"Hahaha! Are these the proud talents of the Yun family? Nothing special at all!"
"Take her away. The rest of us will move on to the next spot to seize invitation cards."
The elder of the Wind God Sect held two invitation cards and burst into loud laughter.
Yet the very next moment, a slender, immaculate hand reached out, grabbed the invitation cards from his grasp, and yanked them away.
At the same time, Chu Yuan clenched his other hand into a fist and slammed it directly into the lower back of the leading Wind God Sect elder.
With a crisp crack, the Wind God Sect elder plummeted toward the ground like a shooting star, embedding himself deep into the earth.
The scene unfolded with such suddenness that everyone was struck dumb with astonishment. The Wind God Sect elder was a late-stage Earth Realm expert—how had he been blasted into the ground so abruptly?
When the crowd raised their heads to look, they discovered an aloof figure in black standing suspended in mid-air, having appeared from nowhere.
"That's... Chu Yuan, the personal disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect Leader?" Yun Chan looked up and recognized him.
She had once seen Chu Yuan in a secret realm. Back then, Chu Yuan had been utterly dazzling, roughly her own age, yet his cultivation was already breaking through to the Sky Realm.
At that time, she was merely in the Mysterious Realm, with the Earth Realm still a distant, unreachable dream.
Now, after more than a dozen years apart, she had no idea what realm Chu Yuan had reached.
"Who is it?! How dare you launch a sneak attack on this lord? Have you grown tired of living?!"
The Wind God Sect elder struggled to climb back to his feet, turned his head, and instantly spotted Chu Yuan gazing at him with cold detachment in mid-air.
"Ch—Chu Yuan!?"
"You good-for-nothing trash, how dare you raise a hand against this old man?!"
"Trash?" Hearing this, Chu Yuan frowned.
Immediately afterward, the Wind God Sect elder's arrogant ranting continued:
"Hmph, this old man received news from the Azure Cloud Sect long ago! You are a demonic cultivator, and your cultivation was crippled by the Sect Leader herself!"
"Now that your identity as a fiend has been exposed, how dare you show your face here so openly? Aren't you afraid I'll capture you?"
"You think you can capture me?"
"Hah! Just now, this old man was merely caught off guard by your sneak attack!"
"Besides, how could you dare strike me? Aren't you afraid I'll report this to the Azure Cloud Sect?"
"If I inform your master and junior sisters that you dared show such disrespect to this old man, they will never spare you! You must remember, I am an elder of the Wind God Sect!"
Listening to this tirade from the Wind God Sect elder, Chu Yuan could only sneer inwardly.
It involuntarily brought back memories of his past life.
In his previous life, he had been utterly obedient to his master and junior sisters. Even though his cultivation far surpassed theirs, he had still cared for them meticulously.
Once, when Chu Yuan was out on a training journey, he happened to cross paths with an elder from another affiliate sect of the Azure Cloud Sect who was committing atrocities, so he stepped in and subdued the man.
To his surprise, that elder happened to be acquainted with the parents of one of Chu Yuan's junior sisters. Upon learning of the incident, that junior sister had actually blamed Chu Yuan in public for meddling in business that wasn't his.
And Chu Yuan had actually apologized.
The matter had blown up afterward, becoming known to everyone.
Especially those with any status at all—once they learned of Chu Yuan's personality, they held no fear of him whatsoever.
Even though Chu Yuan's cultivation realm was higher, he was exceptionally kind-hearted and refused to bully the weak even when facing them, which made many weak people utterly fearless when confronting him.
They had no fear that Chu Yuan would ever strike back.
The Wind God Sect elder possessed precisely this mindset now. The moment Chu Yuan attacked him, he immediately brought up Chu Yuan's junior sisters and master to threaten him.
"It seems your information is a bit outdated," Chu Yuan said with a faint smile, teasingly. "I am a demonic cultivator, after all. Could the Azure Cloud Sect possibly tolerate my existence?"
At these words, the Wind God Sect elder narrowed his eyes. "You've already been expelled from the Azure Cloud Sect? If you're a demonic cultivator, the Azure Cloud Sect must be hunting you down..."
"This lord will stall you right here! Once the people from the Azure Cloud Sect arrive, let's see how you plan to escape!"
"You ruined this old man's plans, so you will pay the price!"
With that, he turned and barked an order to the Wind God Sect members behind him: "I'll hold him off! You go report to the Azure Cloud Sect! We've found Chu Yuan!"
"Yes, Elder!"
The several men scattered in a hurry, preparing to report to the powerful figures of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Yet the next instant, Chu Yuan stamped his foot lightly, sending a circular shockwave rippling outward. The space within a radius of a thousand meters instantly froze, turning as thick as a quagmire and making every step agonizingly difficult.
"What do you want?!"
"How can this be? Space has been locked down?! He's a Sky Realm expert!"
"Weren't your cultivation foundations destroyed? This..."
The Wind God Sect subordinates panicked, their bodies swaying unsteadily in mid-air as they stared at Chu Yuan with terror in their eyes.
Only now did they realize that Chu Yuan's cultivation had never been destroyed!
Chu Yuan did not answer them. Instead, he formed his hands into claws and slowly ripped open the front of his cloud-patterned robe, revealing a flawless chest pulsing with a silver-white luster.
Countless bizarre runes materialized across his chest, writhing incessantly before converging into a circle. The center of the circle gradually darkened, forming a black hole!
Rumble—!!!
The black hole suddenly began to spin, erupting with a terrifying suction force. Several chains shot out from within, wrapped around the Wind God Sect members, and dragged them directly into Chu Yuan's body!
Everything happened in a fraction of a second, leaving the Wind God Sect members no time even to scream before they vanished completely.
A moment later, the black hole disappeared, and Chu Yuan returned to normal.
Yet the people down below were now staring at him in sheer terror.
"A de-demon! A fiend has descended upon the world!!!"
"Run! There's a demon here!"
"The Demon King has come to destroy the world!!!"
"......"
A few breaths later, apart from Yun Chan and the elders of the Yun family, everyone else had fled the scene.
"Thank you, Daoist friend, for your assistance!"
Yun Chan finally snapped out of her daze and bowed respectfully to thank Chu Yuan.
As she looked at Chu Yuan now, besides gratitude, her eyes held only deep, profound awe!
To casually annihilate several Earth Realm experts in the blink of an eye—only someone in the Sky Realm could accomplish such a feat.
Clearly, Chu Yuan was a Sky Realm master, and his methods were terrifying enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Chu Yuan glanced indifferently at Yun Chan. "I only came for the invitation card. Don't read too much into it."
Hearing this, Yun Chan smiled faintly and nodded.
Yet deep within her eyes, a trace of imperceptible complexity flashed by.
She had once met Chu Yuan in the secret realm; he had been exceptionally kind and had never killed anyone.
Yet now, without a second word, he had slaughtered several elders of the Wind God Sect, an affiliate of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Could it be because of her?
As Yun Chan pondered this, Chu Yuan vanished without a trace.
"Miss, that young master has left. What is that in front of you... an invitation card?"
Hearing the elder behind her speak, Yun Chan looked up and discovered that an invitation card was indeed hovering in front of her!
"Thank you," Yun Chan whispered, expressing her gratitude toward the direction where Chu Yuan had departed.
Afterward, the group left.
Meanwhile, Chu Yuan had arrived atop a verdant mountain peak.
He had seized two invitation cards from the Wind God Sect elder earlier, but having more than one was useless, so he had left one behind for Yun Chan.
Thinking of Yun Chan, Chu Yuan still held a deep impression of her.