It was only natural for the old man to think this way. Over the countless years, the various great powers had indeed harbored many misunderstandings about the Blessed Lands.
Others shared the old man's thoughts, but none dared to voice them aloud.
The old man continued, "Yan Yi, eighteen hundred years ago, the former Palace Master of your Golden Light Palace broke through to the Seventh-Order and was snatched away by the Golden Antelope Blessed Land. Have you heard anything of him since?"
On the tower ship, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator with a dignified bearing wore a dark expression. This was Yan Yi, a member of the Golden Light Palace, the one the old man had just named.
The old man pressed on, "Bian Yuanshan, thirty-two hundred years ago, an ancestor of yours showed extraordinary talent and was promoted directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven, with the Eighth-Order well within reach. On the very day of his breakthrough, he was taken away by powerhouses of the Golden Antelope Blessed Land. Over three thousand years have passed—have you ever seen him again? Have you received even a word from him? Your Bian family has visited the Golden Antelope Blessed Land many times seeking an audience, but has always been refused. Isn't that so?"
On the tower ship, a middle-aged man standing beside Yan Yi wore a bitter expression.
He was Bian Yuanshan, the one the old man had mentioned. The Bian family was not considered a top-tier clan in this particular great domain, but thirty-two hundred years ago, a brilliantly talented ancestor had indeed emerged from their ranks. That ancestor had been extraordinarily fortunate, obtaining a complete set of Sixth-Order resources from somewhere, which allowed him to advance directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven realm.
Otherwise, with the Bian family's finances at the time, it would have been utterly impossible to acquire a complete set of Sixth-Order resources for his advancement.
Yet not long after his breakthrough, he had been led away by powerhouses of the Golden Antelope Blessed Land.
Afterward, the Bian family had sought out the Golden Antelope Blessed Land many times, hoping to pay respects to that ancestor, but as the old man had said, they had never succeeded.
This was a thorn in the Bian family's heart. All the younger generations remembered—the Bian family had once produced a great figure, someone promoted directly to the Sixth-Order who had the potential to reach the Eighth-Order.
Moreover, given that ancestor's talent and ability, after thirty-two hundred years, he would surely have advanced to the Seventh-Order by now.
Now that the old man had brought it up, Bian Yuanshan naturally felt a wave of bitterness.
If there were a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator to anchor the clan, how could the Bian family be in such decline today?
The old man was an elder of considerable age—no one knew exactly how many years he had lived—and he was thoroughly familiar with the hidden affairs of the surrounding great domains. As he called out name after name, many of the Fifth and Sixth-Order cultivators on the tower ship wore expressions of indignation.
He named five or six people in succession. Every one of them was like Yan Yi and Bian Yuanshan—either an ancestor or a senior of their sect had been a figure of extraordinary talent, or had broken through to the Seventh-Order, only to be taken away by the Golden Antelope Blessed Land and never heard from again.
The various second-rate powers had always harbored some measure of resentment toward the Blessed Lands, keeping it hidden in their hearts and never daring to show it. Now, with the old man fanning the flames, they began to feel a sense of shared enmity.
The two Sixth-Order cultivators fighting him saw this, and one of them roared, "Jiu Yan, cease your nonsense! Stop now and this can still be salvaged. If you persist in your stubbornness, don't blame my martial brother and me for killing you!"
The old man called Jiu Yan snorted coldly, "I'm spouting nonsense? You Blessed Lands know perfectly well what filthy deeds you've committed over the years. I'm simply saying it aloud. You want to imprison me? Not a chance. I've already reached the Seventh-Order—I'll kill you both right here and then go live free and easy in the Shattered Heaven!"
The other Sixth-Order shook his head. "Jiu Yan, things are not what you think. Over these years, our Golden Antelope Blessed Land has indeed done certain things, but it was all out of necessity. If you wish to know the truth, stop your attack at once. Once my martial senior leads you to the right place, everything will become clear!"
Jiu Yan sneered repeatedly. "I've lived long enough—I'm not some three-year-old child to be so easily fooled!"
As he spoke, his attacks grew even more vicious. He called out to the crowd on the tower ship, "Are you really not going to act? Do you truly intend to follow in your ancestors' footsteps?"
On the tower ship, some had already been stirred to restless agitation. The Golden Antelope Blessed Land disciples responsible for guarding them all changed color and silently heightened their vigilance.
The Golden Antelope Blessed Land disciples present were, of course, not limited to those two Sixth-Order cultivators. Some Fifth-Order disciples were also stationed on the tower ship, though their numbers were not great. After all, with the Domain of the Void battlefield in its current state of deadlock, no Blessed Land could spare many hands.
If a real fight broke out, they might not even be a match for the other side, and could very well die here.
"Kill them all, and I'll take you to the Shattered Heaven—no more being under anyone's thumb!" Jiu Yan shouted. At that moment, spotting an opening, he struck one of the Sixth-Order cultivators with his palm. The force of heaven and earth surged wildly from his palm, carrying an unstoppable destructive power.
That Sixth-Order cultivator turned pale with shock. His mind had wavered for just an instant, and Jiu Yan had seized the opportunity. This palm strike was absolutely not something he could take head-on. If it landed, he would either die or suffer grievous injuries, and with only his junior martial brother remaining, there would be no way to stop Jiu Yan.
The other Sixth-Order saw his martial senior in danger and wanted to help, but how could he make it in time? In desperation, he could only roar, "Jiu Yan, stop!"
Jiu Yan not only refused to stop—he grew even more ferocious in his assault.
Just as that palm was about to land on the Sixth-Order's forehead, a hand suddenly appeared as if from thin air and lightly grasped Jiu Yan's wrist. The aura Jiu Yan had pushed to its peak immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.
Jiu Yan was horrified and tried to retreat, but his body seemed to be bound by some seal—he couldn't move at all.
Looking up, he saw that a tall, straight-backed young man had appeared before him at some unknown point.
The young man merely gazed at him calmly, but those eyes seemed to possess a mysterious power that Jiu Yan could not look away from—as though his entire soul were being drawn into them.
In that instant, all of Jiu Yan's previous arrogance and determination vanished, and he began to tremble like a sieve.
Fortunately, the young man did nothing to him and soon looked away, giving Jiu Yan the feeling that he had narrowly escaped death for no reason.
The two Sixth-Order cultivators from the Golden Antelope Blessed Land also stared in brief astonishment before realizing that the young man before them had just saved their lives.