Chapter 243

Just as Song Ce was about to collapse, the Illusion Guardian suddenly stopped and said, “The King wishes to see you.”

He stepped aside, clearing a path before the black mist tunnel.

Ji turned back, glancing at Song Ce, who was panting but had regained his composure, then shook his head and walked into the black mist tunnel first.

Hui immediately followed.

After taking an elixir from his storage pouch, Song Ce regained some vigor and entered as well.

“Hurry up!” The Illusion Guardian glared at Lu Fang, who stood motionless in the distance, his eyes filled with threat.

Lu Fang smiled bitterly—he had no choice but to walk into the black mist tunnel under the Guardian’s watchful gaze.

In an instant.

The world spun, black light flashed.

When Lu Fang regained his senses, he stood in a vast canyon, behind him the great mountain. So that was it—the reason they had failed to find the Wuyi Clan’s King was because someone had concealed this canyon with a secret technique.

From outside, it appeared only as a great mountain; without the black mist tunnel, they would never have found this place.

At the canyon’s bottom lay a man-made cave.

Three Wuyi Clan members, all equally beyond ninth-rank, stood at the cave entrance—each uniquely shaped, and from their power, clearly the other three Guardians.

Three Guardians with the strength of great Confucian warriors, plus a King stronger still—this force alone could sweep away every faction in the Scorched Lands.

Lu Fang now truly understood the terror of the ancient clans—this was even under Heaven’s restrictions. Outside the Lesser Upper Realm, they had restored from fourth-rank to this level—truly defied Heaven.

No wonder the Demon Barbarians had said that releasing the ancient clans from their seals could overturn the Northern and Southern Frontiers of the Great Zhou.

He had doubted it before; now he agreed.

The Illusion Guardian entered last, but instead of following Ji and the others toward the cave, he remained guarding the entrance to the black mist tunnel.

Ji stepped forward eagerly, bowing respectfully to the three Wuyi Guardians. “Your servant Ji has come to pledge loyalty to the King.”

A three-meter-tall, thousand-jin spherical Wuyi member grinned, his voice booming. “Stand aside. The King is resting in the cave. He only ordered the Divine Race fellow to enter.”

“Yes, Lord Li!” Ji replied, then walked with Hui to a distance to await orders—by their status, they could not stand near the Guardians.

The Wuyi Clan’s hierarchy was rigid, even more terrifying than humans’.

Cross the line, and you die.

Song Ce took several deep breaths and strode into the cave. He looked tense—after all, the King needed only one moment of displeasure to kill him inside.

“Another ghost cultivator?”

A tall Wuyi woman in tight red leather armor extended a snake-like tongue to lick her lips, her eyes fixed on Lu Fang with a hungry gleam.

It was evil light.

“That’s my subordinate,” Song Ce said casually as he stepped toward the cave. Hoping to groom Lu Fang’s disguised ghost cultivator form into a trusted ally, he offered a convenient lie.

Lu Fang hadn’t expected it—Ji, upon hearing Song Ce’s lie, made no protest. He clearly didn’t regard Lu Fang as anything at all.

Of course.

The Wuyi Clan’s power would never take seriously a mere fifth-rank, third-stage ghost cultivator.

Lu Fang calmly sat down on the spot. The situation had already unfolded this way—no amount of fear would change it. He might as well accept it.

The Wuyi King’s willingness to meet Song Ce meant they had a real chance of survival. That was one reason he hadn’t fought to escape earlier.

“So he’s from the Divine Race.”

Lu Fang thought to himself. He had sensed the divine energy felt familiar—he’d suspected Song Ce’s possessor was from the Divine Race. He hadn’t expected it to be true.

He didn’t know how the Wuyi King had discerned it, but he wouldn’t be mistaken.

In truth, gods were spirits born from the blood of the Divine Race, capable of awakening fragments of their ancestral memories—calling them part of the Divine Race wasn’t inaccurate.

“Too close to use a voice talisman!”

Lu Fang sensed the glowing voice talisman in his storage pouch but dared not retrieve it—the Wuyi King had seen through Song Ce’s identity; he might see through the talisman’s message too.

Unable to check it, he could still guess who sent it.

Since meeting Song Ce and Ji, he had only contacted Xue Luo Sha, informing her of the Wuyi King’s presence; they had confirmed a rescue force would arrive.

So Xue Luo Sha’s message was likely to say the reinforcements were en route, warning him to be cautious—or perhaps to flee outright.

Though Lu Fang had told Xue Luo Sha the Wuyi King’s strength was likely top-tier or beyond ninth-rank, that was because he didn’t understand ancient clans well.

Luo Sha, knowing this, could surely estimate the true power of the ancient clan.

Thus Lu Fang wasn’t worried the Luo Sha Kingdom would send weak reinforcements.

Even if things went against his hopes, he had no recourse—he was barely holding on himself. He wouldn’t risk any dangerous move that might arouse the Wuyi King’s suspicion.

Only by surviving could he do more.

Lu Fang hadn’t expected Song Ce to remain inside the cave so long—the sky had darkened, yet he still hadn’t emerged. Meanwhile, over a dozen more Wuyi members had arrived in the canyon.

Summoned by the King, their restored power hovered around third-rank.

In this short time, Ji had advanced to third-rank, second stage.

Lu Fang stared in shock. Was this really under Heaven’s restrictions? He hadn’t seen Ji cultivate at all, yet he’d ascended a full sub-stage—truly terrifying!

“What’s your name?”

As Lu Fang pretended to nap, a seductive female voice suddenly spoke beside him—he recognized it instantly as the only female Wuyi Guardian.

No wonder she was beyond ninth-rank—though he’d been lost in thought, she had approached silently. Had she wished to kill him then, he’d already be dead.

“Jia Sheng,” Lu Fang opened his eyes, studying the Wuyi woman. He’d noticed before: all female Wuyi shared a uniform beauty and voluptuous figures.

This Guardian was among the finest.

Yet despite her delicate appearance, the subtle revulsion shown by the other two Guardians suggested she was no innocent.

“How should I address you?”

Lu Fang raised an eyebrow and asked.