A faint breeze swept past, and the ephemeral shadows of the leaves vanished completely.

Witnessing this, Yan He and Hai Ying, who had arrived moments later, sighed inwardly. Without the protection of that layer of seven-colored radiance, capturing Nie Kong would now be as easy as turning over a hand. However, the Sea Clan and the Danxian Sect were not the Hongmeng Tianfu; even if Yi Ming and the others hadn't appeared now, they would still hesitate to make the move to attack.

"Wood Ancestor, the duration of your leaves is far too short! If only they could have held on for just two or three more minutes!" Nie Kong scanned Yi Ming and the other two, offering a wry smile and a forced laugh. "It seems I truly have no choice but to go with you to the Hongmeng Tianfu this time."

Even as he spoke, Nie Kong continued his actions within his pet backpack without pause; if he could just drag out the time slightly, he believed he could still find an opening to slip away. Though somewhat frustrated, Nie Kong was deeply grateful to the Wood Ancestor; without those leaves, the situation would be vastly different now.

Seeing Nie Kong offer no resistance, the three Eighth-Grade Spirit Gods from the Hongmeng Tianfu exchanged satisfied glances.

Yi Ming’s voice boomed like a great bell. "Nie Kong, you murdered our Hongmeng Tianfu's newly ascended Spirit God in the Shenkong Realm, and you refined so many Spirit God avatars. Even the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign cannot protect you, let alone the fact that your connection to the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign remains highly questionable."

He paused, then nodded approvingly toward Nie Kong. "It's fortunate you are a smart man who understands the times; this saves us considerable effort."

Nie Kong laughed lightly. "The three of you are Eighth-Grade Spirit Gods, and I am merely a Sixth-Grade. It's impossible for me to escape your grasp, so rather than inviting a beating, I might as well accept your arrangements."

"Nie Kong, you are quite straightforward!"

Zhen Baishan tittered, her voice as crisp and pleasing as silver bells.

Zhan Nan remained expressionless. "Since you know escape is impossible, do not waste any more time. The Divine Sovereign is waiting to see you at Mount Hongmeng."

"Very well, I..."

Just as Nie Kong was about to nod decisively, a soft chuckle suddenly echoed from the void: "Leaving already? I was hoping to watch a bit more of the excitement."

This voice carried a unique resonance, clear and cool like a gently rippling ancient spring, causing Nie Kong to freeze momentarily. At that instant, Qingyou seemed to sense something; with a rustling sound of crystalline sharpness, its head emerged from Nie Kong's chest, a flicker of confusion visible in its clear eyes.

"Who?"

"What is this cold winter..."

"Show yourself!"

Several loud shouts rang out simultaneously.

It wasn't just Yi Ming, Zhan Nan, and Zhen Baishan—Yan He and Hai Ying and the others also had subtle shifts in their complexions. So many Spirit Gods, including five Eighth-Grade ones, had failed to detect any hidden presence nearby.

Consequently, their gazes swept rapidly across the surroundings, nearly twenty powerful spiritual senses enveloping every inch of space within a radius of several thousand meters in a meticulous search.

Yet, they found absolutely nothing.

For a moment, the expressions of Yi Ming and the others turned extremely grim. If they couldn't sense the slightest anomaly even now, the hidden person was likely a Ninth-Grade Spirit God.

The Five Great Divine Sovereigns wouldn't come; even if they did, they wouldn't conceal themselves so furtively. The same applied to the Ninth-Grade Spirit Gods from the Hongmeng Tianfu, the Danxian Sect, and the Sea Clan.

When calculated this way, the number of potential hidden presences nearby could be counted on one hand.

But Yi Ming and the others racked their brains, yet they could not fathom the identity of the newcomer. That voice was exceptionally peculiar; if they had heard it before, they would never forget it.

"Oh?"

As everyone remained in bewildered suspense, Nie Kong’s heart gave a slight lurch.

While Yi Ming and the others searched for the newcomer, Nie Kong also allowed a thread of his spiritual sense to merge with the fabric of heaven and earth. His spiritual sense might not be as potent as that of Eighth-Grade Spirit Gods like Yi Ming or Yan He, but when it came to the degree of integration with the world, he far surpassed them; even the Five Great Divine Sovereigns might not match him in this regard.

All of this was naturally due to the Chaos Divine Power that Nie Kong cultivated.

After sensing carefully for a long time, just as everyone else was giving up the search, Nie Kong finally detected an extremely subtle fluctuation emanating from the void dozens of meters to his right.

This fluctuation was almost imperceptible, very difficult to notice, and Nie Kong instinctively looked over.

As his gaze shifted, the hidden expert also seemed to sense something, and the strange light chuckle in his voice carried a trace of surprise: "Not bad, not bad. Although merely a Sixth-Grade Spirit God, you can detect my trace. Far stronger than these Seventh and Eighth-Grade Spirits. No wonder you obtained the talisman artifact from my venerable Master."

As soon as the words fell, a white shadow stepped out of the void.

It was an elder dressed in a white robe, his long hair like snow, his white beard like frost, yet his face was smooth and youthful. He stepped forward gracefully, a smile playing on his lips, entering the vision of the crowd. Everyone present was even more shocked, not by the elder’s appearance of immortal grace, but by two specific words he uttered.

Master?

Nie Kong’s talisman artifact originated from the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign. Did this mean the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign was his Master? When had the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign taken on such a disciple?

Furthermore, this person was definitively a Ninth-Grade Spirit God.

Yi Ming and Yan He knew the Ninth-Grade Spirit Gods of the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm intimately, yet this white-robed elder gave them a feeling of extreme unfamiliarity. Just as they were shocked by the word "Master," Nie Kong felt the same shock.

Everyone assumed that leaf was the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign’s artifact, but Nie Kong knew very clearly that the leaf had no connection whatsoever to the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign; it came from the Wood Ancestor. When sealing the boundary gate and preparing to leave the Yin Ruins, the Wood Ancestor had personally plucked that leaf from the Ancestral Heaven Divine Luo Tree.

Could this old man be the Wood Ancestor's disciple?

As this thought flashed through his mind, Nie Kong found it completely impossible. After the Illusionary Spirit Continent shattered, the Wood Ancestor had always resided on the Celestial Spirit Continent, never leaving the Yin Ruins, and certainly never taking a disciple. Moreover, if the Wood Ancestor were to take a disciple, that person should be from the Yin Ruins.

As the son of the former Wood Sect in the Yin Ruins, Nie Kong had never heard of anyone in the Yin Ruins ascending to the Spirit God realm. Furthermore, the power this old man cultivated was not the Heart Aspect, but Water Divine Power.

Yet, he was clearly not one of the Sea Clan, as there was none of that peculiar aura unique to the Sea Clan within his body.

"Who exactly are you?"

Yi Ming stared intently at the white-robed elder, his voice low. If this person was the disciple of the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign, then taking Nie Kong back to the Hongmeng Tianfu today would likely be difficult.

"Let me think."

The white-robed elder scratched his head, concentrating in deep thought for a while, before speaking in an uncertain tone, "One thousand years ago, two thousand years ago, or perhaps three thousand years ago... Back then, I think I had a name. What was it... Gu You? No, no, Gu Quan?"

"Gu Quan?"

At that moment, Yan He’s eyes suddenly flew wide open, staring at the white-robed elder in disbelief, and he cried out, "I remember now! A very, very long time ago, a newly ascended Spirit God from the Celestial Spirit Continent, upon arriving in the Central Realm of the Grand Sovereign Spirit Realm, was taken as a disciple by the Seven-Colored Grand Sovereign. His name... it seems he was called Gu Quan."