Chapter 196: Gu Yuan in Dire Straits!
Gu Yuan's resolution very quickly spread to the entire upper echelon of the Gu clan. For a time, the atmosphere of the entire Gu Realm grew tense and urgent. Quite a number of experts began to be dispatched to the Central Plains to closely, tightly monitor the Hun clan's every single move.
And after the Gu clan members had departed, Gu Yuan gazed deep into the distance with profound, unfathomable eyes. Within his mind surfaced everything he had seen within the Shi clan's space.
In the sky above the Shi Realm, two giant palms collided with ferocious, violent force. A storm of annihilation instantly swept forth and spread. The already fluctuating, unstable sky of the Shi Realm split open into a great, gaping rift. The unnatural phenomenon even transmitted to the Central Plains, causing countless powers to cast their gazes over in rapid succession.
"Hun Tiandi—in acting like this, do you intend to instigate and provoke war?!" Amidst the collision of the two giant hands, the spiritual radiance upon Gu Yuan's form had dimmed considerably. A fierce, furious shout, faintly tinged with surging rage, also rang out in the sky.
"Heh heh... Gu Yuan—you already said these words long ago, back when the Xiao clan was annihilated by my Hun clan. You've been saying them for over a thousand years now. And you're still spouting the same old lines."
"Gu Yuan—you are still far too indecisive and irresolute. Now, for you to act so righteous and indignant—it's far too fake. And far, far too late."
Hun Tiandi's light, airy laugh also rang out in response. And just as his voice fell, an enormous spatial rift split open in the sky. Overwhelming, sky-filling black mist howled and churned within it. Aura after aura of exceptionally formidable, powerful, sinisterly cold aura spread forth from within that rift.
"The Hun clan army—!"
Sensing the number of enormous, colossal auras within that rift, Gu Yuan's expression changed.
A rift appeared in the sky above the Shi Realm. Black mist surged forth violently from within like a raging flood, finally swiftly transforming into a colossal black seal, a full several tens of thousands of zhang wide. The black seal hovered and floated in the sky.
"Seal of Annihilation!"
Hun Tiandi stared at Gu Yuan. A strange, eerie smile surfaced on his face. With a flick of his sleeve, that pitch-black great seal pressed down toward Gu Yuan.
"This matter is far from over!"
Feeling the terrifying, dreadful danger and peril radiating from the great seal, as well as Hun Tiandi and the Nihility Devouring Flame staring at him like tigers watching their prey, Gu Yuan's expression was somewhat dark and overcast. With a fierce, sudden palm strike blasted toward the crowd, his figure swiftly tore open a spatial rift and departed.
"Gu Yuan—I told you long ago. The moment the Xiao clan fell—the Gu clan lost its best and greatest opportunity to contend and resist against the Hun clan. We shall meet again very, very soon. The Ancient Emperor Tuo She's mansion and dwelling shall, in the end, fall into my Hun clan's hands. Gu Yuan—I will enter that level and realm... believe me..."
Watching Gu Yuan flee and depart in such a wretched, miserable state, Hun Tiandi called out toward that void rift with a faint, slight smile on his face.
Replaying within his mind everything he had seen and heard within the Shi Realm, Gu Yuan's expression was dark and grim to a terrifying, dreadful degree. With a cold snort, his figure gradually vanished into the great hall.
At this moment, the Lei clan and the Yao clan, having received the Gu clan's message, were instantly thrown into a wave of panic and terror. They had never imagined that in just a few short years, they would receive such horrifying, terrifying news.
Without anyone noticing or realizing, of the eight great imperial clans, following the Xiao clan—the Hun clan had actually, silently and soundlessly, annihilated and wiped out the Ling, Shi, and Yan clans in succession. Among them, the annihilation of the Yan clan brought both of them endless, boundless shock and upheaval.
The Yan clan was a superpower second only to the Gu clan and the Hun clan! Its strength was formidable and powerful. Even if the Gu clan were to go all out with full force, they could not destroy and annihilate them in a short period of time—let alone doing it so covertly and concealed.
They simply had not sensed any abnormality whatsoever. The unknown was the most terrifying and dreadful thing of all. Just what kind of power was the Hun clan hiding and concealing? This truly left Yao Dan and Lei Ying restless and unable to sit or sleep in peace.
That very day, after temporarily constructing spatial passageways within the three clans to guard against the Hun clan seizing the opportunity to strike, Yao Dan and Lei Ying rushed over to the Gu clan in a frantic, fiery hurry, prepared to discuss and plan this grave, monumental matter together.
At this moment, within the Gu Realm, the upper echelons of the three clans were gathered together in one place. Dou Sheng experts could be seen everywhere. A terrifying, dreadful, oppressive aura pervaded and filled the great hall of the Gu clan.
"Gu Yuan—you say the Hun clan annihilated the Shi clan, the Yan clan, and the Ling clan. Do you have any proof?!"
Lei Ying was a man built like an iron tower, his skin somewhat dark and swarthy.
The visual impact he gave was extremely, exceptionally intense. Visible to the naked eye—it was as if a giant dragon were swimming and moving beneath his skin. A terrifying, dreadful sense of power faintly, subtly spread and diffused, making the heels of those who drew near him tremble and quake.
Yet at this moment, this man who made others shiver and shudder with fear was staring at Gu Yuan in the main seat with a face full of solemn gravity, speaking in a deep, heavy voice.
Yao Dan also cast his gaze toward Gu Yuan at this moment. Although in their hearts, the two of them already believed ninety percent of what Gu Yuan had said—they still wished to understand in even greater, more concrete and specific detail.
Gu Yuan swept his gaze over the crowd, his expression turning grave and solemn. Finally, looking at Yao Dan, he spoke: "Do you still remember the incident last time, when Hun Tiandi came to the Yao clan?"
"You mean..." Hearing this, Yao Dan abruptly recalled the scene of Hun Tiandi arriving at the Yao clan back then. In a deep, heavy voice, he said, "You're saying... he had already made his move at that time?!"
Gu Yuan nodded, his expression grave and solemn. "Back then, I still thought that his injuries from a thousand years ago had yet to fully heal—that was why he had come to your Yao clan to take the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus for healing purposes. Looking at it now—we were all completely and utterly played and fooled by him. He was simply diverting our attention all along—so that the Hun clan's army could move and act right under our very noses! And that sense of weakness he had back then—it was most likely caused by having split off a soul clone. What a cunning, wily bastard!"
Hearing this, everyone present lowered their gazes, staring at their noses and hearts. What 'fooled everyone'? The only force capable of checking and balancing Hun Tiandi was you—Gu Yuan. When it came down to it—you had simply been slightly, marginally outmatched in your confrontations and clashes with the other party.
Still—none of those present were fools. They weren't about to expose and dig up Gu Yuan's embarrassing past and humiliate him.
"Then how did he manage to not let even the slightest whisper or trace of news leak out? A war of clan annihilation—even if it wasn't as intense and fierce as the Xiao clan's back then—it still shouldn't have been so utterly silent that none of us detected anything?!" At this moment, Lei Ying raised his head and looked at Gu Yuan, asking with puzzlement and confusion.
"The Nihility Devouring Flame has already, within this thousand-year span of time, entered the cultivation level of a nine-star Dou Sheng. His mastery and application of the power of devouring has already grown increasingly, ever more pinnacle-reaching and perfection-attaining." As he spoke, glancing at the still-puzzled, bewildered crowd, Gu Yuan traced a light, casual circle in the air before him with his finger, then grasped and captured it in his hand. "Because—he swallowed the entire space... directly into his belly."
"Hiss—"
Hearing this, not a few people within the great hall sharply, fiercely inhaled a breath of cold air. To swallow an entire space into one's belly?! Was that truly something a person could accomplish?!
"He is no person," Gu Yuan said with a calm, composed smile, noticing the shock in everyone's eyes. Yet within his own eyes, a chilling, icy light surged and churned.
"Since the matter is now clearly understood—after we each return, the three clans shall assemble our armies and launch war against the Hun clan!"
After calming and settling the information they had received, Lei Ying took a deep, heavy breath. Staring at Gu Yuan and Yao Dan with a face full of solemn gravity, he spoke seriously.
"Correct! The Hun clan has already annihilated the Yan clan, the Ling clan, and the Shi clan. We absolutely cannot sit and watch them continue unchecked like this!" Yao Dan hurriedly, hastily echoed and agreed. Among the four remaining clans, it was the Yao clan's strength that was the absolute weakest. If the Hun clan still had a next target—the Yao clan would be the very first to bear the brunt.
Thus, his heart was the most anxious and urgent of all.
"Mm." Hearing this, Gu Yuan nodded. Suddenly, his figure vanished from within the great hall and reappeared outside it.
Seeing this, everyone subconsciously tensed up, their entire bodies going rigid. Hurriedly, they followed out of the great hall.
At this moment, Gu Yuan had both hands clasped behind his back. Raising his head, he gazed into the empty, void space. His calm, composed voice—yet like a sudden, explosive thunderclap—made the scalps of everyone who had followed him out abruptly, violently prickle and explode.
"Hun Tiandi—with your status and standing, why stoop to such skulking and sneaking?"
Gu Yuan's voice was like a sudden thunderclap exploding on flat, level ground, causing the bodies of everyone present to instantly, violently stiffen and freeze.
A split second later, gaze after gaze of horrified shock abruptly lifted and turned toward that empty, void space. Within the Ancient Sacred Mountain, countless members of the Black Annihilation Army rose into the air on full alert. The Dou Qi within their bodies practically, in that very split instant, surged forth violently, overwhelmingly and blanketingly.
"Gu clan—on full alert!"
After the Black Annihilation Army rose into the air, the Gu clan's Three Immortals flashed and flickered into the sky practically at the very same moment. A sharp, fierce, furious shout rolled and thundered unceasingly between heaven and earth.
Behind them, elder after elder followed closely in rapid succession, transforming into streak after streak of light that shot forth and spread out. All of the Gu clan's experts revealed and manifested themselves at this very moment. Instantly, in the sky above, vast, mighty auras surged and churned.
"Heh heh... Gu Yuan—I told you. We would meet again very, very soon!"
In the empty, void space, ripples suddenly spread forth wave after wave. At the same time, a light, airy laugh slowly, gradually rang out.
The emergence of this voice directly caused all of the Gu clan experts to slowly, slightly bend and hunch their bodies. The Dou Qi within them howled and churned like roaring, surging floodwaters. The slightest, faintest sign of movement—and an onslaught like a torrential rainstorm would erupt and explode instantly!
Space undulated and wavered. A whirlpool slowly took form and shape. Then, from within that whirlpool, a rather long, slender, elegant hand extended outward and pressed against the top of the whirlpool. Hun Tiandi, clad in a long gray-white robe, stepped out slowly and unhurriedly.
After Hun Tiandi appeared, from within the whirlpool behind him, several more figures stepped out one after another. They were unmistakably the Nihility Devouring Flame and the Hun clan's Four Demon Saints.
And as these people appeared, the expressions of all the Gu clan elders tightened and tensed. Barrier after barrier of defensive light rose and surged forth from within the mountain range. In that single instant, light and shadow intertwined and interweaved, appearing exceptionally and extraordinarily dazzling, brilliant, and multi-colored.
"Hun Tiandi—the disappearance of the Ling, Shi, and Yan clans—was it your doing?!" Lei Ying shouted fiercely and harshly. Though he had already obtained the answer from Gu Yuan, he still very much wanted to open his mouth and ask personally.
"Some answers—it is enough to simply know them clearly in your heart," Hun Tiandi said with a careless, casual smile.
Hearing Hun Tiandi's reply, the expressions of Lei Ying and Yao Dan immediately sank and fell into dark, grim silence.
"Hun Tiandi—the Gu Realm is not a place you should be!" Gu Yuan arrived before the two of them, fixing his focused, concentrated gaze upon Hun Tiandi and the Nihility Devouring Flame.
"In this world between heaven and earth—there is no place I should not go," Hun Tiandi said with a smile. Then, shifting his gaze toward Yao Dan beside him, he spoke casually and indifferently, "Yao Dan—do you also intend to wade into these muddy, murky waters?"
Hearing this, Yao Dan's entire body involuntarily, subconsciously trembled. He then heard Hun Tiandi continue, "The Yao clan's alchemy is still of some use to me. If you leave right now and hand over the ancient jade—I can guarantee the Yao clan's safety and security."
Hearing Hun Tiandi's words, Gu Yuan and Lei Ying fell into heavy, oppressive silence. They turned their heads and looked at Yao Dan beside them.
Yao Dan cursed inwardly and viciously in his heart. Staring at Hun Tiandi with a face full of grave, solemn seriousness, he spoke, "Hun Tiandi—do you yourself even believe the words coming out of your own mouth?!"
"What a pity!" Hearing Yao Dan's reply, Hun Tiandi shook his head and sighed. Yet within his eyes, there was not the slightest trace or glimmer of regret or pity.
"Gu Yuan—how rare it is that the four of us are gathered here together today. Guess what I am thinking right now?" No longer paying Yao Dan any mind, Hun Tiandi gazed at Gu Yuan and spoke with a smile full of profound, meaningful implication.
Gu Yuan furrowed his brow and stared intently at Hun Tiandi's every move, pondering and contemplating the deeper, hidden meaning within his words. Just then—Gu Yuan and the other two exchanged a glance. Their pupils abruptly, violently constricted. In a low, fierce shout, they cried, "The Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade!"
In the very next instant, the rings on Lei Ying and Yao Dan's fingers suddenly lit up and blazed brightly. A wave of soul fluctuation, containing and carrying information, transmitted directly into the two's minds. And upon receiving this information, the complexions of the two men also turned ice-cold and grim.
"The Lei clan's ancient jade has been stolen—"
"The Yao clan's ancient jade has been stolen—"
"Woo—!"
Suddenly, from deep within the mountain range, urgent, hurried, wailing alarms rang out. It was the alarm from the ancestral hall!
The urgent, piercing, ear-splitting alarms resounded and echoed throughout this stretch of heaven and earth, then rapidly spread and diffused, causing the expressions of all the Gu clan members to abruptly, violently, drastically change.
"Hun Tiandi!"
Gu Yuan's expression was as icy and cold as frost. His gaze locked dead onto Hun Tiandi. The very sky seemed to darken and dim considerably at this moment. Vast, mighty heaven-and-earth energy howled and roared behind him, connecting the heavens and the earth. Seen from afar, it was like an endless, boundless, invisible energy tide, the sound of its crashing, surging waves ringing out without cease.
"Clan Leader—Elder Gu Yang attacked and wounded the ancestral hall's elders and stole the ancient jade!" Just as Gu Yuan's expression was ice-cold and frosty, from deep within the mountain range, a streak of light suddenly darted and shot forth. A somewhat battered and disheveled figure swiftly flew out, shouting in a piercing, miserable, urgent cry.
"What?!"
Hearing this shout, the entire Gu clan erupted into chaos and commotion. Every single person's eyes were filled and brimming with utter, sheer disbelief.
"Gu Lie—dispatch the Black Annihilation Army to search the mountain! Find Gu Yang and bring him to me!" Gu Yuan shouted without even turning his head.
"Jie, jie... none of you are going anywhere!" Just as the Gu clan was about to take action, in the sky above, the Hun clan's Four Demon Saints and the Nihility Devouring Flame slowly, unhurriedly strode toward the crowd.
"Where do you think you're going!" Gu Yuan let out a cold, fierce roar. The endless, boundless energy tide behind him instantly churned and surged, turning the seas and rivers upside down. It transformed into a tidal giant hand, several tens of thousands of zhang wide, and swatted ferociously toward the Hun clan members in a single, sweeping blow.
"Gu Yuan—this grand, magnificent play has already begun. You and I shall serve as its spectators and audience for now!" Seeing Gu Yuan's heaven-startling, earth-shaking assault, Hun Tiandi merely smiled. Raising his palm, a black hole took form within it. In the blink of an eye, it expanded and swelled to a full ten thousand zhang in size, completely and utterly devouring and swallowing Gu Yuan's onslaught.
"Kill—!"
As Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan clashed and traded blows, the Hun clan's experts, under the leadership of the Nihility Devouring Flame, charged and surged toward the Gu clan's many experts.
"You two—you're not going anywhere either!" The Nihility Devouring Flame smiled faintly. With a single stride, he crossed through space and appeared directly before the Black Annihilation King and Lei Ying.
Black flames surged forth violently from within his body in an endless, continuous stream, finally transforming into several colossal black dragons that coiled and wound around his body, their dragon roars shaking the heavens.
"Gu Dao, Yao Dan... where do you think you're going? Let's all play together, shall we?!" The Hun clan's Four Demon Saints, at the very same moment, intercepted and blocked every seven-star Dou Sheng on the field.
In the sky above, Gu Dao's expression was grim and solemn. He shouted in a sharp, fierce voice, "Remaining elders—lay down a grand array to protect the clan! Seal and lock down the Gu Realm and the mountain range! Do not give the Hun clan any opportunity to exploit!"
"Swoosh—"
As Gu Dao's voice fell, from within the mountain range, a figure shot forth violently. With the cultivation of a late-stage five-star Dou Sheng, its speed was exceedingly, exceptionally fast. In the blink of an eye, it was about to reunite and join forces with the Hun clan's experts.
"Seize him!"
The very instant 'Gu Yang' emerged, the Black Annihilation Army reacted swiftly, rapidly. In the sky, an enormous, colossal net of Dou Qi pressed down toward that figure, overwhelmingly and blanketingly.