Knowing It's a Hongmen Banquet, Yet Having No Other Choice
Knowing It’s a Hongmen Banquet, Yet Having No Other Choice
The phantom of the World Tree manifested, containing vast and boundless power, as if holding up the supreme force of all heavens and myriad worlds. It swept down with a thunderous crash, directly causing the already spent and withered Lin Zhan to explode, transforming into a sky full of blood mist.
When the Bone Ancestor and the others saw Lin Zhan disregard everything and charge at Gu Changge to kill him, they couldn’t help but feel somewhat worried, their expressions changing.
However, none of them had expected that Gu Changge’s current strength had actually reached such a terrifying level.
Although it was partly because Lin Zhan was already at the end of his rope, this was still enough to demonstrate the might of Gu Changge’s power.
“Quite the ruthless fellow. What a pity he offended someone he shouldn’t have.”
The Bone Ancestor shook his head. In his earlier battle with Lin Zhan, he had also sustained considerable injuries.
However, given his cultivation level, such injuries were of little consequence.
Afterward, numerous Gu Family experts stepped forward to clean up the battlefield of this annihilation of the Lin Clan.
Although this place had already turned to ash, collapsing into a stretch of ruins,
the resources and heritage the Lin Clan had accumulated over countless years were no small amount. They had all been sealed away in special Space Artifacts, so they had not been destroyed.
Gu Changge instructed Ah Da to secretly collect the life Source of this place—naturally, only after everyone from the Gu Family had withdrawn would the collection begin.
So after killing Lin Zhan, he turned most of his attention to the Tree of Epoch before him.
From Luo Feng’s earlier words, he had already learned that this Tree of Epoch had nearly withered to death back then. Had Luo Feng not stolen the Fortuity of the Beyond to nourish it,
this Tree of Epoch could never have regained its vitality, let alone borne fruit.
Now that the matter of the Lin Clan was settled, vast runes immediately surged up from this place. Gu Changge struck out with full force, his divine sense—mighty as an ocean—sweeping out and enveloping everything ahead.
Rumble!!
The earth split apart, collapsing in all directions. Terrifying great ravines appeared one after another, extending to unimaginable lengths. It was a shocking divine miracle.
Gu Changge’s giant hand reached out, runes blazing brilliantly, hundreds of millions of rays of rosy light stretching boundlessly, as if he meant to refine the entire universe within his palm.
The land before him was seized by his grasp, gathered into his hand. The Tree of Epoch rooted within it trembled lightly, its branches and leaves rustling, vast and heavy, until he finally moved it entirely into his Inner Universe.
This place immediately became empty and barren, looking as though a fathomless abyss had appeared, enough to make one’s heart tremble.
Everyone watched Gu Changge solemnly, all standing behind him, not daring to make a sound to disturb him—like immutable demonic shadows from ancient times, carrying a soul-stealing, terrifying deterrence.
After doing all this, Gu Changge finally nodded in satisfaction.
Within the immortal light the Tree of Epoch had bloomed with earlier, he had sensed new Immortal Dao rules, like the rules of heaven and earth newly gestated over these years.
If fused with the rules of the Beyond, it could allow Cultivators stalled before the threshold of the Immortal Path to advance a step further, even pushing open that gate.
So the importance of this Tree of Epoch was simply self-evident.
Half a day later, the Gu Family Army began to assemble and reorganize. Having annihilated the Lin Clan and finished plundering, they began to withdraw.
But the residual aura of the great battle here would not dissipate for at least a million years. Any Cultivator of slightly weaker cultivation who came to this place would be blown apart by the lingering aura, body and soul destroyed.
Without a doubt, this place had already become a lifeless forbidden zone.
The terrifying fluctuations of the battle here could not possibly be concealed from the other supreme experts of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. With even the slightest sensing, they would all understand that the Lin Clan had been annihilated.
Having obtained the Tree of Epoch, Gu Changge actually no longer had much interest in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. However, there were still a few final loose ends waiting for him to tie up.
The two Fortuitous Ones, Xiao Yang and Luo Feng, as well as that First Mountain Elder. As for the remaining Three War God Clans, he could leave them to the rest of the Gu Family to handle.
Afterward, the news of the tragic annihilation of the Blood Dragon War God Clan spread throughout the entire Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains almost immediately, as if it had grown wings, setting off enormous waves and causing an earthquake-like sensation.
The many clans that had yet to evacuate were terrified to the extreme. They had never imagined that the Lin Clan—whose heritage ranked among the very top of the entire Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—would be annihilated so quickly.
This news came far too suddenly, leaving them trembling in fear.
Just as Gu Changge had predicted, when he dispatched the army to slaughter the Lin Clan, many supreme experts of the other domains had already sensed those fluctuations.
Although they didn’t dare approach to investigate, they could absolutely guess what was happening there.
After the Gu Family Army withdrew, the supreme experts of the other forces rushed over almost immediately. Sensing the endless resentment and murderous baleful aura lingering there, their hearts palpitated, and they understood that the Blood Dragon War God Clan—one of the most ancient clans of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—had been annihilated.
Of the entire clan, almost no one was left alive. Beyond that, it seemed even the Founding Ancestor who had established the Lin Clan had perished in this battle.
Such news was far too chilling. Many clans attempting to flee fell into despair.
After all, if even the Blood Dragon War God Clan could be found by Gu Changge’s means, what chance did they have?
The matter rapidly fermented. It not only shook the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, but also shook the many Daoist lineages and powers of the Beyond. They had still been deliberating over which forces to move against, never expecting that Gu Changge had already annihilated the Lin Clan first.
Such speed made even their hearts tremble. They could only say—truly worthy of the Longevity Gu Family that had once destroyed the Purple Mansion.
Such heritage, such an army, filled them with dread.
In the following days, the various domains of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains that had not yet fallen were also plunged into terror and despair.
Meanwhile, within Sky Deer City, now occupied by the Beyond, inside an extremely grand and ancient palace,
a terrifying, heart-chilling aura intertwined and permeated the air.
A pitch-black Grand Flask bobbed up and down, endless blood-colored rosy light surging out from within it, then falling like radiance into the figure seated cross-legged below.
It resembled a throbbing, terrifying blood-colored cocoon—a single glance was enough to make one’s heart palpitate, enough to drive a person mad.
At this moment, every single pore of Gu Changge’s body seemed to have transformed into a vast world, from which came a terrifying devouring force, drawing in the True Daoist life Source that Ah Da had been ordered to collect.
Rumble!!
Beneath his blood vessels resounded a terrifying sound like the creation of heaven and earth within chaos, accompanied by five-colored rosy light, brilliant and dazzling, transcendent and otherworldly—like a young immortal god.
His cultivation realm was breaking through and growing with remarkable smoothness and naturalness.
For Gu Changge, this great war with the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains was rather like a grand hunt.
It was just that the targets of his hunt were all True Daoists. Without this great war, who knew how long he would have had to wait to break through to his current cultivation.
The environment of the Beyond was, comparatively speaking, much more stable.
The fall of every True Daoist would set off world-shaking waves—how could it possibly allow Gu Changge to break through so freely as he did now, without the slightest worry of calamity?
Afterward, the fluctuations here gradually subsided into silence. The blood-colored rosy light was entirely swallowed by Gu Changge’s open mouth, and the Grand Flask vanished.
Weng!!
A flash of light appeared in his hand, revealing a rather mysterious and profound treasure chest, resplendent and dazzling.
When he killed Lin Wu, aside from Fortuity points and Fatums, the only other thing of value was the Heavenly Gift Treasure Chest.
“What will be inside this Heavenly Gift Treasure Chest this time...”
A strange gleam flashed through Gu Changge’s eyes. He then opened it, though what lay within now struck him as somewhat peculiar.
It was a mass of seven-colored light, filled with hazy radiance, mist flowing through it.
Then the mist dispersed, revealing an ancient token, only palm-sized, lying quietly within the treasure chest.
“Commandment Token of Deduction...”
Gu Changge examined the description of this token. If it were an ordinary item, it couldn’t possibly appear in a Heavenly Gift Treasure Chest.
“It can deduce and master all techniques and Transcendent abilities in this world...”
For him at present, it was somewhat of a useless trinket. Once one’s cultivation realm reached a certain height, what technique or Transcendent ability couldn’t be seen through and mastered at a glance—one could even use them to comprehend rules, and even the Great Dao.
Still, Gu Changge put it away. Perhaps there would be a chance to use it in the future.
Afterward, he exchanged all the Fortuity points he had gained during this period for Absolute Detachment bones. A series of cracking sounds, like bones being replaced, rang out across his entire body, and crystalline bone-blood burst forth, containing a certain supreme intent of detachment.
Gu Changge felt that he was not far from the Nirvana Dao Realm.
“Next, it’s time to wait for the fish to take the bait and catch them all in one net.”
He planned to make use of the hidden piece he had placed beside Xiao Yang long ago—namely, Gu Wudi.
This chess piece had been set in place for so long; it was time for it to serve its purpose.
Moreover, the Second Mountain Elder, Luo Ying, and the others were all in his hands. Gu Changge refused to believe Xiao Yang wouldn’t come to rescue them.
“That First Mountain Elder’s strength should be far above Lin Zhan’s—a figure on the same level as the Ancestor of Wind back then...”
“In that case, just to be safe, this Hongmen Banquet simply must be held.”
Thinking of this, Gu Changge narrowed his eyes and quickly gave orders for his clansmen to spread the word.
The Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were currently in a state of panic and unease, especially with the Blood Dragon War God Clan annihilated by the army he led.
The remaining clans had only two choices: either surrender and become slaves of the Beyond, serving it for generations, or be annihilated by the other Daoist lineages and great sects.
At this juncture, what he needed to do was actually very simple.
He only needed to use his status to release a message, saying he was unwilling to commit further slaughter, that he intended to preserve peace between the two worlds, and inviting the leaders of the various clans of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains to come discuss the matter.
He would even directly name the First Mountain Elder in his invitation. With the prestige of the Nine Great Mountains, it would be easy to rally hearts in the current Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Such a golden opportunity—Xiao Yang, the First Mountain Elder, and the others could not possibly let it slip by.
“They know full well this is a Hongmen Banquet, but they can only come. There is no second choice.”
“Though it’s but a single flame in the darkness, it’s enough to make them all come flying toward it.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Gu Changge’s mouth.
He could already foresee that this would be a great event sweeping through the entire Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, one that would set every force and clan astir.
Unless they truly wished to follow in the Lin Clan’s footsteps and walk the road to annihilation.