Chapter 309: The Ceremony Approaches

"The friends from the Ancient Clan have arrived quite quickly!" Xiao Ding said with a calm expression.

Unlike the former, the three of Gu Qingyang all looked at the person before them with serious expressions.

A Nine-Star Dou Zun!

The moment they met, they sensed the other party's cultivation level.

If it were just that, it would be nothing. It was merely a Nine-Star Dou Zun; they were not without such people themselves.

What truly made them extremely cautious was the other party's method of concealing their cultivation. Everyone is secretly tested by the powerful figures of the Ancient Clan upon entering the Ancient Clan, yet even so, the other party still did not expose their true cultivation. Such a method was truly terrifying!

Exchanging glances, Gu Qingyang and the others all saw the gravity in each other's eyes. They all more or less guessed that the Xiao Clan's entry into the Heavenly Tomb this time was likely not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but one long premeditated.

Its purpose was almost certainly aimed at the Xiao Xuan Tomb Mansion within the Heavenly Tomb.

However, despite thinking this, Gu Qingyang and the others were all steady-minded individuals. They suppressed the shock in their hearts and, after hearing Xiao Ding's greeting, all smiled and said:

"The three of us also just arrived; Brother Xiao Ding's speed is not slow either!"

Immediately, Gu Qingyang began to make small talk,

"I suppose Brother Xiao Ding was also forced here by this Energy Storm?"

Hearing this, a trace of helplessness hung on Xiao Ding's face, "The Energy Storm in this Heavenly Tomb is too dangerous, and its range of influence is too large, so I had no choice but to think of entering the third layer to avoid the brunt of it."

"But I didn't expect..." He swept a glance at the magnificent energy crystal wall in front, "To enter this third layer, one still has to expend quite a bit of effort!"

Gu Qingyang laughed, "Brother Xiao Ding might not know, but ever since the seniors of our Ancient Eight Clans first entered the Heavenly Tomb, the entrance to this third layer has already been like this."

"Wanting to open a passage is not something that can be accomplished by one person's strength."

"All we can do now is wait for others to arrive so we can enter together."

"Many thanks for the information." Xiao Ding nodded, then fell silent and closed his eyes to wait.

Gu Qingyang and the three others also stopped talking.

Before long, a few somewhat disheveled figures appeared in their field of vision, and behind them was the Energy Storm that made people turn pale at the mere mention of it.

On the opposite side, seeing the entrance to the third layer, the group who had been traveling for several days was overjoyed and accelerated, rushing madly toward this place.

However, compared to the others' relief at surviving a disaster, Hun Ya's figure faltered, and his face looked as if he had eaten a dead fly.

This was only because where his gaze landed, a certain figure was revealing an ill-intentioned smile at him.

However, thinking of the Energy Storm in hot pursuit behind him, Hun Ya still gritted his teeth fiercely and accelerated again, rushing toward the third-layer entrance.

"Big Brother, you are fast!" Xiao Yan chuckled.

However, after hearing this sentence, Xiao Ding's expression sank. He stepped forward, hooked his arm around Xiao Yan's neck, and said with a "gentle smile": "Third Brother, Big Brother will give you one more chance to reorganize your words."

Looking at Xiao Ding's eyes, which were narrowed into slits, and the faint killing intent on his body, Xiao Yan couldn't help but shiver and immediately changed his words:

"Big Brother arrived so early!"

"Hmm." Xiao Yan felt the pressure on his body lift. Xiao Ding had already let go of his hand at some point and said:

"I also arrived not long ago. The ones who arrived the earliest should be those people."

As he spoke, Xiao Ding gestured toward the direction of Gu Qingyang and the others.

At this moment, the two felt a wave of hostile and wary gazes fall upon them. Following the gaze, they saw Hun Ya's venomous look.

And after the latter discovered the two looking over, he subconsciously shifted his gaze away.

"Does Big Brother know what the situation is with Hun Ya?" Xiao Yan asked via sound transmission. He had a guess in his heart, but he wanted to get an accurate answer.

"As you thought," Xiao Ding smiled and said.

"It really was you, Big Brother?" Xiao Ding's words made Xiao Yan feel a sense of shock. Taking on two at once—such a feat was simply unimaginable.

And at the juncture when the two were talking, the others also successively sensed Xiao Ding's abnormal cultivation level and cast surprised glances at the latter.

However, upon remembering the Energy Storm about to arrive behind them, they all buried this surprise deep in their hearts.

Subsequently, Gu Qingyang proposed cooperating to break through the materialized third-layer entrance, which also received approval.........

Central Plains, Southwest Region.

Wan Kui Sect headquarters.

"Sect Master, everything has been arranged properly, just waiting for the opening in three days." A middle-aged man respectfully reported to the pale-faced man in front of him, and this man was none other than the Sect Master of the Wan Kui Sect—the Puppet Saint Jiang Yu.

"Hmm." Jiang Yu nodded lightly, his voice calm: "Do those restless fellows have any movements?"

As an emerging force, the Wan Kui Sect had unsurprisingly encountered obstruction from established forces, even though Jiang Yu's strength as a Dou Sheng made many forces extremely wary.

But the development of a sect is not a one-on-one fight between experts; in many cases, strength is only one aspect.

And Jiang Yu was not so unscrupulous as to wipe out all the sects that opposed the establishment of the Wan Kui Sect; he needed to use other methods to deal with the unfriendly actions.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded, swallowed, and said: "They seem to be preparing to unite with other forces to blockade us together."

"At the sect-opening ceremony, perhaps the forces coming to congratulate our sect will be very scarce."

Sometimes, there is strength in numbers. Especially when it involves the development of a sect, once the sect shows signs of being isolated by other forces, recruiting members becomes fraught with difficulties, and it is quite inconvenient to act in many aspects.

Just when the middle-aged man thought his Sect Master would find it troublesome, the latter chuckled indifferently, "They can only play these kinds of tricks."

Jiang Yu had done nothing else this past year but visit the powerful sects in the Southwest Region of the Central Plains one by one, whether by fighting them one-on-one or in groups; in any case, he had beaten a crowd of sects into submission.

However, this group of old foxes only abandoned the idea of forcing the issue with military power under Jiang Yu's deterrence, but other underhanded tactics could be said to be endless.

But these behaviors could be said to be extremely childish in the eyes of the latter. It was only because he still wanted to continue in the Central Plains and it was inconvenient to make too big a move; otherwise, he would have long ago sent them one by one to meet their sect's predecessors.

"Rest assured, these are all small problems; proceed as normal." Jiang Yu's expression remained unchanged.

Although he did not have many helpers, they were not a group of rabble that could be mentioned in the same breath. They were merely frogs in a well, not worth worrying about!

"Yes!" The middle-aged man showed respect. As the first expert Jiang Yu subdued, he had a clearer understanding of the former.

Jiang Yu's calm demeanor and powerful strength made one subconsciously develop a sense of trust in him, as if as long as he existed, nothing was a problem.

Just like that, time drew closer and closer to the sect-opening ceremony.