After returning to his own residence, Jiang Heng once again entered a state of deep cultivation.
He had become wary of Bai Haocang and knew that he couldn't risk leaving the sect at this critical moment.
Nowadays, he was virtually invincible among his peers.
But when facing elders, especially formidable ones like Bai Haocang, he was undeniably still quite weak.
Therefore, he decided to bide his time until he was confident enough to contend with Bai Haocang or until this current situation subsided before considering leaving the sect.
Fortunately, he no longer relied on cultivation resources and, as a true disciple, his status had improved significantly. Even the sect leader couldn't force him into tasks.
So long as he could focus on cultivating within the sect, he believed he would eventually become the strongest!
Twenty days later, within Jiang Heng's residence, after accumulating another ten million potential points, he immediately chose to upgrade the "Swallowing Heaven and Earth Technique."
"Ding! Consuming 10 million potential points, learned 'Swallowing Heaven and Earth Technique (Proficiency).'"
A massive influx of information abruptly flooded his mind. Jiang Heng remained composed, comprehending all the information and improving his mastery of the technique.
Compared to the initial level, his efficiency in gaining potential points had doubled. He could now obtain 1 million potential points per day through cultivation.
He immersed himself in cultivation once more.
Another twenty days passed, and the "Swallowing Heaven and Earth Technique" upgraded again, reaching the mastery level. His cultivation efficiency doubled again, now yielding 2 million contribution points daily.
Yet he didn't stop, continuing to meditate in seclusion.
Time kept passing day by day.
The legends about Jiang Heng began to fade in the outside world, even within the sect, fewer people thought about the once world-renowned genius.
In the Grand Luo Sect, a new prodigious talent came into everyone's view.
Wen Qingxue, the daughter of a sect elder, had reached the innate realm at just 14 years old, becoming a core disciple. Her martial prowess was no less than her peers.
From the records alone, she appeared even stronger than the previously famous Jiang Heng.
After all, Jiang Heng had achieved fame at the age of 16, and there were no rumors of him breaking through to the innate realm yet.
So, many within the Grand Luo Sect believed Wen Qingxue was an even stronger genius than Jiang Heng.
Some even went so far as to call her unparalleled in history, surpassing anyone on the latent dragon list.
However, since Wen Qingxue hadn't made a name for herself in battles, her fame hadn't spread beyond the sect, where she was highly revered.
One day, Wen Qingxue, now at the innate realm's third level, took on a sect mission to escort a large shipment of supplies from the distant Wan Tong Trade Alliance's He Feng Branch back to the sect.
A caravan of twenty wagons, dozens of servants, and ten outer disciples, led by Wen Qingxue and another core disciple, marched proudly along the official road.
As they reached a mountainous path outside of Ci Ning City, Wen Qingxue's gaze suddenly shifted.
Coincidentally, at that moment, three sword-wielding figures emerged from different locations on either side of the road.
As they charged forward, the three swung their longswords, unleashing sharp sword qi that cut through the air, targeting the caravan's members.
"Three innate realm cultivators!"
Everyone was startled.
"Be on guard!"
Wen Qingxue shouted, her figure swiftly disappearing onto her horse.
The other core disciple also engaged one of the attackers.
These three attackers were clearly prepared and coordinated well. Two of them dealt with the core disciples, while the third took care of the rest of the disciples.
"Shing!"
The third attacker's sword sent sharp qi slicing through several disciples, leaving them in a gruesome state. Their bodies were cut in half, blood and organs spilling onto the ground.
The injuries were severe, but they wouldn't die immediately. The wounded disciples writhed on the ground, their blood pooling around them.
Seeing this, the surrounding disciples panicked, realizing they were powerless against the innate realm experts.
The crowd scattered in a panic, desperately trying to evade the attackers.
"Hehe! What's a top-tier sect to me? In my eyes, you're no different from cattle waiting to be slaughtered," the third attacker laughed grimly and was about to resume the killing when he unintentionally glanced at his comrade's situation. His body trembled instantly.
At another spot, the seemingly young girl from the Grand Luo Sect's longsword had just sliced through her comrade's neck.
A head covered by a cloth mask flew several meters high, followed by a scattered spray of dark red blood.
"How is this possible?"
"It's been only a moment since they clashed!"
"The second elder at the sixth level of the innate realm was killed?!"
The man's face turned pale with shock. A thought flickered in his mind, but before he could react further, the emotionless girl had already turned into a phantom and was rushing towards him.
"So fast!"
His expression turned serious as he swung his sword, sending sword energy bursting from the tip towards the elusive figure.
In the next moment, the sword energy pierced through the phantom's body, and the illusion dissipated. The girl had vanished from his sight.
"Oh no!"
His face changed drastically. As he attempted to turn around, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck. His vision spun.
In a daze, he saw the girl's rapidly retreating figure. The direction she was heading was towards the elder from the Grand Luo Sect who was grappling with his comrade.
"Thud!"
His head rolled onto the ground, rolling a few times before stopping, his expression forever frozen in terror, motionless.
"It's done! Thanks to Senior Sister Wen for saving our lives!"
"Senior Sister Wen is amazing! Truly the number one genius in history!"
"Two innate realm experts, killed instantly!"
On the other side, the masked elder heard something was wrong, and with a hurried glance, he was shocked.
"Second brother, third brother!"
"They... they're already dead!"
He quickly leaped backward out of the battle circle, only to see Wen Qingxue rapidly approaching.
"This is a true powerhouse!"
As soon as he landed on the ground, he turned and fled in the distance. However, it didn't take long for him to hear the rapid sound of something breaking the air behind him.
He knew his pursuer had caught up.
"Damn it! Since I can't escape, then I'll kill you!"
He stopped abruptly and turned around, swinging his longsword. A sharp sword energy shot out, heading straight for Wen Qingxue, who was closing in.
"It hit!"
The masked elder was about to show a hint of joy when he suddenly realized that the figure struck by the attack seemed to dissipate like a mirage.
Then, he felt a shadow rapidly approaching from his side. He had no time to think and quickly channeled his true energy to raise his sword to block.
"Shing!"
At the limits of his vision, he faintly caught sight of a strange silvery arc, resembling a beautiful crescent moon, flashing briefly in the air.
What followed was a sharp pain in his neck.
Once again, a severed head soared into the air.
With this, all three of the innate realm attackers had been annihilated by Wen Qingxue's hand.