Reverend Insanity-Blood Venerable Ascension (Old Version)

"Everyone remain alert and calm under my orders. No one has the right to act carelessly..." Huo Mei Yan says, raising her hand to signal the elite Gu Masters following her in formation.

All of them nod in unison with serious faces, not daring to make a sound as they take strategic positions in the forest amidst the mountains. They are advancing toward a solitary rustic wooden house.

"...the possibility of a surprise approach has been compromised due to unforeseen variables," she continues, now frowning after receiving communication from the reconnaissance Gu Masters she had sent, following Huo Xin's suggestions.

'This possibly makes it unlikely to rescue the members of the Huo clan without conflict or sacrificing benefits...'

As she finishes thinking this, Huo Mei Yan's eyes, glowing a fiery red, precisely track the body heat of the demonic Gu Master standing by the pigsty, next to a large lizard. The distance of over hundreds of meters between her and her target seems insignificant.

This allows her to easily guess who the half dozen body heat signatures inside the pigsty belong to, as well as the other half dozen nervously moving inside the rustic house.

But unexpectedly for her, the demonic Gu Master is not unknown to her looking at him. On the contrary, to her shock, he slowly turns his head in her direction, looking directly at her as if the Gu used to conceal her appearance were nothing.

'Is this the fear of facing a Rank 4 demonic Gu Master...?' Huo Mei Yan thinks, feeling a chill run down her spine in an instant. '...It's truly regrettable to have to confront him with so little preparation!'

"It's a pity that Leader Yan's first plan failed... But how will we proceed now?" Huo Xin quickly expresses, wasting no time.

"I also wonder about that, but I trust that the leader's decision will be the most appropriate for the situation..." Huo Zhing nods in agreement, stroking his long white beard.

Huo Ji Pei shakes his head before sighing, "Truly regrettable that even with Elder Xin's experience in formulating the plan, it failed..."

"...But I believe that your experience, having mainly dealt with the demonic Gu Master so far, will ensure that there is no further failure, right?"

"I offer my sincere help to the clan leader with her next approach, as I always have," Huo Xin smiles amicably, hiding his indignant gaze while quietly cursing the old fox who implied that this was his suggestion for handling a problem that had escalated due to the his own fault.

Huo Mei Yan, for her part, briefly glances at him and then at the other elders, as well as the most competent Gu Masters in the clan. All of them have serious expressions, continuously scheming even in such a situation.

However, she can see a certain apprehension and fear in the calculated eyes of the elders. She imagines they can all sense the gaze of the Rank 4 demonic Gu Master upon them. Even if they couldn't, like the Rank 2 elites, no one in their right mind would face such a foe with a light heart.

"There is a possible negotiating approach and it is in accordance with the honor of the righteous path, as well as the diplomatic and peaceful conduct of the clan... But I wonder, does a demonic Gu Master deserve such honorable treatment?" Huo Mei Yan says hypocritically, not even blinking, fully ignoring the fact that she's only saying this because she failed to deal with the demonic Gu Master sneakily.

In truth, even though she and the elders are somewhat shocked at having failed so quickly, they had anticipated it. The attempt to sneak in to rescue the Huo clan's Gu Masters, while laying the groundwork for a surprise attack by the elders on a Rank 4 Gu Master, was always somewhat utopian. This can be seen in the fact that they didn't dare to act themselves until they were sure of success. Instead, they sent the clan's elite Gu Masters, who could be sacrificed for the greater good of the clan.

But even so, how could they be willing to give up trying? If they failed, the maximum casualties would be only a few Rank 2 Gu Masters, which is nothing compared to the chance of catching the demonic Gu Master off guard, potentially securing a victorious battle for the Huo Clan. Such a victory would skyrocket her prestige for defeating a Rank 4 cultivator.

"Surround the house... Don't leave an inch of the perimeter unwatched," Huo Mei Yan waves her hand to her subordinates, who quickly begin using their Gu to relay the order to nearly a hundred Gu Masters.

"A simple skirmish will allow us to assess the strength on the other side..." She speaks concisely.

'And besides, it will allow me to enter negotiations with him with less damage to my reputation...' Huo Mei Yan thinks in her heart.

As of course, she doesn't expect them to be able to prevent a Rank 4 Gu Master from retreating if he wishes. But at the very least, they can delay him for a few seconds, or if not, they will at least reveal the route he might take to escape, allowing them to track him quickly for future negotiations justified by their inability to capture the slippery demonic Gu Master, even while "winning" the battle.

Huo Mei Yan takes a deep breath, her beautiful red eyes, like her long red hair, narrowing with a determined gaze.

She quickly activates a Sound Path Gu, making her voice reverberate loudly, "I, Huo Mei Yan, leader of the Huo Clan, come to resolve--" She is interrupted instantly by a powerful aura.

Now silent, Huo Mei Yan has a dismayed look as the heavy aura, so strong it seems tangible, engulfs everything within a range of hundreds of meters, making the hearts of all the Gu Masters who can feel it sink, and their mouths fall silent.

"If any of you dare to continue surrounding this place, you will know a truly cruel death..." Chen Wei speaks in a low tone, but it reverberates throughout the environment due to the silence. "...On that, I give you my word."

Chen Wei places his hands behind his back magnanimously, watching as the blood of the bodies of the Rank 2 Gu Masters advancing in his path momentarily freezes.

Anyone could easily imagine themy are waiting for orders on how to proceed from their superiors, and considering the fact that they do not advance, it's clear what those orders must be.

"I imagine you've come to negotiate for the lives of your clan's Gu Masters, who came to investigate me..." As he says this, he points to two long benches with a small table between them near the right corner of the house. "...If that's the case, then let's sit and discuss my terms."

"But be warned, come on your own... If you dare break this agreement or fail to meet my demands, I will not hesitate to kill all of you now and personally sack the Huo Clan of its wealth and take your women as my concubines," Chen Wei finishes with a serious and arrogant expression.

After saying this, he retrieves the Gu Masters from the pigsty, still immobilized, unable to see, hear, speak, or move. They are so skinny that their ribs and bones are visible, clearly not having been properly fed during their captivity. He leads them to the benches, with Little Green cheerfully following him.

"Rank 4... it's so oppressive," Huo Li Li says with a helpless sigh, out of breath, while waving her beautiful red fan. "Such attitude truly makes me worry about the safety of the clan..."

"Oppressive? These are simply the actions of maniacs on the demonic path. Whether Rank 1 or Rank 4, they're all arrogant, mad bastards!" Huo Xin says without delay, full of enthusiasm and condemnation, as if Chen Wei had personally insulted seven generations of his family. "But don't demonic Gu Masters because of this uncompromising nature always perish under the righteous forces' attacks?"

"It doesn't change the fact that this irrational and maniacal demonic Gu Master has the strength to act according to these uncompromising tendencies as he likes, does it?" Huo Pei Ji quickly interjects, disagreeing with Huo Xin's words. "And I ask Elder Xin, if victory is so certain, are you willing to lead the attack?"

"...It's truly a fact that the most honest demonic Gu Master is harder to deal with than even the most dishonest righteous Gu Master," Huo Zhing remarks casually, continuing the discussion methodically, though his main attention is focused on the clan leader.

Huo Mei Yan, for her part, narrows her eyes, internally despising the empty, hypocritical, yet meaningful words of the elders. She recognizes this fake discussion as a well-coordinated dance, with each elder cooperating to create a facade of disagreement.

A facade, she knows, that is only meant to force her into the decision to negotiate on their behalf, just as she had been officially made to decide to attempt a stealthy rescue of the Huo clan's Gu Masters without direct confrontation.

This all leads her to sigh in despair, realizing that even in a moment like this, these elders continue to scheme for the sake of preserving their prestige and appearances in case of failure. They intend to throw the dishonor of negotiating with a demonic Gu Master solely on her shoulders.

'They'd better make the most of their ability to scheme against the clan while they still can...' Huo Mei Yan forces herself to keep her emotions hidden, showing no sign of them on her face as she waves her hand.

"All of our Gu Masters will remain on guard here, and none are authorized to advance without my direct orders..." As she says this, her gaze falls on Chen Wei, who is calmly sitting and watching them.

"We will negotiate with him according to his terms for now. Our priority is to preserve the lives of the honorable members of the clan," she declares, receiving nods from everyone, as this is a point they can all agree on.

Especially since Huo Tie and Huo Tan are prominent members of the clan. Their capture could cause significant internal dissent if the elders and clan leader are not seen as doing everything in their power to rescue them successfully.

Thus, even if they fail to accept the demonic Gu Master's excessive or insane demands, it's still expected that they at least present the image of trying to save the lives of the clan members at all costs.

"...And if in his madness this Gu Master dares to take the life of a clan member, we will show him the clan's absolute justice and give him a cruel death!!"

Huo Mei Yan speaks with dignity, though she doesn't believe her own words. None of them are truly willing to engage in a life-and-death battle with a Rank 4 demonic Gu Master.

Especially since such a battle would require not only the sacrifice of dozens of the clan's elites, but even some elders would have to give their lives to ensure victory. Which begs the question: would any elder be willing to make that sacrifice? Of course not!

So, if it came to that, all the words about justice and the clan's honor would be forgotten. They would dishonorably strike a deal of submission with the demonic Gu Master, sacrificing major clan benefits while covering up the situation with a staged fight and forcing all present Gu Masters to swear an oath to never reveal the truth.

"We will follow the order of the Clan Leader! For the glory of the glorious Huo Clan!!" All the clan elders roar in unison, their voices conveying a false resolve to fight to the death for the clan.f