At this moment, Dominic Chu sat at the head of Frostbane Sect’s grand hall, Sean Xiao and several other sect leaders at his side. Roxanne Lin and the other women were seated below with the important figures from each sect, all burning with anxiety, desperately waiting for Evan Chu to appear.
The women looked especially distraught; Lynne Nie, Claire Ouyang, Rhea Yang, and the others still had tear-streaked faces. Just then, Sean Xiao spoke up: "Does anyone know where the entrance to the Godfall Battleground is? I need to help Evan as soon as possible! Demon Lord Solus is way too strong—I'm afraid he’s in real danger."
"The entrance to the Godfall Battleground was completely sealed after the great war ten thousand years ago. We don’t know how to get in. All we can do now is wait. I believe Evan will be fine," said Freewind Palace Lord, trying to reassure everyone.
"That’s right. Big Brother is safe—I can feel it. I signed a soul contract with him. If anything happened to him, I’d be affected too. Since I’m perfectly fine, that means Big Brother is too. So stop worrying and get back to what you should be doing." Shadow stepped forward, speaking with confidence.
Although Shadow looked like a ten-year-old child now, no one could deny his place in Evan Chu’s heart. After his words, everyone’s worries eased, and the women’s expressions softened considerably.
"Shadow, you’d better not be lying to me, or I’ll chop you up! You know I always keep my word!" Selena Yale threatened, half-joking.
"Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, ask Goldwing—he signed a soul contract with Big Brother too. See if he’s felt anything weird." Shadow shot Selena Yale a frustrated look.
"Boss really isn’t in any mortal danger, so everyone can relax. With Big Brother’s strength, even if he can’t beat Demon Lord Solus, he won’t lose outright. We’ve already wiped out most of the dark organization, so let’s clean up the battlefield. Some of them escaped, and we need to finish them off fast. If we let them regroup, they’ll be a deadly threat to us all," Darius Nie declared.
Sean Xiao glanced at everyone and said, "Darius is right. Our top priority is to clear out every last remnant of the dark organization. If Frostbane Sect comes back and sees we couldn’t even wipe out a bunch of dark cultivators, we’ll look ridiculous."
"Elder Xiao, the dark organization’s members aren’t that strong, but their escape technique is insane. They turn into black smoke and vanish in an instant—there’s no way to track them!" Bloodfiend Hall Master complained, frustration showing on his face.
Sean Xiao frowned slightly. "I really dropped the ball this time. If I’d trapped those dark cultivators with my spatial domain, none of this would’ve happened. But it’s too late for regrets. Right now, we need to hunt down every last one of those who escaped and wipe them out."
With Frostbane Sect away, I’ll take charge. All four major sects: send five hundred disciples each to search the four cardinal directions. I refuse to believe those rats can still hide underground. If you spot any sign of the enemy, report back immediately. This time, I’ll personally slaughter every last one—so Frostbane Sect won’t give me that look when they return!
"Wait, Ancestor, did you just mention underground? Suddenly I remembered—near Sacred Sword Sect, there’s a huge natural limestone cavern by the Cloudcrest Mountain Range. It leads deep underground. Over the years, disciples have often gone missing around there. Could it be the dark organization’s doing—and their lair is hidden there?" Sacred Sword Sect Master exclaimed.
"That’s highly possible! We’ve searched everywhere for years and found nothing—maybe they’re hiding exactly where you said. There’s no time to waste. I say we go investigate right now. If it’s not their base, we can regroup and discuss our next move." Darius Nie said urgently.
"Alright, let’s check it out. This time, I swear I won’t let any of them escape! Who’d have thought they’d use mist-escape to run away? It’s enough to drive me mad!" Sean Xiao snapped.
Immediately, Frostbane Sect dispatched the Savage Earth Dragon, Violet Thunder Fox, Selena Yale, and more than five hundred disciples to the area. The rest stayed behind to guard the sect against surprise attacks. The other sects also sent over five hundred disciples and their strongest experts. The massive coalition set out from Frostbane Sect, heading straight for the Cloudcrest Mountain Range...
Meanwhile, Evan Chu and Tom Chu were anxiously waiting. A day passed, and both used their divine sense to check inside. The saplings had grown thick as bowls; from over fifty, less than ten remained.
After two days, only three were left, but the earth element inside was clearly thinning, and the trunks grew taller and taller, piercing straight into the stone.
On the third day, the other two giant trees suddenly vanished, leaving only a single, massive tree. The surrounding earth element grew even thinner. Jade Chu couldn’t keep calm anymore: "Big Brother, this is incredible! I’ve never seen a sapling turn into a sky-reaching giant in just three days. How did you do it?"
"It wasn’t me—it was Luna who told me what to do. For special reasons, Luna can’t come out, so I need you and Tom to help me with a lot of things. Let’s wait one more day. When this giant tree bursts out of the mountain, the mountain will be almost destroyed, and then you’ll see the entrance to the Azure Ruins Ancient Land. You think it’s amazing? So do I!" Evan Chu explained.
Another day passed. At dawn, a deafening rumble of collapsing rock echoed in their ears. "Jade, look! The giant tree’s out—it’s crushed the cliff, and it’s still growing! This is unreal!" Evan Chu shouted, excitement in his voice.
"Big Brother, I think the earth element there is almost gone. Hurry and check—if that Native-Soil Crystal gets absorbed by the tree, it’ll be a huge loss!" Jade Chu urged.
Evan Chu’s heart skipped a beat. In a flash, he used Earthshift to dive into the ground. The pressure had dropped drastically—now he could reach the giant tree with ease. There was still some pressure, but he could handle it.
Circling around the giant tree, Evan Chu spotted the egg-sized Native-Soil Crystal and exclaimed, "Finally got you! That was anything but easy."