"You've got guts, Ghost Ridge Palace. We'll go down."

"Hmph, it's just a ferry boat. We'll cross."

"We'll save face for your Ghost Ridge Palace."

The leaders of various Righteous Sect Masters became less stubborn and wisely lowered altitude before the five flying magical boats approached, arriving at the Ember Coast.

Here, some ferry boats were docked, and many Ghost Ridge Palace junior disciples used these boats to travel back and forth to Lake Heart Island in the center of the Firefly Sea.

Seeing these once prominent figures of the righteous path, the junior disciples of Ghost Ridge Palace pointed and whispered among themselves.

Several of the Righteous Sect Masters, who had short tempers, scowled and glared angrily at these former Ghost Ridge Palace Disciples.

Given their dignified status, it was humiliating for them to be reduced to squeezing onto a boat with Yunling Realm disciples, yet they could do nothing about it because of the dominant power of Ghost Ridge Palace.

"Set sail!"

As the oars started to row, boats carrying hundreds of people set off towards the Lake Heart Island of Firefly Sea.

An hour later, everyone reached the Lake Heart Island.

Upon stepping onto the Lake Heart Island, the leaders of the Righteous Sect couldn't help but gasp.

On the island, nine enormous Mystic Iron Chains pierced deep into the earth vein, continuously extracting the spiritual power from the underground spirit vein beneath Guan Chao Pavilion.

The spiritual power extracted from these earth veins was rapidly being used to fill a huge pit.

The pit was inscribed with a gigantic forbidden formation, its diameter stretched beyond the eye could see, and many cultivators were visible working around it.

And those working cultivators were still wearing the formal attire of Guan Chao Pavilion, some even shackled with chains restraining their mana, clearly showing they were captured Guan Chao Pavilion disciples.

At the center of the pit, an artificial Insect Valley environment was created, where numerous poisonous insects lived and thrived.

Within, piles of corpse mountains were randomly stacked, these were the corpses of the dead righteous path cultivators.

Though they had perished, their flesh, washed over by spiritual energy from years of cultivation, remained filled with spiritual power, making them a favorite among the poisonous insects, hastening their evolution.

Surrounding these corpse mountains, countless poisonous insects in the pit continued to feast, battle, evolve, and devour other poisonous insects. Through this natural selection, the most ferocious and terrifying poisonous insects were selected and rewarded to inner sect disciples and elders who performed well on the battlefield. In the future, they could also be rewarded to disciples who contributed to the sect.

The poverty-stricken Ghost Ridge Palace wasn't wasteful. Moreover, the corpses of cultivators were valuable to Gu Masters, significantly speeding up the cultivation of poisonous insects.

Even the present-day Demon Path magnate, Su Jie, used to sell corpses after killing, earning thirty low-grade spirit stones, which was a large sum for Su Jie back then.

However, such operations, ordinary in the Demon Path, were seen by these Righteous Sect Masters as outright mad, cruel, and heartless.

"To play and desecrate the corpses of the deceased like this, truly worthy of a Demon Cultivator!"

Si Xinying's pale face showed indignation, further realizing the ruthlessness of Ghost Ridge Palace.

If they could desecrate corpses this way, one couldn't expect them to have much mercy for the living.

"This violates natural order, it's truly against the laws of nature."

Yunhai Cave Sect Master Feng Chenzhong shook his head repeatedly, closed his eyes, and waved solemnly at the pit, perhaps wishing for the tormented souls to be at peace soon.

Unbeknownst, these souls had already been assigned seats within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

"Ghost Ridge Palace, you need to give us an explanation for this. As for Guan Chao Pavilion, that's one thing; but the bodies of our sect's disciples and elders must be brought back for a proper burial in our sect. I can't let them be buried in the Ten Thousand Insect Pit; that's my bottom line as a Sect Master."

Dragon Roar Palace Master Zhuo Zhong's face turned ashen, seeing numerous disciples and elders' bodies from his sect in the pit.

These were the reinforcements sent to assist Guan Chao Pavilion, all fell in the war, and now their bodies were devoured by insects and snakes, a sorrowful sight which infuriated him as a Sect Master.

"Heh heh, that's not up to me to decide unless the Sect Master gives the order."

The Ghost Ridge Palace elder tasked with leading the way glanced back at Zhuo Zhong, his eyes full of mockery and disdain.

Even after losing the battle, making such a ruckus, to the uninformed, it might seem that you are the victors. In Ghost Ridge Palace, the defeated belong entirely to the victors, and not just the storage bags, even the bodies are considered victors' possessions, a very normal thing here.

"I will get to the bottom of this."

Feeling the attitude of the Ghost Ridge Palace elder, Zhuo Zhong's face turned even more unsightly.

After this short episode, the group continued their way, arriving at the center of Lake Heart Island.

Here, thirty-six Jade Towers were being rebuilt; as a major defense battle of the Firefly Sea, Ghost Ridge Palace's Array Masters were overseeing disciples in repair and reconstruction efforts.

Beside these thirty-six Jade Towers was the main hall of Guan Chao Pavilion, which was only opened for discussion during major sect matters.

This structure remained largely unaffected during the sect war and was well-preserved.

Inside the main hall, two men were playing a game of chess.

The one holding the white pieces was a middle-aged man with gray hair at his temples, playing cautiously, smiling often. Many recognized him at once as Lu Jingshi, the Sect Master of Heavenly Soul Sect, the second leading demon path sect in Qingzhou.

The one holding the black pieces was a young man, draped in a dark gold-embroidered robe covering his tall and slender frame, with sharp eyebrows arching to his temples, his eyes ending in a fierce arc.

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