"Esteemed elders, please wait a moment. Where is Xuanqi's Emperor Soul?" Mu Qingqing suddenly asked.
The five Holy Lords and Gu Linyue were startled and immediately extended their soul power to cover the entire Xuankong Mountain Holy Land.
However, not a single one of them detected Xuanqi's Emperor Soul.
For Great Emperors, the physical body was merely an ordinary vessel. To truly kill a Great Emperor, their Emperor Soul had to be obliterated to ensure complete eradication.
Yet, Xuanqi's Emperor Soul had vanished into thin air, leaving everyone astonished.
Mu Qingqing, in particular, was surprised. She was maintaining her Heart Realm Vision, and within this miniature world, she could sense any unusual movement.
However, Xuanqi's Emperor Soul's disappearance was traceless. In fact, from the moment Xuanqi was executed by Ji Juekong, Mu Qingqing had not felt any lingering trace of his Emperor Soul.
Wan Guimang exclaimed in disbelief, "This is impossible! That demon Xuanqi is a Five-Star Great Emperor. His Emperor Soul's strength should be above ours. It's impossible for there to be no soul power traces left behind!"
"My Buried Sword Art could only destroy Xuanqi's physical body. His Emperor Soul should still exist," Ji Juekong also felt a sense of unease and stated.
Xuan Qingming added, "The formations and restrictions of the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land have not been lifted. It's impossible for that unfilial disciple's Emperor Soul to have escaped!"
Everyone's expressions grew increasingly solemn. If Xuanqi were to escape, it would lead to immeasurable disaster in the future.
They had to completely obliterate him.
Suddenly, Mu Qingqing seemed to recall something, feeling that this situation was very similar to when they defeated Xuanqi in the Nine Nether Realm previously.
She realized and said, "Could it be that Xuanqi's true body never came to the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land in the first place, and the Xuanqi we just killed was merely a clone of his main body!"
"A clone?!" Wan Guimang, Ji Juekong, and the others were greatly shocked.
After the shock, they fell silent.
If what they had just killed was only a clone, then how powerful would Xuanqi's true body be?
What was even more troublesome was that a clone of Xuanqi possessed the strength of a Five-Star Great Emperor, and it required the combined might of the five Holy Lords, Gu Linyue, and Mu Qingqing – seven Great Emperors – to eliminate just one clone.
If his true body were present, could they still defeat him?
Everyone suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.
After a long pause, Xuan Qingming said, "It seems we were all toyed with by that unfilial disciple. However, by destroying one of his clones, we have still severely wounded him. After all, to condense a clone, a wisp of soul power must be extracted from the Emperor Soul. Once the clone is destroyed, his Emperor Soul will inevitably suffer some backlash."
Although Xuan Qingming was correct, the other four Holy Lords did not feel any relief.
Simply severely wounding Xuanqi solved nothing.
Meanwhile, within the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land.
With the annihilation of Xuanqi's clone, the number of Nether God race members ceased to increase.
The disciples of the various Holy Lands also gained an opportunity to counterattack.
Under the leadership of the four heavenly prodigies, Changyang Gushuo, Li Jianxing, Duguyunmeng, and Lin Yexing, the Nether God race members that had appeared in the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land were almost entirely eradicated.
Mu Qingqing and the Holy Lords also returned to the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land.
Following the invasion of the Nether God race, all the buildings within Xuankong Mountain were left in ruins.
The main hall had even been reduced to a wasteland.
Upon returning to the surface, Mu Qingqing switched back to her main personality, Xin Ci, to avoid drawing attention.
Her two-star Great Emperor realm also dropped to a four-star Saint Emperor.
Wan Guimang, Ji Juekong, and the other five Great Emperors noticed Mu Qingqing's abnormality.
In truth, they had already been suspicious of the girl's identity when she joined forces with them to fight Xuanqi.
But for now, they needed to focus on rectifying the Xuankong Mountain Holy Land and its disciples after the great battle.
Xuan Yihan, whose body was still stained with some Nether God race blood, stepped forward and said to Xuan Qingming, "Master, the Nether God race within Xuankong Mountain Holy Land has been completely eliminated."
Xuan Qingming nodded slightly, then scanned Changyang Gushuo, Duguyunmeng, and the others, saying, "This invasion of the Nether God race into Xuankong Mountain was unexpected. Fortunately, we successfully defeated these demons. You, as disciples of the various Holy Lands, have performed admirably."
"Xuan Yihan, you will lead the Xuankong Mountain disciples who are still able to function to tend to the Holy Land disciples who were severely injured in this great battle."
"Yes, Master," Xuan Yihan replied respectfully.
Xuan Qingming then waved his hand at the other Holy Land disciples present and said, "Alright, you can all withdraw now. The other four Holy Lords and I have important matters to discuss."
Upon hearing Xuan Qingming's words, the remaining Holy Land disciples departed.
Xin Ci also did the same. Just as he was about to turn away,
Ji Honghao suddenly called out, "Mu Ci, you stay."
The other four Holy Lords and Gu Linyue remained silent, but they all stared at him with scrutinizing eyes.
Xin Ci knew that his secrets had been detected by these Holy Lords and could no longer be hidden.
After all, the instantaneous switch in personalities and the change in realm he had just displayed had already aroused their suspicion.
Xuan Qingming snapped his fingers, and the surrounding environment and scenery instantly transformed.
In the blink of an eye, they were teleported to the Immortal Martial Platform.
Following that, a dark grey, circular barrier suddenly materialized around the Immortal Martial Platform they were on, enveloping it like a semi-transparent shroud.
This barrier, arranged by Wan Guimang with his hands clasped, could isolate sound and, from the outside, only a hazy grey mass was visible.
The situation within could not be discerned.
Seeing that the five Holy Lords had brought him to the Immortal Martial Platform and had used a true essence barrier to isolate them from the outside, Xuan Qi could not help but frown and ask, "Esteemed seniors, what are you doing?"
The five Holy Lords and Gu Linyue did not answer his question.
Then, Wan Guimang spoke first, "Mu Ci is not your real name. Your true identity is likely Xin Ci, whom the Xin family has been trying to kill these past few years."
Facing Wan Guimang's interrogation, Xin Ci was not surprised.
After all, during the battle with Xuan Qi, that guy had repeatedly revealed his true name.
Since the five Holy Lords before him had already seen through his disguise, he no longer bothered to maintain the appearance of Mu Ci.
Following a flash of blue light, Xin Ci reverted to his true form in front of these six Great Emperor powerhouses.
Wan Guimang's eyes flickered with surprise as he watched the exceptionally beautiful woman before him suddenly transform into a stern, resolute man with sharp features.
This scene also caused some surprise among the other four Holy Lords.
This was because Xin Ci's disguise technique was so miraculous that even they couldn't see through it.
If it weren't for learning Xin Ci's true identity from Xuan Qi's words, they likely wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.
Xin Ci, having regained his true appearance, revealed a hint of vigilance in his eyes. He looked at the Holy Lords before him and tentatively said, "Esteemed seniors, this junior is indeed the Xin Ci being pursued by the Xin family. My joining the Holy Land was merely to protect myself, and I harbor no ill intentions."