51: Chapter 51 The Ancient Clan Withdraws

Yao Chen was silent for a long time after reading the document, then sent someone to knock on the door of Xiao Yan's seclusion chamber. He knew Xiao Yan had been inside for nearly a month, spending his days cultivating or poring over strange fire intelligence gathered by secret agents, with even his three meals left on the stone platform at the door by Xuan Yi. But he also knew that the weight of this document was too heavy for anyone to bear for Xiao Yan.

When Xiao Yan pushed open the stone door and walked out, the scorching aura of the four strange fires from his seclusion room still clung to him. He was bare-chested, his muscle lines more defined than before, and several old scars shimmered with faint white marks in the morning light—remnants of the bone whip from Yao Yao in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range and the fire lotus from Hun Feng. He took the document Yao Chen handed him and read it twice from start to finish. His brows were tightly locked during the first read, and his expression sank completely during the second.

"The Gu Clan has withdrawn from the alliance." His voice was hoarse and deep, as if talking to himself, each word squeezed out from between his teeth. His palm gripped the edge of the document, his knuckles turning white, and thin cracks appeared on the paper. "Aren't the Gu Clan and the Hun Clan at odds? They've been fighting openly and secretly for thousands of years. Gu Yuan publicly broke off the engagement at the Ancient Emperor Hall, causing Hun Feng to lose face. How long has that been? The Hun Clan even wiped out the Ling Clan and Shi Clan and framed the Gu Clan for it, and Gu Dao was almost frozen into an ice sculpture by Hun Qinger in the Northern Region Corridor—this kind of hatred, the Gu Clan says they'll let it go just like that?"

"You should have the answer in your heart." Yao Chen's voice was calm, but his aged eyes, which had seen the vicissitudes of life, held deep anxiety.

Xiao Yan certainly had the answer. There was only one reason that could make the Gu Clan set aside a thousand years of old grievances and shake hands with the Hun Clan. Gu Xun'er was still in the Soul Realm. And that madman, Hun Feng—he must have offered a condition that Gu Yuan could not refuse. The Great Thousand World, Source Qi, the Emperor Realm. Thinking of this, Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, and tiny golden bloodline patterns seeped out from between his fingers. He took a deep breath to forcibly suppress the surging anger in his chest, but this time he found this anger harder to suppress than ever before.

"The Gu Clan withdraws, Xun'er is detained, the Sky Mansion Alliance is severely damaged—Hun Feng only took less than half a year to snatch away everything I held in my hands when I walked out of the Ancient Emperor Hall." Xiao Yan turned and walked towards the bamboo forest behind the mountain, his pace much faster than usual. "Teacher, I'm going to cultivate." Yao Chen watched his back disappear into the depths of the bamboo forest without saying anything else. Xuan Yi walked out of the side door of the Pill Hall, carrying a bowl of freshly brewed medicinal meal, looked in the direction of the bamboo forest, and just sighed softly.

The atmosphere in the Sky Mansion Alliance meeting hall was far more oppressive than in the Pill Hall. Lei Ying slapped his palm against the long table in front of him, his eyes wide as copper bells and almost spitting fire. Wood chips from the shattered table splashed onto the robes of the elders on both sides, but no one dared to brush them off. "The Gu Clan just leaves whenever they want? What do they take us for? When the three clans joined the alliance, what did Gu Dao say—that the Gu Clan would advance and retreat with the Sky Mansion Alliance. How long has it been? Gu Yuan went to the Soul Realm and tore up the alliance agreement upon returning. What does the Gu Clan mean by this? Are they going to stand on the same side as the Hun Clan? What about the thirty percent of the Lei Clan's elites who died in the Northern Region Corridor?"

Yan Jin sat opposite Lei Ying, still in his usual silent manner, though he was tapping his knuckles much faster than usual. "With the Gu Clan's withdrawal, the alliance's peak combat power is directly reduced by Gu Yuan, Gu Dao, the Three Immortal Guards, and the main force of the Black Annihilation Army. If the Hun Clan takes this opportunity to press in, the front line won't be able to hold. Although you and I both have some foundations, we are more than a grade behind the Hun Clan. In the Demon Flame Space, Hun Qinger froze four parties alone, and in the Northern Region Corridor, the Gate of Dead Silence of Soul Yuan Tian forced back the entire coalition force before it was even opened. Now that the Gu Clan has withdrawn, it means all the pressure is shifted onto us."

"The most important thing now is to stabilize the morale of the army." Yao Chen stood up from the main seat, his aged voice not loud but every word clear. "The Gu Clan's withdrawal is a foregone conclusion, but the Sky Mansion Alliance hasn't disbanded yet. The Pill Tower, Flower Sect, Burning Flame Valley, and other small and medium-sized forces are still here. In addition, a batch of battle reports just came back from the front line yesterday; the alliance captured a medium-sized new stronghold in the northeast, which shows that our strength is not vulnerable. As long as we don't fall apart from within, the Hun Clan will have to weigh the cost if they want to swallow us in one bite." His words stabilized the near-collapsing atmosphere somewhat, but everyone knew clearly that the Sky Mansion Alliance, having lost the Gu Clan, was no longer the behemoth that could confront the Hall of Souls head-on.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Soul Realm. Hun Tiandi leaned back on the main seat, flipping through the intelligence he had just received, the smile on his lips a bit deeper than usual. After reading it, he handed the jade slip to the Void Swallowing Flame beside him, his tone filled with undisguised approval. "Gu Yuan moved fast. The day after he returned, the Council of Elders passed the vote. The pro-peace faction, Elder Gu Qian, could not suppress the pro-war faction, Gu Dao, and added to that, the pedantic Elder Gu Jun corroborated the credibility of Hun Feng's argument—nine votes in favor, three abstentions, one against. The Sky Mansion Alliance agreement, which had existed for thousands of years, just fell apart like that. Hun Feng, how do you think the Sky Mansion Alliance will respond next?"

"Shrink the defensive line, stabilize the interior, and buy time for Xiao Yan to improve his strength." Hun Feng stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, his tone as steady as if he were stating a foregone conclusion. "But in the face of absolute strength disparity, these struggles only delay the defeat. The peak combat power of the Sky Mansion Alliance was concentrated in the Gu Clan. With the Gu Clan gone, the remaining Lei Clan, Yan Clan, Pill Tower, and Flower Sect are not weak, but they are no match for high-level combatants like Aunt Qing and Soul Yuan Tian. Their only hope is Xiao Yan—if Xiao Yan can break through again in a short time, maybe he can hold on for a while. But even if he breaks through another star or two, he cannot make up for the gap left by the Gu Clan's withdrawal. From today on, the Sky Mansion Alliance is no longer a match for the Hun Clan."

Void Swallowing Flame returned the jade slip to Hun Tiandi, the black flames on his fingertips flickering gently, his voice as low as burning bones. "The Gu Clan has withdrawn, should we strike while the iron is hot?" Hun Tiandi shook his head, his tone firm. "No rush. I have two things to do first—search for strange fires and improve my strength. Once I subdue a few more strange fires and push my cultivation to the eight-star or even nine-star level, the Sky Mansion Alliance will naturally surrender without a fight." Hun Tiandi looked at him with interest. "Do you have specific targets for the strange fires?"

Hun Feng took out a prepared jade slip from his sleeve and flicked it gently. The jade slip floated in the center of the hall, projecting a ranking chart of the strange fire ranking list. "Among the top ten strange fires on the strange fire ranking list, the Emperor Flame has disappeared with the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor. I already have the Purification Lotus Demon Flame and the Sea Heart Flame, plus the child fire of Void Swallowing Flame. The fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame is in Xun'er's body, the fifth-ranked Living Spirit Flame is in the hands of the Medicine Clan, the sixth-ranked Eight Desolation Destruction Flame is in the depths of the Ancient Ruins, the seventh-ranked Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame is related to the forbidden area of the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan, the eighth-ranked Red Lotus Karma Fire is in the hands of the Yan Clan, the ninth-ranked Mysterious Yellow Flame's whereabouts are unknown, and the tenth-ranked Netherworld Poison Flame resonates with Xiao Yi Xian's Calamity Poison Body. My plan is—start with the Medicine Clan and the Yan Clan, and exchange for the Living Spirit Flame and the Red Lotus Karma Fire. At the same time, send Elder Soul Yuan Tian to explore the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame, and let Yao Ming return to the Nine Serenities Deep Ground Python Clan to investigate the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame. The Netherworld Poison Flame requires Xiao Yi Xian's cooperation to sense. Let the Hall of Souls' secret agents continue to track the intelligence on the Mysterious Yellow Flame."

Hun Tiandi nodded slightly after hearing this, his gaze shifting from the strange fire chart to Hun Feng. "Hun Feng, I will personally supervise the strange fire matter. Your cultivation progress cannot be delayed. Also, remind you of one thing—although the Gu Clan has withdrawn from the alliance, Gu Yuan is a man who keeps his word. Since he promised to support you in impacting the Emperor Realm, he will not go back on his word. This support is more significant than you think."

Xiao Yan walked along the bamboo path to the depths of the back mountain and sat cross-legged on a scorched rock that had been repeatedly burned by strange fires. The bamboo forest was very quiet, so quiet that he could hear the faint arguing coming from the direction of the main hall of Starfall Pavilion—it was the intense debate of the alliance leaders after learning of the Gu Clan's withdrawal, occasionally mixed with the dull sound of tables being slapped and a few high-pitched rebukes. He didn't look back to listen, nor did he want to hear it. Gu Xun'er was still in the Soul Realm, and the Gu Clan had withdrawn from the Sky Mansion Alliance. These two things together meant only one result: Hun Feng had won. From the Ancient Emperor Hall until now, Hun Feng had dismantled every support he could rely on step by step—first intercepting the Sea Heart Flame in the Corpse Burial Mountain Range, snatching the Purification Lotus Demon Flame in the Demon Flame Space, turning his wife and daughter into people of the Hun Clan in front of him on his wedding day, then detaining Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian to force Gu Yuan to submit, and finally cutting off his connection with the Gu Clan by having them withdraw from the alliance.

Every step was pushing him into a desperate situation of isolation.

He sat cross-legged on the scorched rock, closed his eyes, and four strange fires surged out from his body, dyeing the entire bamboo forest into a four-colored sea of fire. The dark golden palm print of the fifth seal of the Emperor Seal Art, the Ancient Emperor Seal, condensed and dissipated in his palm repeatedly. Each time it condensed faster and more refined than the last, and the extremely faint Emperor pattern on the dark golden palm print had changed from looming to clearly visible. But this was not enough. No matter how strong the Ancient Emperor Seal was, it was only a Heaven-tier single-target killing move. Facing Hun Feng's three-colored fire lotus and the heaven swallowing mirror, he needed more. The fusion of the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus had progressed from four colors to the edge of five colors—besides the Green Lotus Core Flame, Fallen Heart Flame, Bone Chilling Flame, and Three Thousand Burning Flame, he was trying to integrate the Life-Born Fire passed down to him by Yao Chen. The Life-Born Fire was not a true strange fire, and its power and stability were far inferior to a real strange fire, making the fusion extremely difficult. But every step closer to success could increase the power of the fire lotus by several percent.

He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the Soul Realm. Those eyes, tempered by the flames of war, reflected the gray sky in the distance. There was no frustration or decadence in those eyes, only a purer murderous intent honed by repeated crushing. Hun Feng—you took my wife and daughter, detained my close friends, and destroyed my alliance. These debts will all be settled in the future. And before that, he needed stronger strength, more means, and more ruthless determination. He withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes again, and the four strange fires burned fiercely around him, reflecting the entire bamboo forest into a silent sea of fire.