He glanced at the trembling cultivators and said indifferently, “Considering you were merely deceived, I shall spare your lives today. But the souls you lost were a choice you made yourselves. You cannot blame others.”
His voice was calm, yet it carried an irresistible authority.
Everyone looked at Chen Ping, some with anger, some with shame, others at a loss.
They all knew, however, that this path was one they had chosen themselves. Chen Ping’s earlier warnings had been seen by them as deliberate obstruction, leading them to attack him en masse.
Chen Ping paid no further attention to those cultivators. Instead, he glanced at the golden-robed cultivator and pressed his palm down lightly. A surge of aura instantly pinned the golden-robed cultivator to the ground, rendering him immobile.
“What are you going to do? I am a member of the Sixth Hall of the Divine Temple. If you dare to kill me, the Sixth Hall Master will not let you go.”
The golden-robed cultivator said with a face full of terror.
Chen Ping gave a cold smile. “The Sixth Hall Master is nothing. Even if he wants to spare me, I will not spare him. I came to the Seventh Heaven this time precisely to take his life.”
Hearing Chen Ping’s words, the golden-robed cultivator’s face turned ashen. He had not expected Chen Ping to show no fear whatsoever towards the threats of the Divine Temple.
“Master Hu, let us go.”
Chen Ping said to Hu Mazi.
“Then what about this fellow?” Hu Mazi pointed at the golden-robed cultivator and asked.
“Do not bother with him. After we leave, someone will deal with him.”
With that, Chen Ping turned and departed.
He knew that those cultivators whose souls had been extracted would not let this fellow go.
Hu Mazi understood Chen Ping’s meaning, nodded, then glanced at those cultivators who resembled bereft dogs, and followed him as they left the Soul-Gathering Altar.
The remaining cultivators stayed in place, some sitting, some lying down, their faces full of despair and regret.
For the illusory “breakthrough”, they had personally buried their own path of cultivation. And none of it could be blamed on others.
Upon seeing Chen Ping and Hu Mazi leave, those cultivators directed all their angry gazes towards the golden-robed cultivator.
“Ah…………”
Soon, the golden-robed cultivator’s screams reached the ears of Chen Ping and Hu Mazi.
…………
On a mountain peak in the Seventh Heaven, resembling a giant beast’s lair hidden in the darkness, an aura of mystery and danger pervaded.
The council hall of the Sixth Hall of the Divine Temple was like the heart of a giant beast, currently pulsing with rhythms of tension and fury.
The Sixth Hall Master sat at the head position. That towering figure emanated an aura of majesty without anger.
His fingertips lightly toyed with a lustrous white jade talisman. Under the candlelight’s reflection, the jade talisman flickered with a soft yet enigmatic glow.
The candles in the hall flickered wildly, like a group of restless sprites. They cast light and shadows on the walls, making the gloom on the Sixth Hall Master’s face even more pronounced.
Not long ago, he had just received the transmission from the golden-robed cultivator.
That transmission carried a hint of excitement and smugness, informing him that everything at the Soul-Gathering Altar was progressing smoothly. The soul jar had already collected soul threads from nearly a thousand cultivators.
According to the plan, in a few more days, this soul jar bearing the soul power of countless cultivators could be handed over to the Evil Dao Hall, completing a secretive yet perilous transaction.
The Sixth Hall Master seemed to already envision the rich rewards after the transaction’s success, as well as the further elevation of his status within the Divine Temple. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curved upwards slightly.
Now, in a storeroom of the Sixth Hall, a large pile of immortal stones was amassed. As long as the Sixth Hall Master delivered these immortal stones to the Third Hall Master’s hands, his future would be bright.
However, fate always seems fond of delivering a fatal blow at the moment of greatest complacency.
At that moment, a shattered transmission talisman, like an out-of-control meteor, suddenly flew in from outside the hall.
The talisman paper exploded in mid-air, turning into countless tiny fragments. Only intermittent, voices filled with terror and despair echoed in the air.
