NOVEL NEXT Chapter 254: Gan Ruifeng and Cai Xueqing Take the Stage
"Indeed," declared another portly cultivator, donned in resplendent purple robes. His face was an emotional void as he fixed his gaze on You Haiyin, sizing him up like a man living on borrowed time. "From this day forth, Three Mountains Island will be our joint dominion."
"You dare, Gan Ruifeng! Cai Xueqing!" You Haiyin spat out, his voice laced with incredulity and contempt.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't let this opportunity pass," he sneered, his eyes narrowing into slits as he surveyed the gathered experts from the Gan and Cai Clans, his fists subtly trembling with restrained anger.
At this moment, the You Clan and the Heavenly Gu Society were reeling from a recent, bitter conflict, having sustained heavy casualties.
Two cultivators from the Inquiring Journey realm had been permanently taken out of the equation, leaving them in a compromised position and unable to maintain a balanced triad with the Gan and Cai Clans.
"Of course," Gan Ruifeng's smirk widened. "Where else would a once-in-a-millennium opportunity like this present itself?"
"You Haiyin, if you have any wisdom, remove your people from Three Mountains Island. We'll guarantee a respectful exit."
"Should you resist, don't think we'll show mercy." His demeanor suggested that he had You Haiyin entirely cornered.
"Out of the question!" You Haiyin's eyes blazed with fury as he glared at Gan Ruifeng and Cai Xueqing. "Three Mountains Island is the ancestral land of my You Clan!"
"Your Gan and Cai Clans are nothing but interlopers."
"If you think I'll let the You Clan abandon Three Mountains Island, you're sorely mistaken!"
"So, you aim to take advantage of our weakened state? Fine, bring it on!" With these words, a palpable aura of murderous intent surged from You Haiyin, embodying a spirit of indomitable resistance. "Even if I, You Haiyin, meet my end today, rest assured you'll pay a heavy price!"
He was painfully aware of the reality: the Gan and Cai Clans had no intention of granting the You Clan leniency. They aimed for nothing less than complete annihilation.
If the You Clan were to capitulate now, they would truly be left with no hope.
"Are you sure, You Haiyin?" Cai Xueqing's eyes narrowed dangerously, a glint of malice flashing within them. "Don't express regret only after we've wiped out your You Clan!"
"Hahaha!" You Haiyin's laughter rang out wildly, resounding across the area. "Men of the You Clan, stand forth!"
"Are you prepared to forsake Three Mountains Island and become aimless wanderers?" he roared, his voice filled with disdain and challenge.
"We, the You Clan, reject that fate!" One by one, the cultivators of the You Clan were roused by the impassioned speech, their voices merging into a collective outcry of defiance.
Their eyes, many tinged with red, were aflame with the fervor of impending battle.
They too understood the dire predicament facing the You Clan.
At this critical juncture, only direct confrontation could possibly shift the balance of power.
To yield now would be to accept their roles as helpless prey, hastening their downfall.
"Excellent!" You Haiyin's voice thundered, resonating through the atmosphere. "Today, alongside you all, I, You Haiyin, will fight to the bitter end!"
"If the Gan and Cai Clans seek to claim our land, let it be known: we, the You Clan, will make them regret their ambitions for a thousand years! They will fade away under the pressure of other forces, gone in the blink of an eye!" As he spoke, his body surged with an overwhelming energy that palpably shifted the surrounding winds and clouds.
The tension in the atmosphere was palpable, as if the very air had solidified.
"So be it!" Gan Ruifeng's face was a mask of icy resolve. "If you're so determined to court death, then I shall happily accommodate you!"
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he declared, "Descendants of the Gan Clan, where do you stand?"
"Here stand the descendants of the Gan Clan!" The voices of the Gan Clan cultivators echoed in unison, reverberating like a divine chant through the heavens.
"And where stand the descendants of the Cai Clan?" Cai Xueqing queried in a low, unyielding tone, his face a stoic mask.
"Here stand the descendants of the Cai Clan!" One by one, the Cai Clan cultivators responded.
Their demeanors were mostly as impassive as Cai Xueqing's, emanating an air of calculated detachment, as if they were war machines devoid of emotion.
"Attack!" Both Gan Ruifeng and Cai Xueqing issued the command simultaneously.
"Attack!" A wave of over a hundred warriors, each surpassing the Heavenly Origin realm, lunged forward without hesitation, aiming directly for the You Clan's cultivators.
"Men of the You Clan, to my side!" You Haiyin gritted his teeth, weapon in hand, and launched himself at Gan Ruifeng and Cai Xueqing with fervor.
And so, a fierce new clash erupted!
Boom, boom, boom!
The cataclysmic collision of formidable energies, accompanied by spells and weapons bathed in ominous light, rapidly engulfed the battlefield.
The landscape, already marred by previous conflict, was once more fractured by immense craters and chasms, as if parts of Three Mountains Island itself were breaking away.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen stayed concealed from above, closely watching the grand conflict that was erupting on Three Mountains Island.
The persistent chime of system notifications still echoed in his mind.
[Ding! You have successfully altered the plot. Protagonist Gu Ran's Heavenly Fate Value has decreased by 2000 points!]
[Ding! You have earned 4000 Villain Value points!]
'Another 2000 points off Gu Ran's Heavenly Fate Value,' Jiang Chen thought, a satisfied smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. 'My meticulous planning hasn't been for naught.'
Soon after, his eyes shifted toward Liu Xiong.
There he saw Liu Xiong, along with a squad of death warriors, strategically positioned more than a hundred kilometers away from Three Mountains Island. They were conveniently out of the divine sense detection range of the Inquiring Journey realm cultivators.
And Gu Ran was there too.
Rather than leaving, he had opted to stay, aiming to unravel the true essence of the Heavenly Gu Society—even if it meant grasping only the slightest clue.
On a colossal seafaring vessel, Liu Xiong and his elite squadron of death warriors were at rest, accompanied by Gu Ran.
"Who exactly are you?" Gu Ran directed a chilling question at Liu Xiong. "What is the purpose of the Heavenly Gu Society, and where do I fit into its plans? What are your intentions concerning Three Mountains Island?"
"Young Master Gu, I urge you to curb your anger," Liu Xiong responded.
"The Heavenly Gu Society is an organization founded in an era long past, and it has been patiently awaiting your appearance."
"The name 'Heavenly Gu Society' holds a deeper meaning: we are fundamentally your guardians."
"You possess a remarkable gift and an extraordinary aptitude for cultivation, but the path to greatness is fraught with danger." Following Jiang Chen's guidance, Liu Xiong began to spin a web of deception around Gu Ran.
Even though he himself was uncertain about the real purpose behind his words and actions toward Gu Ran, he obeyed without question, as it was a command from Jiang Chen.
"My guardians? A force waiting for me since time immemorial?" A puzzled expression settled on Gu Ran's face.
Though inwardly skeptical of this claim, he couldn't deny the rising sense of caution within him.
While the Heavenly Gu Society had indeed shown a protective stance towards him, his sharp intuition sensed an underlying motive.
They claimed that the Heavenly Gu Society had been founded long ago, solely in anticipation of his arrival.
This assertion resonated with Gu Ran for a particular reason.
That's because he had occasionally experienced flashes of fragmented memories, fleeting moments that felt ancient.
These memories seemed to emanate from epochs long past, almost as if they were indelibly imprinted into his bloodline.
Gu Ran even started to suspect that the Heavenly Gu Society might have originated in that ancient era, perhaps keeping tabs on the 'Endless Dark Blood Moon' bloodline ever since.
Given the two powerful, yet conflicting bloodlines he inherently possessed, a multitude of questions began to swirl within him.
However, lacking concrete evidence, he could do nothing but temporarily set these doubts aside.
Still, Gu Ran was convinced that the truth would eventually reveal itself.
The more he found himself in combat, the more his 'Endless Dark Blood Moon' bloodline became agitated, leading to an increasing frequency and clarity of those elusive memory flashes.
Once enough fragments of memory were collected and assembled, the truth would inevitably begin to emerge.
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The first protagonist, armed with a system, takes the stage.
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