A thunderous roar echoed, making not only Nie Kong, who was returning to the bustling city, but also the surrounding crowd instinctively look up at the two thick, long bolts of lightning tearing across the sky, their faces filled with astonishment. From the sheer noise alone, one could guess that powerful Spirit Masters were engaged in combat within Jiyang City!

Those Spirit Master experts arrived incredibly fast! Nie Kong noticed the lightning shield had fallen exactly on the small residence where he had just pilfered the "Fire Tree Silver Flower." He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he had left early; had he lingered there, he likely wouldn't have been able to escape at all.

Unconsciously, Nie Kong quickened his pace. The "Fire Tree Silver Flower" was secured; whatever chaos erupted next had nothing to do with him...

...

When Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong finally arrived, the small courtyard was practically reduced to ruins.

Where the courtyard once stood, streaks of lightning flickered, purple light exploded outwards, occasionally interspersed with wisps of red energy bursting forth—four individuals were locked in a fierce, paired battle.

"Heh heh!"

The hunched, green-robed elder seemed to feel he had played enough. His ghostly, flickering silhouette stopped evading entirely. With a strange cackle, he plunged straight into the net of lightning.

"Seeking death!"

The middle-aged man roared, a savage grin twisting his face. His hands danced like butterflies weaving through flowers, sending bolt after bolt of electricity writhing and intertwining like fierce serpents, pressing down in a crushing deluge.

The green-robed elder merely smiled again and shot his right hand out repeatedly with lightning speed.

"Hiss! Hiss..."

As if scooping mudfish, the elder continuously snatched the electric snakes into his palms. With a twist of both hands, the electric snakes were instantly braided into a twist. The elder lightly rubbed his palms together, and the braid shrank smaller and smaller, melting into a single mass. Under the stunned gaze of the middle-aged man, that booming, purple sphere of swirling lightning shot directly toward him.

"Bang!"

The speed was like a meteor streaking across the firmament. The middle-aged man snapped awake and desperately dove into the void, but the ball of light exploded simultaneously. The middle-aged man failed to escape, tumbling into the rubble with a scream, his body drenched in blood, flesh torn and rolled back, presenting a scene of utter misery.

"Patriarch!"

Seeing this, Elder Huo, who was fiercely battling Zhu Jian, felt his heart lurch violently. The fiery aura surrounding him began to waver slightly.

Zhu Jian's longsword hummed audibly, the spiritual patterns etched along its blade erupting with intense azure light, sweeping out with boundless killing intent. In an instant, it pierced through Elder Huo's protective fire curtain. The long, sharp sword gleam hissed, shooting directly toward Elder Huo's withered chest.

"Hmph!"

Just as Elder Huo phased into the void, a string of blood droplets sprayed out. He grunted, reappearing a dozen meters away, his right arm hanging limp, blood dripping from his shoulder.

In moments, both combatants were wounded.

"Dan Ling, Dan Ling..."

The middle-aged man scrambled to his feet, his body trembling incessantly. He muttered a few words, his face contorting into an extremely ferocious expression. Laughing madly, he shrieked, "So what if it's Dan Ling? A spineless old waste—dream on if you think you can keep me here! Hahahaha..."

"Gah..." The green-robed elder's cheek twitched slightly. This middle-aged man had struck several of his sore points in quick succession, fueling the boundless killing intent in his chest.

Not far off, staring at the dilapidated residence, Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong were consumed by anxiety. They couldn't tell if Cheng Zixuan and Cheng Zirong were alive or dead, or if the "Fire Tree Silver Flower" was still safe.

However, the four figures ahead paralyzed the Cheng brothers, making them hesitate to move rashly. Especially that hunched-over old man in green robes, whose voice was as shrill as a eunuch's—he was actually a Dan Ling Master. Even if Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong, both in the Void Spirit realm, attacked together, they stood no chance of winning.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek erupted from the ruins. The Fourth Prince, Cheng Zixuan, staggered to his feet: "Imperial Grand-Uncle, they took the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower'!" Beside him lay a dark figure; presumably, that was the Fifth Prince, Cheng Zirong, and his status—dead or alive—was unknown.

"What?"

Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong saw blackness flash before their eyes and nearly fainted.

Although they had harbored this fear earlier, a sliver of hope had remained. But hearing Cheng Zixuan utter it personally now, how could they accept it so easily? Just then, the three Great Elders of the Nie family—Nie Xingdong, Nie Longshan, and Nie Xingqiu—arrived in hot pursuit.

The green-robed elder and Zhu Jian paid no attention to the arrival of Cheng Feiliu and his group; they didn't even glance in their direction.

"Whoosh!"

The green-robed elder ghosted over to the middle-aged man. Zhu Jian swung his longsword, sending waves of azure light surging toward Elder Huo like a tide.

Seeing Nie Xingdong and the others, Cheng Feiliu breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly recounted the situation in a few hurried sentences and then urgently stated, "Elders, not only do we need the strength of you three now, but we will also require reinforcements from the Nie family's experts. If we reclaim the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower,' it will be shared between our two families from now on."

Cheng Feihong opened his mouth, but ultimately shook his head in resignation, his gaze locked on the four figures resuming their fight, a deadly glint flashing in his eyes.

"Very well!"

Nie Xingdong paused only briefly before nodding, raising his hand to shoot a yellowish-brown, ethereal light arrow straight into the sky. Sixth Elder Nie Xingqiu and Eighth Elder Nie Longshan remained silent. Although they held high ranks among the elders, in matters concerning outside relations, they were accustomed to letting Nie Xingdong make the final decision.

"Thank you!" Cheng Feiliu secretly relaxed. As long as the Nie family committed fully, there was no worry about these few snatching away the "Fire Tree Silver Flower."

"Thud!"

"Bang!"

Two concussive sounds rang out in succession. The middle-aged man was violently smashed into a deep pit, while Elder Huo, his hair disheveled and bleeding from multiple places, was in a pitiful state.

"Four of you, are you done fighting?"

Cheng Feiliu stepped forward and called out sternly, "If you are finished, then return the 'Fire Tree Silver Flower.' I can pretend today never happened, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, what?"

The green-robed elder turned around, looking at Cheng Feiliu and cackling sharply, "Do you think that with just a few of you weaklings, you can keep me in Jiyang City? Heh heh, heh heh..."

Cheng Feihong snarled darkly, "Even if you are a Dan Ling Master, you lack the standing to run wild in the Great Cheng Empire, in Jiyang City."

"Heh heh, if Dan Ling Master isn't enough standing, then how about a Dong Ling Master..."

The green-robed elder's hunched back suddenly straightened up perfectly, like a javelin driven into the ground. Immeasurable aura erupted from his frail body.

Instantly, it seemed as if a violent tornado swept across heaven and earth. Wisps of darkness churned out, layering and condensing above his head into a massive, rapidly spinning black hole. That black vortex projected a strange power, seemingly capable of sucking a person's soul inside.

"Dong Ling! It's actually a Dong Ling Master!"

"A Dark-element Dong Ling Master!"

"..."

The faces of the Cheng brothers and the three Nie Elders changed drastically. They had never expected this unremarkable old man to have concealed such profound cultivation.

Dong Ling was just one step shy of Tian Ling, but once one reached the Dong Ling realm, they could swagger anywhere. As long as they didn't provoke those extremely rare Tian Ling powerhouses, practically no one could stop them. It was incredibly difficult for a Dong Ling Master to be detained if they wished to flee.

The green-robed elder's piercing, shrill laughter instantly resonated throughout Jiyang City: "Heh heh, who in Jiyang City can keep this old man? Merely that half-dead Nie Shen Gong of the Nie family? Heh heh, Tian Ling? Heh heh, that old immortal Nie Shen Gong, does he even deserve to reach Tian Ling?"

"Sigh, little fellows, a bit of roughhousing is fine, but don't take it too far..." Just then, an ancient voice drifted slowly through the expanse of heaven and earth, its tone calm and steady...