At this moment, aside from Mirage Palace’s Supreme Pivot Elder and the other two Dao Union greats from Kongshan Sect, the highest combat forces on the Chenping Continent had already gathered inside the Profound Scripture Hall.
Four Dao Union cultivators, seventeen Divine Ability cultivators, and three Unity Realm peak cultivators.
Twenty-four Upper Three Realm greats from the Five Great Sects sat around in the Profound Scripture Hall, all eyes fixed on the surface of the water in the center of the hall, where the figure of a youth in a plain white daoist robe floated.
None of these top figures of the current Chenping cultivator world dared to speak.
It wasn’t just because of the mysterious immortal artifact radiating the lingering resonance of the immortal path, it was because none of them could see through the cultivation level of that handsome youth.
For cultivators above the eighth tier, any pill or treasure capable of suppressing or hiding cultivation was ineffective.
In the minds of the greats gathered in the Profound Scripture Hall, the only possibility was that the youth in the plain white daoist robe had cultivation higher than anyone present in the hall.
A Realman of the Immortal Ascension Realm.
They reached that conclusion quickly.
Or rather, they could never forget what had happened that day in the Western Region of Chenping Continent.
Besides those two Supreme Pivot Elders from Mirage Palace, the Supreme Pivot Elders of the other four great sects had actually never seen Chen Yan in person.
But they quickly guessed that this was likely the peerless prodigy who possessed innate sword intent, unmatched in history and future alike, the great figure behind Su Hongzhen.
After the Dao Inquiry on Heavenly Summit Mountain, Su Hongzhen’s name shook the world, and even the Supreme Pivot Elders of the Five Great Sects were alarmed by the young blue-robed swordsman’s emergence.
For the current order of the Chenping cultivator world, the appearance of a talent like Zhou Jinyun or Li Haoran—someone who could almost crush an era, an absolute “aptitude for Ascending to Immortality”—was acceptable.
Because even an Immortal Ascension Realm cultivator could at most alter the balance of Chenping’s current situation, but could not overturn the operational order of the Chenping cultivation world.
The last Immortal Ascension cultivator who tried to change the situation on Chenping Continent was Realman Bai Shang of Wind Ravine Valley.
Everyone knew how that ended: he became the shortest-lived among the thirty Immortal Ascension cultivators who had appeared on Chenping Continent, and left Wind Ravine Valley a mess.
If not for Realman Shuangyu’s Yin Xia pulling the tide back from disaster, the Five Great Sects of Chenping Continent might have become the Four Great Sects.
But Su Hongzhen was different.
His talent was enough for him alone to change the entire order of Chenping Continent.
No one knew if that would be good or bad, but because Su Hongzhen was closer to Mirage Palace, the other four great sects believed that the harms of Su Hongzhen’s rise would likely far outweigh any benefits.
Therefore, although the order to ambush Su Hongzhen was not personally issued by the Supreme Pivot Elders of the four sects, it was impossible that those Elders were unaware.
In other words, the Supreme Pivot Elders of the four great sects were not indifferent to what their subordinates had done.
And the indifference of those in high positions actually amounted to tacit approval, perhaps even endorsement.
What followed was that Chen Yan, by his own power, killed three of the four Upper Three Realm greats, sparing only the Supreme Elder from Kongshan Sect.
According to that Kongshan Supreme Elder’s later account, the youth in the plain white daoist robe had simply blown once on the flute in his hand, and the three Upper Three Realm cultivators died instantly, without any chance to resist.
The Four Great Sects understood this was a warning from the mysterious figure behind Su Hongzhen.
That completely dispelled their desire to kill Su Hongzhen.
What they did not know was that the relationship between Mirage Palace and Su Hongzhen was not as close as they imagined.
If Shang Ao had not already known of Chen Yan’s existence, Mirage Palace would probably have joined the other four great sects in the ambush.
After all, who could provoke an Immortal Ascension great who casually produced three immortal artifacts?
The voice of the youth in the plain white daoist robe echoed in the empty Profound Scripture Hall.
“Your Excellency, what is your insight?”
Finally, Ren Anhe, seated on the main throne of the Profound Scripture Hall, spoke first and addressed Chen Yan.
This Kongshan Supreme Pivot Elder’s statement seemed to directly accept Chen Yan’s participation in this conference of the Five Great Sects.
It could only be acceptance.
“This disaster happened once nearly sixty thousand years ago.”
Chen Yan said slowly:
“I believe you are all aware, that disaster was the cause of Heavenly Summit Mountain’s destruction.”
As he spoke, Chen Yan turned slowly on the Mirror of Kan Water, scanning the highest leaders of the Five Great Sects sitting in the hall.
“This is the second time, and where there is a second, there will inevitably be a third.”
Chen Yan continued.
His words did not provoke much fluctuation among the Supreme Pivot Elders in the Profound Scripture Hall, because what these Elders feared most was precisely what to do if such an event happened again.
Would it grow larger in scale? If pitch-black rifts reappeared, would the laws of heaven and earth heal again?
With their cultivation and insight, they had no solution to these questions.
“Senior.”
At that moment, Fei Yufeng, the Supreme Pivot Elder of Wind Ravine Valley, stood up and cupped his hands toward Chen Yan:
“I have a confusion regarding this disaster, please allow me to ask.”
Chen Yan’s gaze landed on the Wind Ravine Valley Supreme Pivot Elder, and he nodded in consent.
He remembered that the last time he dealt with the Supreme Pivot Elders of the Five Great Sects had to be traced back to when he was tied under a small grove on Yuanhua Mountain, being beaten with firewood.
At that time, that Supreme Pivot Elder had been only a lowly Martial Spring Realm cultivator.
“I would like to know whether the disaster that destroyed Heavenly Summit Mountain was a man-made calamity or a natural catastrophe?”
Fei Yufeng asked.
“It can be said to be man-made, and it can be said to be natural.”
Chen Yan answered:
“Because the reason Heavenly Summit Mountain was destroyed, and why the calamity recurred there not long ago, is essentially due to a strand of cause-and-effect left behind in this world.”
“The cause-and-effect that led to the calamity…”
Fei Yufeng showed a contemplative expression, then said:
“You mean… the Cause of Calamity?”