The sound of the ancient zither was a restless murmur, its rhythm shifting unpredictably—now fierce, now lingering and melodious.
Yet between those shifts in rhythm, there lay an indeterminate power that no one could fathom, one that shattered
Zuo Lan's expression changed abruptly. A sharp gleam flickered in and out of his eyes as he scanned his surroundings with undisguised shock, as if trying to pin down the exact source of the music.
But to his disappointment, the melody seemed to come from every direction at once, impossible to trace.
It was as though a celestial sound had drifted down from beyond the ninth heaven—ethereal and drifting, with no clear origin and no discernible destination.
Zuo Lan's face wavered between suspicion and alarm. He stood frozen for a long moment before his expression shifted again, a flash of disbelief crossing his features. It was like a ball inflated with air that had suddenly been punctured—he deflated in an instant.
His gaze lingered meaningfully on the side of the three great sects. Then, through gritted teeth, he waved his hand. "We're leaving!"
Zuo Lan had actually retreated—just like that!
The several grand ancestors of the three great sects exchanged bewildered glances, utterly confused.
Zuo Lan had clearly been building up momentum, his presence at its peak. Everyone had steeled themselves for a desperate battle. How could he have simply given up?
Forget the three great sects—even Zuo Lan's three subordinates could hardly believe it.
But they were his subordinates, and naturally none dared voice a question. They followed his lead, unwilling faces turned outward as they walked away.
Over at the
The Old Freak Zhuiyang, in particular, had already been rolling up his sleeves, itching for a grand fight. He had never expected that Envoy Zuo Lan would suddenly act as though he had seen a ghost, turning tail and fleeing on the spot.
It left the Old Freak Zhuiyang with a bitter sense of defeat. In that moment, he had already resolved that once the fighting started, he would use the most overwhelming means possible to kill
As long as Jiang Chen remained alive, the Old Freak Zhuiyang could not rest easy.
For Jiang Chen's rate of growth was simply too fast—even fast enough to make an Origin Realm grand ancestor like him profoundly uneasy.
If this trajectory continued, it would not be long before Jiang Chen directly threatened the Old Freak Zhuiyang's very existence.
When that day came, the Old Freak Zhuiyang and the entire Purple Sun Sect would lose all sense of security.
Considering the deep enmity between the Purple Sun Sect and Jiang Chen, the dread in the Old Freak Zhuiyang's heart was entirely understandable.
But since Zuo Lan had already retreated, there was no way the Purple Sun Sect could stay behind.
The Old Freak Zhuiyang wore an awkward, dark expression. With a wave of his hand, he led the Purple Sun Sect's people slinking away in shame.
When the three great sects saw the Purple Sun Sect retreating with their tails between their legs, jeers erupted from every side, along with no shortage of curses.
"Zhuiyang, you old dog—go home and lick your Heavenly Sect envoy's boots!"
"Next time you dare come around causing trouble, we'll beat the old dog and the young dogs together!"
A number of the three great sects' younger disciples, unable to contain their anger, hurled insults without restraint.
The Old Freak Zhuiyang nearly spat blood when he heard them. But at a time like this, no matter how foul the words, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and endure.
With the Heavenly Sect envoy gone, his Purple Sun Sect was standing alone—one hand cannot clap. Facing the three great sects head-on would be signing their own death warrant.
Given the three great sects' current fury, if the Purple Sun Sect lingered even a moment too long, there was a real chance of triggering a full-scale siege.
The Old Freak Zhuiyang was confident, but not so blindly as to believe he could take on all three sects combined.
It wasn't until they had retreated a hundred miles beyond the Treasure Tree Sect that the Old Freak Zhuiyang's group finally caught up to Zuo Lan and his party.
"My Lord Envoy, the situation was in our favor. Why did you suddenly withdraw?"
The Old Freak Zhuiyang caught up to Zuo Lan and asked, still puzzled.
Zuo Lan's face was ashen, a trace of wariness still lingering in his eyes. He glanced back toward the direction of the Treasure Tree Sect and gave a soft snort, but offered no answer.
The Old Freak Zhuiyang had walked straight into a wall of cold silence, but he didn't dare take offense. All he could do was trudge along beside Zuo Lan in sullen silence.
They traveled swiftly. After roughly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Zuo Lan's nerves gradually began to ease. The shock he had just experienced had truly been considerable.
Never in his wildest thoughts would he have imagined that the Treasure Tree Sect harbored such hidden strengths—someone capable of using ethereal zither music to demolish his Origin Realm might.
Though Zuo Lan had no idea who his opponent was, one thing was certain: the expert behind that music was far stronger than he was.
To destroy his pressure from such a distance using nothing but music—that was an absolutely crushing advantage.
But how could such a powerful figure be concealed in a backwater like the Treasure Tree Sect?
Zuo Lan turned the question over and over in his mind without finding an answer. He summoned the Old Freak Zhuiyang and asked, "Zhuiyang, besides Qianye, does the Treasure Tree Sect have anyone else in hiding—someone even stronger?"
This question left the Old Freak Zhuiyang completely baffled.
"Someone stronger?" He shook his head instinctively. "That's hardly likely. I've been navigating the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms for years—I know the four great sects inside and out. Forget someone stronger than Qianye; even a young disciple with the slightest spark of talent, there's no way intelligence would miss them. What higher power could the Treasure Tree Sect possibly have? If there were one, there's no way the entire sect would be so low-key."
The four great sects were in constant competition. If any one of them possessed an absolute trump-card strength, even if they didn't flaunt it, they would at least show it off from time to time to intimidate the other three.
Having an advantage and not displaying it—this was simply not the way of the four great sects.