Chapter 971: Being Framed

Duan Ling Tian had broken through his cultivation base and comprehended the Third Level Advanced Wind Concept, and he rushed out like lightning. The Heaven and Earth Phenomenon above his head followed him like his shadow.

When the khaki energy rumbled below Duan Ling Tian's feet, it was as though he resonated with the ground. He traveled across a few caves after he stepped out.

Apart from the bolts of rampant purple lightning rumbling around the khaki energy, there were waves of green energy following it.

Moreover, there was a faint layer of energy on his body that acted as a pathfinder as Duan Ling Tian was rushing. Upon closer inspection, it was a wave of sword-shaped energy.

Meanwhile, ancient horned dragons' silhouettes flew above his head when he was rushing. He looked menacing.

Due to the rapid speed, it was difficult for one to see how many ancient horned dragons' silhouettes were there.

As soon as Duan Ling Tian halted his movement, the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon above his head would be crystal clear. There were a total of 1,150 ancient horned dragons' silhouettes.

A Third Level Void Transformation with an Origin Energy boost that was as powerful as the strength of four hundred ancient horned dragons.

The Third Level Advanced Wind Concept also had the strength of four hundred ancient horned dragons.

The combination of the three remaining types of Ninth Level Void Interpretation Concepts was as powerful the strength of three hundred ancient horned dragons.

Altogether, it had the strength of 1,100 ancient horned dragons!

The extra fifty ancient horned dragons' strength came from Duan Ling Tian's resonation with the Earth Energy with the help from Earth Concept and the earth. It was half the power of the Earth Concept.

Duan Ling Tian was driven by the strength of the 1,150 ancient horned dragons, and he was as fast as wind and thunder. Many martial artists would not be able to catch up with his speed due to how fast he was.

"Hmm?"

It was unknown how long had passed when Duan Ling Tian stopped moving, and he did not look too good.

"Chen Wei!"

Duan Ling Tian revealed a cold gleam in his eyes that seemed as though he was going to devour the next person he saw alive when he saw the body lying on the ground.

It was Chen Wei, a person that he knew.

He had already known Chen Wei before he joined Five Element Sect.

Although their first meeting ended on an unpleasant note, it was actually caused by Chen Wei being deceived by his birth brother.

Duan Ling Tian actually liked Chen Wei as a person.

Before entering the Martial Emperor's secret treasure, Chen Wei was an active person. However, he was now just a cold body. Moreover, it was obvious that he had been dead for many days.

'Bang!'

Duan Ling Tian was solemn as he lifted his foot and stomped on the ground.

'Rumble! Rumble!'

...

All of a sudden, a ferocious crack appeared on the ground where Duan Ling Tian stomped on. It only stopped cracking when it spread to Chen Wei's body, causing Chen Wei's body to fall.

As Duan Ling Tian lifted his arms, the Origin Energy merged with Earth Energy and rushed to the side of the cave wall. The rocks began to chip from above and gravels began to fall.

'Whoosh!'

Duan Ling Tian lifted his arms once again as he controlled the chips and gravels with his energy to fill the gaps for Chen Wei's burial. He wanted Chen Wei to be buried under the ground in peace.

"Rest in peace," Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself with his head lowered as he looked at the cracks that were spread all over the place.

"What's he doing?"

"I happened to see it because I came earlier... He seems to be burying a person's body."

"It should be a brother of the same sect that he's close with."

...

It was unknown when it happened but the scene Duan Ling Tian created had attracted many to watch. They were standing far away and talking among themselves.

Duan Ling Tian frowned as he was getting ready to leave.

"It's Duan Ling Tian!"

Two people entered the cave to watch, and they could not help but exclaim when they saw Duan Ling Tian.

Duan Ling Tian looked over when he heard the voice.

He recognized the duo at first glance, they were the two monk disciples from the Empyrean Temple.

Although he did not know the duo, he had some impressions of them.

Duan Ling Tian nodded at them. He thought it was fate that they managed to meet each other here since they came from the same entrance.

He was ready to leave again after he greeted and nodded at the duo.

However, before he could move, he realized that he had been surrounded by three people who approached him like three bolts of lightning. As the three surrounded him, their eyes gleamed as they stared at him with greed written all over their faces.

They were looking at him as though he was some precious treasure!

"You're Duan Ling Tian?"

"The most powerful person among the current Five Element Sect on the eastern side of the northern desert?"

"I heard that you obtained a Profundity Fragment?"

As the three of them surrounded Duan Ling Tian, they took turns to speak as their breaths quickened.

"Oh! How can I forget? Duan Ling Tian, Duan Ling Tian... I heard from someone that he obtained a Profundity Fragment earlier."

"I heard about that too. Duan Ling Tian, the most powerful person among the current Five Element Sect's disciples. He just obtained a Profundity Fragment not too long ago."

"Oh, so he's that Duan Ling Tian!"

...

Apart from the two Empyrean Temple's monk disciples who had a faint change of expression, the others were staring at Duan Ling Tian menacingly. They could not wait to kill him right away and take the Profundity Fragment from him.

"Hmm?"

Duan Ling Tian frowned when he heard the discussion around him. He immediately looked at the two monk disciples from the Empyrean Temple.

Suddenly, the two Empyrean Temple monk disciples' expressions changed dramatically and spoke immediately in panic as they shook their heads, "Duan Ling Tian, I know nothing about you obtaining the Profundity Fragment."

"That's right. If we knew you obtained the Profundity Fragment and spread the news, we definitely wouldn't have exposed your identity earlier!"

The two Empyrean Temple's monk disciples seemed to be a little panicked when they spoke.

They had witnessed Duan Ling Tian's ability previously. As long as Duan Ling Tian was willing, one blow was all that he needed to kill the both of them instantly!

Duan Ling Tian's frown grew deeper.

He did not blame the two Empyrean Temple's monk disciples for exposing his identity, rather, he was curious how the others knew he had obtained a Profundity Fragment.

Most importantly, these people knew his name as well as his background despite the fact that they had never seen him before.

'When I obtained that Seventh Level Monarch Stage Earth Profundity Fragment, I've taken special care to use Spiritual Energy to probe my surroundings... Apart from myself, there was definitely no other living human that knew about me obtaining the Profundity Fragment!'

Duan Ling Tian recalled the scene when he obtained the Seventh Level Monarch Stage Earth Profundity Fragment, and he was absolutely certain of that.

There was definitely no other living person who knew he had obtained the Profundity Fragment!

It meant that there was only one possibility.

'Someone intentionally framed me in an attempt to make me the common enemy among the group of young people who entered the Martial Emperor's secret treasure... That person wants me dead!' Duan Ling Tian figured it out immediately after he gave it some thought. A layer of red appeared in his eyes as soon as he figured it out.

He could not hold back the rage that was rising in him at this moment.

The thing that he wanted to do most at this very moment was to find the person who started the rumor and kill him.

Although he was not concerned about the consequences of the rumor, he was extremely irritated that person framed him while hiding in the dark.

Apart from the two Empyrean Temple's monk disciples who were so scared that they were trembling while standing far away, Duan Ling Tian realized that another four people had come up to him and surrounded him, excluding the three people who surrounded him earlier.

There was a total of seven of them surrounding him.

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian figured out the situation.

Apart from the three people who were together in the beginning, the other four were separated into two small teams. There were two of them in each small team.

With that said, the seven of them came from three different forces.

There was a total of six forces that came from Entrance No.2.

Apart from the twenty Skywolf Fort disciples who died in his hands, although he did not know the remaining people from the five forces, he had a rough idea of who they were.

However, he did not have any impression of the seven people before him.

"Are all of you the disciples from Anicca Sect, Izumo Sect, and North Nether Sect?" Duan Ling Tian asked with his deep voice and focused his vision as he faced the seven young powerhouses whose Origin Energies were rising as their Concepts followed closely. They were all poised to attack.

"That's right!"

"Why? Are you afraid?"

...

When they heard what Duan Ling Tian said, a couple of young powerhouses surrounding him wore a prideful smile on their faces.

As disciples from second-rate forces, they had a sense of superiority when they encountered disciples from third-rate forces such as Five Element Sect.

'It seems like there really are two entrances in the Martial Emperor's secret treasure... People from the Anicca Sect, Izumo Sect and North Nether Sect all came from Entrance No.1 while the others and I came from Entrance No.2.'

'Until now, I've yet to meet anyone who came from the third entrance.' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself and secretly confirmed the fact.

Although Duan Ling Tian was surrounded by the seven of them, he was not afraid at all. He asked slowly, "Which one of you are Anicca Sect's disciples?"

At this moment, Duan Ling Tian's eyes were calm and his face was relaxed. His expression would not change even if Mountain Tai was to collapse before him.

"We're Anicca Sect's disciples," a young man and lady responded calmly after Duan Ling Tian spoke.

The young man wore a cold expression as he stared at Duan Ling Tian greedily.

Meanwhile, the young lady had a calm expression, and nobody could tell if she was happy or angry.

"For the sake of me being acquainted with Peng Bao, I'll advise you to retreat."

Duan Ling Tian glanced at the two Anicca Sect's disciples calmly. His tone was peaceful without any emotions.

Peng Bao was the Anicca Sect's disciple that he met earlier. He had a tremendous ability with a Third Level Void Transformation cultivation base.

When the both of them met, all he did was trade with Peng Bao since it was beneficial to both parties. They only met once, but he liked Peng Bao's straightforward character.

When he found out the duo before him were Anicca Sect's disciples, he was willing to let them live when he recalled Peng Bao. Otherwise, he would definitely not waste his breath on them.

The Anicca Sect' female disciple who had a calm face since the beginning could not help but said out loud, "You know Senior Brother Peng Bao?"

"Yes, I know him." Duan Ling Tian nodded.

The Anicca Sect's female disciple heard what he said and retreated after she nodded. "Senior Brother Peng Bao saved my life. Since you're his friend... I won't give you a difficult time today."

"Hmph! So what if you know Senior Brother Peng Bao? I must take the Profundity Fragment from you!"

However, the Anicca Sect's male disciple did not appreciate Duan Ling Tian's mercy.