"You actually deceived me, you..."
*Pfft*
Murong Yanguan coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his fury overwhelming him. Then he collapsed weakly to the ground, his body convulsing violently, yet he no longer had the strength to rise. It was clear he had been driven to the brink by rage.
As for this situation, Murong Yunluan simply closed his eyes slowly, his face filled with helplessness and grief. Although this matter had been entirely caused by his elder brother, he too bore an inescapable responsibility.
He could only blame himself for trusting his elder brother too much, handing over so much authority to Murong Yanguan while he shut himself away day after day to cultivate, paying no heed to worldly affairs. Otherwise, even if Murong Yanguan had been used by someone, it would never have led to such devastating losses.
No matter how one looked at it, the White Tiger Villa had already suffered grievous damage. Its lifeline had been shattered—it was truly on the brink of destruction. He did not believe for a moment that this gray-robed figure could protect the White Tiger Villa, much less that he would even try to do so.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble*
But just then, a trembling sound emanated from within that bizarre black void. The sound was extremely strange, as if it came from some impossibly distant place, yet merely hearing it made one deeply uneasy—as though some terrifying entity was about to be born into the world.
"Hahahaha! And you think you can obtain everything the Ancestor once gained? Do you think you have the ability? The qualifications?"
"Beneath the lifeline lies an abyss of no return, and locked within that abyss is something horrifying. You shattered the lifeline because you want to set it free. It will bring devastation upon all living beings in Qingzhou and destroy the entire continent. You will get nothing. You will be killed by it, just like us."
Murong Yunluan burst into hysterical laughter. He had fallen into total despair. He deeply believed the words the Ancestor had left behind. He knew that today they would all die here, and that the entirety of Qingzhou—and perhaps the entire continent—would face catastrophe.
"Hmph."
However, the gray-robed figure merely let out a cold snort, then with a whoosh, leaped straight into the bizarre black void. And most strangely, not long after the gray-robed figure entered, the terrifying rumbling gradually subsided, until it disappeared completely.
More importantly, the bizarre black void itself was slowly shrinking, as if it were about to close.
"The lifeline has been destroyed, but the White Tiger Villa hasn't fallen! Everyone, get into that black void! Inside is the abyss of no return—you might be able to obtain everything Murong Xiaoyao once gained!"
Upon hearing this, someone suddenly shouted, and once the cry rang out, everyone began desperately crawling toward the black void. But they had long since exhausted their strength—it was truly a struggle to move even a single step.
Though the black void was right there before them, they simply could not reach it. This drove many to despair. Some roared in anguish, some wept bitterly, and some had lost even the strength to roar or cry.
*Tap, tap, tap...*
Just then, the sound of rapid footsteps drew closer, and a figure came rushing forward like a beam of light, ultimately stopping at the center of the lifeline. It was none other than Chu Feng and Murong Xinyu.
"Father!" Upon seeing Murong Yunluan, Murong Xinyu rushed over and threw herself into her father's arms.
Chu Feng, meanwhile, cautiously surveyed everything around him. Through the exchange he had just overheard, he could tell that there had been a formidable presence here—but clearly, that person had already departed.
"Chu Feng, get into that black void! It must be the entrance to the Emperor's burial!" The moment Chu Feng's gaze fell upon the black void, Egg's melodious voice rang out, filled with extraordinary excitement.
Almost as soon as Egg spoke, Chu Feng was already running toward the black void. By now the void had shrunk considerably, and Chu Feng could no longer step into it. He clasped his palms together and, in a diving posture like a dragon plunging into the sea, plunged headfirst into the shrinking black void.
And shortly after Chu Feng entered, the black void closed completely, vanishing into the lifeline as if it had never existed at all, leaving not a single trace behind.
At that moment, many were overwhelmed with disappointment. They felt they had missed their chance to become great martial artists. After all, it was precisely because Murong Xiaoyao had entered the abyss long ago and gained inexplicable benefits that he had been able to become such a powerful figure.
At the same time, many others felt a wave of relief. They had believed that the destruction of the lifeline would unleash a horrifying creature that would annihilate the White Tiger Villa in an instant, taking their lives with it. But now, it seemed that terrible scenario had not come to pass.
"Father." Murong Xinyu nestled close to Murong Yunluan, her face streaked with tears.
"Xinyu, who was that young man just now? Why have I never seen him before?" Murong Yunluan, however, was still staring at the spot where the black void had vanished, an indescribable mix of emotions churning within him.
"His name is Chu Feng. He's a Spirit World Master, but he's not a bad person. Along the way, if he hadn't protected me, I never would have made it here alive."
As she spoke, Murong Xinyu shot a venomous glare toward Murong Yanguan not far away—the man who was now the greatest culprit of the White Tiger Villa's downfall.
"A Spirit World Master?"
Murong Yunluan fell into deep thought. He firmly believed what the Ancestor Murong Xiaoyao had said: if the lifeline falls, the villa perishes. But now the lifeline had been shattered, and yet the villa still stood intact.
He wondered whether the gray-robed figure had somehow intervened, but he doubted it even more—could a mere first-level Xuan Martial gray-robed figure truly possess such extraordinary power?
At the same time, Chu Feng found himself as if he had entered a dream. Everything around him was pitch black, and an immense pulling force guided him forward at tremendous speed.
He did not know how long had passed before a blinding burst of light finally bloomed before his eyes. At the same time, the surrounding darkness began to recede, and when his feet touched solid ground, everything around him had changed.
It resembled a palace, for it was incredibly lavish—several times more opulent than the lifeline above. It was quite possibly the grandest place Chu Feng had ever seen.
It resembled a grand array, for every surface was inscribed with runes, rune after rune linked together, their light flickering like an enormous net that shrouded the entire space.
And it resembled a tomb, for at its very center stood a circular elevated platform, and upon that platform rested a gleaming, luminous crystal ancient coffin.