“What happened?” asked Long Chen.

“I should be the one asking you! Just now, practically all the leaders of the top sects in the Southern Xuan Region rushed over to the Skywood Divine Palace. They looked like they wanted to destroy the Skywood Divine Palace right there and then! Even the Southern Xuan Region’s ancient family alliance’s branch master came, as well as the Martial Heaven Alliance’s branch master! All those large figures that haven’t appeared in so many years have come. The palace master immediately sensed something was wrong and secretly told me to wait here for you so that you could run through the transportation formation. Eh? Why is it only just the few of you? Where are the others?” asked the Elder.

Meng Qi, Chu Yao, and the Pill Fairy instantly understood that once those disciples had been annihilated, their corresponding soul jade tablets had shattered, startling their sects.

Most sects would keep soul jade tablets of their core disciples. Using one drop of essence blood as a spiritual mark, it would shatter when that person died. The sects used this method to keep track of their disciples’ life and death.

“Could it be…” Seeing Chu Yao and the others’ expressions, the Elder was alarmed. She thought of an extremely terrifying possibility.

“Elder Luo, activate the transportation formation. Let’s go,” said Chu Yao.

Clearly, the palace master had guessed what had happened and wanted to send Long Chen away secretly. Long Chen had annihilated the Southern Xuan Region’s experts. That had included Han Feifei, Wang Shan, as well as countless famous heavenly geniuses. This was a major affair. If Long Chen walked out through the front gate, he would probably be torn to pieces by those ancient monsters.

“Good. Don’t move. I’ll activate the transportation jade talisman. It’ll bring you outside the Skywood Divine Palace through the formation.” The Elder nodded, seeming to understand something. She took out a jade talisman.

“No need. I’ll go through the main gates.” Long Chen stopped the Elder from crushing the talisman.

“Long Chen…!” exclaimed Chu Yao.

“I might not look for trouble, but I’m not afraid of one. Since I dared to do what I did, I dare to bear the responsibility for my actions. I won’t let someone else take the blame. It hasn’t happened in the past, and it won’t happen in the future.” Long Chen shook his head and walked through the huge gate of light. That was the entrance they had used to enter here.

Long Chen vanished from their sight when he walked through. Elder Luo was stunned. She had never expected Long Chen to be so crazy as to not even listen to the palace master’s arrangements.

“Let’s go. Don’t you know Long Chen’s temperament? Other than when we ask him to show tolerance, when has he ever conceded to anyone?” Meng Qi seemed to have predicted this result and pulled Chu Yao through the gate with her.

Tang Wan-er, Liu Ruyan, and Cloud followed suit. The Pill Fairy watched as they vanished. She stood there quietly.

“Pill Fairy, you…” Elder Luo was still dumbfounded. The palace master had sent her to bring Long Chen and the others away secretly. However, before she could even understand what was happening, the only one left in front of her was the Pill Fairy.

“I’ll have to trouble Elder Luo to send me away. Too much enmity and grievance exist between us to be together. Maybe in the next life…” The Pill Fairy’s eyes were filled with sadness.

…

Space twisted, and Long Chen appeared in a plaza. As soon as he appeared, he saw a group of people overflowing with killing intent.

“Long Chen!”

The Skywood Divine Palace’s master had been trying to placate these experts when Long Chen and the others appeared. Her calm expression stiffened.

These people were the top figures of the Southern Xuan Region. They had come to the Skywood Divine Palace for one purpose: to find out how their disciples had died inside.

However, when they had arrived, they were shocked to find others just like them charging over. When asked, they found that their talented disciples had also died in the Skywood Divine Palace.

It had to be known that the Jade Lake Pageant was not something with a high mortality rate. Their disciples mostly depended on luck and destiny to find suitable treasures inside the Jade Lake Sacred Land. There were no death traps.

Some disciples had died there before. Since there were many cases of people killing others for treasures, a few disciples dying was normal. They had to have died to other people.

So these sect leaders had come to investigate who had slain their disciples, only to find that over eighty percent of the Southern Xuan Region’s top sect leaders had come. In other words, their disciples had also died.

Furthermore, even the Southern Xuan Region’s ancient family alliance and Martial Heaven Alliance’s branch masters had come. Even the ruler of the Earth Spirit City, the Wang family’s master, had come. That person was the father of Wang Shan and Wang Hai.

Han Feifei, Wang Shan, Wang Hai, and dozens of other Empyreans had all died in the Jade Lake Sacred Land. This time, all the Southern Xuan Region’s experts charged out, demanding that the Skywood Divine Palace’s master gave them an explanation.

The palace master had no idea what had happened. The Jade Lake Sacred Land was a minor world isolated from them. Even she had no way to see what was happening inside.

However, as soon as she had seen this many experts arrive, she had felt that something was wrong. The first thing she had thought of was Long Chen.

There was no death trap in the Jade Lake Sacred Land. Even if there was, it wasn’t one that would annihilate everyone.

That made her heart clench. Thinking of how Long Chen had slaughtered practically all the Eastern Xuan Region’s heavenly geniuses in the battle of the Grand Han, she guessed it had something to do with him.

Thinking of that, she had immediately felt a chill. In order to placate these experts, she could only say that an accident must have occurred in the Jade Lake Sacred Land and that she would immediately investigate.

So she had sent a Soul Transformation Elder inside to wait for Long Chen and the others.

Furthermore, she had also started gathering all the elite disciples within the Soul Transformation realm. She had intentionally stalled for time in hopes that the Elder would be able to find Long Chen in time.

But as a result, Long Chen suddenly appeared right in front of her. The thing she had been most worried about had really occurred.

Long Chen’s arrival raised quite a few startled cries. Many recognized the famous demon king of the Eastern Xuan Region.

“Long Chen, why are you here?!” demanded a white-robed elder. His hair was white, and his eyes were like golden lanterns, giving off sharp light.

This elder was the ancient family alliance’s southern branch master. He was also Han Feifei’s grandfather - Han Wanchang.

Beside Han Wanchang was a short but exceptionally bulky middle-aged man. He was Wang Shan and Wang Hai’s father, the ruler of the Earth Spirit City, Wang Haishan.

That Wang Haishan had cared deeply about his sons so he had split his name and bestowed one part to each of them, calling them Wang Hai and Wang Shan. However, now that they had been annihilated, he felt like he was going insane.

“Why can’t I be here? Is this your home?” demanded Long Chen.

Long Chen was well aware of why these people had come. However, he didn’t want to run. That would not be in accordance with the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art’s will. He couldn’t retreat.

“Speak! How did my sons Wang Shan and Wang Hai die?!” shouted Wang Haishan, glaring at Long Chen. He had already made up his mind that Long Chen was the killer.

“Wang Hai was slain by Wang Shan. Many people here can testify to it,” said the palace master.

Just now, she had received a spiritual transmission from Meng Qi about what had happened. She had never expected so many twists and turns to occur in the Jade Lake Sacred Land. Furthermore, the four great inheritances of earth, water, fire, and wind had all appeared.

However, no matter what, those people had died at Long Chen’s hands. These sect leaders were all overflowing with rage, and any explanation would be useless to them. Once they learned that Long Chen had killed them, they would definitely tear Long Chen to pieces.

“Long Chen, don’t admit that you killed them. Just say something happened in the Jade Lake Sacred Land. I’ll help mediate the rest so that you can leave safely,” messaged the palace master to Long Chen.

“Thank you for your kind intentions, but I can handle this matter,” replied Long Chen.

Long Chen knew that the palace master was helping him out, but he disdained lying. That was also not in accordance with the essence of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art.

“Then who killed Wang Shan?!” roared Wang Haishan.

By the time all the sect leaders had rushed over, the disciples that had failed the trials had been amusing themselves in the Skywood Divine Palace for a few days and told them what they knew. So those disciples could truly testify about Wang Hai’s death.

“I did.”

Long Chen pointed to himself calmly.

When Long Chen admitted that he had killed Wang Shan, an uproar erupted. So he really had been killed by Long Chen.

“Die!”

Wang Haishan let out a furious roar and a punch at Long Chen. Divine runes surged out along the ground as he sucked away all the earth energy within thousands of miles.

Wang Haishan was at the peak of the Life Star realm. This punch contained all his power. It practically wrote out death for Long Chen.

BOOM!

Long Chen’s divine ring appeared behind him. He raised a palm, catching Wang Haishan’s punch. After a powerful qi wave exploded, people were shocked to find that Wang Haishan’s incredibly powerful punch was unable to rattle Long Chen in the slightest.

“Do you want to hear why I killed Wang Shan?” asked Long Chen.

“I don’t care what your reason was! You killed my beloved son, so I’ll kill your whole family!”

Wang Haishan let out a furious roar, and a dark yellow rune appeared on his forehead. A ray of light suddenly shot out of the ground at Long Chen’s back.

Even as he faced attacks from the front and back, Long Chen’s expression was calm. He nodded. “That was just the answer I was looking for. Thank you, I’m very satisfied.”

Suddenly, five stars appeared in Long Chen’s eyes. Ignoring the attack behind him, his leg struck like lightning at Wang Haishan’s crotch.