The leader of the Shenxing Sect remained silent.
The first time he had heard of Chu Xun was a year ago—rumors said Chu Xun might have broken through his realm. Then came the showdown at Donglin Sect half a year ago, when Chu Xun was only at the Fifth Realm of the Human Emperor.
Only a few months had passed since then.
And now… they could no longer see through Chu Xun's cultivation at all.
Ninth Realm of the Human Emperor?
Half-Saint?
Or had he already stepped into the Saint Realm?
No one could say for sure.
What terrified them even more was that the lingering sword intent just now seemed almost casual—no one knew how much strength Chu Xun had actually used. Yet even so, it was something no Ninth-Realm Human Emperor could withstand.
If he went all out—
If he used the Ivy Sword, combined with the Great River Sword Intent—
What kind of monster would that one sword produce?
"At the very least… he's already a Half-Saint," Lu Nantian, leader of the Zhenwu Sect, finally spoke in a low voice.
This was the realm he had dreamed of for countless years. Once one stepped into it, sainthood was no longer far away.
Yet before he could even touch it—
Someone else had already arrived.
The leaders of the Shenxing Sect and Tianji Sect, along with the Nangong family, all chose silence.
The master of Xuanwang Palace and the leader of Fuyue Sect desperately wanted to hear someone refute that conclusion.
Just moments ago, they had treated Donglin Sect with disdain, barely hiding their contempt. Now, looking at Elder Chu—who had revealed Half-Saint power in the blink of an eye—their hearts trembled uncontrollably.
But no one denied it.
The more it was confirmed, the worse they felt.
Regret gnawed at them.
If they hadn't been so eager to curry favor with the other Holy Lands… if they had maintained a proper relationship with Chu Xun…
When Chu Xun inevitably became a saint in the future, they would have missed their chance entirely.
The pain was suffocating.
Yet when they caught sight of Qin Yu out of the corner of their eyes, their hearts strangely felt a little lighter.
After all, losing face was one thing.
Qin Yu's situation was far worse.
"He doesn't deserve it."
Yes.
He doesn't.
But the one who didn't deserve it was not Elder Chu—
It was Qin Yu.
Qin Yu's face flushed red under the gazes of the crowd. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn't endure it any longer. He angrily flicked his sleeves and left the battlefield, escaping this place of humiliation.
The leaders of the Tianji Sect, Shenxing Sect, Zhenwu Sect, and the Nangong family also turned and departed, each with complicated thoughts.
Only Chu Yaoyao of the Goddess Sect lingered in the sky above Snow Mountain Palace.
She paused for a moment, her beautiful eyes filled with complexity.
"A late bloomer…" she murmured softly.
"Someone who accumulated too much?"
That was how everyone had evaluated Chu Xun.
Yet no one had imagined that someone who had accumulated for so long would erupt with such terrifying force.
To him, breakthroughs seemed as easy as eating and drinking.
He had reached a height no one else could.
---
Donglin Sect.
When Chu Xun returned, Elder Wang He—who had been anxious the entire time—finally let out a long breath and hurried forward to greet him.
He asked nervously whether Chu Xun had encountered trouble from the other sects, and what exactly had happened at Snow Mountain Palace. Had it truly been wiped out by a Demon Cult blood sacrifice?
As Chu Xun explained calmly, Elder Wang He grew increasingly alarmed.
Snow Mountain Palace—
A force second only to the Six Holy Lands—
Gone just like that.
But when he heard that a saint had personally pursued the culprit, his tense heart finally relaxed.
"As long as our Donglin Sect saint is still alive," Elder Wang He said solemnly, "this is our greatest safeguard. The Green Bull Demon Lord knows the saint hasn't fallen yet—this period is still relatively safe."
Chu Xun nodded lightly.
At this moment, everyone knew the Donglin Sect saint was nearing the end of his life. No one would provoke a dying saint now.
A saint on the brink of death feared nothing. If he truly wanted to, he could drag someone down with him—or cripple them beyond recovery.
No one would dare provoke such a madman.
But once the saint truly passed away…
All suppressed conflicts would erupt instantly.
The Immortal Dao Sect.
The Zhenwu Sect.
Even the Green Bull Demon Lord—
All of them were eyeing Donglin Sect like prey.
The variables that would emerge afterward were unimaginable.
Chu Xun didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he asked, "Where is Jiang Chen?"
Such a major event had happened. Every Holy Land and top power had appeared—yet the Jiang family was nowhere to be seen.
"It's… complicated," Elder Wang He hesitated.
"I heard there's internal strife within the Jiang family. It's related to the succession of the eldest son. Jiang Zhenshan and several elders support Jiang Chen, while others support Jiang Jue. The situation is chaotic—most likely why they didn't come."
"I see."
Chu Xun fell into thought.
Then he turned and left once more.
---
At the same time.
Eastern Region.
A remote corner of the coast.
A disheveled figure crashed out of the void. A red phantom cauldron hovered above his head, cracked and leaking streams of blood.
Anger and pain twisted his face.
This was the blood essence he had painstakingly gathered through the massacre of Snow Mountain Palace.
Now, pursued relentlessly by those old monsters, even his cauldron had been damaged.
Every drop of lost blood made his heart ache.
"Damn it…!"
"Just you wait!"
"One day, I'll sacrifice your blood in return!"
The Green Bull Demon Lord's eyes burned with hatred.
Clasping his hands together, he used a forbidden technique. The void before him shattered into a tunnel, and his figure vanished within it.
Moments later—
Several figures arrived.
A burly, tyrannical man.
An old man holding a Heavenly Secret Plate.
A slow-moving old woman.
And a cold man in blue-and-white daoist robes.
They all turned to the old man with the Heavenly Secret Plate.
After rotating it for a moment, he frowned.
"Lost."
"Hmph!" The burly man snorted angrily. "He escaped again. Was the Donglin Sect saint still in seclusion?"
The old woman frowned as well.
The implication was clear.
During the joint encirclement, the formation lacked a saint to anchor it. If even one saint had fully committed, the Green Bull Demon Lord would have been doomed.
"With the catastrophe returning to the Eastern Region," the burly man said coldly, "the Donglin Sect saint should have acted immediately. Even with his dying lifespan, he could have exhausted his final breath to cripple the Green Bull Demon Lord. With our assistance, escape would have been impossible."
The old man with the Heavenly Secret Plate sighed quietly.
He understood better than anyone.
If even one of them had been willing to pay a real price—
The Green Bull Demon Lord would already be dead.
But when the demon fought desperately, each of them retreated faster than the next.
And so—
They had missed their chance.