Two figures flashed through Htian City. They departed the city at a speed utterly imperceptible to ordinary eyes.

Zhan Hongtu and Zhen Wanqing had not actually gone far; they simply concealed themselves immediately after leaving Htian City.

They naturally harbored the notion of sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight, yet deep down, they held significant doubts about whether He Yiming and the others could secure victory.

Zhan Hongtu stomped his foot fiercely; he couldn't recall the last time in many years he had felt such agitation.

"Old Man Chu is getting more stubborn the older he gets. If the two of us were there, combined with White Horse and that Mister Bai, we could surely win the battle," he grumbled.

Zhen Wanqing glanced at him, calmly stating, "Venerable Zhan, while Old Man Chu is stubborn, he is hardly a fool. Since he chose this path, he must be at least seventy percent certain of success. Otherwise, he absolutely would not have refused our assistance."

Zhan Hongtu hesitated for a moment, then said heavily, "They are facing five Venerables, and one of them is a Sacred Beast."

He had barely finished speaking when a massive roar echoed from within the city, followed by a surging tide of immense spiritual power.

The two exchanged a look, recognizing the flicker of worry in the other's eyes. They knew then that the powerful Venerables inside the city had already engaged.

However, what complicated their feelings was that despite desperately wishing for Chu Haozhou to eliminate Lin Yiwu and the others, they were equally uneasy in their hearts.

Chu Haozhou had promised to cease holding grudges against them. But relying on mere words to feel secure was quite impossible.

Therefore, the most ideal outcome in their minds was a mutual destruction between Chu Haozhou and Lin Yiwu’s faction—that would be perfect.

Yet, everyone knew this scenario was utterly unattainable.

If one side were to fall, they would certainly fight desperately to flee. Since they were all Venerable-level powerhouses, once they began running, no one could easily catch them.

If that weren't the case, forty years ago, under the pincer attack of Lin Yiwu and his disciple, Chu Haozhou would never have managed to slip away intact.

The booming sounds and potent spiritual energies emanating from the city intensified, causing even these two, with their cultivation base, to feel a secret tremor of fear.

Still, regardless of how bold they were, they dared not venture into the city to watch.

If they were misunderstood by those fighting as opportunists attempting to profit from chaos, they likely wouldn't even have a chance to escape with their lives.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhen Wanqing pursed her lips and let out a long cry. A colossal Spirit Vulture immediately swooped down from the sky. However, after landing, the Vulture’s gaze instinctively fixed toward the city, clearly registering fear due to the power emanating from within.

Zhen Wanqing leaped up and stood upon the Spirit Vulture's back.

Zhan Hongtu's expression shifted slightly. He managed a wry smile. "Venerable Zhen, you have a flying spirit beast to aid your escape from pursuit; this old fellow possesses no such skill."

Zhen Wanqing hesitated slightly, then said, "Get on."

Zhan Hongtu bowed repeatedly, saying, "Many thanks."

He moved, and instantly stood upon the Vulture’s back. The creature’s body swayed, as if attempting to throw him off. But Zhan Hongtu was a man of formidable presence; standing atop the Vulture, he seemed as unshakable as a mountain.

Zhen Wanqing whispered a few words into the Spirit Vulture’s ear, and the great creature finally settled down. It spread its massive wings and ascended into the air.

The Spirit Vulture was renowned as a particularly fierce species among flying spirit beasts. Though it appeared hesitant before the White Horse Sacred Beast, once airborne, it immediately displayed a kingly demeanor.

Its enormous wings spread wide, holding steady hundreds of meters high in the distance.

From this altitude, they were quite safe; at least according to their knowledge, ordinary Venerables could not threaten a flying spirit beast at this height.

The two peered down and caught sight of the Grand Hall utterly destroyed. Furthermore, over He Yiming’s Five Elements Rings, more than a hundred mysterious rays of light shot out, battering the Ancient Demon and Madman Dai into utter disarray.

A flash of shock crossed Zhen Wanqing’s eyes. "Who exactly is this person, to possess such formidable might? Venerable Zhan, have you fought him before? What was the outcome?"

Zhan Hongtu's face cycled between pale and ashen. Finally, he sighed deeply. "This old man previously thought he had exerted his full strength when we fought last time, but only now do I realize he was still hiding extraordinary power."

Zhen Wanqing nodded slightly. "So, this person's martial cultivation has reached such a realm. It’s no wonder Chu Haozhou was so bold and unafraid."

Zhan Hongtu offered a bitter smile. "Neither of those two can be compared to ordinary Venerables. Perhaps one day, they might both advance even further."

Even as he uttered this, he was filled with envy and jealousy.

However, they did not foresee that this was merely the beginning; everything that followed was utterly soul-stirring.

The Ancient Demon had actually succeeded in cultivating the legendary Coagulated Blood Body. If this news spread, the entire Eastern Sea might never know peace again.

Not only that, but the sudden appearance of lightning, the kicking of the Six-Legged Sacred Beast, and the purple lightning net shattering the Coagulated Blood Body—all of this sent chills down their spines.

Then, when Chu Haozhou's body shone with a brilliant light and he was enveloped by the Dragon Whip as he took flight, these two Venerables were so terrified they nearly tumbled from the sky.

They glanced at each other, discerning the look of panic and helplessness in the other’s eyes.

With just a brief glance, they recognized that Old Man Chu had actually broken through his limits, achieving the realm of Five Qi Returning to the Origin.

Although he appeared to be barely managing it now, both of them knew that given a few years, Chu Haozhou could completely stabilize his realm, resulting in a massive increase in power.

They felt a sense of relief that Chu Haozhou’s thirst for revenge was so consuming that upon achieving the Five Qi Returning to the Origin, he rushed immediately to seek retribution. Otherwise, once his realm stabilized and his power reached perfection, he likely wouldn't have so easily promised to spare them both as he did today.

As Lin Yiwu and his disciple fled, and Chu Haozhou exhibited his Five Qi Returning to the Origin state, the Ancient Demon immediately turned and fled, while Madman Dai was subsequently killed beneath He Yiming's Heaven-Overturning Seal.

Witnessing He Yiming swat the troublesome Madman Dai away as easily as swatting a fly, both Venerables felt an icy chill right to their bones.

They now understood that neither He Yiming nor the returning Chu Haozhou were individuals they could afford to provoke.

Immediately after, the inscrutable Hundred and Eight mysteriously arrived at the scene and collected the seventy-two relics one by one.

In normal circumstances, if the two of them were together, they might have dared to threaten Hundred and Eight to hand over these relics. But after witnessing this entire battle, any such thought in their minds had been utterly dissolved.

Not long after, a long roar echoed from the distance. By then, Chu Haozhou had killed Lin Yiwu. He roared triumphantly and flew over immediately. Unexpectedly, Hundred and Eight's flight speed was far greater than his; he overtook Chu Haozhou in an instant and flew toward the distance.

Seeing this, Zhan Hongtu and his companion grew even more unnerved.

It turned out that among these people, there were two masters who had reached the Five Qi Returning to the Origin realm. No wonder Chu Haozhou was so supremely confident and refused to allow them to interfere.

After Chu Haozhou and Hundred and Eight departed, the city instantly descended into chaos, especially since the simultaneous deaths of Lin Yiwu and Chen Wo dealt a fatal blow to the Htian Sect.

Coupled with the presence of powerhouses gathered from the thousands of islands already in the city, the confusion escalated further.

Zhan Hongtu's expression changed slightly. "Venerable Zhen, we cannot allow these people to escape this place."

Zhen Wanqing pondered briefly, instantly understanding his intent.

Since Lin Yiwu and his disciple were dead, the Htian Sect had become ripe for devouring by their respective factions.

Currently, at least eighty to ninety percent of the Htian Sect’s Innate experts were gathered in the city. If they didn't seize this opportunity to wipe them all out, they would undoubtedly become a major hidden threat to their two sects in the future.

Gently patting the Spirit Vulture, Zhen Wanqing immediately flew downward. She muttered a few more words, and she and Zhan Hongtu leaped down from a height of over ten zhang.

As Zhan Hongtu's feet touched the ground, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs: "This is Zhan Hongtu of the Qianshan Sect and Zhen Wanqing of the Spirit Vulture Valley! All non-Htian Sect personnel must return to your original positions and are forbidden from moving about randomly, or you will be killed without mercy!"

Before his voice faded, he transformed into a streak of bright light, catching up to an Innate expert of Htian City, and lashed out with a punch.

The gap between a Venerable and an Innate was impossibly vast. Even though it was a simple punch, it was enough to kill the opponent instantly.

And although Zhen Wanqing was a female Venerable, her ruthlessness, once she resolved to act, was absolutely no less than Zhan Hongtu's.

The two pushed their movement techniques to the extreme. Any Innate expert who dared to attempt fleeing the city was essentially taken care of by them along the way.

As for the ordinary Inner Strength masters, they did not stop them. To them, as long as they could eliminate all the Innate experts of the Htian Sect, there would be no further major problems under the combined assault of their two sects.

After this initial sweep, at least a dozen Innate experts died under their hands. But they both knew that in this chaotic round, there must have been innocent casualties.

However, under such volatile circumstances, if they did not act with overwhelming, swift force, adopting the mentality of better to kill a thousand mistakenly than let one guilty party escape, any hesitation would guarantee that everyone in the city would scatter in a single burst. Even as Venerables, they would be unable to stop so many people then.

Thus, within the span of one shichen, the two Venerables swept through the city and its surroundings relentlessly. Any Innate expert under the Htian Sect, and even ordinary high-level Houtian masters, found little chance of escaping their fatal blows.

One shichen later, several black dots began appearing in the distance. As these black dots approached at an unparalleled speed, Zhan Hongtu and Zhen Wanqing immediately retracted the murderous aura surrounding them, plastered on smiles, and went forward to meet them.