208: An era without saints!? (VII)

A blood-colored stream of light pierced through the dark purple sky of the Secret Realm.

Gu Zhan was carrying Gu Yun, fleeing frantically.

The backlash from burning his Divine Soul had completely erupted at this moment.

He could feel his life force rapidly fading away.

His Qi was becoming increasingly withered.

Yet, the pursuers behind them were relentless.

The Ji Family Divine Maiden, the Wang Family Qilin Son, and those assassins hidden in the shadows had their Qi firmly locked onto the two of them.

But Gu Zhan soon noticed something was wrong.

These pursuers didn't seem to be chasing them with all their might.

They were more like a group of experienced hunters, herding wounded prey and forcing them toward a pre-set trap.

Gu Zhan's heart sank.

Carrying Gu Yun, he had completely lost his way within the Secret Realm.

Eventually, they stumbled into a deathly silent abyss.

Not a single blade of grass grew here; the black rocks were jagged and gnarled, as if a giant beast had opened its maw to devour someone.

“Burial Soul Abyss.”

Gu Zhan recognized the place.

At the very moment they stepped into the abyss.

Buzz!

The surrounding space suddenly shook, and lines of Formation patterns lit up from the ground, turning into a massive light screen that completely sealed off the entire abyss.

An inescapable net had been cast.

A figure slowly emerged from the deepest shadows of the abyss.

He wore black clothes and an expressionless ghost mask on his face.

In his hand, he held a pitch-black short sword.

Human Realm, a top-tier assassin.

Impermanence.

His aura was bone-chillingly cold; he didn't lock onto Gu Zhan, but instead directly targeted Gu Yun in his arms.

At the same time.

The Ji Family Divine Maiden, the Wang Family Qilin Son, and other Prodigies appeared one after another at various nodes of the Formation.

Their expressions were indifferent as they activated the Formation, cutting off all paths of survival.

“The Primordial Chaos Sacred Body should not exist in this world.”

The Ji Family Divine Maiden's voice was icy.

“We are not making an enemy of the Gu Family; we are merely cleansing this world of an anomaly that should not exist.”

The Wang Family Qilin Son spoke calmly, as if stating a simple fact.

Gu Zhan looked at this inescapable death trap and took a deep breath.

He knew that it was impossible for both of them to escape today.

His goal shifted from “surviving together” to “the Dao Child must live.”

He didn't choose to self-detonate.

He chose a more tragic method that required even more willpower.

Using himself as bait, trading his life for time!

Gu Zhan gently set Gu Yun down, shielding him behind his back.

He used his uninjured hand to pat Gu Yun's head.

“Dao Child, remember.”

“No matter what you see or hear next, do not stop, and do not look back!”

“Just keep running forward!”

After saying that, Gu Zhan turned around to face the death-like Impermanence.

He smiled.

That smile was incredibly crazed.

“Boom!”

He no longer suppressed his injuries but instead completely ignited his already shattered Divine Soul and Dao foundation.

He forcibly activated a Forbidden Secret Technique of the Gu Family.

His already withered Qi surged at this moment, temporarily rising to a terrifying level sufficient to threaten Impermanence.

He abandoned all defense.

With a completely suicidal fighting style, he frantically entangled the strongest assassin, Impermanence.

“Madman!”

A flicker of emotion appeared in Impermanence's cold voice.

Faced with this suicidal madness, he was actually pinned down for a moment, unable to break free.

“Run!”

Gu Zhan let out a furious roar.

Tears blurred the six-year-old Gu Yun's eyes.

But he bit his lip hard, making no sound.

He turned, moved his small legs, and ran with all his might toward the only path of survival ahead.

He could feel the Qi belonging to Gu Zhan behind him rapidly fading away.

“Stop him!”

Seeing this, the Ji Family Divine Maiden's expression changed.

She immediately dispatched some of her people, who turned into several streams of light, bypassing the battle and chasing after Gu Yun.

Gu Zhan noticed all of this.

His eyes nearly split from rage.

At the moment he traded a frantic blow with Impermanence and was pierced through the chest by that pitch-black short sword.

He used the last of his strength.

He fiercely hurled his Natal Heavy Sword, which had followed him all his life, into the air.

“Explode!”

Accompanied by his final roar.

That heavy longsword violently disintegrated in mid-air.

A chaotic spatial storm formed instantly, temporarily blocking all the Prodigies chasing Gu Yun.

Gu Zhan's body could no longer hold up, and he collapsed backward.

His gaze pierced through the chaotic energy storm, taking one last look at that small, receding figure.

His eyes were full of relief.

In Gu Yun's mind, only Gu Zhan's final command remained.

Run!

Don't look back!

He didn't know where to go, nor where he should go.

He could only follow his instinct, running desperately toward the warm and familiar pull in his heart that was growing stronger and stronger.

Just as he was exhausted and the scattered pursuers behind him were about to catch up.

The Primordial Chaos Sacred Body within him resonated with unprecedented intensity with that pulling force from afar.

Buzz!

The ground beneath his feet suddenly shook violently.

The surrounding space distorted like the surface of water.

His world spun.

Gu Yun was pulled by a gentle force; his vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.

The Prodigies who had just caught up were violently knocked back by this sudden eruption of spatial power.

By the time they stabilized themselves, the small figure had completely vanished.

No one knew how much time had passed.

When Gu Yun woke up again.

He found himself in a gray, ancient place that seemed to have been completely forgotten by time.

The aura of the pursuers was completely cut off.

It was silent here, with only the purest and most primitive Dao rhymes slowly flowing through the air.

In the very center of this Holy Land.

A massive ancient stone tablet stood quietly.

The stone tablet emitted a primordial and supreme aura.

That warm feeling that had been guiding him was coming precisely from this stone tablet.

As if uncontrolled, Gu Yun walked toward the stone tablet step by step.

The Primordial Chaos Sacred Body within him was boiling.

The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart in his chest was resonating.

Even the Primitive Small Tower deep within his Sea of Consciousness, which he hadn't even noticed himself, was shaking violently.

Finally, he reached the stone tablet.

He slowly reached out his small, tender hand.

And gently touched the cold, ancient surface of the stone tablet.