Once they rushed into the core area, everyone's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
All their expressions turned grim and rigid in an instant, their hearts clenching with a jolt of dread.
A few of the more cowardly ones couldn't help but glance upward, terrified that Gong Wuji might fly into a sudden rage and slaughter them all.
Yes — they saw Gong Qi.
More precisely, they saw what remained of Gong Qi.
Gong Qi had been hung from a massive tree, his body swaying in the empty air, barely clinging to his last breath. His torso was stripped bare, and characters had been carved into his back with a sharp blade.
"Gong Wuji — the blood feud of a destroyed sect. This is only the beginning. Until Heavenly Capital and the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain are wiped from existence, I, Jiang, will not let a single one of you go!"
The bloody characters had been gouged directly into Gong Qi's flesh with a blade, each stroke grotesque and savage.
As for Gong Qi himself, both arms had been severed at the shoulder. Every meridian in his body and his dantian sea of qi had been shattered beyond repair. Even if by some miracle he survived, he would be nothing more than a cripple.
And judging by the looks of it, survival was out of the question.
Gong Wuji's anguished roar echoed down from the sky as his figure plummeted to Gong Qi's side. He gathered his grandson into his arms, the fury blazing in his eyes fierce enough to burn the entire Wanxiang Region to ashes.
"Jiang Chen!"
Gong Wuji howled toward the heavens, rage erupting like a pillar of fire. Boundless killing intent surged and roared through that single cry. Birds passing overhead fell from the sky and burst apart on the ground, while countless beasts were instantly reduced to bursts of flesh and blood. The trees and grass within a three-or-four-li radius surrounding Gong Wuji were utterly annihilated.
Gong Qi's two guards had gone deathly pale, trembling with abject terror.
They were Gong Qi's personal protectors, yet they had failed to protect him, allowing him to fall into Jiang Chen's hands. True, Gong Qi had been the one who insisted on acting alone. But as his guards, their dereliction was undeniable. They were beside themselves with fear, terrified that Gong Wuji would execute them as a sacrifice to his grandson's spirit.
After a long silence, Gong Wuji slowly raised his head. His entire bearing had sharpened to the edge of a blade, and everyone nearby instinctively wanted to retreat.
"You two — come here." Gong Wuji beckoned.
"Take Qi'er's body back. Bury him properly. A descendant of the Gong family shall not be left to rot in foreign soil." His voice was hollow and menacing.
If killing could bring his grandson back, he would not hesitate to raise his blade and slaughter every living creature for that single life. But he knew that venting his rage through indiscriminate killing now would only make him a laughingstock and accomplish nothing.
The pressing matter was the pursuit of Jiang Chen.
With Gong Qi gone, there was no longer a hostage to worry about. They could hunt Jiang Chen without any reservations.
...
At the border of the Wanxiang Region, Jiang Chen had kept his word. In several locations along the frontier, he had left behind numerous doses of antidote for the Mist Shroud.
If Zhang the Third managed to leave the Wanxiang Region alive and reach the border, he would be able to find every last one of them.
After finishing this, Jiang Chen cast a long, deep look back at the Wanxiang Region, then exchanged a glance with Huang'er.
"Let's go."
Two silhouettes stretched long in the setting sun, gradually fading away along the ancient road beneath the dying light.
Learning that Gouyu and the others had been sold to the Liuli Royal City weighed on Jiang Chen's mind with anxiety — but at least he knew their lives were not in immediate danger.
Although he now had a general idea of where they had been taken, Jiang Chen still decided to make a detour through the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain.
He did not doubt the truth of the intelligence. What concerned him was the possibility that other people might have been held back from the deal.
After all, among the people from the Alchemy Cauldron Palace, there was no shortage of talented individuals. Mu Gaoqi, for one.
And Elder Yun Nie — while not a Grand Alchemist, his talent in pill refinement would earn him a respectable place in the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain.
At the same time, he wanted to try his luck and see whether he might run into Palace Master Dan Chi, Ling Bi'er, or any of the other missing members.
Traveling through the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain was not exactly a detour. The route from the Wanxiang Region to the Liuli Royal City passed through the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain regardless.
Beyond the Central Domain, however, he would still need to cross two Lower Domains, one Middle Domain, and only then enter the territory of the Eight Upper Domains.
Once inside the Eight Upper Domains, he would still need to traverse a great number of factional territories before reaching the Liuli Royal City.
This entire journey, even under the best of conditions, would take several months.
And that was without even considering the countless dangers and obstacles that were certain to lie in wait.
The Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain was home to innumerable rogue cultivators. Disguising themselves as a pair of wandering practitioners, the two encountered countless checkpoints — but both possessed special techniques to suppress their true qi fluctuations, making it impossible for outsiders to discern their real strength.
And so, posing as Earth Yuan Realm martial artists, they slipped comfortably into the imperial capital of the Scarlet Cauldron Empire one after the other.
The Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain was indeed prosperous. Even the former Wanxiang Empire could not compare to it.
But Jiang Chen had no heart for admiring the spectacle. If it were not for the fact that he needed to reach the Liuli Royal City to rescue his people, he would have been sorely tempted to carve a river of blood through this very city.