The Cruel Truth, Perhaps Also Beyond One's Control
The Cruel Truth, Perhaps Also Beyond One’s Control
At the critical moment he exploded with blood power—reminds me to ask for subscriptions
An icy killing intent swept in from beyond the courtyard, like the dead of winter descending, carrying a bone-piercing chill that made one’s very soul tremble.
The people inside the courtyard needed no warning from the Young War Immortal—they all understood an assassination was upon them. Their expressions changed drastically as they summoned their respective weapons.
Shua shua shua
From all around the once-quiet and serene courtyard, numerous figures instantly rushed out, weapons in hand, vigilantly watching every direction.
These were the forces of the War Immortal Manor and the An Clan. Though their quality was mixed, the strongest among them had reached the Sacred Lord Realm.
Most of the rest were merely at the Sacred Realm or the Enlightened King Realm.
Boom!!
Black dark light suddenly swept in from beyond the courtyard, like a thick fog, instantly enveloping the entire area. Heaven and earth were left with nothing but a bleak, ashen gloom.
Several grey-clothed figures, their expressions cold and devoid of any human emotion, walked out from the void beyond the courtyard.
The black longswords in their hands were forged from some unknown material, their edges razor-sharp, their killing intent soaring to the heavens, with crimson bloody radiance even visible swirling around them.
They wore black cloth over their heads, revealing only their eyes, their entire bodies shrouded in a heart-palpitating, terrifying aura.
And their auras were even more terrifying—
Several Sacred Lord Realm experts, and among them, a being of the Sacred King Realm revealed himself!
“Protect the Young Master!”
“Protect the Young Miss!”
At this sight, the experts of the War Immortal Manor and the An Clan changed expressions drastically. Appearing with killing intent radiating from their bodies, they stared fixedly beyond the courtyard and shouted in low voices.
They couldn’t fathom why anyone would choose to assassinate them at this time.
This was broad daylight, no less, and within Kunwu City, where the supreme experts of countless Daoist traditions and forces had gathered.
Once any disturbance broke out here, it would inevitably alarm the other experts.
These assassins were truly audacious to the extreme—such an act was no different from committing murder in the open, with no regard whatsoever for the risk of exposure.
“Who are these assassins here to kill?”
“Which one of us have they set their sights on?”
An Xi’s face darkened, her jade hands clenched tight as she couldn’t help but ask.
A perfectly fine banquet had been ruined by these assassins who had suddenly barged in, spoiling her mood entirely.
Moreover, she desperately wanted to know just who had offended someone so badly that assassins would be sent to kill them.
There weren’t many forces in this world capable of dispatching so many powerful assassins at once.
Even assassin organizations like Pagoda and Nether couldn’t manage it.
Jiang Chen and Niu Tian’s expressions were equally grave. If these people had come to kill them, then their enemy was truly giving them far too much credit. Any single one of these assassins was far beyond their ability to match.
“They’re targeting me. They’ve come to kill me.”
The Young War Immortal’s expression was heavy as he spoke, feeling all that killing intent locked onto him.
This only deepened the unease in his heart. He couldn’t figure out when he had offended someone who would send so many experts to assassinate him.
“Kill you? Did you offend someone?” An Xi asked, puzzled.
The Young War Immortal shook his head, then said in a deep voice, “I don’t know who I’ve offended either. And my Dao Protector seems to have been held up by someone—I can’t reach him.”
In his heart, he actually had a faint suspicion, but he dared not imagine that the other party would be so utterly unscrupulous.
“Kill!!”
At once, several assassins struck swiftly, charging toward the Young War Immortal and the others, surrounding them and attacking in unison. All manner of treasure techniques and divine abilities came crashing down.
Artifacts materialized one after another—divine lamps, ancient cauldrons, fire furnaces... blotting out all directions, their might astonishing.
In a mere instant, the experts of the An Clan and the War Immortal Manor coughed up blood and burst apart, utterly unable to match their opponents.
In terms of cultivation and strength, the people here could hardly contend with these assassins. Even fighting with everything they had, they quickly fell in pools of blood.
“Protect the Young Miss!”
An expert of the An Clan roared furiously, trying to send his voice out so the others would know.
But one assassin locked onto him, vanishing from where he stood like a black bolt of lightning. The black longsword in his hand swept past in a flash—with a pu, it pierced through the man’s glabella.
Dead on the spot.
An Xi, Jiang Chen, Niu Tian, and the others’ expressions changed drastically at this sight, and they hastily employed every means at their disposal to protect themselves.
In the blink of an eye, a great battle erupted within the courtyard. Many coughed blood and perished, heads rolling, the stench of blood assaulting the nose.
Black fog shrouded this place, preventing any aura from leaking out. Unless a Quasi-Nirvana Realm being intervened, this barrier would be extremely difficult to break.
This only deepened the despair of the An Clan members and the War Immortal Manor—after all, the Ancestors backing them were not present.
After the Divine Rock Conference had ended, they had returned to their sects.
An Xi’s Grand Uncle, An Wangshan, had likewise returned to the family and had not remained in Kunwu City, worried that the Ji Family’s assault on Kun Mountain would bring calamity upon Kunwu City—he had been all too eager to avoid it.
“Could it be that we’re all going to die here today?”
The Young War Immortal was utterly unwilling to accept this. With a furious roar, golden cross-shaped cracks erupted with terrifying divine might in his eyes, and his entire body radiated intense azure light.
He unleashed a secret art, like thunder roaring, shaking heaven and earth. He charged forward to kill, like an eternal, indestructible divine furnace, his blood energy astounding.
His pair of fists seemed to transform into peerless divine mountains, rumbling as they crushed down, unmatched in power, throwing the assassins who charged at him into trouble.
Some even collapsed directly beneath those fist imprints, unable to get close.
“The War Immortal Art is indeed extraordinary. What a pity—you still die today.”
At this sight, the Sacred King Realm assassin’s gaze shifted slightly as he stepped forward to kill, though his words remained cold and merciless.
With a single slash of his sword, the void split open, and the many experts of the An Clan and War Immortal Manor before him burst apart one after another, reduced to dust—unable to withstand even a single strike.
Such was the might of a Sacred King. Unless one was of the same realm, no one else could possibly block it.
“Who exactly sent you to kill me?!” the Young War Immortal roared.
The grey-clothed assassin said indifferently, “Who you’ve offended—don’t you know that yourself?”
“Who I’ve offended?”
The Young War Immortal’s eyes carried a trace of scarlet. He searched through the memories in his mind...
Finally settling on the Divine Rock Conference—on Gu Changge’s casual, indifferent face, looking down with contempt.
In this moment, he was almost certain: the one who had sent people to assassinate him was absolutely connected to Gu Changge.
“Think about it on the road to the Yellow Springs.”
The grey-clothed assassin spoke coldly and struck again. Terrifying might crushed down, causing the others to burst apart one after another, becoming dust scattered across the sky.
The Young War Immortal exerted his peak strength—he could be invincible within the Sacred Lord Realm—but he was still no match for a Sacred King Realm being.
Beneath this sword strike, his fists split open, covered in sword marks, blood dripping freely.
He roared in fury, and his pair of eyes bearing golden cross-shaped cracks suddenly began to bleed. Accompanied by a kacha sound, it was as if some shackle had snapped.
In this moment, the Young War Immortal’s entire body was burning, as if he could no longer feel pain. He transformed into a peerless War Immortal who could battle heaven and earth, his dharma body unmatched. A golden war whip materialized in his hand, like the Immortal-Beating Whip of ancient mythology, and he fought the Sacred King Realm assassin before him without regard for life or death.
An Xi, Jiang Chen, and the others also assisted from the side, unleashing streaks of Divine Chains of Order and ancient techniques, trying to aid the Young War Immortal.
If the Young War Immortal died here, they very likely wouldn’t survive either.
Weng!!
The void trembled. From within An Nuan’s spiritual platform, a massive golden cauldron suddenly burst forth, interwoven with rules and principles, even suffused with immortal radiance. Heaven and earth were pressed into trembling as it crashed down toward the assassins ahead with a honglong.
In an instant, the fluctuations here abruptly became incomparably terrifying. Even the Sacred King Realm assassin’s expression changed drastically.
“Not good—”
The pavilions and halls here were smashed into ruin, the scene left utterly devastated. The commotion was truly too earth-shattering.
Jiang Chen’s glabella glowed, and faintly, the phantom of a bronze immortal vessel emerged, shattering the black fog that enveloped the area.
The enormous, terrifying commotion instantly alarmed all of Kunwu City. One powerful divine sense after another swept over in shock.
“Who dares cause trouble here?!”
A True Daoist snorted coldly, a giant palm reaching toward this place.
“Not good—” The grey-clothed assassin’s expression changed drastically, but he was decisive. Almost without hesitation, he chose to self-detonate.
In a mere instant, terrifying fluctuations exploded outward, like countless stars bursting, directly sending the Young War Immortal, Jiang Chen, and the others flying. Covered in blood and grievously wounded, they crashed to the ground.
“Oh? It actually failed?”
Within the palace, Gu Changge, leisurely sipping his tea, gently shook his head, his face showing a hint of surprise.
“Please punish me, Young Master. I underestimated the Young War Immortal’s methods.”
“Although I held up his True Daoist, in the end he erupted and unleashed an extremely bizarre technique, killing that Sacred King.”
“That’s what caused this assassination to fail. If I had sent more people, it shouldn’t have gone wrong.”
“Also, the Array Patterns there were broken by someone... that’s what alarmed the other True Daoists within Kunwu City.”
Yin Mei stood before him, her porcelain-white face carrying a trace of unease as she admitted her fault, moving to kneel as she spoke.
Hearing this, Gu Changge pondered briefly, then waved his hand for her to rise, saying, “If it failed, so be it. This isn’t your fault. I didn’t expect the Young War Immortal to still have such methods either.”
“In my view, this should have been a near-certain success.”
He did not blame Yin Mei.
The Young War Immortal was close with Jiang Chen and Niu Tian, and had more or less been tainted by the aura of the Fortuitous One. For him to suddenly explode with blood power at this critical moment was, all things considered, understandable.
However, now that this assassination had failed, he would have to think of some way to wrap things up—after all, the commotion caused was truly not small.
Though the Young War Immortal and the others might suspect him, Gu Changge wasn’t worried they could produce any evidence.
Besides, if he wanted to quietly dispose of the Young War Immortal next time, it would become troublesome.
“Young Master, then let me arrange more people. I refuse to believe we still can’t kill the Young War Immortal.” Yin Mei nodded. Failing to complete the task Gu Changge had assigned her—killing the Young War Immortal—left her deeply unwilling.
Even though Gu Changge hadn’t blamed her, this still counted as her own incompetence.
“No need for now. After this incident, the Young War Immortal will have learned his lesson.” Gu Changge gently shook his head.
“Yes, Young Master.” Yin Mei lowered her hands in acknowledgment.
“Could it be I’ll have to act personally?”
Gu Changge pondered for a moment. He wasn’t considering sending the Quasi-Nirvana Realm Ah Da.
After all, the Young War Immortal had first been attacked by the Successor of Demonic Arts, and now had suddenly suffered an assassination attempt. The various Daoist traditions were all watching their own successors closely now, fearing accidents. Gu Changge could hardly guarantee Ah Da wouldn’t leave some trace behind.
If he acted personally, he could indeed dispose of the Young War Immortal quietly and unnoticed.
But the risk was truly not small—far too many eyes in Kunwu City were fixed on him. Gu Changge had no intention yet of provoking the entire Beyond to rise up against him; he could only wait for a suitable opportunity.
“My current limelight is truly too blinding. Many things have become inconvenient to do in the open.”
Gu Changge gently shook his head and set down his teacup.
If people detected that he wanted to kill the Young War Immortal...
It would cause enormous upheaval in the entire Beyond’s situation. Many Daoist traditions would never permit him to do such a thing.
Because if Gu Changge could kill the Young War Immortal without cause or reason, then naturally he could also kill the successors of other Daoist traditions. At that point, they would all have justification and grounds to move against him—and against the Longevity Gu Family behind him.
After all, Gu Changge was not yet capable of sweeping aside the entire Beyond single-handedly.
“This time, count him lucky. I just wonder whether he’ll enter Kun Mountain. When the time comes, I’ll finish him with my own hands inside.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, not taking the matter to heart.
A mere Young War Immortal couldn’t stir up any real waves.
Even if he informed the War Immortal Manor behind him about Su Qingge’s identity, it would hardly accomplish anything in the short term.
After all, words without proof—what credibility would they have?
Unless the Young War Immortal could actually capture Su Qingge.
“A mere Young War Immortal—how could he possibly hinder you, Young Master?”
“Once we’re out of Kunwu City, killing him would be as simple as crushing an ant.”
Yin Mei nodded, raising the teapot with her pale hand to refill Gu Changge’s cup.
Gu Changge smiled, reaching out to pull her into his embrace, his smile somewhat inscrutable.
“Though you have reminded me of something.”
“After this incident, it’s given me the perfect excuse. Yin Mei, pass down my order—say that I am hosting a banquet for the young prodigies of Kunwu City at the Star-Picking Tower, to discuss the assault on Kun Mountain the day after tomorrow, to rescue Ji Shengchu—oh no, to rescue the Mortal One.”
“I’d like to see who dares not give me this face.”