Translator: CinderTL
Fang Xiang shrank his neck, pretending not to see Xu Sanyan.
Xu Sanyan and Qi Liang walked side by side at the front, chatting casually. Behind them, the two groups remained distinctly separate, each wary of the other.
Though both belonged to the demonic sect, there was no trust between them.
As they approached the rift, Xu Sanyan stopped, and Qi Liang halted beside him. Their gazes fixed on the corner ahead.
A group emerged, led by Fang Qingge and the Luo Family Siblings. Their disheveled appearance suggested they were being pursued.
The newcomers tensed at the sight of Xu Sanyan. "Xu Sanyan?"
"Heh, Brother Fang, Brother Luo, Immortal Maiden Luo, you're here too?" Xu Sanyan greeted them politely with a cupped-fist salute.
"Hmph, why do I keep running into you everywhere?" Luo Qingwei still resented Xu Sanyan for the beating he had given her earlier.
Xu Sanyan ignored her, gesturing toward the rift. "You're here for this as well?"
"Indeed," Fang Qingge replied, subtly maneuvering his group closer to Xu Sanyan's.
Suddenly,
Clang!
The sound of a copper gong reverberated through the air. Fang Qingge instinctively turned to count his group members, a surge of relief washing over him.
No one was missing!
This meant the copper gong wasn't targeting them specifically, but rather treating everyone within its range equally.
Just then, a panicked shout came from behind Qi Liang: "Senior Brother Qi, Elder Li is gone!"
"Huh?" Qi Liang turned, his face puzzled. "Where did he go?"
"I-I don't know! He just vanished!" someone stammered, their voice trembling with fear.
One moment Elder Li had been right beside them, and the next he was gone—a Dao Seeking Realm elder, vanished without a trace!
Xu Sanyan whirled around, glaring at Fang Qingge. "Did you do this?" he demanded.
Fang Qingge shook his head. "We don't have that kind of power. It's the gong. Every time it rings, it randomly takes someone. We've already lost five people."
"You're framing us!" Qi Liang roared, his anger flaring. Their numbers were already thin, and now they'd inexplicably lost another member—a Dao Seeking Realm elder, no less. How could he not be furious?
"It's not our fault! What does this have to do with us? If you're so capable, go find Wang Xinglu yourself!" Luo Qingwei retorted, refusing to back down.
"Who?" Xu Sanyan froze. Wang Xinglu? The name sounded familiar. After a moment's thought, he realized it was the night watchman who had accompanied him earlier.
He's still alive?
"Wang Xinglu," Luo Changtian said, looking at him curiously. "What, you know him?"
"What happened to him?"
Fang Qingge didn't hide anything, explaining the entire situation. He concluded, "The gong rings roughly every half hour, taking one person each time."
Copper gong...
Xu Sanyan remembered he had a copper gong in his storage pouch. What would happen if he struck it?
He didn't dare test it himself, but perhaps he could get someone else to try.
Ignoring the others, Xu Sanyan led his group toward the fissure. Qi Liang glared fiercely at Fang Qingge before following.
Fang Qingge smiled. "Let's go take a look too."
He planned to stay close to Xu Sanyan and his group, hoping to share the risk posed by the copper gong.
Better a dead friend than a poor me, he thought. Besides, these were demonic path demonfolk—their deaths would be no great loss, just ridding the world of pests.
Fang Qingge felt no moral qualms whatsoever.
As they approached the fissure, Xu Sanyan's brow furrowed.
From a distance, the gap had seemed small, but now, up close, it was clearly over nine meters wide, with its widest point nearing fifteen meters!
Fifteen meters! That's over twenty steps—taller than many city walls in the mortal realm.
"So dark..." Xiang Tan murmured, her small mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide with awe. The fissure was pitch-black and eerily silent, inspiring dread.
"So long..."
Qin Manyang spoke at the same time. Only by experiencing the earth-shattering wound up close could one truly grasp its awe-inspiring power.
It was as if a single sword had cleaved the heavens, leaving a deep, gaping scar across the world.
Xu Sanyan glanced back at the second sister and silently rolled his eyes. Wait until I have time to show you something longer and darker, he thought.
More people began to arrive. The first to appear were the monks from Heaven's Will Demon Subduing Temple, led by Jingyi. He bowed respectfully to the Luo Family siblings and the others.
"Greetings, young masters and immortal maidens."
"Ah, the great master has come too..." Luo Changtian said with a hint of resignation. He came here of his own accord. If anyone goes missing later, it's not my fault.
Next came the Zuoqiu Clan, arriving from afar. Xu Sanyan glanced back, his gaze sweeping past Zuoqiu Zhen without lingering.
Zuoqiu Chen, no longer as forthright as before, stepped forward to greet the group. "Greetings, holy sons, great master, Gongzi Fang, Gongzi Luo, and Immortal Maiden Luo."
"Where's your eldest sister?" Xu Sanyan asked, looking around for Zuoqiu Shu.
Zuoqiu Chen's eyes darkened at the news, and the faces of Zuoqiu Hui and the others behind her were etched with sorrow.
"Our eldest sister... has passed away."
"Huh?"
Xu Sanyan paused, then shook his head with a hint of regret. "My condolences."
In this secret realm, death was commonplace. Yet it was unexpected that Zuoqiu Shu, the most powerful among the Huai Lake Seven Heroes, would be the first to fall.
Truth be told, he had quite liked that woman. What a pity...
Lin Fan stood among the crowd, his gaze fixed intently on Zuoqiu Yi, clutching the handkerchief in his hand.
Zuoqiu Yi glanced up and met his eyes, then quickly averted her gaze as if he were a stranger, her expression unchanged, though a flicker of sadness lingered deep within her eyes.
Lin Fan froze. She... doesn't recognize me?
Zuoqiu Yi lowered her head, her mind replaying her eldest sister's dying words:
"Do not bring calamity upon the clan."
She understood the meaning clearly: her sister was warning her to avoid any involvement with the demonic sect.
Now that her sister was dead, these words had become her final testament, carrying a weight she couldn't ignore. She had no choice but to obey.
Lin Fan clutched his handkerchief tightly, his gaze lowered. He couldn't understand why Zuoqiu Yi was pretending not to see him, but his heart ached terribly.
He had longed to meet her again, day and night, yet when they finally did, it was under such circumstances.
Qin Manyang glanced at Lin Fan, then turned to Zuoqiu Yi, a faint smile playing on her lips. She found the situation immensely amusing, feeling like a witness to their tangled romantic journey.
Just then, Huan Xi'er arrived, accompanied by Mo Xianxian. Something must have happened between them, as the previous tension seemed to have vanished.
Huan Xi'er no longer wore his flamboyant attire. His hair was unbound, the red robe had been replaced, and the golden hoop earrings were gone, making him appear much more normal.
Mo Xianxian cast a calm glance at Xu Sanyan, her eyes devoid of hatred, maintaining her usual serene composure.
"Immortal Maiden Mo?"
Fang Qingge stared at Mo Xianxian, his heart filled with admiration. She truly possessed the beauty to captivate even the fish in the depths and the wild geese in flight!
(End of the Chapter)
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