Wang Jianyu cried out inwardly and immediately gave chase toward the beam of escape light.
Wang Han's face turned deathly pale. If Wang Jianyu weren't his grandfather, he would have launched into a furious tirade long ago.
"Chase her!" Wang Han waved his hand. Every last one of the Sacred Sword Palace cultivators wore ashen expressions but dared not show the slightest displeasure.
Previously, they had all been elders of the Sacred Sword Palace, their status no lower than Wang Han's.
But now that Wang Han had become the Zither Demon Sect Master's personal disciple, his status exceeded even Wang Jianyu's. How could they dare disobey?
They all gave chase.
Several dozen li away, amid a vast expanse of yellow sand, a towering palace stood in stark prominence, occupying an area of several hundred mu.
The Zither Demon Sect Master, who had been leading the pursuit, halted a thousand meters away. He stared at the towering palace from afar, his expression filled with shock.
Evidently, he hadn't expected to find such a palace standing in the Outer Extreme Region.
In his view, the Outer Extreme Region had virtually no fluctuations of life energy. What would be the point of building a palace here?
What startled him even more was that a figure stood before the palace. The figure appeared quite young, yet carried an unmistakable air of authority.
"Jiang Chen?" The Zither Demon Sect Master was startled and blurted out the name.
Jiang Chen regarded the Zither Demon Sect Master with cold eyes. "Who are you? If I recall correctly, the Myriad Manifestations Domain doesn't seem to have someone like you."
The Zither Demon Sect Master laughed heartily. "Good, good, good! I didn't expect the younger generation of the Myriad Manifestations Domain to produce someone with such nerve. Is it poor eyesight on your part, or are you simply too ignorant to know fear?"
As he spoke, Wang Jianyu and the large Sacred Sword Palace contingent arrived one after another. Wang Jianyu's eyes were filled with dread.
"Sir, that... that girl..."
The Zither Demon Sect Master's face turned cold. "Where is she?"
"Master, that wretched woman was cunning — she actually had an escape talisman. She crushed it at once and slipped away on a beam of escape light." Wang Han's tone was flustered and exasperated.
The Zither Demon Sect Master flew into a rage and glared at Wang Jianyu. "Useless!"
Wang Jianyu stammered but said nothing, lowering his head without daring to retort. Though inwardly aggrieved — after all, it was the Zither Demon Sect Master who had insisted on playing the magnanimous expert and refused to place a restriction on the girl. Otherwise, how could she have had any chance to escape?
However, the Zither Demon Sect Master immediately broke into a grin. "She escaped, so be it. Now that the principal has appeared, that girl no longer matters."
Wang Han raised an eyebrow and looked toward Jiang Chen standing before the palace. He was briefly startled, then broke into a look of manic glee. "Jiang Chen, you beast! Sure enough, you just can't help playing the gentleman for a pretty face!"
Jiang Chen's expression was indifferent. "Wang Han, if I were you, I'd keep my tail between my legs and behave. It seems I overestimated your integrity. I didn't expect you to be so shameless as to flee to the Red Cauldron Central Domain and take your enemy for a father. But you know, your family tree is truly something. Wang Jianyu is your grandfather. You've taken the emperor of the Red Cauldron Central Domain as your godfather. By that twisted logic, wouldn't Wang Jianyu suddenly become the emperor's father?"
The moment these words left his mouth, Wang Jianyu's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with wariness. How could he not see that Jiang Chen's words were a deliberate ploy to throw him onto the fire?
While the notion of taking the emperor of the Red Cauldron Central Domain as a godfather was pure fabrication, Wang Han's acceptance of the Zither Demon Sect Master as his master was undeniably real.
And as Wang Han's grandfather, he had indeed become the Zither Demon Sect Master's senior by generation.
In that moment, cold sweat poured down Wang Jianyu's back.
The Zither Demon Sect Master's expression remained impassive, seemingly unmoved by these words. He stared coldly at Jiang Chen and let out a strange, cackling laugh. "Kid, you've got quite the silver tongue."
As he spoke, a sinister smile crept across the Zither Demon Sect Master's lips. Then, without warning—
He raised a single hand, and seven zither strings shot skyward in the formation of seven converging stars, trailing ten thousand feet of radiance. The strings crisscrossed through the air, weaving an intricate, all-encompassing net.
"Come down here!"
The Zither Demon Sect Master barked a command and pressed his palm downward. A beam of escape light suddenly slammed into the interwoven net of zither strings.
Hssssss!
A piercing sound rang out as the escape light was blocked by the net of strings. A figure tumbled from the light — it was none other than Ling Bi'er, who had already fled.
The Zither Demon Sect Master laughed and extended his hand, which transformed into a giant spirit palm that seized Ling Bi'er in its grasp.
The whole turn of events happened in the blink of an eye.
From the moment the Zither Demon Sect Master struck to the moment Ling Bi'er was captured, barely a single breath had passed. Even someone as powerful as Wang Jianyu hadn't been able to tell whom the Zither Demon Sect Master was targeting.
Only when they saw Ling Bi'er seized in midair did they finally understand. They stared in astonishment, filled with awe at the strength and divine abilities of an Emperor Realm powerhouse.