"Wu Bachong, get up quickly." In the Wu Clan's great hall, Wu Yong burst into laughter.
Wu Bachong immediately felt an invisible force—gentle yet unyielding—lifting him to his feet.
"With your help, I no longer have anything to worry about." Wu Yong's tone was one of sincere relief.
"I am ashamed." Wu Bachong lowered his head and clasped his fists. "My cultivation is insufficient, and I have failed to live up to your great expectations. But from now on, whenever you give the word, I will devote my very life and limb to serve you without reservation!"
Wu Bachong was not putting on an act. He had genuinely submitted from the bottom of his heart.
Wu Yong was truly a formidable leader. The moment he had taken power, he had already purged the spies that had been planted within the Wu Clan.
Though the incident with Fang Yuan impersonating Wu Yihai and using the Wu Clan to secretly steal the Dream Realm had occurred, Wu Yong had turned the tide and swiftly recovered all of the Wu Clan's lost territories.
In the Dream Realm battle of the Southern Border, Wu Yong had reached an agreement with Heavenly Court and returned the Immortal Gu of the various super clans, earning unparalleled prestige. Afterward, he had led the Immortal Gu Masters of the Southern Border in besieging and hunting Fang Yuan, driving him out of the Southern Border and into the Western Desert, where he fled in a wretched state.
In the battle at the Five Elements Mountain Range, he had suffered a minor setback due to the schemes of Fang Yuan and Lu Weiyin. But in the end, Lu Weiyin had not managed to outcompete him, and Wu Yong was still appointed as the leader of the Southern Alliance.
During the Battle of Fate, Wu Yong had led the Southern Alliance's elite forces to proactively seek battle, striking boldly without hesitation despite Fairy Ziwei's threats. In that battle, Wu Yong had led the Immortal Gu Masters in a relentless, unbroken assault against the Eternal Linked Formation, deploying the Infinite Wind killer move and permanently expending Wind Path Dao Marks in the process. Both his fighting spirit and his contributions had been deeply etched into the hearts of the Southern Border's Immortal Gu Masters.
After the Battle of Fate, Wu Yong had returned to the clan to recuperate, repeatedly refining his killer moves and even the Immortal Gu House Jade Clear Dripping Wind Small Bamboo Tower. At the same time, he had overseen the Wu Clan's affairs, organizing everything both internally and externally with impeccable order, keeping the clan thriving day by day.
Whether in personal cultivation, individual talent, combat prowess, or leadership ability, Wu Yong was the most extraordinary figure Wu Bachong had ever encountered. Even his own mother, Wu Duxiu, had fallen in the estimation of Wu Bachong and many other Southern Border Immortal Gu Masters to a position below Wu Yong.
"I am old and past my prime. My life is what it is. To be able to follow someone like Wu Yong is truly my good fortune. I truly look forward to seeing how far the Wu Clan can go under his leadership." These were Wu Bachong's heartfelt thoughts.
Whoosh.
A soft sound rang out as a Message Path Immortal Gu suddenly flew in from outside the hall.
The Message Path Immortal Gu landed in Wu Yong's hand. His divine sense probed it, and in an instant, he learned its contents.
Seeing this, Wu Bachong speculated inwardly: "To use a Message Path Immortal Gu to transmit a message, it must be something of great importance. I wonder—is it good news or bad?"
Immediately after, he saw Wu Yong smile: "This is a double stroke of good fortune. Take a look."
As he spoke, Wu Yong handed the Message Path Immortal Gu to Wu Bachong.
Wu Bachong accepted the Message Path Immortal Gu and read it carefully. Only then did he learn that Wu Yong had previously orchestrated an elaborate scheme, successfully luring the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge into falling into a trap formation.
"The Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge—it's really the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge!" Wu Bachong's expression grew agitated with excitement.
The Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge were a notorious Demonic Path organization well known throughout the Southern Border's Immortal Gu community, with a full membership of seven. Every generation of the Seven Ghosts had caused tremendous disruption and considerable losses to the Righteous Path of the Southern Border.
The Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge were arrogant and aggressive, and had repeatedly violated the Wu Clan's interests. As the leader of the Righteous Path in the Southern Border, the Wu Clan naturally had to step forward.
Thus, the Wu Clan and the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge had become locked in opposition.
Every generation of the Wu Clan's Grand Elder had devoted themselves to exterminating the Seven Ghosts. And every generation of the Seven Ghosts had in turn engaged in a constant cat-and-mouse struggle with the Wu Clan. Whenever this colossal power showed any sign of weakness, they would pounce like vicious dogs lurking in the shadows, tear away a chunk of flesh, and then swiftly retreat into the distance.
The Wu Clan was a super power that had held the premier position in the Southern Border almost year-round. But the Seven Ghosts were no simple matter either—much evidence suggested that their lineage very likely traced back to Spectral Soul Demon Venerable. As long as even one member of the Seven Ghosts survived in any generation, it meant the lineage continued. Given enough time, that survivor would find six more Demonic Path Immortal Gu Masters gathering around them.
Generation after generation of life-and-death struggle had turned the Wu Clan and the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge into mortal enemies. The Wu Clan had become the Seven Ghosts' greatest adversary each generation, while the Seven Ghosts had become a persistent thorn in the Wu Clan's side—one they could never shake off. The initiation rite for each new member of the Seven Ghosts was to take revenge upon the Wu Clan.
Among Wu Duxiu's dying regrets, there had been three great grievances, and the foremost among them was the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge. Throughout her life, Wu Duxiu had orchestrated from the shadows and even personally struck down over a dozen members of the Seven Ghosts, but she had never had the opportunity to wipe them all out at once.
As long as even one Ghost survived, and was given time to lay low in hiding, they would eventually regather to full strength.
But now, according to the intelligence carried by the Message Path Immortal Gu, the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge had actually all fallen into Wu Yong's trap.
It was no wonder Wu Bachong was so excited.
Wu Yong put away the Message Path Immortal Gu and began striding toward the exit, issuing instructions as he walked: "The Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge are a menace that the Wu Clan must eliminate. If left unchecked, they will inevitably cause trouble in the future and drag our clan down. To ensure absolute certainty, I will personally handle this."
Wu Bachong followed close behind, eagerly volunteering to join the battle. If they could annihilate the Seven Ghosts of the Fierce Gorge in one stroke, the significance for the Wu Clan would be immense.
But Wu Yong refused him: "I will be taking the Jade Clear Dripping Wind Small Bamboo Tower with me this time. Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. The Wu Clan's main base still needs you to stand guard."
"Understood." Wu Bachong had no choice but to accept the order, though he felt resigned.
Under his gaze—filled with anticipation and deep respect—Wu Yong's figure surged into the sky like the wind and vanished from sight in an instant.
The Wu Clan's main base was situated on Wuyi Mountain, which stood in the southwestern reaches of the Southern Border.
Looking down upon the entire Southern Border from above, in rough terms: the Yellow Dragon River and the Red Dragon River formed two lines crossing into an X shape. The Wu Clan's territory lay at the lower opening of this X, while the Shang Clan occupied the right portion.
Among all of the Southern Border's super powers, the Wu Clan was located at the southernmost point. This geographical position pleased Wu Yong greatly, for the Wu Clan was not like the Central Continent, which sat in the midst of a war-torn crossroads.
The Wu Clan's territory was almost entirely isolated by the Yellow Dragon River and the Red Dragon River—a geography that was extremely favorable for rising to power.
"The Wu Clan's greatest weakness right now is the insufficient number of Immortal Gu Masters. Even if we absorb the surrounding territories in the future, we will struggle to have enough Immortal Gu Masters to garrison them all."
Wu Yong pondered as he flew along, and when his thoughts reached this point, he inevitably thought of Fang Yuan.
It was precisely Fang Yuan who had stirred up the storms and wreaked havoc upon the Southern Border, causing it to endure multiple devastating battles. It was not just the Wu Clan—the entire Southern Border Immortal Gu community had suffered tremendous casualties because of him!
Wu Yong flew northeast at tremendous speed.
After a short while, the Corpse Mountain came into view.
This Corpse Mountain, rising along the riverbank, stood several hundred zhang tall. The mountain was teeming with zombies and sat right beside the vortex at the heart of the Red-Yellow River.
More accurately, this Corpse Mountain was named after Corpse Emperor Yu Dingtian—an Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Master of the Southern Border who had been transformed into a corpse. He had been besieged here by the combined forces of the super powers. The Eighth Transformation Corpse had perished in battle, and over the long years, the shattered remains of his body in the ruins of the battlefield, nourished by the rich spiritual energy at the river's edge and aided by the aquatic plants washed ashore by the river water, had gradually taken root and sprouted, eventually growing into this Corpse Mountain.
The Corpse Mountain produced abundant Corpse Zombie Gu from the Transformation Path, as well as Corpse Qi Gu from the Qi Path.