Chapter 328

On the outskirts of Shengjing City, the four major formation gates.

As the first batch of elders arriving here launched fierce attacks, the tide of corpses tightly surrounding the city was blasted back hundreds of feet, clearing a vacuum.

Just as the people in the city thought that an important figure was trapped outside and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan had to go all out, they saw the second and third batches of elders whistling in.

The second batch of powerful figures took over the cleared open space in an instant, continuing to sweep the Evil Seeds in the surrounding area. Their magnificent techniques, like a web woven from immortal light, carried sharp killing intent as they continued to suppress the corpse tide outward.

Boom!

A Spirit Travel Realm elder landed and swung his palm, and immortal light gushing with golden clouds shot fiercely from his palm, the powerful force seemingly dimming the surrounding sky.

The straight beam of immortal light surged through the thick corpse tide, instantly grinding countless Evil Seeds into a mess of limbs and flesh.

Immediately after, the third batch of elders arrived with a whistle, once again pushing back those hideous, writhing tide lines by dozens of feet.

At the same time, a large number of inner-court disciples expanded outward along the gap carved out by that immortal light.

Inside the Chong Wang residence, those magnificent immortal lights were all reflected in the eyes of those noble families, making countless people feel a tremor in their hearts.

After the Wandering Immortal Assembly ended, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan's ranking fell to the bottom, which had caused the Qingyun noble families to sing its praises of decline for a long time.

But only at this moment did they realize that even if it had fallen to the bottom, an Immortal Sect was, after all, still an Immortal Sect.

However, they still did not understand why the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan was so urgent—not to save people, but as if it wanted to kill its way out for a thousand miles.

The same doubt also existed in the towns under the Daoist grounds of other Immortal Sects.

Because at almost the same time, Lingjian Mountain, the Asking Dao Sect, the Mountain Sea Pavilion, the Chen Clan, and the Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion were all constantly suppressing Evil Seeds outward.

As the magnificent heavenly light shot into the sky, it stirred up the clouds, and the vast immortal light soared upward, falling wildly across the sky; such an aura was soon keenly captured by those with deep cultivation realms across the land.

"The other Immortal Sects seem to have started moving too. Could it be that they are joining forces to clear out the Evil Seeds?"

"No, even the old masters who have been in seclusion for many years have come out; it doesn't look like the style of the Immortal Sects at all. The Evil Seeds are probably not the goal."

"Brother Qian means that there are other things hidden behind this?"

Facing this massive suppression, every corner of the entire city was filled with discussion, and their curiosity was comparable to when they first perceived the Heavenly Dao.

But soon, they would no longer need to guess.

Because as six rays of immortal clouds gathered in the sky, a huge talisman floated surgingly in the sky, imprinted upon the azure firmament.

"Prince, it is a man-made disaster, not a natural one!"

"Report to the Family Head, noble families are causing chaos, harming the Heavenly Dao, and attempting to overthrow Qingyun!"

"Your Majesty..."

As the content of the talisman flashed, countless copied paper scrolls were passed to all directions.

The content was sharp and straightforward, directly pointing out that the Chu family of Youzhou, the Zhu family of Qingzhou, the Zhuang family of Lingzhou, the Wei family of Yongzhou, the Li family of Zhongzhou, and the Du family of Liangzhou, among other noble families, had privately opened ruins and stolen immortal fate, leading to a great disaster.

It also stated that they had been secretly plotting for decades, and the disaster of the corpse tide was only the beginning; there was fear of a Qiling disaster, so a special order was issued to hunt and kill them throughout Qingyun, commanding the noble families of the world to follow.

"The Chu family?"

"And the Li family and the Du family..."

"The Qiling disaster..."

"This..."

The order to execute spread instantly, causing countless noble family members to widen their eyes, seemingly unable to digest the news for a moment.

Especially the four words "Qiling disaster," which seemed to pull everyone back to more than four years ago, to the event where the Zheng family's demon-man refined countless cultivators.

After that event, many noble families suffered heavy losses, and some families had not even recovered their vitality to this day.

And only at this moment did they realize with a start that that event had not ended with the fall of the Zheng family's demon-man, but had instead brewed such a great disaster today, more than four years later.

After seeing the talisman order and learning what had happened in the world, all the major noble families left their gathering places.

They closed their doors and windows and began secret discussions.

"If this matter is truly like the Qiling disaster, it is by no means something the strength of noble families can contend with. I think it is best not to go. Even if this world collapses, the Immortal Sects will ultimately be the ones to bear it. This corpse tide has already left us severely injured; we should not suffer any more losses."

In the courtyard where the He family resided, He Long, who had prepared to divide up Fengzhou at the Wandering Immortal Assembly, gave his opinion.

Don't go, don't listen, let whoever cares handle it.

Hearing his analysis, the other He family elders could not help but nod secretly.

Although the Zheng family ancestor had become demonized, his combat power was truly at the Approaching Immortal Realm.

Back then, in order to snatch opportunities, countless cultivators entered Qiling and vanished into smoke without even seeing the face of the Zheng family ancestor. Now that more than a dozen noble families have joined forces, who could withstand this?

He Long saw that the surrounding elders agreed with his opinion, so he turned to look at He Ye: "Family Head, in my opinion, we should stay in Shengjing until this matter ends; we cannot let our family's disciples throw their lives away."

"Fool."

"?"

He Ye looked at him coldly: "This corpse tide will wipe out countless noble families, leaving behind countless ancestral lands and family properties, not to mention the foundations and inherited techniques of thousand-year noble families like the Chu, Li, and Zhu families. Do you think that if this calamity can be passed, Qingyun will still be the Qingyun of the past?"

Hearing this, the faces of the surrounding elders instantly became solemn: "The Family Head is right; if this calamity passes, Qingyun will surely be turned upside down."

He Ye picked up the paper scroll containing the talisman content again: "If you don't listen to the order now, it will be difficult to even get a share of the spoils later. If other noble families gain the favor of the Immortal Sects and obtain this war-torn legacy, my He family will likely decline for a hundred years if we remain indifferent."

He Long opened his mouth: "We have marriage ties with Hall Master Zuoqiu."

"But your surname is not Zuoqiu, and he is not the Abbot. Besides, there is more than one Immortal Sect in the world."

"This..."

The He family ancestor gently opened his eyes at this moment: "According to the style of the seven major Immortal Sects over the past thousand years, this will inevitably be the unspoken rule of this expedition. If we don't go, there will be surrounding noble families who choose to take the risk. Go."

Hearing this, the people gathered in the room stood up immediately.

As they pushed the door open and went out, other noble family members had also walked out, seemingly having thought the same thing as the He family.

Wartime and disasters were never the goal; whether it was those who stirred up the clouds and rain or those who went to fight, it was all for the gains after the war.

And while the noble families were considering the gains and losses after this great calamity, the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples were also discussing this matter.

However, most of them were young people who did not have the long-term vision of the noble family heads. The focus of their discussion was on those noble families who were causing chaos in the world, and they discussed it while packing their bags.

"The likes of the Chu and Li families are truly too bold, daring to oppose the Immortal Sects and causing such a great disaster. They truly deserve to be executed!"

"My uncles, aunts, and several brothers and sisters all died in the corpse tide. This hatred must be avenged!"

"There is a rumor in the academy that if one performs excellently in this battle, there might be a chance to become a direct disciple and obtain inherited techniques."

Ji You had already left the Zizai Hall and had just arrived at Cao Jingsong's courtyard when he saw them gathered together. Seeing him arrive, they immediately asked about the truth of the talisman's content.

Because they knew that the content they didn't dare ask Ji You about earlier must be what the talisman said.

Ji You hesitated for a moment and then nodded: "Most of it is true."

"Which part is fake?"

"Some unimportant details are fake."

"?"

Ji You sat down and poured himself a cup of tea: "The Immortal Sect's imperial order says that the likes of the Chu and Li families opened the ruins, but in reality, the ruins were opened by the Immortal Sects. They were played, but it just so happened that they could push the boat with the current and blame everything on them."

Hearing that the Immortal Sects had been played, Cao Jingsong, Wen Zhengxin, and Ban Yangshu immediately raised their hands to tell him to stop: "Just pretend we never heard it."

"Since this matter has already been exposed to the world, it doesn't matter if you know a few minor truths."

Because those who can ascend to the Immortal Realm are only a few, countless people are staring at the limited resources in this world, calculating every bit; if you have less, I can have more.

Ji You shook his head: "The Immortal Sects aren't too stupid, it's just that once greed arises, it's easy to be blind."

Ban Yangshu nodded after hearing this: "Junior Brother Ji is the same; he dares to go pick up silver thrown to lure him into a trap. Greed is truly terrifying."

"That's a good example, don't use it again in the future."

"Did you find this out?" Wen Zhengxin couldn't help but ask.

Ji You nodded: "Part of it I found, and part of it was told to me by the Long Xiandi."

Wen Zhengxin's eyelashes trembled slightly: "Long..."

Cao Jingsong and Ban Yangshu also suddenly fell silent, not knowing what to say at this moment, because they all knew that the Bai family was also on the list.

Although Ji You tried his best to vouch for him in front of the five Hall Masters, proving Bai Rulong's innocence, he himself must have felt terrible; otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to show his face for several days since returning.

This kid is muddled and foolish, but he is not a bad person. It must be hard for him to accept such a change.

But soon, as the mountain bell rang and the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan disciples were ordered to gather at the Immortal-Ascending White Jade Terrace to prepare to travel to the ruins, they saw the Long Xiandi.