The old man suddenly burst into loud laughter, fixing the Necromancer with a look of utter mockery.

"What a brilliant scheme to sow discord. If our Tie Clan were to actually attack, we would have fallen right into your **trap? Every member of the Tie Clan is a person of upright loyalty and honor. How could we possibly harm a friend!"

The elder was no fool. After sparring with Chen Feng earlier, he knew the young man was unfathomably deep. Seeing him silently neutralize the Necromancer's attack confirmed that rashly making an enemy of him was tantamount to seeking **death.

The Necromancer's face turned even greener upon hearing this. He roared, "Since you refuse to see reason, don't blame me for showing no mercy!" With that, he looked up and bellowed into the sky: "Form the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits, and kill them all**!"

"The Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits?" Chen Feng paused slightly. Watching the Necromancers in the air begin to arrange the formation, he smiled faintly, unconcerned.

The Necromancer roared at the old man, "I'll give you one last chance to regret this. Once the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits is fully deployed, even a beginner-level deity will be slain. Though you people are brave, your actual strength dictates that only death awaits you."

As he spoke, the formation in the sky began to take shape. Dense Nihility energy surged and rolled like tidal waves, threatening to erupt at any moment. Feeling the destructive power capable of leveling heaven and earth, the faces of everyone in the Tie Clan changed drastically.

The old man glanced at Chen Feng, noted his unchanged expression, and felt a sudden tremor in his heart.

Submitting to the Necromancer certainly wouldn't lead to a good outcome. Yet, believing these three youngsters could overcome the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits seemed too unrealistic.

He had heard of the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits—it was rumored to be the foremost formation of the Necromancy school. When thousands execute it simultaneously, slaying a beginner-level deity was no mere boast. If the enemy truly wished to annihilate the Tie Clan, half that power would suffice to reduce the entire city to dust.

He could rely on the Spirit-Suppressing Armor to remain unharmed, but his clansmen would surely all be killed.

The current situation was this: submitting to the Necromancer might not mean immediate death, but they would certainly become others' tools. Refusing meant immediate extermination.

What should he do? This matter of his clan's survival had him utterly indecisive.

"Have you decided yet? Hurry up, or I'll make my move," the Necromancer's tone had grown anxious.

Seeing the hesitation etched on the old man's face, Chen Feng knew the choice was difficult for him. He shook his head, looked at the arrogantly posturing Necromancer before him, and said, "Take us to the Hollow Rock Valley, and I can let these people go."

That was the place where Judy sought her father and brother, known as Hollow Rock Valley, a place where Necromancers converged, according to the Fist King.

"You know of Hollow Rock Valley?" The Necromancer was startled when Chen Feng uttered the correct name, but quickly sneered, "Knowing Hollow Rock Valley should make you recognize our might. Heh heh, letting us go? Such a bold claim might make you dislocate your tongue."

"Alas, I never expected the Necromancer to be so short-sighted."

Chen Feng sighed, unwilling to engage in further bickering. He raised his left hand and extended his right arm straight out. His entire strength instantly coalesced into a massive blaze that surged from his arm, forming a gigantic fire dragon.

Kusannagi Flame: Orochi Breaking Dawn.

Chen Feng hadn't used Orochi Breaking Dawn for a long time, but as one of the Kusanagi family's most formidable techniques, it was certainly not to be underestimated. Released now through the power of the Great Universe, its might was simply astonishing.

The onlookers watched as the fire dragon roared toward the sky, slamming into the giant vortex of energy formed by the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits. The array reacted instinctively to the incoming force, and in an instant, the two powers collided heavily.

Whoosh...

Everyone braced for a devastating explosion, dropping to the ground and channeling their greatest strength to guard against the shockwave. However, they only heard a sound like a fierce gust of wind sweeping past in the air, a single whoosh, and then absolute silence. Everyone couldn't help but raise their heads to look at the sky. The sun shone brightly overhead; not a single figure remained.

"Where are those Necromancers? And the formation in the sky?"

Everyone was instantly stunned. The shock of seeing empty space was far greater than witnessing a field of wounded bodies. It was as if an infantry unit, facing an equal number of tanks, managed to destroy the entire convoy with a single shot, making them vanish!

"You..." The remaining Necromancer shouted in shock, a plume of dense, black mist erupting around him as he instantly shot toward the distance.

Though he didn't fully grasp what had happened, he knew with certainty that his subordinates and the entire grand array had been utterly annihilated by this youth in a single strike. If he didn't want to die, fleeing immediately was his only option.

"Trying to run?" Chen Feng snarled, flicking his finger. A beam of light shot out, striking the Necromancer. With a thud, the Necromancer was blasted out of the sky.

The crowd hadn't seen the first move clearly, but they witnessed Chen Feng's second strike.

They stood frozen, glancing at each other in disbelief.

The old man, referred to as the Ancestor, trembled violently, his lips quivering so much he couldn't utter a word. He had seen the preceding event clearly: one person had dissolved the Nihility Grand Array of Ten Thousand Spirits, set up by thousands of Necromancers, into nothingness with a single move. What cultivation level was this?

If he had been hasty and chosen the wrong side just now, that person only needed one punch—no, not even a punch, just a finger—and they would all have been reduced to ash by now.

Thinking of this, cold sweat drenched him. Recalling his earlier presumptuous behavior toward the three youths made him tremble uncontrollably.

Thud!

He unexpectedly dropped straight to his knees.

"Ancestor..."

The members of the Tie Clan were stunned again to see their most powerful elder kneeling before the young man.

"What are you still doing standing there? Kneel down quickly! Thank this respected sir for saving our lives." the old man roared.

Only then did everyone realize what had happened, and they all immediately knelt, shouting in unison, "We thank the esteemed sir for saving our lives!"

Chen Feng hadn't expected this turn of events and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No need for formalities. We were looking for these Necromancers ourselves; it was just a coincidence that we met."

The elder spoke in a deep voice, "Regardless of the reason you saved us, Sir, I know that without your intervention, our clan members would surely not have survived today. In the future, if you require any service, our Tie Clan will absolutely carry out your commands without hesitation."

After saying this, the old man bowed several times with his followers before standing up.

The elder knew the Necromancer would not let this severe loss of troops and equipment go easily, so he had already decided he must cling to Chen Feng, this high branch; otherwise, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Chen Feng naturally saw the elder's intent. Under the circumstances, his actions were understandable. Therefore, Chen Feng held no contempt for him; on the contrary, he considered the man pragmatic and rather heroic.

"Who exactly are you people, and why did you establish a town deep within the Icebound Demon Garden?" Chen Feng casually tossed the captured Necromancer aside, letting Xiao Hu interrogate him, while he questioned the elder.

Upon entering the town, he had noticed the unusual nature of the place—the forging technology far surpassed that of the continent. Understanding the Necromancers' background and other details could wait; now that the time was right, he asked directly.

"Sir doesn't know who we are?" The elder was momentarily surprised, but he was not a gossipy person, and continued, "We are the people of the Tie Clan. Our ancestors sought refuge here many years ago and established this secluded paradise; we descendants have lived in seclusion here ever since."

"The Tie Clan? Is your forging technology inherited from your ancestors?" Chen Feng inquired.

"Indeed. Our forging technology has been passed down from our ancestors generation by generation, spanning over ten thousand years, and further refined by countless descendants. It is far more advanced than on the mainland," the elder said, pride evident when speaking of their forging techniques.

"Over ten thousand years?" Chen Feng had recently been quite attracted to the concept of "ten thousand years"; it seemed many things were connected to that span of time, so this statement immediately caught his attention.

"Why, do you not believe me? We even have a golden statue left by our founding ancestor here." The elder assumed Chen Feng doubted his words and became slightly anxious.

To doubt the ten-thousand-year inheritance of their forging mastery was practically an insult to them.

Chen Feng knew his words had been misunderstood, so he smiled faintly without explaining. Instead, he said, "A golden statue? Then I truly wish to see it."

Hearing that he wanted to see the golden statue, the old man didn't reply but turned and flew toward the central building of the town. Seeing that Xiao Hu was still interrogating the Necromancer, Chen Feng didn't linger and followed closely behind, flying over as well.

The two entered the building, one in front of the other. Upon entering, Chen Feng found his eyes struggled to take it all in. Everything cast inside was hundreds of times superior to what he had seen outside. By his estimation, even the mechanized manufacturing of his previous life before transmigration might be inferior.

All sorts of iron-cast, bronze-cast, and metal-cast items, large and small, he had never seen before—each one bizarre, amazing, and breathtaking.

"Did you forge all of this?" Chen Feng asked, unable to help himself despite knowing the answer.

"Of course," the old man replied with pride.

They ascended the stairs to the highest floor, which was vast and resembled a grand conference room.

"This is where our clan comes to pay respects annually," the elder pointed to the front, "That is the golden statue left by our founding ancestor. Since your cultivation is so high, your judgment must be keen; take a look and tell me if it truly dates back ten thousand years."

Chen Feng sensed a current of pride and self-esteem in the elder's tone, realizing his previous words might have caused offense. He followed the direction of the finger toward the front, and after just one glance, he let out a gasp.

"Yandrakon..."

The golden statue before him was identical to the images of the Yandrakon he had seen before!

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