247: An Age Without Saints? (Forty-Six)

Gu Family Grand Elder, Gu Changqing.

The Elder from his memories who always smilingly stuffed Spirit Fruits into his hands was now aged beyond recognition.

"Elder Changqing."

Gu Yun spoke softly.

The voice wasn't loud, yet it caused the blood-soaked Gu Changqing to tremble violently.

He turned around shaking, his gaze piercing through the blurry bloodstains to stare at the face he had missed for decades.

"Yun... Yun'er?" The old man's voice was hoarse, filled with an incredulous caution, "Is it you?"

Gu Yun's figure flickered, landing beside the old man.

He reached out, channeling a strand of extremely pure primordial chaos violet qi into the old man's body, forcibly suppressing the flickering flame of his nearly exhausted Origin.

"It's me."

"I'm back."

Four simple words caused old tears to stream down Gu Changqing's face.

"Good! It's good that you're alive! It's good that you're alive!"

Around them, the remaining warriors of the Gu Family first fell silent upon seeing that face, then erupted into earth-shaking roars.

"It's the Dao Child! The Dao Child has fought his way back from the Heavenly Dao Ruins!"

In contrast, the three enemy Venerables opposite them lost their playful and cruel expressions, which were replaced by deep killing intent.

"Gu Yun? He actually didn't die?"

"So what if he didn't die? A Prodigy who vanished for decades—today is the perfect time to pull him up by the roots!"

Before the words even faded, three terrifying killing intents instantly locked onto Gu Yun.

Boom!

The three Venerables moved simultaneously, launching three world-destroying Law Divine Abilities toward Gu Yun with lethal resolve.

"Yun'er, run!"

Gu Changqing's expression changed drastically as he pulled Gu Yun behind him, his withered body erupting with a startling aura once more.

"Return to the ancestral lands! Even if I lose my life, I will carve out a blood-soaked path for you!"

However, a hand steadily pressed down on his shoulder.

"Elder, there is no need for that."

Gu Yun stepped out from behind him, standing in front of the old man. Facing the three Venerable Divine Abilities, he didn't even lift an eyelid.

"Venerables? Are they very strong?"

The moment his voice fell, a terrifying aura that had been suppressed for a long time poured out from Gu Yun's body without reservation.

It was a power that stood above all living beings, mastering the Laws of Heaven and Earth... the might of a Venerable!

Purple-gold blood and Qi soared into the sky, instantly dispersing the three incoming Divine Abilities.

Everyone was shocked; for a moment, no one spoke.

"Ve... Venerable?!" Gu Changqing's eyes widened, his mouth agape in shock. "Yun'er... you've become a Venerable?!"

The three enemy Venerables opposite them were even more lose-faced with shock.

"This is impossible! A Venerable whose bone age is less than a hundred?!"

"What kind of monster is this!"

Fear spread in their hearts, but soon, the Human Venerable from the Ji Family seemed to discover something. The terror in his eyes vanished, replaced by a mocking and greedy expression.

"No! Don't let him scare you!"

"Look at his dao rhyme! Although his aura is powerful, it is unstable and floating. Most importantly... he hasn't condensed a 'Dao Fruit'!"

As soon as this was said, the other two immediately investigated. Sure enough, within Gu Yun's Dantian Qi Sea, they did not see the manifestation of a 'Dao Fruit,' the symbol of the core of the Venerable Realm.

"Hahaha! So he's just a showpiece!" The Wang Family Venerable grinned hideously. "He has the Realm but no Dao Fruit to suppress himself; he's nothing more than a 'Pseudo-Venerable'!"

"Kill him and extract his Origin! He'll make a perfect supplement for us!"

Killing intent rose again, even more violent than before.

The three Venerables no longer held back, each summoning their life-bound Dao Artifacts as they lunged forward once more.

"Pseudo-Venerable?"

He looked at Gu Changqing beside him, who was heavily injured but whose Battle Intent remained undiminished, and spoke calmly.

"Elder, I'll leave the one on the left to you. Can you hold on?"

Gu Changqing was stunned, then laughed heroically as his withered frame straightened once more.

"Hahaha! Good! Today, I shall drag these old bones along and fight a battle by your side!"

As his voice fell, he took the initiative to meet the strongest of them, the Ji Family Venerable.

"Seeking death!" The Ji Family Venerable sneered. In his eyes, dealing with an old man whose Origin was about to run dry was as easy as flipping his hand.

The remaining Wang Family Venerable and another mysterious Venerable lunged at Gu Yun with hideous grins.

"Kid, let me see just how much weight you 'Pseudo-Venerable' actually carries!"

The Wang Family Venerable struck out with a palm, and a sea of fire poured down from the sky.

Gu Yun's expression was indifferent as he threw out a simple punch.

Boom!

Where the punch's wind passed, space distorted, and the sea of fire was forcibly blasted open to reveal a path.

The Wang Family Venerable's pupils shrank.

"How is this possible?"

He was horrified to find that under the suppression of the Laws of Heaven and Earth in this withered small world, he could only exert seventy percent of his strength.

Yet Gu Yun's aura circulated smoothly and freely, completely unaffected!

"You... why are you not suppressed by the Heavenly Dao?!"

"Because these heavens are not qualified to suppress me."

Gu Yun's voice was cold. His figure moved like lightning, instantly closing the distance to smash a punch into the Wang Family Venerable's Protective Aura.

Bang!

The aura shattered, and the Wang Family Venerable was sent reeling back, his blood and Qi churning.

"Attack together!"

Seeing things were going south, the other mysterious Venerable immediately summoned a treasure tower to flank him.

For a time, Gu Yun fought one against two without falling into the slightest disadvantage.

Every move and style he used was simplified to the extreme—killing techniques that could only be forged through countless life-and-death struggles.

The Heart Sword slashed out silently, forcing the mysterious Venerable into a frantic scramble.

The Unity Divine Ability made its first appearance; a single palm strike made the Wang Family Venerable's life-bound Dao Artifact wail.

The two Human Venerable experts grew more alarmed the more they fought.

This "Pseudo-Venerable's" combat power was far too bizarre!

On the other side, the battle between Gu Changqing and the Ji Family Venerable had also reached a fever pitch.

Though Gu Changqing was heavily wounded, he was an old-school Human Venerable after all. Now, burning his remaining Origin, every move he made carried the madness of mutual destruction.

The Ji Family Venerable thought it would be an easy task, but he was pinned down tightly. For a moment, he couldn't even secure a victory, his face turning ashen.

The battle fell into a stalemate.

The three enemy Venerables were anxious. They hadn't expected a dying old Venerable and a newly ascended "Pseudo-Venerable" of the Gu Family to erupt with such tenacious resistance.

The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for them.

"We can't delay any longer!" The Ji Family Venerable let out a roar, preparing to perform a forbidden technique regardless of the cost.

However, right at that moment...

On the distant horizon, several powerful auras were approaching at extreme speed.

Several massive Cloud Ships broke through the clouds, and the Gu Family's banner, embroidered with the ancient character for "Gu," fluttered loudly in the wind.

"It's the Family Head! The Family Head has brought reinforcements!"

The Gu Family members below erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

The faces of the three enemy Venerables instantly darkened.

They glanced at each other, seeing the unwillingness and intent to retreat in each other's eyes.

"Withdraw!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the three of them burned their essence blood, turning into three streaks of light as they fled frantically in different directions.

Gu Yun watched the direction they fled with a cold gaze but did not pursue.

The priority was to stabilize the Elder's injuries.

The Cloud Ships descended, and Gu Tianxing led a large group of Gu Family experts as they rushed down.

When he saw Gu Changqing, who was heavily injured but out of mortal danger, and his son standing in the center of the battlefield with a powerful aura, this Immortal Family Head couldn't help but rub his eyes before tears fell like rain.

"Yun'er?"

Gu Yun turned around, looking at the middle-aged man with graying hair at his temples, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Father."

"Your son has returned."

On this day...

The Gu Family's Dao Child, Gu Yun, returned, becoming a Venerable at the age of one hundred.

With a body that had not yet condensed a Dao Fruit, he held his own against two Human Venerables without defeat.

The news spread across the Five Domains, causing a massive uproar.

Note: I forgot to write the divisions of the Venerable Realm earlier. Those who haven't birthed a Dao Fruit are called Pseudo-Venerables. Those with a Dao Fruit under 100 zhang are Human Venerables. Those over 100 zhang but under 1,000 zhang are Earth Venerables. Those over 1,000 zhang are Heaven Venerables. A Dao Fruit can reach a maximum of 9,990 zhang. (This setting should have been introduced earlier; my oversight, sorry.)

PS: There are no exact boundary divisions for Venerables. It's not mandatory to be a Heaven Venerable or for the Dao Fruit to reach 9,999 zhang to Become a Saint. One can Become a Saint by comprehending the Dao. It's just that the more impressive the Dao Fruit is before becoming a Saint, the greater the potential. However, generally, a Dao Fruit capable of becoming a Saint is at least at the Earth Venerable level.