Chapter 677: A Thousand Years Too Late

"Mother, why hasn't Father come back yet?" As if infected by the atmosphere in the hall, Xiao Xiao, sitting beside Cai Lin, grew deeply downcast.

Cai Lin gently stroked Xiao Xiao's small head and said softly, "Don't worry, your father is refining an elixir elsewhere—he'll return soon."

"Mm." Xiao Xiao clutched Cai Lin's jade hand, seeking a sliver of security.

At this moment, the high-ranking members of the Yan Alliance all turned their gazes toward Xing Tian, who stood like a sentinel at the entrance; had it not been for Xing Tian's message, they would have feared the Soul Sovereign had already moved against Xiao Yan.

In the Heavenly Realm, upon receiving the order, Gu Qingyang and other Black Smoke Army high-ranking officers immediately responded in unison, then changed their hand seals—suddenly, countless dark shadows surged forth like ghosts, darting into the Shan Mai to begin a meticulous search.

Watching the Gu Clan instantly go on high alert, Xiao Chen's expression among the Yan Alliance turned grave.

Although the Soul Sovereign had not deployed a large army, the figures in the sky represented the Soul Sovereign's elite strength—this lineup far surpassed the combined might of the Yan Clan and Lei Clan, and he understood that the battle between Gu Yuan and Hun Tian Di, though capable of destroying heaven and earth, was merely a test.

Both sides were merely probing—or rather, delaying—and their purpose for delay was clearly the same: Gu Yang!

The Soul Sovereign wished to stall until Gu Yang appeared and handed over the Ancient Jade, while the Gu Clan sought to stall until they found and reclaimed it!

Thus, this seemingly fierce battle was, in truth, all about the thief who stole the Ancient Jade: Gu Yang!

"Damn it, we can't find him!"

"Brother Qingyang, we've searched the entire Ancient Realm, but still no trace of Gu Yang!"

Despite the Black Smoke Army's carpet search, they could not locate Gu Yang's whereabouts; though his Soul Force had not yet reached Heaven Realm Great Perfection, merely late Heaven Realm, his own Cultivation Realm was late Five-Star Dou Sheng, and he possessed Soul Sovereign techniques. With Gu Yuan and others unable to act, and Xiao Yan absent, they truly could not find him!

Hearing this, Gu Qingyang furrowed his brows, glanced up at the battle in the sky, and said grimly, "Activate the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Array—force him out!"

"Activate the clan's protective array?!"

Gu Hua and others were startled; activating the array would consume vast resources, and more importantly, it had a time limit—it could not be sustained indefinitely. If they activated it now and Hun Tian Di launched a counterattack, it would be disastrous.

"Right now, the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade is the most critical—if Hun Tian Di obtains it, the clan's protective array won't matter," Gu Qingyang said grimly.

Upon hearing this, all Elders nodded; at this moment, the Ancient Jade was paramount.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!! Moments later, the entire Ancient Realm trembled violently; mountains glowed with light, and from high above, the whole Ancient Realm was shrouded in the radiant glow of a vast ancient array.

ZZZZ—The array's light swept across the entire Ancient Realm, and the Dou Di Bloodline of every Gu Clan member seemed amplified, filling them with a surge of boiling blood.

Soon, atop a peak ten thousand zhang away, an explosion erupted—scorching magma spewed forth, and a figure, slightly disheveled, was blasted out.

"Gu Yang!"

Seeing the figure hidden within the magma, Gu Qingyang and others' expressions turned icy.

"Black Smoke Army, seize him!"

As the figure was blasted from the mountain by magma, Gu Qingyang immediately barked coldly—the figure was not unfamiliar to them.

"Soul Binding Net!"

As Gu Qingyang shouted, countless figures shot across the sky, roaring in unison as dense Dou Qi rapidly coalesced into a colossal energy net that descended like a storm, crushing down upon the figure—the net carried a peculiar resonance; once caught, one would be torn apart by the Black Smoke Army warriors and nearly impossible to escape.

"Detonate!"

Facing the energy net, the figure remained calm, changed his hand seals, and dozens of ferocious gusts shot forth, striking the net's weak points in rapid succession—then, with howling winds, the net was violently shattered, and he swiftly looked up at the distant sky, moving his body to maximum speed, soaring upward.

"Useless—he knows the Black Smoke Army's Soul Binding Net intimately; his strikes target its weakest points!" Seeing the energy net, forged from the combined Dou Qi of countless Black Smoke Army warriors, so easily torn apart, Gu Qingyang's face darkened.

"Hmph, Gu Yang, you traitor!"

As Gu Yang sped toward the sky, Gu Dao and the other two spotted him—immediately their expressions turned cold. But as they prepared to act, three of the Soul Sovereign's Four Demon Saints appeared like ghosts before them, while the fourth, HunYan, changed his hand seals and unleashed a thousand-zhang-wide black light from his palm, slamming into the defensive barrier—its terrible force tore a crack through it.

"Don't let him escape!"

In the sky, chaos reigned; Gu Qingyang waved his hand—the Gu Clan had many strong ones, but Gu Yang's strength was late Five-Star Dou Sheng; few could surpass him, and even those who could couldn't instantly kill or easily capture him.

As Gu Qingyang shouted, he surged forward first; behind him, everyone hastily followed.

In the sky, the figure raced toward the crack torn open by HunYan of the Soul Sovereign's Four Demon Saints—but when he was still hundreds of zhang away, sharp gusts erupted from behind, striking his vital points; he had to halt, swing his sleeves, and shatter all the gusts, and in that instant, Gu Qingyang and several strong ones from the Lei Clan and Yan Clan appeared, surrounding him completely.

"Elder Gu Yang, why have you committed such treacherous acts?!" Gu Yao, who had just fought Xiao Yan, glared at the disheveled old man before him and roared.

"Hehe, do you still believe I'm truly Gu Yang?" Hearing the Gu Clan elders' rebuke, the disheveled old man let out a sinister laugh; through the gaps of his hanging hair, a pair of eyes glinting with chilling coldness appeared—these eyes were utterly unlike the former gentle gaze.

Gu Qingyang and others' pupils shrank; a chill rose in their hearts—Gu Yang was indeed an elder of the Gu Clan—if he was an impostor, then all the Gu Clan's secrets over the years had been laid bare before the Soul Sovereign!

"Gu Yang's spiritual soul was forcibly fused with mine by Wu Xu Lord a century ago; for years, I've lived in seclusion, afraid to show myself before Gu Yuan and others—but fortunately, this day has finally come!" the fake Gu Yang laughed, and as his words ended, he retreated violently—while simultaneously, brilliant Dou Qi streams erupted from the palms of Gu Qingyang and others, crossing and slamming toward him.

"You brats think you can hold onto me?" Gu Yang laughed loudly, slamming his palm downward—the space beneath twisted instantly, solidifying into a barrier that blocked all the Dou Qi streams.

"Whoever you are, stay here!" At this moment, the Gu Clan's Supreme Elders—including Gu Nanhai and others above Four-Star Dou Sheng—each unleashed a Dou Technique.

These were the Gu Clan's strongest after the Three Immortals; among them, three were Five-Star Dou Sheng, and one was Six-Star Dou Sheng.

Surrounded by several Five-Star and Six-Star Dou Sheng, the fake Gu Yang's face twisted in alarm—he shrieked, "Master HunYan, save me!"

"Get lost! Withering Finger!" HunYan roared, launching a black Dou Qi finger—its power, from a late Seven-Star Dou Sheng, shattered the entire space.

"HunYan, let me deal with you—attacking juniors isn't worthy of a true warrior!" At the instant the black finger descended, a dark shadow shot from the battlefield near Wu Xu Swallowing Flame—Gu Lie could not assist Lei Ying and others against Wu Xu Swallowing Flame.

"Hmph, Gu Lie, you Black Annihilation King hasn't improved much these years!" Seeing the massive, mountain-like figure, HunYan's expression changed slightly—he knew he couldn't defeat Gu Lie, an early Eight-Star Dou Sheng.

With Gu Lie holding back HunYan, the other three Demon Saints were held by the Three Immortals.

Looking at the surrounding circle, the fake Gu Yang's face twisted into a grotesque grin—he stomped the Space, and his body shot straight toward the energy barrier above—seeing him attempt to break through, Gu Nanhai and other Gu Clan Elders' expressions turned icy; instantly, they joined forces, unleashing terrifying Dou Qi like lightning, striking his body—SpiritFlesh flew in all directions.

Facing the ferocious assault from Gu Nanhai and others, Gu Yang was drenched in blood, yet his grotesque, mad expression grew fiercer; as he neared the barrier by a hundred zhang, his nearly shattered body rapidly swelled.

"He's going to self-detonate!"

Seeing this, Gu Qingyang and others' faces changed—they knew the explosion of a late Five-Star Dou Sheng would be immense; instantly, everyone slowed.

BOOM! A terrifying explosion of Dou Qi and Soul Power created a violent energy storm—the blast's power was no weaker than a full-force strike from a Seven-Star Dou Sheng.

As Gu Qingyang and others slowed to evade the energy storm, a streak of crimson light suddenly shot out from within, racing wildly toward Hun Tian Di in the sky!

"The Ancient Jade is inside—stop him!"

Within the crimson light was a palm-sized, luminous Ancient Jade—undeniably, the Gu Clan's Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade!

To deliver the Ancient Jade, the man had chosen self-detonation.

The Soul Sovereign had gone this far for the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade!

SHHH!

The crimson streak flashed like a meteor across the sky, drawing every gaze in the heavens.

Gu Qingyang reacted fastest; as the red light tore through the energy defense and escaped, he activated his Body Technique, flashing several times until he appeared not far from the red light, then curled his palm—suction surged violently, and the red light's speed instantly slowed.

"Hmph!"

Just as Gu Qingyang moved to intercept the red light, a cold, icy hum suddenly descended from the Sky, and at the same moment, an extreme sense of danger surged rapidly through every heart.

"Boom!"

The moment the sense of danger arose, the light above the Sky darkened abruptly, then space shattered violently—a pure, jade-white giant hand emerged from the void, snatching toward Ancient Jade; the destruction power within that palm wind, even its faintest ripple, was enough to kill a Six-Star Sage Emperor!

"Hun Tian Di!"

But just as Hun Tian Di's giant hand was about to seize Ancient Jade, the space around Gu Yuan violently trembled—then another colossal palm burst through the air, slamming directly into the white giant hand.

"Crash!"

The two clashed fiercely, and the Destruction Storm erupted instantly; sensing the storm's terrifying power, all Gu Clan elders turned pale and retreated violently, fearing they'd be pulled in.

Who dares meddle in the Battlefield of the Dou Qi Continent's two strongest?

"Hun Tian Di, since you wish to ignite war, then my Gu Clan will fight you to the end!" As the giant palms clashed, Gu Yuan's furious roar, tinged with barely concealed rage, echoed across the Sky.

"Heh, you should have said this long ago, when my Soul Sovereign wiped out the Xiao Clan—now, it's a thousand years too late!"

"Xiao Xuan is dead—no one in this world can stop me, Hun Tian Di!!"

Above the Sky, Hun Tian Di's laughter rang out; as his words faded, the Void Space suddenly split open with massive fissures, and endless black mist howled within, pouring out waves of extraordinarily powerful, chilling energy.

"Has the Soul Sovereign's army mobilized?!"

Sensing the vast number of energies within the fissures, Gu Yuan's face changed instantly.

"Woo!"

As the fissures opened, black mist surged forth like a flood—a massive dark Array materialized, then rapidly transformed into a Void Black Seal stretching tens of thousands of zhang in size; the Seal hovered in the Sky, its colossal shadow completely obscuring this entire Shan Mai.

"Activate the Ancient Emperor Array—defend!!"

Gazing at the colossal Void Black Seal hovering in the Sky, all Gu Clan elders grew grim—just as expected, the Soul Sovereign had prepared something. But fortunately, some Gu Clan elders had been on standby; immediately, a chorus of roars echoed.

"Dong! Dong!"

As the roars fell, the light curtains across the mountains and fields blazed brilliantly—brighter than when they had been searching before.

Vast, trembling waves of energy surged upward as luminous pillars, then rapidly coalesced in the Sky into a colossal, multicolored Ancient Mirror—its surface shimmered with ripples, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations.

"Destruction Seal!"

The black Seal above the Sky trembled—suddenly, a low, thunderous voice, as if millions cried out in unison, rang from the fissures; then the black Seal plunged from the heavens like a celestial disaster, crashing down upon this Shan Mai—if struck, the entire region within tens of thousands of zhang would instantly be annihilated.

"Ancient Emperor Mirror!"

All Gu Clan elders sustaining the Array now had flushed faces; their furious roars echoed across heaven and earth—and the colossal multicolored Ancient Mirror shot forth, finally colliding with the black Seal with a thunderous crash beneath every tense gaze.

(End of Chapter)