With their clear minds and racing thoughts, they knew—however unwilling they were to admit it—that their disciples’ chances of survival were slim.

Their pessimism stemmed not only from the fact that the ordinary Cultivators were on the verge of collapse, but also from a more crucial realization: ’The Evil Cult planned something of this magnitude. There’s no way Liu Yu is the only expert inside.’

’If another Foundation Establishment expert on par with a Divine Heir candidate shows up... then it’s all over.’

’Ancestors, protect us. Let’s hope the Cultists were arrogant and sent only one...’

The elders of the six Major Sects began to pray, desperate to protect the future seeds of their sects.

This was especially true because some of the True Inheritance disciples and Daoists inside were the children of these very elders and Sect Leaders, making them all the more frantic.

But it’s the same in any world: good omens rarely come to pass, while bad ones always do. The elders of the six Major Sects prayed that no more powerful Cultists would appear, but before their prayers had even faded, another aura—evil and terrifying, yet also incomparably profound—materialized within the Star Secret Vault.

This profound aura also belonged to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. At this, many elders slumped into their chairs, their eyes filled with lifeless despair.

’It’s over!’

It wasn’t just the six Major Sects and Prince Qinghe who despaired. The elders and Sect Leaders of lesser sects were also trembling, their faces ashen.

Thanks to their exceptional strength and numerous treasures, the True Inheritance disciples, the Daoists of the six Major Sects, and the children of Prince Qinghe had not yet fallen.

However, over a hundred of the Cultivators fighting the ordinary Cultists had already been killed.

These casualties meant little in the eyes of the elders from the Major Sects, but to the smaller sects, these were their prodigies, the future pillars of their communities.

Their deaths in battle caused the elders of those sects to completely break down.

Of course, the battle in the Star Secret Vault had only just begun. Aside from the initial ambush, the death toll had not climbed significantly since.

But the elders and Sect Leaders of the smaller sects also knew that as long as the gates to the Star Secret Vault remained sealed, the longer the battle dragged on, the higher the death toll among their disciples would climb. This drove them to close their eyes and pray as well.

They hoped for a hero to emerge, someone who could turn the tide of battle and save them all.

...

For the moment, Zhong Ming had no time to dwell on the prayers, despair, and anxiety of those outside, nor on the battles raging elsewhere within the Star Secret Vault.

His gaze was fixed forward, his expression grave. At the same time the disciples of the six Major Sects were confronting the consumptive fiend Liu Yu, two figures had appeared before Zhong Ming, blocking the path between him, Ji Qinglian, and Ji Qingyue.

They were a man and a woman. The man was bald and dressed as a monk. The woman had a saintly appearance, with skin whiter than snow and eyes that seemed to hold a tender affection, yet deep within them lay a barely perceptible trace of greed and arrogance.

"Zhong Ming, the foremost talent of Qinghe Commandery Mansion’s younger generation?" the woman spoke first. Her voice was sweet, but laced with a condescending arrogance. She sized Zhong Ming up, a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes. "With talent like this, you’re qualified to become a part of my collection."

She lifted her chin slightly, her tone as if bestowing a great gift. "I recognize your talent, so I’ll give you a chance to live. Kneel and submit to me. Sign a contract, and I will let you survive."

"Heh..."

The woman’s holier-than-thou attitude, offering him servitude as if it were a blessing, made Zhong Ming laugh. It was a cold, chilling laugh. "I can’t say how my luck will turn out today, but yours is about to run out."

"Today, you will both die here."

Zhong Ming’s tone was calm, yet it carried an air of absolute certainty.

For him to say such a thing under these circumstances stunned both the monk-like man and the saintly-looking woman for a moment. But then, a wild, unbridled laugh erupted from the man.

"Hahahaha... We’re going to die? Did you hear that, Yuan Rong? He says we’re going to die here! Hahaha..."

The unrestrained laughter and his nonchalant tone were a blatant display of his contempt for Zhong Ming.

What made Zhong Ming’s eyes narrow was that when the man laughed and spoke, his voice wasn’t alone.

His laughter was interwoven with layers of chanting, as if hundreds of people were reciting sutras simultaneously. The sound was both sacred and bizarre, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

’This sound... is it one of his abilities?’

Just as Zhong Ming was pondering this, Cheng Lv’s wild laughter abruptly ceased. His expression twisted into a savage, terrifying mask. "Yuan Rong, you heard him! The brat doesn’t appreciate your kind offer in the slightest. So, he’s mine!"

At his words, Yuan Rong shrugged regretfully. "I suppose I’ll have to let you have your fun, then."

After saying this, she turned her gaze back to Zhong Ming, her tone tinged with annoyance. "Before I came here, someone told me you were arrogant, rude, and conceited. I didn’t think they’d be so spot on."

"You’ve fallen into this predicament, yet you still don’t grasp your own situation." With a hint of pity in her eyes, she shrugged. "If you had knelt and begged to become my servant, you might have had a sliver of a chance to live."

"But alas, you’re too stupid. You’ve thrown that precious chance away."

"Since you don’t know what’s good for you, then you can just die."

Zhong Ming was not one to take such insults lying down. "Could it be that you’re the ones who are stupid and can’t recognize the situation? Even if you were to surrender now, I can’t promise I’d spare you. But at least you’d live a little longer. As things stand, you’ll be dead soon, your Divine Souls utterly destroyed."