291: Chapter 291 Great Ups and Downs

Bai Zuosi suddenly turned his head, his gaze piercing toward the space beside Ye Xinglan.

A crack split open in the Void Realm there, and three figures stepped out from within.

The leading man had a posture as upright as a pine tree, his black robes fluttering without wind. His face was handsome, and his brow was filled with indifferent majesty. Beside him, Shui Wanqing and Yue Qianqian followed.

The moment Ye Xinglan saw Ling Hao's figure, a spark of starlight suddenly lit up in her eyes. This was survival after reaching a dead end; this was hope. A trace of Life Qi seemed to return to her pale face, her heart throbbed, and waves of emotion surged within her!

She had originally thought that the Moonshadow Sect sending a Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Venerable to help would be the limit, but she never imagined a Supreme would come in person!

Ling Hao's gaze seemed to sense her and fell upon Ye Xinglan. Their eyes met briefly in the air. Ling Hao looked down at her petite figure and gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

On the other side, when the people of the Four Great Families clearly saw Ling Hao's figure—including Dongfang Zhuo, Ximen Lin, and Ouyang Xuan, along with the high-spirited Beitang Hang who had just achieved a Breakthrough—their bodies couldn't help but tremble.

The beautiful idea they had previously calculated—that they could get through this by performing merits and begging for forgiveness—instantly vanished. Facing the vast pressure of this Mahayana Supreme, they began to feel restless and uneasy again.

“Revered Master! Senior Sister Qingyao!”

After Yue Qianqian saw the situation clearly, she rushed directly to the side of Ye Xinglan and Gu Qingyao to check their injuries.

With a wave of Ling Hao's hand, a radiant jade bottle flew toward Yue Qianqian.

“Give this to them first to stabilize their injuries.”

“Thank you, Good Person Supreme!”

Ling Hao's gaze turned toward Bai Zuosi. Seeing the other man's face, which was as pale as if it had been coated in lead powder and completely devoid of blood, and his gaunt, thin frame, a strong sense of disgust inexplicably rose in Ling Hao's heart. It was as if he were looking at someone from his past life who had been completely eroded by toxic substances, something neither human nor ghost.

This disgust instantly transformed into a cold killing intent, spreading out with tangible intensity.

Feeling that Mahayana pressure and the undisguised, chilling killing intent, Bai Zuosi was completely stunned!

Impossible! This was absolutely impossible! When his Revered Master had exhausted his Lifespan to perform this major divination for him, it clearly showed that this trip would be extremely auspicious and he would surely get what he desired!

How could it... how could it attract a Mahayana Supreme who harbored such intense killing intent toward him?!

Suppressing the horror in his heart, Bai Zuosi forced a stiff and polite smile onto his face, cupping his hands in a respectful bow toward Ling Hao.

“Supreme, please calm your anger! Please allow me to introduce myself first.”

He withdrew the soundproofing barrier he had set up earlier, ensuring that everyone present could hear him clearly.

“I am Bai Zuosi, the current Saint of the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land in the Central Continent! This woman within the palace gates, Ye Xinglan, is actually my fellow Junior Sister! Years ago, her Revered Master colluded with the True Demon Realm; the evidence was conclusive, and they were executed by the Holy Land!”

“Although my Junior Sister was implicated, had her cultivation base crippled, and was expelled from the Holy Land, out of our bond as fellow disciples, I could not bear to see her wandering outside, suffering. My purpose in coming here today is precisely to take her back to the Holy Land and look after her, in order to make up for the regrets of the past.”

Although he didn't state a threat explicitly, the underlying meaning in his words was clear: This is the 'family matter' of our Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, and I have a top-tier Holy Land of the Central Continent standing behind me! As a Mahayana Supreme, Your Excellency should know what is important; why bother interfering?

As soon as these words were spoken, the people of the Four Great Families and the surrounding Loose Cultivators all turned pale with shock!

The Heavenly Mystery Holy Land! A colossus with a Supreme sitting in command!

Beitang Hang was even more overjoyed. If he could latch onto the thighs of this Saint of Heavenly Mystery... wouldn't the Beitang Family's position in Cangwu Province be as solid as a rock?

Ling Hao remained expressionless, his indifferent gaze sweeping over Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan immediately spoke up.

“My Revered Master! He did not collude with the True Demon Realm!”

At the same time, a faint voice transmission reached Ling Hao's ears.

“Supreme! I know I cannot escape this tribulation, and I do not dare to expect the Supreme to offend a Holy Land for my sake. I only ask that the Supreme, mindful of the meager hard work my Revered Master and I performed while guarding the Northern Border Rift for Cangwu all these years, can... protect these two worthless disciples of mine and give them a way to live...”

At the Cauldron-Setting Assembly, Ye Xinglan knew that Ling Hao had already offended the Xuanwu Holy Land; she was certain he wouldn't want to make another powerful enemy this time.

Ling Hao's voice transmission immediately rang out in her heart. “And what about you?”

Ye Xinglan lowered her head in silence.

Ling Hao seemed to see through her thoughts, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.

“Do you think that by doing this, I wouldn't have offended the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land?”

Ling Hao's gaze swept over Yue Qianqian and Gu Qingyao.

“Unless... I hand over your disciples as well, then perhaps I won't provoke the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land.”

This time, Ling Hao did not use voice transmission but spoke the words directly.

His words echoed clearly above the Wutong Divine Tree, and the entire field instantly fell into a deathly silence!

Ye Xinglan's heart sank into a cold abyss. She looked up, staring intently at Ling Hao's handsome but indifferent face, trying to find a trace of a joke or a deeper meaning.

Yue Qianqian and Gu Qingyao were even more thunderstruck!

Yue Qianqian's small face turned deathly pale, her hands trembling as she held her Revered Master. She looked at Ling Hao, her face full of confusion.

“Good... Good Person Supreme... you... you...”

How could the good person who gave her snacks and followed her here say such a thing? Gu Qingyao subconsciously shielded her Revered Master and Junior Sister, her eyes looking at Ling Hao filled with wariness and disappointment.

Shui Wanqing's brows furrowed tightly as she sighed in her heart. Offending two Holy Lands in a row was indeed not a wise move. The Sect Master had his reservations and chose to avoid their edge; though it was a helpless choice, it was... understandable?

In the distance, some Loose Cultivators and surviving Cultivators who were peeking began to discuss in low voices.

“Sigh, in the end... the arm cannot twist the thigh.”

“A Holy Land of the Central Continent... what kind of existence is that? No matter how strong Supreme Moonshadow is, his Foundation is shallow after all...”

“The sorrow of a small place... no matter how strong you are, when facing a true colossus, you still have to bow your head...”