News of Xiao Jingchen and Daoist Sha challenging Chu Kuangren spread across the whole of Firmament Star. Every cultivator was following the incident as it progressed.

Everyone was waiting for Chu Kuangren's response.

However, three days had gone by. It was past the deadline of the challenge, yet there was no response from Chu Kuangren at all, let alone any sign of him.

All the great ones were looking for him at that time.

Their spiritual thoughts swept through the whole Firmament Star but to no avail.

Based on how powerful Chu Kuangren was, it would be a piece of cake for him to hide. If he wanted to, no one could ever find him.

'He has hidden from the world?!'

That possibility stunned the cultivators who heard it.

'Chu Kuangren has hidden?!

'By the heavens.'

'Are you kidding me? That's Chu Kuangren we're talking about here, the best cultivator throughout history. How could a lunatic like himself hide from the world?'

Most people would rather believe that he might be held back by some issues.

However, that was not what the disciples from the Heavenly Golden Palace thought. They thought Chu Kuangren was afraid of Xiao Jingchen and did not dare accept his challenge.

“Hmph, so that's the mighty Chu Kuangre's response?!”

“Ha! Before the young master, he's nothing but a spineless coward. ”

Chu Kuangren was a terrifying person.

That was a well-known fact to the public.

Even the ones at the Heavenly Golden Palace knew of that as well. It was because of this that they were humiliated by Chu Kuangren.

Now, they finally had a chance to retaliate.

Chu Kuangren's inability to accept the challenge was not important. What was important was the fact that Xiao Jingchen had challenged him, and he did not show up in the end. That alone was enough for them to boast about.

The Heavenly Golden Palace's propaganda had turned Chu Kuangren's image into a coward who was so scared of Xiao Jingchen that he did not dare accept the latter's challenge. As such, Chu Kuangren's name was dragged into the mud.

Besides the Heavenly Golden Palace, the Ethereal Rapture, Acheron Manor, Sacred Death Palace, Bottomless Chasm — namely orthodoxies that had a grudge with Chu Kuangren in the past took the opportunity to slander his image and reputation.

“Chu Kuangren is nothing but a p*ssy. He doesn't even dare to accept someone's challenge now. Oh, how far has he fallen.”

“That's right. The era now belongs to Xiao Jingchen and the others.”

“Ranked first in the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard? That's nothing but a joke.”

The disciples of those few orthodoxies continued to slander Chu Kuangren's name.

Some did not believe it at first.

However, the defamation soon grew and became more terrible. Even so, there was still no sign of Chu Kuangren, let alone a response.

It was as if he had hidden as the others said.

As time went by, the people who believed in Chu Kuangren gradually wavered. All of them started to doubt whether Chu Kuangren was afraid.

These people were not to blame either.

After all, news of Xiao Jingchen's heavenly tribulation had shocked the world. Since Chu Kuangren had the Heavenly Punishment Seal on him, it was natural that he would not be a match for Xiao Jingchen.

It made sense why he did not dare to accept Xiao Jingchen's challenge to a fight.

As time went by, Chu Kuangren had seemingly taken on the t.i.tle of a coward.

“The name of Chu Kuangren is nothing but a disappointment.”

The Heaven Golden Imperial Palace released a statement regarding Chu Kuangren's inability to accept the challenge, and Xiao Jingchen's reputation rose even more.

Compared to Xiao Jingchen, Daoist Sha's reaction was much more intense.

He immediately announced that if Chu Kuangren did not appear, he would slaughter his way into the Black Heaven Sect and murder everyone inside!

However, there was still no response two days after he made that statement.

“Hmph!”

“If that's the case, don't blame me for what I'm about to do, Chu Kuangren!”

Inside the Ancient Battlefield.

Daoist Sha snorted coldly as his figure dashed into the sky.

Not long after, he appeared outside the Black Heaven Sect's mega formation.

Lots of people on the Firmament Star noticed his actions and knew that he had arrived at the Black Heaven Sect looking for trouble.

“It looks that Daoist Sha is a man of his words. He threatened to wipe out the Black Heaven Sect earlier, and now he's at their doorstep. I wonder if he'll be able to break through that formation?”

“It seems impossible if you're asking me.”

“That's right. This formation is not that easy to break into.”

Everyone discussed as they fixed their eyes on Daoist Sha.

At that moment, he was standing outside the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation with ferocious qi swirling all over him. It was as if he was a demonic G.o.d that had just walked out of the Ashura battlefield.

“A mere formation technique dares block my path? What a joke!”

Daoist Sha then dashed into the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation.

Since the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation blocked spiritual thoughts from entering, everyone could only just sense the large energy fluctuations that constantly came from within the formation.

After a day and a night.

Daoist Sha walked out of the mega formation with a grim face. His aura was weak, and his hair was messy. Although there was no clear sign of injury on him, he looked disheveled.

Behind him, the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation continued operating as usual.

It was clear that he had failed to break into the formation.

Everyone fell silent.

Although they were surprised by this outcome, they thought it was reasonable. After all, that mega formation had taken countless lives three years ago with its mysterious sea of clouds. It was since known as the number one formation in the whole of Firmament Star!

Even a Sage Ruler would not dare to enter it hastily.

Hence, they were not that shocked to see Daoist Sha fail.

“D*mn it. I did not expect the Black Heaven Sect to have a formation like this, with countless formations interlocking with each other. They were impossible to dodge. Also, I can't believe that Cloud Dragon's strength is on par with mine. If I didn't use the Innate Ferocious Bell at the last second, I'm afraid I wouldn't have gotten out of this formation in one piece…”

Daoist Sha turned and glanced at the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation behind him with a complicated look in his eyes. “Formation techniques like this are quite rare even the Nine Heavens. Where the h*ll did Chu Kuangren obtain this?”

“D*mn it! This formation is too hard to break into. I'll have to think of another way.”

News about Daoist Sha's failure to break into the formation was spread, which made many secretly laugh at his failure. Everyone felt that he was quite disgraced by his own actions and failure.

However, what he did next stunned everyone even more.

After failing to go through the formation, Daoist Sha did not give up on forcing Chu Kuangren out. Instead, he changed his methods.

Utilizing his strength, he took control of a few orthodoxies and ordered them to look for a few people for him.

Those people were disciples of the Black Heaven Sect!

To be more precise, they were former disciples of the Black Heaven Sect!

All those years ago, when Black Heaven Sect was under siege from multiple forces, no one thought that they would be able to turn the tide and survive. Hence, many disciples either left the Black Heaven Sect, wandered into the world, or joined other forces.

Now, Daoist Sha had kidnapped all of these people.

That was when he announced that for every day Chu Kuangren did not appear, he would kill a thousand people!!

Such an act of madness stunned all the cultivators in the Firmament Star and made them wonder just how much hatred he had for Chu Kuangren.

The first day.

Chu Kuangren did not appear.

Inside the Ancient Battlefield, a thousand heads fell!

The second day.

Chu Kuangren still did not appear.

Daoist Sha burned a thousand people to death.

When the news spread to the Black Heaven Sect inside the Astonis.h.i.+ng Cloud of Seas Formation, they were incredibly enraged by Daoist Sha's actions!

“D*mn it. That Daoist Sha is worse than a savage beast!”

“No matter what, those people were former disciples of the Black Heaven Sect. Although they have nothing to do with us anymore, we can't possibly turn a blind eye to Daoist Sha's actions. He's clearly doing this to provoke our Sect Leader.”

“What should we do, Elder Ruyan!”

Inside the Longevity Hall.

A crowd of elders had gathered there.

Elder Ruyan took a deep breath and uttered calmly, “We shall observe for now and wait for the Sect Leader to show himself.”

An elder hesitated. “But those disciples…”

“What disciples?” Elder Ruyan asked in return.

The elders were silent.

“They have nothing to do with the Black Heaven Sect anymore. I've never blamed them for leaving the Black Heaven Sect, but there's no need for us to risk ourselves for them too,” Elder Ruyan replied.

No one blamed her for being cruel. After all, she was making that decision to protect the Black Heaven Sect.

“Understood.”

“Then, we shall wait until the Sect Leader to show up before we make any decisions.”