Half a quarter-hour later, all the disciples of the Jade Maiden Sect had assembled in the Martial Arena Plaza. Everyone present had witnessed the great battle in the sky, and now, with the order to abandon their mountain and flee for their lives, nearly every face was marked by confusion and anxious uncertainty about the future.
Let's go!
Huang Yan surged his true essence, enveloping over two hundred disciples of the Jade Maiden Sect. With a flicker, he activated the Art of Great Teleportation and left Huangyuan County.
Two years ago, the Jade Maiden Sect had fewer than two hundred members, but over the past two years, they've recruited many third-generation disciples, pushing their numbers past two hundred.
Teleporting two hundred people consumed an enormous amount of energy—after only a few dozen jumps, Huang Yan's true essence was down to just twenty percent. However, they were now tens of thousands of li away from the Jade Maiden Sect, and with their aura deliberately concealed, it would be difficult for anyone but a Tribulation expert to track them. All the while, Huang Yan kept trying to contact his main body.
With the main body's strength, as long as he arrived in time, even if the Prime One Church sent a Tribulation expert, they would be unable to do anything to them.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Huang Yan tossed out dozens of spirit crystals, setting up a concealment formation. He gave Lana Snow a few brief instructions, then sat cross-legged, drawing out more spirit crystals to absorb and recover his true essence.
Less than half a quarter-hour after the Jade Maiden Sect left, more than ten figures appeared above the sect's mountain. One of them was the black-clothed leader whom Huang Yan had defeated earlier.
But now, he was standing respectfully behind a mysterious black-robed figure whose face could not be seen.
Where are they?
Suddenly, the black-robed figure turned around, fixing the black-clothed leader with a cold stare and demanding an answer.
The Jade Maiden Sect's Guardian Mountain Formation was still intact, but with his late Fusion cultivation, the black-clothed leader could sense that there was not a single living being left on Jade Maiden Peak.
A wave of panic surged in his heart and he dropped to his knees in midair. "R-Reporting, my lord, they must have escaped!"
Useless fool! You can't even handle such a simple task—what use are you to me?
As he spoke, the black-robed figure reached out, grabbed the black-clothed leader's head, and unleashed a torrent of black mist from his palm, enveloping the man. If one looked with divine sense, they'd see that the mist consisted of countless tiny insects.
Ah!
A shrill, brief scream rang out.
The next moment, the black-robed figure withdrew his hand, and the black-clothed leader's body and Divine Soul had vanished, leaving behind only a pile of tattered clothes.
Seeing this, the fourteen other black-clothed men shivered with fear, instinctively lowering their heads.
Suddenly, the black-robed figure turned and swept a cold gaze over the fourteen late Fusion black-clothed captains, snapping, "Why are you all still standing there? Mobilize your men immediately and hunt down the whereabouts of the Jade Maiden Sect!"
Yes, sir!
The fourteen men answered in unison, then vanished from sight with blink teleportation.
Boom!
The black-robed figure raised his hand and struck out with a palm, the shadow covering the entire Jade Maiden Peak. In an instant, the whole mountain was reduced to powder, and the black-robed figure vanished from sight.
Inside the Lesser Immortal Realm.
Ian Song remained seated cross-legged, but the area around him was anything but calm. His body had become a vortex, drawing immortal essence from within a one-li radius into himself.
Gradually, the immortal essence within a one-li radius could no longer satisfy him, so his absorption range expanded to two li, then three, then four, and finally up to ten li.
Such a commotion attracted the attention of the other five Phoenix Vein elders, who all turned their gaze toward him.
It also drew the attention of the other Phoenix Vein disciples, who all looked up toward the mountaintop.
Junior Brother has only just broken through to the Tribulation stage—how could he cause such a huge commotion?
Cheng Su mused inwardly: when he broke through to late Fusion, he only needed immortal spiritual power within a five-li radius. But then he remembered that Ian Song could fight him to a draw at late Nascent Soul, even defeating Princess Qingping, so it made sense. Still, he was amazed and envious of Ian Song's solid foundation.
This time, Brother Jiutian has taken on an extraordinary disciple!
Linghu Menghua withdrew his gaze, speaking with a hint of envy and regret. "If I'd known, I should've competed with Jun Jiutian—maybe Ian Song would have become my disciple instead."
Chen Beichen nodded in agreement. "Yes, he's just broken through to the Fusion stage, yet his ability to absorb immortal essence already covers a ten-li radius. Imagine how amazing he'll be once he reaches late Fusion!"
Xue Yangzi sighed, "I regret it now. If only I'd competed with Brother Jiutian!"
Zhou Qingyang smiled and said, "It was meant for Brother Jiutian to take such an outstanding disciple!"
But Gu Du Wuya's eyes flickered, restless. While the other four saw Jun Jiutian as having gained a great disciple, what he noticed was Ian Song's cultivation technique.
He had long noticed that Ian Song's cultivation technique was extraordinary—he even suspected that it surpassed the inherited secret techniques of the Phoenix Heavenly Sect.
If I could secretly obtain Ian Song's cultivation technique and make it the legacy of my Gu Du clan, wouldn't that be wonderful!
But he also knew that if he openly made a move for Ian Song's cultivation technique, not only would Jun Jiutian refuse, the other four elders wouldn't support him either.
So, this matter could only be handled in secret.
Huh, the absorption range just got bigger again!
Suddenly, Linghu Menghua let out a soft cry—Ian Song's absorption of immortal essence had expanded to an eleven-li radius, and, incredibly, it was still growing.
Over the next half of a quarter-hour, Ian Song's absorption range kept increasing:
Twelve li.
Thirteen li.
Fourteen li.
By that point, it was already affecting the cultivation of disciples on the middle slopes, so they all stopped training and silently watched Ian Song break through at the summit.
In the end, Ian Song's absorption radius reached a terrifying twenty li.
For a moment, the area around him became an ocean of immortal essence, thick and rich—just a single breath would be enough to absorb plenty of energy.
But strangely, even after absorbing so much, Ian Song's body was like a black hole, endlessly devouring immortal essence from all directions.
Watching over him, Jun Jiutian frowned slightly, then made a decision and said softly, "Let your master lend you a hand."
The next moment, Jun Jiutian formed a hand seal, and instantly, a torrent of immortal essence surged wildly toward Ian Song.
With Jun Jiutian's help, Ian Song no longer had to spend extra effort—he could simply focus on devouring the immortal essence pouring into him.