Half a day later, the Western Regions.
After half a day of full-speed pursuit, he had successfully arrived here. Gazing at the Xuanming Immortal Palace situated amidst the mountains ahead, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"Today, it's time to settle things!"
He had rushed here so urgently, partly for revenge, and partly to seize the opportunity to quickly obtain the Nine Revolutions Sacred Lotus before any unforeseen changes occurred.
Concurrently, within the Xuanming Immortal Palace, in a small council hall.
Vice Palace Master Mu Xiao frowned deeply as he looked at the elders gathered below the table, his expression extremely grim.
As the person most trusted by the Palace Master, he had been temporarily entrusted with managing all affairs of the palace in Mu Xuankong's absence in the Eastern Regions, which naturally included the authority to convene the elders.
However, the Palace Master had taken most of the Dao-Building realm cultivators with him to the Eastern Regions, leaving only a few elders behind.
One of them knitted his brows and asked Mu Xiao, "Why did you call us here so urgently? What has happened?"
Seeing the impatient faces of those present, Mu Xiao took a deep breath and said in a grave tone.
"Esteemed elders, just half a day ago, the soul jade slips of the Palace Master and everyone who went to the Eastern Regions with him shattered."
...
As these words were spoken, the council hall fell into a deathly silence, which then erupted into an uproar.
"How is that possible?! How could anything happen to the Palace Master?!"
"That's right, wasn't the Palace Master going to destroy the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect? Did he fail?"
"Impossible! With the Fúlong Immortal Palace joining forces, what storm could a mere Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect and Ye Yun stir up?"
The elders debated noisily, but one who was relatively calm offered his analysis.
"Soul jade slips shattering doesn't necessarily mean the Palace Master is in trouble, does it? Perhaps there's another reason affecting the soul jade slips' perception."
Soul jade slips were, after all, just tools, and many situations could cause them to malfunction, such as entering a soul-blocking area, or being enslaved through a contract, or a master-servant contract, all of which could lead to misjudgments.
Upon hearing this, others chimed in in agreement.
"Right, right! It must be because of that!"
"Yes, there have been similar situations before where someone's soul jade slip shattered, but it was actually just being blocked by something. This time it's definitely the same, just with a few more people!"
"It must be so, how could anything happen to the Palace Master!"
"Exactly! Even if that Ye Yun and the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect had the support of an Immortal Palace, how could they possibly do anything to the Palace Master!"
On this matter, everyone's thoughts were remarkably unified.
After all, that was more than seventy percent of the Xuanming Immortal Palace's top fighting force. While not invincible on the continent, it was impossible for anyone to completely defeat them head-on!
Unless they were ambushed, but this time the Palace Master and his group were the attackers, and it was a surprise attack at that. How could they have been ambushed?
Listening to their discussions, Mu Xiao, seated above, couldn't shake off his unease. For some reason, he had a premonition of something ominous.
"You guys, do you think that monstrous Ye Yun might have suddenly soared in power and reversed the situation while the Palace Master was taking action?"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Another Vice Palace Master spoke up from the side, his attitude exceptionally clear, and he mockingly said to Mu Xiao.
"Are you telling me you're not just scared by him? No matter how powerful Ye Yun is, even if he broke through to the Dao-Building realm, the gap between him and the Palace Master is not insignificant."
"Perhaps, he's already been slain by the Palace Master and is out for a stroll on the Yellow Springs Road with his three disciples."
These words drew chuckles from the crowd, and Mu Xiao also seemed convinced, his tense mood easing slightly.
"Perhaps... I am indeed overthinking it."
But as soon as he finished speaking, the door to the council hall was suddenly pushed open with a bang, and someone tumbled in head over heels.
"Vice Palace Master! B-b-big trouble! Someone is attacking our Immortal Palace!"
With a thunderous boom, everyone abruptly stood up. Mu Xiao glared at the newcomer and asked sternly.
"Who is causing trouble for our Xuanming Immortal Palace now? How many people have they sent? Thousands or tens of thousands?"
In his mind, to shake the Xuanming Immortal Palace, such numbers were a pipe dream, even for the currently weakened Immortal Palace.
The man, sweating profusely under the elders' gazes, stammered.
"J-just... just one person!"
"One person?"
Everyone exchanged glances, and they all visibly relaxed, having assumed it was another Immortal Palace taking advantage of their weakness.
Mu Xiao frowned even further. "What's the panic? What's there to fear from one person? Can't you be calmer when facing an incident, like this Palace Master?"
"But... but..."
The man swallowed hard and managed to say, "But he claims to be Ye Yun..."
With a thud, Mu Xiao's legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed onto the conference table, only managing to prop himself up with his hands.
His face contorted with shock, and he glared at the messenger. "Say that again, what's his name? Tell me quickly!"
The man, startled by his reaction, quickly replied, "Ye Yun, Ye Yun of the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect!"
He then muttered to himself, *Didn't you just say to stay calm when facing incidents? You're not exactly calm yourself,* but he dared not voice his thoughts.
This was because, upon hearing that name, Mu Xiao's expression had become as ugly as a pig's liver.
"If Ye Yun is here, then... that means the Palace Master..."
However, some still clung to a shred of hope.
"Don't rush, perhaps he just happened to not be in the Heavenly Sect and, upon learning that the Palace Master was attacking the Heavenly Sect, decided to raid our Immortal Palace in his absence."
"I heard someone say this is called 'Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao'!"
Although few believed this explanation, it was their last hope. Mu Xiao quickly regained his composure and took a deep breath.
"We'll know for sure once we meet Ye Yun. Follow me to meet the challenge!"
With that, he charged out first, followed closely by the other elders. All of them, at the very least, cultivators at the Half-step Dao-Building realm, rushed out of the council hall together.
Meanwhile, Ye Yun, who had forced his way into the Immortal Palace, was quickly met with resistance from over a thousand guards. However, for Ye Yun, it was as simple as a game of mowing down weaklings.
Ye Yun stood tall on the plaza, his Fenglan Sword now transformed into a colossal sword shadow stretching a hundred meters long. Each swing of the sword took down at least a dozen guards, and no matter how powerful a guard was, they were utterly defenseless against the sword's edge.
As the slaughter progressed, thousands of cultivators formed a circle around Ye Yun, hundreds of meters away, but none dared to approach.
Looking at his blood-soaked sword, their eyes were filled with terror, and they couldn't help but tremble.
Ye Yun surveyed the crowd with a playful tone. "What? No one dares to come forward anymore? The great Xuanming Immortal Palace is nothing more than this, to be so easily cut through by this Lord?"
"In that case, this Lord won't be polite. Take whatever you need yourself."
He wore a wicked grin, appearing like a villain, which only made the others more fearful, and they retreated one after another.
Ye Yun slowly flew forward with his sword, while the others continuously retreated, none daring to step within the range of his hundred-meter sword shadow.
Until more than ten figures flew out, accompanied by a world-shattering roar.
"How dare you! A mere Ye Yun, how dare you act so presumptuously in my Xuanming Immortal Palace?"