A few days later, news of the destruction of the Beast Taming Sect spread throughout the Desolate Wilderness.

"The Xuan Tian Sect is truly worthy of being founded by the Xuan Tian Emperor. Despite its decline and decay, there isn't even a King-level powerhouse in the sect. But with the revival of the Xuan Tian Infinite Array, it slaughtered the experts of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. The Tyrant Blade King and hundreds of his subordinates were all annihilated, without exception."

"Duan Changsheng is ruthless. On the same day, he led the strongmen of the Xuan Tian Sect to counterattack and struck the lair of the Beast Taming Sect. The once dominant super faction ceased to exist overnight!"

"The camel that starved to death is bigger than a horse. There are many covetous eyes on the heritage of the Xuan Tian Sect. Even those martial holy lands dare not act rashly. The Beast Taming Sect dared to directly challenge the Xuan Tian Sect, which was simply seeking death!"

...

In the Desolate Wilderness, although the Beast Taming Sect was only a second-rate power, it was still a hegemon in its own right, with countless experts within the sect.

However, what wiped out the Beast Taming Sect was not one of the martial holy lands that suppressed a region, but the declining Xuan Tian Sect. This fact shocked the major forces in the Desolate Wilderness.

After all, the Xuan Tian Sect had once wielded great power that dominated a realm. Now, signs of its resurgence had appeared again, alerting the major forces to be on guard.

In the Great Qin Ancient Nation, the Imperial Palace!

A middle-aged woman with a beautiful appearance and a noble temperament, wearing a crown adorned with dragon and phoenix jewels and draped in phoenix feathers, sat on the throne in the main hall like an empress ruling over the world, exuding both luxury and majesty.

She was the Saint Empress of the Great Qin — Luo Ji!

"According to reports, the person who activated the Xuan Tian Infinite Array to annihilate the experts of the Beast Taming Sect was not Duan Changsheng, but His Highness the Ninth Prince, Qin Hao. He has also broken through to the Divine Sea Realm."

Upon hearing the report from her subordinate, Luo Ji paused her hand playing with the jade cup, a hint of strangeness flashing in her beautiful eyes, but she quickly returned to normal.

"Investigate all the information about the Ninth Prince in the Xuan Tian Sect and report back to me immediately!"

After waving away her subordinate, Luo Ji walked gracefully out of the hall and looked in the direction of the Xuan Tian Sect, a playful smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Interesting, the trash who couldn't even break through to the Divine Sea Realm is now able to control the Xuan Tian Infinite Array."

...

The Luminous Saint Sect, Mount Qibao.

"Inform the Holy Lord that after the Ninth Prince of the Great Qin Ancient Nation activated the Xuan Tian Infinite Array to annihilate the Beast Taming Sect, he has been appointed as the Saint Son!"

A white-bearded old man, with a deep and profound aura like the sea, raised his hand, and his every movement seemed to blend with the Dao. He was indeed a King-level powerhouse, but even he looked at Mount Qibao with awe.

"Saint Son?"

A flash of radiance emanated from Mount Qibao, and a faint, ethereal voice resonated as if coming from the heavens.

"Yes, since the decline of the Xuan Tian Sect from the Xuan Tian Sacred Ground to the present Xuan Tian Sect, no Saint Son has appeared for over ten thousand years..." After a pause, the white-bearded old man continued, "Now, within the Xuan Tian Sect, the strongest is only Duan Changsheng at the Elemental Spirit Realm, yet he dares to establish a Saint Son. It's simply arrogant. In my opinion, there's no need to follow through with the agreement made all those years ago."

What is a Saint Son?

The successor who controls the fortune of the sacred land, the inheritor who rules over a region.

And now, the Xuan Tian Sect no longer bore the name of a sacred land, and there were no Saint-level figures in the sect. Claiming to have a Saint Son was simply seeking humiliation in the eyes of the white-bearded old man.

On Mount Qibao, the dazzling radiance dimmed for a moment, and the ethereal voice spoke again.

"First, investigate Qin Hao's background thoroughly before making a conclusion."

After speaking, the radiance on Mount Qibao dissipated, returning to silence.

...

Xuan Tian Sect, Treasure Vault Palace.

"The northern ocean has fish, known as Kun, which transform into birds called Peng. The wingspan of Kun Peng spans the heavens, traveling to the Southern Ocean, its wings striking three thousand miles, soaring up nine layers of heaven..."

Qin Hao sat cross-legged in the Spirit Spring, the Xuan Tian Infinite Array revolving rapidly around him. Vague strands of the power of heaven and earth, like divine chains of order, embedded themselves into his body.

"Bearing the weight of the blue sky, wings spreading across the universe, encompassing the boundless creation, swallowing heaven and earth!"

The Chaos Bone emitted boundless light, as if the hatching of a divine egg, radiating divine light and shining brightly, reflecting his figure as if a divine being in the sky.

"The Kun Peng Swallowing Heaven Technique truly lives up to its reputation as a top-grade Saint-tier secret technique. It can even devour the divine energy condensed by the Xuan Tian Infinite Array."

Saint-tier techniques were close to the pinnacle in this world.

But millions of years ago, Qin Hao was able to dominate the world and be hailed as the Supreme Heavenly Emperor, relying on his self-created Emperor's Decree!

The Emperor's Decree encompassed all methods and exhausted the mysteries of the heavens, representing the ultimate in Dao.

Unfortunately, to cultivate the Emperor's Decree, one had to first cultivate the Primal Saint Embryo, merging with heaven and earth, and embodying the Dao.

The Chaos Bone-derived Chaos Body was naturally the top-grade Primal Saint Embryo.

However, Qin Hao's Chaos Bone was still far from complete, let alone the emergence of the Chaos Body.

Carefully sensing the vigorous growth of the Chaos Bone in his chest, Qin Hao's face revealed a satisfied smile. "It seems that before condensing the Golden Body and transcending into the Saint Realm, there's no need to cultivate other techniques."

Afterward, he glanced at the neatly arranged hundred large boxes in front of him, shimmering with brilliance and overflowing with spiritual energy.

Each large box contained one hundred thousand pieces of low-grade spiritual stones, totaling ten million.

He had previously requested three to five million spiritual stones from Duan Changsheng, but he hadn't expected Duan Changsheng to directly deliver ten million low-grade spiritual stones.

After all, even a second-rate power like the Beast Taming Sect could only fetch twenty million spiritual stones when sold off. Duan Changsheng had given him half at once, which was already a great expectation. After all, the vast Xuan Tian Sect still had many elders and disciples who needed to cultivate.

"Ten million pieces of low-grade spiritual stones should be enough for my cultivation for some

 time."

With a wave of his hand, the one hundred thousand spiritual stones from one of the large boxes flew out, surrounding him like a galaxy, forming a majestic energy vortex.

The energy of the one hundred thousand spiritual stones surged into his body, causing a fundamental change in his true qi, and strands of radiance emerged, extending into a miraculous phenomenon.

Roar!

An ancient and majestic roar resounded, and behind Qin Hao, a vague silhouette of a black-and-white giant fish appeared, its wings like clouds in the sky, bearing the weight of the blue sky, gazing into the vast sea, majestic and magnificent.

With the phenomenon emerging and the aura changing, Qin Hao, who was emitting a surging aura, seemed to soar like a Kun Peng, aiming for a higher realm.

While Qin Hao was cultivating, the Xuan Tian Sect remained calm.

After wiping out the Beast Taming Sect, the Xuan Tian Sect breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, it was eager to become stronger. With the cultivation resources seized from the Beast Taming Sect, the entire sect began a fervent competition in cultivation.

Days passed, and three months later, a King-level powerhouse suddenly visited, breaking the tranquility.

...

In the Ancestral Hall, several elders of the Xuan Tian Sect, including the Sect Master Duan Changsheng, were all gathered.

"Ancestor above, I, Gu Zao, representing the entire Mount Qibao of the Luminous Saint Sect, pay my respects here!"

A white-robed old man with white hair and a white beard bowed his head, slightly bowing to the statues of the Heavenly Emperor and the Great Emperor Xuan Tian, showing respect.

However, the members of the Xuan Tian Sect present couldn't help but feel resentful at this scene.

"Mount Qibao is so arrogant. They dare to bow without kneeling when paying respects to the ancestors." The hot-tempered Second Elder's chest heaved, glaring at the white-bearded old man, Gu Zao, with wide eyes.

The First Elder sighed and smiled bitterly, "Times have changed. The Heavenly Emperor and the Great Emperor Xuan Tian have long since fallen, and our Xuan Tian lineage has also declined into a second-rate sect. Naturally, the reverence from Mount Qibao has diminished over time."

"But the founding ancestor of Mount Qibao was a disciple of the Great Emperor Xuan Tian. For them to act like this is simply disrespectful!" The Third Elder also felt indignant.

There was a time when the Xuan Tian Sacred Ground dominated the realm, and the Luminous Saint Sect had always clung to their coattails. Never before had they been so aloof and disrespectful.

"I see that Gu Zao is here with ill intentions. Let's see what he has to say." The Sect Master also felt somewhat helpless.

Gu Zao paid his respects to the ancestors, and then Duan Changsheng stepped forward to greet him with a bow. "Elder Gu's visit is a little unexpected. Please forgive us for not welcoming you properly."

Gu Zao straightened his back, glanced at Duan Changsheng, and then smiled, "Although Sect Master Duan is a generation younger than this old man, according to the rules, calling me Senior is sufficient. There's no need to be so polite."

Gu Zao's smile seemed amiable, but the arrogance deep in his eyes was undisguised.

"Humph, he even knows the courtesy of addressing the older generation first?"

The founding ancestor of the Luminous Saint Sect was a disciple of the Great Emperor Xuan Tian. Therefore, even if they were of the same generation, the strong of the Luminous Saint Sect would still consider themselves juniors when meeting members of the Xuan Tian Sect. This was a tradition that had been passed down for generations.

But looking at Gu Zao's arrogant demeanor, it seemed as if he were the Sect Master of the Xuan Tian Sect.

Duan Changsheng had a profound mind and remained composed on the surface. After inviting Gu Zao to take a seat, he asked about his intentions.

In fact, since the decline of the Xuan Tian Sect, the once close relationship between the Luminous Saint Sect and them had gradually faded away.

For nearly a thousand years, there had been no contact between the two major powers. Even when the Beast Taming Sect attacked the Xuan Tian Mountain, the Luminous Saint Sect did not lend a hand, almost treating them as strangers.

Now, Gu Zao's sudden visit, Duan Changsheng roughly guessed his intentions, so he warmly welcomed him.

It all stemmed from the agreement made millions of years ago.

"I believe Sect Master Duan is aware that the founding ancestor of our Luminous Saint Sect, in gratitude for the teachings of the Great Emperor Xuan Tian, once made a promise. Whenever the Xuan Tian Sacred Ground has a Saint Son established, our Luminous Saint Sect will betroth a Saint Daughter to the Saint Son, forging an eternal alliance between the Qin and Jin dynasties."

As soon as Gu Zao's words were uttered, the elders of the Xuan Tian Sect present all had a change in expression, their faces darkening. This was a blatant slap in the face.