Chapter 664: Clashing Forces

Realizing her unintentional oversight, Happy should have left immediately. But thinking that the mission had already lasted so long, leaving now would be of no use—the difficulty of the task had increased, and she didn’t want to risk missing the time when the Heavenly Crystal would be unearthed…
Gritting her teeth, Happy decided to stay in the Sword Forging Hall.
Some time passed.
Suddenly, Happy sensed that the temperature in the core area of the Sword Forging Hall had risen significantly!
“It’s so hot!”
“We can’t hold on anymore; someone else should take over.”
Inside the hall, many disciples and blacksmiths who were transporting carbon materials near the core area were drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, moving more slowly, and far less smoothly than before.
“Look over there! What’s going on?”
A few blacksmiths who had just gotten up from their posts suddenly noticed that at the entrance to the underground sword-forging chamber, the clothes of a group of experts at the Wuwei realm were on fire. Amidst cries of alarm, everyone rushed to put out the flames while retreating quickly away from the entrance.
At the same time, a nearly blinding red glow rose from the secret chamber in the underground sword-forging chamber!
The astonishing heat spread rapidly…
Disciples from the Northern Clans, who knew well about flames, immediately recognized the danger. Such intense heat and light could instantly kill any expert at the Wuwei realm, without exception!
“All disciples from the Northern Clans, heed my order—leave the Sword Forging Hall immediately!!”
Urgent shouts came from above the hall, and the stern commands drowned out the continuous clanging sounds inside, reaching everyone’s ears.
“Elder…”
“Go!” The disciples around her trembled, noticing the anomalies in the core area. Without hesitation, they dropped what they were holding and fled outward.
Amid the chaos, Happy also put down the wooden barrel in her hands. As she retreated slowly, she watched excitedly as the red light expanded rapidly in the distance!
Although others couldn’t feel it, she could clearly hear, as a door in the secret chamber shattered, a rhythmic, heavy breathing sound coming from that direction…
Inhale! Exhale! Continuously…
The flames seemed to be sucked in and out by some force, causing the temperature in the Sword Forging Hall to rise rapidly.
But Happy knew the reason—and many others did too:
A divine weapon… the Heavenly Crystal… was about to be unearthed!!
The scorching waves of fire approached at a visible speed…
Countless blacksmiths and disciples passed by Happy.

But Happy still calmly scanned the surroundings—the current high temperature wasn’t enough to harm him. Yet he was even more curious about how those skilled masters from the northern clans, who were repairing the Sky Crystal in this underground chamber, managed to stay there without retreating an inch, even in the core area.
Could it be!
Among the northern clans, there were actually warriors at the Mythical realm!!!
Happy gasped in shock.
If there were Mythical realm experts here, the chances of seizing the Sky Crystal would be minimal.
“Wan Jian.”
Happy finally spotted Wan Jian. He was in the very core area and among the last to exit. Most of his outer robes had been burned away, but his eyes still brimmed with fierce determination.
“The Sky Crystal is about to be unearthed,” Wan Jian murmured.
“I know, but things seem different. With such high temperatures, unless it’s a Mythical realm expert… Damn it, the Sword Sect’s sect master, the leaders of the northern clans, and that old fox from the Nan Gong family have arrived!” As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and blurted out those words.
“What!”
Happy turned to look and just in time saw a middle-aged man in pristine white robes, elegant in appearance, carrying an ancient long sword in a shark-skin scabbard. He walked in smiling at a grizzled old man.
To Happy’s surprise…
There seemed to be an invisible barrier around the two of them, blocking all the heat waves. They floated effortlessly above the heads of the fleeing disciples of the Sword Forging Hall, as if not touching the ground at all.
“Old Nan Gong, it seems you still can’t bear to part with this peerless divine weapon. But you seem to have forgotten—back then, even the great founder of the Nan Gong family, despite his brilliance, met his end, and the family declined to its lowest point. Don’t repeat that mistake…”
The middle-aged man spoke in a gentle tone, yet an invisible aura of authority spread throughout the area, seemingly lowering the temperature around them.
Old Nan Gong snorted coldly:
“You needn’t worry about that, Sword Sect’s sect master. I’m already nearly seventy, and I’ve lived long enough. Seeing the family’s treasure is a long-cherished wish of mine. But don’t you fear that the Sword Sect will be destroyed by the martial world?”
The two clashed fiercely, ignoring the two people behind them…
“Hahahahah…”
The Sword Sect’s sect master’s laughter rang out like thunder in the Sword Forging Hall: “One hundred thousand Sword Sect disciples! Ready to act at any moment!!” It was like a sudden thunderclap, deafening! An overwhelming sense of arrogance!
The grizzled Old Nan Gong also snorted in defiance:

“One hundred thousand Sword Sect disciples—does our Nan Gong family lack people?! Since the Sword Sect has decided to return the Sky Crystal this time, our Nan Gong family will take it. If you want to back out… Hmph!!!”
The angry snort of the mythic realm expert struck Happy like a thunderbolt to the chest.
The Nine Yang Divine Skill automatically activated, protecting his heart.
Wan Jian and many other Sword Forging Hall disciples froze in place, nearly injured by the shock.
Seeing this, Happy cursed inwardly:
This old Nan Gong might not be as arrogant as the Sword Sect master, but his heart isn’t any kinder—he’s just as ruthless…
“Have you two finished arguing? The Sky Crystal still needs one final step to be completed, yet you’ve already started arguing nonstop. Do you plan to fight inside my Heaven-Shaking Fortress too?”
At that moment, a even more domineering and forceful voice interjected, filled with undisguised anger and reproach: “If that’s the case, Heaven-Shaking Fortress won’t welcome you two! As for this Sky Crystal, I don’t mind restoring it to its original state and letting you take it back. The Northern Clansmen won’t charge a single penny!”
“Hahaha…”
The Sword Sect master stopped outside the entrance and laughed loudly at the sky: “Heaven-Shaking Fortress is the greatest fortress under heaven. Who dares to be rude inside it? Brother Northern, you’re joking. I was just teasing that old Nan Gong. I didn’t expect him to still be so hot-tempered at his age. Brother Northern, you needn’t pay attention to us—just focus on forging swords… We won’t bother you anymore!”
The old Nan Gong was mocked and insulted by the Sword Sect master, but remembering that this was the entrance to the underground sword forging secret chamber, he had to suppress his fury:
“Hmph!”
The voice of the Northern Clansman appeared briefly, and the temperature around dropped rapidly.
Happy, Wan Jian, and the others retreated outside the Sword Forging Hall in shock.
Joking!
With three mythic realm experts in the Sword Forging Hall, even if Happy had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn’t dare stand inside foolishly…