Everyone released their Divine Sense, scanning the surroundings.

Soon, they confirmed that they truly had returned to the Jiuzhou Continent. Everyone was overjoyed to the point of madness, and many excitedly shouted out loud.

"Everyone, let's go to a nearby city to ask exactly where we are. Please do not wander off! Wait for us to come back!"

A Martial Saint shouted loudly.

"Okay!"

The crowd allowed two Martial Saints to run to a nearby city to inquire about their current location.

Moments later, the two Martial Saints learned from the locals where they were.

"Everyone, we are just outside Haitian City. Who among you knows this place? Those who do, please step forward!"

Another Martial Saint shouted loudly.

"I know! My home is not far from here!"

Quickly, a Martial Artist excitedly called out.

Following that, two more Martial Artists stepped out from the crowd.

The population of the Jiuzhou Continent was ten billion, and the Heaven Seizing Exam of the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect was open to Martial Artists under forty years of age. Many young talents over thirty years old participated in the Heaven Seizing Exam.

These young talents came from major families across the Jiuzhou Continent. They were well-known and noble families locally, owning vast assets.

Cultivation for Martial Artists doesn't merely rely on talent and diligence; financial resources also play a crucial role.

Wealthy families could quickly enhance their children's Cultivation through various spiritual pills, despite potential future risks to their growth.

Those parents were well aware of the possible risks, but they had no other choice.

If they couldn't enhance their children's Cultivation quickly, their children would not receive devoted cultivation from the major sects.

Those parents all hoped their children could enter the First-class Sects of the Jiuzhou Continent, as only by entering such sects could their children become genuine talents in the future.

"We will go back right away!"

The three Martial Artists announced bravely that they were going home as they stood out from the crowd.

Following that, under the leadership of the three Martial Saints, the three Martial Artists rapidly returned to their clans and gathered some resources.

Then, the Martial Saints instructed every Martial Artist to find a way to return to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect as soon as possible.

Three hours later, thousands of Martial Artists found a way to return to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Since most competitors had not brought any storage rings into the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect, they had nothing valuable on them.

Some wealthier competitors lent Jiuzhou coins to other participants, allowing them to return to the Jiuzhou Continent first.

Hence, these participants were busy for a while, finding a way to return to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect, with a few left afterwards.

Unexpectedly, Duan Gujin and Yan Dapang were invited by Meng Wanzhen to a nearby city. She informed them that Chenxiang Palace had a branch here that would lend them some Jiuzhou coins.

Thus, Meng Wanzhen led Duan Gujin, Yan Dapang, and five from the Demon Clan back to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Their method was simple: to use the Teleportation Arrays located in various places to transport them directly to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

One day later, they were the first to return to the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Upon hearing that competitors had returned, an elder of the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect immediately reported the news to the elders of the sect.

After hearing the news, the elders quickly informed the Sect Leader.

Soon, the Sect Leader appeared at the gate and met Duan Gujin and the others.

The Sect Leader of the Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect was an old man with a thousand years of age. Despite his age, his eyes were still exceptionally sharp, and he had a head of black hair, appearing like a robust middle-aged man.

The Sect Leader was named Chu Wanglou, and he inspected the five members of the Demon Clan. After a moment, he confirmed that they truly were from the Demon Clan.

"My goodness! I can't believe you managed to capture a Demon Clan Leader!"

Chu Wanglou exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, Sect Leader, this is the Demon Clan Leader we captured on Demon Island!"

Duan Gujin immediately responded.

Chu Wanglou then asked Duan Gujin to recount the events that occurred during the Heavenly Seizing Exam, wanting to know the truth.

Duan Gujin narrated all the events from the Heavenly Seizing Exam to Chu Wanglou, not omitting any details.

After listening, Chu Wanglou's expression changed dramatically.

After pondering over what Duan Gujin had recounted, he guessed the likelihood.

"So it turns out that a Blood Demon Altar was set up at a necessary point during the exam!"

Without Duan Gujin's reminder, he might have considered it merely an accident, or coincidence. But now knowing it was deliberately orchestrated to lead the participants into the Blood Demon Altar, he realized there must be someone with malicious intentions.

What could those who manipulated these events ultimately want, and why would they transport them to Demon Island?

Chu Wanglou thought hard for a while but still couldn't figure out why.

"Did you guys encounter any ambushes on Demon Island?"

Chu Wanglou asked.

"No!"

Duan Gujin had previously forcefully read the memories of those from the Demon Clan, and he knew that none of the leaders from the Demon Clan had received any orders.

"How strange!"

Chu Wanglou's eyes flickered as he wondered, if there really were enemies targeting the competitors, why just transport all of them to Demon Island?

Moreover, the one capable of setting up the Blood Demon Altar must definitely be a master from the Blood Demon Palace.

"Is the Blood Demon Palace specifically targeting Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect, or specifically targeting the competitors of this competition? Or is the Blood Demon Palace simply using this opportunity to strike at Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect?"

His eyes flickered as various possibilities flashed through his mind.

But he did not have sufficient evidence; he couldn't prove who the Blood Demon Palace was really targeting, nor did he know what their true motives were.

As of now, he only knew that there were insiders from the Blood Demon Palace within Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Upon hearing that Duan Gujin had forcefully read the memories of the Demon Clan members, Chu Wanglou looked at Duan Gujin in shock.

"I must say, my friend, your Spiritual Power is indeed very strong!"

Only strong Spiritual Power could enable a Martial Artist to forcefully extract memories from a Demon Saint.

Even the slightest mistake could lead the Martial Artist's Divine Soul to be counterattacked by the Demon Saint, resulting in severe damage to the lesser extent or complete destruction on the more severe end, turning the Martial Artist into a disabled person.

"Yes, my Spiritual Power has always been very strong!" Duan Gujin replied.

"When will the others arrive?"

Chu Wanglou asked.

"They should be returning here soon!"

Chu Wanglou then let Duan Gujin and others rest, and he oversaw the five members of the Demon Clan.

Duan Gujin and others immediately went back to the tavern where Yan Dapang was located to wait for news.

Five days later, most of the participants of this year's Heavenly Seizing Exam finally returned to Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Seeing those more than a thousand and four hundred participants, Chu Wanglou felt a burst of emotion.

According to the rules, they were only to recruit a thousand disciples, but Chu Wanglou decided to recruit them all, and each year one tenth of them would be eliminated.

Upon hearing this news, all the participants cheered.

Even though ten percent were to be eliminated each year, this was considered very good news for them.

After all, being able to enter Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect meant that a Martial Artist's ability had reached the standard of Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

Whether they could stay in Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect long-term demonstrated whether a Martial Artist's diligence and talent were truly sufficient.

That evening, the Sect Leader of Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect convened with the elders to discuss the occurrences during this Heavenly Seizing Exam.

"Can any of you figure out what actually happened? Could it be that someone from our Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect offended the Blood Demon Palace? Please, think hard about this."

Chu Wanglou asked.

The elders looked at each other and fell into deep thought.

They thought for a long while but couldn't recall anyone from their side who had possibly offended someone from the Blood Demon Palace.

Meanwhile, Duan Gujin had kept those five members from the Demon Clan to inform the members of Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect that there were insiders from Blood Demon Palace among them.

Duan Gujin wanted to use this situation to kill indirectly; he was well aware that there were assassins from the Blood Demon Palace mixed into Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect, potentially targeting him.

Facing the unknown Blood Demon Palace assassins hiding in some corner, Duan Gujin thought the best strategy was to link Blood Demon Palace with the Demon Clan, thereby making Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect stand on his side.

That way, if the Blood Demon Palace wanted to target him in the future, they would have to reconsider the strength of Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

He intentionally established the connection between the Blood Demon Palace and the Demon Clan, believing that this would make all the major sects across the Jiuzhou Continent wary of the Blood Demon Palace's influence.

Once the Blood Demon Palace was targeted universally, it would make it far easier for him to deal with the Blood Demon Palace in the future.

Thus, he had deliberately kept Bai Mu Leader and four Demon Saints by his side, while others thought that Duan Gujin was keeping the Demon Clan members as hostages; they did not suspect Duan Gujin's actual intentions.

A day later, Duan Gujin received an invitation from Chu Wanglou, and they met in a great hall within Heaven Stealing Immortal Sect.

"Duan Gujin, this Heavenly Seizing Exam experienced unexpected issues, but you successfully rescued all the participants, therefore, we have decided to grant you the first place reward of this exam!"

Chu Wanglou exchanged a few pleasantries with Duan Gujin, then said.

"Thank you, Sect Leader!"

Duan Gujin's eyes glinted as he accepted the reward from Chu Wanglou's hands, suspecting that the Sect Leader had other motives.

Indeed, Chu Wanglou soon began inquiring about his past.

Duan Gujin immediately disclosed his identity from Yuanzhen Continent to Chu Wanglou: "I'm from a different continent! I've known the Soul Searching Technique since I was young, so I'm able to use Soul Searching to forcefully read the memories of those from the Demon Clan!"

As it turned out, Chu Wanglou had also used the method of forcefully extracting memories to search the memories of those five members from the Demon Clan, thereby learning a lot about the Demon Clan.

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