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"Boom!"
A fierce surge of Dou Qi swept in, and a powerful Dou Qi storm engulfed the entire hall in an instant.
The mist scattered, revealing everything in the hall and leaving it looking utterly empty and silent.
The moment the storm swept through, Old Ghost Yan Mo's expression changed sharply. He hurriedly took several steps back, narrowly avoiding it.
When the storm subsided, Old Ghost Yan Mo turned back disconsolately and looked into the hall.
Old Ghost Yan Mo focused his gaze. There, in the center of the hall, stood a figure enveloped from head to toe in a black robe.
Three clusters of light hung suspended several yards above the black-robed figure's head.
Only now did Old Ghost Yan Mo clearly see the layout of the entire hall.
The whole hall was built of lustrous white jade, and even the furnishings within were made of the same material.
The entire hall appeared a lustrous white, but at this moment,
Old Ghost Yan Mo and the black-robed figure stood out like sore thumbs against its spotless color.
So did the pitch-black chains binding the three clusters of light.
The pitch-black chains were identical to those held by the black-robed figures earlier, except that they seemed a size larger.
The chains disappeared into the highest point of the hall's ceiling, where a cone-shaped white jade pillar stood. The pitch-black chains coiled around it and were fastened into it.
The runes engraved on the chains were giving off a faint glow.
As that faint light flickered, a stream of milky-white Qi slowly flashed along the chains, extending toward their ends.
The figure concealed in the black robe fixed his eyes on Old Ghost Yan Mo, his expression icy, making Old Ghost Yan Mo feel a chill all over in an instant.
He hurriedly bowed to the black-robed figure and said in a humble tone:
"Your subordinate Yan Mo pays his respects to the hall master."
The black-robed man gave a cold snort when he heard this. He turned and walked slowly toward the hall's only chair, saying as he went:
"The Xiao Yan you just mentioned, is he the Xiao Yan from the Dou Qi Continent?"
His words were utterly calm, but anyone could hear the excitement and agitation hidden within them.
It was as though he had finally heard news of an old friend after years apart.
A glimmer flashed through Old Ghost Yan Mo's eyes when he heard this. He nodded slightly and said to the black-robed man:
"Hall master, judging by where he appeared and the name he used for himself, there should be no mistake."
Before his words had faded, he immediately continued:
"Moreover, your subordinate also sensed an extremely violent power of flame from him, which matches Xiao Yan's attribute."
"Therefore, this Xiao Yan should be the one we're looking for."
At this point, Old Ghost Yan Mo's eyes shifted slightly, and he parted his lips as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
The black-robed man fell silent for a long while upon hearing this. He let out a deep breath and raised his head slightly.
Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed, and the black-robed man rose into the air, standing in midair.
At the same time, a fierce, domineering presence spread through the entire hall in an instant, and a voice slowly rang out.
"Everyone, gather in the main hall at once. This hall master has a major announcement!"
The moment the voice rang out, everyone in the hall was jolted to attention. Even some who had been in seclusion for a long time were forcibly roused.
They stirred, rose one after another, and flew toward the main hall mentioned in the message.
Meanwhile, in another place, another person was reporting the same matter to someone else.
A group of people stood in a magnificent hall, all looking curiously at a person among them.
In the center of the hall, an elderly man in green robes, his temples streaked with gray, was speaking at length to an elderly man in fine robes seated in the place of honor.
"Deacon Yun Mei, that Xiao Yan truly is a rare, heaven-gifted prodigy. Though he came from humble origins, he managed to cultivate such strength as a lone rogue cultivator. He truly is extraordinary, so..."
"So you believe we should bring him into the Cloud Immortal Sect, have him serve our sect and strengthen it, so that we can join forces against the Ghost Fiend Gate?"
Before Yuan Qing could finish, the elderly man seated in the place of honor, called Yun Mei, picked up where he had left off.
Yuan Qing hurriedly nodded in agreement. As though hoping to persuade the elderly man to agree, he spoke again:
"Moreover, I think this Xiao Yan may have some grudge against the Ghost Fiend Gate, because he struck Old Ghost Yan Mo quite heavily, and..."
Here, Yuan Qing paused. Only after Yun Mei could no longer hold back and said something did Yuan Qing raise his head slightly, look at Yun Mei, and continue:
"Moreover, I believe Old Ghost Yan Mo and the others came to this southwestern region precisely because of Xiao Yan."
As soon as he said this, the people in the hall began talking among themselves.
They had guarded this border of the continent for so many years precisely because they did not know what the Ghost Fiend Gate was waiting for, and so had remained tied down here.
And now Yuan Qing had opened his mouth and given them the answer to such a major question.
They had come to the border of the continent merely to wait for one person? That answer seemed a little too weak and unconvincing.
Yun Mei also frowned slightly and gave Yuan Qing a meaningful look, signaling him not to continue speaking of the matter.
Yuan Qing understood when he saw this. His eyes shifted, and he looked up at Yun Mei. He seemed to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
After a long while, Yuan Qing finally smiled somewhat stiffly and said:
"Hehe, that was only my personal speculation. I have no evidence for it, so everyone needn't take it to heart. Just treat it as a joke."
Hearing this, the others glanced at Yuan Qing and paid him no further attention. Under Yun Mei's direction, calm returned to the hall.
Yun Mei glanced over the people in the hall, who had settled down, then paused on Yuan Qing before speaking:
"Yuan Qing, from what you said earlier, this Xiao Yan does indeed seem promising. It would not be out of the question to have him serve our Cloud Immortal Sect. But I wonder, is what you propose also what Xiao Yan wants?"
At Yun Mei's words, everyone except Yuan Qing was somewhat confused.
By all rights, Yuan Qing's proposal should have been made at Xiao Yan's request, so why was Yun Mei asking whether it was what Xiao Yan wanted?
It truly was a little difficult to understand.