The black robe slipped off, revealing Ouyang Chen’s familiar face to Xue Gong.

But he was different now. Ouyang Chen was completely shrouded in black mist, his face covered in black markings that made him look savage and horrifying. To Xue Gong’s utter astonishment, Ouyang Chen was floating in midair, his feet not touching the ground in the slightest!

"Young... Young Master Chen, how can you be here? Aren’t you already..." Xue Gong stammered, his voice trembling as he stared at the strange, unsettling figure of Ouyang Chen.

"Are you trying to say I’m dead? Hmph, as long as Shen Haoran lives, how could I be willing to die!" Ouyang Chen’s face twisted with savagery. His bone-chilling voice seemed to echo from the Nine Netherworld itself, sending a shiver down Xue Gong’s spine.

"Young Master Chen... then why have you come?" Xue Gong asked quietly, his head bowed.

"To take Shen Haoran’s life, of course," Ouyang Chen said coldly.

"I am willing to lend you a hand, Young Master Chen! Ever since the Sect Grand Competition, that Shen Haoran has been incredibly arrogant. He’s been suppressing my Chen Alliance all over the Sect and has even humiliated me on several occasions. In the Sect Secret Realm, he acted as if I didn’t even exist. The hatred between us is irreconcilable!" Thinking of how Shen Haoran had publicly embarrassed him, Xue Gong’s heart blazed with fury.

"But Shen Haoran’s strength has grown by leaps and bounds recently. I’m no longer his match. Do you have a good plan, Young Master Chen?" Xue Gong asked with a frown.

"A plan? Hmph. Right now, there are plenty of ways to kill Shen Haoran. It’s just a matter of choosing how he dies." A cold sneer played on Ouyang Chen’s lips.

At these words, Xue Gong’s eyes lit up. "Does that mean you already have a good plan, Young Master Chen?"

"Hmph. This time, I’ll make sure he dies without a grave!" The cold, ruthless words escaped Ouyang Chen’s lips, and the very air seemed to freeze. Xue Gong’s heart leaped into his throat. After one deep, searching look at Ouyang Chen, he quickly lowered his head again.

"Let’s go. Come with me and watch a good show," Ouyang Chen said calmly, reining in his chilling aura.

"A good show? What are you referring to, Young Master Chen...?" Xue Gong asked, confused.

Ouyang Chen chuckled softly, his gaze drifting toward the depths of the great hall. Seeing this, realization suddenly dawned on Xue Gong.

"The commotion from the back of the hall... it was you, Young Master Chen!" Xue Gong exclaimed, but Ouyang Chen cut him off before he could finish.

"Sometimes, being too clever can bring disaster upon yourself. You’ll find out what you need to know when you need to know it. For now, just be a good boy and watch the show." The cold, ruthless voice made Xue Gong’s heart clench. He immediately cupped his fist. "Yes, Young Master Chen..."

...

Meanwhile, led by Changmao, Shen Haoran passed through several corridors and finally arrived in the depths of the great hall.

This was the main hall of the palace ruins, the very core of the entire site. It was so vast that, looking across, one couldn’t even see the other side.

A few torches burned around the great hall, their flickering flames barely pushing back the darkness and allowing one to make out the surroundings.

"Brother Shen!"

Suddenly, a voice called out. Shen Haoran turned toward the sound and saw Shui Ruolan and Zi Mo waving at him from another side entrance to the hall.

"How did you two get here?" Shen Haoran asked as he walked over. ’I had to rely on Changmao to find the right path. How did Shui Ruolan and the others get here so quickly?’

"We heard the noise and followed some markings over here," Zi Mo replied.

"Markings?" Shen Haoran frowned at her words. ’How could there be markings in the great hall? Something about this is very strange.’ 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

While Shen Haoran was lost in thought, a clamor erupted as dozens of people poured in from the various side entrances. A quick count confirmed it: all the disciples who had entered the palace ruins had been lured here.

"Boss! Sister Ruolan! You guys got here quick!" Long Zhen greeted them with a wide grin upon seeing Shen Haoran’s group.

"Did you follow markings to get here, too?" Shen Haoran asked.

"Yep. We were worried we were lost, but then we found markings carved into the corridor walls. We just followed them here!" Long Zhen said casually, completely oblivious to anything being wrong.

"Brother Shen, what’s wrong?" Shui Ruolan asked softly, noticing his deep frown.

"I’m fine. It’s just... this whole thing feels strange. It’s as if someone deliberately lured all of us here together," Shen Haoran said in a low voice, glancing at the other disciples.

"I doubt it. There shouldn’t be anyone else in this hall besides us. It looks like it’s the first time here for all these disciples. Maybe the markings were left by people long ago? They look pretty old to me," Shui Ruolan responded.

"Perhaps. Maybe I’m just overthinking things," Shen Haoran murmured. He then turned his gaze toward the back of the hall. ’There was such a huge commotion here just now... what exactly happened?’

The disciples around them also stared curiously toward the back of the hall. A disturbance that big must mean some great treasure was about to appear! But the entire hall had fallen silent, without a single sound.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

Just when everyone was thinking their trip had been for nothing, the entire hall began to tremble, and a series of deep rumbles echoed in their ears.

"Quick, look over there!" a disciple shouted, pointing ahead. Everyone followed his gaze and gasped in shock.

In the depths of the hall, a throne was slowly rising from the floor. The violent tremors shattered the bluestone floor tiles. As the throne emerged, a terrifying pressure exploded through the hall, making everyone’s heart shudder with an irrepressible urge to fall to their knees.

BOOM!

With a final, thunderous boom, the rising throne abruptly halted. A cloud of dust billowed out as the trembling ground grew still. Staring up at the throne, which was as massive as a small hill, the disciples were filled with shock. ’Could this be the seat of the palace’s original master?’

Shen Haoran’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the towering throne. A sense of danger emanated from it, filling him with suspicion. ’Now I’m certain someone is pulling the strings. But who? Who has the power to raise a throne from the floor of this hall, and what is their goal?’

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...

While Shen Haoran was lost in thought, five beams of light shot out from the throne. They transformed into five glowing orbs that began to fly around the hall.

"There’s something inside those orbs of light!"

A sharp-eyed disciple shouted. At his words, everyone looked closer and saw that there really were objects inside the orbs.

Black Flames flickered in Shen Haoran’s eyes, allowing him to see the items within clearly: a High Level Spiritual Artifact longsword, a vial of Elixirs, and three Scrolls—likely containing Martial Skills.

"It’s Elixirs, a Spiritual Artifact, and Martial Skills! So great treasures really have appeared!" Greed flashed in the eyes of the surrounding disciples as they stared at the five glowing orbs.

"Grab them! First come, first served!" Someone suddenly shouted, completely igniting the disciples’ avarice. In an instant, several figures shot forward, rushing toward the five orbs of light.