Upon seeing the message contained within the ice crystal, everyone"s expressions turned solemn.

The Heaven Emperor had undoubtedly gone to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory to acquire the Later Earth Text that was buried so deeply in the Royal Reed Sea that even Broad Creed Mountain was unable to retrieve it.

Still, for the Heaven Emperor who was already an Immortal, he would surely have a solution for this given enough time.

There were many restrictions on the Earth Mother Dao Ritual. With Yan Zhaoge having established a certain level of connection with the Later Earth Text, the other pract.i.tioners of Broad Creed Mountain would not be able to replace him when trying to borrow the power of the Later Earth Text to fend off the Heaven Emperor.

The enmity between the two sides was deep enough to rule out any possibility of reconciliation.

If the Heaven Emperor obtained the Later Earth Text, his strength would surely rise as a result.

Broad Creed Mountain would naturally not want to see such an enemy becoming even more powerful.

Normally, Yan Zhaoge would simply set the matter of the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion aside and rush back to the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory to deal with the matter of the Later Earth Text.

Right now, however, the black-clothed Brocade Emperor was right before him, his motives hard to decipher.

“The Earth Exalt is indeed meticulous in his actions, having considered things thoroughly in every aspect,” Yan Zhaoge chuckled coldly, “I wonder if he and Upper Chen will be acting themselves?”

“Junior apprentice-brother Nie should be rushing over to deal with things over at the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory,” w.a.n.g Pu said in a heavy tone, “I will immediately return to Jade Capital Crag now and borrow the Origin Opening Sword!”

The Origin Opening Sword was the Leakless Immortal Artifact that the Sword Sovereign Yue Zhenbei had used in the past!

When Yue Zhenbei had left the World beyond Worlds and departed for extradimensional s.p.a.ce, the sword had been left behind by him to guard his lineage.

w.a.n.g Pu would not be borrowing the Origin Opening Sword for his own use, though. He was only a ninth level Martial Saint after all.

The current owner of the sword might be the Southwestern Exalt Bai Tao or the Southern Exalt Nie Jingshen.

Although it would naturally be best if he could manage to deliver the sword to Nie Jingshen in time, w.a.n.g Pu was prepared to contact Bai Tao at any time if needed.

“The black-clothed Brocade Emperor, the Heaven Emperor and the Upper Exalt who may possibly partic.i.p.ate,” Qiu Jiahai inhaled deeply, “From the looks of it, they are dead set on succeeding. If Elder w.a.n.g personally moves, he will definitely use the Yin Yang Earth Mountain River Diagram!”

The Yin Yang Earth Mountain River Diagram was the Immortal Artifact of the Leakless level that the Earthly Sovereign had once used.

It had also remained at Southern High Peak"s Qilin Cliff all along, only very rarely making an appearance.

Even when the Earth Exalt w.a.n.g Zhencheng had previously stood witness to the confrontation between the Brocade Emperor and Mars Halberd, he had not brought along the Yin Yang Earth Mountain River Diagram along.

From the look of things, however, if w.a.n.g Zhengcheng did personally act today, he would definitely utilise the Yin Yang Earth Mountain River Diagram.

Yan Zhaoge had a calm expression on his face, “This is fine since we are prepared. I will be troubling you then, senior apprentice-brother w.a.n.g. Still, of the major experts remaining in the World beyond Worlds, what will the stance of the Encompa.s.sing Emperor be?”

“It is most likely that he will help neither side,” w.a.n.g Pu and Qiu Jiahai exchanged glances before saying.

“I see,” Yan Zhaoge nodded slowly and stood up, “Alright. I will send you out, senior apprentice-brother w.a.n.g. Otherwise, with the Brocade Emperor blocking the door, it would probably be difficult for you to return to Jade Capital Crag.”

w.a.n.g Pu frowned, “Junior apprentice-brother Yan, you…”

“I originally intended to get Ah Hu to take a look at Dragon b.u.t.terfly Valley earlier,” Yan Zhaoge said mildly, “While that place is obscure, it cannot be guaranteed that n.o.body knows about it.”

“Actually, destroying Dragon b.u.t.terfly Valley would also be a good way to wreck the business of our Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion.”

Dragon b.u.t.terfly Valley had a unique environment and was even more suitable for forging artifacts on a large scale after having been refurbished by Yan Zhaoge.

If it was destroyed completely at its core, it would be tough for Yan Zhaoge to find another suitable place.

“Still, I feel that the other side"s target is not the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion,” Yan Zhaoge led the way out of the elegant room, “Be it the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion or the Later Earth Text in the Royal Reed Sea, both of them are only distractions.”

“They are just ways to split our attention and waste our manpower. His real target and the people implementing it are actually different.”

Yan Zhaoge smiled, “The Earth Exalt has already fully made preparations. If we still continue to wait, we will only lose the initiative. Therefore…”

With that, he strode forward, shifting through s.p.a.ce as he instantly arrived outside the room the black-clothed Brocade Emperor was in!

“Therefore, I would much rather make a preemptive strike, seeking a chance to dispel the situation.”

As Yan Zhaoge opened the door, the black-clothed Brocade Emperor was already gazing over at him.

“This Yan has some matters that I have to handle. I have specifically come to take my leave from the black-clothed Brocade Emperor.”

The black-clothed Brocade Emperor"s gaze had no fluctuations whatsoever as he just looked silently at Yan Zhaoge, “When the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion is having such a major event, little Friend Yan is actually leaving?”

“In the eyes of some, some other things may be more important,” Yan Zhaoge said mildly, “I share these sentiments.”

“How regretful indeed,” The black-clothed Brocade Emperor said in an indifferent tone, “I had wanted to ask Little Friend Yan for pointers regarding the Taiyi Fist.”

“Haha…” Yan Zhaoge chuckled, “While you desire the Taiyi Fist, you have probably also made an agreement with someone to block this Yan from leaving Yuanzhou City, right? I wonder what sort of price it was the other party offered which managed to move you?”

The black-clothed Brocade Emperor"s eyes suddenly flickered, though not because of Yan Zhaoge"s words.

His gaze shifted to the side, penetrating through numerous obstacles before spotting a streak of sword light rapidly leaving Yuanzhou City, headed towards Kunlun Mountain.

Despite feeling shocked that Yan Zhaoge actually dared to block the Brocade Emperor head-on, w.a.n.g Pu wasted no time as he made use of this chance to head back to Jade Capital Crag.

“You are going nowhere,” The black-clothed Brocade Emperor said in an indifferent tone.

Before his words had fallen, dense purple qi expanded about him, instantly coming to envelop the entire Yuanzhou City.

At the same time, however, Yan Zhaoge said mildly, “Yes, he is.”

His body suddenly turned blurry, bright at times whilst dark at others.

The next moment, light and darkness separated into two distinct ent.i.ties, the indistinct chaos feeding each of them.

The boundless darkness faded as only immeasurable radiance remained.

After the radiance shattered, darkness was not born in its place as it was like the grand dao had undergone a major collapse all at once.

The two extremities no longer existed within creation itself as boundless terror descended.

A crevice was actually forcibly ripped through the black-clothed Brocade Emperor"s dense purple qi that enveloped Yuanzhou City.

w.a.n.g Pu immediately shot off on his sword, escaping into the distance.

At this moment, those attending the auction in the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion had still yet to fully regain their wits.

As for those like Qiu Jiahai who were in the know, they were all simultaneously stunned.

Yan Zhaoge had actually gone looking for trouble with the Brocade Emperor head-on!

Even more shocking was that he had actually successfully helped w.a.n.g Pu to flee the black-clothed Brocade Emperor"s lockdown.

“…Ninth level of the Martial Saint realm, late Immortal Bridge stage?” Although the black-clothed Brocade Emperor"s expression did not change, his attention was already fully on Yan Zhaoge before him and no longer on w.a.n.g Pu who had left.

“When I was actually unable to see through you when we met earlier, I had already vaguely suspected something. I still find it inconceivable, though. To think it was actually real.”

The black-clothed Brocade Emperor glanced deeply at Yan Zhaoge, “It should only have been a little over four years since you attained the eighth level of the Martial Saint realm back in the Nine Underworlds.”