Chapter 529

Zang Tian Ge, Judgment Hall.

That mass of dark red flesh, so huge it could not be described in words, hovered silently in the dark void.

Ice-cold, deathly still.

Below, eight black shadows of varying forms stood bowed, their breathing almost ceased.

No one knew how long had passed.

A will devoid of any emotion echoed simultaneously in the seas of consciousness of the eight elders.

"They……have already entered."

Hearing those words, the Ba Zhang Lao's figure, shrouded in his cloak, trembled slightly, and a flash of uncontrollable excitement and hatred flickered in his scarlet eyes.

He had waited for this day, and he had waited too long.

"Ba Zhang Lao." The will of the Grand Elder descended once more.

"Present!" Ba Zhang Lao hastily bowed.

Act according to the plan.

Yes!

Ba Zhang Lao's voice, hoarse from excitement.

In the next instant, his figure vanished from the Judgment Hall.

When he reappeared, he was already back in his own temple built from countless white bones.

Inside the temple, dozens of disciples in standard black robes, their auras either powerful or strange, had long been waiting.

Convey my orders!

Ba Zhang Lao's voice echoed within the vast hall.

Target, the Jiehai, the Tianhuan Realm.

The Gu Family's chief has entered the trap, the Great Array's blockade is activated.

You will follow me to eradicate the Gu Family's remnants, together with that world, harvesting their origin!

As you command!

Dozens of disciples responded in unison, their voices filled with fervor and bloodlust.

They are Ba Zhang Lao's death warriors, willing to sacrifice anything to carry out the mission.

In the corner of the crowd.

A figure likewise clad in a black robe stood silently, making no sound.

He merely lifted his head, gazing toward the Tianhuan Realm.

He is none other than Gu Yuan's clone—Yuan.

Codename, Forty-Nine.

Ten years have passed since he devoured the Yuan Realm.

Over these ten years, he had almost become a legend within Zang Tian Ge, known to all.

A madman.

A demon born purely for destruction and devouring.

After devouring the Yuan Realm, he did not halt his steps.

Ba Zhang Lao, to win him over and also to test him, gave him three seed worlds marked as 'mature'.

Yuan did not disappoint anyone.

In the shortest time, by the most brutal means, he devoured those three worlds, along with all their living beings and all their lawful origins, turning them into his own nourishment for growth.

All missions assigned to him were perfectly completed.

Every world, without exception, was devoured by him alone, greatly accelerating the pace.

His cultivation thus surged all the way.

Half-step Immortal King.

Ordinary Immortal King.

Just five years ago, he successfully ignited the Immortal King's Dao fire, stepping into the true Immortal King realm.

And from that moment on, subtle changes began to occur.

The thread of connection between him and his true self, far away on the Gu Family's Divine Isle, grew ever weaker and more indistinct.

Until the day he fully consolidated his Immortal King realm.

That thread was not severed; rather, it was actively repelled by his true self.

It seemed his true self feared some mishap, so it temporarily severed the link with itself.

He became a truly independent existence.

Yet he still carried out the task Gu Yuan gave him—climb as high as possible, obtain Zang Tian Ge, and even the intelligence behind it.

He remembered that before severing the link, he had sent a piece of intelligence about Zang Tian Ge's plan to his true self via that thread.

That intelligence detailed how Zang Tian Ge intended to use a trap world called the Tianhuan Realm to lure and slaughter a family possessing Chaos Body experts.

That family was precisely the Gu Family.

According to his calculations, upon receiving this intelligence, his true self had a ninety-nine percent chance of choosing to avoid the trap and make long-term plans.

But now, the situation clearly exceeded his expectations.

The Gu Family not only came, but they sent their core patriarchal combat strength.

Namely, his own grandfather.

Why?

Possibility One: The intelligence transmission failed.

This possibility was immediately rejected by him.

He was certain that the information had already been received by his true self.

Possibility two: the true self and the Gu Family underestimated the danger of the trap and were overconfident.

This possibility was likewise rejected.

His true self, though sometimes acting wildly, is fundamentally more cautious than anyone.

Then only one possibility remains.

This is a scheme.

A scheme of turning the tables, using the opponent's plan against them.

The Gu Family actively jumped into this trap.

What do they intend to do?

Counterattack?

Or... is there a greater plot?

In Yuan's gray-black pupils, a flicker of interest passed.

Interesting.

It seems his true self is not merely a well-behaved cultivator hiding in a comfort zone, plodding along.

However, he is quite curious.

For this operation, Zang Tian Ge mobilized four elders headed by the Second Elder, plus elders, the newly promoted Tenth Elder of recent years, and all their disciples, laying a net of heaven and earth, aiming to uproot the Gu Family once and for all.

You should know.

The title of Elder belongs solely to top-tier powerhouses who have reached the Supreme Immortal King level across all realms!

Even the Eighth Elder himself is already a titanic-level powerhouse.

Moreover, the Grand Elder secretly assists at any time.

Just on the surface, there are at least two Supreme Immortal King-level powerhouses, two titanic-level!

Facing such a lineup, even the titanic Immortal Kings of the Primordial Immortal Realm would treat it as a formidable foe and summon their own Supreme Immortal King manifestations!

What confidence does the true self have to let grandfather personally enter the scheme?

Does he think that relying solely on an ancestor who has just entered the titanic rank can counter Zang Tian Ge's long-planned killing scheme?

Or... does he hide a hidden card even he himself doesn't know about?

Yuan's lips curled into a cold arc.

Then, what should I do?

Help the Gu Family?

The main body's only instruction for me is to remain hidden.

Yet Zang Tian Ge as a platform still holds great utilitarian value.

However... he enjoys this chaotic situation.

The more chaotic the chessboard, the greater the chance for this piece wandering outside the board to become the true controller of the pieces.

"Forty-nine."

Ba Zhang Lao's voice suddenly sounded.

"You stay behind and guard the branch hall."

Yuan, hearing this, slightly raised his gray-black pupils.

"Why?"

His voice was equally cold, devoid of any emotion.

"This is the Tenth Elder's demand."

Ba Zhang Lao's tone left no room for doubt: "You have just broken through to Immortal King, your foundation is unsteady, you need not participate in this operation."

"Your task is to watch over the home."

"If the branch hall suffers any mishap, you know the consequences."

Having said that, Ba Zhang Lao led the remaining disciples into the transmission array to the Heavenly Ring Realm, his figure vanishing instantly.

Inside the hall, only Yuan remained.

He stood silently in place, the gray-black eyes beneath his hood flashing with an inexplicable light.

Not let him go?

Or is it the Tenth Elder's demand?

That person who suddenly joined five years ago and instantly became a newly promoted elder?

Has he... discovered something?

Yuan placed his hand on the broken black sword, Shattered Star, at his waist.

The cold sensation caused a subtle ripple in his thoughts.

He lifted his head, gazing toward the Heavenly Ring Realm.

"Grandfather, father, main body..."

"I hope you won't let me down."