Gu Changge Descends the Mountain

The Third Patriarch looked at the bloodied, once-again-unconscious Blood Mark, then at the calmly composed Second Patriarch and Fourth Patriarch. With an eager expression, he asked,

"Liu Li Sacred Ground is really gone? That vicious? Was it some fierce character, or some ancient monster who crawled out of retirement?"

His eyes lit up as he rubbed his hands together. The shock on his face had yet to fade, but a thick excitement had already bloomed.

"Let them bully the weak with dirty tricks—look at them now! They deserve it, haha!"

The Second Patriarch shot him a glance and said flatly, "Alright, you stop asking who it was. The point is, it's gone. The process? Oh, it was magnificent—too bad you missed it."

Standing nearby with his arms crossed, the Fourth Patriarch lazily twisted the knife.

"'Magnificent' doesn't cut it. It was earth-shattering. An Imperial Artifact appeared. An honored fallen. The entire Eastern Domain trembled three times over. And there you were, hiding in your little mountain valley."

"An Imperial Artifact?! An honored fallen?!" The Third Patriarch pressed on.

"Details? We'll talk when we get back," the Second Patriarch said, waving a hand. His gaze shifted toward the Great Emperor's Tomb. "Right now, this thing in front of us is what matters."

The Third Patriarch itched with curiosity, scratching his ears and cheeks like a restless monkey. Seeing the other two reluctant to say more, he finally stomped his foot in frustration.

"Damn it! Just how much of the show did I miss?!"

As the three patriarchs converged on the outskirts of the Emperor's Tomb, each lost in their own thoughts—

At Green Cloud Sect, Xuanyangzi's figure streaked down like a beam of light, landing on Purple Bamboo Peak.

Excitement flickered across his face as he walked briskly up to Gu Changge.

"Changge! The commotion from that Great Emperor's Tomb shaking heaven and earth—you must have felt it too, right?"

Gu Changge nodded calmly, gesturing for Xuanyangzi to sit.

Xuanyangzi didn't stand on ceremony. He plopped down on a stone stool and continued, "Earlier, the Second and Fourth Patriarchs weren't at ease about the Third Patriarch, so they slipped over a few days ago."

He let out a sigh, his tone turning a bit more serious.

"Now that news of the Emperor’s Tomb breaking open has spread, even the peak masters can't sit still. Every last one of them was clamoring to go see the spectacle. I couldn't hold them back!"

"That’s a Great Emperor's Tomb—a thousand kinds of danger! If one of them gets caught in there and doesn't make it back, it'd be a catastrophic loss for our Green Cloud Sect!"

"So I just went ahead and did it. I banished the whole lot of them into the Cangyun Secret Realm to go into seclusion!"

Hearing this, Gu Changge swept his divine sense across the mountain gate. He spotted Chief Shi Wanshan, disguised in plain clothes, sneaking out of the sect like a little thief.

The corner of his mouth lifted into a knowing smile.

"Mmm," Gu Changge nodded, his tone carrying a playful note of approval.

"You did the right thing, senior brother. I'm with you."

"Heh heh!"

Pleased to have his approval, Xuanyangzi scooted closer, his excitement growing. He lowered his voice.

"Changge, look—I've got everything at the sect in order. The Second and Fourth Patriarchs have already gone to meet up with the Third. With all this massive chaos going on—don't you think we should go have some fun?"

He rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming.

"The tomb of a Great Emperor! A rare encounter across ten thousand ages! Even if it's just to see the rising talents of this world and old orthodoxies make their moves—it'd be worth it. Besides, it’s got to be better than you sitting around this Purple Bamboo Peak all day, rusting away!"

Gu Changge looked at Xuanyangzi's bouncing enthusiasm, but didn't answer directly.

Instead, he raised a hand and lightly traced a circle in the air with a fingertip.

Wum!

A clear projection instantly unfurled in front of them.

The image showed the scene outside the Great Emperor's Tomb at that very moment:

Already a sea of humanity—surging crowds, brilliant beams of spiritual light towering into the sky.

Colossal ancient warships spanned the firmament, ferocious beasts radiating primeval aura pulled carriages as they passed, lotus pedestals bathed in Buddha light floated in the void, and demonic clouds rolled across the sky, blotting out the sun.

From time to time, powerful divine wills swept across the sky—these were beings of the Saint realm, even Saint King realm, probing one another.

On the ground, swarms of cultivators surged in like tides from every direction, their eyes burning with fervent greed for opportunities, yet tinged with fear of unknown dangers.

The entire scene was grand, chaotic, and filled with an aura of deadly tension.

Xuanyangzi stared at the vast spectacle displayed on the light screen, his breathing quickening as he murmured, "Good heavens! Such a commotion is truly a once-in-ten-thousand-years sight!"

He turned his head to look at Gu Changge, his gaze growing even more fervent.

"Changge, look! So many people are heading there! Let’s just go and join in the fun. What do you say? You’ve been cooped up on the peak all day—it’s about time you stretched your legs!"

Gu Changge’s gaze swept across the light screen, taking in the movements of the various factions, the powerful auras hidden in the void, and the terrifying, fluctuating restrictions of the imperial tomb.

He fell silent for a moment, just as Xuanyangzi thought he would refuse, Gu Changge rose to his feet.

"Alright," he said, his tone calm yet carrying a faint hint of interest. "Since there’s nothing better to do, let’s go have some fun."

Hearing this, Xuanyangzi’s face lit up with joy. He slapped his thigh hard and laughed, "Haha! Good! I knew you’d be interested!

Come on, come on! Let’s set off now! Let’s see what mysteries this great emperor’s tomb holds!"

Gu Changge gave a slight nod without saying much. He simply focused his mind and sent a calm mental message deep into the Purple Bamboo Peak, reaching the ears of the Silent Annihilation Emperor.

"Keep watch over the sect."

In the next instant, the Silent Annihilation Emperor’s Divine Sense voice echoed in his heart:

"Rest assured, Your Excellency."

Having received the reply, Gu Changge lingered no longer. He took a single step, and his form drifted into the air like a gentle breeze.

Seeing this, Xuanyangzi quickly leaped up to follow.

Two streaks of light silently departed from the tranquil Purple Bamboo Peak, drifting leisurely toward the desolate prefecture, where imperial might soared into the heavens and the winds and clouds converged.

A moment later, at the outskirts of the great emperor’s tomb in the desolate prefecture.

Still several hundred miles away from the imperial tomb, the terrain was relatively open, a stretch of rolling mountains now buzzing with crowds of cultivators who had gathered from all directions.

Those of higher cultivation hovered in the air, exuding intimidating auras, while the weaker ones found spots on the ground, craning their necks in eager anticipation.

The space briefly rippled, and two figures descended unobtrusively, drawing little attention.

They were none other than Gu Changge and Xuanyangzi.

At this moment, their auras had been concealed, and they had taken on disguises. The power they displayed was roughly at the peak of the Heavenly Human realm.

Such a level of cultivation would be enough to serve as an elder of a sect, or even a sect leader, within a single prefecture—truly considered experts on a local scale.

But here, at the outskirts of the imperial tomb that had drawn nearly half the attention of the entire Xuanhuang Great World, the Heavenly Human realm seemed utterly unremarkable.

Let alone those beings of the Saint and Saint King realms, whose auras were as vast and deep as the abyss; even looking around, cultivators at the King realm were plentiful.

The two of them blended into the crowd like a drop of water merging into the ocean, utterly inconspicuous.

Rumble—!

From the eastern horizon came thunderous roars, as space was violently torn apart by an overwhelming, tyrannical force!

An ancient warship, massive as a mountain range, forged entirely from ten-thousand-year-old cold jade and star cores, rumbled across the sky, advancing slowly!

Around the warship coiled phantom images of true dragons, exuding a sovereign dragon aura that suppressed the heavens!

"It's the Immortal Dragon Ship of the Great Zhou Dynasty from the Central Continent! The Emperor himself has arrived!"

On the ground, an elder cultivator exclaimed in shock.