"Isn't this Fu Xing?"
"Fu Xing, Fu Xing."
"So all along, you were trying to revive the Celestial Master Divine Sect."
"As expected — outsiders can never be trusted within our Seven Realms Holy Mansion."
"And yet we took you in, only to discover you were a spy all along."
Jie Tianran turned his gaze toward Fu Xing, his eyes cold and sinister.
As the most outstanding talent in the entrance trial besides Chu Feng, Fu Xing was naturally someone he had taken note of.
However, he had never bothered to investigate her in depth.
After all, in his view, anyone who managed to join the Seven Realms Holy Mansion would be eternally grateful.
He had genuinely never suspected that Fu Xing harbored ulterior motives for entering.
Whoosh— But before Fu Xing could even speak, a powerful wave of barrier energy enveloped her, sealing her in.
The barrier was locked down with extraordinary thoroughness — she could no longer see what was happening outside, nor could she hear any sound.
But she could sense her Master's aura. She knew it was a defensive formation he had placed around her, meant to protect her.
He was worried that the coming battle would put her in danger.
It was precisely because the defense was so impenetrable that she had been cut off entirely from the outside world.
Boom— And yet, even so, she could still hear the distant rumbling of explosions, and she felt the barrier sealing her trembling violently.
Soon after, a powerful teleportation force seeped through from outside.
"Xing'er, activate the teleportation talisman and leave. Now."
Her Master's voice then echoed through to her.
"Master, can you hear me?"
"Master, I won't go. I want to face this together with you."
Fu Xing panicked.
She reasoned that if her Master and the others stood any chance of defeating Jie Tianran, they wouldn't be sending her away.
The current situation strongly suggested that even with her Master and the other three elders fighting together, they were no match for Jie Tianran.
This was a dire development.
"What are you saying? Don't speak such discouraging words."
"Your presence here will only hold us back. Leave. Now."
Her Master's voice came again, laced with urgency and irritation.
At the same time, Fu Xing noticed that the teleportation force which had already seeped through was becoming impure.
Another layer of barrier energy was infiltrating it — that had to be Jie Tianran's doing. He was trying to prevent her escape.
Seeing this, Fu Xing hesitated no longer. She formed hand seals and activated the teleportation talisman in her grasp.
In an instant, the talisman erupted into a surge of teleportation energy that coiled around her. A teleportation tunnel materialized before her, and she was pulled straight into it.
"So you actually managed to send one out."
"But compared to my grandson Jie Tian, she's nothing more than trash."
"Do you really think she can make any difference?"
Jie Tianran's voice rang out across the heavens.
Looking toward the source, one could see that the world had already been utterly transformed.
The boundless mountain range had been reduced to an endless expanse of deep craters, and the sky above was littered with fragments of shattered space.
And yet Jie Tianran stood unscathed above it all, gazing down with a contemptuous expression.
As for Fu Xing's Master and the other three — though the barrier treasures on their bodies blazed with brilliant light and formidable power, all four of them wore faces as pale as death.
The beads of sweat constantly rolling down their faces and their ragged breathing spoke volumes of how desperately they were struggling.
"Oh, I see now."
"You went through all that trouble to send her away so she could burn offerings at your graves on this day next year, is that it?"
Jie Tianran spoke again, the mockery on his face deepening.
The four said nothing. They exchanged a glance, and in their eyes a look of resolute determination surged forth.