What Gan Kang said conformed to the sect rules. Therefore, even if Pan Tao’s grandfather were there, he wouldn’t be able to argue with him, much less Pan Tao.

However, anyone who knew about his affection towards An Shiyi would be able to tell that everything he had said was only out of his personal desire.

Now that the Spiritual Treasure sect had been struck by such a huge disaster, Pan Tao wasn’t the only one who was attempting to escape.

Zheng Rui and the grandchildren of a few other elders were also trying to find their way out of the sect, because they also wanted to steer clear of the calamity, instead of fighting for the sect till their last breath.

Gan Kang would never intentionally target Pan Tao and at the same time, let people like Zheng Rui slip away.

His real target was Nie Tian and the An sisters!

Liu Yan couldn’t be clearer about what was going on. If Nie Tian hadn’t meddled with An Shiyi’s problem and taken her as his sworn sister, Gan Kang absolutely wouldn’t have showed up here and blocked their way.

An Shiyi also understood that if she had promised to marry Gan Kang, perhaps Gan Kang would have already arranged for her sister and her to leave the Spiritual Treasure sect.

Zheng Bin frowned and said, “Senior Gan, our Mystic Mist sect hasn’t offended you, have we? We have no intentions to interfere with the affairs between you and others. Can you let us pass?”

The few people from the Mystic Mist sect stared at Gan Kang with anxious expressions in their eyes.

At that moment, throughout the entire valley, experts from the Blood sect were chasing after guests and fighting with disciples from the Spiritual school and the Treasure school.

Not a single corner of the valley was safe. There were battles going on everywhere.

A large amount of experts from the Ghost sect that had previously been lingering on the outside, also swarmed in through the sect gate, causing disciples of the Spiritual Treasure sect to suffer huge casualties.

Nie Tian’s group had been trying to escape from the valley since the start. However, because of the An sisters, Wu Xing and Dowager Weng had already been trapped.

The two of them stayed behind to buy time for Nie Tian and the others to reach this place and use the secret tunnel within the stone peak to safely leave the Spiritual Treasure sect.

By blocking the road and not allowing anyone to pass, Gan Kang was undoubtedly eliminating everyone’s hope to survive.

They had gone to great lengths to get to this safe exit. Zheng Bin and his sectmates knew that their hopes of leaving the Spiritual Treasure sect would be extremely small if they went back now; the exit in front of them was still their best choice.

He secretly resented Nie Tian for minding others’ business, and dragging everyone down with him, while on the other hand, he continuously begged Gan Kang.

“No means no!” Gan Kang’s face was cold. “No one passes, no matter who! Even if Wu Xing and Dowager Weng were here, I would still have the same attitude!”

He waved his hand and said impatiently, “If you want to leave, hurry and switch to another route and don’t waste your time here!”

With another glance at An Shiyi, he snorted coldly, “As for you two, you two have to stay! As members of the Spiritual school, you must live and die together with the sect!”

He only pointed towards the An sisters, but not Pan Tao.

By that point, everyone could see perfectly clearly that Gan Kang was deliberately making things difficult for those two. They also realized that they would have no chance of entering the stone cave unless they forced their way in.

SHEW!

It was also at that moment that three figures quietly descended from the sky.

The leader of them was none other than the person who had asked the Spiritual Treasure sect to sell the Flame Dragon Armor, Lai Yi. The moment he landed, he glanced at Nie Tian from the corner of his eye and said, “Hand over the Flame Dragon Armor and the Blood Core before you leave.”

“Lai Yi, what took you so long?” asked Gan Kang.

Lai Yi, who came from another realm, slightly nodded towards Gan Kang and said, “We got into a fight with a few guys from the Blood sect. Brother Gan, if you want that girl, I have the simplest suggestion.” With a grin, he said, “Just take her and get out of here!”

Another foreigner tried to persuade him with a sincere tone, “Brother Gan! The Spiritual Treasure sect is experiencing a huge upheaval. Even if it’s not annihilated from the Realm of Flame Heaven, its power will be greatly decreased. If you stay in the Spiritual Treasure sect, you’ll always live in Fang Hui’s shadow, and you’ll never become the best equipment forger. I’d say you might as well leave the Spiritual Treasure sect and get the hell out of the Realm of Flame Heaven.

“Rest assured, our master can give you everything that you now have in the Spiritual Treasure sect.

“With your attainments in the art of equipment forging, it will be even possible that we open up a brand new equipment forging sect for you when we get back.”

Lai Yi jumped in and said, “Brother Gan, the Spiritual Treasure sect is doomed to wither away. Leave with us, will you?”

The three foreign Qi warriors didn’t beat around the bush and were actually advising Gan Kang to leave the Spiritual Treasure sect in front of everyone.

Nie Tian, Liu Yan, and the others, including Pan Tao, were suddenly dumbstruck.

After hearing their conversation, Pan Tao instantly understood what was going on. “Elder Gan! The reason that you are here is to make sure those three can safely get out through the secret tunnel! You don’t allow us to use the tunnel, but you’re helping those three foreign equipment forgers! And you have the nerve to lecture us about loyalty?”

Liu Yan’s expression also turned unpleasant. “Elder Gan, no matter what, our four sects are allies. What are these foreigners to you? You are opening the door for them, but not us? What’s that about?”

The people from the Mystic Mist sect also joined in and berated him.

Nie Tian now had a full understanding of the situation. However, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he subconsciously reached for his bracelet of holding and thought to himself, “Flame Dragon Armor, Blood Core, what does that guy mean?”

Confronted by everyone, Gan Kang’s face was now especially grim, as it seemed that he was struggling in his heart.

He wasn’t struggling because of Liu Yan, Pan Tao, and the others’ confrontation. Instead, he was hesitating about whether he should abandon everything in the Realm of Flame Heaven and take the chance to leave.

Lai Yi turned around to check the movements of the distant Blood sect experts. He appeared slightly anxious as he said, “Brother Gan! Time is of the essence here. Please stop hesitating! You should know better than anyone. After this war, the power of the Spiritual Treasure sect will significantly decline for sure. And you only rank fifth in the Treasure school of the Spiritual Treasure sect. Your authority in the Spiritual Treasure sect is far from adequate.”

“Only by leaving will you get the chance to delve deeper into the art of equipment refining. Besides… your way of equipment refining might not be approved by some people from your sect!”

Lai Yi’s voice became anxious.

Upon hearing these words, Gan Kang, who had remained silent for a long time, seemed to have finally made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said to Lai Yi, “Take that woman with us.”

He pointed towards An Shiyi.

As he spoke, he didn’t even spare Liu Yan, Pan Tao, Nie Tian, and the others a glance, since he was confident that with Lai Yi and the other two foreign Qi warriors present, he would be able to do whatever he wanted.

“Alright!” Lai Yi nodded and pointed towards An Shiyi, indicating for the one beside him to make a move.

“Come with us!” That person immediately walked towards An Shiyi, with wisps of ash-colored mist swirling around in his eyes. All of a sudden, a desolate icy aura, that seemed to have morphed into invisible shackles, spread out towards An Shiyi.

Liu Yan’s expression flickered. “Greater Heaven stage!”

It was also at this point that Lai Yi flashed into action, and arrived beside Nie Tian in a split second. Without saying a word, he reached out to grab the bracelet of holding on Nie Tian’s arm. “I only want the Flame Dragon Armor and the Blood Core,” he said indifferently. “Hand it to me and I’ll spare your life.”

“Dammit! He’s at the Worldly Realm!” Flabbergasted, Liu Yan said hastily, “Nie Tian! Give it to him now!”

Nie Tian felt a strong blast closing in on him. Lai Yi’s movement was too fast for his eyes to see. Before he could react, Lai Yi was already quite close to him, and had extended his hand out to grab his arm.

Only then did he hear Liu Yan’s words.

He was taken aback. “Worldly Realm!” Realizing that the gap between his strength and Lai Yi’s was far from bridgeable, he immediately took off the bracelet of holding and threw it to Lai Yi while taking a step backwards.

However, in the instant that bracelet of holding left his hand, he secretly took out and gripped the dragon bone in his palm.

“Smart choice, kid.” Lai Yi nodded and reached out to catch the bracelet of holding.

At that moment, Nie Tian turned around and ran into the direction they had come from at the fastest speed possible, while shouting, “Gan Kang is here! The fifth highest ranked equipment forger from the Treasure school is trying to escape and go to another realm!”

A few nearby experts from the Blood sect, who had been chasing after the guests, were alerted by Nie Tian’s shout, and rapidly converged upon them.

Hearing Nie Tian’s shout, Gan Kang, who was already in the cave, turned grim and said, “Since I’m determined to leave, there’s no reason for me to be afraid of offending Eccentric Wu... Kill that brat for me!”

After grabbing the bracelet of holding, Lai Yi examined it with his soul power, and then burst into a flaming rage. “Brat!! You dare to trick me! You’re seeking death!”

Attracted by Nie Tian’s shout, a few experts from the Blood sect appeared one after another.

“Over there!"

“There are people over there!”