The Gateway of Sanctity trembled incessantly, indicating that this mysterious realm was about to close.
The faces of various sects and clans were filled with pride, firmly believing that their outstanding disciples would greatly benefit from this.
"The inheritance of the Saint of the Celestial Heavens shall surely belong to our Hongwu Dynasty!"
The speaker was General Jiang Qingyong of the Hongwu Dynasty, also the leader of this expedition, whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Sixth Stage True Immortal.
Upon hearing this, Zhuo Wen of the Thunderous Heaven Sect's face darkened like water, speaking coldly.
"The Saint of the Celestial Heavens met his indirect demise at the hands of Emperor Hongwu in those days. Now you wish to obtain his inheritance? It's simply wishful thinking!"
Jiang Qingyong smirked in response, calmly watching Zhuo Wen.
"Even if my Hongwu Dynasty cannot obtain the inheritance, your Thunderous Heaven Sect won't either. I heard that Zhuo Zhaoping fell in the sanctum, and even your clan's artifact, the Thunder Bow, was lost along with him. It's truly embarrassing!"
"Jiang Qingyong, you're asking for death!"
Jiang Qingyong's words ignited Zhuo Wen's fury.
Not long ago, Zhuo Wen rushed here hastily upon the death of Zhuo Zhaoping, solely to find the murderer.
Zhuo Zhaoping's fall shattered his illusions about the Saint's inheritance, but Jiang Qingyong's words were a direct provocation that he could not tolerate.
Seeing Zhuo Wen's anger, Jiang Qingyong's smirk faded, stepping forward with an aura of iron and blood erupting from him, his gaze fierce as a tiger's.
"Elder Zhuo, if you wish to act, I will accompany you to the end. I happen to be curious about the Thunderous Heaven Sect's supreme techniques, to see if they are as powerful as rumored!"
Just as tensions were about to escalate into open conflict, the sanctum shattered, forcibly ejecting everyone.
As they appeared outside, the smirks of the Danyang and Xianling sects vanished instantly. They discovered that the geniuses they had sent in suffered heavy losses, and more importantly, the geniuses carrying sacred items were nowhere to be found.
With the sanctum's closure, everyone inside would be expelled.
The fate of those who had yet to emerge was clear to all.
Soon, the anger of the Danyang sect's strong was palpable, their terrifying aura shaking the space.
"Who dares to kill the geniuses of my Danyang Sect and seize our sect's treasures!"
"Daring to oppose my Xianling Sect, you seek death!"
A palace-dressed woman from the Xianling Sect could barely contain her rage, her beautiful face ice-cold as she scanned the other sects.
Ultimately, their gazes fell upon the Hongwu Dynasty and the Taichu Sect.
All the sacred items of Thunderous, Xianling, and Danyang sects were lost, while only the Taichu and Hongwu Dynasties remained silent.
Naturally, they drew connections to these two factions.
"General Ji, Master Yin, you must provide a reasonable explanation for this!"
Zhuo Wen's face darkened, his gaze shifting between the Taichu Sect and the Hongwu Dynasty.
Facing the questioning, Yin Hong remained silent, but Jiang Qingyong responded with a cold sneer.
"The sanctum itself is a mix of opportunity and danger. It's common for geniuses of various sects to fall inside. Must the esteemed sects disregard their prestige and resort to petty retribution?"
As he spoke, Jiang Qingyong positioned himself protectively in front of the prince.
In his view, the deaths of the three sects' geniuses and the loss of their sacred items must be related to the Hongwu Dynasty.
After all, their prince was powerful, poised to achieve greatness in this trial, and shielded by imperial treasures, more than capable of handling the geniuses of the major sects.
"Jiang Qingyong, what do you mean by that!"
Zhuo Wen's face was full of anger, and the other strong figures of the three major sects' complete True Immortals had locked onto their targets.
Jiang Qingyong showed no fear, and suddenly, the scabbard on his back opened, exuding an overwhelming momentum.
This caused the faces of all the strong figures from the three major sanctuaries to change drastically.
"The Immortal Emperor's Sword!"
"The Imperial Artifact!"
No one had expected the Hongwu Dynasty to be so bold as to bring out the national treasure.
An Imperial Artifact!
It was a supreme treasure that could rival that of an emperor.
Even though Jiang Qingyong could not wield the power of an emperor, the artifact itself could slay True Immortals like ants.
Originally arrogant, the three True Immortals of the major sects immediately ceased their hostilities upon seeing the Imperial Artifact.
"Hmph, let's go!"
Jiang Qingyong put away the Imperial Artifact and repositioned it behind him, leading the Hongwu Dynasty's people away.
Seeing this scene, everyone dared not speak out in anger.
The three major sects were forces on the level of emperors, naturally having Imperial Artifacts guarding their sanctuaries.
However, the problem was that Imperial Artifacts pertained to the survival of sanctuaries, and who would flaunt them around carelessly?
Once an Imperial Artifact was lost, the entire sanctuary's foundation would be shaken, and might even collapse as a result.
Under such circumstances, the use of Imperial Weapons should not be taken lightly.
The Hongwu Dynasty's madness, just for the sake of a sanctum, brought out an Imperial Artifact, which was rare indeed.
After the Hongwu Dynasty departed, Zhuo Wen said coldly, "The arrogant are bound to bring calamity. I doubt the Hongwu Dynasty can last long!"
With that, Zhuo Wen left directly, and the elder who led the team also had no choice but to take the remaining disciples of the Thunderous Heaven Sect away.
This time, they lost many geniuses and their sacred items, suffering a heavy blow to the Thunderous Heaven Sect.
Seeing this, the other major sects also showed no intention of staying.
Camp of the Taichu Sect.
Zhang Ming watched the tense situation between the three major sects and the Hongwu Dynasty, and saw the major sects leaving one after another, momentarily stunned.
He originally thought that his attempts to assassinate the geniuses of the major sects would be exposed. After all, although the previous assassinations had been eliminated, failing to kill the prince of the Hongwu Dynasty made it difficult for people not to associate with the Taichu Sect.
For this, Zhang Ming had prepared various countermeasures.
However, the impulsive action of the Hongwu Dynasty directly took charge of everything, leaving Zhang Ming with the feeling of punching into thin air.
Even Gu Fang and others hidden among the scattered repairs were at a loss when they saw this scene.
The expected trouble did not happen, and everything went smoothly.
Afterwards, the few quietly left.
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