âChi Hun⦠is on⦠an astralship⦠in pursuit⦠but he⦠canât find⦠Dongshen Zhuojun!â At such a tense moment, Yin Chenâs halting speech was truly aggravating.
âQuickly notify Dongshen Yang and get him to activate the Dongshen Scorching Sun Guard Formation to its maximum! Put their clan on full alert to welcome Zhuojun back!â Lin Xiao tensely said.
âNo shit⦠Of course⦠I told⦠him already⦠old man!â Yin Chen said with displeasure.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âMy god.â Tianming wanted to pinch Yin Chen. It had become so cocky that it was even starting to disrespect the elderly.
For now, they could only anxiously await updates.
âWe canât stay here anymore, letâs return to the council hall,â Lin Xiao said.
Tianming felt helpless, but there was no choice. It hadnât been easy to come to the Caeli Vault, but now they were immediately rushing back. Still, the Dongshen Clanâs fate was about to be decided, so he had no mood to lock himself in to cultivate anyway.
The Phantomvoid soon reached the council hall.
âI think we should report this to the first rex mundi and the Mundus Enforcers. The ebons arenât going to let it go,â Lin Xiao said.
âIâll handle it, Second Patriarch,â Li Chongyao said. The first rex mundi was Yi Daiyan, so it was inappropriate for Lin Xiao to do the talking.
They returned to the council hall, where Dongshen Yue was anxiously pacing around and nervously sweating. Her cane constantly tapped on the ground. âLin Laoâer, come with me.â
âZhuojun is almost back to the formation,â Lin Xiao said.
âThatâs exactly why we need to go. If he really takes the relic back, Chi Hunâs temper means he may very well use his astralship to attack!â Dongshen Yue said.
âThat isnât likely. This is just a normal resource conflict and they lost the relic due to carelessness. If Chi Hun goes too far, heâll be punished by the Infinitum Bodhimandaâs rules!â There was no division between the ebons and Grandnorth Dongshen Clan to the Infinitum Bodhimanda. All of Ebonia were members of the supersect.
âIâm just afraid heâll disregard the rules and wantonly kill.â
âHold on!â Yin Chen suddenly spoke up, making everyone shut up. âZhuojun is⦠back inside! Safe now! The clan⦠is celebrating! All formations⦠are active⦠they are⦠ready for... battle battle!â
âWhat about the ebons? Are they still pursuing?â
âIs he safe now?â
The barrage of questions was endless.
Yin Chen seemed to freeze in place, before it revealed an incredulous look.
âYin Chen, is Chi Hun still chasing?â Tianming asked.
âVery strange!â Yin Chen said.
âHow so?â
âChi Hun⦠chased halfway⦠then his⦠astralship suddenly⦠dropped threeâ¦. Thousand corpses⦠where Zhuojun⦠just fought!â Yin Chen said with exertion.
âWhose corpses?â Tianming was confused.
âHalf ebons⦠half allies. None of⦠Zhuojunâs people,â Yin Chen said.
âHuh?â
âThree thousand corpses? Who killed them?â Lin Xiong was shocked.
âIt has to be Chi Hun! Whyâd he kill his allies and clansmen?â Lin Chongyao shook his head.
âThatâs going to be trouble!â Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue suddenly shouted.
Tianming also reacted. âItâs a trap! He made an opening for Zhuojun so that heâd steal the relic. Then heâll pin those three thousand lives on him! His goal is to use revenge as an excuse to attack the entire Grandnorth Dongshen Clan!â
When Lin Xiao explained, everyoneâs heart sank.
âNotify my brother!â Dongshen Yue shrieked.
âI have,â Yin Chen said.
Lin Xiao quickly took out a golden transmission stone and connected to Dongshen Yang.
âThree thousand dead?â Dongshen Yang had also just received the news.
âRight! Theyâll use that as an excuse to attack your formation! The warbeasts they infiltrated underground are probably ready as well. Get ready!â Lin Xiao urgently said.
âThrowing out the relic now is useless. It was originally from their pocket. Their true goal is your lives! Hold on, Brother, Laoâer and I are coming over now!â Dongshen Yue said.
âThey want our lives? Sure! Iâve already been angered almost to death by these people long ago. Letâs see which side has more die in them!â Dongshen Yang had always been an irascible fellow, and he immediately cut off the golden transmission stone. However, the sounds of battle filtered through before the connection stopped.
It was proof that the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan had always cared a lot about the ancient relic. The ebons seizing it, and even blocking their homeâs entrance pissed them off every day. Mount Taia was a holy land to them and the ebonsâ presence there only dirtied it. Many had attacked Mount Taia throughout history, but generations of Dongshen martyrs had used their bodies as a steel wall.
âIf the ebons planned this, theyâll be able to quickly breach our formation. If we set out now, we can still save some people,â Dongshen Yue said to Lin Xiao.
âYes!â Lin Xiao was already summoning the second branchâs ether-class astralship. A massive black sword flew over and stabbed into the ground next to council hall.
âChongyao, notify the rex mundi. Explain Chi Hunâs plan!â Lin Xiao said.
âIâll do it right away,â Lin Chongyao said.
Lin Xiao was about to board when he turned and saw Tianming. âIâll have to trouble you to protect my grandson and granddaughters-in-law. Donât leave the council hall unless absolutely necessary!â
âUnderstood!â
âLeave it to us, Brother Hu!â
The Dongshen Clan was Dongshen Yueâs home. If they hesitated for a moment, the entire clan may perish and their bloodline would go extinct. Lin Xiao had no choices left. The ebonsâ plan had been very precise. Lin Xiaoâs reaction was only natural, considering his loyal nature.
Tianming watched as the black sword shot into the sky and headed north. He exhaled. âTwo consecutive events, two conspiracies. Why do I feel that it was to lure away my bodyguards? Do the ebons really care about me so much? Or do they know what the Order Relic does? Is that their greatest goal?â
Heâd had that thought since returning from the Caeli Vault, but he hadnât dared voice it.