"But that is hardly an excuse for such blatant perfidy!" Qiao Ying’s delicate face flushed crimson with fury. Her voice sharpened to a harsh edge. "If you couldn't shoulder the responsibility, then you shouldn't have boasted or made such grand promises! Where was your reluctance when you were betting, watching the show, and gloating just moments ago? Now that the consequences have arrived, you want to back out?"

"Fear? Qiao Ying, don't you realize this matter has long transcended mere personal fear or apprehension? This is about the future of the entire Tiansheng Palace! Furthermore, no matter how you slice it, the root of this incident lies in Jun Moxie's prior despicable conduct! He premeditated this, fabricating illusions to deliberately mislead this old man into making a false judgment." Teng Chongjie boomed, "He toyed with us like this; this Elder must seek justice, even if it means breaking a prior oath!"

His face reddened, and he declared heavily, "Besides... the way things have evolved, this has become a personal vendetta between myself and Jun Moxie! It has nothing to do with the Tiansheng Palace! Qiao Ying, if you still claim to be a member of the Tiansheng Palace, I beg you to stop speaking. For the sake of washing away this personal disgrace, even if it means lowering my status and incurring the shame of an elder bullying a junior, I can no longer afford to hesitate!"

Qiao Ying’s pretty eyes widened in such shock that she could barely utter a word.

"Hahahaha..." Jun Moxie suddenly burst into loud laughter. "A personal vendetta... That sounds quite eloquent coming from you! I finally understand where the shamelessness of the Three Great Holy Lands originates—it's all right here! It’s simply that the rot at the top infects the bottom. What good are powers above the level of the Saint Sovereign? They are no better! Teng Chongjie... you truly possess a remarkable hide..." Young Master Jun was having his eyes opened today!

"Regardless! If you refuse to leave the treasures of this mountain behind today and refuse to give us a satisfactory explanation, you can forget about leaving Tiansheng Mountain alive!" It wasn't just Teng Chongjie; every single person present stepped forward in unison, locking onto Jun Moxie with their vital energy, glaring menacingly!

It was clear the situation before them had descended into a precarious, hair-trigger standoff!

"I’d like to see who dares to make a move!" Qiao Ying abruptly floated forward, positioning herself between Teng Chongjie and Jun Moxie. Her face was flushed crimson with fury, her heart wracked by a mixture of heartache, indignation, and a degree of shame!

She felt intense pangs of regret over the lost spiritual herbs, but an even deeper anger flared over the utter shamelessness displayed by their own people...

She had never imagined that the hermits of Tiansheng Mountain, all being peak experts of their generation, would stoop to such ignoble acts.

Going back on their word and breaking trust was bad enough, but to resort to armed threat, to use the strength of the many against the few, to bully the weak... While Jun Moxie was technically in the right, it was true that taking such a massive haul all at once was perhaps too greedy, but... since an agreement had been reached, it could not be revoked, nor should it have been!

A person without integrity—how could they stand firm between heaven and earth?

"Haha..." Jun Moxie smiled faintly, pushing Qiao Ying aside with one hand and shaking his head. "You had best not involve yourself in this affair! You are, after all, merely a guest of the Tiansheng Palace!"

Saying this, he looked at the forty or fifty people arrayed before him and stated coolly, "Since matters have reached this pass, there is truly no room for retreat. Your actions... have genuinely disappointed me! I, Jun Moxie, never expected... that a person's integrity could be so worthless! I had thought the legendary Tiansheng Palace would possess some distinction. Even if they disagreed with me taking the spiritual herbs, they certainly wouldn't be as utterly despicable as this... It turns out they are all birds of a feather!"

Young Master Jun paused, then added with deep mockery, "I haven't collected everything I intended to take, but I shall leave the remainder for you. As for the bets you mentioned earlier... given your current level of shamelessness, I presume you have no intention of honoring them; hehe. Since that is the case, this young master won't press the issue. I shall take my leave now... Gentlemen, may the green mountains remain unchanged, and the clear waters flow forever. We shall meet again when the river tides rise."

"You actually think you can just leave?!" Teng Chongjie had barely finished speaking when his eyes snapped wide in shock. Right before him, the handsome face of Young Master Jun wore an expression of genuine ridicule and contempt as his entire body slowly faded, instantly turning ephemeral, completely dissolving into the air—and vanishing!

"Where is he? Where did he go?" The crowd immediately unleashed their divine senses to probe. Given the strength of these individuals, there shouldn't be any expert left in the world capable of escaping so effortlessly—not even the Fourteenth Young Master of the Nine Nethers would be an exception. Yet, they detected absolutely nothing, and a wave of alarm swept over everyone.

"Qiao Ying, use your Insightful Eye immediately to see where that brat has hidden himself! If he gets away like this... the Tiansheng Palace will suffer a humiliation too great to bear..." Teng Chongjie ground his teeth and commanded.

"The Tiansheng Palace has already suffered an unbearable humiliation! Was that not the case long ago? Did we need to wait until this moment?" Qiao Ying hissed coldly, her face as frigid as frost, and she turned to leave. A profound sense of disappointment suddenly struck her heart, her soul chilling instantly: Is this the Tiansheng Palace where I have resided for over a thousand years? The legendary sanctuary that guards the Xuanxuan Continent? Why... does it feel so utterly alien?

Although Qiao Ying departed with no heed to their calls, the others present were all battle-hardened veterans, rich in experience. Several people immediately dispersed in all directions, securing key vantage points, while others headed down the mountain path, blocking the exits.

As long as Jun Moxie remained on the mountain, no matter how miraculous his vanishing arts, he would never escape!

Teng Chongjie watched Qiao Ying’s retreating back and spoke with rage, "What’s with the attitude? If the Tiansheng Palace is ruined, do you think you’ll fare any better?"

Qiao Ying, hearing his words from afar, offered no reaction; her expression only grew colder. She walked straight into her own quarters, disappearing without a sound...

The Tiansheng Mountain was instantly thrown into utter chaos... When Wushan Yun finally emerged from his seclusion, he nearly fainted from shock.

However, after hearing the entirety of the incident, he strangely calmed down, uttering only one sentence: "If he took it, let him have it... The more he takes... the better."

From then on, there was no further mention of the matter, as if the items Jun Moxie absconded with caused him absolutely no heartbreak. Moreover, he even seemed to carry a distinct air of... relief.

He’s finally gone...

This utterly bizarre reaction truly stunned everyone. They could not fathom how their leader, who had always guarded these items like his own heart’s blood, could be so placid after such an event.

Had he been angered into madness?

Looking at the other major figures who had also just emerged from their seclusion, the initial fury on their faces had also vanished entirely, replaced by an extreme composure...

This was truly baffling!

Jun Moxie descended Tiansheng Mountain but did not leave immediately. Instead, he circled the surrounding mountains one by one, paying particular attention to the locations of the Three Great Holy Lands, inspecting them thoroughly.

Then, with a turn, he ascended Tianzhu Peak.

The battlefield for the War to Seize the Heavens was set here; Jun Moxie had to go take a look.

As he approached, he realized the scale of this enormous mountain range was truly magnificent. Furthermore, the rock composition was markedly different from the other peaks, emitting an extremely peculiar color with an inherent inner luminescence—neither stone nor jade, yet incredibly hard.

Jun Moxie casually picked up a fist-sized stone and tested it in his palm, letting out an involuntary gasp; the hardness of the stones of Tianzhu Mountain vastly exceeded the common imagination! Even with his current power level, he needed to exert more than fifty percent of his spiritual energy just to crush it!

And this was merely a small piece that had weathered away for countless years! How hard the stone deep within the surface must be was easy to imagine...

Looking up, he couldn't even discern the mountain's peak, even reaching the edge of the clouds overhead! Moreover, even just this initial glance allowed him to clearly sense an immense, crushing pressure that suddenly bore down upon him, involuntarily inducing a sense of trepidation...

This peculiar sensation made Jun Moxie truly wonder.

This was only a single mountain; could it possibly emit an aura like a top-tier master? Jun Moxie steeled his resolve, soared upward, and began climbing with astonishing, light-stream-like speed.

The higher he climbed, the more he felt the pressure intensify. After ascending only six or seven thousand meters, he already felt his strength waning, as if a deity resided above, exerting peerless divine power to prevent mere mortals from reaching the summit where gods dwell.

Jun Moxie channeled more internal energy and climbed another five thousand meters. Looking up, he still could not see the peak... This position was already at least ten thousand meters above the base—a staggering height!

Jun Moxie offered a wry smile. "It seems Mount Everest is only a little over eight thousand meters high. This mountain is almost a hundred thousand meters tall, and I'm barely halfway up... This is truly monstrous..."

It was at this moment that Jun Moxie finally understood why, even from thousands of miles away when he first arrived, Tianzhu Peak had been visible: the stones on this mountain were not only incredibly hard, but they also seemed capable of emitting light, and this light possessed a magnifying effect. With billions of pieces piled together... this created the strange, natural phenomenon...

He attempted to descend, but Jun Moxie discovered something else: his Yin-Yang Evasion technique seemed to have lost its supernatural ability on Tianzhu Mountain...

This entire Tianzhu Mountain range felt like a prohibitionary magic treasure crafted by some ancient supreme being! This realization made Jun Moxie himself startle.

Who could possess such heaven-defying capability?

And this mountain... seemed almost too large!

Young Master Jun had originally planned to climb higher, but found he could ascend no further. Jun Moxie sighed: No wonder no one had ever managed to traverse Tianzhu Mountain; so that’s why... Human effort has its limits, and his current strength was insufficient to proceed further for now. However, he was determined to uncover this mountain's secret in the future...

Turning back, Jun Moxie headed north as he descended the mountain... He had been away from Tianxiang City for a long time; perhaps it was time to return and check in... He no longer had so many constraints; he didn't need to worry about everything anymore...

Right, there is also the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit, and the Misty Phantom Mansion... I must obtain those. For now, he would take things one step at a time. Once he received news that Cao Guofeng and the others could wait, he would make further plans.

Jun Moxie pondered this, setting off with long strides, heading north.