318: Mid-summer

The Seventh Demon Suppressing Tower stood tall amidst the mountain pass where the Peaks met the front of the Tianque Sect. From a distance, the bluish-black building resembled a crouching primordial beast, shrouded in a thin layer of gray mist.

Chen Xuan and his party arrived on clouds. Their toes had barely touched the ground for a few steps when they saw a scholar in white sitting at a desk in the courtyard before the tower.

On the desk before him, an earthenware pot for brewing tea was emitting wisps of light smoke. He held an ancient scroll in his hand, turning the pages with a leisurely expression, as if he were not in front of the peril-filled Demon Suppressing Tower, but rather enjoying a moment of refined elegance in his own courtyard.

As Chen Xuan and the others approached, the scholar slowly set down his scroll, raised his eyes to scan them indifferently, and curled his lips into a faint smile.

“Peak Master Chu, I didn't expect the two of us to meet again so soon.”

Chu Haotian's face suddenly darkened. Upon seeing the scholar's face, his heart sank, and he instantly understood several things.

Seeing this, Master Qing Xuan hurried forward and asked in a low voice, “Who is this person?”

“That Void Refining Realm great demon from the First Demon Suppressing Tower.”

Chen Xuan nodded slightly. He quickly reacted, recognizing that this person should be the scholar Chu Haotian had mentioned during their previous chat.

His thoughts raced as he connected the dots. “Looking at his composed posture as he waits, I'm afraid our actions were predicted long ago. He is clearly waiting here specifically for us.”

Chu Haotian suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said deeply, “How could you guess we would come here?”

As his voice fell!

Nine figures suddenly darted out from the Demon Suppressing Tower behind Yan Shu. Their auras were all majestic and vast, with profound spiritual power. They were actually the Tower Revered Masters or famous great demons of the other Demon Suppressing Towers. The weakest among them had a cultivation base that had already reached the second level of the Void Refining Realm.

Zhao Jingchen and Lin Xiuqin were shocked, their eyes widening in disbelief and astonishment.

Li Pingan, however, remained expressionless, showing no ripples of emotion.

It wasn't that he didn't recognize the current situation.

It was just that with his Revered Master by his side, Li Pingan felt there was nothing to worry about.

Whether it was the former Po Shan Sect or the Hegemon-level Forces of the Eastern Region, he had experienced such scenes many times and had naturally grown accustomed to them. In Li Pingan's view, the only difference was that he used to think the Sect Masters of those three Hegemon-level Forces in the Eastern Region were in the Golden Core Realm, whereas these people now were in the Void Refining Realm.

He might not even have realized it himself.

As long as he stayed before his Revered Master, it felt as though he needn't worry even if the sky were to fall.

Master Qing Xuan's face also darkened. With a flick of his hand, a lustrous white jade brush appeared in his palm. He secretly circulated his spiritual power, ready to respond to any changes at a moment's notice.

The nine pairs of eyes fell collectively on Chen Xuan's group of three, but their gazes were more focused on Chu Haotian and Master Qing Xuan.

After all, these two were long-renowned figures on the Rain God Continent. Compared to the figure in white they had never dealt with before, they naturally placed more importance on them.

Yan Shu slowly stood up and said in a flat tone, “Although I don't know how you saw through the hidden agents we planted, it wasn't a difficult task to deduce your movements.”

“Fairy Hanyan is not a soft target like Daoist Fu Nian. If you had gone to Jiuyou City, even if you could win, you would have surely suffered heavy losses and would inevitably need a place to rest and reorganize. And this Seventh Demon Suppressing Tower is the place you were most likely to come to.”

Chu Haotian ignored his explanation entirely, his gaze locked tightly onto the middle-aged man in black among the nine, his voice icy:

“Wei Ling, why did you betray the Sect?”

The man called Wei Ling wore a complex, faint smile on his face. “Senior Brother Chu, instead of dwelling on these things, you should think more about your current situation.”

“We have known each other for many years, and I truly did not wish to come to this point. Senior Brother, why don't you also submit to us? It is already a foregone conclusion that the Rain God Continent will be occupied by the Yao Race. There is no need to be stubborn and bring suffering upon yourself.”

He shifted his gaze to Master Qing Xuan, his smile deepening. “Of course, Senior Master Qing Xuan, as well as nephews Jing Chen and Xiuqin, if you are willing to submit, we will welcome you all the same.”

After speaking, he turned to look at Yan Shu and cupped his hands. “Mr. Yan Shu, could you grant me some face?”

Yan Shu nodded with a smile. “If Peak Master Chu has the intention to submit, we will naturally welcome him wholeheartedly. As long as you swear a Heavenly Dao oath now, once the great matter is accomplished, what would be the harm in leaving this Tianque Sect behind us for you few to manage in the future?”

“Only...”

His tone shifted slightly as he sighed softly, “I fear Peak Master Chu holds himself in too high regard and is unwilling to associate with us of the Yao Race.”

Chu Haotian took a deep breath, his tone dark. “I, Chu Haotian, certainly don't remember having a Junior Brother who would betray his Revered Masters and ancestors.”

Beside him, Master Qing Xuan suddenly laughed. His gaze swept over the nine people before him as he feigned interest:

“Speaking of which, I am actually quite tempted by your proposal. I just wonder, if we were to defect, what tangible benefits could we get?”

“As long as you can promise a heaven-rank magic treasure, I will defect to you immediately.”

While he was being evasive with Yan Shu and the others, he secretly spoke to the three with Chu Haotian via heart-lake voice transmission: “I didn't expect the enemy to have noticed our movements long ago; the situation is unfavorable. In a moment, I will set up a concealment Restriction. We will take the opportunity to flee far away, return to the Sect first, and then plan further.”

As long as they could retreat to the Tianque Sect, with the power of the Sect's mountain-protecting Formation, even if these nine people attacked together, Master Qing Xuan was fully confident he could keep them at bay.

Hearing this, Yan Shu teased with a smile, “A heaven-rank magic treasure? Fellow Daoist, you certainly have a large appetite. However, as long as you sincerely submit, it is just a heaven-rank magic treasure. Although I can't give it to you now, once the Rain God Continent falls, this promise will naturally be fulfilled.”

The smile on Master Qing Xuan's face grew thicker. He seemed to be weighing his response, but secretly he had already mobilized the spiritual power throughout his body. His fingertips were quietly forming hand seals, intending to set up the concealment Restriction. But just as his spiritual power was about to reach its Peak, his expression suddenly changed!

An extremely subtle yet overbearing ripple of Spiritual Qi spread out from the surroundings without warning. Faint golden patterns emerged on the bluestone floor tiles beneath their feet, the ancient trees in the courtyard, and even the corners of the Demon Suppressing Tower.

The moment the barrier activated, an invisible wall spanned all directions, directly blocking all escape routes. Even space-traversal techniques were forcibly bounced back!

“Not good!”

Master Qing Xuan's heart skipped a beat, sensing trouble.

The flow of spiritual power within his body was still smooth, but no matter how he urged his escape techniques, he could not break through the obstruction of that golden light net.

He instantly turned his head, his gaze locking like lightning onto an old man among the nine who had frost-white hair at his temples and wore a green cloth Daoist robe. It was the Revered Master of the Fourteenth Demon Suppressing Tower, Cao Xu!

A smile curled on Cao Xu's lips as he slowly stepped forward. His voice was old but carried a hint of pride. “I have long heard that Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan of the Tianque Sect is proficient in the Dao of Formations and is unsurpassed in the Rain God Continent. I have specially set up the ‘World-Locking Formation’ today just to keep you all here. It seems I am showing off before an expert; please do not hesitate to offer your guidance, Fellow Daoist.”

Although this World-Locking Formation's effect was simple, it was indeed fatal for Chu Haotian and the others at this moment. It was clearly intended to trap them here for a forced battle.