262: The cowardly Hongyun Palace

The Dao Alliance's promise, held in hand, is more valuable than when used!

Now, Gu Liangyuan's fierce reputation is well-known; as long as Gu Liangyuan doesn't die, once this promise is invoked, even a Mahayana old monster must give him some face!

It's not an exaggeration to say it grants an extra life!

A single bounty order stirred up the Five Continents!

The Cultivators of the world were moved by it.

Some formed groups of three to five, others searched alone.

Even those who weren't actively searching would still attack Hongyun Palace Disciples if they encountered them.

After all, who would miss out on a walking five hundred thousand?

In the first month after the bounty order was issued, only a few hundred Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining Disciples were killed.

After this group successfully claimed their rewards, the other Cultivators had no more reservations and began frantically searching for Hongyun Palace Disciples.

It must be said that the Hongyun Palace Disciples' hiding methods were quite extraordinary, but with countless Cultivators in the world, there were always those skilled at finding people.

In the second month, nearly a thousand Hongyun Palace members died under the bounty order, and among these nearly a thousand people, there were also two Nascent Soul Realm Elders.

In the third month, Hongyun Palace Disciples suffered eight thousand casualties; although most were still Cultivators below Core Formation, ten Void Refining Cultivators were also killed.

Seeing that those who killed Void Refining Cultivators indeed received two volumes of Small Divine Abilities, everyone's passion reached its Peak at this moment!

The fourth and fifth months passed quickly, and by the sixth month, news came from the Dao Alliance that someone had killed a Great Ascension Realm Expert from Hongyun Palace and successfully obtained a volume of Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill!

The Five Continents went crazy; whenever they had spare time, they would hunt down Hongyun Palace Experts.

As the number of deaths in Hongyun Palace continued to increase, Gu Liangyuan seemed to have paid a lot, but in reality, it was mainly Spirit Treasures.

The Divine Abilities and Cultivation Techniques bestowed were all the same; one Divine Ability could be taught to many, and bestowing them did not affect re-teaching them to Disciples within the sect, so there was almost no cost.

Moreover, Cultivators above Body Integration were not that easy to kill, so very few high-grade Spirit Treasures were bestowed.

Although not many high-level Hongyun Palace members were killed, the damage caused by this bounty order to Hongyun Palace was unprecedented.

A faction is like a great tree, with the upper echelons like branches, sheltering from wind and rain.

The grassroots Disciples are like the roots, continuously providing nourishment.

If the roots are severely damaged, the tree will eventually become withered wood.

Above the Hongyun Palace headquarters, a man in a red robe, appearing middle-aged yet with white hair, stood in the air, overlooking the entire Hongyun Palace.

Beneath his eyes, outside the seemingly quiet Hongyun Palace, there were Cultivators with extraordinary Auras, hidden all around.

Like leopards, they waited for any Disciple or Elder to leave the gate, then delivered a fatal blow.

The Hongyun Palace Master watched this scene, his expression extremely grim:

"Rebellious son, get over here!"

The Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master below rose into the air and stood behind the Hongyun Palace Master, obediently calling him 'Father'.

"Didn't you say not to worry about the Forget-Love Peak matter? What do you say about this situation now?"

The Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master remained silent.

"Why did you have to provoke Gu Liangyuan, that madman, of all people?"

"Our Hongyun Palace's dispersed forces were originally a good thing; even if the headquarters were destroyed, we could rebuild elsewhere."

"But Gu Liangyuan's move is poisonous; it turned our advantage into a disadvantage."

"Gathering all Disciples back to the headquarters, as long as they don't leave the mountain-protecting array, can indeed preserve their lives."

"But this Gu Liangyuan even dared to attack the Zhuge Family within Ancient Mo territory; if Hongyun Palace Disciples gather, he is very likely to lead troops here and wipe them all out."

"Our Hongyun Holy Land is in danger."

The Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master continued to lower his head in silence, but his face was filled with unwillingness.

He considered himself a schemer of all living beings, one who understood human hearts.

According to his past experience, the Holy Lords of other Holy Lands always prioritized the interests of their Holy Land.

In the face of profit, let alone Disciples, even father and son turning against each other was common.

But Gu Liangyuan completely went against the usual approach; in order to encircle and suppress Hongyun Palace, he was even willing to sacrifice the interests of the Supreme Jade Pool.

He couldn't understand Gu Liangyuan's way of thinking; even if these people truly annihilated Hongyun Palace, Gu Liangyuan would gain no benefit other than venting his anger.

Instead, because of that bounty order, he would have to pay a lot.

This was an extremely unprofitable deal, yet Gu Liangyuan did it anyway.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he spoke to his father:

"Father, if it doesn't work, let's ask the Great Lu Dynasty for help."

The Hongyun Palace Master was about to reply when he saw a middle-aged Cultivator flying from afar:

"Reporting to the Palace Master, three thousand Hongyun sub-branches, one thousand six hundred have now been destroyed, especially in the Eastern Continent territory, where only a few sub-branches remain."

"In addition, three Mahayana Realm Grand Elders have also sacrificed themselves."

"Furthermore, more and more Cultivators are encircling and suppressing Hongyun Palace, and even Undergoing Tribulation grand Cultivators want to intervene. What exactly should we do? Please, Palace Master, set a course of action."

Although he was mentally prepared, the Hongyun Palace Master's heart still sank when he heard this number.

In a trance, he seemed to see a towering giant, wielding a sword and slashing at him.

And this giant was Gu Liangyuan.

The Hongyun Palace Master was about to reply when he saw the messenger suddenly erupt.

Because the Hongyun Palace Master was momentarily distracted and had no psychological defense against the person in front of him, he was stabbed in the Dantian with a sword.

Before he could react, that person swung his sword directly towards the Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master.

The Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master's cultivation was only at Nascent Soul, while this person was at Void Refining; the Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master had no power to resist and was beheaded with one sword strike.

Having done all this, the person put the Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master's head into a Storage Pouch, then used a Divine Ability and frantically ran outside the mountain gate.

"My son!"

The Hongyun Palace Master reacted, crying out in grief, and instead of chasing the assailant, he went to catch the Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master's body, which had not yet fallen to the ground.

He probed his Dantian and felt the still-present Dharma Seal, which relieved him.

He muttered a few unknown incantations, and then saw the Scarlet Cloud Palace Young Master's body tremble, and a Nascent Soul flew out from his severed neck.

After carefully putting away the Nascent Soul, the Hongyun Palace Master finally let out a sigh of relief.

Looking at the assassin who had already fled far away, the Hongyun Palace Master felt a surge of lingering fear.

Wealth moves hearts; he hadn't expected that a subordinate he considered his confidant could do such a thing.

If this person had been a bit stronger, and hadn't greedily ambushed him but directly attacked his son, then at this moment, he would be a white-haired person sending off a black-haired person.

He admitted, he was scared.

He overestimated human nature and underestimated Gu Liangyuan.

Looking around at the Disciples below, at this moment, he felt as if someone wanted to kill him at any time.

Gazing at the distant sky, he sighed faintly, seemingly having made some decision.

...

The next day, a piece of news spread throughout the Five Continents!

Hongyun Palace summoned all its Disciples back to the palace, sealing the mountain for three hundred years, and no longer interfering in worldly affairs.

Everyone knew that Hongyun Palace had chickened out.

A single bounty order forced a major power to seal its mountain; the value of the words "Dao Alliance" also gradually rose in the hearts of the world's Cultivators.

Because of this, many people went to the Gathering Treasure Pavilion to place bets on Gu Liangyuan in the Fu Long Court wager.

The matter of Hongyun Palace sealing its mountain naturally reached Gu Liangyuan's ears.

However, at this time, Gu Liangyuan was too busy to care about Hongyun Palace.

Because after six months, the Fu Long Court battle was about to begin!