Urgent Discussion at Mount Tu

At the mention of these two names, the expressions of several clan elders below became extremely unnatural.

Particularly, a few elders with rigid features and stubborn eyes had their gazes flicker, subconsciously avoiding the sight of the Clan Head, Tushan Xuanyue.

Tushan Youyao, simply because she was born with purple hair and a purple tail, was regarded by some hardliners as a freak who deviated from the orthodox lineage. She suffered endless ostracization and cold stares within the clan.

Ultimately unable to endure it any longer, she voluntarily severed ties with the clan and traveled far away.

Who could have imagined that she would actually manage to join the Heavenly Demon Pavilion? Even more astonishing, within a mere thousand years, she reached the Half-Immortal realm, taking her place as the head of the Ten Great Demon Ancestors and making a name for herself throughout the Demon Realm.

As for Tushan Hanyan, decades ago, certain individuals in the clan used the excuse that white hair and a white tail were even more ominous and would invite disaster to ruthlessly abandon her in the perilous Myriad Demon Ridge to fend for herself, even though she was just a cub.

Not many knew of this matter at the time, but how could the higher-ups be completely ignorant?

They had merely tacitly consented to it.

Had Tushan Youyao not happened to pass by, saving her and taking her in as a personal disciple, that child's bones would have long turned to dust.

Now, the master and disciple duo were backed by the towering giant tree that was the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. Especially after witnessing the overwhelming might of that Pavilion Master, who wiped out the Myriad Demon Alliance with a flick of his finger today...

This past connection had become a sharp sword hanging over the heads of the Tushan Clan, threatening to fall at any moment.

A relatively mild-mannered clan elder, Tushan Jing, sighed.

That child Youyao... the clan truly wronged her back then.

As for Hanyan's matter... that was even more absurd! Since when did fur color become the standard for judging the superiority, inferiority, fortune, or misfortune of our Nine-Tailed Fox Clan's descendants?

Our ancestors from the Upper Realm left explicit teachings: the Nine-Tailed Fox has myriad transformations, and fur color is nothing but a superficial appearance.

Yet for the past thousand years, many elders have continued to judge based on color. It is simply the height of stupidity!

His words were clearly aimed at the few rigid elders opposite him and the stubborn faction they represented.

Ridiculous!

One of the rigid elders who had been directly targeted, Tushan Xun, retorted shrilly, his old face flushing red.

Tushan Jing! You sure know how to spout these high-sounding, pretty words now!

Since you are so reasonable, why hasn't anyone seen you stand up and speak a word for those with different colored fur over the past thousand years?

Nor have you provided them with any substantial help!

Now that disaster is imminent and the pressure of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion looms like a mountain, you are so impatient to wash your hands clean and push all the blame and criticism onto us?

Hmph!

Another clan elder with a similar stance to Tushan Jing, Tushan Ming, immediately voiced his counterattack in a mocking tone.

If it weren't for you old fogeys monopolizing power with your deeply entrenched factions, constantly suppressing others with ancestral rules and orthodoxy, and even secretly ostracizing and oppressing people, how could we easily speak up even if we wanted to?

If it weren't for the divine might of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion Master descending today, making this a matter of the entire clan's survival, raising objections would only invite countless open and hidden attacks from you all in the future.

Slander!

It is clearly you who are cowardly and act like weeds swaying in the wind!

For a time, the solemn ancestral hall became as noisy as a marketplace. The two sides went back and forth, attacking each other, exposing each other's faults, and digging up old scores.

Faintly, those hardliners who insisted on rejecting different colored fur, relying on their numbers and accumulated prestige, seemed to argue with even greater momentum, attempting to muddy the waters and shirk responsibility.

All of you, shut up!

First Ancestor Tushan Xuanyue, sitting at the head seat, could no longer endure it. She fiercely slammed the jade desk in front of her and stood up abruptly.

The terrifying cultivation base of a peak Half-Immortal was unleashed without reservation. The oppressive aura instantly enveloped the entire hall, forcibly suppressing all the arguing voices.

Her phoenix eyes filled with hostility, she scanned the area below, her voice as cold as ten-thousand-year ice.

With a great enemy before us, and the disaster of our clan's extermination perhaps only a breath away, you are still passing the buck and bickering over old scores, fighting amongst yourselves? You simply do not know the meaning of death!

At the same time, another reclusive ancestor who had been resting with his eyes closed, Tushan Nether, slowly opened his eyes.

It was a pair of eyes that now burned with suppressed fury.

Another oppressive aura spread out, causing all the clan elders, including the core figures of the stubborn faction, to feel their breath hitch and their souls tremble.

For the past thousand years, we few old bones have been in secluded cultivation, hoping to prolong the clan's destiny, and have not involved ourselves much in mundane affairs.

Tushan Nether's voice was not loud, but every word struck the hearts of the foxes like a heavy hammer.

Just what have you clan elders, who are in charge of clan affairs, been doing?!

Discrimination based on fur color? You actually dared to come up with something so utterly absurd that ruins our own foundation?!

The ancestor's fury made the hall so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

However, within this angry reprimand, there was a trace of irony that went unnoticed by anyone.

Because the initial soil where this increasingly intense trend of color discrimination quietly bred over the past thousand years, and even the source of its tacit approval...

...came from two of the secluded ancestors sitting right here.

It was just that those two ancestors currently had ashen faces and kept their lips sealed tightly. In front of Tushan Xuanyue and Tushan Nether, two existences with higher strength and seniority, they did not dare utter a single word of defense.

A suffocating silence solidified for a long time.

One of those two, Tushan Jue, slowly spoke, attempting to ease the atmosphere.

Uncle Nether, please quell your anger. What is past is done. Even if the clan's handling of Youyao and Hanyan back then... was indeed inappropriate, they have, after all, sought out another master. They are now esteemed as a Demon Ancestor and a personal disciple of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, and their statuses are vastly different.

Strictly speaking, they no longer have any direct connection with our Tushan Clan. Could it be... that the lofty Heavenly Demon Pavilion Master would specifically come to make trouble for our Tushan Clan over two outsiders who left our clan long ago? Perhaps he does not care about such minor details at all.

Foolish! Muddle-headed!

Before Tushan Nether could speak, another reclusive ancestor with an even more fiery temper, Tushan Lie, shouted angrily, his voice like thunder.

Tushan Jue, did your brain go stupid from secluded cultivation?! Did you not see clearly the fate of the Myriad Demon Alliance today?

The Myriad Demon Alliance merely had some friction and conflict with the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, not even reaching a life-or-death stage, yet he personally took action and annihilated the entire alliance with a flick of his finger.

His gaze was like lightning as he swept over every pale, terrified, or still hopeful face below.

Do you think an existence who has cultivated to his realm would not care about the origins and karma of his personal disciples?

Especially when it involves the deep grudges from his beloved disciple's childhood. For cultivators, this is a major issue that can affect the Dao heart and entangle karma!

Whether he decides to be fiercely protective or not might just depend on a single thought! And what does our Tushan Clan have to withstand that?

Ancestor Tushan Lie's words were like ice water poured over their heads, thoroughly waking up all the clan elders who still harbored lucky thoughts, shattering the unrealistic fantasies in their hearts.

Indeed, upon reaching such a realm, one's actions might have long transcended common sense, but karma and intent might become even more important.

In the other party's eyes, their Tushan Clan might have no fundamental difference from the Myriad Demon Alliance.

Clan Leader Tushan Xuanyue saw that the atmosphere within the grand hall had been thoroughly subdued. However, it was clear that they could not formulate a foolproof plan to deal with this monumental crisis in such a short amount of time.

The most pressing matter was to take immediate action, make their stance clear, and eliminate any hidden dangers to the best of their ability.

Taking a deep breath, her clear and resolute voice echoed throughout the hall as she issued the commands she was bound to make as the clan leader at this critical juncture:

"Pass down my Clan Leader's Decree, effective immediately. Notify the entire clan, including all branch families, vassals, and disciples traveling in the outside world:

"First, starting from today, we shall completely abolish the archaic and corrupt custom of judging a clan member's talent, destiny, and status based on the color of their fur.

"For the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, true talent lies in the heart, in wisdom, and in comprehension, not in mere superficial appearances.

"Should anyone use this as an excuse to discriminate against, ostracize, or persecute their fellow clan members, regardless of their status or seniority, they shall have their cultivation crippled and be banished from the clan upon verification.

"Second, all clan members must engrave this ironclad rule into their very souls: under no circumstances are you to actively offend or provoke any disciple of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion in any shape or form.

"If you encounter them in the outside world, you must treat them with the utmost courtesy. If necessary, you must take the initiative to yield and offer them convenience.

"Anyone whose personal actions draw the hostility of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion upon our clan shall be deemed a traitor. Their direct lineage shall be implicated, and they will face severe, unpardonable punishment!"