Chapter 184: Hun Tiandi VS Gu Yuan!
Between heaven and earth, ripples spread forth wave after wave. At the same time, a light, airy laugh slowly rang out.
The emergence of this voice instantly made Yao Dan, Elder Wanhuo, and the Yao clan experts guarding Yao Sacred Mountain tense to the extreme.
"Enemy attack! Yao clan, on alert!"
Elder Wanhuo reacted swiftly. A long howl resounded throughout the entire Yao Sacred Mountain Range. His sharp, fierce shout rolled and thundered unceasingly between heaven and earth.
Then, within the vast, sprawling mountain range, streaks of light shot forth in all directions. All of the Yao clan's experts revealed themselves at this very moment. Instantly, in the sky above, vast and mighty auras surged and churned.
Over a dozen Dou Shengs appeared. The Dou Qi within their bodies howled and churned like floodwaters. The slightest sign of movement—and attacks like a torrential rainstorm would erupt immediately!
Yet at this moment, Yao Dan's expression froze slightly. No one noticed the terror and dread within his eyes. In the next instant, he looked toward the place where the space ahead was rippling and murmured under his breath, "Hun Tiandi?!"
Space undulated. A whirlpool slowly took form. Then, from within that whirlpool, a rather slender, elegant hand extended outward, pressing against the top of the whirlpool. A figure stepped out slowly, ultimately appearing before the gazes of all the Yao clan members.
Hun Tiandi was clad in a long gray-white robe. His entire being exuded an aura of refined elegance and gentle ease. Had he held a book in hand, he would have been indistinguishable from a scholar.
But the moment Hun Tiandi appeared, the expressions of Yao Dan and Elder Wanhuo immediately became exceedingly grave. Elder Wanhuo's body even trembled slightly.
Completely ignoring the Yao clan members, Hun Tiandi strolled leisurely, all alone, toward the mountain peak where Yao Dan stood. Surveying the surrounding scenery as he walked, he spoke softly, "Yao Dan, it's been so many years since we last met. This Yao Realm of yours is still as pleasantly scenic as ever."
"Hun Tiandi, what have you come here to do? This is not a place you should be." Hun Tiandi's words immediately made Yao Dan tense up. Stepping past the crowd, he faced Hun Tiandi directly, his expression more solemn than ever before.
The man before him was the strongest on the continent—a peak nine-star Dou Sheng, an Emperor Realm soul, a peerless expert. On this continent, aside from the Gu Clan Leader, Gu Yuan, no one was his match.
What was even more chilling was that, against Hun Tiandi, even the Yao clan's clan-protecting grand array—Yao Dan had no confidence it could deal with him. This was a super-dangerous individual who could truly annihilate an entire clan single-handedly.
"In this world, there is no place I should not go." Looking at the tense Yao Dan, Hun Tiandi chuckled lightly. At this very moment, it was as if he were the master of the Yao Realm. His words were filled with overbearing dominance.
As he spoke, his gaze slowly swept downward.
Whoever was swept by that gaze felt a chill, impossible to suppress, surge up from the very depths of their soul. Though that gaze seemed calm and placid on the surface, beneath that placidity surged an utterly emotionless, icy coldness. It was as if, in his eyes, everything in the world—all living things—were nothing more than worthless blades of grass.
"Hun Tiandi, our Yao clan did not invite you here! Forcibly trespassing into another clan's great realm—even Gu Yuan has never violated this iron law!" Yao Dan looked at Hun Tiandi and brought up Gu Yuan's name, hoping to instill a trace of wariness in the other and make him leave the Yao Realm.
Between the imperial clans, it had always been Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi mutually restraining one another, the two keeping watch over each other. Otherwise, with a peak nine-star Dou Sheng around, the various clans could never have remained this stable.
"You need not bring up Gu Yuan to pressure me. What I, Hun Tiandi, wish to do—not even Gu Yuan can stop me!" Hun Tiandi's expression abruptly turned cold. His words carried a deeper, pointed meaning, making Yao Dan's heart crawl with dread.
"I heard from Hun Xuzi that the Twelve-Petal Seven-Colored Snow Lotus is still preserved within your Yao clan. My purpose in coming today is, in truth, to conduct a transaction." Sensing that the timing was about right, Hun Tiandi slowly spoke his objective.
Drawing Gu Yuan away and diverting the Gu clan's attention was the true goal. But seizing the chance to gain some benefits from the Yao clan along the way was also perfectly acceptable.
"The Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus!"
"Hun Xuzi!!!"
Hearing Hun Tiandi's words, Elder Wanhuo inhaled sharply. The Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus was the main ingredient of the ninth-tier Golden Pill—the Nine-Colored Snow Soul Pill. It possessed the miraculous effect of reviving the dead and regenerating flesh and bone. It could be called the number one sacred healing medicine of the Dou Qi Continent.
Of course, ninth-tier Golden Pills—no one on the current Dou Qi Continent could refine them. But its lotus seeds could still be used to refine the one-tier-lower, ninth-tier Mystic Pill-grade Snow Soul Pill, which was still a top-tier, first-class healing treasure.
In the long history of the Dou Qi Continent, only the Yao Emperor back then had ever obtained two stalks of the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus. One of them had become that ninth-tier Golden Pill, while the other had been preserved in the Yao clan's hands, becoming one of the Yao clan's important foundational treasures.
That was why, upon hearing that Hun Tiandi's target was the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus, the two were so shocked.
As Yao Dan inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, he also ground his teeth in hatred toward Hun Xuzi—that fellow who had 'leaked' the information.
At the same time, another doubt surfaced in Yao Dan's mind. Why would Hun Tiandi make such a grand, aggressive move to force his way into the Yao Realm and demand the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus? Could it be that someone important within the Hun clan is severely wounded?
"Yao Dan, this seat's patience is limited. This Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus—will you hand it over or not?"
Just as Yao Dan was pondering, Hun Tiandi's expression abruptly turned icy cold. The very sky seemed to darken considerably at this moment.
Vast, mighty heaven-and-earth energy howled behind him, connecting the heavens and the earth. Seen from afar, it resembled an endless, boundless energy tide, the sound of its crashing waves ringing out without cease.
The mighty power of a nine-star Dou Sheng—with but a single thought, it could form such a vast, sweeping energy tide, a sight scarcely seen once in a hundred years. Now that Hun Tiandi displayed it, Yao Dan's expression grew exceedingly grave.
He had no doubt whatsoever that if it came to blows, he would, in the blink of an eye, shatter into absolute nothingness under that terrifying pressure.
"All members of the Yao clan, heed my command! Activate the Heaven-Transforming Medicine Array!" Sensing Hun Tiandi's movements, Elder Wanhuo immediately shouted in tension.
"Weng! Weng!"
The Yao clan elders did not hesitate in the slightest. At this very moment, they all swiftly launched pillar after pillar of light, shooting them into this mountain range. Instantly, the mountain range trembled. Enormous pillars of light burst forth from the mountains, ultimately interweaving in the sky above to form an enormous, strange, and wondrous grand array.
"Wait!"
Just as the array was about to proceed, a sharp, fierce shout from Yao Dan made everyone's movements come to an abrupt halt.
Then, he looked at Hun Tiandi and said, "I can give you the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus. But you must guarantee that the moment you obtain the ingredient, you will immediately leave our Yao Realm!"
"Clan Leader..." Hearing Yao Dan's words, Elder Wanhuo looked at him unwillingly.
Yao Dan turned his head, his eyes sharp and fierce. In a deep voice, he said, "Medicinal ingredients—if lost, can be found again. But if the clan-protecting grand array left behind by our founding ancestor is damaged because of this, that would be an unforgivable crime for all of us!"
Elder Wanhuo's entire body jolted. In the end, he could only retreat helplessly behind Yao Dan.
Seeing this, Hun Tiandi chuckled lightly. Teasingly, he said, "Yao Dan, there's truly no need to be so tense. After the Yao clan is destroyed, I could still obtain the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus all the same. Since I've come to discuss it with you, it means I am not targeting the Yao clan!"
Hearing Hun Tiandi's explanation, Yao Dan inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Though this did not guarantee that the crisis was truly resolved, it still brought a bit more reassurance to his heart.
The situation was stronger than the man. Yao Dan could only retrieve a jade box from his ring. Within it lay a stalk of twelve-petaled snow lotus, pure and white as the finest jade. Strangely, its flower's core displayed nine brilliant colors. Even after tens of thousands of years, it still seemed like a living thing, exuding waves of delicate fragrance.
Hun Tiandi watched this scene with keen interest. At his level, ordinary things had long since ceased to have any effect. Excluding spiritual objects on the level of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, the Nihility Devouring Flame, and the Nine Mysterious Golden Thunder—only a ninth-tier Golden Pill could stir his heart.
And as the main ingredient for refining a ninth-tier Golden Pill, the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus naturally piqued his curiosity.
"Take it!"
With a reluctant glance at the jade box in his palm, Yao Dan, with extreme decisiveness, pushed it toward Hun Tiandi.
Hun Tiandi watched this scene with perfect calm. Yet just then, deep within the depths of his eyes, a trace of delight—almost imperceptible—finally surfaced. It flickered and vanished in an instant. Very quickly, a light laugh rang out. At the same time, his figure flickered as he moved toward the flying jade box.
"Gu Yuan—since when did you start skulking about like a thief?!"
"Boom—"
Within the void, two hands—both as fair and pure as the finest jade—collided. There was no earth-shattering, deafening boom. All there was were the silently, quietly collapsing spatial lines and the overflowing, spreading destructive power.
Had the Yao Realm's space not been reinforced over several thousand years, this single exchange between the two alone would have been enough to tear space itself apart.
"Clan Leader Gu Yuan!" Seeing this scene, Yao Dan's expression finally relaxed completely. Turning his head, he spoke to the Dou Sheng elders behind him: "Protect Yao Sacred Mountain! Do not get caught in the crossfire under any circumstances!"
"Yes!"
"Boom—"
Within the void, the two figures clashed fiercely. In just a few breaths' time, they had already exchanged over a hundred blows. Space itself was born and extinguished within their palms. Those fluctuations—even an eight-star Dou Sheng entering them would be severely wounded in the blink of an eye.
After trading yet another forceful blow, Hun Tiandi reached out and grabbed the jade box holding the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus. His figure flickered several times and appeared in the distance. Looking at Gu Yuan, who had finally shown himself, he said, "Gu Yuan, instead of staying put in the Gu Realm, what are you doing here in the Yao clan?"
"Hmph!" Seeing that he had failed to stop him, Gu Yuan snorted coldly. Staring at Hun Tiandi with icy eyes, he said, "Where you, Hun Tiandi, can go—why can I, Gu Yuan, not go as well?"
"Oh?" Hearing this, Hun Tiandi let out a soft, surprised sound. His face tinged with a trace of regret, he asked, "We've known each other for a thousand years. How come you, Gu Yuan, have never once come to my Soul Realm to visit this old friend of yours?"
"..."
The moment Hun Tiandi spoke these words, Gu Yuan was instantly at a loss for words. Why hadn't he gone to the Soul Realm? Wasn't it simply because he feared ending up the same way as Xiao Xuan?!
Xiao Xuan was plenty powerful, wasn't he? A man who dominated an entire era. But wasn't he still beaten and killed by the Hun clan in a gang assault? Gu Yuan asked himself—he had yet to reach Xiao Xuan's level. Go to the Soul Realm?
He had no desire to accompany Xiao Xuan! He still wanted to break through to Dou Di and lead the Gu clan back to prosperity and glory!
Taking a deep breath, Gu Yuan retorted sarcastically, "And you, Hun Tiandi—in a thousand years, you've never once come to my Gu Realm either."
"Gu Yuan, rest assured... there will be such an opportunity in the future!" Unlike Gu Yuan, Hun Tiandi stared at Gu Yuan with a faint, meaningful smile and spoke with profound implication.
Hearing Hun Tiandi's words, Gu Yuan's heart gave a fierce, violent lurch. A terrible premonition surged up. But in the very next instant, he forcibly dispelled it. With a flick of his sleeve, his expression icy cold, his gaze fixed tightly on Hun Tiandi, Gu Yuan said, "Hun Tiandi, I won't argue with you. Today, your coercion of the Yao clan was already beyond the pale. Leave the Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus here—and I'll let you leave!"
"Let me leave?" Hearing Gu Yuan's words, Hun Tiandi seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. Sneering coldly, he said, "You, Gu Yuan, don't have that ability!"
"Rip—"
Having spoken, Hun Tiandi immediately tore open a spatial rift. Turning his head, he looked at Gu Yuan and said, "If you've got the guts, follow me in!" Finishing his words, ignoring the dark, overcast expression on Gu Yuan's face behind him, he turned and stepped into the spatial passageway.
Within the spatial passageway, a wisp of pitch-black flame flickered and vanished in a flash, as if mocking Gu Yuan.
And as Hun Tiandi departed, that spatial passageway, as expected, did not close. It simply remained there, quietly, within the Yao Realm's space.
Gu Yuan's expression was grim as he watched Hun Tiandi swagger away. He made no move.
"Hun Tiandi is cunning and treacherous. There are bound to be traps laid behind that spatial passageway. We absolutely must not fall for them so easily!" As if feeling that he had lost a step in sheer momentum, Gu Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, staring at the spatial passageway, and spoke in a deep voice.
Seeing this scene, Yao Dan knew in his heart that his Nine-Colored Snow Lotus was thoroughly, utterly gone forever. Letting out a quiet sigh inwardly, he looked at Gu Yuan and said, "Many thanks to Clan Leader Gu Yuan for aiding our Yao clan and resolving this crisis!"
"It's nothing. For some unknown reason, in a thousand years, Hun Tiandi has never once left the Soul Realm—yet today, he actually came to the Yao Realm. It's truly baffling!" Gu Yuan waved his hand and spoke with a face full of perplexity.
"Hun Tiandi seized our clan's Twelve-Petal Nine-Colored Snow Lotus. Could it be that someone in the Hun clan is gravely wounded and on the verge of death?" Yao Dan's expression flickered, making a conjecture.
Hearing this, Gu Yuan's heart stirred. Could it be that Hun Tiandi's injuries, after a thousand years of recuperation, not only haven't improved but have actually worsened—forcing him to take such a desperate risk and forcibly break into the Yao clan?
Thinking this, Gu Yuan's mind raced. If this conjecture were true, then Hun Tiandi was at his weakest right now—the perfect time to eliminate him.
His sharp, fierce gaze swept over the still-lingering spatial passageway. Doubt once again arose in Gu Yuan's heart.
Just moments ago, when he had exchanged blows with Hun Tiandi, he hadn't sensed the slightest hint of weakness from the other. What was more, within the Hun clan, there was still the Nihility Devouring Flame—a nine-star Dou Sheng. If he were lured deep into enemy territory, wouldn't he be plunging himself into mortal peril?
Shaking his head inwardly, Gu Yuan resolved to keep an extremely close watch on the Hun clan upon his return, observe their movements, and then decide.
"This matter—Hun Tiandi has indeed gone far too far. I shall return now, convene and notify the various clans, and together condemn him. Hopefully, I can still help the Yao clan retrieve what was lost!"
Harboring his internal speculations, Gu Yuan outwardly lambasted Hun Tiandi for a while. Then, bidding farewell to Yao Dan, he similarly tore open a spatial rift and headed back toward the Gu clan.
"Clan Leader..." After the two had left, the lingering spatial passageway in the air also dissipated. At this moment, Elder Wanhuo came to Yao Dan's side and asked hesitantly.
"Clan Leader... Can Clan Leader Gu Yuan's approach really work?"
Hearing this, Yao Dan sneered coldly. "Did you truly think Gu Yuan is some fine, upstanding good fellow? Would he turn against Hun Tiandi and the Hun clan for the sake of our Yao clan?"
These naked, unvarnished words left Elder Wanhuo momentarily speechless. Seeing this, Yao Dan continued, "Look at the Xiao clan back then. Their relationship with the Gu clan was so exceedingly close. But what happened? When the Xiao clan faced utter annihilation, did anyone see Gu Yuan appear? Did anyone see the Gu clan extend a helping hand? Yet when it came time to inherit the spoils of victory—his Gu clan was certainly scrambling quite eagerly!"
"They're all birds of a feather!"
With a cold sneer, Yao Dan flicked his sleeve and left, his expression dark and grim.
Seeing this, Elder Wanhuo could only sigh helplessly. He dispatched people to go and soothe the emotions of the Yao clan's members.
And just as Hun Tiandi and Gu Yuan were confronting each other in the Yao Realm, a Hun clan army, swallowed in a single gulp by the Nihility Devouring Flame, was silently and soundlessly making its way toward the Yan Realm.
Within the utterly dark space, the Hun clan's Four Demon Saints, leading many of the Hun clan's experts, had gathered here in silence. At a rough glance, the Hun clan had mobilized no fewer than thirty to forty Dou Shengs on this campaign. This was nearly the greater half of the Hun clan's entire foundation.
Most importantly, at the very center of the group, there were also four pitch-black coffins, floating and bobbing there. Dense black mist billowed forth from within, exuding a sinister, chilling, darkly malevolent aura.
This was another of the Hun clan's hidden resources—four living dead at the level of eight-star Dou Sheng.
It could be said that at this moment, only Hun Tiandi, this single top expert, remained behind in the Hun clan, drawing and holding the attention of the other clans. If, at this very moment, the Gu clan were to attack—not only would the Hun clan's plan be exposed, but Hun Tiandi himself might even fall into the danger of being surrounded and besieged.
What a pity. Gu Yuan was a cautious man. He would not take the risk of forcefully invading the Soul Realm.
This was the greatest difference between Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi.
Hun Tiandi was a decisive man. Once a goal was set, he would act with the force of a thunderbolt, leaving the enemy not the slightest room to resist. He was also deeply imbued with a spirit of risk-taking.
Hun Tiandi had, back then, dared to launch a fierce, ferocious assault when the Xiao clan was already gravely weakened. It had to be known that at that time, the Xiao clan was, in both name and reality, the number one great clan. Even though Xiao Xuan had failed in his attempt to break through to Dou Di—
The Xiao clan's strength had not been diminished by much. And there was also the Gu clan, that powerful ally. It was clear that Hun Tiandi had, at that moment, truly launched his surprise attack with a mindset of: succeed, or die trying.
Although in the end he succeeded—succeeded in slaying Xiao Xuan, succeeded in crushing and annihilating the Xiao clan—he himself had also fallen into a state of near-death, severe injury. And the Hun clan had also suffered grievous damage to its vitality.
It could be said that this was the most vulnerable the Hun clan had ever been in its entire history. If the Gu clan had attacked then, everything the Hun clan had done would have been for naught.
But Hun Tiandi had, once again, won his gamble. Gu Yuan's reaction had been exactly as he had anticipated.
Thus, the last person on the Dou Qi Continent who could still obstruct him had also been swept away.
This time, he similarly carried the mindset of delivering a single, crushing blow—unwilling to leave the Yan clan any chance to resist—intending to annihilate them in one fell stroke.
"Boom—"
A faint, muffled sound rang out. The figure of the Nihility Devouring Flame slowly materialized. In that very instant, several dozen pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the Nihility Devouring Flame in perfect unison, their gazes brimming with a fervent, blazing intensity never before seen.
Seeing this, the Nihility Devouring Flame spoke calmly: "Awaken the four of them—Hun Sheng Tian and the others. First, lay down the Death Realm Grand Array. The moment the time is right, I will act and swallow the entire Yan Realm in a single gulp. Then, strike immediately and annihilate the Yan clan's living strength."
"Yes!"
Hearing the Nihility Devouring Flame's words, their eyes filled with a bloodthirsty, savage light. They shouted in unison.