287: Hantian Sect

Ximen Family.

"Slap!"

"Trash! With so many people watching, you let a mere ant from the Lower Realm destroy the spatial tunnel. Tell me, what use is there in keeping you alive?"

A middle-aged man wearing a black long robe slapped Ximen Bao, who was guarding the spatial tunnel, across the face.

This middle-aged man in the black long robe was none other than the head of the Ximen Family, Ximen Tianhao.

"Patriarch, spare me!" Ximen Bao knelt on the ground in terror.

"If what we did in the Lower Realm is leaked by that person, our entire Family will be finished." Ximen Tianhao struck out with a palm, instantly blasting Ximen Bao into bloody chunks... Yang Lingchen sat cross-legged, quietly digesting the memories in his mind.

It turned out this young man was named Yang Chen, the Saint of the Hantian Sect, one of the three top powers in the Black Cloud Realm. He was also a Personal Disciple of the Hantian Sect's Sect Master.

Among the younger generation of the Black Cloud Realm, Yang Chen was considered a top Genius. At only fifty years old, he had already reached the Fifth Level of the Illusory God Realm.

Yang Lingchen took the storage ring from Yang Chen's body, then dug a hole and gently placed Yang Chen inside.

However, before placing Yang Chen in the pit, Yang Lingchen extracted Yang Chen's aura and infused it into his own body. This way, even those closest to Yang Chen would find it difficult to tell Yang Lingchen's true identity.

"Brother Yang, don't worry. I will do my best to protect the Hantian Sect for you."

Yang Lingchen bowed to the mound of earth where Yang Chen was buried, then walked toward the corpse of the Earth Flame Demon Dragon.

The monster core inside the Earth Flame Demon Dragon was a good item. With this core, Yang Lingchen was confident he could achieve a Breakthrough to the True God Realm.

Of course, he couldn't break through right now because the loss of blood qi in his body was too severe. To break through to the True God Realm, he had to first replenish the depleted blood qi.

After putting away the Earth Flame Demon Dragon's corpse, Yang Lingchen changed into a set of Yang Chen's clothes and flew toward the Hantian Sect.

The world laws and spatial elements of the Divine Realm were completely different from the Lower Realm; the Spiritual Qi here was much denser than in the Lower Realm.

Because Yang Lingchen's cultivation level was relatively low, it took him seven full days of flying to reach the Mountain Gate of the Hantian Sect.

The moment Yang Lingchen appeared, a massive Golden-Winged Snow Eagle flew toward him excitedly.

"A... woo...!"

The Golden-Winged Snow Eagle let out a long cry and instantly flew in front of Yang Lingchen.

"Xiao Jin, stop!"

Seeing this, Yang Lingchen hurriedly shouted. He knew this was Yang Chen's companion snow eagle; every time Yang Chen returned, it would welcome him this way.

But Yang Lingchen's current strength was only at the True God Realm, far from being a match for this Golden-Winged Snow Eagle.

"Bang...!"

Yang Lingchen was knocked unconscious on the spot by the speeding Golden-Winged Snow Eagle.

"Coo... coo...!"

The Golden-Winged Snow Eagle circled Yang Lingchen several times, unable to understand why its master's strength had become so weak.

This snow eagle had been rescued by Yang Chen in the mountains. To repay his kindness, it had followed Yang Chen for decades.

After hesitating for a moment, the snow eagle grabbed Yang Lingchen with its claws and flew toward Han Shao Peak, where Yang Chen lived.

"How did the Saint's cultivation level become so low?"

"Yeah! I just took a close look, and it seems he hasn't even reached the True God Realm."

"Could the Saint have been injured outside? Is that why his cultivation level regressed?"

For a time, many Hantian Sect Disciples began to gossip, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire Hantian Sect.

The news of Yang Lingchen's drop in cultivation level was like a depth charge, instantly causing a massive sensation in the Hantian Sect.

The Hantian Sect Sect Master, Yang Suxue, and the Sect's high-level officials all came to Han Shao Peak.

"Old Huang, how is Chener's condition?" A hint of worry appeared on Yang Suxue's beautiful face.

"Sect Master Yang, the Saint's body is fine, but his blood qi loss is severe. He just needs to rest for a while, but...!" Huang Nantan looked as if he were hesitating to speak.

"But what? Speak freely, Old Huang," Yang Suxue said.

"The Saint must have used some powerful forbidden technique, causing his cultivation level to regress. It's likely that his cultivation level will be very difficult to recover in the future," Huang Nantan said solemnly.

"Is there really no other way?" Yang Suxue asked with a heavy expression.

"It is almost impossible to restore the Saint's cultivation level," Huang Nantan replied.

"This Venerable understands. Everyone, leave," Yang Suxue said in a cold voice.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Yang Lingchen finally woke up, and the blood qi consumed in his body had recovered to some extent.

After waking up, the first thing Yang Lingchen did was head to the Hantian Sect's Merit Hall to exchange for medicinal herbs. He planned to refine a batch of True God Realm blood-restoring pills.

As long as he had supreme grade blood-restoring pills, Yang Lingchen could quickly recover the blood qi his body had lost. Then, he could refine the Earth Flame Demon Dragon's monster core.

Once he refined the Earth Flame Demon Dragon's monster core, Yang Lingchen would be able to achieve a Breakthrough to the True God Realm.

Yang Lingchen went to the shed where the Golden-Winged Snow Eagle lived and said, "Xiao Jin, take me to the Merit Hall."

Seeing Yang Lingchen arrive, Xiao Jin excitedly rubbed its head against him, an apologetic look in its eyes.

"Alright, I don't blame you."

Yang Lingchen stroked Xiao Jin's feathers, then climbed onto its back and said, "Let's go! To the Merit Hall."

"A... woo!" Xiao Jin gave a long cry and carried Yang Lingchen toward the Hantian Sect's Merit Hall.

As the Saint of the Hantian Sect, Yang Chen had a very large amount of merit points.

"Look, Saint Yang Chen is here."

"He won't be the Saint for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Rumor has it that the Sect's high-level officials are already discussing replacing the Saint."

"Is that true?"

"Of course it's true! Yang Chen doesn't even have a True God Realm cultivation level now. Do you think our Hantian Sect will let him continue being the Saint?"

"That seems to make sense. It looks like we need to pick a new side."

For a moment, the Disciples near the Merit Hall began whispering and gossiping.

Yang Lingchen didn't take the others' comments to heart; he cared more about increasing his cultivation level.

"Oh...! Isn't this Senior Brother Yang Chen?"

Just as Yang Lingchen was about to enter the Merit Hall, a dashing but gloomy-eyed young man walked out.

A cold smirk curled on his lips as he looked at Yang Lingchen with disdain.

Yang Lingchen frowned. This person was named Zhou Jiecheng, a Core Disciple of the Hantian Sect, with a cultivation level at the First Level of the Phantom God Realm. He had always been a lackey by Yang Chen's side.

"Zhou Jiecheng, is there something you need?" Yang Lingchen said coldly.

"Yang Chen, stop putting on airs in front of This Young Master. You don't really think you're still the Saint, do you?"

Zhou Jiecheng sneered and continued, "That's right, you probably don't know yet. The Grand Elder and the others are already discussing replacing the Saint with the Sect Master. If nothing goes wrong, Senior Brother Zhen Tianyu will become the new Saint."

The reason Zhou Jiecheng was making things difficult for Yang Chen was mainly to claim credit in front of Zhen Tianyu.

Since the relationship between Zhen Tianyu and Yang Chen had always been poor, suppressing Yang Chen now was undoubtedly the best opportunity to curry favor with Zhen Tianyu.

"A good dog doesn't block the way!" Yang Lingchen said coldly.

Since he was going to stay in the Hantian Sect, he couldn't be afraid of trouble, or he would definitely face constant problems in the future.

"Yang Chen, you're looking for death." Zhou Jiecheng snorted and struck a palm toward Yang Lingchen.

Seeing this, Yang Lingchen waved his hand and met it with a Domain Breaking Fist Aura.

"Boom!"

After the clash, Yang Lingchen retreated a full dozen steps before coming to a stop.

"Who would have thought that you, trash, still have some skill to be able to take ten percent of This Young Master's power."

Seeing the Genius Saint he used to flatter being knocked back by a light palm strike, a satisfied, cold smile appeared on Zhou Jiecheng's face.

"Zhou Jiecheng, what are you doing?"

Just then, a pleasant, sharp voice came from behind Yang Lingchen.

A tall, beautiful woman with snow-white skin, wearing an elegant coral-colored dress, walked over.

This woman was Xiao Menger, ranked second among the Core Disciples, with a cultivation level at the Fourth Level of the Phantom God Realm. She was also Yang Chen's Junior Sister and childhood sweetheart, to whom he was secretly betrothed.

Beside Xiao Menger was a tall, handsome young man with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

This young man was Zhen Tianyu, ranked first among the Core Disciples, with a cultivation level at the Peak of the Fourth Level of the Phantom God Realm.

When the Saint was being selected, he had lost to Yang Chen by a single move, which was why he had missed out on the position.