Just as the Faceless Sword Sect was tallying its losses, deep within the Tree Sea near the Jade Balance Sect...

A series of hazy figures silently converged.

The moonlight was cold.

Three figures, some standing, some sitting, stood silently before a tall, blurred, and distorted humanoid shape.

"Why hasn't Chun Yi arrived yet? He never misses at a time like this," one person said in a low voice.

"He's in charge of supervising the battlefield, but afterwards, he went to track the White Deer of the Faceless Sword Sect. There shouldn't be any problems. Someone must have delayed him," a woman replied.

"Speaking of White Deer... the people who tracked him earlier also haven't returned," the last person said in a deep voice.

"Let's put that aside for now. Huo Qingkong's strength has exceeded our expectations. Even if we slightly miscalculated and didn't know he had entered the Yin Ring realm, all of us here are Yin Ring experts. No one can single-handedly take on three eight-Yin and one nine-Yin cultivator, right?

"What's more, there's also the grand formation suppressing Fuyun Zi, another Yin Ring elder, holding down the fort. Even with such strength, he managed to turn the tables... He's already enough of a threat to the organization's ultimate plan."

The man who spoke first said again.

"Xia Yi is right," the woman among the three nodded. "According to the divination, Huo Qingkong is indeed developing as predicted. We can barely suppress him now, but if we wait any longer, something terrible might happen."

"Leader, please make a decision quickly!" The third person cupped his fist and bowed towards the humanoid figure that was constantly twisting and flickering.

"Please make a decision quickly!" The other two also said resolutely, bowing.

The shadows of the trees swayed in the moonlight. The figure was silent for a long time, then raised its head to look at the full moon.

"If we were to..."

Before it could finish speaking, a black aura shot over from a distance and landed in its hand.

The aura exploded in its palm, emitting a sound.

The figure's voice stopped abruptly.

Its body froze, as if it had been paused.

"Chun Yi has been sacrificed."

"?!?!?"

"!! What?"

"Impossible! Chun Yi is among the middle rank of the elders in the Four Sects. How could something happen to him while tracking and dealing with some Green Elite Group disciples!?"

The three were shocked.

"More than that..." The leader waved its hand to dispel the black aura. "The people tracking White Deer and the others have also mysteriously disappeared. Their life tablets are still intact, but the people are gone..."

"According to the news from inside the Faceless Sword Sect, White Deer and Huo Qingkong have both safely returned to the sect. None of the Green Elite Group disciples were injured."

These words shocked the three into incomprehension, and they were speechless for a moment.

"Who... is it!?" The leader slightly clenched its fist. "It must be one of the Faceless Sword Sect's elders who took action."

Only elder-level experts could form Yin Rings and cross the qualitative change. The emergence of the Yin Ring's illusory light caused a qualitative change in energy, instantly elevating the cultivator's strength by a large margin.

With the illusory light shining, forces below that level could not approach.

"I'll investigate," the third of the three said in a low voice. "Among the six elders, only three are capable of silently resolving Chun Yi. We just need to investigate the specific whereabouts of these three."

"Good. Be careful." The leader nodded.

*

*

*

Winter, Year 913 of the Pan Guang Six Eras.

The Four Sects fell into war. The Qingmu Sword Sect, in alliance with the Jade Balance Sect, issued a conquest order to the Faceless Sword Sect, demanding that they hand over Huo Qingkong to answer the Pan Guang Great Tribulation prophecy. The Faceless Sword Sect refused.

The Years Gate maintained neutrality, offering no assistance to either side.

The two sides formed ranks and faced off at the Five Forests Peak, the junction of their three borders, with each side experiencing victories and defeats.

Huo Qingkong took action in the battle, defeating three elders of the allied forces in succession, before being ambushed and forced back by Yao Chengli, the vice sect master of the Qingmu Sword Sect.

The world was shaken.

A Sword Soaring Sky also officially broke away from the category of genius and was listed as a famous expert.

The situation fell into a stalemate.

Three years later...

Faceless Sword Sect's residence.

‘Another three years have passed.’ Li Cheng颐 sat by the window, holding a cup of hot tea, quietly watching the snowflakes falling from the sky.

There were many more people in the sword sect than before.

Because of the war, the sect leader ordered an increase in the number of introductory disciples accepted, but half of the mid-to-high-level combat power, such as the six elders and dozens of deacons, had been lost.

Two elders were injured and went into seclusion. In the decisive battle a year ago, if not for the senior brother’s desperate efforts, fighting Yao Chengli, the vice sect master of Qingmu Sword Sect, again and injuring him, the current situation would have been even worse.

Alas.

Li Cheng颐's position allowed him to see the situation above the entire sword sect.

At this time, he saw streams of blue sword light constantly coming and going, flying above the sword sect.

Senior brother Huo Qingkong, wrapped in blue light, hovered high in the sky, welcoming visiting guests with two elders of the sect.

It was someone from the Years Gate.

Huo Qingkong's temperament had changed a lot compared to three years ago.

The sword intent on his body was becoming more and more profound, like a bottomless abyss, making it impossible to see its depth.

His cultivation level was also unknown.

Only occasionally, when passing by, could he sense circles of terrifying aura emanating from the stone house where he cultivated.

He must have far surpassed the level of disciples and deacons, reaching the heights of the elder level.

"Why are you sitting here alone? Aren't you going to take a look? Isn't there a good friend of yours at the Years Gate?" Kui Ling approached and sat down behind him, softly speaking.

There was a hint of exhaustion in her voice.

As a high-level expert among the elders, she naturally had to take action as well. Not long ago, while patrolling the border, she fought with an elder of the Jade Balance Sect. After both sides were injured, she was now resting and recuperating.

"Isn't the Years Gate always neutral? Why would they take the initiative to visit this time?" Li Cheng颐 asked in return.

In three years, his Faceless Sword Art had also been cultivated to the sixth level of perfection with the invisible blessing of the snow lotus, and a new Yuan Ring had been condensed.

He also found a new Sacred Infant for the Sacred Spirit Art and condensed the thirteenth Yuan Ring.

After crossing the threshold of the five Yin, subsequent improvements were much easier than before, especially inside the sword sect, with Kui Ling providing unlimited resources, the improvement of strength was simply easy and freehand.

But even so, when occasionally encountering Huo Qingkong within the sect, Li Cheng颐 could still feel a trace of danger.

Obviously, while he was improving, the other party was also improving rapidly.

Within the vast sword sect, apart from the two of them, everyone else was improving, but three years was only enough for the Four Little Swords to condense a single Yuan Ring.

In the Pan Guang Realm, where cultivation is often measured in decades or centuries, this speed is actually the norm.

"The Years Gate has always been biased towards us. The sect master is still my good闺蜜, it’s just that there was turmoil within the sect before, causing a lot of damage and seriously depleting their vitality. It seems to be the work of Dark Fragrance. That’s why they haven’t been able to assist our sect. Now that the situation has stabilized, they will naturally come to visit as soon as possible to communicate for the future." Kui Ling explained.

In just three years, witnessing the silence and fall of many junior brothers and sisters, she no longer had the relaxed and leisurely mood she once had.

"Speaking of which, Huo Qingkong's strength is becoming more and more unfathomable. Some time ago, the sect leader bestowed upon him the Pivot Inscription Sword, which he has been nurturing all along... That is the sword that represents the position of the next sect leader." Kui Ling sighed.

"Even mother can't see through him?" Li Cheng颐 was slightly startled.

After spending so much time together, he had naturally figured out Kui Ling's approximate strength.

It was roughly above the Yin Ring realm, between fifteen and seventeen Yin. The cultivation of Yuan Rings became slower and more difficult as one progressed, so it was unlikely that there would be a sudden change in cultivation in a short period of time.

On the other hand, it was abnormal for Senior Brother to have a dramatic change every year.

Moreover, cultivation only represented the height of the realm. When actually fighting, it still depended on how the Yuan Rings were matched and how powerful the guardian cultivation technique was.

For example, the Faceless Sword Art could increase the speed and lethality of all offensive aspects of one's own Yuan Ring by more than three times the normal state.

If ordinary cultivators encountered it, even if they were at the same realm or even a slightly higher realm, they would be instantly killed on the spot.

"Can't see through him." Kui Ling shook her head. "His improvement is too fast. Even Yao Chengli's ambush only managed to repel him. He has now become a suppression-level expert who threatens the Jade Balance Sect. Apart from the Jade Balance Sect Master, no one else is likely to be his opponent."

She sighed.

"You also know that at that level, a simple difference of one or two levels in cultivation does not affect the final victory or defeat. Therefore, the Jade Balance Sect is also wary and dare not easily take action again. After all, once that level is injured, the recovery time is also very long."

Li Cheng颐 nodded.

During these three years, he did not only stay in the sect to cultivate, but had been looking for opportunities to find variations of the snow lotus.

However, due to the war, the sword sect's control over the disciples of the Green Elite Group was strict, so he was unable to find enough variations after going out several times, and could only return helplessly.

The flower aura of the snow lotus had only been absorbed to a little over half, and it was still a long way from a single evolution.

Only after a single evolution was completed could he complete the final main flower of the Flower God.

When the twelve Flower God positions were gathered, the many authorities of the ultimate Flower Emperor would also unfold one by one.

At the same time, the Flower Scale Armor, the ultimate armor that had been greatly enhanced through fusion, would also appear.

At that time, his strength would definitely have a huge increase.

Li Cheng颐's plan was to take advantage of the opportunity of a surge in strength, break through, and use the Flower Whisper Pearl's Reverse Trace to see if there was a chance to leave Pan Guang.

But when he thought of the perverted Death Angel King... he felt a burst of powerlessness in his heart.

The Flower Whisper Good Luck +2 that he had been accumulating for three years was for dealing with the crisis at that time.

After chatting with Kui Ling for a while, Li Cheng颐 saw the people from the Years Gate land from the window, and then got up and went out.

He also planned to go around. The Years Gate was the starting point where he found the snow lotus.

So if he took the opportunity to contact them, he might be able to get some variations of the snow lotus.

Leaving the pavilion, greeting Senior Sister Yun Chen, who was playing with snakes, Li Cheng颐 walked straight towards the Four Seas Pavilion, where guests were entertained.

Accompanying the people from the Years Gate were Bai He and Zhao Yuan.

The two of them were much more mature than they were three years ago.

Bai He was still the same as before, talkative and curious about everything, but his temperament was much more stable.

Zhao Yuan, on the other hand, had changed greatly. The little girl who used to look down on everyone and only admired Senior Brother now had a cold and beautiful gaze, fair skin, and long legs. Her facial features were exquisitely carved without a single flaw, and a blue sword pattern between her eyebrows made her seem even more unattainable.

Within the sword sect, some people had already praised her as the number one beauty of the sword sect.

In just three years, she had vaguely shown the potential for amazing beauty in the future. This was something Li Cheng颐 had not expected.

The two of them were accompanying several guests from the Years Gate, all young people, chatting and introducing the local scenery and characteristics.

Seeing Li Cheng颐 approaching, Bai He and Zhao Yuan bowed slightly to him at the same time.

"Senior Brother White Deer."

"I'm just passing by. I came to see the friends from the Years Gate. Speaking of which, several of my Sacred Infant servants were also obtained from the Years Gate." Li Cheng颐 smiled.

He was no longer the young man he was before. With a height of over 1.7 meters, plus his temperament, he had completely the image and appearance of an adult.

The antlers on his forehead had also grown a lot longer. The color was still as white as jade, but it revealed a trace of sharpness.

(End of this chapter)