The expressions of Murong Qing, Lü Zihao, Hex Yao, and the other geniuses from Cyan Moon City darkened at the sudden appearance of the three elder Spirit Cultivator powerhouses.

Aside from Granny Liu, two of the elder powerhouses were from the families of those two Noble Family descendants. They were Elders of their respective clans, their cultivation having already reached the Innate Third Layer—an incredible level of power that no one present could hope to match.

In fact, if these three had shown up, they could have easily annihilated the hundred Spirit Beasts that were below the Innate Realm.

And yet, even when the geniuses were in mortal danger, on the verge of being annihilated by the pack of Spirit Beasts, these three hadn’t revealed themselves. If Jiang Jichen hadn’t appeared, these talented Noble Family descendants from Cyan Moon City would have already been killed by the beasts; they wouldn’t still be standing here alive.

For them to appear now—not a moment sooner, not a moment later, but precisely when the geniuses had repelled the Spirit Beast pack and were just beginning to recover from the near-death experience—their purpose was self-evident!

Then there were those two Noble Family descendants. They were from the Huang and Xiao Families, which, in Cyan Moon City, were ranked just below the four Great Families. They were newcomers who had risen with astonishing speed, showing the potential to even surpass the four Great Families.

However, the descendants of the Huang and Xiao Families usually kept a very low profile. They never did anything to stand out and rarely entered into conflict with others.

Just moments ago, while everyone else was fighting desperately and giving it their all, only the two descendants from the Huang and Xiao Families had been hiding behind the group. They didn’t have a single scratch on them, their strength completely preserved.

No one had noticed any of this in the heat of the moment. Only now did it all click, and their hearts sank. These talented Noble Family descendants from Cyan Moon City were no fools; they could naturally see that something was very wrong.

Thinking back, they recalled several instances where the descendants of the Xiao and Huang Families had deliberately led them into dangerous places, causing them to lose some of their retainers. This time, too, they had been the ones leading the way, guiding them directly to this pack of Spirit Beasts.

Murong Qingshu was the first to realize the full picture. His expression changed drastically as he stared at the two descendants from the Xiao and Huang Families. "You want to wipe out all of us, the younger generation of Cyan Moon City? You want to sever the ancestral lines of all the Great Families!"

As Murong Qingshu spoke, the expressions of the other geniuses from Cyan Moon City filled with horror.

"How could you be so ruthless? Aren’t you afraid our families will retaliate?"

Shen Yuqing said, her face grim as she glared at the two descendants from the Xiao and Huang Families.

By now, the descendants from the Xiao and Huang Families had retreated to their clan Elders’ side, facing off against the other Noble Family geniuses from a distance.

Hearing Shen Yuqing’s words, the Xiao Family descendant, Xiao Qiang, sneered. "The trials in the Moonlight Forest are merciless. Even if I kill every last one of you, what can you do without proof? Besides, what makes you think we’re afraid of your families’ retaliation? What a bunch of naive idiots."

Xiao Qiang’s words made the expressions of the Cyan Moon City geniuses turn even uglier. They never imagined that the usually quiet and meek Xiao Qiang would dare to call them naive idiots to their faces.

"It’s just the two of you, the Xiao and Huang Families. So what if you’ve had a recent rise to power? How can you possibly compare to the four Great Families and the five Great Houses? You called Jiang Jichen arrogant? I’d say you’re the ones who are arrogant beyond measure, courting death!"

Lü Zihao retorted in a grim voice.

His Lü Family was one of Cyan Moon City’s five Great Houses, yet Xiao Qiang showed them absolutely no respect.

The Huang Family descendant, Huang Ye, gave a sinister smile. "How could mortal ants like you possibly comprehend our true strength? Heh. You should all just surrender without a fight. Once we have you, the heirs to the Noble Families, as hostages, your families will have no choice but to accept our terms."

"Elders, please act now!"

Xiao Qiang and Huang Ye said to the two Elders.

"Rest assured, Young Masters. Not a single one of them will escape!"

The two Elders chuckled coldly, already viewing the geniuses of Cyan Moon City as fish in a barrel, completely at their mercy.

"Gentlemen, I don’t care about the others, but that brat Jiang Jichen is mine. We agreed, didn’t we? The Mid-Level Storage Bag he’s carrying is mine!"

Granny Liu’s hoarse, grating voice echoed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Hearing their conversation, Murong Qingshu and the others turned deathly pale, realizing it would be impossible to escape. They were truly going to fall into their enemies’ hands.

With three powerhouses of the Innate Third Layer moving against them, they truly didn’t even have a chance to run.

’The ambitions of the Xiao and Huang Families must be enormous. Are they trying to take control of all the Noble Families and Great Houses in Cyan Moon City?’

All the while, Jiang Jichen had been observing coldly from the sidelines. He had already taken the Qi Blood Pill from Luuo Xue and had also secretly swallowed a handful of Second-Grade Spirit Condensing Pills. He was quietly recovering his strength.

Although only a few dozen breaths had passed, Jiang Jichen felt he had already recovered seventy to eighty percent of his strength. He still looked to be in a wretched state, but his injuries were no longer a serious concern.

Jiang Jichen had sensed Granny Liu and the two Elders hiding in the shadows ever since he’d fought his way out of the Spirit Beast pack.

’They must have been lying in wait here for some time. They were probably even the ones who lured the Spirit Beast pack here, intending for the beasts to wipe out all these talented descendants from Cyan Moon City’s Noble Families. But in the end, my sudden appearance ruined their plan.’

’When I killed all the Spirit Beasts, they changed their plan on the spot, deciding to capture all the geniuses from Cyan Moon City alive instead.’

’As for Granny Liu, she came here specifically for me. How could she possibly let me go?’

"Damn, these old geezers are so treacherous. It’s impossible to guard against something like this!"

Jiang Jichen couldn’t help but marvel.

He felt an even deeper disgust for Granny Liu, however. ’She was the one who set me up last time, baiting a group of young powerhouses into challenging me and leaving me seriously injured.’

’It’s just that with my current strength, I obviously can’t fight someone at the Innate Third Layer. But with this new grudge piled on top of the old one, I’ve long since added her to my kill list.’

Currently, Jiang Jichen was the farthest away from Granny Liu and the others. Luuo Xue, who had just given him the Qi Blood Pill, was standing right next to him.

A glint flashed in Jiang Jichen’s eyes as he weighed his options.

Granny Liu stared intently at Jiang Jichen, her Divine Thought already locked onto him. A grim smile spread across her face. "Little bastard, don’t waste your energy. I’ve already placed a Sealing Absolute Prohibition around the area. Without the cultivation of the Innate Realm, you can forget about breaking through it to escape!"

Granny Liu’s words instantly extinguished any hope in the hearts of the Noble Family descendants. Many of them had been preparing to use their life-saving techniques to escape, but if a Sealing Absolute Prohibition was in place, they truly had no chance left.

In truth, they had already suspected it. Their enemies were so certain, so unafraid of them escaping, that it was obvious they had made thorough preparations.

Jiang Jichen feigned a state of extreme exhaustion, his qi and blood appearing weak and unstable. He looked coldly at Granny Liu and said, "You despicable old hag, you really are as treacherous as they come. But like I said, those Spirit Beast Inner Cores and materials are all mine. I’ll just let you hold onto them for now. I will be back to retrieve them."

Seeing Jiang Jichen’s stubborn act, Granny Liu sneered. "Jiang Jichen, I must admit, you are the strongest of your generation. But so what? A genius who can’t live to reach their full potential is no different from garbage. You can’t even escape, yet you still want to take these Spirit Beast Inner Cores and materials? In your dreams!"

However, Jiang Jichen paid her no mind. He took Luuo Xue’s hand and began to walk away, declaring, "If I decide to leave, an old hag like you won’t be able to stop me!"