Chapter 422: Great Net of Guixu

Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna  Editor: Nou

“What else is there to say? According to Miss Magu, we need to use the blood of the red dragon to resolve the forbidden curse, so let us go and capture that red dragon,” the Yushou clan’s head elder said with a smile before murderous intent flashed across his eyes. “If what my men discovered isn’t wrong, that red dragon should currently be within the Hentian clan, right? Heh, we the Yushou clan wanted to see that true dragon since long ago, so isn’t today the perfect chance? Let us go and pay the Hentian clan a visit!”

The Fengtian clan’s head elder chuckled at this. “Fellow Daoist Xiong, your men are not very up to date. That red dragon was indeed at the Hentian clan, but I actually heard three days ago the Hentian clan wanted to take the dragon’s soul to craft a powerful weapon, which angered the dragon’s owner. It’s unknown how, but the owner managed to lure a powerful beast tide over to the Hentian clan, and now the clan has been more or less completely destroyed!”

“Oh? That’s what happened?” the Yushou head elder immediately asked; his information had indeed been out of date and he hadn’t been aware of this. The area their clan was most proficient in was controlling peril beasts, but to casually cause a beast tide to attack the central grounds of a clan was something not even they could easily do, or else they would have ruled over the Guixu Ruins long ago. After hearing the Fengtian head elder’s words, the Yushou head elder actually took much greater interest in that red dragon’s “owner” and began throwing out questions one after another to try to find out how they’d managed to lure all the beasts like that.

Even the Baiyue clan’s header elder Linglong was surprised and quickly started asking questions as well. A lone person had been able to destroy the entire Hentian clan? Not even the Golden Core head elders could accomplish such a feat!

“I only know this event has happened; I do not know how he did it. Fellow Daoist Xiong, Fellow Daoist Linglong, do you not feel something’s strange? The nine moons have begun to rise and Fellow Daoist Xunlong has shown herself, yet the Hentian clan—a large clan within the Guixu Ruins—didn’t show up? Heh, I imagine they’re trying to rebuild the formations surrounding their clan to avoid being utterly annihilated….”

The Fengtian and Hentian clans were not on good terms to begin with, and there was a trace of joy in the Fengtian head elder’s voice as he spoke. Unfortunately, the spies sent to infiltrate the Hentian clan had experienced a large number of casualties during the beast tide and the Fengtian clan was unable to determine the exact scope of the damage. If it weren’t for this and how the nine moons were beginning to rise and a trip to the Guixu Ruins was right in front of them, perhaps the Fengtian clan would have already started preparing an attack on the Hentian clan by now.

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In a way, it could be said the arrival of the Xunlong clan had somewhat saved the Hentian clan.

“What level of cultivation does the red dragon’s owner have?” Head Elder Linglong asked with concern.

“Not high—I heard he’s only in Foundation Stage. The battle prowess of the red dragon is extraordinary, however, and an ordinary Golden Core is not its opponent at all!” The Fengtian head elder replied with a deep tone despite his rather relaxed expression.

“So he’s just in Foundation Stage….” Everyone let out a sigh of relief. They’d all been utterly shocked to hear the Hentian clan had been nearly annihilated, but they stopped worrying so much when they heard the owner was a mere Foundation Stage. They’d been genuinely concerned it might have been some Budding Soul Stage cultivator who’d barged into the Guixu Ruins—that would’ve been something no one here could take on.

Such scenarios had never occurred before in all the history of the Guixu Ruins. Although it was incredibly rare for Budding Souls to be left in such a dire situation as to be forced into the Guixu Ruins, there had been a few in the past, and the grand ancestors of most clans had been Budding Souls. When people with such high cultivation levels came inside, their battle prowess would easily suppress everyone else and even ruling over an entire clan wouldn’t be a difficult matter at all. Regardless, most of these people would be focused on finding the Taishang treasures in the depths of the Guixu Ruins and they’d venture inside to seek them out, but the dangers within were simply too much—there were no stories of success, not even for Budding Souls.

They’d have to reconsider the price of angering the owner of the red dragon if he was in Budding Soul Stage, but if he was only in Foundation Stage….

“Heh….” Head Elder Xiong of the Yushou clan began to sneer. “No matter what, this is a chance that cannot be seen in thousands of years, a chance for us to finally see the outside world. How could we let it go? Hurry and send men out to search for the owner of that red dragon. If he willingly listens to our kind words of advice and hands over the red dragon, what’s wrong with giving him something in return? However, if he doesn’t listen, I would really like to test out his abilities firsthand!”

“Indeed, let’s send men out to search. I doubt the owner of the red dragon isn’t interested in the secrets of the Guixu Ruins…” Head Elder Linglong added.

When everyone heard this, they all began to agree. The secrets of the Guixu Ruins were incredibly important, so how could they let this chance pass them by? Although the functionality of this red dragon’s blood was nothing more than a guess from the Xunlong clan, they still wouldn’t let go of this possibility. It was very difficult to return once they entered the depths of the Guixu Runs, so they had to capture this red dragon beforehand no matter what.

When Magu heard everyone’s response, she suddenly spoke up with a soft voice. “Esteemed seniors, Magu has one more thing to ask. Please, when you find the owner of that red dragon, do not harm his life. Magu’s wish to seek the secrets of the depths is for the sake of completing the dying wishes of her ancestors and seniors; Magu does not wish to harm any more lives. If that red dragon’s owner died because of Magu, it would be considered as Magu’s sin and there would be deep regret. Magu does not wish to cause any deaths!”

The cultivators were a bit surprised by this; they hadn’t expected the Xunlong clan’s clan master to have such a kind temperament. Head Elder Xiong of the Yushou clan sneered however and replied, “if this person knows his place and hands over the red dragon, it is only natural we wouldn’t make things difficult for him. If he refuses to comply, however, heh, that would still be a sin committed by us and would be unrelated to Miss Magu….” He clearly didn’t put any value on the life of a Foundation Stage cultivator and didn’t show much concern.

“It is still all caused by Magu. If Magu were to commit such a sin, Magu would rather not go to the depths of the Guixu Ruins….”

She unexpectedly changed her originally easy-going temperament and turned extremely stubborn on this particular matter, shocking the people here. This girl of the Xunlong clan was the only one who could help them enter the ruins’ depths, and there might actually be greater risks if she wasn’t satisfied now. All she’d need to do is casually point in the wrong direction once inside and everyone would pay for it with their lives.

“Esteemed seniors, please beg pardon. Magu is not being unreasonable, it is simply that Magu has seen too much death of her clansmen while growing up; it terrifies her. Even after Magu’s father entered the depths of the ruins, Magu vowed that if she is able to complete the dying wish of the Xunlong clan, she’d become a vegetarian and never kill. This vow has been adhered to for the past forty years; how could Magu go back on her words when her father’s dying wish is about to be completed?”

Magu’s persistence left the head elders feeling a little complicated, and no one replied for quite some time. She let out a sigh and spoke in an even firmer voice, “Magu knows this may be asking too much from everyone, but Magu hopes all esteemed seniors can nevertheless understand. How about this; if that red dragon’s owner is truly unwilling to give the red dragon, please still keep him alive. Capture him and bring him to Magu, and Magu will then invite him to seek treasures. If there is anything, the share for the Xunlong clan would all be given to him, and it can be considered as compensation for his loss of the red dragon. Only this way would Magu be able to enter the depths without any worries….”

“Hehe, Miss Magu is worried we’d kill him without telling you, thus you want to see him, right?” Although the manner in which Magu made her request was very well thought out, her intention was revealed by Head Elder Linglong all the same.

Magu seemed a bit frightened as she bowed. “For Magu to try going in circles in front of all esteemed seniors, it has been Magu’s rudeness!”

Head Elder Fangzheng of the Fengtian clan laughed. “It is Miss Magu’s kind heart; there is no need for you to apologize. In fact, seeing you do not wish to kill gives us far greater peace of mind. To work together with such a kind miss would ensure the safety of the people on our side. Please rest assured; if the owner of the red dragon rebels, we shall simply capture him for you. For a mere Foundation Stage, neither killing nor capturing would take much effort regardless!” he promised on everyone’s behalf, and no one spoke up against it.

After a bit more discussion, Magu then explained that the path leading into the depths was very difficult. Flying was forbidden in many places and required them to go by foot, so it would take at least one and a half months to get into the innermost depths. As for how long it would take for the nine moons, one red lantern would rise every ten days, meaning it would take a total of eighty days for all eight lanterns to join the moon in the sky.

Factoring in everything, they had less than a month to find the red dragon’s owner. Feeling rushed, everyone sent letters back to their clans ordering them to put in all of their effort into the search, and dozens of shadows quickly flew off towards the horizon with the message to form a giant net covering the Guixu Ruins in its entirety.

Fang Xing had mixed himself in with these messengers and took the opportunity to flee with a dark expression. ‘Motherf*cker, you don’t consider killing the big doggie as murder?’ He didn’t feel thankful towards the Xunlong clan master for not wanting to kill him, and instead was filled with even more resentment and frustration instead.

Fang Xing could faintly feel things had started getting out of hand. A single utterance from the Xunlong clan master had already pushed both him and his big doggie to the tip of the blade. All the clans had shown their desire to capture him, and now matter how vicious his big doggie was, how many could it actually kill if all their Golden Core cultivators got involved? What’s more, where could he flee to in such a damned place as the Guixu Ruins?

Even more importantly… if this was truly the only chance in the past thousands of years to leave the Guixu Ruins, should he flee?

Fang Xing was not someone who did things impulsively. He was someone who weighed the pros and cons before coming to a definite decision, but this time he had to do something and he had to do it now. The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, and he rushed towards where he’d hidden the red dragon earlier; no matter what he decided later, he first had to hide with the red dragon or else there might not be anywhere they could go once the net was formed.

When Fang Xing flew close to the valley he’d hidden the red dragon, however, he glanced up and was left dumbfounded. Above the valley where the red dragon had been hiding, three cultivators were staring blankly down towards the bottom. All three wore beast-hide robes with bare chests and although one was in early Golden Core Stage and the others were in late Foundation Stage, all three had vicious auras. One of them was even riding a fourth-tier peril bird whose wingspan was several dozens of feet wide.

Messengers of the Yushou clan.