"Huh, where has all the heaven and earth spiritual energy gone to?!"
"It hasn't disappeared. It's gone over there!"
"That’s where Lord Fang is at!"
Guan'e and the other elders stepped out of their immortal caves and looked toward Fang Chen's location with astonishment.
Although the inner sanctum of the Grand Thousand Dao Sect wasn't a top immortal cave or blessed land, its spiritual energy was still quite substantial. Now, all the spiritual energy had been drained. No ordinary cultivators could possibly do something like this!
Is Lord Fang practicing some kind of technique? Or...has he broken through? Guan'e pondered silently.
***
The black and white paper figures were delighted. "The Lord has successfully formed the Golden Core."
The white paper figure observed the continuous influx of heaven and earth spiritual energy into the meditation room and remarked, "The lord’s Golden Core is extraordinary. It might even be above six revolutions."
The black paper figure's expression was somber. "Our previous master had once speculated that if his Golden Core was above six revolutions, he might have been able to ascend to the Immortal Realm, rather than languishing in this realm."
The middle-aged man and Elder Huang had been shocked by the sudden change in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but when they heard the black paper figure’s words, they were even more shocked.
"Ascend to the Immortal Realm? What right does Hong Qing have to ascend to the Immortal Realm! Wait a minute! With their abilities, they can't possibly be Hong Qing’s spirit servants... Who are they actually serving?"
The middle-aged man’s face was filled with terror.
He suddenly realized that many powerful Dao Sects were secretly watching the Grand Thousand Dao Sect. Could it be that these two paper figures were sent by an Immortal Court-level Dao Sect!?
The middle-aged man's face turned ashen. "This is bad... I should have thought things through before acting so impulsively...."
If they were from the Celestial Court, their influence would be on par with the royal manor. Even the Ninth King would treat Immortal Kings from the Celestial Court as equals and wouldn't dare to use the Central Continent Empire’s power to intimidate them.
The middle-aged man slowly spoke in a weak voice. "You two are—"
"Be quiet."
The black and white paper figures spoke in unison.
The middle-aged man immediately shut up and dared not say more. He could only wait for the person in seclusion to come out and he had already thought of a way to save his life once that person emerged.
The black paper figure glanced at the middle-aged man and responded, "Lord, they claim to be from the Ninth King’s royal manor."
"Oh? The Nine Generation King’s Manor?"
Fang Chen was surprised. "Since they are from the royal manor, they should be treated with respect. You should remove his chains."
The middle-aged man had been about to speak when he saw Fang Chen's attitude turn meek upon hearing about the Ninth King’s royal manor.
His thoughts shifted and his anger bubbled, palpable on his face.
"You can’t even properly manage your spirit servants. They attacked me directly upon seeing me, without even giving me a chance to speak."
Fang Chen waved his hand. "Wait, don’t remove the chains just yet."
He looked at the middle-aged man and smiled at him. "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"
"M-me?" The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned as panic flashed in his eyes. He quickly explained, "Please don’t misunderstand. I was just—"
Fang Chen interrupted, "Alright, tell me why you are here."
Seeing that Fang Chen had no intention of unshackling him, the middle-aged man suppressed his anger and answered, "I came here because—"
"Lord Fang, let me explain. He came here because he assumed that as a disciple of Ancestor Hong Qing, you must be aware of the secrets held by Ancestor Hong Qing. Since the ancestor is suspected to have obtained the true teachings of the Grand Thousand Dao Sect..." Elder Huang interjected.
"You traitor!" The middle-aged man glared at Elder Huang. "Just wait to be crushed into ashes and torn apart by the royal manor!"
Elder Huang ignored him completely as he continued to flatter Fang Chen.
"And you? What is your true identity?" Fang Chen asked with a knowing smile.
"Actually, before I joined the Grand Thousand Dao Sect, I was involved in bureaucracy. I was tasked by this person to act as a spy to secretly monitor the Grand Thousand Dao Sect," Elder Huang answered. "Please don’t misunderstand. I know for a fact you have nothing to do with Daoist Hong Qing Daoist. He can’t nurture someone like you."
The middle-aged man glanced at the black and white paper figures and whispered, "Indeed, I come from the Ninth King’s royal manor. The Ninth King has always been devoted to the Dao path since young and he longs to know everything about the Dao Sect. As his loyal servant, I only wish to help the Ninth King by finding more techniques and methods related to the Dao Sect."
"The stone box! He came here for that stone box! The stone box once belonged to the Ninth King’s royal manor, but it could not be opened and was secretly sent back. He learned that Lord Fang could open this stone box so he came here personally to kill Lord Fang and seize the treasure!" Elder Huang interrupted hastily.
The middle-aged man’s face turned ashen with rage. He looked at Elder Huang with his eyes spitting fire and teeth clenched. If looks could kill, Elder Huang would’ve died a hundred times over.
Fang Chen glanced at Elder Huang and pondered, "Are you saying...that they previously had possession over this stone box? They couldn’t open it so they returned it?"