Chapter 148

"Where is your lair?"

The voice of Gu Cangsheng echoed in Yun Tiandu's ears.

His whole body shuddered, and a flicker of struggle crossed his eyes.

But soon, that flicker of struggle was replaced by endless fear.

He did not want to die.

Even if his Dao foundation were destroyed and his cultivation ruined, he still wanted to live.

"In... in the Northern Plains..."

He wanted to answer, but Gu Cangsheng had already lost his patience.

He pressed his fingers together like a blade and lightly scored the bronze fragment.

A profound rune was branded upon it.

Then, he flicked his finger at Yun Tiandu.

The bronze fragment inscribed with the rune turned into a stream of light and instantly sank into Yun Tiandu's forehead.

"Ah——!"

Yun Tiandu let out a piercing scream, feeling his soul being madly scorched and refined by an irresistible force.

His memories, his Dao arts, everything about him lay bare before that force, with nowhere to hide.

Soul Search!

This mysterious old man actually used the fragment of an imperial weapon as a medium to perform the most cruel and overbearing soul search on a quasi-emperor!

In just a few breaths, Yun Tiandu's scream ceased abruptly.

His body turned into a handful of flying ash, completely dissipating between heaven and earth.

And that bronze fragment flew back, landing once more in Gu Cangsheng's hand.

On the fragment, light and shadow flowed, revealing a clear star map, with a coordinate marked by a blinking red dot clearly indicated.

That was the ancestral land of the Yun family.

"Called Tianyun Prefecture... not far, actually."

Gu Cangsheng muttered to himself, then performed an action that made everyone's scalp tingle and limbs turn icy.

He raised the bronze fragment in his hand, aimed at the coordinate marked on it, and gave a gentle blow.

"Whoosh——"

It was as if he merely wanted to blow away nonexistent dust on it.

Yet, that light, offhand breath—

—that bronze fragment suddenly erupted with billions of rays of brilliant divine light!

A flash of light pierced the void, ignoring spatial barriers, and vanished into endless darkness.

Having done all that, Gu Cangsheng acted as if nothing had happened, casually tossing the now-dim fragment to Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan took the fragment; it felt icy cold in his hand, and he felt a bit disdainful.

"Grandpa, you've smashed this to pieces—what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Good grandson, the material is not bad; although it's broken, after remelting and recasting it can still serve as a little toy for you."

Gu Yuan pursed his lips; he guessed as much.

Surely Grandpa didn't want it himself but didn't want to waste it, so he took it.

After all, it's material for forging a supreme Dao imperial weapon.

Even the Gu family doesn't have much—only enough to forge a few thousand.

To give every Gu family member one each is still far off.

Just then.

Far away, billions of li distant, in the heart of the Northern Plains lies Tianyun Prefecture, that mountain range perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist.

Here lies the ancestral land of the ancient Yun clan.

Deep in the mountains, pavilions and towers stand, immortal qi swirling—

At this moment, in the Yun family's council hall, the elders sat upright with solemn expressions.

Just moments ago, in their ancestral hall, the soul lamp of their forefather Yun Tiandu—

suddenly shook violently, its light flickering erratically, as if it might go out at any moment.

This left them anxious and frantic, yet with no recourse.

"What on earth happened? The forefather wasn't off seeking that legendary immortal affinity, was he? Why is his soul lamp so unstable?" an elder said anxiously.

"Could it be... that the forefather encountered a powerful foe?"

"Impossible! The forefather is a quasi-emperor at peak, wielding a supreme Dao imperial weapon; across the Burial Emperor Star Domain, apart from the forbidden zone's supreme who has reached ultimate sublimation, who could be his match?"

Just as the crowd debated and speculated endlessly.

A disciple tasked with guarding the ancestral hall came rushing in, tumbling and crawling, his face filled with boundless fear.

"No... not good! Elders! The forefather's soul lamp... has gone out!"

"What?!"

"Boom!"

At the moment when the Yun family's collective mind was in turmoil.

An indescribably terrifying beam of light came from beyond the heavens, tearing apart the Yun family's protective Great Array, ignoring all restrictions, and striking precisely upon this endless immortal mountain range.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any heart-rending cry.

Wherever that beam passed, everything was annihilated.

Whether it be magnificent palaces or powerful cultivators.

Whether it be mountains and rivers, grasses and trees, or flying birds and beasts.

All were silently and completely erased from this world within that ray of light.

An ancient clan that had been inherited for several hundred thousand years, together with the entire mountain range where it was located.

Just like that, in the snap of a finger, it disappeared forever from the territory of the Burial Emperor Star Domain.

Spotless and utterly thorough.

As if it had never existed.

And this scene, shown via various water mirrors and formations, appeared with utmost clarity above the renowned human forces of the entire Burial Emperor Star Domain!

"Yun... the Yun family... is gone?"

"In the snap of a finger, an ancient clan was wiped out?"

"This... this is... a Great Emperor! A true Great Emperor has descended!"

"Plop!"

"Plop!"

This time, no one could stand any longer.

All the Holy Lords and Elders outside the Ancient Forbidden Zone, as if their spines had been pulled out, went weak in the knees and knelt down in unison.

They kowtowed madly toward the direction where Gu Cangsheng and Gu Yuan were, their foreheads striking the ground with thuds, blood flowing freely, yet they felt nothing.

In their eyes, all greed and calculation were gone, leaving only primal awe and fear.

"Welcome the descent of the Great Emperor!"

"We are blind and have offended heavenly majesty, deserving myriad deaths; please forgive us, Great Emperor!"

The pleading cries, like mountains collapsing and seas roaring, echoed through the clouds.

In their view, one could shatter an Imperial Weapon with a snap of the fingers.

Wipe out an ancient clan.

Besides the legendary ancient Great Emperor who ruled heaven and earth and was invincible, who else could there be?

This mysterious old man is not a Quasi-Emperor, a Saint...

He is a living, breathing Present-Day Great Emperor!

And yet they just dared to act against a descendant of a Great Emperor?

Thinking of this, everyone was terrified to the point of their souls fleeing and their gallbladders bursting.

This isn't just an old man hanging himself complaining about a long life; it's literally sticking one's head under King Yama's executioner's blade!

Gu Yuan watched this group of Holy Lords, who had gone from arrogant to fawning, terrified to the point of losing control of their bowels, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

He turned to look at his own grandfather and muttered softly: "Grandfather, they seem to have misunderstood something."

"Let it be a misunderstanding then."

Gu Cangsheng waved his hand with an indifferent expression: "Just right, saves us a lot of trouble."

"Alright, everyone get up."

"The Great Emperor won't kill us?"

"Quick! Thank the Great Emperor for sparing our lives!"

The crowd, as if granted a great pardon, felt grateful and wished they could thank the eighteen generations of ancestors of this newly ascended Great Emperor.

"I ask, you answer."

Gu Cangsheng, too lazy to waste words with them, took a step forward, bringing Gu Yuan to face the crowd, and got straight to the point,

"In this star domain, besides you lot who aren't fit for the stage, is there anyone else worth fighting?"

"Re... report to the Great Emperor!"

The Fluctuating Light Holy Lord replied tremblingly,

"Besides our various holy land clans, the strongest existence in this star domain is none other than the Nine Great Life Forbidden Zones!"

"Within each forbidden zone slumbers an ancient supreme who severed his own path, or an alternative Dao-attaining supreme existence; they... were all once Great Emperors!"