Elder of the Immortal Hall

Gu Changge slowly withdrew his hand, as though he had merely done something utterly insignificant.

He raised his eyes and looked toward Tu Lie.

The savage grin had long since vanished from Tu Lie’s face, replaced by a complex expression mingling shock, fury, and a trace of fear that was difficult to detect.

He stared fixedly at Gu Changge. The aura of a seventh-stage True Immortal erupted wildly around him, while dangerous dark-red light began to shimmer across his body. Clearly, he was gathering some powerful divine ability.

“Who exactly are you?!”

Tu Lie’s voice was hoarse and shrill from the unbearable tension.

Gu Changge did not answer.

He merely extended one finger toward Tu Lie.

Then he pointed forward through the air.

The dark-red radiance surrounding Tu Lie abruptly froze before shattering into countless fragments like fragile glass!

An expression of utter terror and disbelief appeared on his face, as though he had witnessed the most inconceivable thing in the world.

He wanted to roar, to struggle, to bring out a life-saving treasure, or to cast an escape technique.

But it was all too late.

That finger, which had pointed at him from across the air, seemed to contain the weight of the entire world.

Tu Lie’s entire body shot backward like a cannonball, carrying the two Void Immortals behind him along with it.

They landed precisely beside the two human-shaped craters made earlier by the two True Immortals.

The black cloak Tu Lie had been wearing had long since been reduced to shreds, revealing the hideous scars and twisted features beneath.

Blood gushed from his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth. The immense immortal essence of a seventh-stage True Immortal had now vanished as completely as snow under boiling water.

His wide eyes were filled with boundless fear, bewilderment, and despair at having his power stripped away in an instant.

Only then did Gu Changge slowly lower the finger he had raised.

He walked to the window and looked down at Tu Lie, whose face was filled with utter horror.

“Seventh-stage True Immortal?”

He repeated the realm softly. The faintly mocking smile at the corner of his lips seemed to deepen slightly.

“That’s it?”

The two words drifted down lightly.

Yet they exploded in everyone’s minds like thunder weighing ten thousand jun.

The entire Drunken Immortal Pavilion—the third floor, and even those below who had vaguely sensed the commotion above—lost all sound and expression in that instant.

He had heavily wounded two third-stage True Immortals with a single strike and crippled a seventh-stage True Immortal with one finger…

Could this really be something a Saint Realm cultivator was capable of?

No! That was absolutely impossible!

He had concealed his cultivation! And the level of cultivation he had hidden was unfathomably deep!

“He’s a True Immortal—at least a high-stage True Immortal, perhaps even an Earth Immortal?!”

An elderly cultivator of extensive knowledge spoke with a trembling voice, voicing the speculation shared by everyone. The way he looked at Gu Changge had already changed from sympathy and curiosity to boundless awe and fear.

Meanwhile, Shadow Crow, who had been fighting Little White, had already taken the opportunity to escape and retreat to a distant corner.

He looked at Tu Lie, whose life or death was unknown amid the ruins, then at the two third-stage True Immortals embedded in the craters.

Finally, he turned his gaze toward the white-robed young man who remained calm and composed.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and his face turned deathly pale.

There was only one thought in his mind:

I think I’ve caused a huge disaster…

At that moment, an old man leaning against the window, who had just been badly frightened, pointed with a trembling finger toward the street outside.

“That person is…?!”

The man lying in the crater, disheveled and battered, his cloak torn apart to reveal his true appearance, was none other than Tu Lie.

The scars crisscrossing his face looked especially sinister and terrifying beneath the sunlight.

“He’s Tu Lie of the Four Seas Trading Company!”

The old man’s companion was clearly more knowledgeable. He cried out in shock, his voice filled with disbelief.

“What?! Someone from the Four Seas Trading Company?!”

“Good heavens! It really is Tu Lie! Why would he appear here…?”

“The Four Seas Trading Company actually dared to seize things by force in broad daylight…”

“Shh!!! Are you insane?! Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?!”

“So the rumors are true. The Four Seas Trading Company really does…”

“Shut up! Do you want to get yourself killed?!”

Low voices filled with shock, fear, and a jumble of other emotions rapidly spread and erupted across the third floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, as well as among the people below who had been startled into secretly peeking upward.

Every gaze directed at the five miserable figures outside was filled with shock and lingering dread.

They were shocked by the unimaginable and incomprehensible strength of the white-robed young man.

They were afraid because, only moments ago, they too had coveted those ten immortal stones and had even entertained thoughts they should never have had.

More than anything, however, they were struck by a sudden, chilling realization.

So the rumors about the Four Seas Trading Company—its backing by the Immortal Palace, its domineering conduct, and its secret practice of seizing wealth by force and even murdering for profit—were not groundless after all!

Just then—

“Who dares cause trouble in my Sunset City?! You have injured cultivators under the jurisdiction of the Immortal Palace and destroyed property within the city. What punishment do you think you deserve?!”

An aged yet thunderous roar filled with immense fury and authority rolled across the sky like heavenly lightning, instantly resounding throughout the entire Sunset City!

Along with that voice came a terrifying pressure dozens of times stronger, purer, and more overwhelming than Tu Lie’s.

It descended with a boom from the direction of the Immortal Palace branch at the center of the city, enveloping the entire area around the Drunken Immortal Pavilion!

This pressure carried a dense aura of laws belonging to the Earth Immortal Realm. It was heavy and vast, as though connected to the whole world.

Inside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, every cultivator except Gu Changge and Little White—including the Void Immortals and True Immortals—felt their bodies grow heavy. Their breathing became difficult, and their souls trembled.

“It’s an Earth Immortal! The Immortal Palace’s guardian elder has taken action!”

“It’s Elder Gu He, a mid-stage Earth Immortal!”

“It’s over. An Earth Immortal elder has personally arrived. No matter how strong that white-robed young man is, I’m afraid…”

The awe that had only just risen in everyone’s hearts toward Gu Changge was instantly replaced by fear of the Earth Immortal’s pressure.

Within this fragment of the Chengyun Immortal Domain, an Earth Immortal was already a supreme powerhouse standing at the very peak—a wielder and enforcer of the rules!

The authority of the Immortal Palace could not be challenged!

Despairing whispers spread through the deathly silence.

In this place, the Chengyun Immortal Palace was the heavens, the law, and an inviolable supreme existence.

Almost simultaneously with the arrival of that pressure, a streak of escaping light shot over from the direction of the Four Seas Trading Company’s headquarters and descended not far behind Elder Gu He, who had just manifested.

It was the portly manager of the Four Seas Trading Company. His ninth-stage True Immortal cultivation was revealed without reservation.

Gu He stood in the air, his dark-teal Daoist robe fluttering despite the absence of wind. The Dao rhythm surrounding him faintly resonated with the heavens and earth.

He first cast a cold glance at the portly manager behind him. A trace of displeasure and understanding flashed through his eyes.

Then he swept his gaze over the five miserable human-shaped craters in the street below. When his eyes paused briefly on Tu Lie, his face turned completely gloomy.

When beating a dog, one must still consider its master!

The Four Seas Trading Company was a tool for amassing wealth that he had secretly permitted and even supported. Tu Lie, meanwhile, was one of his most capable subordinates.

Now, someone had crippled him publicly on his own territory. How was that any different from slapping Gu He directly in the face?

He raised his eyes. His gaze, like two icy swords of law, stabbed toward the white-robed young man at the third-floor window, who remained as calm as ever.

The pressure of a mid-stage Earth Immortal surged forth without restraint, crashing down like an enraged sea!

“Sir!”

Gu He spoke, his voice rumbling like thunder.

“You have brazenly engaged in violence in my Sunset City, seriously injured multiple cultivators, and destroyed property. Are you aware that you have committed a heinous crime?”