The clan's ancestral shrine.
Located on Wuyi Mountain, the ancestral shrine was a mortal Gu house. It employed a great number of Fifth Transformation mortal Gu, and while its power couldn't compare to an Immortal Gu house, its significance to the entire Wu Clan was extraordinary.
Basically, whether it was a super force or an ordinary family, all would construct an ancestral shrine. Inside, they stored Life Tablet Gu, or Soul Lamp Gu, or Blood Rope Gu.
The first two were common enough, but Blood Rope Gu were rarer, since they involved the Blood Path.
Even the various sects in Central Continent had facilities similar to an ancestral shrine, likewise used to store Life Tablet Gu, Soul Lamp Gu, and the like.
At this moment, Wu Bachong stood inside the ancestral shrine, his gaze fixed blankly on the Gu fragments on the altar table.
When a Life Tablet Gu shattered, it looked like scattered wood chips, and when a Soul Lamp Gu was destroyed, it became a broken ladybug that could no longer emit its faint, dim blue candlelight.
Though Wu Bachong was well advanced in years, his physique was robust as a bear. His temples were streaked with grey, his nose broad and coarse, his brows thick and his eyes fierce. He was a steady man who dared to shoulder responsibility.
He was the Wu Clan's Supreme Second Elder. He had weathered great storms, and normally he was as immovable as a mountain. But now, his forehead was drenched in cold sweat, his breathing was ragged, and his typically resolute gaze was scattered and unfocused.
"Lord Wu Yong is dead?!" Wu Bachong stared at the two mortal Gu fragments. He had already been standing here for some time, yet his mind was still a chaotic mess.
"How could this happen? An august Eighth Transformation existence — the pillar of our Wu Clan — has fallen just like that?!" Wu Bachong couldn't fathom it. It was impossible to believe.
"Has Lord Wu Yong truly perished???" He kept asking himself.
After all, Life Tablet Gu and Soul Lamp Gu were only mortal Gu. With some effort, it wasn't hard to interfere with them.
But Wu Yong was currently in a state of lost contact. No matter how the Wu Clan tried to reach him, all efforts vanished without a trace. That was an undeniable fact!
Whether Wu Yong was dead or not, his situation was certainly dire.
"To be able to bring such misfortune upon an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal — who could have struck so ruthlessly?"
"Could it be a Demonic Path or independent Eighth Transformation existence?"
"Or could the Righteous Path super clans be secretly joining forces to target our Wu Clan?"
Wu Bachong's mind churned with speculation.
The more he thought about it, the more scattered his gaze became.
Wu Duxiu had passed away, Wu Yong had gone missing, and the mighty Wu Clan — the foremost super clan in the Southern Border — didn't have a single Eighth Transformation existence to hold the fort.
This situation was extremely grave. The Wu Clan was already teetering in the wind and rain, and what was even more frightening was that the mastermind behind the curtain hadn't yet revealed themselves!
The shock slowly subsided, but bewilderment and dread pressed down on Wu Bachong's heart in their stead.
When Wu Duxiu and Wu Yong had been presiding over the big picture overhead, he hadn't felt the weight of things.
Now that both Eighth Transformation cultivators were gone, Wu Bachong realized that the shoulders he had believed broad enough simply couldn't bear the Wu Clan's heavy burden.
He had been the Supreme Second Elder since Wu Duxiu's era, and when Wu Yong took power, he continued to serve as an aide. In terms of seniority, he could be considered the eldest and most senior among all the Righteous Path Gu Immortals in the Southern Border.
But it was no use.
His cultivation was only at the Seventh Transformation, and his combat strength was nothing extraordinary. If he fought against Tree Elder Bade, he would certainly be no match. Even within the Wu Clan itself, quite a few Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals could fight him to a draw.
However, he was the first among the Wu Clan's higher-ups to rush back after the incident.
This gave him an advantage.
"What should I do?"
"Even if Lord Wu Yong isn't dead, the fact that he's out of contact, and that both his Life Tablet and Soul Lamp Gu have shattered — once this news gets out, it will cause a massive uproar and send shockwaves through everyone's hearts."
"Should I seal off the information?"
Wu Bachong quickly shook his head.
Setting aside that this shocking news had already been reported to most of the Wu Clan's Gu Immortals by the Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal stationed here — if Wu Yong had truly perished, the mastermind plotting against the Wu Clan would absolutely not let this perfect opportunity to crush the clan's morale slip by.
So even if Wu Bachong tried to suppress the news, it couldn't be contained.
"Then the pressing question is: should the priority be to search for the missing Lord Wu Yong, or to pull back our defenses and summon the Supreme Elders from abroad to guard our stronghold?"
Wu Bachong furrowed his brow.
Both options carried danger.
Searching for Wu Yong was fraught with peril. Whatever force was powerful enough to make Wu Yong vanish and shatter both his Life Tablet and Soul Lamp Gu was extraordinarily strong. Sending Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals from the Wu Clan to track him down would be like sheep walking into a tiger's maw.
But pulling back the defenses, recalling all the Supreme Elders — that too was a massive upheaval in clan affairs, and would lead to the loss of numerous resource points. If the surrounding super clans seized the chance to encroach, the Wu Clan's losses would be devastating.
What should be done?
Wu Bachong hesitated, trapped in a dilemma.
After a long while, he licked his dry lips and decided to postpone both courses of action for the time being. Instead, he would use his authority as the Supreme Second Elder to convene the Wu Clan's Gu Immortals for a discussion. Once they reached a decision, he would carry it out.
With Wu Yong missing and unreachable, a tremendous storm centered on the Wu Clan was beginning to take shape.