Xuan Tian and Elder Mo went to the cavern entrance and found that it was Lei Wen and Zhao Zhi. They were relieved when they saw Xuan Tian. After finding out that the three ladies were gone, they had been worried and anxious.
Then a message from Lin Qian arrived. They immediately left for Bai Mountain. But when they arrived, no one was anywhere to be seen. After searching for a while, they finally discovered the cavern entrance.
Xuan Tian led the freshly arrived doctors to the stone bed chamber. They were shocked to see more than twenty people unconscious on the floor and victims chained to the walls.
Zhao Zhi went to check the victims while Lei Wen examined the ones on the floor.
Elder Mo went ahead to inform the female doctors of the newcomers. Lin Qian soon arrived at the stone bed chamber and was equally stunned. She then joined Zhao Zhi in checking the victims.
Lei Wen finished his task first and walked toward Xuan Tian, who was sitting in one of the chairs.
"Who is he?" Lei Wen asked, gesturing toward Elder Mo, who had been standing silently near Xuan Tian.
"I don't know his name, but he's from Lingxu Sect." Xuan Tian just realized that he had never found out Elder Mo's identity. He turned his gaze toward the elder. "Hey, you. Who are you? And what's your position in Lingxu Sect?"
Elder Mo bowed deeply. "Shengzun, this lowly Immortal's name is Mo Chaoren. This lowly Immortal is a member of Divine Elixir Peak. This lowly Immortal is one of the two Elders of the Peak. The other elder is…" His head turned toward Elder Feng's unconscious figure. "He is Feng Hailin. His disciple is Xiao Qin."
Elder Mo hesitated before continuing, "Xiao Qin—Xiao Qin is the one who… who picked you."
Lei Wen was stunned by Elder Mo's behavior. This lowly Immortal? He is stronger than I am. What did the General do to him?
"General!" Zhao Zhi's panicked voice reached Xuan Tian before his figure even appeared.
Xuan Tian stood up immediately.
Zhao Zhi entered the stone chamber in hurried steps. "General, you should see this!"
Zhao Zhi held out a few tokens. Xuan Tian recognized them immediately—they were Celestial identity tokens!
"Where did you find these?" Xuan Tian's voice turned sharp, urgent.
"From two victim inside a cell in the next chamber," Zhao Zhi answered, his face grim.
Lei Wen also saw the tokens, his eyes widening. "Are they still alive?"
"Yes! Fortunately! But their cores are severely damaged."
Xuan Tian turned to Elder Mo, his stare murderous. He held up one of the Celestial tokens. "You dare to capture Celestials too?"
Elder Mo's knees hit the ground. "Please, Shengzun! Please! This lowly Immortal only did what he was told! This lowly Immortal wouldn't dare to lie to Shengzun! Please!"
"What happened to them? Why are their cores severely damaged?" Zhao Zhi asked.
"This lowly Immortal's harvesting skill is too low. This lowly Immortal cannot harvest Celestial Cores. This lowly Immortal and Feng Hailin have tried multiple times, but we always failed. The cores are too strong, too different. Since their cores were damaged, we did not dare to continue and did not dare to report to Tie Yanfang. As a result, we locked them here. And… forgot about them."
This time, Elder Mo was completely terrified. Initially, he thought that Xuan Tian was sent by Wusheng Palace to investigate the Fangjin & Shengtian Pills. But now, he wasn't so sure. Xuan Tian's reaction to the Celestial tokens was too strong. He recognised the tokens, and was called 'General' by one of them. If Xuan Tian was really a Celestial—and a General at that—then Elder Mo was doomed.
"Who ordered you to capture Celestials?" Xuan Tian gritted his teeth.
"Shengzun! It wasn't this lowly Immortal that captured the Celestials! It was Tie Yanfang!"
"Good! You put everything on Tie Yanfang. You think by saying that, I would forgive you? That I would keep you alive?!"
Xuan Tian's grip tightened around the token in his hand, his knuckles turning white. His chest rose and fell in slow, deliberate breaths, but the effort to restrain his fury was becoming unbearable. He could feel the heat simmering beneath his skin, the raw, unrelenting rage that had been building since Ling Yu was injured.
His teeth clenched. His entire body tensed. The air around him grew thick, heavy, suffocating.
Then—he snapped.
Xuan Tian erupted. He moved like lightning. In a flash, he had lifted Elder Mo off the ground by his neck. His grip tightened. With his power, snapping Elder Mo's neck would be like snapping a twig.
'You should've helped humans instead of using them!'
"But Ling Yu, this trash is not worth my help," Xuan Tian felt his head was about to explode from restraining his anger.
Zhao Zhi and Lei Wen froze in terror. They had never seen Xuan Tian like this before. They had heard the stories—whispers of his past battles, the ruthless efficiency of the God of War—but witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely. Up until now, they had seen Xuan Tian as approachable, even kind, sometimes a bit exasperated when dealing with Ling Yu. But now? Now, they understood why his enemies feared him.
A sharp, pungent stench filled the air. They all looked at the source. Sure enough, Elder Mo has soiled himself.
Xuan Tian released his grip in disgust, letting Elder Mo crumple to the ground. His expression was unreadable, his rage still simmering beneath the surface. "You've been saved by your own filth. Congratulations on reaching a new low."
He turned to Zhao Zhi and spoke in his normal voice, "Please doctor, please treat the Celestials."
Zhao Zhi was still in shock and he can only nodded.
Xuan Tian left and was going to see Ling Yu, when he saw Xu Yun was supporting Ling Yu entering the stone chamber. He approached them slowly, observing Ling Yu and was about to open his mouth to ask if she's okay, when –
"Iron Wall! You're okay!"
Iron Wall? Xuan Tian blinked. Who's that?