"While our Misty Illusions Manor boasts numerous masters and formidable strength, the majority of them are already advanced in years. Compared to a monstrous genius like Jun Moxie, whose rate of improvement is absolute, time is something we simply cannot contend with! Jun Moxie is not yet twenty, yet in one-on-one duels, he utterly slaughtered Zhan Mubai without sustaining any injury himself, and moreover, he managed to slay over twenty experts from the Holy Lands during a major engagement with a Saint Emperor powerhouse. What kind of power is that?! What kind of potential?! This old man is almost certain that the time it takes for him to reach the absolute pinnacle of this era will not exceed thirty years."

"By then, even our Misty Illusions Manor—what right would we have to resist Jun Moxie?" Cao Guofeng sighed heavily. "If Jun Moxie has no interest in the Misty Illusions Manor, that’s one thing. But if he were truly to set his sights on us... the consequences, I fear, would be utterly unbearable!"

"Then does that mean, Big Brother... we eliminate Jun Moxie now? Settle everything once and for all? Eradicate future trouble?!" Bai Qifeng knitted his brows, tapping the ground in deep contemplation as he asked.

"Not so. That kind of action, perhaps the people of the Three Great Holy Lands could do it with a clear conscience, but we people of the Ethereal Misty Illusions Manor cannot! Nor dare we! You must remember, if we kill someone simply because we are jealous of their speed... that is undoubtedly planting a subconscious thought in our own hearts: 'I am inferior to him.' This is the ultimate taboo for Mu Xing! Even if we used every trick we had to kill him, he would become a heart demon, forever dwelling in the depths of your soul, ensuring you make no further progress for the rest of your life!"

Cao Guofeng’s eyes were filled with worry. "If there were no Jun Moxie, our Manor could take its time. But now that he exists, we must find a successor with superior aptitude, one capable of matching him. This matter is now urgent, it must be done! Because we must ensure that in several years' time, there will still be someone capable of upholding the entire Misty Illusions Manor!"

Bai Qifeng suddenly understood, but his expression immediately turned furious, gnashing his teeth. "We had already found such an ideal successor... Unfortunately, it was utterly destroyed by the machinations of the Three Great Holy Lands! Those beasts! This old man currently wishes he could spit fire upon them!"

Another person asked cautiously, "If that is the case... if one day our Manor is destroyed by Jun Moxie’s hand, wouldn't that be the karmic debt sown by these people from the Three Great Holy Lands?"

"Well said!" Bai Qifeng’s eyes flashed with killing intent, heavy and resolute. "That is why I say... 'we cannot let them off too easily.'" As he spoke, he cupped his hands and gazed south, in the direction of the Three Great Holy Lands!

"At this point, saying more is useless, utterly meaningless... The true crux now is, where do we find another successor whose disposition and innate talent can rival Jun Moxie? Otherwise, the Misty Illusions Manor, with its inheritance spanning ten thousand years, truly does not have much time left!" Cao Guofeng frowned and sighed long and deeply.

The remaining six people now grasped the gravity of the situation, and they too let out long sighs, at a loss for what to do.

Just then, a chilling, sinister burst of laughter erupted and soared toward the heavens. The sound was clearly not far from them. The group exchanged startled glances, and Cao Guofeng’s eyes flashed with sharp divine light as he spoke in a deep voice, "Which esteemed master is playing tricks before us? I request you show yourself."

Bai Qifeng and the others grew solemn, but from the laughter, they could tell this person’s strength was definitely not beneath any of them—perhaps even superior! If this person were an enemy, they would undoubtedly face an overwhelmingly terrifying adversary!

None of them spoke, all maintaining a state of intense alertness, ready to unleash an attack at any moment.

After a long wait, the sinister voice finally spoke slowly, "Aren't you searching for a successor with good aptitude? I see you all searching so laboriously. Pity your advanced age and limited time; I’ve specially brought one for you. Am I a good person?!"

The speaker's voice was ethereal and unstable; sometimes it sounded near, sometimes behind, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and at times it seemed to circle overhead. It darted north and south, turning instantly toward the west. Even with the transcendent, sanctified strength of the seven Saint Emperors of the Misty Illusions Manor, they could not discern which direction the person was hidden, let alone their exact location!

As soon as the person finished speaking, all seven faces paled. This person had clearly overheard their entire prior conversation, yet they were powerless to do anything about him...

Did this not mean that this person's strength was far superior to all six of them?

Moreover, the tone of this person’s speech was utterly unrestrained, clearly indicating they were no friend!

In such a desolate wilderness, how could such a formidable enemy appear?

In the ensuing silence, a tragic scream suddenly ripped through the air. The sound was youthful; based on the voice alone, the speaker could not be over twenty years old. Following this, the sinister voice echoed with triumphant laughter: "Come now, hahaha... Come welcome your disciple... The Ethereal Constitution, so rare..."

A faint white shadow seemed to be forcefully tossed high into the air, tumbling twice before spewing a vivid arc of crimson blood across the sky, which then landed on the ground with a sickening thud, shattering into a mess of flesh and gore.

"I'm off, hahaha..." This time, the sinister voice seemed to emanate from beneath the earth, and then it vanished without a trace, leaving no sound behind.

"Go!" Bai Qifeng roared, leaping forward first.

"Qifeng, beware of a trap!"

Cao Guofeng shouted a warning, suddenly soaring upward himself, piercing straight into the air several dozen zhang high. Then, standing sword in hand, he vigilantly surveyed their surroundings. From this vantage point, any movement nearby could be met with his immediate aid for his brothers, granting him the advantage of height for delivering a fatal strike against the enemy!

This was the invisible tacit understanding cultivated by the seven men through long periods of fighting side-by-side. Without needing many words, when facing an enemy, they could instantly array themselves into the optimal formation, each occupying the most advantageous terrain and positions that offered maximum protection to their comrades!

While Cao Guofeng stood in the sky in full alert, he suddenly heard Bai Qifeng's anxious cry from below: "Big Brother, come quickly and look! It is... it really is that child with the Ethereal Constitution! Hurry over!"

Cao Guofeng, suspended in mid-air, shuddered instantly at the words. His body turned in the air with the swiftness of a meteor, spinning once before whipping down in a flash to the spot where Bai Qifeng had called out. Upon seeing the scene, he was instantly consumed by violent rage!

Lying on the ground before him was a person.

The body was almost entirely saturated with blood, the skin ripped open and mangled, and the person was unconscious, completely unaware of anything. At this moment, there was only the last breath leaving, but no breath entering...

It seemed this person had first been struck heavily by the speaker, and then hurled down from a great height. That he still clung to a single breath was already remarkable.

Cao Guofeng approached, took a pulse, and let out another furious curse: the meridians throughout the youth’s body were almost entirely wrung dry! He was, effectively, a complete cripple.

The youth possessed handsome features, his two sharp eyebrows furrowed in extreme pain, his eyes tightly shut... Who else could it be but the genius with the Ethereal Constitution they had selected?

To think that he had been abducted since being in Star City, and now he was returned in such a pitiful, near-death state. For a moment, Cao Guofeng felt his heart ache, and his usually steady hands trembled slightly. Controlling his emotions with difficulty, he closed his eyes and asked, "Is there any saving him?"

For Cao Guofeng, possessing such strength and insight, to ask such a question showed how intensely he cared for this youth with the Ethereal Constitution.

Bai Qifeng sighed. "It will be difficult..."

In truth, it was not only Cao Guofeng who was heartbroken; Bai Qifeng’s suffering might not have been any less.

Cao Guofeng’s body shook, and he slumped down momentarily, seeming to age several years in that instant...

"However... it’s not entirely without a chance," Bai Qifeng hesitated. "It just... it depends on... whether it’s worth it..."

"What way?" Cao Guofeng spun around sharply, his eyes blazing as he looked at Bai Qifeng.

"The seven of us brothers will take turns using our innate Xuan Qi to guard his heart meridian, and then we must rush back to the Misty Illusions Manor immediately! If he can hold out until we return, perhaps the potent efficacy of the Seven-Colored Sacred Fruit might offer a slim hope... At the very least, we still have a few Old Ancestors we can appeal to..." Bai Qifeng explained. "But if he cannot hold on, there will be no solution." He added grimly, "Looking at his current state, holding out until then... is difficult! Truly difficult!"

"No matter what, this is the final hope!" Cao Guofeng declared decisively. "We decide this now! We depart immediately and rush back to the Manor! This child's genius constitution is directly tied to the future of our Misty Illusions Manor; we absolutely cannot let him be lost! The first to sustain him will be me..."

Saying this, Cao Guofeng extended both hands forward, shouting low. Xuan Qi poured out ceaselessly, and with a soft sound, an invisible bed, completely condensed from materialized Xuan Qi, suddenly appeared beside him!

With a gentle sweep of his hand, the youth's body on the ground lifted silently and floated onto this Xuan Qi mattress. He seemed utterly undisturbed, as comfortable as if he had settled into a cloud.

Cao Guofeng’s hands, laden with rich Xuan Qi, brushed over the youth’s body: wherever his palms passed, the scars on the youth's body withered, shrunk, and scabbed over at a speed visible to the naked eye. The wounds that had been flowing with blood just moments before were already halfway healed!

"Spring Return Art! Big Brother, are you insane?!" Bai Qifeng cried out in alarm. "Are you trying to throw your life away?"

Spring Return Art, as the name implied, was an extremely peculiar healing technique. It utilized the practitioner's own life force, transforming it into restorative power to alleviate the patient's injuries! No matter how severe the injury, improvement was guaranteed once this technique was employed!

However, within the Misty Illusions Manor, this secret art was considered a forbidden technique!