Plundering the Heavens

By the fourth day, all the clans had arrived at the Rising Immortal’s Altar and found themselves a place to sit, and the power difference between each of the clans was clear based on how close they were towards the center and how much space they took up.

The closest to the center were those from the Fengtian clan, led by a full-mastery Golden Core and approximately ten clansmen. The Fengtian was a clan with a legendary beginning; Grand Ancestor Fengtian hadn’t fled into the Guixu Ruins because he’d been forced to do so, he’d instead come inside for the sole purpose of chasing down and killing an old demon that had committed all manner of atrocious acts. He’d chased the demon all the way into the Guixu Ruins and finally killed him, but he wound up stuck inside as well. He remained inside the Guixu Ruins for the remainder of his life, but he did leave behind the Fengtian clan—a name that meant to follow the orders of the heavens to kill all evil.

Grand Ancestor Fengtian had passed away long ago after so many years, of course, and it was difficult to say exactly how much of his righteousness still remained, but the Fengtian clan he left behind had grown more powerful until it was one of the most powerful clans within the Guixu Ruins. Rather interestingly, the Fengtian and Hentian clans originally had no enmity towards each other whatsoever, but their names were polar opposites and the land they claimed were also very close, causing unceasing friction between the two for the past thousands of years. As the years passed, this small friction accumulated into sparks of enmity, and things had even recently been spiraling out of control.

Aside from the Fengtian clan located in the center, the Yushou and Baiyue clans were situated in the middle of other small clans and were also quite extraordinary and unique. For the Yushou clan, it was said they had access to some techniques for controlling peril beasts, giving them a huge advantage within the Guixu Ruins. As for the Baiyue clan, the females were the dominant sex and their cultivation techniques were closely related to the moon. The Baiyue clan’s presence was typically elusive and difficult to track and they didn’t have much contact with outsiders, making them the second most mysterious clan right behind the Xunlong clan.

These five clans—Hentian, Fengtian, Yushou, Baiyue, and Xunlong—were effectively the most powerful clans within the Guixu Runs. Fang Xing did notice, however, that no one from the Hentian clan had arrived. Perhaps something had happened to them along the way? Or perhaps their recent misfortune had made it impossible for them to muster up enough strength to even defend themselves during the journey, to say nothing of actually joining this large gathering to search the ruins with the Xunlong clan.

Time gradually passed and approached midnight. Two moons—one red, one white—hung over the upper half of the sky, each reflecting the other’s brilliance. At such a late hour, even those who were very close to each other no longer chatted and instead sat quietly in meditation.

The Rising Immortal’s Altar contained a small amount of immortal presence that kept peril beasts from roaming around in large numbers, and ever since the red moon had risen, an oppressive aura seemed to fall upon the entire Guixu Ruins that caused even the peril beasts’ howls to grow infrequent. The atmosphere seemed even more silent tonight.

At the precise moment midnight arrived, an old cultivator amidst the silent crowd atop the Rising Immortal’s Altar suddenly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, “They’re here!” Beneath the light of the moon, a group of people could be seen in the empty distant sky. There didn’t seem to be too many—only around seven or eight—and as they grew closer on their clouds, everything became clear.

The person in the lead wore a conical bamboo hat and a grey robe, and their feminine shape could be seen when the wind fluttered her clothes. Behind her were the strange men with hemp clothes, straw-woven shoes, and messy hair scattered all over their shoulders. Although their facial features varied, their clothing and attire were the same and their expressions were all similarly grey, making them seem more like seven brothers.

Once the group of people arrived at the Rising Immortal’s Altar, the grey-robed female lightly hopped down from her cloud and bowed towards everyone. “I—Magu—have arrived late,” she apologized in a soft but clear voice, “please do accept my apologies….”

A righteous-looking old man with a tall crown of hair, long moustache, beard, and an old-styled robe walked out from the crowd with creasing brows; this grey-robed female was clearly a junior. “Little friend, you are also one of the Xunlong clansmen, right? What is your identity within the clan, and where is your clan master?” The speaker was none other than the Fengtian clan’s head elder and the one chosen by the Fengtian clan to lead the group venturing into the Guixu Ruins’ depths alongside the Xunlong clan.

The grey-robed woman bowed slightly. “It is my great pleasure to meet Head Elder Fangzheng of the Fengtian clan. I am Magu, the current clan master of the Xunlong clan.” Her voice was calm, but her words caused everyone a great shock.

Even the head elder of the Fengtian clan was so surprised he couldn’t help but to let some words slip out, “You are the clan master of the Xunlong clan?” As the most mysterious clan within the Guixu Ruins, the Xunlong clan’s battle prowess was certainly not lacking or they wouldn’t have been able to secure a place as one of the most powerful clans. However, this woman in front of them was nothing more than early Golden Core Stage, and her age also didn’t seem very advanced at no more than a hundred. Her experience and cultivation level wasn’t even enough for her to be a high-tier Exalt, so how could she be the clan master of the Xunlong clan? In mere moments, everyone at the Rising Immortal’s Altar showed expressions of confusion and doubt.

Magu seemed to guess everyone’s thoughts and her voice remained calm and clear as she replied, “In front of all elders today, I dare not lie. I—Magu—have been the Xunlong clan master for the past ten years. Although my knowledge and cultivation level is certainly not up to par, there is unfortunately no other choice. The entire Xunlong clan has only us left; or, more specifically, the Xunlong clan is actually left with me alone.”

Everyone was utterly baffled at such an explanation. The Xunlong clan—one of the most powerful clans within the Guixu Ruins—was now left with only these seven people?

There were naturally some who were knowledgeable enough to see through the six men at Magu’s side. The actions of these men were delayed and they didn’t have any signs of life; although they might seem the same as ordinary men, they were in fact more like servants controlled by some secret spell. With this in mind, Magu’s words would make complete sense—if she was the only one left of the clan, how could anyone other than her be the clan master?

The face of the Fengtian clan head elder showed only small changes before he quickly apologized and quietly asked, “I beg your pardon, Miss Magu, it was I who was impolite. But how did… the Xunlong clan is a large clan within the Guixu Ruins; why did it…?”

Magu showed a faint smile, as though helpless but also sorrowful. “I have invited you all here and intend to tell you the entire story,” she softly replied. “Please do sit back and relax. Allow me to speak in detail….”

The cultivators all agreed and sat one after another, and since the Rising Immortal’s Altar had no chairs, everyone naturally sat on the ground. The grey-robed female was in the center and surrounded by everyone else, and although she didn’t remove her hat after seating herself, she focused her concentration and slowly began to recall.

“That our Xunlong clan wound up as it is today had long been expected. Since the time of our grand ancestor, our clan had been trying to discover the secrets of the Guixu Ruins without concern for increasing our numbers, and we only very rarely took in newcomers from the outside. It is only normal we would gradually decline and have fewer and fewer clansmen every passing day….”

Everyone understood these words—the temperament of the Xunlong clansmen was rather well-known.

“Ever since the earliest days, after at least ten and at most one hundred years had passed, we would combine the powers of our clan to search the depths of the Guixu Ruins. Due to the existence of the powerful peril beasts as well as the chaotic voids and black swamps within, lives were easily lost. Even full-mastery Golden Cores couldn’t fend them off, and although we Xunlong clan further developed our hypotheses and theories after each trip, each time would carry heavy losses. Finally, forty years ago, my father along with the remaining dozen clansmen went inside the ruins’ depths. I don’t know what occurred, but all perished, and the Xunlong clan was left with me and a few old maids ever since.”

Magu’s voice was soft and devoid of emotion. but the words describing the Xunlong clan’s stubbornness were enough to leave everyone dumbstruck.

“In the following years, the old maids all gradually died from old age one after another, and after Old Maid Lan passed ten years ago, this Xunlong clan was left with only me and these few servants. Heh, since I believe I have no ability to seek the depths of the Guixu Ruins myself, the thought of doing so also wavered. I originally considered choosing a large clan and joining them as an Exalt to have a place to stay for the remainder of my life, yet the nine moons started appearing….” As she spoke, she suddenly let out a helpless laugh. “Respectable seniors, do you not also feel this is all so humiliating? We the Xunlong clan diligently searched all these thousand of years. The entire clan was sacrificed for it. Yet it is only afterwards there is finally the chance to seek out secrets in the ruins’ depths. The Xunlong clan was left with only a weak woman like me; I don’t even have the battle prowess to go inside….”

The cultivators were all surprised by these words, and it did feel rather absurd—if what this woman said was true, this Xunlong clan was indeed rather pitiful. Of course, nearly all cultivators were cold-hearted and had thick skin, so such pitying feelings were nothing but a quick thought before even the shadow was gone. The head elder of the Yushou clan already couldn’t wait to ask, “The legend of the nine moons rising is real?”

This question revitalized everyone and dozens of eyes focused back on Magu, who lightly nodded her head. “It is true. Based on what has been passed on in my clan, the mysterious scene of the nine moons rising is in fact the manifestation of the ancient Taishang Daoism’s protective formation. These so-called ‘nine moons’, one is the real moon and the remaining eight are lanterns. Eight is the formation’s base number, and these eight lanterns are in fact representations of the eight flags of the Taishang Formation. After the first lantern appears, another red lantern will appear every ten days thereafter, and once all eight have risen, the inner areas of the Taishang Daoism palace will open. If one wishes to enter inside the palace, that is the only opportunity….”

Such words were like a thunderbolt striking the heartstrings of all the cultivators here, and the excitement they felt was indescribable.