"You must've not heard about what happened to the Golden Origin Immortal Palace because you've just come out of seclusion, Brother Lian Shi. Someone stormed into the Golden Origin Immortal Palace on their own over a century ago, slaying Palace Master Dongfang Bai, the Five Heavenly Yin Disciples, and many other powerful Immortal Palace cultivators in the process.
“For some reason, the Heavenly Court hasn't sent anyone to take the reins from the deceased Dongfang Bai, so the Immortal Palace is far less powerful than before, and I'm assuming they're not going to be sending anyone," the elderly woman said.
"That's incredible! I heard that Dongfang Bai was at the pinnacle of the High Zenith Palace and possessed powers not inferior to those of a Great Encompassment cultivator! Who could've possibly killed him? Was it someone from the Reincarnation Palace?" the elderly man exclaimed.
"Apparently, it was a man on the Immortal Slaying List by the name of Han Li, and it's unclear whether he's a member of the Reincarnation Palace. In any case, the Heavenly Court is currently offering an enormous reward for his head. However, there's been no news of him since the Immortal Palace incident, and no one knows if he's still in the Golden Origin Immortal Region," the elderly woman said.
The white-haired elderly man nodded in response with a contemplative look in his eyes.
All the while, a man and a woman had been standing near the group of Yellow Wind Sect cultivators.
Both of them were dressed in black robes, and the woman was quite beautiful and youthful in appearance, while the man was rather thin and had a slightly pale complexion.
After hearing the conversation between the Yellow Wind Sect cultivators, the two of them exchanged a peculiar glance with each other, and a faint smile appeared on the woman's face as she mused to herself in a barely voice, "You certainly are always full of surprises, Brother Han."
"Are you thinking about going to find him? Don't forget about our mission," the black-robed young man asked with slightly furrowed brows.
"Rest assured, I know what our top priority is at the moment," the young woman replied.
Right at this moment, several streaks of blue light shot forth from afar, giving off immense water-attribute spiritual qi.
The streaks of blue light then faded to reveal four blue-robed cultivators that descended out of the sky.
All four of them were giving off extremely formidable High Zenith Stage auras, and the people ahead of them hurriedly parted to make way.
"Those are cultivators from the Heavenly Water Sect!" the yellow-faced man from the Yellow Wind Sect exclaimed, and everyone else in the nearby area was also displaying a similar reaction.
The four Heavenly Water Sect cultivators paid no heed to the people around them as they quickly arrived near the pillar of golden light.
Two of the four figures were leading from the forefront, and one of them was a young woman who appeared to be in her early-twenties. She was extremely beautiful, but there was a cold demeanor about her that made her feel very unapproachable.
She was accompanied by a middle-aged man with a pair of long and thin eyes and a hooked nose, giving him a rather sinister appearance.
The two people behind them consisted of an exceptionally tall and imposing man with a pair of bushy eyebrows and a refined and elegant young man holding a folding fan.
Even the sects that occupied the areas nearest to the pillar of golden light hurriedly scrambled to make way for the Heavenly Water Sect cultivators.
Everyone else was very relieved to hear this, and they all offered up words of gratitude and praise.
The Heavenly Water Sect cultivators were far from happy to see the two men, but they didn't say anything.
Lei Yuce paid no heed to everyone else as he cast a longing gaze toward Su Anqian and said, "Long time no see, Celestial Maiden Sun. You were cultivating your Zenith Yin Ice Soul Arts in seclusion some years ago, and I visited you on several occasions during that time, but was refused an audience. I certainly wasn't expecting to run into you here today. Looks like you've broken through your late-High Zenith Stage bottleneck, I'm truly happy for you."
Su Anqian harrumphed coldly as she looked away in a disdainful manner.
Lei Yuce wasn't bothered at all as he stared at Su Anqian in an entranced fashion, and everyone else seemed to have already grown accustomed to this.
It was common knowledge on the Golden Origin Continent that Lei Yuce of the Almighty Sword Sect had been pursuing Su Anqian of the Heavenly Water Sect for hundreds of thousands of years.
"What is this Almighty Sword Sect?" the black-robed young woman standing near the Yellow Wind Sect cultivators asked through voice transmission.
"The Almighty Sword Sect is the number one sect in the Golden Origin Immortal Region, and it's at least on par with the Golden Origin Immortal Palace. Lei Yuce is a mid-High Zenith cultivator and the deputy sect master, while the young man with him is Elder Wen Zhong of the Almighty Sword Sect, a very powerful cultivator in his own right.
“Those two are going to be formidable foes of ours, along with Su Anqian and Jin Liu of the Heavenly Water Sect. Did you read the information given to us prior to coming here? I'm beginning to wonder if our higher-ups made the right decision in sending you here," the black-robed young man replied with tightly furrowed brows.
The young woman wasn't bothered by her companion's remarks, and she gestured into the distance as she replied, "Formidable foes? You're taking them far too seriously. Those people are our main competition."
The black-robed young man cast his gaze in that direction to find two streaks of blue light approaching from the distance.
The two streaks of light weren't particularly bright, and they didn't really stand out among all of the other streaks of light currently flashing through the col.
The two streaks of light quickly arrived in the col before fading to reveal a square-faced male cultivator with a pair of bushy eyebrows and a round-faced woman with a very petite mouth, both of whom were very unremarkable in appearance.
"Who're those two?" the black-robed young man asked.
The young woman flipped a hand over to produce an egg-sized white jewel, within which was a flashing ring of spiritual light.
Two figures appeared within the ring of spiritual light, but they were different from the two that had just arrived in the col.
The man looked to be in his thirties with a rather scholarly appearance, while the woman appeared to be only seventeen to eighteen years of age, and she had a pair of exuberant and adorable eyes that were constantly darting around in an energetic fashion.
"Those are the Lan Siblings from the Vast Golden Immortal Palace, Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yna! What are they doing here? Could it be that we've already been exposed?" the black-robed young man exclaimed.