Making a Move

The opening was not very large, but a wave of heat poured through it.

Looking through the crack, he saw what seemed to be endless flames within. They gave off such intense heat that even those below felt scorched.

The flames churned incessantly, as though a True Phoenix were dancing among them.

Lei Chong's eyes flickered. He sensed that the rune bone was within the flames.

But the flames were too terrifying, and he did not dare rush straight in.

Several Divine Beings approached, fixing the two of them with icy gazes.

"You two certainly have some tricks, leading everyone around in circles," the green-haired Demon Spider said coldly, though he did not dare attack Lei Chong.

His earlier attack had been interrupted by the Phoenix-Winged Gilded Tang. With that supreme treasure keeping them in check, they dared not act rashly.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the holy maiden of our Heaven Severing Sect. Please show us some consideration," the Heaven Severing Sect elder said.

They had come in too much of a hurry this time and had not managed to enlist a Divine Being from their sect.

Of course, it was not just the Heaven Severing Sect. The Heaven Mending Sect and the Peng Clan of the Archaic Divine Mountain had not had time to enlist their Divine Beings either.

"The Heaven Severing Sect? Which of those who made it here doesn't come from a major power? Don't use your Heaven Severing Sect to pressure others." The Demon Spider showed him no consideration whatsoever.

The Heaven Severing Sect elder was struck speechless, unable to offer a rebuttal.

The Demon Spider snorted coldly, then turned to Lei Chong.

"Boy, you ran fast, didn't you? But what good is speed? Weren't you stopped here all the same?" the Demon Spider said in a chilling voice.

Two terrifying vortices swirled in his pitch-black eyes.

"Heh, old thing, what does what I do have to do with you? What gives you the right to criticize me? Don't tell me this True Phoenix Nest belongs to you?" Lei Chong shot back without the slightest courtesy.

"Young man, don't be so arrogant, or you'll find it easy to bring a great disaster upon yourself." The Demon Spider's eyes grew even colder.

"If you're not arrogant, can you even call yourself a young man? You old thing, you've lived hundreds of years for nothing and only cultivated to this level. If I were you, I'd have smashed my head against a wall and died long ago. If we fought at the same level, I'd crush you to death with one finger." Lei Chong did not give an inch.

"You... you're courting death!" The Demon Spider was furious and raised a hand to grab Lei Chong.

Lei Chong was not worried in the slightest. He raised his hand to meet the attack.

Though his opponent was a Divine Being, he was suppressed now. Lei Chong was eager to fight a cultivator at the peak of the Venerable realm.

The other Divine Beings also looked over, evidently ready to strike at any moment.

Hum!

The Phoenix-Winged Gilded Tang trembled, giving off a faint ripple that forced the two men apart as they were about to fight, stopping them from battling here.

"Hmph, fighting isn't allowed here, or you'd already be a corpse." The Demon Spider narrowed his eyes slightly, but the killing intent in them did not diminish.

Lei Chong merely sneered, too lazy to argue with them.

"Hmph." The Demon Spider snorted coldly, then turned and stood elsewhere.

Hum!

Just then, a ripple came from the crack high above. The flames within began to weaken, as though turning into countless symbols.

"The flames inside have grown smaller. It looks like we can go in now." A Venerable's eyes burned as he prepared to rush up at any moment.

The other Venerables looked over as well, light bursting from their eyes.

"Boy, you'd better stay here. If you dare rush in, I'll make sure you go in but never come back out," the Demon Spider said in a chilling voice.

Lei Chong did not want to talk nonsense with him or waste his breath on him.

Boom!

A terrifying crash came from within the crack. Looking through it, they could see that the flames inside had gone out completely.

Whoosh!

A golden figure shot upward, rushing straight into the crack.

He was the Divine Being from the Western Sect. He had long since mastered the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, and his physical body was unmatched in this place, so he was the first to rush in.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several more figures rushed out, all of them Divine Beings.

The Demon Spider shot Lei Chong a cold glare, then rushed into the crack, making no effort to hide the threat in his eyes now.

Lei Chong was not afraid in the least and was about to fly into the crack.

The Witch grabbed Lei Chong and shook her head. "You'd better not go up. Wait until I've gone up and cultivated, and I'll teach it to you afterward. Consider it my thanks."

"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a Demon Spider. It's not as though I've never killed one before. How could I let him scare me off?" Lei Chong leaped into the air.

He passed through the crack and landed in the space above it.

This too was a palace, and it was no smaller than the one below.

At the center of this palace was another altar, but a piece of scarlet bone floated above it.

The bone was covered in intricate markings, as complex as the stars in the heavens.

But a faint curtain of light guarded the altar.

The instant they saw the bone, everyone's breathing quickened.

"It's a True Phoenix bone," a Venerable said, swallowing.

The other Venerables continued forward, intending to study the rune bone from up close.

A golden figure stood before the altar.

He was a short-haired, middle-aged man holding a bowl. He gave off a terrifying presence that kept the Venerables around him from drawing near.

Clang!

Suddenly, a dazzling streak of sword light flashed and struck the monk at the front. A Divine Being was attacking the Western Sect's Divine Being, and a clang immediately rang out, as though iron were being hammered.

The man's physical body was as hard as divine metal. In this space where cultivation was suppressed, he had a special advantage, enough to pose a threat to the other Divine Beings.

Yet Jin Gang's physical body was too strong. Even though he had been ambushed from behind, he had only suffered a cut, with no injury to his foundation.

Boom!

A great battle erupted in full, and most of the attacks were ambushes.

Even some Venerables ambushed Divine Beings from other powers. Since cultivation realms were suppressed here, ambushing them yielded twice the result with half the effort.

Among the ambushers, two stood out in particular. One was Yue Chan, and the other was the Divine Flame Man.

Both were First Generations with powerful treasures on them. Their strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, and they posed a great threat to the Venerables.

As Yue Chan's rival, the Witch had always competed with her.

Seeing how strong Yue Chan was, the Witch felt great pressure as well.

"She really is strong. As expected of the Heaven Mending Sect's holy maiden. So she was hiding her strength so deeply." The Witch quietly summoned a stone bead.

But she did not launch a sneak attack. She only wanted to defeat Yue Chan head-on and did not want to win through an ambush. This was also her inner pride.

Lei Chong paid them no attention. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the Demon Spider nearby and raised his hand to attack, unwilling to give him any opportunity.

Boom!

A terrifying presence rushed at him, and a jade-green palm came out to meet him. The Demon Spider had noticed him long ago.

He stood before the crack now, blocking Lei Chong's path.

Clearly, he wanted to block the crack and prevent Lei Chong from leaving through it.

He sneered now, his pupils like two vortices as he gazed coldly at Lei Chong, already treating him as a dead man.

Hum!

Lei Chong's fist rumbled, lightning flashing across its surface. Terrifying power burst out in all directions as his fist collided with the palm.