedily into the sea of fire, hoping to seize this Imperial Artifact.
Yet the instant they stepped into the sea of fire, the terrifying crimson flames swallowed them...
Not even their bones remained...
The sight instantly brought countless experts present back to their senses...
"Senior Brother, that... that's the Flameforging Cauldron recorded in our Pill Sect's ancient texts!"
"It's Patriarch Gu Dan's lifebound Imperial Artifact!!"
"Patriarch Gu Dan really did perish..."
Among the crowd, a Pill Sect disciple recognized the crimson cauldron in the sea of fire.
His expression shifted slightly, and he lowered his voice to whisper to Dan Chenzi beside him.
Dan Chenzi nodded slightly, his brows knitting tightly.
After he and Chu Luo had been separated upon entering.
Some unseen guidance had led him here with several core disciples of the Forbidden Sect and the disciples of his Pill Sect.
But shortly after he arrived, other experts began appearing one after another.
At that thought, Dan Chenzi looked around, his gaze settling on several youths.
These youths were precisely the prodigies of the various top factions!
Among them were Crimson Flame Valley's three great prodigies, accompanied by dozens of disciples.
Now that the prodigies of so many top factions had gathered here.
Taking back his sect's Flameforging Cauldron on his own would be rather difficult...
"Junior Brother, can you contact Brother Chu?"
"Ask him to come here and lend us a hand!"
"Our Pill Sect would be eternally grateful..."
Dan Chenzi pleaded with a Forbidden Sect disciple beside him.
"All right!"
"I'll try contacting Senior Brother Chu and the others right away..."
The disciple nodded, took out a sect token, and tried to contact Chu Luo and his companions...
Only then did Dan Chenzi feel a little more confident!
Dan Chenzi narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Flameforging Cauldron in the sea of fire.
According to his sect's ancient records.
A world lay hidden inside the Flameforging Cauldron.
Dan Chenzi suspected that if Patriarch Gu Dan had truly left an Emperor Pill Recipe to pass down.
It would surely be hidden in the Flameforging Cauldron's cauldron inner world!
Thus, no matter what, he had to bring the Flameforging Cauldron back!
Buzzz...
Just as Dan Chenzi was lost in thought.
The distant sea of fire suddenly began shaking violently.
Then countless experts present saw the Flameforging Cauldron tremble, radiating a faint crimson glow!
The next instant, imperial might spread outward.
The experts and prodigies of the various factions dropped to their knees on the spot!
"This is..."
Everyone was terrified.
Yet among the kneeling crowd, two figures stood out starkly!
They had not knelt!
One of them was Dan Chenzi!
As for the other.
He was a man who looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his face full of arrogance.
A faint imperial might also rose from this man's body!
This imperial might carried a sense of desolate antiquity...
Dan Chenzi, however, emanated no unusual aura at all.
Yet this imperial might had no effect on him whatsoever!
Even Dan Chenzi himself did not understand why...
The man also looked toward Dan Chenzi, disdain appearing on his face.
Noticing the man's gaze, Dan Chenzi looked over as well!
He discovered that the man stood beside several Spiritclear Sect prodigies.
Could he be the successor of some Great Emperor from the Spiritclear Sect?
Buzz...
Just as Dan Chenzi wondered.
The imperial might within the sea of fire gathered, manifesting as a towering figure.
The figure beckoned with a great hand.
The crimson flames in the sea of fire swiftly gathered and leaped into his palm.
Visions spanning the ages manifested around him...
This towering figure was a white-haired old man!
Dan Chenzi's pupils contracted, and he involuntarily cried out:
"You... you're Patriarch Gu Dan?!"
"Hahaha..."
"After all these years, the world within my body has finally emerged..."
"And at last, someone from my Pill Sect has arrived!"
The old man smiled faintly, his features kindly, his gaze resting on Dan Chenzi.
Indeed, he was the master of this Great Emperor Secret Realm.
The Ancient Pill Great Emperor!
However, this Ancient Pill Great Emperor was now merely a wisp of remnant soul left within the secret realm...
"Pill Sect disciple Dan Chenzi pays his respects to the patriarch!"
Dan Chenzi finally understood why the imperial might had not affected him.
It was most likely because of Patriarch Gu Dan!
"Alas..."
"To think the younger generation of my Pill Sect has declined so far!"
"Hm? Someone from the Wang Family!"
"No wonder!"
The Ancient Pill Great Emperor scanned the surroundings, his gaze passing over the prodigies of the other top factions.
He sighed helplessly.
Then he noticed the man who likewise emanated imperial might, resisting his pressure.
The imperial might on the man did not come from the man himself.
It was merely something someone else had left on him.
The man smiled, entirely unbothered that the Ancient Pill Great Emperor had revealed his identity!
Instead, an arrogant look remained on his face.
Everyone present was instantly startled.
They had never expected this man to be a member of the Desolate Ancient Wang Family!
But why was someone from the Desolate Ancient Wang Family together with the Spiritclear Sect?
"Heh..."
"Youngsters, this cauldron and my inheritance were prepared specifically for a prodigy of my Pill Sect!"
"Go seek other opportunities!"
"Within my inner world are many precious spirit herbs, yours for the taking!"
The Ancient Pill Great Emperor withdrew his gaze from the man, his majestic voice echoing in every expert's ears.
Then this wisp of the Ancient Pill Great Emperor's remnant soul reached toward Dan Chenzi!
Dan Chenzi and the Ancient Pill Great Emperor vanished from everyone's sight.
The imperial might between heaven and earth disappeared as well...
And towering crimson flames rose once more within the sea of fire...
"Wonderful!"
"Senior Brother Dan Chenzi has obtained Patriarch Gu Dan's inheritance!"
"Hahaha... That's right! Once Senior Brother Dan Chenzi emerges from seclusion, his strength will surely soar..."
The dozen or so Pill Sect disciples rose to their feet, instantly brimming with excitement.
Some of the nearby rogue cultivator experts could not help shaking their heads inwardly.
Their faces were filled with envy...
Some experts quietly left to seek other opportunities.
Others remained where they were, a cold gleam flickering in their eyes...
"Hmph!"
"So it was rigged from the start!"
Han Wujie of Crimson Flame Valley stared at the Flameforging Cauldron amid the sea of fire, seething with displeasure...
"Heh..."
"Don't be impatient, Junior Brother Han!"
"That old geezer is nothing but a wisp of a remnant soul. He's about to vanish from this world entirely..."
"Once that old geezer disappears for good, there's no telling whose hands this Imperial Artifact will end up in..."
"But before that, we have a debt to collect..."
Du Sheng, standing beside him, gave a cold chuckle.
His gaze turned toward the few Forbidden Sect disciples standing with the Pill Sect disciples, a gleam of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes...
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