The Netherworld Empire hadn’t immediately sent people to destroy the Celestial Extreme Mansion, largely because they were wary of its hidden power. As long as they couldn’t grasp the full extent of it, they wouldn’t act rashly. The best course of action was to recruit them; that way, they would gain another faction under their banner. This was the optimal choice.

Initially, they had instigated the Second Elder’s faction to rebel with the goal of turning them into puppets. The Celestial Extreme Mansion had fallen into decline, but it still possessed some strength. If cultivated, it could become another capable asset. No one would complain about their own power base being too large; bigger was always better.

Who would have thought that the Shadow Guards they dispatched would suddenly all be killed? This was a great shock to them, and they had some thoughts about this unexpected power. It would be best to control this force. If they couldn’t control it, they would crush it!

Killing wasn’t difficult for them; it was a simple matter of annihilation. They had plenty of Core Formation experts. Sending a few over could wipe out any sect. But for them, this wasn’t the best outcome. The most perfect method was to absorb them into their ranks and make them their own.

"I’m going out for a bit. You all stay here," Yi Tianyun said after a moment of thought.

"Understood, Mansion Master." They wanted to ask, but in the end, they held back. Yi Tianyun had his own plans, so they didn’t press.

The moment Yi Tianyun stepped out, he immediately sensed eyes on him. There were Guards stationed nearby, constantly watching his quarters. When they saw him come out, one walked up and said, "Is there something you need?"

"No, nothing. I just came out for a stroll," Yi Tianyun replied with a faint smile.

"There’s a curfew outside. Please return to your room," the Guard replied coldly, showing no hint of cordiality.

Yi Tianyun felt a sense of helplessness. ’It seems my treatment here is really quite poor. I won’t be able to walk around freely.’ He had no choice but to return to his room.

"Mansion Master, this..." They were quite surprised to see Yi Tianyun return.

"They won’t let me out the door, so I’ll just have to find another way out." Yi Tianyun looked up at the ceiling, then leaped up in a single bound. He gently lifted a roof tile, and with a flash, his figure vanished from the room. Those below couldn’t even see him clearly.

"Grandfather, just how does the Mansion Master cultivate...?" Mu Xian’Er murmured, utterly stunned as she watched Yi Tianyun’s departing figure.

"I don’t know either..." The Great Elder shook his head. This was the first time he had ever seen such a monstrously talented genius.

After getting outside, Yi Tianyun activated his Stealth Skill, completely vanishing into the darkness of the night. He scanned his surroundings and saw that there were still quite a few lookouts keeping the area under tight surveillance. But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t see Yi Tianyun’s form.

Yi Tianyun’s cultivation level was far higher than theirs, so he had no fear of being discovered unless they got extremely close.

His destination this time was, of course, the residence of Cheng Fen. There was nothing more to be said. What needed to be dealt with would be dealt with. Once he permanently took care of him, all this talk of recruitment would be bullshit.

He quickly flitted forward, dodging one lookout after another. As he landed on the roof of a building, he heard a furious roar from within.

"That bastard brat, I can’t believe he’s actually a Mansion Master! If I weren’t forbidden from acting rashly, I would have beaten him to death right then and there! Celestial Extreme Mansion? It’s nothing but trash!" Nan Fengyun’s voice came from inside the room. This wasn’t exactly a secret, so he was speaking rather loudly.

They were also forbidden from leaving as they pleased and were cooped up here, surrounded by numerous lookouts. The difference was that they were staying in VIP rooms; they had plenty of space and their treatment was not bad at all. Apparently, even though his weapon had injured Cheng Fen, he hadn’t been blamed for it. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Mansion Master, calm your anger. We can’t act here, but once this is over, won’t we be able to go out and flatten them?" one of the elders sneered. "I’ve also found out that this kid is an Honored Guest Elder of Star Pavilion and a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master. That part was rather unexpected."

"So young, and already a Fourth Grade Divine Rune Master. No wonder he could become a Mansion Master ahead of schedule... But I doubt he’ll be sitting in that position for long. The moment this is over will be the day they die!" Nan Fengyun’s eyes were filled with undisguised killing intent.

Anyone who wasn’t blind could see in the palace earlier that Nan Fengyun was utterly enraged. The destruction of the Celestial Extreme Mansion was a certainty.

On the rooftop, Yi Tianyun’s eyes flashed, and a cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. ’You want to eradicate us? We’ll see if you have what it takes...’

He didn’t go down to kill them. The timing wasn’t right, so it was best not to act. If he exposed his true strength, he would lose a trump card.

He then left the area without lingering. His target tonight wasn’t Nan Fengyun, but Cheng Fen!

Soon, he had swiftly arrived in the deeper parts of the palace. Although there were many lookouts, he easily slipped past them. Unless the lookouts were at the Core Formation stage or higher, he could evade them with ease. It wasn’t difficult at all.

’This should be the place, more or less...’

With a flicker of his figure, Yi Tianyun arrived at the inner palace. Before he even got close, a furious roar echoed from within.

"I told you not to get so close to me, do you hear me?! All of you, get at least ten feet away! Don’t stand so close to me!" Cheng Fen’s voice shouted.

To think he was still so paranoid. It was a classic case of "once bitten, twice shy." He was thoroughly spooked. It would probably take a few days for him to recover.

A glint in his eye, Yi Tianyun took out the Hundred-Change Mask and put it on. At the same time, he tied a black cloth over his face, concealing his features.

He then quickly moved along the ceiling, positioning himself above Cheng Fen’s room to observe the situation.

"Is this the information you gathered?" Cheng Fen held a thick stack of papers. After flipping through them, he threw them at the Shadow Guard standing before him. "This is all garbage! There’s no useful information at all! Especially about the Celestial Extreme Mansion—you couldn’t find anything!"

"I truly could not find a trace of any experts in the Celestial Extreme Mansion. I only saw a Mansion Master whose cultivation was completely gone. Other than that, I couldn’t find the slightest clue," the Shadow Guard replied, letting the stack of papers hit him without even trying to dodge.

"If there are no experts, then how could they have killed all the Shadow Guards I sent!" Cheng Fen’s eyes filled with murderous intent. "They killed so many of the Shadow Guards I’ve trained—I wish I could just slaughter them all! If my superiors hadn’t ordered me to investigate the situation and see if they could be recruited, I would have flattened the Celestial Extreme Mansion long ago! So many of my Shadow Guards, and my puppets... If recruitment fails, then nothing else matters!"

In his fury, he grabbed a chair and hurled it at the Shadow Guard, and it shattered with a CRASH.

"Forget it! I can’t be bothered to investigate anymore! Go and capture that useless Mansion Master from Celestial Extreme Mansion and force that so-called mysterious expert to show themself! I thought I’d get to see this mysterious expert this time, but instead, I just saw some arrogant brat!" Cheng Fen roared. "No matter what expert they have, I refuse to believe they’re stronger than our Netherworld Empire! Even if they’re a dragon, they’ll have to coil up for me!"

It seemed the day’s frustrations had completely ignited his killing intent!