Chapter 692: Each Harboring Ulterior Motives

His movements were fast, precise, and ruthless, as if he wanted to crush the entire world in his grasp.

“It’s just a phantom.” Before his palm even landed, his face darkened. He clenched his fist abruptly, and the figure that had just stepped out shattered into pieces.

Inside the hall, Su Chen couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. He grumbled inwardly that it had taken him quite a bit of effort to mold that projection, only for the old guy to destroy it.

Outside the hall, the eyes of the other Ancient Kings flickered.

The Hanhai Emperor scolded, “Zhenwu, what are you doing?”

The Zhenwu Ancient King looked at the hall doors before him. After some hesitation, he stepped back.

The Profound Celestial Ancient King spoke up again. “Friend, please don’t misunderstand. We are not with him. We hope to have an open and honest conversation with you.”

Su Chen was left speechless by these crafty old foxes. He asked the Residual Spirit, “Do you have any way to make these guys leave this place?”

“Make them leave?” The Residual Spirit fell silent. He had personally sent these men out here, and now he had to find a way to get them out. How unpredictable the affairs of the world were.

A moment later, he said, “There is a way, but it’s very complicated. These six possess impressive strength. If they worked together to send one or two people out, there shouldn’t be any problem. However, they don’t trust each other at all, so they would never send anyone else out.

“If there’s cooperation from both inside and outside, there’s indeed a certain chance to let them leave here. But that would require mobilizing the foundations of the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court. I’m afraid you won’t be able to convince them.”

The Residual Spirit phrased it tactfully. With Su Chen’s current status, it was naturally impossible for him to convince the Five Great Sects. Furthermore, doing this under his real identity posed far too great a risk.

“Cooperation from both inside and outside…”

Su Chen fell into deep thought. Although the goal of these people was the Spirit of Sun, they clearly didn’t want to be trapped here forever either. He wondered if he could obtain a Moonlight Treasure Bone from them in exchange for an opportunity to leave.

However, the same issue remained: there was zero foundation of trust between the two sides. Moreover, how to mobilize the foundations of the Five Great Sects and the Royal Court was also a massive problem.

Su Chen’s heart stirred as a sudden thought struck him. “Then do you have a way to let them contact the outside world?”

“Contact the outside world…” the Residual Spirit quickly replied. “It is possible, but it still comes back to the same problem: someone must coordinate from the outside.”

Su Chen frowned deeply. No matter what, the outside world had to take action. The crux of the problem lay in how to send the message out.

His mind raced. This was a rare opportunity to seek the Moonlight Treasure Bone. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the grayish-black mist held by the Hanhai Emperor, and it felt faintly familiar.

The Prison King? He had almost forgotten about the man.

These guys weren’t willing to send a Moonlight Tier out, but sending Zhen Yu out shouldn’t be a big problem. As long as Zhen Yu got out, he could pass on a message. Once the message was passed, contact could be established. Once contact was established, they could confirm that what he said was true, and the Moonlight Treasure Bone would be his!

A sharp gleam gradually filled Su Chen’s eyes. No matter what, he had to talk to them. With that decided, he molded another phantom and had it slowly walk out.

In an instant, the gazes of several Ancient Kings fixed upon it simultaneously. This time, the Zhenwu Ancient King didn’t make a move.

The Profound Celestial Ancient King was the first to speak. He asked with a smile, “May I ask how to address you, friend?”

“My surname is Supreme Profound, and my given name is Hong.” The voice coming from the phantom was clear and resonant, sounding quite young.

Su Chen had decided not to play the role of the “unknown powerhouse” for the time being. These men were all at the Moonlight Tier. A poor performance would easily expose him and cause unnecessary complications. It was better to communicate with them through a different approach.

The Prison King emitted a mental fluctuation. “It doesn’t sound quite like the voice of that powerhouse from the Abyss Realm.”

They all fell into their own thoughts, wondering if this could be someone else.

Supreme Profound… Such a surname had never been heard of in the Dust Star Sea. Could he be from the Abyss Realm? These men were all crafty old foxes. Upon hearing this name, their faces showed neither confusion nor forced astonishment; they appeared entirely calm.

“And how should I address the few of you?” Su Chen asked deliberately.

“You may call me Yi Yun, young friend,” the Profound Celestial Ancient King said, lowering Su Chen’s seniority. He then introduced the others one by one, though it was impossible to tell whether the names were real or fake.

At the very least, the Bronze Ancient King’s name wasn’t real.

Su Chen cursed them inwardly for being so sneaky that they weren’t even willing to reveal their real names. Feigning admiration, he said, “Your Professional Tiers must not be low, considering you can survive freely in this Flame Space. May I ask how you managed to get in?”

“We are all at the Moonlight…” The Profound Celestial Ancient King paused deliberately. After seeing that the other party showed no signs of shock, he continued with a bitter smile, “We only wandered in here by a twist of fate.”

Hearing the phrase “a twist of fate,” Su Chen grew increasingly speechless. Not a single word of truth came out of these old geezers’ mouths.

After giving a couple of perfunctory replies, the Profound Celestial Ancient King asked him, “I noticed that the way you just entered this place was quite profound, young friend. To actually have the protection of the Spirit of Sun—it seems quite extraordinary.”

“Ah?” The phantom sounded surprised and hurriedly said, “I just used some old methods passed down in my family. I didn’t expect it to succeed on the first try either.”

The hearts of the others stirred slightly. A sharp glint flashed through the Profound Celestial Ancient King’s eyes. “Old methods passed down in your family? Did your family explore this place long ago?”

“Something like that,” Su Chen sighed. “This place is where an elder of my family, Supreme Profound Ye, perished.”

Supreme Profound Ye?

The Ancient Kings exchanged subtle glances, faintly startled. Was this person actually a descendant of a fallen Sun Tier?

“To think there is such a connection.” The Profound Celestial Ancient King pondered for a moment before saying with a chuckle, “Since that’s the case, why don’t you come out and pay your respects?”

“Go out?” The phantom before them fell silent. After a long while, its voice rang out again. “Do you take me for a fool? If I step out, will my life still be in my own hands?”

“You’re joking, young friend,” the Profound Celestial Ancient King chuckled. He didn’t dwell on the topic, instead changing the subject. “You must have come for this Spirit of Sun as well, right? Staying inside that hall forever won’t earn you its acknowledgment.”

Since they had entered, they hadn’t seen any phenomena indicating someone had been acknowledged. Since this person claimed it was his first time here, he probably hadn’t earned its acknowledgment yet.

“Everyone…” The phantom sounded somewhat helpless. “How about this? We just stay out of each other’s way. How does that sound?”

“Stay out of each other’s way?” The Zhenwu Ancient King sneered. “Boy, let me ask you. Do you have a way to get us out of here? If you can pull that off, there will be benefits in it for you.”

“Get you out?” The phantom hesitated and shook its head. “This Flame Space is completely isolated from the outside. It took me considerable effort just to get in, let alone take you all out.

“However, I can go back and do some research. Perhaps I can find some methods.”

They couldn’t help but feel a mix of surprise and suspicion, wondering if this kid actually had a way.

The Zhenwu Ancient King, however, spoke in a gruff, overbearing tone. “Then hurry back and research it. Otherwise, you won’t be able to accomplish anything here.”

The phantom shook its head. “There’s no need to be so hasty, sir. Although I can’t get you out, there is a way for you to contact the outside world and report your safety.”

“Then we thank you, young friend,” the Profound Celestial Ancient King said sincerely.

Su Chen wore a look of disdain, scoffing inwardly at their attempt to get something for nothing. He stated, “Gentlemen, this method naturally isn’t free.”

The Ancient Kings didn’t find this surprising. “Let’s hear it. What are your conditions?”

“I hope that for the foreseeable future, this phantom of mine will be free to come and go in this place without any of you trying to stop it. Is that acceptable?”

“Naturally.” The Profound Celestial Ancient King clapped his hands and laughed. “Not only this phantom, but even if your true body comes out, you are free to come and go as you please. Rest assured, we have no designs on you.”

Knowing that only a fool would believe such words, Su Chen moved on to explain, “All that is needed is for someone on the outside to prepare a massive amount of Blood of the Deceitful God…”

“On the outside?” the Zhenwu Ancient King interrupted coldly. “Are you making fools out of us? What we need to do right now is contact the outside world, yet you’re telling me we first have to notify people on the outside to set up some ritual before they can contact us?

“If we could notify them, why would we need you?”

“Well…” The phantom paused, seemingly not having considered this point.

The crowd exchanged glances. Seeing that they couldn’t coax any more information out of him, the Profound Celestial Ancient King said, “No matter. We will figure out a way to notify the outside world. Regardless, thank you, young friend.”

Su Chen couldn’t help but marvel. They played good cop, bad cop so naturally. He wondered if they had planned it beforehand, or if their tacit understanding from years of fighting was enough to let them seamlessly slip into their respective roles.

After detailing the specific materials to be gathered and the ritual method, the group made way. They watched as the phantom walked straight past them and began to ascend the main staircase, seemingly intending to head for the highest floor.

The figures of the Ancient Kings fluttered. In the blink of an eye, they soared into the sky, gazing down at the phantom slowly climbing the steps below.