288: Conquer Shenwu and embark on the journey again

Immediately, the Divine Martial Sect fell silent. All the Elders were crestfallen, exchanging glances and seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.

If this matter wasn't resolved properly, it would affect the Divine Martial Sect's destiny.

Several Elders all turned their gaze to the First Elder. He gritted his teeth and finally made a bold decision.

In a solemn tone, he said, "I will apologize to the Young Master afterward, but right now, I must capture these invaders. The Divine Martial Sect will not tolerate offense!"

"A fine Divine Martial Sect indeed. I'd like to see what you all are relying on."

Yun Xiao was furious and was about to activate his trump card from the Immortal Realm, but Lin Yan stopped him.

Lin Yan just shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. They can't threaten me!"

Hearing this, Yun Xiao also dispelled the immortal halo behind him and returned to the crowd.

"Arrogant! Then let this old man experience your methods!"

The Divine Martial Sect's First Elder was pleased to see this, but after hearing Lin Yan's words, he became particularly enraged, feeling insulted. A mere lower-realm creature dared to speak so boldly.

Yet, he held nothing back in his attack. The opponent's ability to defeat the Fifth Elder, who was at the late Heavenly Immortal stage, indicated that his strength had likely reached the peak of the Heavenly Immortal stage.

Although he didn't know how he managed to do this, everything would become clear once the opponent was captured.

Furthermore, he was not merely a peak Heavenly Immortal; he had already stepped one foot into the Golden Immortal realm. Ordinary peak Heavenly Immortals were no match for him.

His aura fully erupted, and a vast pressure swept across the heavens and earth, causing the void to tremble.

He didn't act personally; instead, he threw out a magical artifact, a jade bottle, which spun and continuously grew larger.

Then, the giant mouth of the bottle inverted and descended towards Lin Yan and his group, releasing a terrifying devouring force, intending to capture everyone in one fell swoop and trap them inside.

Seeing the opponent's stubbornness, Lin Yan had no intention of further entanglement. He slowly clenched his hand into a fist and fiercely punched upwards.

Boom.

The terrifying might caused the entire Divine Martial Sect to shake violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Crack.

The jade bottle shattered into the void before the First Elder's horrified gaze. The fist print had not yet dissipated, shooting towards the sky, sweeping away the clouds, and the space even cracked open, unable to withstand it.

The many Elders of the Divine Martial Sect were dumbfounded, staring at this scene in disbelief.

This, this, this!

To be able to shatter space—this was something even the Sect Leader couldn't do. One must know that he was a Golden Immortal realm expert.

But Lin Yan didn't give the opponent a chance to react. The next moment, the First Elder's figure suddenly exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist, his soul extinguished.

The Elders who were closer could feel the dampness in the air, their eyes dull, as if they were fools.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

A series of gasps came from below, their expressions growing increasingly terrified. Even the First Elder couldn't last a single move against the opponent. The Divine Martial Sect was in danger.

Lin Yan's gaze swept over the many Elders. Each of them averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze, their expressions utterly disheartened, clearly having no intention of resisting.

Especially the Fifth Elder, he was the instigator of this matter. Perhaps the opponent's next target would be him.

In a certain secluded cultivation spot within the Divine Martial Sect, a powerful expert suddenly opened his eyes, then slowly stood up, pushed open the stone door, and vanished from the spot.

Lin Yan had no intention of doing anything to the Divine Martial Sect. He merely came to resolve a problem and, incidentally, to verify his own thoughts.

However, a new idea now surfaced in his mind: to bring the Divine Martial Sect under his command, making it his first foothold in this Immortal Realm.

With a thought, he sensed a powerful aura approaching and saw a Middle-aged man in luxurious robes appear in a corner of the sky.

Immediately, the many Elders of the Divine Martial Sect also seemed to sense the newcomer's presence, quickly looked over, and then excitedly bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Sect Leader!"

The countless disciples below also shouted in unison. Whether the Divine Martial Sect could overcome this calamity depended entirely on the Sect Leader.

However, the Middle-aged man's subsequent actions surprised everyone. A cold glint shot from his eyes, and with a flash, he appeared in front of the Fifth Elder.

Then, he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

"Sect... Sect Leader, why?"

The Fifth Elder was already severely injured, and his aura had plummeted to rock bottom.

Furthermore, facing the sect's strongest expert, he had no power to resist. His face flushed red as he struggled to ask.

"Why?"

"I never wanted to interfere in your factional struggles, but you dared to bring disaster upon the sect for your own selfish desires. How can I spare you!"

The Shenwu Sect Leader's expression was cold, his tone like ancient ice, without a trace of softness.

"Today, in the name of the Shenwu Sect Leader, before all the disciples of the sect, I strip you of your Elder position and personally eliminate this cancerous growth!"

With that, he exerted a slight force with his large hand, and a terrifying energy shook the Fifth Elder into a cloud of blood mist, following in the First Elder's footsteps.

Finally, he glanced at the remaining Elders, his gaze full of warning.

Except for a few Elders from the neutral faction, the rest all trembled violently, lowered their heads, and dared not meet his gaze.

But fortunately, the Shenwu Sect Leader had no intention of continuing to act. He turned and looked towards Lin Yan, cupping his hands and saying:

"Senior, this matter is the fault of my Divine Martial Sect. If you wish to punish me, I have no complaints whatsoever!"

The reason he didn't continue to oppose Lin Yan like the First Elder was, firstly, because he had always been dissatisfied with the actions of the former and others.

But he didn't want to cause turmoil within the sect, so he had always let it go.

However, now, due to the negligence of the First Elder and others, the Divine Martial Sect almost faced a crisis of annihilation, so he naturally would no longer show mercy.

But the most important point was that he felt a threat of death from Lin Yan. This was his intuition as a mid-stage Golden Immortal realm expert.

So, it was better to appear more sincere; perhaps there was still a chance for things to turn around!

But it must be said that his move was very effective. At least the Big Yellow Dog and others nodded in approval, and the anger on their faces dissipated considerably.

"At least there's someone reasonable!"

The Big Yellow Dog even muttered to himself.

Lin Yan nodded slightly. He could feel that the other party wasn't putting on an act but was speaking from the heart.

So he softly said to the other party, "Since that's the case, let's put an end to this matter, but I have a request."

The Shenwu Sect Leader's expression relaxed, and he quickly responded, "Senior, please speak. As long as I can do it, I will certainly not refuse!"

"I want your Divine Martial Sect to come under the Chang Sheng Sect's command, and I will stay here for a period of time. When the time is ripe, I will leave. What do you think?"

At this, the Shenwu Sect Leader's expression changed. From the sound of it, the other party intended to claim this territory as his own, but with his strength, they had no room for resistance.

The other Elders also looked extremely anxious. If they truly agreed, the Divine Martial Sect would exist in name only.

Perhaps seeing the other party's thoughts, Lin Yan spoke again:

"Don't worry, the Divine Martial Sect will still be the Divine Martial Sect. It's merely submitting to the Chang Sheng Sect. My goal is not here, and I will leave before long."

"If your Divine Martial Sect encounters any insurmountable crisis, I can resolve it for you!"

These words were incomparably domineering, containing boundless confidence, which completely solidified the already wavering Shenwu Sect Leader's resolve.

"The Divine Martial Sect is willing to submit to your esteemed Sect!"

A voice without any hesitation echoed, reverberating throughout the heavens and earth.