Chapter 512: Their Own Trap, Who Is He
Twenty years ago, the Family of Protectors of Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains was ambushed by an unknown force. Their territory was turned into a desolate land in just one night and everything that stood was obliterated. The inextinguishable fires were still burning till this day.
Back then, the incident startled the entire Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. Alas, the clans went to investigate the cause, only to no avail. Eventually, the incident became an unsolved case as no one knew whether there was any survivor from the Family of Protectors.
It was not until Gu Changge mentioned it that Yan Ming realised what was happening. Subconsciously, his body trembled and he was agitated when he remembered the Bone Ancestor's reverence towards Gu Changge.
[Was the Bone Clan perhaps the ones that attacked the Family of Protectors?] Yan Ming knew he should stop thinking about the matter any further. Although the Bone Clan comprised only a few people, the fact that they were able to conquer a whole Great Domain was a clear indication of how powerful the clan was. It would only take one formidable cultivator from the Bone Clan to effortlessly obliterate the entire Crimson South City.
"It appears she isn't the sole survivor of the Family of Protectors." Gu Changge gently shook his head as his dense, overwhelming divine sense flew out from his conscience and instantaneously engulfed the entire Crimson South City.
The only reason he didn't act so flamboyantly earlier was because he might startle some other members of the Family of Protectors hiding in the dark, which would cause them to flee. Now that Luo Ying's identity was exposed, the other members hiding in the dark would definitely emit some sort of disturbance in their auras, which Gu Changge would be able to detect.
In that instant, every living being in Crimson South City felt their souls trembling in fear, as though they were being watched by heaven, and their secrets were being spilled. Nevertheless, the aura persisted only for a short while before disappearing, yet they remained frightened as their backs were drenched in cold sweat.
"Let's go." Gu Changge withdrew his divine sense after detecting nothing else of interest.
"Yes, Young Master Gu," the Bone Ancestor deferentially replied.
With that, before the fearful eyes of the crowd in the grand hall, the Bone Ancestor swung his hand forward and an alarming aura surged as he dragged Luo Ying over while taking Luo Feng away.
Even if Luo Ying were to attempt to shake him off, given her current strength, she was nothing but an ant compared to the Bone Ancestor.
Sadly, the crowd was so terrified that their souls were about to fall apart, so there was no way they would dare to stop him. All they could do was watch the golden fog emerging below Gu Changge and the rest's feet before forming a path, which shattered the barriers of space as the group departed.
Nonetheless, the traumatising atmosphere continued to haunt the crowd as no one dared to raise their head and take a look at the sky.
The faces of the Luo Clan members were extremely pale as many of them collapsed to the ground. No one could have foreseen the wedding banquet to turn out this way.
"Anyone that dares to speak of what happened today shall taste the wrath of the Swallow Clan." At that moment, Yan Ming, who was also soaked in cold sweat, waited until Gu Changge leave before coldly gazing at the crowd and threatened.
Fortunately, he was the only one who knew of the Bone Ancestor's identity. Otherwise, he would be overwhelmed from worrying that Gu Changge might pin the blame of the Bone Ancestor's identity being exposed on him.
"O—Of course not!" Hearing that, the crowd in the grand hall hastily shook their heads, not daring to add any unnecessary remark.
Yan Ming's gaze mainly swept across those of the Luo Clan. He believes that Gu Changge refrained from annihilating the Luo Clan because they were nothing but insignificant bugs to him. However, he dared not to act rashly, worried that Gu Changge might have another motive.
Indubitably, as Yan Ming figured, Gu Changge chose not to exterminate the Luo Clan with a reason.
Essentially, he was still uncertain whether there were other remnants of the Family of Protectors. As long as the Luo Clan continued to live, the other remnants of the Family of Protectors would surely get to know that Ying Luo was in his grasp through the members of the Luo Clan.
Other than that, apart from Luo Ying, there was another member of the Family of Protectors that he knew of. It was Xiao Yang, the Fortuitous One, who was currently searching for the Supreme Mountain Elder along with Gu Wudi.
The Supreme Mountain Elder would definitely bring Xiao Yang to his family. As such, whatever remains of Nine Great Mountains were walking right into their own trap.
Now that the Second Mountain Elder of Nine Great Mountains and Xiao Yang's family were in Gu Changge's hands, if Xiao Yang intended to rescue them, he would certainly ally with anyone he could reach. Naturally, Gu Changge could use that as bait and wipe out his prey all over the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Not long after Gu Changge, the Bone Ancestor, and the rest departed from Crimson South City, disturbances suddenly erupted in the sky. As the sky became hazy, the Supreme Mountain Elder, Xiao Yang, and Gu Wudi walked out from the void.
"It appears we were too late." The Supreme Mountain Elder's swaying robe accentuated his extraordinary, though his eyes remained pitch black. As he gazed downward at Crimson South City, he shook his head and spoke. Although he was blind, his daunting strength allowed him to easily detect the lingering aura in the region.
On their way, he used Xiao Yang's Blood Essence to deduce and located his family. They never stopped on their hasty way, worried that an accident might occur, but alas, they arrived at the sky of Crimson South City only to find themselves late.
"We're too late?" Xiao Yang's face subtly changed as his mind rang. He was somewhat dismayed.
[We hurried over right after we found Supreme Mountain Elder, yet we are still too late? Did I miss out on my family just like that...] He clenched his fists in restlessness.
The Supreme Elder gently shook his head. With that, he cast his vast divine sense downwards. Given his cultivation level, he could easily sense which region contained unusual living beings.
Without breaking a sweat, the three of them found the Luo Clan Residence. There, the Supreme Elder detected an aura which caused the World Principles to be repressed. Evidently, the opponent hadn't left for long.
"The opponent was formidable. Perhaps they were very close to that cultivation realm..." The Supreme Mountain claimed as he shook his head. He could feel a relentlessness amid the lingering aura in the region.
"What in the world happened here..."
Xiao Yang's face blanched. Soon, he went to a member of the Luo Clan and heard about the incident that took place earlier, and after hearing about it, he was thoroughly stunned.
"Gu Changge... It's Gu Changge again! The one he captured might have been my sister... Damn it all!" Immense exasperation surged in Xiao Yang's eyes. His body trembled in rage as he remembered the scene wherein his Eldest Senior Sister was slaughtered by Gu Changge in Nine Great Mountains. He never expected that Gu Changge would arrive at the city before he could and captured his sister.
"The answer has revealed itself. The people who slaughtered my family must have been related to Gu Changge!"
When the member of the Luo Clan mentioned the cold woman in black dress and the old man in grey robe, Xiao Yang grew even gloomier, clenching his fists so tightly that his fingers cracked.
"That symbol... Oh, old friend of mine, how could I have miscalculated... But who is this Gu Changge..." The Supreme Mountain Elder wasn't really bothered by Xiao Yang's resentment, but after hearing about Luo Feng, he furrowed his brow as his heart slightly shook, given how things had gotten out of control.
In the past, they had participated in the Heavenly Dao Authority War. The Ancestor of Wind was the strongest among them all, but the attacks he faced were also the greatest, which almost killed him.
Nevertheless, he was aware that the Ancestor of Wind cultivated using the Tree of Epoch and forged the Symbol of Epoch, so the latter might be able to reincarnate with a Secret Technique.
Luo Feng, the Young Master of the Luo Clan, was the very reincarnation of the Ancestor of Wind.
The Supreme Mountain Elder was here to meet with his old friend to discuss Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains' affairs, but even the Ancestor of Wind himself was captured. As such, he felt somewhat pressured by the matter.
[It seems this Gu Changge knows about the Ancestor of Wind's identity, or he wouldn't have captured him otherwise.]
"Supreme Mountain Elder, what should we do now?" Having calmed down, Xiao Yang consulted the Supreme Mountain Elder. He was clueless about Luo Feng, though.
At this moment, what worried him the most was the safety of his sister. Given Gu Changge's ruthlessness, her sister was now in a dangerous spot.
"Judging by the circumstances, we can only look for the four clans. They were once the formidable generals of the Ancestor of Wind. By uniting the four clans, we may stand a chance against them." Hearing what Xiao Yang said, the Supreme Mountain Elder heaved a sigh as he replied. Although he didn't want to get himself involved in the matter, having been attempting to return back to that realm all these years, he was left with no choice.
He was now no longer able to bear the powers surpassing the Immortal Realm. Despite the fact that he had long surpassed the Immortal Realm back at his peak. Nevertheless, his experience and knowledge was of no help. In this matter, his only solution was the Ancestor of Wind.
After all, it was the Ancestor of Wind who stole Fortuity from the Upper Realm and had integrated himself with the Tree of Epoch. Therefore, what the Supreme Elder needed to do now was come up with a way to rescue the Ancestor of Wind.
Otherwise, he would remain miserable for the rest of his life as he was trapped in his current cultivation Realm without a chance to improve and return to his peak state.
"The four clans? Supreme Mountain Elder, are you perhaps referring to the Four Powerful War God Clans?" Xiao Yang was dazed for a moment before asking without hesitation. If he recalled correctly, before the Upper Realm Army broke through Sky Deer City's defences, the True Daoists from the Four Great Clans were defeated in front of Sky Deer City right in front of countless. Such humiliation embarrassed him, leading him to lose his respect for the Four Great Clans. Thus, he sounded rather opposed to the idea.
The Supreme Mountain Elder then blandly replied, "Other than those four, do you think any other clan in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains would be willing to help you?"
He was aware of Xiao Yang's feelings towards the Four Great Clans, but pride and ego was nothing compared to life itself.
"But will the Four Clans be willing to help us?" Xiao Yang was somewhat irritated by the mockery in the Supreme Mountain Elder's words, but at that moment, he didn't show it on his face.
"They will," the Supreme Mountain Elder blandly answered.
Followingly, as he raised his hand, the air became hazy once again. They soon transformed into divine rainbows and departed from Crimson South City. As for the pleas of the Luo Clan members, he saw no value in it.
Since the Ancestor of Wind could bring himself to pass on the task of taking care of the Tree of Epoch to the Four Great Clans, he must have readied some sort of backup.
The Supreme Mountain Elder was certain of that. Back then, he, the Ancestor of Wind, the Prime Ancestor of the Family of Protectors, and the Founder of Sky Deer City were the closest of friends, and they knew each other very well.
The Prime Ancestors of the Four Great Clans must have swore a blood oath to the Ancestor of Wind, so there was no way they would disregard the Ancestor of Wind's situation.