Chapter 156: The Patriarch Comes Forth

Luo Tangyu's heart skipped a beat, pounding like a drum. They had found out after all.

Hua Xianglian chuckled merrily and said, "Su Xichen, oh Su Xichen, your day has finally come!"

Zhang Shoubai took a large stride forward, the corners of his mouth curling upward in a sneer. "Luo Tangyu, step aside! Obediently surrender the Heavenly Derivation Sect, and perhaps we can show mercy and spare your life!"

"Hmph! The incident in the Jade Spirit Secret Realm was orchestrated by Luo Tangyu and Su Xichen, who directed their disciples. As the sect master of the Profound Intent Sect, even if he were to kneel and kowtow to beg for my forgiveness, I would never let him off!" Deng Jingyao cast a cold glance at Zhang Shoubai, then said with a sinister tone toward Luo Tangyu.

Zhou Guanghui burst into laughter. "Sect Master Zhang, if your disciples had been slaughtered in such a manner, would you still forgive him?"

"Exactly! Sect Master Zhang is just speaking without feeling the pain!" Hua Xianglian covered her mouth and mocked.

Zhang Shoubai's face flushed red. "I was only humoring Luo Tangyu just now! How could I possibly allow such a cunning and treacherous scoundrel to remain alive in this world?!"

"That's right, we cannot let a single one of them escape!" Hu Huahong wore a stern expression filled with killing intent, sweeping his gaze across the Holy Lord of Taixu, the head of the Shi family, and the masters of the three major sects one by one.

"Sect Master Luo..." Yuan Zhengqing and a group of disciples stood beside Luo Tangyu. Hearing the undisguised murderous intent in the voices of these people, they called out to Luo Tangyu in a helpless panic.

Luo Tangyu's expression tightened. He demanded, "Have you all thought this through? Even if Peak Master Su of my Heavenly Derivation Sect did enter the Nether Prison Palace, so what? Which of you actually saw him get injured?"

His voice was deafening, carrying a fearless and unyielding confidence.

Chu Gongming furrowed his brow slightly and glanced at Deng Jingyao. "Sect Master Deng, are you certain that Su Xichen's cultivation realm has dropped?"

Deng Jingyao felt only contempt for his cowardice and caution. He hooked the corner of his mouth and responded in a ringing voice, "Ever since his trip to the Nether Prison Palace, Su Xichen has not made a single move. Indeed, no one can say for certain whether his cultivation has dropped... However, two days ago, Su Xichen was in an anxious rush to force us to leave, and that precisely confirms one thing."

"His martial prowess is no longer what it used to be!"

Deng Jingyao laid out his analysis in an orderly and resounding manner.

The half-believing expressions on the faces of Chu Gongming and the others instantly crystallized into a firm judgment.

"Sect Master Luo, if Su Xichen is truly fine, then let him come out and face us!" Hua Xianglian's eyes gleamed brightly as she stared at Luo Tangyu with a provocative gaze, refusing to miss even the slightest emotional shift on his face.

Luo Tangyu clenched his fists inside his voluminous sleeves, sweat soaking his undergarments. He forced a calm facade and said, "Sect Master Hua, it has only been two days since you last saw him, yet you miss him to this extent? Running to our sect in the dead of night just to look for him!"

Hua Xianglian's expression turned furious. "What nonsense are you spouting! I ran to the Heavenly Derivation Sect in the middle of the night because I was impatient to see how he is going to die!"

"When did this lord ever say I was going to die?" A figure in pristine white robes appeared, glaringly stark against the dark curtain of the night.

Deng Jingyao narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed upon him in a manner that chilled one to the bone.

Yuan Zhengqing shuddered abruptly, swallowing a mouthful of saliva out of fear.

This Sect Master Deng looked truly demonic!

Su Xichen hovered serenely in mid-air, casting a brief glance past Hua Xianglian before meeting Deng Jingyao's predatory stare.

"Sect Master Deng, do you truly take the Heavenly Derivation Sect for a place without anyone of consequence?"

Deng Jingyao let out a low chuckle. "Has the Patriarch of the Heavenly Derivation Sect been summoned out by you? Patriarch Chugu, since you have already emerged from seclusion, why not show yourself and meet us openly?"

Su Xichen's expression remained tranquil.

Luo Tangyu felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss.

It was not because Su Xichen was too cold, but because Deng Jingyao had anticipated everything.

Among the supreme elders of the Heavenly Derivation Sect who had yet to ascend, only Chugu remained in this world.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha! What an arrogant junior of the Profound Intent Sect! Ni Qiansong, you petty villain, stop hiding in the back—this deity has already spotted you!" With a thunderous crash, the mountain rocks fractured as a figure soared out from within.

Patriarch Chugu drifted immortally in the air, stroking his beard as he smiled down at the crowd.

"Patriarch Chugu of the Heavenly Derivation Sect!" Zhang Shoubai cried out in astonishment, staring at him unblinkingly.

The moment Chugu appeared, the expressions of Hua Xianglian, Chu Gongming, Shi Changli, and Zhou Guanghui all turned somewhat solemn.

As Chugu's voice echoed through the air, Deng Jingyao's expression shifted slightly. From the massive throng of disciples led by the Profound Intent Sect, a single figure shot forth horizontally.

Ni Qiansong rebuked with an ugly expression, "Old Chugu, things have reached this point; why don't you hurry up and surrender?"

Su Xichen hung quietly in the air, behaving as though he were completely blind to the appearance of the two men.

Luo Tangyu thought to himself that although Deng Jingyao had guessed most of it, Chugu was someone he had personally gone out of his way to invite, and Su Xichen had known nothing of the matter.

To be honest, having been fellow sect members for so many years, he still could not fathom what Su Xichen was truly thinking.

Clearly, the sect had reached a life-and-death crisis, yet over the past few days, Su Xichen remained aloof and indifferent, showing not the slightest intention of seeking help from Patriarch Chugu. This had caused Luo Tangyu's heart to burn with anxiety until, unable to bear it any longer this very morning, he had bypassed Su Xichen and visited Chugu's secluded chamber alone.

"Surrender?" Chugu cast an immensely disdainful sideways glance at Ni Qiansong and proclaimed loudly, "For tens of thousands of years, my Heavenly Derivation Sect has always been the number one sect of the Vault Realm. Even to this day, that remains entirely unchanged!"

"The eternal runner-up, the Profound Intent Sect, and you hypocritical villain Ni Qiansong—did you all come here today simply to court death?"

Chugu swept his smiling gaze across the assembly. Though no murderous aura leaked from his body, wherever his eyes fell, everyone could not help feeling a chill crawl down their spines.

*Is this the power of the late Divine Transformation realm?* Hua Xianglian thought to herself secretly, her gaze darting past Su Xichen in a flash as she lightly bit her lower lip, a trace of reluctance flickering through her eyes.

The Profound Intent Sect must have made preparations!

Hua Xianglian shifted her gaze toward Ni Qiansong and Deng Jingyao.

Ni Qiansong offered a mocking, crooked smile. "Old monster Chugu, have you been shut away in seclusion for so many years until your brain turned to mush? Did you really think we brought all these people here just to serve ourselves up as easy prey for your Heavenly Derivation Sect?"

"Hahaha..." When Deng Jingyao heard Chugu spit out the words "eternal runner-up," a flash of cold light crossed his eyes, and he fixed a sneering stare upon Chugu.

Luo Tangyu's temples throbbed wildly, a persistent premonition whispering that something bad was happening.

Why had the monarch of the Liulan Kingdom not arrived here yet?

"Patriarch Chugu, Sect Master Luo, Peak Master Su, what would happen if your helper, the Liulan Kingdom, chose to support the Profound Intent Sect, leaving the Heavenly Derivation Sect utterly isolated without a single ally to rely on?"

Deng Jingyao uttered these words with a smile.

Luo Tangyu's eyelids twitched, and the unease in his heart suddenly found its explanation.

"Absurd! Chi Yushu is the prime disciple under Peak Master Su's tutelage; how could the Liulan Kingdom possibly choose to aid your Profound Intent Sect?"

Even though Luo Tangyu's heart had already half-believed the words, facing the expectant gazes of the numerous disciples gathered around the mountain gates of the Heavenly Derivation Sect, he could only firmly refute the claim.

The corners of Deng Jingyao's mouth lifted, his brows and eyes carrying an untamed, arrogant smile. "Chi Yushu is indeed his prime disciple, but where is Chi Yushu right now? Wasn't he engineered into a trap by you people and locked away in the Jade Spirit Secret Realm?"

Chugu's right hand, which had been stroking his beard, paused slightly. His eyes gleamed with a cold light as he demanded, "Deng Jingyao, you little bastard, did you capture Yushu?"