"He actually spotted us from this far away?"
Standing atop the mountain, Zhou Zhiruo was utterly shocked. She knew that they were at the Late-stage Innate Realm, and despite their deliberate attempts to conceal themselves, they had still been discovered by the other party from ten miles away.
What terrifying perception this is!
"Let's go! Let's meet this Heavenly Demon Saint Cult Master who has caused such a stir throughout the entire Central Plains martial arts world!"
Zhang Wuji exhaled and used his movement technique to fly towards the opposite mountain peak, with Zhou Zhiruo following closely behind.
They originally came to check on the situation, but now that their hiding place has been discovered and they've even been invited, it would be beneath them to continue hiding.
"Little one, you're very good!"
A short while later, Zhang Wuji flew to the summit of Mount Qingyuan and took a deep look at Wang Hao opposite him. His evaluation of this young man rose to a new level.
Zhou Zhiruo, who was standing to the side, was also sizing up Wang Hao, after all, she was very interested in this junior and the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult behind him.
However, when Zhou Zhiruo's gaze swept over the ten peerless beauties behind Wang Hao, she first looked puzzled, and then, as if she had discovered something, her pupils suddenly contracted.
Similarly, Zhang Wuji also discovered the true cultivation levels of the ten peerless beauties; they were all Xiantian Grandmaster, which greatly startled them.
When did Xiantian Grandmaster become so worthless, even degrading themselves to serve as maids? Have the Da Ming royal family and the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult really become this terrifying?
"So it's you two seniors, Zhang Wuji, leader of the Ming Cult, and Zhou Zhiruo, head of the Emei Sect. I am Zhu Yanzu, the Emperor of the Heavenly Demon Holy Sect, greetings to you both!"
After carefully sensing the aura of the cultivation techniques within the other person's body, Wang Hao roughly determined their identities.
Both of them possessed the aura of the Nine Yang Divine Art and the Nine Yin True Scripture, and had also cultivated the Taiji Divine Art Skill. Wang Hao could only think of Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo from the era of Heaven-Reliant Sword and Late-stage Xiantian Grandmaster.
This can be inferred from the words Zhao Min left behind in the Kunlun Mountain sinkhole.
These two are clearly Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo!
"You recognize us?"
Zhang Wuji and his companion felt a chill run down their spines. This situation—where the people knew them inside and out, but they knew nothing about them—was far too terrible.
What worried them even more was that the other party knew so much about them; did this mean that the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult had already targeted them?
"I don't know him!"
To everyone's surprise, Wang Hao shook his head. Before Zhang Wuji and the other man could relax, he continued, "However, I have seen your information within the Holy Sect. Don't misunderstand, our Holy Sect is currently recruiting a large number of people. We have investigated all the powerful figures in the world and invited those with the potential to advance to the Celestial Person Realm or even the Shattering Realm to join our sect."
Wang Hao once again employed his masterful deception. Although he was somewhat wary of the two men's strength, he was confident he could fool them and at least keep them neutral.
As long as these two don't interfere, he can live a peaceful and worry-free life.
Finally, Wang Hao suddenly changed the subject and asked, "As far as I know, you two should be living in seclusion on Ice Fire Island. Why have you come to the Central Plains martial arts world this time?"
Zhao Min had made a messy record of the two's seclusion on Ice Fire Island in the sinkhole cave that day, which Wang Hao could now use to show off.
As expected, Zhang Wuji and his companion, who had just been clinging to a sliver of hope, lost all hope upon hearing the name Ice Fire Island.
Only their grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng knew about their seclusion on Ice Fire Island, and he had not revealed it to anyone else. Another person who knew about it, Zhao Min, had already passed away.
If this person knows the location of their seclusion, then what he said earlier must be true.
This left them feeling quite embarrassed, annoyed, and helpless for a time.
They just said that the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult only recruits strong individuals with potential, and the fact that they didn't receive an invitation clearly means they were categorized as those without potential!
Back in the day, they were considered exceptionally talented individuals in the Central Plains, with no one among their peers able to rival them. Yet now, they are despised by others.
This feeling is absolutely awful!
"My wife and I came to the Central Plains to handle some private matters and had no intention of interfering in your religion's affairs."
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Wuji, having received a secret telepathic message from Zhou Zhiruo, immediately stated his position, indicating that he would not intervene in the upcoming duel.
After saying this, Zhang Wuji and his companion retreated to a distance of about a hundred feet.
Although they had no intention of getting involved, there was no need for them to leave immediately; staying to observe the battle was a viable option.
Moreover, they wanted to see this person's abilities in order to gauge the overall level of the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult.
They had missed witnessing the last earth-shattering battle where the Wuming swordsman of the Sword Faction slaughtered a million alien troops, and they had regretted it for a long time. This time, they certainly wouldn't miss the battle of this Imperial Lord.
After taking a deep look at Zhang Wuji and his wife, who had stepped aside, Wang Hao roughly guessed their destination in the Central Plains.
"It seems these two have been to the Kunlun Heavenly Pit and know that Zhao Min's son was killed. They've come seeking revenge. Judging from the battle traces left in the sky, they've probably set their sights on my true form."
In an instant, Wang Hao pondered many things, realizing that he would have to be careful of these two people when he used his true form to appear in the world again, as he might be targeted.
"The three of you, it's time for you to show yourself!"
Suppressing these thoughts for the time being, Wang Hao's gaze swept over the hiding place of the three Middle Innate Realm experts.
Such a powerful individual, regardless of whether they are friend or foe, does not wish to hide during battle, lest they be ambushed and killed by these people, and could easily be caught off guard and suffer a crushing defeat.
Therefore, it's best to identify these three individuals in advance and expose them to the public, making it much easier to guard against them later.
The three Middle Innate Realm experts who were caught by Wang Hao's gaze felt a chill in their hearts. After a brief silence, they all rushed forward and arrived at the mountain peak.
If their hiding place hadn't been revealed, they could have continued to hide. But now that their location has been openly exposed, continuing to hide would only make them a target, so they decided to take this opportunity to show themselves.
"Young man, do you recognize the three of us?"
The three powerful figures first exchanged glances. Two of them looked surprised, clearly recognizing each other. Then, one of the gray-haired elders looked at Wang Hao with a scrutinizing gaze.
"..."
Wang Hao blinked in confusion, then said speechlessly, "I cannot discern the identities of the three of you!"
He was quite speechless at the old man who spoke up. Who do you three think you are? One of you comes out and asks me if I know him.
Judging by your age, you're all at least over a hundred. It would be a miracle if I recognized you.
And you're not Zhang Wuji, the protagonist of the previous era who cultivated special skills, so who would know you!
At the same time, Wang Hao's tone became much colder, and he spoke entirely as if talking to an equal.
The reason he was so polite to Zhang Wuji and his wife earlier was mainly because they were incredibly strong. With his current strength, he could at most contend with an ordinary expert in the Middle Innate, and at most, he could only survive if he were in the Late-stage Innate Realm.
That's why I need to be a little timid. But the three of you are only at the Middle Innate Realm, with average aptitude, and your cultivation techniques aren't as extraordinary as Zhang Wuji and his wife's. Do I, Master Hao, need to be timid?
These words stung the three men, and their faces immediately darkened.
Their words clearly implied that the three of them were not qualified to be investigated by the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult, and were inferior to Zhang Wuji and his wife.
Most importantly, the young man's cold tone greatly displeased them. They were martial arts seniors at the Middle-stage Xiantian Grandmaster, and how dare a junior of the Grandmaster level speak to them like that?
Don't think you can be so arrogant just because you have the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult Sect backing you up.
Are you three here to observe or to participate in the battle?
Wang Hao's tone was getting impatient. He had been polite to Zhang Wuji and his wife earlier because they were the Protagonist of the Era, but the three of you didn't have that qualification or the ability!
"Bang!"
"What's it like to watch the battle? What's it like to join the battle?"
The other old woman had a fiery temper. She slammed her cane heavily on the ground, causing the ground within a hundred feet to tremble, demonstrating her terrifying cultivation level.
Although the other party was a woman, the martial arts she practiced were of a fierce Tyrannical Dao style, and her external skills were not weak either; otherwise, that cane strike just now would not have had such power.
"Those who are just watching, please stay to the side. If you join the fight, we'll wipe you out right now!"
His gaze suddenly turned cold, sharp as a knife as it swept over the three men, finally settling on the blond middle-aged man with a thick beard. Judging from his attire, he was definitely not from the Central Plains, and his own cultivation technique was extremely strange.
As Wang Hao finished speaking, Chen Gong Chen Yushuang ten people, having received instructions, unleashed their auras and locked onto the three people in front of them.
The ten auras of Early Innate innate beings erupted, causing the three powerful figures to change their expressions drastically.
Lacking the cultivation levels of Zhang Wuji and his wife, they failed to immediately discern the true cultivation levels of Chen Yushuang and her group of ten, mistaking them for merely ten Half-step Innate experts.
This sudden burst of energy startled them greatly.
Although they were at the Middle Innate Realm, a small realm higher than the ten people, the ten women were no weaklings either. Judging from their aura, they were probably among the top-tier in the Early-stage Xiantian Grandmaster level.
Furthermore, these ten people were connected by their auras, clearly indicating that they had cultivated some kind of combined attack formation, making them even more difficult to deal with.
"Haha... you flatter me, young friend. I'm just here to watch the fight; I have no other intentions!"
The old man who spoke first chuckled, then slowly retreated to another corner of the mountaintop, indicating that he would not interfere with the upcoming duel.
The bearded Western Regions from the Western Regions didn't say much, but simply stepped aside, indicating that he wouldn't interfere.
"Snort!"
Only the old woman remained at the scene. Her face was very pale, but she didn't dare to say anything harsh and retreated to the side as well.
When there were three of them, they had the confidence to fight back, but now that she was alone, she was absolutely not capable of doing so, and had no choice but to retreat.
"Be careful of that Western Regions. Don't go near him, lest you alert him!"
Wang Hao whispered a reminder to Zhu Yijun and the others behind him. He had just sensed the aura of the technique that this person was deliberately hiding, thanks to his perception enhanced by both Divine Sense and True Spirit Sword Intent. It was actually somewhat similar to that of the Fragrant Jade Fan.
The techniques of Fragrant Jade Fan were inherited from the Black Mountain Old Devil, so this person is obviously related to the Black Mountain Old Devil.
Most importantly, he obtained detailed information from the Da Ming royal family about the Black Mountain Old Devil's rampage in the Central Plains. According to the information, they were about to kill the Black Mountain Old Devil, but a Xiantian Grandmaster appeared halfway and rescued him.
Because they didn't take the Black Mountain Old Devil seriously, the Xiantian Grandmaster of the Central Plains martial arts world didn't intervene and could only watch helplessly as the other side rescued the person.
Most importantly, the intelligence report stated that the martial arts style of that Xiantian Grandmaster was very similar to that of the Black Mountain Old Devil, clearly indicating that they were of the same lineage.
This makes the identity of the Western Regions man intriguing, and since he has arrived, the Black Mountain Old Devil must also be nearby.
"Have the eight Confucian School and the other five been hiding for so long, won't they come out for some fresh air?"
Having temporarily dealt with the five individuals, Wang Hao turned his attention to the thirteen Early Innate Realm experts hidden among the crowd, including Li Haoran and others from the Confucian School.
Whether the remaining five people are hostile or not is another matter, but Li Haoran eight companions are definitely hostile, because he has already vaguely sensed the killing intent of those eight people.
This is going to be a real fight!