Wait a minute, where is my master?

Within Qingmu City.

The Old Dean, staying inside the City Lord Mansion, murmured to himself upon hearing the tone of his young disciple's words, sensing trouble was imminent.

As expected, the Second Elder hovering thirty meters above the city, sighed gently upon hearing Lan Junyan's words, then asked.

"So you really won't let us pass?"

"As long as the city stands, the array stands; if the city falls, the array falls!"

"Ah… Well then."

After speaking, his jet-black palms emerged from the sleeves and gently pressed onto the luminous screen of the City Protection Array.

The Second Elder felt wronged.

His true intention for coming here was just to take the Qingmu Secret Realm and leave; after all, in his world, everyone in the Nine Provinces Realm would eventually become subordinates to the Demon Lord. Thus, if not necessary, he preferred to kill less.

Alas, the cultivators of the Righteous Path did not trust him.

And Lan Junyan's decision from her standpoint was not wrong either. She was standing with a city of cultivators and mortals behind her; how could she possibly hand over the decisive power over their safety to a Demon Sect cultivator in a mere instant?

"My fellow masters, please help me!"

Lan Junyan, seeing the Demon Sect's Second Elder acting ruthlessly, quickly helped the cultivators within the array to mobilize the Formation, resisting his actions.

In an instant, the blue light screen above Qingmu City became crystal clear and dazzlingly bright.

Countless scriptures and books appeared above, and a surge of strong spiritual power also spread within the city.

However, Lan Junyan's efforts to mobilize the Formation's attacking power had not proceeded far.

The Second Elder's black hand, which was on the light screen, merely tapped gently three times.

A stream of black qi instantly stained the blue light screen, spreading out like meridians. The entire City Protection Array turned into an interwoven color of ink and green within a single breath.

"A house unswept... how can..."

Lan Junyan intended to activate the Formation's purifying power, but in the next moment, she witnessed a sight that nearly split her eyes in rage.

Shen Zhi simply knocked on the light screen, and the parts of the City Protection Array tainted by the black qi exploded into fragments.

The City Protection Array of Qingmu City didn't hold for even three breaths, and at that moment, it was like a shack riddled with holes.

"Bang!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"..."

Accompanied by the shattering of the great array, the sounds of several individuals spitting blood resounded. They came from the masters of Qingmu Academy who were within the Formation and had suffered from the rupture of the array.

Lan Junyan, with the highest cultivation among them and in the best condition, disbelief shining through her phoenix eyes, her mouth dripping with blood that had already soaked her clothing, yet she was completely oblivious to it.

She knew that cultivators in the Mahayana Realm were extraordinarily powerful, but she never expected that she, along with many fellow sect members and with the enhancement of the great array, would not even be a match for his single move.

Lan Junyan glanced at her fellow sect members who had already fallen to the ground, and then at the various immortals on the ground showing either grave or panicked expressions.

Then she turned her head to look at the still indifferent Second Elder of the Demon Sect, who had retracted his hands and was stepping towards the city center.

A trace of determination flashed in her eyes.

Lan Junyan knew that her teacher was currently injured, and that her dean, Qingyun, had left for a small town a short while earlier upon receiving a plea for help from their sect disciples.

It was impossible for them to return in a brief moment.

Therefore...

"Shen Zhi, if you take one more step forward, I will immediately call forth Heavenly Tribulation and perish together with you!"

After swallowing a pill for healing, Lan Junyan mobilized her spiritual power and blocked the path of the Demon Sect's Second Elder who was taking steps towards the Qingmu Secret Realm.

The Second Elder, with an ancient look in his eyes, glanced at her and, with an ambiguous sigh, slowly said, "Why bother? In the future, we are all under the Demon Lord. I truly do not wish to kill anyone today. But if you really summon the Heavenly Tribulation, it will indeed cause me some trouble. So, I am sorry."

As his voice fell, Shen Zhi had already reached Lan Junyan's face, his jet-black palms slowly reaching out.

These palms appeared utterly placid to outsiders, but from Lan Junyan's perspective, they seemed to reach out from the Netherworld itself.

"It's over, I can't avoid it, nor can I move! I can't even self-destruct!"

Lan Junyan had not expected that she, a top-tier Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator, just one step away from Crossing Tribulation, would be as powerless as a child facing a flood or a beast in front of this person.

As the palms drew closer, Lan Junyan's heart also sank deeper into the abyss.

Death wasn't what she feared; her life had been given by her teacher and nurtured by Qingmu Academy. Now returning it to the academy and her teacher wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

But to die in such a meaningless way, Lan Junyan truly felt unwilling!

"Alas! Foolish child."

A faint sigh came through the air, and a relatively new Green Gold Ruler flew out from the City Lord Mansion, striking the Second Elder's dark palms.

In an instant, Lan Junyan felt her ability to move restored.

Before her, the Old Dean of Qingmu Academy had appeared here at some unknown time.

The Old Dean reached out to catch the Green Gold Ruler, which was circling back through the air. With his hands clasped behind his back and a profound smile, he said to the Second Elder,

"Shen Zhi, it's been years. I hope all is well with you."

For the first time, a change appeared on the Second Elder's indifferent face. A hint of solemnity surfaced in his weathered eyes, and the sorrow between his brows deepened.

"Yan Chu, you've been hiding here in Qingmu City?"

"Heh, all those little tricks by your Demon Sect, how could I not know? I've been waiting for you in this city for a good while now."

The Old Dean was full of vitality and showed no signs of injury, which left Lan Junyan behind him somewhat dazed for a moment.

"Has the teacher's injury healed?"

After hearing what the Old Dean said, the Second Elder cautiously released his Spiritual Sense, checking for any ambush nearby.

However, moments later, a strange smile appeared on his indifferent face.

"Yan Chu, you're injured, and quite severely too."

As these words were spoken, The Old Dean's heart tensed, but his expression showed no change, and he still smiled lightly, "Ha, after so many years, how is it that this old worm of the Demon Sect has started spouting nonsense..."

Before he could finish, the Second Elder abruptly made his move to interrupt.

This time, his dark hands shot out, aiming straight for the Old Dean's brow and Dantian.

"Clang! Clang!"

After two sounds of metal clashing, the Second Elder remained stationary. The Old Dean, however, was sent flying backward in mid-air for a certain distance, his right hand holding the Green Gold Ruler trembling slightly.

"Cough… cough, your Nine Refinements Ten Thousand Gu Hand hasn't declined over the years."

No longer maintaining a calm demeanor, the Old Dean coughed twice and forcibly stabilized his form.

"Hehe, indeed you are injured. It seems the rumors from Tingfeng Building were true."

Excitement flickered in the Second Elder's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I thought I concealed it well, how did you figure it out?"

The Old Dean calmed the turbulent energy within his body, while buying time, he rapidly began to think of a plan.

"If only my original Green Gold Ruler hadn't been shattered by that Taoist, surely I could have withstood a few probes from this old worm. If only my clay decoy hadn't been tied up, I... ah, I have an idea!"

The Old Dean suddenly had a stroke of insight.

"Hah, the Yan Chu of old used to be quick to anger, always starting with a fight. Today, however, you actually speak to me. Doesn't that seem strange?"

The Second Elder was not aware of what his opponent was contemplating. After explaining briefly, he attacked his old rival once more.

It seemed he intended to take advantage of the Old Dean's illness to strike a fatal blow.

But this time, the Old Dean didn't try to block the Second Elder's Nine Refinements Ten Thousand Gu Hand head-on. Instead, he retreated swiftly, shouting as he did so,

"Don't you just want the Qingmu Secret Realm? Take it then!"

"Hmm!?"