After all, the Immortal Country was unlike Qiantian; Zhao Xi trusted him and granted him significant authority, so he had to provide a clear explanation when he killed a True Immortal to silence any criticism.
Otherwise, even if Zhao Xi was willing to suppress all dissatisfaction, the other five Top Heavenly Immortals would inevitably harbor hostility towards him, leading to instability within the Immortal Country.
Gu Jinlai took decisive action to purge the various Grotto Heavens in the Immortal Country, preparing for the assassination of Master Xuanling.
Within the Profound Immortal Realm.
An envoy from the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, Supreme Immortal Su Yuan, and an incarnation of Daoist Xuan Jian had already arrived at the Heavenly Fire Sect.
Facing this top force, akin to a neighbor, the Heavenly Fire Sect dared not neglect the visitors.
Not only did the Sect Leader, Lie Long True Immortal, welcome them with several True Immortals, but Daoist Zi Yan, a prestigious powerhouse of the Heavenly Fire Sect, also personally received the renowned Daoist Xuan Jian.
After exchanging pleasantries, as Daoist Xuan Jian signaled that there were important matters to discuss, Lie Long True Immortal immediately led them into the inner parts of the Heavenly Fire Sect and activated a Formation that blocked probing.
"For Daoist Xuan Jian to personally intervene, it must not be a trivial matter."
Daoist Zi Yan inquired.
"Strictly speaking, we want to understand the stance of the Heavenly Fire Sect."
Daoist Xuan Jian said, getting to the point, "Daoist Zi Yan might have received the news that I recently activated the Heavenly Dao to target a presumptuous rogue within the realm of our Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect?"
Daoist Zi Yan nodded.
This incident happened in the neighboring Xuanjin Dao, and with the significant disturbance caused when Daoist Xuan Jian activated the Geng Metal Heavenly Dao, it was natural that the Heavenly Fire Sect was not unaware of it.
"However, what does this have to do with our Heavenly Fire Sect? To prompt Daoist Xuan Jian to take action himself, the person must be at least at the level of a Supreme True Immortal, and our Heavenly Fire Sect has had but a few Supreme True Immortals who have not entered the realm of the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect recently. The remaining ones from the Dragon Sword Sect, Long Xingyu, and Feng Daoqi of Wind and Rain Tower don’t seem brave enough to provoke the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect."
Daoist Zi Yan stated.
"Daoist Zi Yan doesn’t know!?"
Daoist Xuan Jian looked surprised, "The presumptuous one within the realm of our Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect is none other than Elder Yu Feng from the Flame River Dao of the Creation Gate, whose combat prowess is comparable to a Top Heavenly Immortal! I thought someone of his stature would already be well-known to Daoist Zi Yan."
At that, Daoist Zi Yan’s gaze shot towards the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Fire Sect, Lie Long True Immortal.
The True Immortal quickly explained, "The Creation Gate has indeed been ambitious recently, and Yu Feng is the brother of the former Sect Leader, Jiang Yujian. Although his cultivation is significant... according to investigations, he’s merely at the level of the Strongest True Immortals..."
"He only displayed the power of a Strongest True Immortal in the Flame River Dao?"
Upon hearing this, Daoist Xuan Jian looked gravely serious, "Such deep concealment suggests that the Creation Gate and Yu Feng are probably harboring no small schemes."
Having said that, he promptly suggested, "According to our estimates in the Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect, Yu Feng received a corpse of an Innate Sacred due to some special reason, and it was an extremely powerful Innate Sacred. He has incorporated the power of this Innate Sacred into his body, and his combat strength, I fear, is comparable to a Top Heavenly Immortal, particularly since this Top Heavenly Immortal does not need to rely on a Grotto Heaven to travel freely, in terms of deterrence... it matches an Immortal Master!"
Upon hearing this, both Daoist Zi Yan and Lie Long True Immortal’s expressions changed.
Incorporating an Innate Sacred Corpse!?
Top Heavenly Immortal combat power, able to move freely without relying on a Grotto Heaven!?
Deterrence on par with an Immortal Master!?
"The power of Heavenly Immortals and Daoist Masters is established based on backing from a Grotto Heaven; once they move beyond ten thousand miles from a Grotto Heaven, a Daoist Master’s incarnation is merely equivalent to Supreme True Immortal combat power, of course, those top Daoist Masters can separate the Heavenly Dao and engage in a Jade and Stone Burn Together battle with an enemy, but this situation has little reference value. Those who can still exhibit a Heavenly Immortal’s power beyond a Grotto Heaven are only comparable to an Immortal Master!"
Daoist Xuan Jian solemnly stated, "Yu Feng’s ability to unleash power matching a Top Heavenly Immortal without relying on a Grotto Heaven and the suggestion that his deterrence is second only to an Immortal Master is by no means an exaggeration!"
Daoist Zi Yan looked somewhat displeased.
The fact that such a formidable opponent had emerged under the watch of the Heavenly Fire Sect, and they were entirely unaware of it until Daoist Xuan Jian informed them, made the Heavenly Fire Sect feel both a sense of crisis and embarrassment.
However, soon, the Daoist Master calmed down: "Daoist Xuan Jian traveled all the way to our Heavenly Fire Sect to inquire about our stance towards Yu Feng?"
"Yes, Yu Feng caused trouble within the territory of our Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect and cruelly killed our Elder Yan Wuwen, a Devil of such nature, our Ten Thousand Stars Sword Sect must take action."
Daoist Xuan Jian stated coldly.
Even though he activated the Geng Metal Heavenly Dao to intercept Gu Jinlai before Gu Jinlai killed Yan Wuwen, it did not prevent him from reversing the order of events to imply that he was motivated by Yan Wuwen’s death to activate the Geng Metal Heavenly Dao to attack Gu Jinlai.
After speaking, he glanced at Daoist Zi Yan: "Since Yu Feng belongs to the Creation Gate from your Flame River Dao, I must first inquire about your stance as the Heavenly Fire Sect regarding dealing with Yu Feng and the Creation Gate, lest there be any relationship or misunderstanding between the Creation Gate and Daoist Zi Yan. However, now it seems... with Yu Feng possessing such capabilities, yet the Creation Gate has always kept a low profile, there likely lies a huge ambition hidden within."
Under the misleading guidance of Daoist Xuan Jian, Daoist Zi Yan was clearly also contemplating in that direction.