Wei Zhao's soul-snatching hand, in particular, was something they had never heard of nor ever seen before. Humans have always been filled with dread of the unknown, and even seasoned Golden Core experts like them were no exception.

At this moment, Xin Yi'an—equally shaken—was the first to collect himself. He cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Hear me out, everyone. You have all seen the original Qingyun Pingxin Jue; I trust I need not tell you whether it is genuine or not. And just a short while ago, Vice Sect Master Chen took other original cultivation methods and martial techniques from the junior grand-uncle as well. If nothing unexpected happened, he should have taken them to the Supreme Elder for inspection. Had they been forgeries, they would surely have been exposed in public long ago. Yet now not a word is said of it. What does that tell you?"

Silence fell over the crowd. In truth, Xin Yi'an need not have said a word—they all knew perfectly well in their hearts whether it was real or fake. It was simply that where one sits determines where one stands; they had no choice but to throw in their lot with Chen Dongcheng.

"The facts are plain enough. If even the junior grand-uncle who handed over so many original cultivation methods and martial techniques were a fraud, then I daresay there is nothing genuine left in this world." Xin Yi'an spoke in a solemn voice. It took no small courage to say such things in public, for once Chen Dongcheng woke, or once word reached the Supreme Elder's ears, his fate would be anything but pleasant.

But Wei Zhao's astonishing display had given him ample confidence. Xin Yi'an had always been cautious above all else, yet when the time truly came to place a bet, he was not without the courage to stake everything on a single throw.

His words left everyone speechless. It was not that they dared not retort—they simply dared not retort in Wei Zhao's presence. Chen Dongcheng was a cautionary tale before their very eyes; the risk was too great.

"Everyone, disperse," Xin Yi'an said at last.

The crowd exchanged glances and could only silently lift Chen Dongcheng and scatter one after another. In both strength and standing, Xin Yi'an was far from the highest among those present, yet at this very moment he was the one with the most say. Who could blame him? He had picked the right side.

Emerging from the One Step to Heaven Cliff, several Golden Core higher-ups of the Chen faction exchanged a look, then without a word lifted Chen Dongcheng and headed for the mountaintop. No one could fathom Wei Zhao's depths, and in the present circumstances the only one who could salvage the situation was the Supreme Elder.

When the group carried Chen Dongcheng up to the mountaintop, Chen Jiu was still in his chamber studying the cultivation methods and martial techniques Wei Zhao had just written out. His interest was at its peak, for he had found exactly as he expected: though comparing the two could not in a short time propel him directly to the next level, it was more than enough to greatly deepen his understanding and insight into cultivation methods and martial techniques. The benefit was immense.

Sensing movement outside, Chen Jiu did not even raise his head. He frowned and said, "I have told you already—handle matters below yourself. You need not report every little thing to me."

The group exchanged uneasy glances. They had come up without the Supreme Elder's permission, and in doing so had indeed broken the rules. But the situation was extraordinary, and they had had no choice. Now, hearing Chen Jiu's words, they found themselves caught in a dilemma.

Should they leave? Or stay?

As the crowd hesitated, Chen Jiu finally sensed something was amiss. A figure flashed out of the chamber and in the next instant appeared before Chen Dongcheng, whose life or death hung in the balance.

After a careful examination of Chen Dongcheng, Chen Jiu turned ashen with shock. A Nascent Soul old monster like himself could not, for all his standing, discern what had happened to Chen Dongcheng. He could only vaguely sense that the man's primordial spirit seemed to be gone.

But how could a living, breathing man be without a primordial spirit?

"What exactly happened? Tell me every word, and leave nothing out." Chen Jiu's expression was ghastly. He could guess this was surely Wei Zhao's doing. Yet before this, he had never imagined Wei Zhao possessed such means!

After hearing the Golden Core higher-ups' accounts, each adding his own piece, Chen Jiu's face had darkened to the color of a pot's bottom. A great deal of useless drivel—these people simply did not know what had happened to Chen Dongcheng. The incident had come so suddenly that they had not even been able to accurately sense the appearance of the soul-snatching hand. It all came down to one sentence.

Chen Dongcheng had been glanced at by Wei Zhao, and then he had collapsed.

"A seasoned Golden Core expert merely glanced at, and reduced to this half-dead state—and you have the nerve to say such nonsense aloud? If that Wei Zhao were truly so terrifying, so heaven-defying, would he have been trapped by a mere One Step to Heaven Formation?" Chen Jiu was hopping mad. To shift the blame, these people were all but turning Wei Zhao into a god. What a pack of useless trash!

"Supreme Elder, calm your wrath!" The Golden Core higher-ups hurriedly knelt, every one of them trembling with fear, as if treading on thin ice.

"Hmph!" Angry as he was, Chen Jiu did not lose his composure. The accounts had been a muddle, yet at least one thing could be drawn from them: the means Wei Zhao had employed surpassed the understanding of these Golden Core experts!

In other words, the man was by no means merely a Foundation Establishment consummation primordial spirit. He had truly underestimated him before.

Once he had calmed down, Chen Jiu gazed at the insensible Chen Dongcheng on the ground and sank into deep thought.

As a Nascent Soul old monster standing at the very top of the Taigu Small Jianghu, Chen Jiu was peerless in both strength and breadth of vision. Yet faced with this situation he was at a loss. He did not even know what devilish means Chen Dongcheng had fallen victim to—how could he rescue him?

Had it been anyone else, a vegetable would remain a vegetable, and Chen Jiu would not have given it a thought. But Chen Dongcheng was different—he was the heir to the North Island Chen family whom Chen Jiu had nurtured with all his painstaking effort. The family's talent was already withering; if Chen Dongcheng were lost as well, the North Island Chen family's prospects would truly be grim.

"Tell me, what is to be done about this?" Chen Jiu cast a glance at the Golden Core higher-ups kneeling on the ground.

At these words, the crowd could not help exchanging glances, their hearts growing ever more alarmed. From the sound of it, even the Supreme Elder could not rescue Chen Dongcheng?

"In this disciple's humble opinion, it is the one who tied the knot who must untie it." A middle-aged man with a face like polished jade spoke cautiously. His name was Lu Ping'an, his strength at the late Golden Core stage, and among the Golden Core higher-ups he was reckoned Chen Dongcheng's most capable right hand.

Beyond that, Lu Ping'an held another special status: he was Chen Jiu's personal disciple. Were it otherwise, he would not have dared open his mouth so rashly before Chen Jiu.

"Go on," Chen Jiu said mildly, glancing at Lu Ping'an.

"Yes..." Lu Ping'an hesitated a moment, then voiced his thoughts. (To be continued.)