At that moment, the entire clearing fell silent.
Everyone could sense just how much hatred was packed into those two slaps Wang Han had given himself.
And the person who had forced him to deliver those self-inflicted blows was a young man at the fifth stage of the Yuan Realm from Dan Qian Palace.
Elder Chen's face was ashen. Although Wang Han was the one who had slapped himself, the old man's face had nowhere to hide either. After all, Wang Han's act was not merely a personal humiliation — it was a slap across the entire Sacred Sword Palace's reputation.
"Jiang Chen, I, Wang Han, swear to kill you!"
Jiang Chen was utterly dismissive of such threats. Even without today's incident, would Wang Han ever have gotten along peacefully with him?
Back when they had first discovered the Sage Infant Grass, Wang Han had attacked him on the spot without a second word.
"I didn't make you eat shit — you should already count yourself lucky." Jiang Chen smiled coolly, completely unconcerned by Wang Han's empty bluster.
Elder Chen's face was equally dark as he glared at Elder Yun Nie. "Yun Nie, our Sacred Sword Palace will remember this debt."
Elder Yun Nie laughed coldly. "Then remember it. Who are you trying to scare?"
Dan Qian Palace and Sacred Sword Palace were like fire and water — their relationship was already terrible, so adding a new grudge atop old ones made no difference.
Moreover, this whole affair had been entirely Sacred Sword Palace's provocation.
Elder Xiang Qian chuckled. "Alright, alright, all misunderstandings have been cleared up now. Luckily, not too much time has been wasted. Everyone is more or less here, and there isn't much time left. Let's focus on how to divide up this lake island."
At the mention of the lake island, everyone's eyes lit up with longing.
But Elder Wuhen of the Carefree Sect frowned. "Wait — our Carefree Sect still hasn't arrived in full."
Elder Xiang Qian said flatly, "We've already waited this long. By the time your people show up, time might be up entirely. Who here is willing to wait?"
Most of the elders from the various sects shook their heads, and the few representatives from fifth-rank sects shook theirs even more vigorously. They had fought hard just to enter the garden once — they certainly weren't going to sit around and twiddle their thumbs.
Elder Wuhen glanced at Wei Xing'er beside him. "Have you gotten through to Wei Qing?"
Wei Xing'er shook her head. "I can't reach him."
Elder Wuhen's heart clenched. Wei Qing was arrogant and overbearing, but he was a genius after all. In this ancient medicinal garden, precious few people were capable of harming him. Not showing up at a time like this — could Wei Qing have fallen?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Elder Wuhen couldn't help glancing toward Jiang Chen.
Knowing Wei Qing as he did, the man would certainly have sought out Jiang Chen for trouble. Yet here Jiang Chen stood, completely unharmed, while Wei Qing had vanished without a trace.
There was no evidence, but Elder Wuhen's first instinct was that Wei Qing had been killed by Jiang Chen.
However, without any proof, this was not something he could raise openly. Despite the suspicion gnawing at him, he had no way of saying it aloud.
From the Sacred Sword Palace side, Elder Chen also spoke up. "Our Sacred Sword Palace's Du Lihuang hasn't arrived either, and we can't reach him. What do you have to say about this, Elder Xiang Qian?"
Elder Xiang Qian sneered. "What the hell does Du Lihuang have to do with me? Do you think I'm obligated to babysit your Sacred Sword Palace's disciples?"
Elder Chen said gravely, "You swore before that the Great Sacred Hall would not lay a hand on our Sacred Sword Palace's disciples!"
"And you have proof it was our Great Sacred Hall's people?" Elder Xiang Qian's voice turned cold.
Elder Chen's first thought had been that Du Lihuang had been killed in retaliation by Yue Baize.
Seeing Elder Chen's gaze turn toward him, Yue Baize's fur bristled. "What are you staring at me for? If I, Yue Baize, had actually killed that fool, what would I be afraid to admit? He was lucky he never ran into me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have hesitated to smash him with a single fist!"
Yue Baize was clearly still seething. Du Lihuang had ruined his plans, costing him the Silver Lion Beast entirely. Even though Du Lihuang was now most likely dead, the fact that he hadn't been killed by Yue Baize's own hand left the young man burning with frustration.
Elder Chen studied Yue Baize for a long, meaningful moment and realized the young man genuinely wasn't putting on an act. His heart sank.
So Du Lihuang had not been killed by Yue Baize after all? Then who had struck the fatal blow?
A cold sweat broke out across Elder Chen's forehead. If that was the case, Sacred Sword Palace truly had no shortage of hidden enemies in the Myriad Domains.
If it wasn't the Great Sacred Hall's people, could it have been Dan Qian Palace's?
But could Dan Qian Palace's people even have killed Du Lihuang?
Even Shen Qinghong, a half-step into the Saint Realm, was only marginally stronger than Du Lihuang. He certainly couldn't have killed Du Lihuang without the latter even having a chance to fight back.
To kill Du Lihuang so completely that he couldn't even send a distress signal — that required overwhelmingly crushing power.
Could it have been an elder-level powerhouse?
That seemed unlikely as well. Elder-level experts had all been heading toward the inner areas, making a chance encounter with Du Lihuang quite improbable.
Suddenly, another talented disciple of Sacred Sword Palace, Jin Feng, spoke up. "Elder Chen, Junior Brother Du once sent me a voice transmission talisman saying he was going to make a deal with the Carefree Sect's Wei Qing."
"Oh?" Elder Chen's expression shifted, and he turned to look toward the Carefree Sect.
Elder Wuhen said coolly, "Don't look at me. Wei Qing has probably fallen as well."
Everyone gasped. Two super-geniuses from two major sects, both dead? This ancient medicinal garden was truly a terrifying place.
"Could they have accidentally encountered those two ferocious Winged Dragons?" someone speculated.
"That's very likely. Without those two Winged Dragons, any ordinary powerhouse would have found it nearly impossible to kill both Wei Qing and Du Lihuang at the same time!"