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The various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in an uproar. The Dao Realm Patriarchs had bright gleams in their eyes, and their expressions were extremely serious as they looked over at Planet East Victory, and the middle-aged man emerging from the Medicine Immortal Sect.
“Fang Yanxu!”
“It’s Fang Yanxu! He forsook the Fang Clan and started his own school of thought! He established the Medicine Immortal Sect....” [1. Fang Yanxu’s name in Chinese is 方言墟 fāng yán xū. Yan means “speech” or “words.” Xu means “ruins”]
“So, he’s actually reached the Dao Realm. I remember that back in the day he was an Ancient Realm cultivator....”
“So, this is the Fang Clan, huh? Their hidden resources are so profound! The Medicine Immortal Sect is something that everyone knew about, and yet their allegiance went as unnoticed as a shadow in the lamplight!!”
Up in the starry sky, a slight smile could be seen on Fang Shoudao's face, and there was a profound gleam of meaning in his eyes. Ji Xiufang, who was still locked in combat with him, suddenly felt her eyes go wide.
“Fang Yanxu.... So HE's your trump card! I can't believe you were able to hold off on allowing a Dao Realm expert like that to make an appearance.... More than half of the members of your clan have died, and you even waited for us to unleash our secret weapon before making your move!” But then, Ji Xiufang looked at Fang Shoudao and smiled.
“Unfortunately for you,” she said, “when the Ji Clan makes a move, we don’t lose! This is your final trump card, right?” She smiled, a smile as cold as ice. Then, just as suddenly, she felt her heart sinking. That was because Fang Shoudao actually... was not just calm. No, he was looking into her eyes with a profound look.
The sight of it once again filled Ji Xiufang with alarm.
“You're bluffing!” she declared. A thousand thoughts ran through her head, but she couldn’t think of any area where something had been overlooked in their plan. She was certain that the Fang Clan did not have any more trump cards, and therefore, she smiled coldly at Fang Shoudao, and began to fight once again.
Booms echoed out in the starry sky, and down on Planet East Victory, the members of the Fang Clan were extremely excited. Meng Hao looked over at the middle-aged man approaching from off in the distance, and could clearly sense the Dao Realm Essence fluctuations.
The faces of the three old men from the Ji Clan instantly fell. Although their longevity was rapidly withering away, they still had decades of life left to live. Now that they were up against a Dao Realm expert, someone who was qualified to kill them in an instant, roaring filled their minds, and they instantly fell into retreat.
In that moment, however, Fang Yanxu of the Medicine Immortal Sect laughed and closed in. He waved his right hand, and an enormous power surged toward the retreating men.
Booms shook everything as Essence power exploded out. The three men let out shrill cries, and blood sprayed from their mouths as they retreated at top speed. As for all of the other traitorous clan members in the ancestral mansion, they began trembling, and likewise fell into frenzied retreat.
All of this seemed to be a complete reversal of the previous events. From the look of things, the rebellion was about to conclude!
However, for some reason, Meng Hao felt his heartbeat increasing. It was as if... something was about to occur that would cause a monumental change in all of the upheaval in the clan .
This feeling came completely unexpectedly, and only continued to grow more intense.
Up in midair, the three Quasi-Dao experts bellowed in rage. Realizing that flight was not an option, their madness overwhelmed them and they turned and shot toward Fang Yanxu. Rumbling echoed out, and the air was shattered. Wild winds screamed, and cracks appeared in the surface of the ground.
The attacks launched by the terracotta soldier and Pill Elder added hail to snow. Blood sprayed from the mouths of the three men, and they howled miserably. One of them lost his right arm, which exploded and vanished into a haze of blood.
They lashed out with extreme power, but it was all contained and blocked. Their faces filled with despair as the shadow of death spread out to cover their hearts.
Down on the ground, the traitorous clan members were being chased down and killed. More blood spread out, and countless people died. Even those who chose to flee ended up finding no place to flee to.
Elders fought viciously. Immortal Realm clan members battled. Spirit Realm clan members went equally wild.
Everything seemed to be turning around for the loyal clan members, and yet Meng Hao’s nervous sensation continued to grow more intense. It was as if... some eruption was about to occur.
As the Patriarchs of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched the battle, their feelings, although not as intense as Meng Hao’s, did cause them to hesitate.
“The resources of the Fang Clan are extremely profound.... They definitely deserve to be one of the Four Great Clans. However, when the Ji Clan attacks, could it really be resolved so simply?”
“The Fang Clan has unleashed all of their secret weapons. Does the Ji Clan... have anything left in reserve?”
“Could it be that the three Dao Realm experts outside the sealing s.h.i.+eld will join in the battle?”
“Not likely. The Three Great Daoist Societies... have already quelled the uprisings in their respective organizations. If those three dared to enter the fight, the Three Great Daoist Societies would definitely seize the opportunity to make a move!”
“So... what trick does the Ji Clan have up its sleeve?” The Dao Realm Patriarchs all watched closely.
“Something’s off!” As Meng Hao looked around, he realized that apparently, n.o.body else had the same feeling as him. He seemed to be the only one in the entire clan who thought something fishy was going on.
Up in midair, booms rang out from the battles going on. Fang Yanxu was in a position of complete superiority, and when he attacked, ma.s.sive explosions resulted. The three Quasi-Dao old men were already injured, and could just barely fight back. Blood spurted out from their wounds constantly, and they were clearly on the verge of being eradicated in spirit and body.
Down below, the traitorous clan members were suffering successive defeats. They were suffering gruesome and severe casualties, and it appeared to be impossible for them to ever again seize the upper hand.
Despite that, the sense of imminent disaster continued to grow stronger in Meng Hao.
He wasn't sure why, but subconsciously, he found himself looking around at the members of the Fang Clan in the ancestral mansion. His gaze swept about, and just when he was about to give up, his eyes suddenly went wide, and fixed upon a single person.
That was... Fang Donghan!
Back on Planet South Heaven, he had helped Meng Hao escape from an ambush. After Meng Hao returned to the Fang Clan, he had not acted with any sort of hostility. Apparently, his main goal was to incite Meng Hao and Fang Wei into fighting each other. After they were both injured, then he would be able to rise to prominence.
That was what Meng Hao had always a.s.sumed. Now, as he looked over at Fang Donghan, his heart began to pound. That was because Fang Donghan’s lips were suddenly twisted into a smile of derision. Apparently, he was not among the traitors, yet no fighting had occurred in his vicinity. He stood there, apparently able to remain concealed from the views of all others, completely overlooked by everyone around him.
Perhaps you could even say that he had been forgotten!
It was impossible to say what method he had used to make all of the other clan members forget his existence....
He was visible, but anyone that looked at him couldn't remember who he was; it was a strange sensation indeed.
When Meng Hao looked at him, he could apparently sense it, and looked back. Their gazes locked on to each other, and Meng Hao’s mind filled with roaring. His face flickered as an unprecedented sensation of crisis exploded out within him.
Even as that happened, Meng Hao’s vision swam, and he suddenly felt as if he were entering another world. It was a world where everything was as crimson as blood. The ground was like a ma.s.s of gore, and roaring sounds filled the air. All of a sudden, countless iron chains snaked up from the ground. They were red, as if they had been stained by unimaginable amounts of blood, and they flew out in Meng Hao's direction, instantly wrapping around him to bind him up.
He was absolutely powerless to resist, almost as if he had turned into a mortal. Even more terrifying to Meng Hao was the fact that he was incredibly sleepy, as if he couldn’t even keep his eyelids open.
No matter how alarmed he became, he was incapable of controlling his own body, and was clearly on the verge of falling fast asleep.
As the chains closed in on him, all of a sudden, the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit suddenly began to vibrate inside of his bag of holding.
A tremor ran through him, and then he began to quiver all over. He suddenly woke up, and his eyes widened. The vision he had been experiencing shattered into fragments, which then turned into a windstorm that swept about in all directions. It was as if some ma.s.sive power had reached out, grabbed ahold of him, and wrenched him forcibly out of that world.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his vision returned to normal. He was still on Planet East Victory, in the Fang Clan. He could see Fang Donghan smiling at him, a cold, deviant smile. The sensation Meng Hao got was that of unspeakable fear and terror. It was as if there was something hiding inside of Fang Donghan... some sort of towering Immortal Divinity that could crush even the Dao Realm!
Fang Donghan looked deeply at Meng Hao, as if he were somewhat surprised that Meng Hao had been able to extricate himself from that strange world.
“He's not Fang Donghan!!” Rumbling filled Meng Hao’s mind. A single glance had thrown him into a terrifying, blood-colored world, and Meng Hao got the feeling that if he didn't possess that Nirvana Fruit, then... he would certainly have perished!!
Even after having been pulled out, he still coughed up blood, and his chest ached, almost as if his heart had been tugged at by invisible hands. His face was ashen as he backed up, and without the slightest hesitation, he called out to the terracotta soldier with divine will.
Get back here!!
The terracotta soldier was currently fighting alongside Fang Yanxu against the three Quasi-Dao experts. However, it didn't hesitate for even a moment. As soon as it sensed the divine will, it stopped attacking and shot back toward Meng Hao.
Even as the terracotta soldier started moving, Fang Donghan tilted his head, an icy smile plastered on his face. Then, he extended his right hand and gently waved it through the air.
That movement caused Fang Danyun’s expression to fall. Rumbling sounds filled him, and blood sprayed from his mouth. He tried to retreat, but before he could move very far, blood spurted out all over his body. Cracking sounds could be heard as numerous rips and tears opened up. It happened ten times in a row, and in the blink of an eye, he was drastically weakened, and even began to emanate a boundless Death aura.
From the look of it, even a Quasi-Dao Paragon... could be severely wounded by a single handwave of Fang Donghan!
At the same time, Fang Yanxu let out a powerful roar as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Essence power exploded out, the Essence of plants and vegetation. Countless plants appeared in his vicinity, but they immediately withered up. Fang Yanxu coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled backward. Apparently, even his cultivation base... was forced back by the attack!
The wave of a hand seriously injured Pill Elder and forced Fang Yanxu back. This turn of events was too sudden, and if the terracotta soldier had not been moving toward Meng Hao, it would have fallen apart.
“You....” said Fang Yanxu, his eyes wide with disbelief and astonishment. He looked down into the crowd from up in midair, at the person who everyone had overlooked and forgotten... Fang Donghan!
“The Ji Clan is more useless than I thought....” Fang Donghan said softly. He stepped up into the air, rising up, his hair floating around him. His appearance gradually changed, and as everyone watched, he became someone else, not Fang Donghan, but rather, a middle-aged man.
“Were it not for me awakening just in the nick of time, I'm afraid all of the Ji Clan’s preparations would have been in vain.” Fang Donghan shook his head as he hovered there in midair, his body emanating boundless cultivation base ripples. He looked like... a Paragon of Heaven and Earth. The sensation of bloodline ripples emanated out from him, making it clear that he was a member of the Fang Clan, filling all hearts with rumbling.
“Is there anyone left in the Fang Clan who recognizes me?” Fang Donghan said, his voice soft but boundlessly ancient.