It was more like a pack of stray dogs.
Eventually, the Yama Hall suppressed them.
The powerful figures from forces like Feather City, Ruyi Sect, Taiyue Gate, and Haichao City all perished.
Besides five formidable fourth-tier Xuan Emperors who became the Yama Hall's central puppets, the rest were shattered, their immense power transforming into colossal azure dragons that surged into Ling Fan's body.
"They are all dead!"
The vast Demon Sealing Forbidden Zone was devoid of demonic energy. All the powerful individuals from Haichao City, Feather City, Taiyue Gate, and other factions had vanished, leaving the area empty.
The Lord of Willow King City, Liu Zhong, and other powerhouses swallowed hard, their throats bobbing.
The series of events that transpired today had truly overturned their understanding of the world.
"Who... who exactly are you!"
Liu Zhong asked Ling Fan with a bitter smile, bowing his head.
"Me? It's best you don't know my identity. Just think of me as Tian Heng."
Ling Fan chuckled.
He held a good impression of the people from Willow King City, especially Liu Zhong.
Ling Fan remembered the favor of Liu Zhong stepping forward to protect him before the Demon Hall under immense pressure.
With a flick of his sleeve,
Countless rare treasures, Emperor Pills, and Emperor Weapons from the cultivators he had suppressed and refined flowed out in a torrent.
Among them was even a first-tier Xuan Vein.
"This... Thank you... Thank you, Young Master Tian!"
Liu Zhong was overwhelmed and quickly expressed his gratitude.
The other powerhouses from Willow King City also knelt down.
They felt that no amount of respect shown to such a powerful being as Ling Fan would be excessive.
"I'm leaving. It's best if you forget everything about me. And it's best not to publicize what happened in the Demon Sealing Forbidden Zone."
Ling Fan stated.
"Yes!"
Liu Zhong also realized the gravity of the situation.
When they looked up,
Ling Fan's figure had already vanished.
...
"City Lord, who do you think this Young Master Tian is..."
Recalling Ling Fan's incredible feats, the powerhouses of Willow King City felt as if they were dreaming, a sense of unreality washing over them.
"I'm not sure either..."
Liu Zhong shook his head, his temples throbbing as he pressed his fingers against them.
"Everything that happened today must be buried deep within your hearts. Absolutely no one is to spread the word, understand? Otherwise, our Willow King City might face utter destruction! He must be involved in something immense; someone like him is definitely not meant to be confined."
"I... I think I heard him say something like, 'What are Heavenly Court Inspectors? I want to overthrow the entire Heavenly Court!'"
A half-step Xuan Emperor powerhouse shivered.
Such a matter was beyond their wildest imagination, they dared not even entertain the thought. Their humble Willow King City, how could it dare to oppose the Heavenly Court? In the face of the Heavenly Court, they were insignificant, less than dust.
"Silence! If you didn't hear it, I didn't hear it either. No one heard anything, understand."
"Also, all the treasures he bestowed upon us must be put away for now and absolutely not revealed."
Liu Zhong gave further stern instructions.
...
When they returned to Willow King City,
Liu Yan immediately came forward.
"Father, you're finally back! How was the trip to the Demon Sealing Forbidden Zone this time?"
"Don't ask. We didn't even manage to reach the core of the Demon Sealing Forbidden Zone this time; we were pushed out by other factions. Wang Zheng and the other three Heavenly Court Inspectors did go in. I wonder if they gained anything."
A half-step Xuan Emperor from Willow King City said with great regret.
"Where is Tian Heng?"
Liu Yan looked around, asking Liu Zhong.
"Him? I don't know."
Liu Zhong shook his head.
"How can you not know? Wasn't he with you?" Liu Yan pressed.
"That guy is arrogant and extremely annoying. I still need to settle accounts with him."
Liu Yan said resentfully.
"Don't ask anymore. He has already left."
Liu Zhong understood his daughter's feelings perfectly.
He suspected she had already developed feelings for Ling Fan.
Then again,
For someone with such invincible and heaven-defying prowess, which woman wouldn't be moved?
"What, where did he go?"
Liu Yan's eyes instantly dimmed, a sense of loss washing over her.
"He probably had something urgent to attend to and left without saying goodbye. Xiao Yan, someone like him is even more formidable than the geniuses among the Heavenly Court Inspectors. He is destined to live in a different world from us in the future. Don't dwell on him."
Although Liu Zhong felt a pang of sympathy, he still spoke to his daughter.
"..."
"I understand."
...
At this moment,
Billions of miles away from Willow King City, on the vast lands of the Heavenly Realm.
A solitary figure was speeding through the heavens and earth.
He had already gleaned information about a large surrounding area from the memories of numerous powerhouses.
This was Ding Prefecture, one of the thirty thousand prefectures of the Heavenly Court.
Ding Prefecture was located on the fringes of the thirty thousand prefectures. Compared to the central prefectures, it was not prosperous, and the powerhouses were several orders of magnitude fewer.
Ding Prefecture also lacked any major sect of kings.
Ling Fan's current strength was sufficient to sweep through fourth-tier Xuan Emperors and even contend with fifth-tier Xuan Emperors. The development space in Ding Prefecture was limited for him.
Therefore, he had to go to a stronger prefecture.
Ideally, he should choose a prefecture with a major sect presided over by a Heavenly Emperor-level expert. With abundant resources, he could grow stronger more quickly.
Along the way,
Ling Fan flew and traveled.
Whenever he encountered a large city with a massive inter-prefecture teleportation array, he would directly pay a fee for the cross-prefecture teleportation.
In less than a month,
Ling Fan crossed several major prefectures.
He entered an extremely prosperous prefecture – Jin Prefecture.
Jin Prefecture was nothing like Ding Prefecture.
Within Jin Prefecture, there were no less than five major sects of kings.
Night Demon Mountain.
Qing Xuan Sect.
Xiaoyao Sect.
Ling Hai Sect.
And the most powerful, Tian Yi Sect.
Each of these five colossal sects of kings had experts at or above the Heavenly Emperor level presiding over them. Some sects even had more than one Heavenly Emperor.
Among them,
The most powerful Tian Yi Sect even had an Emperor Venerable expert at the peak of the Great Emperor realm still alive.
Emperor Venerable.
This was the strongest existence below the Heavenly Venerable.
"Night Demon Mountain, Qing Xuan Sect, Xiaoyao Sect, Ling Hai Sect... Tian Yi Sect!"
Ling Fan silently recited the names of these five major sects of kings.
Many past events also surfaced in his mind.
Tian Yi Sect!
He remembered this sect had participated in the operation to hunt him down.
Of course,
The strongest in Tian Yi Sect was only at the Emperor Venerable level, not even a Heavenly Venerable. They were not qualified to hunt him, a Great Heavenly Venerable. Tian Yi Sect was one of the sects sent to eliminate his kin and friends.
As for Qing Xuan Sect.
Ling Fan also recalled this sect.
Unlike Tian Yi Sect,
This sect had once stood on Ling Fan's side.
However, with Ling Fan's downfall, he was unsure of Qing Xuan Sect's current situation.
Ling Fan thought that since it still existed, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?
"Qing Xuan Sect has a connection with me, so I will join the Qing Xuan Sect. It can be considered settling a karmic connection with Qing Xuan Sect."
With this thought,
Ling Fan sped towards the direction of Qing Xuan Sect.