With a rumble, as Li Xuan and the others left the palace, Yue Mingchi's heart stirred, and he immediately activated his connection with the stone tower. With a booming sound, Li Xuan and the others felt a slight, then violent, tremor.
Less than five breaths later, a small palace instantly fell into Yue Mingchi's hands. The surrounding scenery had changed. The previous palace had vanished.
Seeing this, Yue Mingchi and the others showed excited expressions. This acquired treasure had indeed been obtained!
The next moment, Yue Mingchi made a decision. The acquired treasure was directly handed over to Li Xuan for safekeeping.
"What happened? Why did the previous palace disappear?"
"Could that booming sound just now be the sound of that upper palace vanishing?"
"The people from Xuan Sect don't seem surprised at all. Could it be that after exploring, the palace disappears?"
"..."
As Yue Mingchi and the others appeared in the open space where the upper palace had previously disappeared, the violent tremor also attracted the attention of the holy sons from other factions. In an instant, countless gazes were cast over.
However, Yue Mingchi and the others, who were at the center of the event, paid them no heed. The next moment, everyone shot towards the barrier entrance.
"Why did the Xuan Sect people leave? Have all the treasures in that upper palace been looted?" a holy son dressed in black murmured in confusion, watching Yue Mingchi and the others fly out of the Level Eight ruins.
Meanwhile, in the left and right palaces, several figures were flying out. Those above the right palace were the team from the Holy Sect. Wu Pengfei, the leader, looked at the now empty space above, and his eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.
"The Xuan Sect people actually obtained an acquired treasure. Since our Holy Sect cannot take this acquired treasure away, the one on the Xuan Sect members will serve as compensation!"
"Eldest Brother, with our current manpower, we cannot stop the Xuan Sect's team. But if the Hall Masters were to make a move, I believe the Xuan Sect's Sect Master and Peak Masters would not stand idly by." Xia Ruman, standing beside Wu Pengfei, said with a slight frown.
"The Xuan Sect's Sect Master is merely the acting Sect Master, Xuan Yixian, the Peak Master of Yuan Shang Peak. His strength is a grade lower than our Master's. Furthermore, the Xuan Sect is currently weaker than our Holy Sect."
"The previous probing revealed that the Xuan Sect's Sect Master is not in the sect. If they were to bring that upper palace back, the gap would likely be narrowed significantly. The Sect Master would not stand by and watch the Xuan Sect rise." Wu Pengfei sneered.
"Eldest Brother means that this upper palace will be the reason for our Holy Sect to make a move?" Xia Ruman's eyes lit up, and she became somewhat excited. She seemed eager for a battle.
"The Xuan Sect is much farther from here than our Holy Sect. Once we gallop back to the sect, the holy sons and peak masters of the Xuan Sect will be sacrifices before the war." Wu Pengfei licked his lips, a trace of scarlet flashing in his eyes.
Xia Ruman and the others, upon hearing this, all showed excitement. In an instant, led by Wu Pengfei, the Holy Sect's team also shot towards the barrier entrance.
Yue Mingchi and the others, who had already appeared outside the Level Eight ruins, gathered the Xuan Sect team as soon as they emerged, preparing for the descending light when the Level Eight ruins closed.
Upon seeing Wu Pengfei and the others appear, their expressions became vigilant once more.
"Yue Mingchi, I didn't expect you to have a way to take away that upper palace. But whether you can keep it depends on the Xuan Sect's fortune." Wu Pengfei cleared his throat and said loudly, not hiding his intention at all, responding to the vigilance in Yue Mingchi's eyes.
"Since our Xuan Sect can take it away, we have the ability to bring it back. You don't need to worry about that from your Holy Sect. From the looks of it, your Holy Sect has no fate with that right palace."
Although Yue Mingchi's expression was somewhat unpleasant, he had already anticipated that Wu Pengfei would mention the matter of the upper palace. He naturally did not take Wu Pengfei's threat lightly.
"So be it, we shall see." Wu Pengfei smiled and then sat cross-legged at the forefront of the Holy Sect's team. Yue Mingchi's expression grew even more grim.
"Eldest Brother, why is your face so grim?" Xie Yushan asked.
Even Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Wu Pengfei's group had no intention of seizing the treasure, but upon hearing Xie Yushan's words, he looked confused.
Yue Mingchi sighed and said, "From my understanding of Wu Pengfei, the less he says, the stronger his resolve. And another point, our journey back is much farther than the Holy Sect's."
"Now that Wu Pengfei has confirmed that we took the upper palace, he must also know that it is an acquired treasure. I fear our journey back will not be smooth."
Li Xuan and the others fell silent.
If Yue Mingchi was right, their return journey would be fraught with peril. After all, no one could predict whether the strong experts from the Holy Sect would make a move.
Although the leader of the Xuan Sect's team was Wen Yuanbai, one of the six peak masters of the Xuan Sect, he would likely only be able to retreat when facing several Hall Masters or even the Sect Master of the Holy Sect. In that case, the Xuan Sect's return would indeed be extremely dangerous.
"Everyone, don't worry too much. Let Uncle-Master Yuanbai make arrangements after we get out. If the Holy Sect truly sends experts to intercept us, our Xuan Sect is not a pushover that can be easily bullied." Sensing the solemn atmosphere, Yue Mingchi said to comfort them.
"Brother Mingchi, how much time is left before the Yinglong Cave Heaven closes?" Li Xuan asked, thinking for a moment, and looked at Yue Mingchi.
"Counting the time, there is still half a day left. When the time comes, a descending light will fall and teleport us out." Yue Mingchi replied. Li Xuan nodded slightly and swept his gaze towards Zhang Yunxia and Anan.
"Brother Li, what did Wu Pengfei from the Holy Sect mean by 'upper palace' just now?" Xi Chuyun asked as Li Xuan approached. Shi Hongyi, standing beside him, also had a trace of doubt in his eyes.
Li Xuan gave a helpless bitter smile and then recounted what had happened after entering the Level Eight ruins.
Fortunately, Li Xuan lowered his voice, and the surrounding disciples were discussing Wu Pengfei's words, so they did not notice Li Xuan's arrival.
"If the Holy Sect's experts are deployed, our return journey will surely be intercepted. If the Holy Sect makes a move, even if it's not a full mobilization, the strength of those who come will be far superior to ours. At that time, we will have no hope of victory."
After listening to Li Xuan's account, Xi Chuyun and Shi Hongyi's expressions became solemn.
"We have also considered this, but for now, we can only wait until the Yinglong Cave Heaven closes and we go out, and then follow the arrangements of Peak Master Wen Yuanbai." Li Xuan knew these principles, but at this moment, he could only smile bitterly and sigh.
What made Li Xuan even more bitter was that the upper palace was already in his hands. Taking it out and handing it to Yue Mingchi now would be even more inappropriate.
"If the Holy Sect truly chooses to go to war, I'm afraid Peak Master Wen Yuanbai alone will be of little help. It seems we all need to be mentally prepared." Xi Chuyun said solemnly.
Li Xuan nodded slightly and then waited in silence.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, half a day had quietly slipped away. The teams from various factions that had entered the Level Eight ruins now withdrew from it.
Li Xuan had no mind to ponder the harvest of other factions. He had already begun to plan how to deal with the situation if they were indeed intercepted by the Holy Sect.
"This is truly troublesome." After thinking it over, Li Xuan could not come up with a foolproof plan. Helplessly, he shook his head and looked into the distance.
Buzz!
Just then, a humming sound suddenly echoed from the sky. Then, Li Xuan felt a pulling force envelop his body.
"Brother Chuyun, stay close to me." Li Xuan, seeing this, did not resist at all, but quietly said to Xi Chuyun.
Li Xuan knew that once they left the Yinglong Cave Heaven, it would be time for war between the Xuan Sect and the Holy Sect.