The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

To the north of the Eight Ancient Nations, about 1.86 million miles away, lay the Duan Clan—an ancient and hegemonic power of the Eastern Region.

The Duan Clan had existed since ancient times, possessing deep foundations and flourishing mightily across the East.

However, years ago, the Duan Clan had joined forces with the Three Great Sacred Grounds to suppress the Fang Clan, resulting in a bitter enmity between the two sides. This feud had hindered the Duan Clan's development relative to other factions—especially to the Xia Dynasty, which had close ties to the Fang Clan.

The closer one aligned with the Fang Clan, the more deeply they could collaborate, and the more access they had to treasures from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

But the Duan Clan, deeming itself a hegemonic power, refused to lower itself and seek reconciliation with the Fang Clan. Like the Sacred Grounds, they maintained an openly hostile stance, with virtually no cooperation or contact.

As time passed and the reputations of the Fang Clan and Myriad Treasures Pavilion grew, dissatisfaction spread among many younger members of the Duan Clan.

They murmured in private:

"I just don't understand—why must our Duan Clan persist in opposing the Fang Clan? Can't we grow together instead?"

"Exactly. It's one thing to be hostile, but to outright forbid us from accessing the Myriad Treasures Pavilion? You all know how important their Nine-Li Pills and Myriad Cloud Mystic Pills are to us!"

"That's not even all. Their treasures are top-tier, and the spiritual wine at Drunken Immortal Pavillion is second to none."

"Shhh! Quiet! If the elders hear that, we'll be punished for sure!"

Several young clansmen, just returning to the Duan Clan's territory, fell silent—unwillingly.

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a crushing pressure descended from the heavens—like billions of mountains falling at once. These young cultivators didn't even have time to react. Without a word or an expression, they were obliterated by the weight of it.

And not just them—every living being around the Duan Clan's cave estate was killed instantly.

Only the Duan Clan's own members were spared the same fate, thanks to their grand protective array, which deflected most of the pressure. Still, they were left shaken and terrified.

"That pressure... it broke through our clan's barrier!"

"What's going on? Is someone launching an attack on the Duan Clan?"

"Impossible! We are an ancient family, a hegemonic power of Cangzhou! Who would dare!"

The Duan Clan's members were stunned and frightened. Yet, as a family with over a hundred thousand years of history, they did not panic.

Instantly, from the clan's forbidden grounds, powerful auras erupted like volcanoes. Towering figures, each standing tens of thousands of feet tall, emerged—covering the skies.

These were the Duan Clan's Saint Realm ancestors.

"Who dares threaten the Duan Clan?!"

Their voices thundered across the heavens.

Moments later, an even more terrifying wave of auras surged in from beyond—like tidal waves swallowing the sky—and there were more of them than those from the Duan Clan.

Instantly, the Duan Clan's imposing momentum was suppressed. Were it not for their defensive formation, they might have been crushed on the spot.

The formerly composed Saint Realm ancestors now began to panic.

"Who are you people?! What is your purpose?!"

Gigantic figures surrounded the Duan Clan's entire estate, blotting out the sun and plunging the area into darkness.

They offered no explanation.

They simply raised their colossal hands—and brought them crashing down upon the Duan Clan.

It was an apocalyptic sight that left the Duan Clan's members utterly horrified.

. . .

The Duan Clan's estate sat between the Xia Dynasty and the Eight Ancient Nations. When a Saint Realm cultivator guarding the Xia border sensed the disturbance, he cautiously set off to investigate, leaving a message behind.

When he arrived at the Duan Clan's territory, there were no ruins, no rubble—only enormous craters plunging deep into the earth, and a killing aura lingering in the air.

The Duan Clan was not merely destroyed—every last member was turned to dust, their bodies and souls erased. Every palace, building, and pavilion had been reduced to nothing.

"This… this…"

The Xia Dynasty's Saint Realm expert stared, dumbfounded, his mind blank. He even began to doubt what he was seeing.

After all, this was an ancient family with over 100,000 years of legacy—one of Cangzhou's hegemonic powers, home to multiple Saint Realm cultivators. Who could annihilate them in such a short time?

And if that same force turned their sights on the Xia Dynasty, could they resist?

The thought chilled him to the core. He immediately returned to report everything to the Emperor.

It wasn't long before the news of the Duan Clan's destruction was made public, and quickly spread across all of Cangzhou.

The event sent shockwaves throughout the realm.

"What?! The Duan Clan's been destroyed?! That's not funny!"

"I didn't believe it either, but it's been confirmed!"

"Plenty of powerful cultivators have gone to check—it's true. Nothing but craters remain."

"Impossible! That was an ancient family!"

"Hiss... this is terrifying. Even hegemonic powers can be wiped out?"

"Who could've done it?"

"The hegemonic powers in Cangzhou are all roughly equal. No single one could've pulled it off—it must've been a joint assault."

"Maybe someone from another continent was offended by the Duan Clan…"

Speculation and fear ran rampant.

But with no clear perpetrator or motive, the ones panicking most were the other hegemonic powers of Cangzhou.

The Duan Clan had been just like them. If the attacker came for them next, how would they defend themselves?

It was reminiscent of the time when Fang Luo and the others suddenly descended on the Sea of Stars to destroy the pirates—sending the region into disarray.

In response, the various hegemonic factions of Cangzhou dispatched Saint Realm cultivators to investigate.

Fang Ting, also intrigued, instructed the Sixth Elder—head of the Drunken Immortal Pavillion's intelligence network—to look into the matter.

Unfortunately, the investigation yielded no leads.

Fang Ting had expected as much. After all, any force capable of annihilating a hegemonic family was likely beyond the scope of the Tower's intelligence network.

The spies and informants of the Tower had their limits. Once matters involved the Saint Realm, things became exponentially harder to track.

That said, the Drunken Immortal Pavillion had enough branches spread across the land to detect signs of unusual activity in any part of Cangzhou.

The Sixth Elder reported that the Southern Region's demon tribes had shown strange movements lately.

Whether this was related remained uncertain.

But this incident sparked a bold idea in Fang Ting's heart...