The crowd around them froze, their breathing caught, as if the world itself had become unreal.
Someone had actually come to Divine Medicine Valley and demanded they hand over their sect's treasured Dragon-Tiger Golden Pills as compensation.
"Yang Cheng, are you insane!"
Murong Cong roared furiously. "Hand over our Dragon-Tiger Golden Pills as compensation? Why don't you just say you want to seize the entire Divine Medicine Valley?"
Yang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "Elder, I'm still speaking politely with you. You'd better listen carefully."
"Crown Prince Yang, you are welcome as a guest in our valley, but as for this so-called compensation, forget it."
Even Deputy Valley Master Tan's face turned slightly cold.
Yang Cheng chuckled. "You don't actually think I'm here to negotiate with you, do you?"
"If this isn't negotiation, then what—an ultimatum?"
Murong Cong sneered.
"Correct."
Yang Cheng said, "This is the final ultimatum, and it is also the chance I'm giving you."
"Everyone, there's no need to waste words with him. He really thinks he's someone important."
Murong Cong said sharply.
The others trembled inside.
Yang Cheng's audacity was overwhelming. He treated Divine Medicine Valley as nothing, and his words completely tore away any pretense of diplomacy.
"So it seems you truly don't intend to take this chance."
Yang Cheng sighed.
"The one throwing away his chance is you!"
Murong Cong shouted coldly. "If you showed some humility, perhaps we would still consider how to deal with you, given your status. But since you're so arrogant, this old man will make you understand—this is Heavenly Heart Island, not your Great Zhou."
"Just you, a small fry?"
Yang Cheng laughed.
"Arrogant!"
Murong Cong's eyes blazed with cold light as he struck without hesitation.
With a wave of his sleeve, a small cauldron flew out and instantly transformed into a massive pill cauldron that crashed down toward Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng casually slapped his hand out.
With a resounding boom, the giant cauldron was smacked aside, cracks spreading visibly across its surface.
Murong Cong's heart ached terribly.
The high-ranking members of Divine Medicine Valley all wore grim faces.
Among them, Murong Cong's alchemy was ordinary, but his martial strength was solid. He was a second-layer Martial Saint.
But clearly, Murong Cong's strength couldn't compare to Yang Cheng at all.
It seemed the rumors about Yang Cheng killing Chu Xuzhi were no lie.
Deputy Valley Master Tan immediately decided. "Take him down now!"
The situation had already collapsed. Since they and Yang Cheng had openly broken apart, there was no longer any need to keep up appearances.
Besides, Yang Cheng was no ordinary youth.
This was someone who had slain Chu Xuzhi. They dared not be careless, so it was best to strike together and suppress him.
The other leaders acted decisively.
In an instant, all kinds of flames rushed toward Yang Cheng, and among them were even two strands of strange flame.
The battle erupted without warning.
The surrounding people were caught off guard, only feeling that in a blink, the area around Yang Cheng was engulfed in blazing fire.
The terrifying might of the flames seemed to turn that space into a hell of fire.
The scale of the attack was immense. Those caught within the flames weren't only Yang Cheng.
More than ten people near him were swept in, miserably unlucky.
Among them was even Murong Yun.
"Tsk, tsk. I thought bringing you along would make the people of Divine Medicine Valley hesitate a little."
Yang Cheng still had the leisure to speak. "But it seems that in the eyes of the high ranks here, you don't count for anything."
Murong Yun's face dimmed.
Then she suddenly realized something was off. "Wait—how are you still speaking? No, why am I unharmed?"
She had already prepared herself to be burned to death.
In her eyes, that would have been a fitting end.
Even with her uncle Murong Cong among the leaders, not a single person cared about her life or death.
Then she saw it. Around Yang Cheng, there seemed to be an invisible power.
That power had completely sealed off this space.
The raging flames could not enter at all.
What Yang Cheng was using was undoubtedly the Samadhi True Fire.
Samadhi True Fire was invisible and without form. Naturally, it couldn't be seen by the naked eye.
He was using the Samadhi True Fire as his shield.
How could the flames of Divine Medicine Valley compare with the Samadhi True Fire? They naturally couldn't break through the shield's defense.
"Father, Yun'er is in there too!"
Murong Cong's son, Murong Sheng, cried out anxiously.
"In this situation, who has time to care about her life?"
Murong Cong said coldly, "If we want to eliminate Yang Cheng as fast as possible, we can only sacrifice her."
Murong Sheng felt his body turn ice-cold.
Murong Cong didn't care, in fact, he looked smug. "So what if he's the Crown Prince of Great Zhou? He dares run wild in my Divine Medicine Valley, he still has only one ending—death."
Everyone else also believed Yang Cheng was doomed.
But then they witnessed something unbelievable.
When the raging flames weakened slightly, they finally saw the scene inside the fire.
Yang Cheng, along with the others around him, were all standing there unharmed.
"What's going on?"
The people of Divine Medicine Valley were dumbstruck.
"There's a fluctuation of flame."
Deputy Valley Master Tan said gravely, "The Crown Prince of Great Zhou likely possesses some kind of powerful strange flame."
Hearing this, the people of Divine Medicine Valley felt even more unwilling to accept it.
They were alchemists, yet most of them didn't even possess strange flames.
"How could Yang Cheng, a mere martial cultivator, have strange flame?"
Murong Cong felt utterly sour inside.
"No matter why he has strange flame, face him with full strength."
Deputy Valley Master Tan ordered.
At that moment, Yang Cheng moved calmly, holding a wooden sword in his hand as he walked forward toward them.
"Kill!"
The experts of the Martial Hall of Divine Medicine Valley appeared one after another.
Several ordinary Martial Saints charged ahead, while the alchemists stood behind, assisting with flames.
"In the Northern Sea, there is a fish."
Yang Cheng slashed with his sword.
In an instant, it was as though a colossal Kun burst forth, crushing down with unstoppable force.
To everyone else, that sword strike was terrifying beyond measure.
The few Martial Saints at the front dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At the moment of death, fear still lingered on their faces, but their bodies quickly shattered apart.
The scene was horrifying without question.
Yang Cheng slaughtered several Martial Saints in seconds, almost effortlessly.
Inside, he felt no ripple at all.
If he could kill Chu Xuzhi, a ninth-layer Martial Saint, then what did killing a few ordinary Martial Saints count for?
"Bastard!"
The two Vice Hall Masters of the Martial Hall roared in fury.
Both were peak Martial Saints, their strength formidable.
The next instant, one of the Vice Hall Masters charged at Yang Cheng.
His body shot out like lightning, true qi surging around him and forming into a massive Scarlet Flame Elephant, crashing forward with sky-burning might.
"Scarlet Flame Elephant King Fist!"
The Vice Hall Master bellowed.
Before his fist even landed, the scorching heatwaves twisted the air, shattering the stone slabs beneath their feet.
"Good! As expected of Hall Master Hu. His Elephant King Fist is perfected!"
Murong Cong couldn't help but shout in praise.
"Hall Master Hu is a peak Martial Saint, he's been at this realm for over one hundred years. He's not someone like that junior Chu Xuzhi. I don't believe Yang Cheng can withstand him."
Another elder said.
Yang Cheng didn't even lift his eyelids. The wooden sword in his hand simply thrust forward lightly.
Hum!
Northern Sea Sword Codex, Second Form—Great Fish Surfaces.
When the vast sword qi collided with the fiery fist force, time itself seemed to freeze for a moment.
Then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The massive Scarlet Flame Elephant exploded apart. Violent sword qi surged upward like a tidal wave.
"Pu chi!"
Hall Master Hu's right arm instantly turned into a mist of blood. His whole body was smashed back, crashing heavily into the mountain wall behind, embedding three feet deep into solid stone.