While they were conversing, a group of people arrived in the city and booked the best inn there. All the guests who were already staying there were chased out.

The innkeeper had originally been unwilling, but an elder from the Wan Xiang Sect revealed part of his strength and directly suppressed all of the people in the inn to the ground.

Then, he threw out enough gold to book the entire inn for several months.

It was basically a large sect. For the sake of their reputation, they would not go back on their word on such a small matter. However, what they wanted to do was not something that anyone could disobey.

The Wan Xiang Sect proclaimed to be the Heavenly Dao's sect and inspected the world, not allowing others to refute them.

Of course, sacred grounds of the same level as them were not included in this list.

After a round of rest and discussion, they decided to directly send people to the largest sect nearby— the Hidden Edge sect—to inquire about the situation.

After all, slowly gathering information took a lot of time and effort. As the local "snake", the Hidden Edge Sect would definitely know a lot of things. Moreover, according to the first elder's calculations, the heavenly punishment was related to the eastern region's Hidden Edge Sect.

The next day, the sect master, the elders of the hall, and many other leaders all came to the main hall to receive the people from the central region.

Lei Ting, who was leading the Wan Xiang Sect team, went straight to the point. "The first elder of our sacred land observed the weather at night and deduced that the Thunder Tribulation appeared in the eastern region and the heavenly punishment descended.

"Over the past ten years, the heavenly secrets have changed. This matter is of great importance and may be related to the changes in the Heavenly Dao. We must investigate it properly.

"I heard that the Hidden Edge Sect is one of the ten great sects in the Eastern Region. I believe that we have received quite a bit of news. Therefore, please tell us what you know so that we can report back.

"Of course, our sacred land of the central region, the land of outstanding people, will not take your intelligence for granted. In return, we will definitely remember your favor."

Although his words were polite, the self-righteousness in his tone was very obvious.

He cursed in his heart, "What do we know? We only know that it's connected to the foundation of the sect. No one knows what it is exactly. Even if we know, who would take the initiative to reveal such an important thing?"

Sect Leader Ding began to use the great evasion tactic. After a round of flattery and evasion, there was only one piece of information, "We don't know either."

Lei Ting was also an old fox. Although he was arrogant, he was not stupid. Realizing Sect Leader Ding's intention, the two began to fight.

Wang Meng, who was standing at the back, was young and impetuous. He mockingly said, "What? As one of the top ten sects in the entire eastern region, the Hidden Edge Sect's control over the region is only at this level? You can't even find out about something as obvious as the heavenly punishment?"

Senior Nephew Wang then said, "Please be careful. After all, this is the eastern region. We also have to understand that there aren't many experts, so don't make things too difficult for them."

Hearing Wang Meng's interjection, Lei Ting, who was already a little impatient, went with the flow and behaved oddly.

After all, Wang Meng was a disciple of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, so Lei Ting did not feel any psychological burden in using him.

The elders of the Hidden Edge Sect did not have any reaction. Ultimately, they had been in the sect for so many years and had long been influenced by the sect.

The younger generation of disciples could not stand it. Although many of them did not speak, they glared at Wang Meng and Lei Ting.

"What? Not convinced? Who is not convinced? Step up and fight!"

Wang Meng was not stupid. He knew that Lei Ting was using him. However, his confidence as a disciple of the sacred land and the thought of being in the limelight in front of Shen Yu made him continue to provoke them.

Many disciples of the Hidden Edge Sect could no longer take it. Several disciples stepped forward and said, "Sect Leader! I'm willing to step forward. Please allow me, Sect Leader!"

Without waiting for Sect Leader Ding to refuse, Lei Ting quickly said, "It's a good thing for young people to have an imposing manner. How about this? Why don't you send a few people from the Hidden Edge Sect to spar with Senior Nephew Wang?"

Another Wan Xiang Sect elder, Meng Linjun, also began to assist him. "Don't worry. With me here, these sparring sessions won't cause any harm."

After thinking for a while, Sect Leader Ding, who could not refuse, pointed at his second disciple, Zhao Hu, and said, "Since that's the case, Zhao Hu, go and spar with this senior disciple of the heaven and Earth Pavilion."

Once he received permission, Zhao Hu stepped forward and stood opposite Wang Meng. "Come! Let me see how strong your so-called sacred land disciples are."

Wang Meng was proud and arrogant, so how could he endure such words? He stomped heavily on the floor and pounced forward.

The Hidden Edge Sect's hall was cleaned thoroughly, and the stone floor was paved with solid green granite. However, Wang Meng's stomp actually shattered a piece of gravel.

"What a big mouth. You actually think your words carry weight against me? Aren't you afraid that the wind will blow your tongue out?"

Waves of golden light flashed from Wang Meng's body, and the aura that erupted made Zhao Hu's heart skip a beat.

"Heavenly Flame Shield!"Under the aura's influence, Zhao Hu was unable to dodge. He deployed a defensive maneuver and planned to take it head-on.

However, Wang Meng had only used a feint. In a the blink of an eye, he appeared behind his opponent and struck his palm out.

That was a unique feature of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. Before their disciples broke through to the three intermediate levels, they mainly used close combat as their attacking method.

It was because their basic cultivation method mainly focused on body tempering, which laid a good foundation for their inner realm.

That was also why the disciples of the Heaven and Earth Pavilion had a great advantage in peer-to-peer duels.

Unable to react in time, Zhao Hu was directly struck on the back by Wang Meng. Fortunately, the Hidden Edge Sect's cultivation method hid qi within the body, and there was a layer of flowing spiritual qi on the surface of his body.

Even so, the powerful force still sent Zhao Hu flying forward.

Gaining the upper hand, Wang Meng continuously hammered Zhao Hu's back, not giving him a chance to catch his breath.

After holding on for a while, Zhao Hu finally could not persevere anymore and was sent flying.

'I didn't even have a chance to counterattack?' The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhao Hu fainted.

Seeing Zhao Hu lying on the ground, Wang Meng circulated his qi and circled him. "Anyone else, step up," he said arrogantly.

Sect Leader Ding's face did not change at all, as though the one who had just fallen was not his disciple. He then said, "Men, take Zhao Hu down and treat him well."

Following that, he turned to Lei Ting. "As expected of a disciple of the sacred land. His strength is truly formidable. Since we've already sparred, if you have other matters to attend to, I won't hold you back."

Lei Ting's original intention had been to use the younger generation of disciples to intimidate the Hidden Edge Sect so that they could see the sacred land's strength and cooperate obediently. However, he did not expect Sect Leader Ding to be so stubborn and even directly send them off.

His face finally fell. "Sect Leader Ding, are you not willing to cooperate with Wan Xiang Sect to investigate the matter of the heavenly punishment?"

"Our small sect's disciples have been so easily defeated in front of your disciples that it's not even worth mentioning. How would we know about such an important matter like the heavenly punishment?"

The moment he received a clear answer and realized that the other party would not help, Lei Ting became angry and wanted to make a move.

At that moment, a loud shout rang out in the sky. "Disciples of the Hidden Edge Sect, come out! Return the Dark Spirit Cauldron to me!"

The voice reverberated in all directions, and along with the voice came a powerful pressure.

"Dark Spirit Cauldron? What is that?"

Many elders were puzzled as they had never heard the name before.

Elder Wu recalled the treasured cauldron he had obtained previously and hurriedly said, "Sect Leader, if I'm not mistaken, it might be the cauldron I obtained previously."

"That cauldron isn't ownerless? Why would someone come and ask for it?"

Before the elders could discuss it, another shout was heard. "What? Is the Hidden Edge Sect trying to take my treasure?"

Following the voice was the sound of a violent collision.

"They are attacking the mountain's protection array! The attack is powerful, and they come with ill intentions!"

The sect leader no longer hesitated and directly said to Lei Ting, "Our Hidden Edge Sect has something important to do today, so it is not convenient for us to entertain you. Please move down the mountain, and we will make it up to you next time for the inconvenience."

As the sect leader stood up, the elders also got to their feet together.

Lei Ting smiled and no longer insisted. He made up his mind to go outside and watch the Hidden Edge Sect make a fool of themselves.

"In that case, we will come back tomorrow."

Then, he led the team out of the main hall.

Sect Leader Ding and the others could not be bothered with them. They flew directly to the mountain gate to check the situation.

They were in their own sect anyway. If they were really forced to lock up the place, they would have to shut the door and hit the dog.