It wasn't just Fei Zhitu who thought so. The Shadow Moon Hall elders who had defected to the Corpse Spirit Sect shared the same sentiment, each of them staring at Qian Tong with odd expressions, their gazes that of people watching a greenhorn who had no idea how big the world really was.
Fang Fengqi let out a hearty laugh. "Old man, you talk big for someone in your position. Do you think you're at the Void King Realm?"
Qian Tong's expression remained indifferent, showing no intention of answering. He simply focused his attention on the Shadow Moon Hall traitors.
Beside him, Wei Guchang's spirits surged. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he held back.
He desperately wanted to shout to everyone that the Grand Elder had truly reached the Void King Realm. He wanted to see how these fair-weather, fence-sitting traitors would react upon learning such staggering news.
It would surely be quite the spectacle.
But since the Grand Elder himself didn't seem inclined to answer, why should he rush to blurt it out? Once they witnessed the Grand Elder's heaven-defying power, they would realize just how absurdly wrong they had been.
From atop the high platform, Qian Tong spoke in a weary tone. "I'll give you thirty breaths to think it over. After thirty breaths, I'll act myself!"
"Grand Elder, don't push us too far!"
"Qian Tong, old ghost, do you really think so little of us?"
"So what if you were the former Grand Elder? Even ants cling to life — how could we possibly take our own hands? If you want our lives, come and take them yourself!"
"That's right. Qian Tong, if you make a move here today, don't blame us for not holding back."
The group clamored with fierce intensity. It was mainly Qian Tong's impossibly nonchalant attitude that infuriated them so.
As if he really were at the Void King Realm? Just moving his lips a few times, and they were supposed to kill themselves?
Wherever he had been sequestered in closed cultivation these past years, it seemed to have addled his brain.
Qian Tong closed his eyes, paying no heed to their racket.
Meanwhile, Xie Chen — who had lost all four limbs yet still clung to a spark of life — appeared to have gone mad, his mind shattered by the dual torment of body and spirit. He kept letting out a low, sinister chuckle that sent chills down the spines of everyone who heard it.
"How noisy!" Fang Fengqi snorted coldly and slashed a hand through the empty air.
A blade-like attack sliced out, striking the high platform and cleaving Xie Chen's ruined body clean in half.
"You'll all die... you'll all die!" Xie Chen roared twice before finally losing all trace of life.
Fang Fengqi's expression shifted slightly as he glared coldly at Xie Chen's corpse, snorting, "More trouble than he was worth!"
Among the Shadow Moon Hall traitors, Xie Chen hadn't been the strongest, but he had been the most perceptive when it came to reading the situation. That was why Fang Fengqi had propped him up as Hall Master, using a secret technique passed down by the Sect Leader to boost his cultivation and push him to the third level of the Void Return Realm in a short period.
Yet he had proven utterly useless — not only had he failed to kill the two young Shadow Moon Hall members as planned and seize the Celestial Moon Silver Plate, but he had also had his limbs chopped off and been dragged back like a dog.
Such a person had no further use.
Just then, another flash of light erupted on the high platform as Yang Kai appeared with Su Yan and Xia Ningshang.
The moment he caught sight of Fei Zhitu's wretched state, Yang Kai's heart clenched. He quickly crouched down, grasped the man's wrist, and circulated his Holy Energy to examine him.
"Yang Kai, you came too." Fei Zhitu grinned, his face filled with warmth and gratitude.
His life hadn't been lived in vain after all. At the most critical moment, not only had old ghost Qian come with two juniors to rescue him, but Yang Kai had come as well. Fei Zhitu, a man forged of iron, felt his eyes grow faintly moist.
And when Su Yan and Xia Ningshang appeared together on the high platform, the entire world seemed to brighten.
Nearly every one of the Shadow Moon Hall traitors fixed their gazes on the two women, and exclamations of admiration rang out in disbelief that such perfect women could exist in this world — they hardly seemed like they belonged to the mortal realm.
Fang Fengqi's eyes gleamed with a sinister light as he stared intently at Su Yan and Xia Ningshang, his gaze sweeping back and forth between them. Deep in his pupils flashed a powerful desire to possess, as though he were gazing upon a delicious morsel. He ran his tongue across his lips, and his breathing quickened ever so slightly.
"Senior Fei, your injuries..." Yang Kai examined him for a moment, his brow furrowing tightly. He hesitated, as if unsure whether to speak.
Fei Zhitu's expression changed, turning tense.
"Nothing serious," Yang Kai said with a slight smile. "Your Holy Energy has just been sealed, and you've suffered some superficial wounds. That's all."
"You nearly scared the life out of me!" Fei Zhitu let out a long breath, then thought for a moment. "Hmm, he needs this body of mine intact, so naturally he wouldn't damage my foundation."
"Just minor injuries, Senior Fei, don't worry. Junior Sister, do you have any spirit pills suitable for him right now?" Yang Kai turned to look at Xia Ningshang.
Xia Ningshang silently produced a jade bottle from her spatial ring and handed it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took it, removed the stopper, and tipped out a dark red pill.
Fei Zhitu didn't even glance at it before snatching it up and shoving it into his mouth.
In an instant, his eyes went wide, and he cried out, "This is—"
Before he could finish, he immediately sat cross-legged on the high platform and quietly circulated his technique to dissolve the medicinal effect. Within an extremely short span of time, a dense surge of energy rippled from within Fei Zhitu's body, while the injuries outside began to heal and recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Wei Guchang and Dong Xuan'er exchanged a glance, both secretly shaken.
How could they not realize that the pill Xia Ningshang had just produced was absolutely of the Void-grade or above — quite possibly even a top-quality Void-grade pill? Otherwise, the medicinal effect could never have been so remarkably potent.