In the next instant, an invisible ripple spread out, passing through their bodies. The crimson flames transformed into a massive crane head, which swallowed all of them whole.

From the moment they appeared and started their interrogation, they were rendered immobile. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the crane head's belly.

Although his strength was suppressed by the Power of Rules of the Outer Continent, dealing with a few Corpse Transformations—not true Zombie Gods—was still a piece of cake.

After the men disappeared, Elder Life Crane took a step forward and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Not far away, Zhou Quan was completely dumbfounded.

This was the first time he had truly seen Elder Life Crane in action, and it was completely beyond his imagination.

If Yang An's strength was shocking, then Elder Life Crane's power was enough to drive him to despair.

Wen Yin remained silent, clearly aware of Elder Life Crane's power and thus unsurprised by the display.

Yang An, on the other hand, was inwardly delighted.

'The old geezer really is being suppressed! And it's probably by a significant amount!'

'He clearly could have sent Wen Yin and me to probe the Jade Flesh Sect. So why did the old geezer take the initiative himself?'

'If I'm not mistaken, he's doing this to flaunt his power and make an example of them to warn us!'

'Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to get involved personally.'

'But to think he had to use the Power of Rules from a Forbidden Artifact Fragment just to instantly kill a few Corpse Transformations.'

'Even the flames of his Lighting Technique weren't as ferocious as they were back on the Outer Continent. I can see all these details perfectly.'

'I originally thought that with so many Forbidden Artifact Fragments, the suppression from the Power of Rules wouldn't be too severe. At most, I figured it would halve his strength.'

'But from what I'm seeing, it's far more than half. This has completely exceeded my expectations, and I can't help but feel a thrill of excitement. The thought in my mind is becoming irrepressible.'

'Maybe... I can actually give it a try!'

And with that, Elder Life Crane disappeared into the Mountain Gate of the Jade Flesh Sect.

The next moment, cries of alarm and agony erupted from within the sect. Amid the chaotic shouts, a crimson blaze roared, surging toward the heavens.

A spectral image of a crane head shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, a meteor shower of fireballs rained down, streaking directly toward the Jade Flesh Sect.

As the countless fireballs descended, the very earth between the mountains trembled. All the surrounding wildlife scattered, fleeing in a panic.

'The old geezer is clearly using a wide-area, lethal Technique, with no intention of leaving survivors. He's utterly ruthless.'

As an observer, Yang An watched the horrific scene unfolding within the Jade Flesh Sect, his expression thoughtful.

Just then, a strange, jade-like body suddenly materialized amidst the mountains.

The body, as tall as a foothill, began frantically unleashing attacks within the Jade Flesh Sect.

This was clearly not the work of Elder Life Crane, as the figure lacked his aura.

It appeared to be a top-tier Great Power from within the Jade Flesh Sect. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

But the appearance of this figure did nothing to change the tide of battle. The auras of numerous Cultivators within the Jade Flesh Sect were rapidly vanishing, with no hope of escape.

Eventually, the auras of all the Cultivators vanished completely. Aside from that towering figure, no other Cultivator remained within the Jade Flesh Sect.

From the moment Elder Life Crane entered the Jade Flesh Sect to this point, only a little more than ten breaths had passed.

A milky-white jade barrier suddenly enveloped the entire Jade Flesh Sect, sealing it off completely.

From the outside, Yang An and the others could only see the tall figure rampaging wildly. However, because of the milky-white jade barrier, they could only make out blurry movements, unable to discern what was truly happening inside.

Before long, a tide of crimson light surged up, engulfing everything within the barrier.

Countless spiderweb-like cracks began to spread across the barrier's surface.

With a thunderous BOOM, the barrier shattered. A torrent of firelight swept out in all directions, only to retract just as quickly, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Come in, all of you!"

Two breaths later, Elder Life Crane's voice drifted out from within the Jade Flesh Sect.

The former raging gales had subsided into a gentle breeze, but it carried the thick, acrid smell of scorching and roasted flesh.

There was likely little left of the Jade Flesh Sect's once-beautiful scenery.

Upon hearing Elder Life Crane's words, both Wen Yin and Zhou Quan instinctively turned to look at Yang An.

"What are you looking at me for? Get inside!"

Yang An snapped, his brow furrowed.

'I can see a hint of worry on Wen Yin's face. She might have guessed something, which is to be expected.'

'But Zhou Quan is just purely looking to me as the leader. That's blatant insubordination.'

'I never tried to manipulate him on our journey here. Did he somehow manage to win himself over on my behalf?'

'The old geezer is right here. Listening to me instead of him is a classic case of the guest upstaging the host.'

'I have no intention of sticking my neck out.'

The three of them quickly headed into the Jade Flesh Sect.

Upon entering the Jade Flesh Sect, they saw that the entire Mountain Gate area was riddled with craters. Bodies lay strewn about in every direction, wisps of black smoke still rising from them.

Hardly any of the buildings within the Jade Flesh Sect remained intact; its once picturesque scenery was completely gone.

'This old geezer is truly vicious!'

'Even I have to admit, I'm impressed. If it were me, I doubt I could have done such a clean job.'

"My two junior disciples, go and clean up our new Mountain Gate. Eldest Disciple, come see me!"

He Tou's voice rang out, faintly tinged with exhaustion.

Yang An wondered if he had heard correctly.

After Wen Yin and Zhou Quan dutifully went to clean up the battlefield, Yang An hesitated for a moment before walking toward the source of the voice.

It was the only undamaged building left in the Jade Flesh Sect: a small, three-story pavilion.

Warily, Yang An stepped over the threshold and went inside.

For some reason, he sensed a hint of danger in the air.

As he walked into the pavilion, he saw a figure standing ramrod straight in the central hall, an inscrutable look in his eyes.

Elder Life Crane was watching him, but something seemed wrong with He Tou, who was beside him.

Normally, where it connected to Elder Life Crane's body, it looked perfectly seamless, as if they were a single entity.

But now, veins and tendons bulged from beneath its neck, like tree roots burrowing deep into Elder Life Crane's body.

He Tou appeared listless, bereft of its usual vitality. Its eyes, however, were filled with a suppressed madness, and a faint white mist emanated from its head.

Yang An took all of this in, his expression unchanging. He stopped about ten feet from Elder Life Crane and bowed.

"Master!"

"For the time being, I'm entrusting you with rebuilding the Life Crane Sect on this site.

In a few days, three new disciples will arrive. They are all promising candidates I've found recently. Someone needs to handle their initiation, so I'm putting you in charge of that as well."

Elder Life Crane said slowly, his expression as normal as ever. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Yes!"

'I didn't expect the old geezer to have already found new disciples. That's quite a surprise.'

A curious thought suddenly popped into Yang An's head. 'So, could I take this opportunity to kill them all?'

"It's not easy to become a disciple of the Life Crane Sect," Elder Life Crane said suddenly. "No matter how many show up, you only need to keep the best two."

"Master, you mean...?"

Yang An's eyes narrowed slightly. 'The old geezer is at it again!'

"How you test them is up to you,"

Elder Life Crane said indifferently.

"Yes!"

Yang An nodded.

'Since the old geezer himself said so, what reason is there not to?'

"You are dismissed."

Elder Life Crane waved his hand dismissively. He Tou, however, seemed to be growing more and more agitated, the white mist emanating from its head growing thicker.

Given its usual temperament, it would have surely offered a few sarcastic remarks by now, but it remained completely silent, as if suppressing something.

Yang An nodded and began to back away slowly, giving the appearance of an obedient disciple about to take his leave.

But after a few steps, he stopped. His gaze shot directly to Elder Life Crane, and a peculiar smile touched his lips.

"And what about you, Master? If I'm doing all of that, what will you be doing?"

"Will you be recuperating, Master?"

"That last battle must have cost you dearly, didn't it, Master?"