Do you look down on me that much?

Everyone looked over, killing intent blazing in the eyes of both the Divine Firmament Sect members and Qi Lian.

"The Nighttime Madman. What a Nighttime Madman!"

The Profound Heaven Sect members gnashed their teeth. Xuan Cheng had been the hope of their entire sect, a rising star who, barring any mishaps, could have reached Nascent Soul and protected them for a thousand years.

Yet he had simply been slaughtered.

Qi Lian said nothing, but he brimmed with murderous intent.

The Divine Firmament Sect members were also alarmed.

Just how terrifying was someone who had reached the ninth layer of Core Formation before the age of thirty?

If he grew further, there was no imagining how far he might go. Someone like that could not be allowed to live, especially now that they had become enemies.

Before long, everyone had finished their discussion. They would inspect everyone who came out, one by one, and find the Nighttime Madman.

Each spoke with absolute conviction, their hatred higher than the heavens, as though they would never rest until one side was dead.

Only the Cangyun Sect members exchanged glances.

Lin Po could not help saying, "He's at the ninth layer of Core Formation. Are you sure you can take him down? Even together?"

"Hmm?"

Everyone immediately frowned.

Those words woke them up. Not a single Nascent Soul cultivator was present. The strongest was only at the eighth layer of Core Formation. What could they use to suppress him?

Even this great crowd would not be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

Meanwhile, the Cangyun Sect's Peak Masters felt somewhat bewildered. Even they did not know exactly how they felt about this Nighttime Madman.

It had been almost ten years, and who knew how many people throughout the sect he had beaten?

Yet they had never seen anyone injured. Instead, he had indirectly spurred them to cultivate.

Someone suggested asking the Cangyun Sect Patriarch to help. The Cangyun Sect members told them to ask him themselves; they did not want to get involved.

After all, if they offended that fellow, would the entire sect ever know peace again?

In the end, Qi Lian stepped forward. A lower-grade king-tier Law Artifact appeared in his hand, shocking everyone.

With all of them activating it together, even a Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to withstand it.

At once, a furnace hung high in the sky, waiting for that person to appear.

The Cangyun Sect members watched in silence. As long as their own disciples were safe, that was enough. They asked for nothing more.

Soon, ripples appeared within the secret realm, and figures emerged one after another.

But the moment they appeared, they were all stopped and forbidden to leave.

Qi Lian stood at the front, inspecting them one by one.

He held a mirror that could reveal a cultivator's cultivation when it shone on them, though activating it consumed Law Power each time.

Yet to find the true culprit, he gritted his teeth and persisted, refusing to give up no matter what.

Everyone had to undergo inspection, regardless of where they came from.

The Cangyun Sect did not stop them. Given the situation, they could not stop them anyway.

After an unknown length of time, Lu Changsheng and the others also emerged and joined the middle of the line.

After learning what had happened, they all sighed.

Lu Changsheng stared at the mirror. Though he knew perfectly well that they were looking for him, he was not particularly flustered. He had ways to conceal himself.

If all else failed, he could simply kill them to silence them. Wipe them all out.

As he was thinking this, he reached the front. Ye Tianyi was ahead of him and left after being inspected.

Lu Changsheng naturally stepped forward, ready for his inspection.

But when Qi Lian saw him, he looked him up and down, then waved a hand. "You can go!"

"What?"

At those words, Lu Changsheng frowned.

"You can leave!"

Qi Lian spoke again.

Upon seeing him, Qi Lian had not entertained the slightest thought of inspecting him. Each activation consumed a considerable amount of Law Power.

Besides, Qi Lian had tailed Lu Changsheng countless times over the years and already knew him inside out. He felt there was absolutely no need for this redundant step.

"You're just letting me go? You won't even check?"

"Go!"

Qi Lian was very patient.

Lu Changsheng frowned. He truly had not expected this outcome.

So all that time he had just spent thinking up countermeasures had been wasted. The man had never thought anything of him at all. Not only would he not inspect him, he was even urging him to hurry up and leave.

In front of so many people, it really wounded his pride!

Seeing him approach, Liu Qingcheng came to his side and consoled him. "Changsheng, don't lose heart. If you're not good enough, we'll just cultivate diligently and strive to make them inspect you next time!"

Lu Changsheng raised his head and glanced at her, then said helplessly, "Senior sister, if you don't know how to comfort people, just don't!"

"Oh my, Changsheng has grown up. He even has a sense of shame now!"

"..."

Faced with this senior sister, Lu Changsheng could only feel helpless.

He returned to the Cangyun Sect's group.

But when he arrived, he distinctly sensed that their expressions had changed.

The Peak Masters looked coldly at those people.

Someone had already left to fetch the sect master.

Before long, Luo Tian arrived, accompanied by the Cangyun Sect Patriarch.

His iron-tower-like figure stood there, exerting an intangible pressure.

They did not speak, merely watching quietly until everyone had left the secret realm and no one else appeared.

In the end, they had failed to find the Nighttime Madman.

They were still discussing the various possibilities.

Then Luo Tian's voice abruptly rang out.

"Everyone, have you finished your inspections?"

"We didn't find him!" Someone shook his head.

Luo Tian continued, "Since you've finished, there are some debts we ought to settle!"

"What?"

Everyone came to their senses and looked over, only to find that the Cangyun Sect's five Peak Masters and numerous elders had already stationed themselves on all sides, their expressions icy as they watched with swords drawn and bows bent.

"Sect Master Luo, what is the meaning of this?"

An old man could not help asking.

Luo Tian said, "Someone attacked our Cangyun Sect disciples within the secret realm. How shall we settle this?"

"When people vie for fortuitous opportunities, blades are bound to be drawn!"

"Indeed. But your people wanted to seize our sect's disciples to force us to submit and yield a path. Wasn't that going too far?"

"Well..."

Their expressions darkened.

Hearing this, the others withdrew from the area without another word. Their people had returned and told them what had happened. It had nothing to do with them.

Qi Lian also withdrew.

Although Su Muyue had attacked Zhou Qingyu, she had done so to contend for a fortuitous opportunity. That was within reason and did not go too far.

But Zhao Yang and Xuan Cheng were different.

Li Changfeng had led a group to surround and kill Ye Tianyi, intending to take him away to coerce Zhou Qingyu.

Zhao Yang had even provoked them to their faces, with countless people able to testify.

Hearing this, a Profound Heaven Sect elder said, "Everyone, disciples are bound to act with shortcomings. Besides, they're already dead. What more do you want?"

Seeing this, Meng Lang hurried forward. "Fellow Daoist, there were many things we did not anticipate either. We can..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Jing stepped forward and looked at Luo Tian. "They're already dead. What more do you want? Do you really think our Divine Firmament Sect can be bullied?"

Meng Lang's expression changed instantly.

There were things he knew nothing about, and perhaps there had still been room to maneuver. But with a single remark, Zhao Jing had completely blocked that path.

Seeing Zhao Jing step forward, the Profound Heaven Sect members sighed in relief.

That was the Divine Firmament Sect, the ruler of this region. With them standing on their side, what was there to fear?

"Elder Zhao Jing is right. They're already..."

Smack!

Before he could finish, another crisp slap rang out.

The Cangyun Sect Patriarch slapped Zhao Jing across the face, and his icy voice followed.

"You wretched woman. It seems you didn't remember a single thing from your last lesson!"

At those words, everyone was stunned, looking over in disbelief.

The Profound Heaven Sect members also froze on the spot. They had never imagined that the Cangyun Sect Patriarch would dare strike an elder of the Divine Firmament Sect. They truly had not been mentally prepared for this at all...