The entrance the Hu sisters had come through wasn't far from the Xiao Yao Divine Religion, so naturally they had gotten there first. Even the small factions and family clans nearby, for all their envy, didn't dare provoke the Xiao Yao Divine Religion.
At the Enter Saint Realm expert's shout, Yang Kai and his group stopped in their tracks. Before knowing the situation in Zhongdu, Yang Kai had no intention of fighting them.
The Enter Saint Realm expert nodded slightly, satisfied. He clasped his hands behind his back and continued, "Please return, everyone. This place is under the Xiao Yao Divine Religion's jurisdiction. If you wish to enter the Small Mysterious World to seek fortune, please look elsewhere. Apologies for any inconvenience."
His tone was quite polite—clearly because he had sensed Li Rong and the others' strength and was treating them with caution. Otherwise, he would have driven them off long ago.
Shi Kun stepped forward and cupped his fists. "And what might your name be, friend?"
The man looked Shi Kun up and down and reluctantly frowned. "Xiao Yao Divine Religion. Yu Chun."
Shi Kun, ever the social butterfly, laughed heartily. "Ah, Brother Yu! I've heard so much about you!"
Yu Chun nodded slightly. "And who are you? What business do you have at our Xiao Yao Divine Religion's territory?"
"I am Shi Kun of the Nine Heavens Holy Land!"
"Nine Heavens Holy Land?!" Gasps erupted from the surrounding martial artists, regardless of their cultivation level, and all eyes turned their way. Yu Chun studied Shi Kun up and down, trying to determine whether he was lying.
The Nine Heavens Holy Land's reputation in recent years had been too resounding to ignore.
The old Holy Lord had passed, the new Holy Lord had ascended—except the new one was a mere youth who had colluded with dark forces. That controversy had barely subsided before an extraordinary alchemy grandmaster appeared…
Rumor after rumor—there was no matching the Holy Land's name.
Yu Chun suddenly turned his gaze to Yang Kai and asked suspiciously, "Could this be the master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land?"
He had noticed that when Shi Kun stepped forward, he stood behind Yang Kai and treated him with great respect, so naturally he had his suspicions.
"He is indeed our Holy Lord," Shi Kun confirmed with a nod.
"So it's Holy Lord Yang. No wonder he looked familiar." Yu Chun suddenly broke into a smile—though it was a strange one.
"Have we met before?" Yang Kai frowned at him.
"Holy Lord Yang is too important to remember someone like me. But surely you remember our Religion Leader, Wu Zheng?"
"Wu Zheng?" Yang Kai's frown deepened. He thought for a while before suddenly recalling. "That Wu Zheng I met outside the Nine Peaks?"
Over a year ago, Yang Kai had led the Ancient Demon Clan from the Endless Snow Mountains to the Nine Heavens Holy Land. Because signs of large-scale demon movement had been detected, a group of human experts had followed Yang Kai's party, eventually catching up outside the Nine Peaks. Yang Kai and Li Rong had gone forward to negotiate with those experts. At the time, three people had spoken with Yang Kai—one was Chu Yi of the Tianmu Prefecture, one was Fang Yuebai of the Yansuo Tower, and the third was Wu Zheng of the Xiao Yao Divine Religion.
All three had been at the second level of the Enter Saint Realm.
Yang Kai remembered that after hearing his assurance that the Ancient Demon Clan would not cause trouble, Chu Yi and Fang Yuebai had departed quickly. Only Wu Zheng had remained, wearing a look of hostility and resentment.
Naturally, Yang Kai had some impression of him.
"That's right," Yu Chun nodded. "It seems Holy Lord Yang, despite being young, does have some memory after all. I thought you were as arrogant as ever, but it turns out you do remember our Religion Leader."
Hearing this, Shi Kun's expression turned cold and hostile.
Something was off about this Yu Chun. After learning Yang Kai's identity, he seemed to be deliberately targeting the Holy Lord, which made Shi Kun furious.
"Of course I remember," Yang Kai said with a faint smile. "As it happens, our Holy Land has your Religion Leader to thank. Before our alchemy grandmaster's fame spread, things were quite lively for a time."
"What do you mean?" Yu Chun's expression shifted slightly. He shook his head. "I don't understand."
"You know exactly what I mean." Yang Kai's smile turned cold.
Many martial artists had lingered outside the Nine Peaks for no apparent reason, searching for Artifacts or other treasures—clearly someone had been pulling strings behind the scenes.
Yang Kai had suspected it was Wu Zheng's doing. Now, seeing Yu Chun's reaction, he confirmed his earlier guess.
But this was a small matter, and Yang Kai had no intention of pursuing it.
Yu Chun, apparently feeling there was no need to dwell on the subject, glanced sideways at Yang Kai. "Then let me ask—why has Holy Lord Yang brought his Holy Land's elders to our Xiao Yao Divine Religion's territory? And, if I'm not mistaken, this woman is a demonfolk, isn't she?"
"Demonfolk?!" The martial artists guarding the Void Passage entrance blanched, all turning their gaze toward Li Rong.
Yu Chun burst into loud laughter. "Holy Lord Yang certainly has nerve. Colluding with dark forces is one thing, but to actually bring a demonfolk wandering around—do you really think our human race has no one left?"
At his sharp cry, the other four Enter Saint Realm experts also adopted hostile expressions.
Humans and demons could not coexist. Regardless of whether they had personal grudges with Li Rong, upon seeing a demonfolk in human territory, their first instinct was to strike them down and be done with it.