The middle-aged elder's cultivation was unremarkable — only at the third layer of the Void King Realm, clearly indicating poor aptitude. Having reached this level, he was already at his limit, with no hope of further progress in his lifetime.
At this moment, atop the collapsed peak, there was no sign of anyone other than him.
Yet the aura of the mark that everyone had sensed was emanating from his body.
Feng Ming's brow furrowed as he instantly grasped the truth, barking, "A golden cicada sheds its shell!"
Yang Kai sighed as well. "Careless of us. It seems Gong Yue is in better shape than we thought."
The mark he had placed on Gong Yue had been transferred to this middle-aged elder, leading the four of them in the wrong direction. A mark could not transfer itself — Gong Yue had to have been behind it.
And that Gong Yue could accomplish this without Yang Kai noticing at all meant he was clearly no longer in that muddled state. He had either regained his sanity or had been possessed by a demonic consciousness that had fused perfectly with his body. Either outcome was far from what any of them had hoped to see.
One by one, they retrieved their Emperor-grade treasures.
The middle-aged elder standing amid the ruins was terrified out of his wits. He cried out in a pitiful wail, "This humble one greets… Lord, Lords, please… spare my life!"
He had no idea why Yang Kai and the others had come here, but he knew these four were not someone he could resist — especially the old man who had attacked him, who had introduced himself as Feng Ming, an Elder of Wuhua Hall.
He knew full well what Wuhua Hall was. It was one of the top Sects of the Southern Region. His own piddling Sect didn't even have the qualifications to look up to them. An Elder of Wuhua Hall had come in person and attacked him — if not for the fact that the old man had withdrawn his killing blow at the last moment, he would likely already be nothing but scattered remains.
He simply couldn't figure out how he had offended Wuhua Hall to draw such a terrifying figure. Fear and panic left him unable to think, and he could only beg for mercy.
"There's no need to panic, old sir." Yang Kai offered the elder a gentle smile, letting his Divine Sense ripple outward to quietly soothe the man's shaken emotions. "We didn't come here to cause you trouble. We were tracking a dangerous fugitive, and it seems there has been a misunderstanding."
"A dangerous fugitive…" The elder, soothed by Yang Kai's power, did calm down considerably, his emotions no longer in complete disarray.
"Indeed." Yang Kai's expression grew solemn. He extended a finger and pointed forward. As Emperor Qi surged, an image materialized before them — Gong Yue's appearance. "This is the man. Have you seen him recently, old sir?"
Since the mark had been transferred to this elder's vicinity, it meant Gong Yue had at least passed through here at some point. Now without the mark, tracking him had become a problem, and this middle-aged elder might be the only lead they had. Yang Kai naturally couldn't let him slip away.
"Him?" The elder started in shock the moment he saw Gong Yue's likeness.
Yang Kai said, "You've seen him!"
The elder replied, "I thought I was dreaming. Yesterday, while I was sitting in meditation and cultivating, I thought I saw this man. But when I looked more carefully, he had vanished. I thought… I thought it was… a hallucination."
Feng Ming spoke in a deep voice, "I need to see your memories!"
Without waiting for a reply, he reached out and seized the middle-aged elder. The old man cried out in alarm as his body was pulled involuntarily before Feng Ming.
He was terrified. Feng Ming had already attacked him once and hadn't exactly been friendly about it. He feared something terrible was about to happen, and he struggled in a panic — but what could a Void King Realm cultivator do against an Emperor Realm powerhouse? He was subdued in an instant, unable to move so much as a single finger.
Feng Ming extended a finger toward the man's forehead, clearly intending to probe yesterday's memories.
Just then, a sudden sense of alarm blazed through Yang Kai's mind. He shouted, "Elder Feng, watch out!"
In the brief moment Feng Ming was caught off guard, the middle-aged elder he had seized suddenly began to swell. The power inside the man's body turned wild and chaotic. The elder himself clearly had no idea what was happening — he flailed helplessly, his face a mask of bewilderment.
With a muffled boom, the middle-aged elder exploded.
And from within the spray of blood and flesh, a point of black light shot out, hurtling toward Feng Ming who was only inches away.
Though Feng Ming was a Second Order Emperor Realm cultivator, the sheer abruptness of the event left him momentarily unprepared. He had been fully focused on examining the elder's memories, never expecting the man to self-destruct before his very eyes — and for some inexplicable object to come flying out.
The black light was small, yet it seemed to fill Feng Ming's entire field of vision until he could see nothing else. At the same time, a faint, whispering murmur drifted into his ear, causing his mind to waver and the defenses of his spiritual sea to blow wide open.
"Suppress the Demon!"
Yang Kai's sharp command rang out as the light of a witchcraft spell arced toward Feng Ming, barely arriving in time to shield him. The black light struck the spell and was violently repelled, then veered toward Gao Xueting.
The Blazing Sun Mirror hovered high behind Gao Xueting, radiating a brilliant, dazzling light like a second sun.
Gao Xueting's expression was solemn, her hand seals shifting rapidly.
A beam of light descended from the Blazing Sun Mirror, catching the black light dead center.
The beam seemed to possess an extraordinarily powerful binding force. The trapped black light darted back and forth within it, unable to break free for the moment. And under the might of the Blazing Sun Mirror, it actually began to show signs of melting, wisps of dark qi seeping from its surface.