"Those before us, which sect are you from?"
It was true that there were other sects within the dark mist!
At that moment, those from the Empyrean Sword Sect heightened their vigilance. All of them had a mild solemn look on their faces. Should this have happened at some other time, they would naturally have no fear at all. But that moment was different!
They had just been attacked by a demon inside the dark mist. Now, the elder was severely wounded. Should the opponent bear any form of hostility, it might be extremely disadvantageous to their current situation!
Should one encounter other sects in the dark mist, one must not feel as if they had run into an old friend in a distant land. Instead, one must be vigilant. In this era shrouded in the dark mist where everything had become twisted, a cold saber may be hiding right underneath a friendly smile!
"We are the Sol Sword Sect! And you are…?"
It turned out that they were from the Sol Sword Sect, a sword sect that seemingly had just stepped into the Empyrean Sword Domain. In terms of comprehensive power, they should be on par with the Empyrean Sword Sect's side sects.
"We are the Empyrean Sword Sect."
The Empyrean Sword Sect?
The opposite faction fluttered on the inside. It was them! They had heard of legends about the Empyrean Sword Sect in the past. After all, even the domain itself was named after them. That showed how powerful the Empyrean Sword Sect was back in the days.
At that moment, however, they could not resist gossiping.
"Look at that guy whom they call elder. He's just at Early-stage Liberation. Despite how much the Empyrean Sword Sect might have fallen, they would never let a mere Liberation stage become an elder… If my guess is correct, this group we've bumped into is just a side sect."
"If they're just a side sect… then I guess they won't be too powerful? If we abduct these people and subject them to torture… I guess they will reveal some of their sword arts…"
"I think the Sect Lord has been thinking about annexing other sects for quite some time now, am I right? I guess we should still be able to acquire some incomplete scrolls from the Empyrean Sword Manual from their side sect?"
At that moment, the elders and even the disciples of the Sol Sword Sect looked at each other with evil intentions emerging in their hearts.
Since both parties revealed their identities, they plunged into silence.
It seemed as if they were keeping a sharp lookout on each other without prior consultation.
After quite some time the Empyrean Sword Sect's elder suddenly laughed.
It seemed like he did not want the situation to enter a deadlock. After all, he was severely injured at the moment and was a little too frail. If this stalemate were to go on for a while longer, he was afraid that he would give himself away!
"Since you don't welcome us here, we will be taking our leave. Within the dark mist, it is our own powers that we will have to rely on to survive. When we meet in the future, I do hope that the situation will not be as tense as this."
The Empyrean Sword Sect's elder was really good at acting. He flicked his sleeves and instantly converted the last of his energy into a surge deterrence. This was a warning to the other party.
"Master…" The person behind him was his disciple. Deeply aware of his master's current condition, he quickly and quietly held his hand behind his master and poured his own Spirit Energy into his master's body so that he would not immediately vomit blood.
After all, they knew that if they let the cat out of the bag right now and let their only combat power in the form of that deterrence slip away, all of them would fall under the mercy of the enemy.
They turned around and were prepared to leave.
"Hold up."
However, at that moment, an unpleasant voice abruptly sounded.
The pupils of everyone in the Empyrean Sword Sect's party constricted as a bad feeling emerged in their hearts.
A figure came walking forward from the Sol Sword Sect's party who, at that moment, had a smile showing on his face.
"I must say that all of you are really good at pretending. During the lengthy stalemate earlier on, your side was not at all inferior to us in the silent confrontation of auras. However, if my eyes are correct, that elder of yours can no longer unleash powers at the Liberation stage!"
This man revealed a sinister expression. He had large eyes and a flat nose. The only thing worth mentioning about him was that his eyes were extremely bright.
"I was born with bright eyes. I can tell that you are severely wounded and are no longer capable of fighting. Therefore, where is it that you wish to run to?"
This person was the Sol Sword Sect's elder who was at the Liberation stage. At that moment, his eyes were extremely bright as he sneered and looked at Elder Jiang from the Empyrean Sword Sect.
Elder Jiang's face became awful looking.
He looked extremely gloomy.
At the very next moment!
They were immediately surrounded, and then all of them were captured.
"We cannot kill these people just yet. We must make them spit out all of the techniques they know, then find out the Empyrean Sword Sect's side sect's current location and their specific condition."
The Sol Sword Sect elder revealed a cruel smile.
Within the dark mist, everyone had their own worries. That meant that it was basically every man for himself, or every sect for themselves, and cases like a sect assisting another in rising up would probably not happen anymore! Therefore, should one encounter even the disciples of a sect that was a lot stronger than them, one should still capture them. After all, their sect would have no way of getting in touch with them. Under the dark mist, the flow of information was extremely clogged.
At that moment, they returned to the Sol Sword Sect.
On the way, the elders and disciples of the Empyrean Sword Sect all had looks of despair on their faces.
After they arrived at the Sol Sword Sect, they could already anticipate what kind of torture they and the rest would be subjected to!
"Keep an eye on them. Don't let them commit suicide!"
The people from the Sol Sword Sect were in great spirits!
Having caught people from the Empyrean Sword Sect's side sect, the sect would probably award them a lot of things!
"Sir, what if his strength recovers when we get back?"
"Back at the Sol Sword Sect, we have seven elders at the Liberation stage safeguarding our premises. The Sect Lord himself has even stepped into the Divine Bridge stage. Are you telling me that it is possible for them to escape?"
For a while, they were triumphant.
We're back!
They smiled.
They could see the Statue of Sol in the distance.
However, all of a sudden, they saw a crack on the Statue of Sol, which originally was a massive rising sun, with a sword running through it. There were even faint bloodstains on it.
Huh?
The Statue of Sol was the Sol Sword Sect's façade, and now it was broken?
They looked at each other as a bad feeling abruptly cropped up in their hearts.
They hurriedly went into the sect only to see the disciples moving around with fear and panic on their faces!
"What happened?" the elder asked. He hurriedly stopped a disciple whose nerves seemed extremely tense.
"Dead. They're all dead…" the disciple replied.
"Say it clearly!" The elder had a short temper. At that moment, his bright eyes were full of anxiety as his heart gradually sank to the bottom of his chest. Who had died? All of them were dead? What on earth had happened in the sect?
"The Sect Lord is dead… the seven elders are dead… That man… he had three swords behind his back and was in white clothes… His three swords exploded above the sect and killed everyone… He knows the Assaulting Art, Falling Sun, and could control his swords from a thousand miles away. They're dead… They're all dead…"
The Sect Lord was dead.
The seven elders were also dead…
Like a bolt from the blue, this news made the faces of the disciples of the Sol Sword Sect and the elder who had just returned instantly turn pale...
"How is that possible?! Who was it?"