The Patriarch Who Ran Away from Home

He gently set down his teacup. The base of the cup met the stone table with a crisp "clack." The sound was not loud, but it made both Xuanyangzi's and Lao Huang's hearts skip a beat.

"Soul searching?"

Gu Changge repeated these two words. His tone was so flat that it lacked even the slightest ripple, yet it made Xuanyangzi feel an invisible pressure.

"It seems I have been too polite."

He cast his gaze toward the endless night sky outside the courtyard, piercing through layers of space to see the sacred land shrouded in glazed light, and said slowly, "This Glazed Sacred Land... it seems there is no longer any need for it to exist."

His voice was not loud, but it exploded like a clap of thunder in the ears of Xuanyangzi and Lao Huang!

Although Xuanyangzi was also furious, hearing Gu Changge so directly pronounce the "death sentence" on a behemoth that had stood in the Eastern Region for countless years still made him gasp.

Lao Huang was so frightened that he nearly choked on the meat in his mouth. His bull eyes widened into perfect circles as he screamed in his heart, "Mother of mercy! The Lord is going to... going to wipe out their entire sect?!"

Gu Changge withdrew his gaze and looked at Xuanyangzi. His eyes returned to their previous calmness, but the deep-seated coldness within them had not dissipated.

"Senior Brother, do as you suggested. Let the Netherworld Palace play with them for a bit. If they still can't learn to behave after that..."

Gu Changge picked up his teacup, gently blew on the nonexistent floating leaves on the water's surface, and said lightly, "Then I wouldn't mind personally helping them... learn their lesson."

Looking at Gu Changge's demeanor, Xuanyangzi knew full well that although his junior brother usually seemed easygoing, once his bottom line was touched, his methods would strike with the force of a thunderbolt.

He nodded heavily. "Rest assured, Junior Brother, I know what to do! I will definitely make the Glazed Sacred Land suffer double losses this time and feel some real pain! If they still don't know what's good for them..."

A fierce light also flashed in Xuanyangzi's eyes. "Hmph! Our Azure Profound Sect has maintained an army for a thousand days; it's time to take them out for some practice!"

Listening from the side, Lao Huang felt his heart leap with fear. He quickly lowered his head, pretending to intently gnaw on a bone that had no meat left, while his mind churned like a stormy sea.

"Good heavens... I need to keep my eyes peeled in the future. I absolutely cannot offend the Lord or anyone he values... This Glazed Sacred Land is really going to suffer a terrible fate!"

After finishing his meal, Gu Changge put down his teacup, seemingly remembering something.

He casually took out the remaining essence of Quasi-Emperor dragon meat from his storage space, along with a quaint wine jar. The clay seal on the jar's mouth was branded with profound runes, exuding an intoxicating and mellow aroma of wine.

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I visited the patriarchs in the secret realm," Gu Changge said casually.

"Since I happened to get some good wine and meat today, I should bring some to the patriarchs so they can change up their diet. They shouldn't always be gnawing on those tasteless pills and spirit stones."

Hearing this, Xuanyangzi's eyes lit up. "Right, right, right! Junior Brother is absolutely right! The patriarchs guard the forbidden grounds and have made great contributions. It is only right to show them some filial piety! Come, come, come, I'll go with you, Junior Brother!"

The two of them shifted slightly, and in the next moment, they had passed through layers of spatial restrictions and arrived at the Azure Cloud Secret Realm.

When Gu Changge and Xuanyangzi stepped onto the Dao Enlightenment Terrace at the core of the secret realm, they found only three figures sitting cross-legged there. Holy radiance flowed around them, and their auras were as profound as the sea.

The auras of the three patriarchs were incredibly deep, impressively having broken through to the Saint King Realm.

Previously, Gu Changge had improved the physiques of the patriarchs, tailor-made Great Emperor-level cultivation techniques for them, and had them refine Great Emperor essence blood. Coupled with the excellent cultivation environment of the secret realm's Dao Enlightenment Terrace, all these fortunes finally culminated in a natural breakthrough.

"Is it Changge and Little Yangzi? How do you have the time to visit us old bones today?"

The Second Patriarch, who was the first to awaken from his meditative state, spoke with a smile. He had a lean face and a relatively composed temperament. The other two patriarchs also opened their eyes one after another.

The Second Patriarch sniffed hard, his gaze immediately locking onto the wine and meat in Gu Changge's hands. A burst of pleasant surprise lit up his eyes as he straightforwardly exclaimed, "Oh, you brought gifts? This vitality... extraordinary, truly extraordinary!"

The Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs didn't speak, but their Adam's apples rolled involuntarily. They stared eagerly at the wine and meat, looking completely impatient.

Gu Changge stepped forward. "Greetings to the patriarchs. I had some free time today and procured some nice food and good wine, so I came especially to offer them to you for a change of taste."

Hearing this, the smiles on the patriarchs' faces grew even wider. The Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs even quietly shuffled closer, clearly very appreciative of the gesture.

Gu Changge placed the wine and meat on the stone table, but his gaze subconsciously swept across the area. Pausing slightly, he asked in a seemingly casual tone, "Hmm? Why don't I see the First and Third Patriarchs? Are they in secluded cultivation?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene instantly went quiet.

The smile on the Second Patriarch's face stiffened slightly, and even someone as composed as him didn't know how to respond.

The Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs exchanged a highly synchronized glance, both seeing the word "crap" in each other's eyes.

Xuanyangzi's expression instantly became extremely unnatural. He coughed violently, embarrassment and a trace of guilt appearing on his face. Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Well... Junior Brother... cough cough... the First Patriarch and Third Patriarch... they aren't in secluded cultivation..."

"Oh?" Gu Changge raised an eyebrow and looked at Xuanyangzi.

Xuanyangzi let out two dry laughs. "This... well... these past few days... didn't I receive news from that kid Canglan about the Glazed Sacred Land and the Netherworld Palace...

I couldn't hold back and mumbled a few words to the patriarchs... saying that those bastards from the Glazed Sacred Land actually secretly contacted assassins from the Netherworld Palace to assassinate Ruobai, Hanyu, and the others..."

He stole a glance at Gu Changge, his voice dropping even lower. "As a result... as a result, the two patriarchs exploded the moment they heard it!"

"The First Patriarch has the most explosive temper. He just straight up left home, and there was absolutely no stopping him! He didn't even say where he was going..."

"The Third Patriarch was even more extreme!"

Xuanyangzi swallowed hard. "He said the Glazed Sacred Land dares to send assassins to bully our disciples? Good, good, good! I'll go squat right at the entrance of their Sacred Land!

I'll count every single one of their younger generation; for every one that comes out, I'll catch one!"

Xuanyangzi's voice grew lower and lower. "Sigh, it's also my fault for having a big mouth... I couldn't hold back and let slip that their quasi-holy son Xue Wuhen was previously suppressed by that kid Fatty Wang into a cesspit to marinate..."

"As a result, the moment the Third Patriarch heard that, his eyes lit up. 'That's a good method! I like it! That's exactly what I'll do!'"

"And then... the two patriarchs just... disappeared..."

Seeing this, the Second Patriarch sighed helplessly and took over the conversation. "Yes, Changge. You know the tempers of the eldest and the third. One is more explosive than the other. When they heard this, they blew up on the spot. Even if us old bones combined our strength, we couldn't stop them..."

The Fourth and Fifth Patriarchs also clumsily nodded hard, their faces full of the innocence of "we really tried to stop them."

In their hearts, however, the patriarchs were secretly muttering: We wanted to go too! If it weren't for the fact that the sect still needed people to hold down the fort for fear of our home being raided, we would have run off with them long ago! It's all because the eldest and the third ran too fast!

Gu Changge: "..."