As Riven was thinking about the situation, a sudden commotion arose near the entrance of the inn. Turning his head slightly, he saw a group of cultivators wearing red robes entering the building. The moment they stepped inside, the entire hall became noisy as whispers spread among the guests
"Why are the people from the Flaming Pill Sect here?"
"I think they also heard about the treasure."
"Of course they did. That's why they've come all the way from their sect."
Hearing about the Flaming Pill Sect, Riven carefully scrutinized them and saw a particular red flame symbol on the left side of their chest.
Seeing that symbol reminded him of something. The robe he had been wearing earlier also had a symbol on the chest, a white swirling cloud. At that moment he realized something he had overlooked earlier.
The body he had taken belonged to a sect disciple, and when he had awakened near the mining area, he had left without carefully examining the surroundings. Later, when he recreated his robe, he had not bothered to restore the emblem either.
Before anyone could continue discussing the Flaming Pill Sect, another group entered the inn. These cultivators wore blue robes with white swirling cloud patterns embroidered on the chest. Riven's eyes narrowed slightly.
Riven was surprised seeing this, and just as he was thinking about the previous sect, the same people from the sect entered. Then he thought that the sect must be nearby.
From the discussion he came to know that the new cultivators who just entered were from Drifting Mist Pavilion.
Now, thinking about it, he felt good about the decision to go to Drifting Mist City as there he could look up the identity of the person he took over.
Meanwhile, the cultivators from Drifting Mist Pavilion noticed the Flaming Pill Sect disciples.
One of them spoke with a teasing tone.
"How is the air outside the mountains, fellow cultivators of the Flaming Pill Sect?"
The man standing at the front of the Flaming Pill group smiled faintly.
"It's far better than breathing in endless mountain mist."
The Drifting Mist disciple laughed.
"Fair enough."
The two groups exchanged playful remarks, but everyone could sense the subtle rivalry between them.
At that moment, another figure entered the inn. This man wore a deep crimson robe, darker and more refined than the others. He looked at both groups and spoke calmly.
"Quiet."
His voice was not loud, but it carried authority.
He walked toward a nearby table.
The people sitting there immediately stood up and moved away, giving him space.
The moment the man appeared, both sect groups fell silent.
The Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples stared at him in shock.
"An Inner Sect disciple of the Flaming Pill Sect …"
The outer disciples of the Flaming Pill Sect immediately followed him respectfully.
Once they settled down, the Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples looked around.
Suddenly one of them noticed something. A man sitting nearby wearing a purple robe with blue stripes.
His eyes widened.
He nudged the others and gestured toward Riven.
The moment they saw him, their expressions changed drastically. They hurried over and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
Riven looked at them calmly and nodded. The people sitting nearby were stunned. Only then did they notice that Riven's robe carried the same color pattern as the Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples.
Realizing they had been sitting casually beside a sect cultivator, they immediately stood up.
"Forgive us, esteemed cultivator!"
They bowed hurriedly before leaving the table. The Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples then asked carefully,
"Senior Brother, were you also sent to verify the news about the treasure?"
Riven immediately understood the situation. Ordinary people believed a treasure had definitely appeared, but the sects were more cautious.
Riven shook his head and said, "No, I'm returning to the sect."
Hearing this, others just nodded. "Senior Brother must be returning from a mission."
They knew the news might be false, yet they still sent disciples to confirm the situation.
Riven shook his head.
"No. I'm returning to the sect."
The disciples nodded.
"Senior Brother must be returning from a mission."
Riven remained silent for a moment before speaking calmly.
"You should return as well. No treasure has appeared near Veil City. The news is false."
The disciples were startled.
"Senior Brother?"
Riven continued, "I just came from Veil City. Nothing appeared there."
The disciples exchanged worried glances. Before they could respond, a figure appeared behind them. It was the crimson-robed inner disciple of the Flaming Pill Sect.
He looked directly at Riven. His voice carried clear authority.
"How can you be so certain there is no treasure there?"
"Or perhaps you simply failed to find it."
The entire inn fell silent. Everyone turned to look at them.
The Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples stiffened. The Flaming Pill Sect inner disciple was clearly challenging Riven.
Riven ignored him.
Instead, he turned toward the waiter who had just arrived with a tray of food. The poor waiter had frozen in place.
"Put it down and leave," Riven said calmly.
The waiter hurriedly obeyed.
Riven had ordered food earlier, and seeing his elegant appearance, the inn manager had instructed the staff to serve him quickly.
The inner sect disciple narrowed his eyes.
"I will ask you again."
"How do you know there is no treasure in Veil City?"
As he finished speaking, the temperature inside the inn began to rise rapidly.
A wave of heat spread through the room. The faces of the guests turned red from the sudden pressure.
Everyone understood what was happening. A clash between sect disciples was about to occur.
Riven calmly watched the steam rising from the hot dishes on the table.
"I'm not stopping you," he said lightly.
"You may go and check for yourself."
The answer clearly displeased the Flaming Pill disciple, and the heat in the room intensified.
Some people began sweating heavily.
Riven calmly leaned forward and blew gently across the steaming food.
The moment his breath passed through the air, the suffocating heat vanished.
Just like that, the entire room returned to normal. Everyone's expressions changed.
With a single breath, the terrifying pressure had been erased. Only then did they realize how terrifying sect cultivators truly were.
But no one was more shocked than the inner sect disciple himself.
He had used nearly twenty-five percent of his qi to create that oppressive heat. Yet Riven had dispersed it effortlessly, and that without releasing any qi of his own.
Riven calmly began eating his meal, and others could only stare.
The Flaming Pill disciple's expression turned ugly, but after a moment he simply returned to his seat silently.
Behind Riven, the Drifting Mist Pavilion disciples were completely speechless. They had expected a fierce clash.
From the looks of it, they both looked like inner sect disciples of their respective sects, but the difference in their power was staggering.
Instead, the confrontation had ended instantly.
Riven continued eating calmly.
After a while, he suddenly looked back.
"Are you going to stand there all night?"
The disciples quickly snapped out of their daze and sat down nearby. Riven nodded slightly.
"You may eat."
They had been silently watching him eat, practically swallowing their own saliva. With his permission, they quickly began eating as well.
Meanwhile, the Flaming Pill disciples sat quietly at their own table.
Most of the inn's guests had already fled earlier, afraid of getting caught in the conflict.
Only a few curious people remained.
After finishing his meal, Riven stood up. An outer disciple hurriedly asked,
"Senior Brother, are you returning to the sect tonight?"
Riven shook his head.
"No. I will rest here tonight and leave tomorrow."
The disciple asked carefully,
"May we accompany Senior Brother back to the sect?"
Riven answered casually while walking away.
"You can."
After paying for the meal, Riven left the inn. The remaining disciples immediately began whispering excitedly.
"Did you see how powerful Senior Brother was?"
"What realm do you think he's in? Qi Condensation? Core Formation?"
"Definitely Core Formation."
"The Flaming Pill inner disciple was probably Qi Condensation. Senior Brother crushed him easily."
"People like that rarely appear before us in the sect."
"We can't even have such interaction with such a powerful person in the sect. What good luck to have seen such a person."
The female disciples were also whispering quietly. The mysterious and powerful senior brother had left quite an impression on them.
Many of them secretly hoped they would get a chance to speak with him during the journey tomorrow.