Disturbance

Hearing this, Pei Shishi sneered. "Aren't you giving him far too much credit? A petty Core Formation cultivator like him—what right does he have to travel alongside us?" Kong Xun shook his head with a cold scoff. He harbored not the slightest fond feeling for this arrogant, willful woman. Had the sect not repeatedly urged him to bring the two of them along, he would never have agreed to travel in their company. Looking at the woman decked in elaborate finery and heavy makeup, he could not help sighing inwardly. In any case, he had given the necessary warnings. If they courted their own deaths, they had only themselves to blame. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Amidst an unbroken expanse of rolling mountains, six peaks stood out above the rest. These six lofty summits seemed to align secretly with the Heavenly Dao, resting upon the earth like the arrangement of celestial constellations. Atop the summit of every mountain stood an ancient, hundred-zhang-tall stone gate! Strong fluctuations emanated from these six stone portals; one glance showed they were no ordinary objects. Li Guanqi stood in place. The wind howled beside him, and cultivators bustled past in every direction. Even all manner of flying demon beasts and cloud boats could be seen everywhere, while many cultivators flew in on flying swords in accompanying groups. Yet among them, only the disciples of the Six Ancient Sacred Sect—dressed in dark purple robes—wore looks of resentment, their teeth clenched as though enduring some untold humiliation. This scene formed a stark contrast. Li Guanqi frowned slightly, his thoughts churning. He could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. Still, he did not ponder it too much for now, moving along with the crowd toward the entrance of the Six Ancient Sacred Sect. Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The sound of air tearing echoed without pause. To Li Guanqi's perception, the cultivation of the cultivators arriving at the Six Ancient Sacred Sect this time was generally quite high. Almost all the arrivals were in the Nascent Soul realm. Aside from Wudingchuan itself, cultivators from almost the entire northern reaches of the Daochan Domain had flocked here upon catching wind of the news. There were over a hundred Soul Formation realm cultivators as well, though most of them were well-advanced in age. Li Guanqi even detected the auras of three Void Refining Realm cultivators. Upon the towering, magnificent main gate, the sect's name was inscribed in flamboyant calligraphy: 'Six Ancient Sacred Sect.' Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. From this inscription alone, he could feel how flourishing the Six Ancient Sacred Sect had once been. In just four characters, the carved intents of four great weapons—saber, spear, sword, and halberd—were deeply etched. A clamor of noise slowly rose. Li Guanqi extended his divine sense forward and found two Soul Formation realm youths blocking everyone outside the gate with cold, unyielding faces. "Silence!!" The noisy chatter persisted. Many shouted, raising their jade slip tokens high in the air as they yelled: "Let us in! We all have tokens; we bought them before!" Li Guanqi noticed the other young man—the silent one with triangular eyes—suddenly lash out! With a flicker of his figure, he materialized before the speaking man in an instant and buried a fist violently into the man's abdomen. Thud! The punch sent the man flying. The dense, packed crowd instantly scattered in all directions. The man flew dozens of zhang, slamming heavily against a stone cliff before spewing a great mouthful of blood. His face turned as pale as paper, drenched in cold sweat, his body hunched and curled up like a boiled prawn! In an instant, everyone fell as quiet as cicadas in winter; outside the packed gates, it became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The trio from the Tian'e Sect also paled slightly at the sight. Meanwhile, Li Guanqi stood within the crowd, his eyes narrowed as he watched the youth who had struck. He sensed a remarkably familiar aura from that youth! The corners of his mouth curved slightly, revealing an enigmatic smile. The youth bore a sinister, chilled expression, with triangular eyes, slightly high cheekbones, and a slightly retracted chin. At some point, a gleaming dagger had appeared in his hand. With a flash of light beneath his feet, the youth arrived before the fallen man, crouched down, and spoke in an icy tone: "I told all of you to be quiet. What were you still shouting for?" The man lay on the ground in agony, unable to move... The youth's strike had been exceedingly vicious; the power coiled within his punch firmly bound the man's Nascent Soul. As a result, the man could not muster the slightest bit of primal energy. The dagger slowly pierced through the man's arm, and the crowd could distinctly hear the sound of his bones fracturing. "Argh!!!" The man's face twisted in agony, his eyes visibly bloodshot. Yet his scream was kept strangely muffled and low, as though he were terrified of further angering the youth before him. Li Guanqi watched this scene with a calm expression, but plans were already forming in his mind. The youth slowly stood up and kicked the man squarely in the head. The man was flung outward, thoroughly knocked unconscious. The other youth, who had delicate features, stood with arms crossed, watching impassively. Primal energy surged around the triangular-eyed youth, and his immense pressure made everyone afraid to breathe too loudly. He was no weakling, and his pressure at the late Soul Formation realm was overwhelmingly potent. "Listen up, every last one of you!" "All tokens previously sold by the Six Ancient Sacred Sect are hereby null and void. Anyone who wants to use the Dao Comprehension Platform must purchase a new one!" "Low-grade Dao Comprehension Platform: three thousand low-grade spirit stones for two hours!" "Mid-grade: three thousand mid-grade spirit stones for two hours! High-grade: three thousand high-grade!" The moment these words were spoken, the previously silent crowd of cultivators erupted into an uproar! A cultivator of no small skill spoke up coldly: "This old man spent good hard silver and gold buying a token from the Six Ancient Sacred Sect, and now you say it's void just like that? You Ancient Clan folks are overbearing indeed. Not only do you open your mouths to triple the price, but you won't even honor what was bought before?" With someone speaking out, others chimed in one after another. Filled with righteous fury, they shouted in outrage: "What kind of bullshit is this? Why should tokens bought by so many of us be voided just by a word from you?" "I'll leave my words right here today: I'm going in using my old one!" "I refuse to believe you can dictate whatever you please to so many of us!" These words instantly drew widespread support. "Right! What right do you have?" "Exactly! The Ancient Clan merged with the Six Ancient Sacred Sect, so naturally you must honor the previous tokens!" "Aren't you afraid of rousing public fury?!" Several cold snorts suddenly sounded from the crowd. That heavy, profound pressure was unmistakably that of Void Refining Realm grand experts!! The expressions of the two Ancient Clan disciples shifted abruptly! They had not sensed the presence of these Void Refining Realm experts earlier; their words just now had evidently offended them. The youth with delicate features quickly darted in front of the three elderly figures. Cupping his fists in a deeply respectful salute, he said, "Seniors, naturally you three are not subject to these rules. You are free to come and go as you please! "Excellent quiet cultivation chambers, spirit-gathering arrays, and more have long been prepared for you on the various peaks. "Our earlier words were by no means aimed at you seniors. We hope you will not take offense." This youth lowered his posture to the extreme, showing none of the arrogance of an Ancient Clan member before them. For he well knew that his meager identity and cultivation were utterly worthless in the eyes of true powerhouses. Such an attitude... the contrast before and after was like heaven and earth.