17: The three major families are looking for someone

Just as Long Aotian was happily sorting through his spoils of war, in the Imperial City of the Eternal Leaf Dynasty, at the Shi Family.

The maid guarding the Hall of Soul Lamps was greatly alarmed when she saw the Soul Lamp of the Clan Chief’s third son, Shi Jing, suddenly extinguish. She frantically rushed to the Clan Chief’s courtyard with Shi Jing’s Soul Lamp.

“Clan Chief, something bad has happened! The Third Young Master’s Soul Lamp has gone out!”

“What? The Third Young Master’s Soul Lamp has gone out?”

Other Family Elders were also in the Clan Chief’s courtyard. Hearing the maid’s panicked cries, they couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

“When did this happen?”

Upon hearing this terrible news, Shi Gandang, the Clan Chief of the Shi Family, instantly darkened. The chilling Killing Intent he exuded in that moment sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

A suffocating atmosphere, like a storm brewing, rapidly spread through the Clan Chief’s courtyard.

Who in the Shi Family didn't know that Shi Gandang loved his third son the most?

Shi Jing had not disappointed him; his Cultivation had reached the eighth stage of the Golden Core Realm in just over thirty years, making him a Cultivation Genius rarely seen in the Shi Family for a thousand years.

However, Shi Jing was now dead!

How could Shi Gandang remain calm?

Not only could Shi Gandang not remain calm, but the Shi Family had lost a Cultivation Genius rarely seen in a thousand years. The Family Elders of the Shi Family were also extremely indignant.

“...Reporting... Clan Chief, it just happened!”

“This Clan Chief understands. You may withdraw for now!”

“Yes!”

As the maid turned to leave, she heard Shi Gandang’s cold, knife-like voice from behind: “Grand Elder, go invite the Clan Chief. Second Elder, notify all Family Elders to attend a meeting. Third Elder, immediately retrieve the Ten Thousand Li Soul-Tracking Compass. Anyone who dares to kill my son, Shi Gandang, even if he were the King of Heaven, I, Shi Gandang, will ensure he has no burial ground.”

“...Yes!”

The Shi Family Elders all took their leave to carry out their orders… Similar to the Shi Family, the Lei Family in the Imperial City also erupted in chaos due to Lei Ao’s death.

Lei Ao was also a Cultivation Genius rarely seen in the Lei Family for a thousand years. Unlike Shi Jing, who was the Shi Clan Chief’s most beloved son, Lei Ao did not have a father who was the Clan Chief, but his grandfather, Lei Yunshan, was the Clan Chief of the Lei Family.

Lei Yunshan had only Lei Ao as his direct grandson, and now he was dead. How could the Lei Family not be in an uproar?

The Shi Family and the Lei Family immediately entered a frenzied state of searching for the culprit that very day.

Soon, they discovered that Lei Ao and Shi Jing had both accepted missions from the Eastern Wilderness Cultivation Mission Release Center, which indicated they had both gone to the Thunder Dragon Mountain Range for training.

At that time, someone had seen three training teams enter the Thunder Dragon Mountain Range; Lei Ao and Shi Jing were leading two of them.

The other team was led by Wang An.

Thus, the two families jointly investigated and quickly identified Wang An as the suspected killer.

Once Wang An was found, it would be relatively easy to locate the crime scene at Immortal Severing Mountain, as Wang An would surely lead the investigators from both families there to save his own life.

Moreover, even without Wang An’s guidance, with the Ten Thousand Li Soul-Tracking Compass, it was only a matter of time before the Shi Family found where Shi Jing ultimately died.

What Long Aotian feared most was indeed what was coming.

A terrifying crisis was pressing down on Immortal Severing Mountain.

However, Long Aotian, who was in a state of immersive Cultivation within the third-layer spatial world of the Treasure Pagoda, was completely unaware.

Perhaps it couldn’t be said he was completely unaware, because Long Aotian had already foreseen that the Shi Family and Lei Family would not let the matter rest. Therefore, after entering the Treasure Pagoda, he desperately studied the Void Formation, hoping to Breakthrough it to the sixth level.

As long as his Void Formation broke through to the sixth level, the Void Formation he laid would be equivalent to an ordinary seventh-level Formation. At that time, even if an Ancestor of the Spirit Division Realm from the Shi Family and Lei Family arrived, he would have a way to trap and kill them.

In addition to frantically studying the Void Formation, after his Divine Sense recovered, he consecutively set up a fifth-level Void Annihilation Array and a fifth-level Void Defense Array on top of the fifth-level Void Divine Sense Isolation Array, which covered a hundred-li radius centered around the Immortal Fall Cave.

The Defense Array was to keep enemies out.

The Annihilation Array was to let enemies in and kill them.

To kill or not to kill depended on whether the enemy was courting death.

With the three hundred-li Void Formations laid, Long Aotian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the opponents were not Ancestors of the Spirit Division Realm, other powerhouses of the Nascent Soul Realm or Out-of-Body Realm posed no threat to him.

However, he still dared not be careless and continued to work on breaking through the Void Formation to the sixth level before he could truly feel at ease… In Thunder Dragon Royal City, at the Long Family.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since Long Aotian left Long Village.

The day after Long Aotian left Long Village, Long Bu-mie, the Guardian of Long Village, noticed his disappearance and subsequently found the letter he had left behind.

After reading the letter, Long Bu-mie dared not delay. He hastily instructed Clan Chief Long Wuhui to report to Feng Town, asking the Long Family steward in Feng Town to relay the message to the Long Family in Thunder Dragon Royal City.

Like Long Bu-mie, the Long Family steward stationed in Feng Town also dared not be negligent and swiftly sent the letter to Thunder Dragon Royal City.

This was the Clan Chief’s only direct descendant, the Clan Chief’s only grandson. If anything truly happened, they couldn't bear the responsibility.

Therefore, less than ten days after Long Aotian entered Immortal Severing Mountain, his handwritten letter was delivered into the hands of his father, Long Bubai.

Coincidentally, when Long Bubai received the letter, Long Aotian’s mother, Hua Buwan, was also present.

Seeing his wife’s face filled with worry after reading the letter, Long Bubai naturally ordered two Family Elders to search for his son along the return route. At the same time, he dispatched another Family Elder to the Hua Family in the Imperial City to see if his son had truly gone to the Imperial City to find his Sister-in-law.

His son couldn't Cultivate, had no Cultivation base, no one to protect him, and was still so young. The road to the Imperial City was so long; if he had truly gone to the Imperial City, he might encounter danger along the way.

As a mother, how could Hua Buwan not worry? How could she not secretly be anxious for her son?

Fortunately, her husband had sent out three Family Elders, which significantly eased her restless heart.

However, as days turned into weeks, the two Family Elders who went back to Long Village to find their son returned to Long Village and then turned back again, searching carefully twice but still not finding their son. This made Hua Buwan increasingly uneasy.

Especially when, a month later, the Family Elder who went to the Imperial City returned and also said he hadn't found her son during his round trip, nor had her son visited the Hua Family in the Imperial City to find his Sister-in-law.

In their anxiety and unease, they could only assume that their son was being playful or was still on the road.

Then, the three Family Elders made three round trips, and finally, after half a year had passed, their son was still missing. Hua Buwan could no longer sit still.

“Husband, could Tian’er have really gone to find his Sister-in-law? This child has been close to his Sister-in-law since he was little. If he traveled by Mortal foot and beast carriage, it should have taken him about half a year, right? I plan to go back to the Imperial City to check.”

“...Wife, you should rest assured and wait at home. Sister-in-law has already sent us a reply. If Tian’er goes to the Imperial City to find her, she will immediately send us a reply. What can you do even if you go to the Imperial City? Besides, it’s not even certain if our son went to the Imperial City to find his Sister-in-law. Just relax; Tian’er is so smart, he should be fine. Maybe Tian’er was just being playful and forgot the time?”

“...Alright!”

Hua Buwan felt that her husband made sense, and her restless heart gradually calmed down.

After settling his wife’s emotions, Long Bubai’s face gradually darkened as he turned to leave.

Did he only send three Family Elders to find his son?

No!

He, who appeared indifferent and unconcerned about his son in front of his wife, had secretly dispatched all ten Family Elders.

He even mobilized the Family Guardian and the Clan Chief.

But after searching for several months, there was still no trace of his son.

It would be strange if Long Bubai was in a good mood.

Although Long Aotian couldn't Cultivate, he was, after all, his only son.

Hua Buwan was anxious, but he was actually even more anxious.

“You brat, where exactly are you?!”