The elders who remained finally caught up with them and took away the group of the fourth brother, who had been beaten beyond recognition, back for questioning.

A few Nascent Soul stage trash dared to be arrogant in front of the Grand Elder, who was once at the peak of the Integration stage, and even dared to steal their dragon cub!

They're practically asking for it!

The fourth brother and his group never expected that such a simple act of stealing a cub from the mountain would result in them being caught before dawn.

They all suspected that these people had deliberately stolen the dragon cubs from them and let them escape, so that they would expose their whereabouts and be beaten.

The scarred man fled extremely fast, finally arriving at the rendezvous point before dawn. However, he didn't notice that the little dragon had gnawed a small hole in the bottom of the magic item bag.

That's right, it was made by biting.

Throughout the journey, Nian Wanzhou was constantly on the move, trying every possible way to save herself, and finally she unexpectedly discovered the bag's vulnerability.

She was so lucky that she opened her mouth and bit down, making a cut just before the scarred man reached the finish line, leaving a trail of breath along the way.

Scarface was fast, but Nan Yu and his group weren't far behind; a chase was unfolding on the edge of the secret realm.

In hot pursuit, the scarred man managed to throw his magical artifact into the teleportation array before the others caught up, but before he could teleport, the Grand Elder destroyed the entire array.

"Damn it, so close!" The scarred man gripped the magical artifact tightly in his hand, unwilling to give up. It was so close...

Nan Yu and Wei Wenru immediately rushed up and started fighting.

Wei Wenru, whose every move was ruthless, and Nan Yu, who showed her true form without any restraint, were actually able to hold off the scarred man.

However, the scarred man was no ordinary leader; he had already reached the Void Refinement stage.

If it weren't for the elder behind him and the little dragon cub in his hand, he definitely wouldn't have let the two little things hold him back.

The Southern Fish, with its thick skin and tough flesh honed in the secret realm, is completely unafraid of the suppression of the Void Refinement stage. It charges recklessly, determined to knock something out of its opponent.

Wei Wenru wasn't as brave, but she was clever and managed to turn her swordplay into a dart-like attack specifically designed for surprise attacks.

In the distance, the scarred man was being harassed with move after move.

The Grand Elder was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to overwhelm the opponent with this momentum, and then he would summon the person behind the scenes.

Given the scarred man's strength, it's impossible for him to dare to go up the mountain with a powerful artifact; he must have someone backing him. The reason he hasn't made a move yet is simply to observe the others.

As expected, the scarred man hesitated to intervene because he couldn't see through the elder's cultivation level.

After considering all the options, the scarred man had no choice but to pop the signal in the ring to contact the powerful being, saying, "If you're in trouble, teleport me immediately!"

I originally thought the magical artifact would be teleported directly, but I didn't expect...

That powerful being appeared directly.

Black smoke billowed into the air again, the same black smoke that attacked Wei Wenru. It seemed familiar, but not as intense as before.

Then, a white-clad man emerged from the black mist, holding a black spherical magical artifact floating in his hand.

This man could be described as having an ethereal and otherworldly air, but his eyes revealed a fierce glint, and the surrounding black mist made him exude an aura of demonic power from the inside out.

Even the white clothes gradually turned gray.

"Venerable Yue Lie? How come you..." The Grand Elder exclaimed in surprise, recognizing this as an old acquaintance.

The man in white, none other than Venerable Yue Lie, looked at the Grand Elder without any surprise: "It really is you, Wei Jiqing. It seems your Heavenly Mystery Sect has indeed declined..."

Venerable Moonfire's tone was quite sarcastic, but only those from the past understood what those words truly meant.

"It's good that they've fallen from grace, at least they won't end up with a bad fate, hahahaha." Venerable Yue Lie laughed wildly, his entire immortal person becoming erratic and insane.

"No need for you to say anything more. Wenru, Nanyu, step back." The Grand Elder stood above Lexi's head, drawing his natal sword, a long, narrow purple blade that made him appear almost demonic. Yet, he exuded an aura of righteousness, unchanged from his former nickname, "Forbidden City Immortal."

"Lexi, get ready."

"I didn't expect that you could recover half of your strength, unlike me..." Venerable Moonfire waved his hand, raising the black mist.

Instantly, the entire edge of the secret realm turned dark, as if night had fallen.

"You, you actually betrayed us!" the Grand Elder roared, staring incredulously at the ever-growing black mist surrounding Venerable Moonfire. "You were also one of those who annihilated the demon race back then, why did you choose to fall so low?"

"Why? I almost died in there. You ask me why? Do you think everyone is as lucky as you, only suffering a decline in cultivation? As for us... we were living a life worse than death, like ghosts." Venerable Yue Lie attacked the Grand Elder while controlling the black mist.

"What a pity, your strength is not what it used to be, while I have not only returned to my peak, but also broken through my previous realm. That little girl over there, is she your daughter?"

Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder's anger intensified. "What do you want to do?"

After saying that, she immediately started arguing with him, afraid that he would hurt her daughter.

At this point, Venerable Yue Lie was no longer the aloof, arrogant, and noble god-level cultivator he once was. Instead, he was a complete failure, neither human nor demon.

The black mist's suppression was precise and powerful. It wasn't the real black mist inside, but it could still exert about 30-40% of its power on an ordinary person.

The Grand Elder realized in an instant that he was no match for his opponent. Even with Yuexi's blessing, he could not even touch a single sleeve of his opponent's clothes.

"Yue Lie, what exactly are you trying to do!" the elder shouted, constantly dodging the opponent's attacks.

At this moment, Nan Yu and Wei Wenru also realized something was wrong. The two joined forces to force the scarred man back, but his movements were too unpredictable and he always managed to escape danger at the critical moment.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the once pitch-black environment was slowly returning to light.

Meanwhile, the tear in the magical artifact that imprisoned Nian Wanzhou grew larger and larger, and a powerful attraction surged out from within.

More and more of the black mist dissipated, and finally a large patch slowly approached Venerable Yue Lie. He seemed to sense something was wrong and immediately threw the black spherical magic weapon in his hand into the air to increase the output of the black mist.

Perhaps the Venerable One's information is outdated; he hasn't yet found out what the little white dragon he's taking away can do. Maybe his mind isn't on it, and he's forgotten.

However, he still managed to fight the Grand Elder to a standstill, with ease.

In contrast, the Grand Elder was struggling greatly; he had only recovered half of his former strength, at most reaching the sixth or seventh level of the Void Refinement stage.

Venerable Yue Lie seems to have reached the Mahayana stage, just like the sect leader, and is about to break through to the Tribulation stage.

He's... about to ascend to heaven!