Shui De was dead?
Dead.
Completely dead.
Wei Qing, Lord Wei from the Nine-Hua Alliance sitting in the distance, dared not utter a single word. He still sat ramrod straight, holding that cup of long-cold fragrant tea, only his face had turned deathly pale, his expression betraying extreme panic. He closed his eyes, trying to conceal it, but no matter what he did, he couldn't hide the terror that came from the depths of his soul. Even the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Silence.
A deathly stillness.
Yet.
The slaughter did not cease because of the silence.
The white-robed man, Gu Qingfeng, swept his dark gaze across the crowd and pointed at an elder among them, his voice icy and commanding: "You!
Get over here!"
The one pointed out was none other than the Li Clan patriarch, Li Changxin!
With a splayed hand, a turbid vortex materialized, and Li Changxin was instantly sucked over.
A palm slammed down on Li Changxin's crown. Li Changxin didn't even have time to grunt before his legs were shattered into dust, forcing him to kneel on the ground.
The remaining twenty-plus members of the Li Clan were scared out of their wits by this sight. How could they dare stay any longer? They wanted to flee. But the moment the thought of escape arose, before they could even circulate their spiritual power, Gu Qingfeng glared furiously, sweeping his gaze over them with a roar that shook the heavens: "Today, anyone can leave, except you of the Li Clan. Get down here, kneel, and await your death!"
The furious roar was like a thunderclap from the sky. The twenty-plus Li Clan members who wanted to flee—every single one of them—suddenly felt their blood and qi churning wildly within, their spiritual power running amok, their meridians snapping, and their Dantians collapsing!
Boom!
The twenty-plus Li Clan members immediately bled from all seven orifices, kneeling on the ground in unison, their faces filled with terror, their gazes vacant.
The might of a single shout!
Just like that, the twenty-plus Li Clan members were crippled!
The faces of everyone present turned ashen. They stood there like statues, holding their breath, watching in horror, trembling with fear. It wasn't that they didn't want to run, but they didn't dare.
They were all the leaders of various great families, great gangs, and great sects within the Qingyang region. They had originally come to lend support to Yunxia Sect in jointly resisting the Nine-Hua Alliance. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect such a terrifying figure to appear at the banquet—so terrifying that even Lord Wei Qing, representing the Nine-Hua Alliance, sat there too frightened to move a muscle.
It was only at this moment that they realized an even more terrifying fact: this white-robed man not only possessed an incredibly powerful physical body, but the spiritual power within him was as vast as an ocean. Though turbid, it was exceptionally wild and peerless. With just the might of his voice, he had forcibly shattered the Dantians and severed all the meridians of over twenty Li Clan members!
"Save me..." Li Changxin knelt on the ground, covered in blood. He wasn't dead yet, but the pain he was enduring now was worse than death.
His legs were dust, his meridians severed, his Dantian shattered, his Golden Core dispersed—it was agony beyond endurance.
He didn't want to die.
He pleaded for help.
But in this place, who would dare save him?
"Three Elders, save me..." The Three Elders of Yunxia on the high platform had faces like iron, their expressions panicked and tense.
"Senior Nanji, Senior Hong Xuan, my father has sworn brotherhood with you. For the sake of... for my father's sake, save me... save me..." True Being Nanji and True Being Hong Xuan exchanged a glance, their expressions also grim. After careful consideration, True Being Hong Xuan cupped his hands and said, "Esteemed sir, could you grant this old man some face and spare the Li Clan and the others?"
In the hall, Gu Qingfeng turned, picked up that jar of Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Aged Liquor, poured himself a cup, and without even glancing at him, said, "You have no face with me. Not a shred, not a sliver, not a bit."
"You!"
True Being Hong Xuan was furious and humiliated, yet he dared not voice his anger.
"Esteemed sir."
True Being Nanji stepped forward and said, "Li Changxin's father is Li Fengying. He has cultivated for over a thousand years, surviving the Longevity Tribulation a full century before us. His Golden Core has long been refined to exceptional purity. He emerged from seclusion not long ago and went to visit a few old friends. And those old friends of his are also individuals who have survived the Longevity Tribulation. If Li Fengying and his friends arrive later..." Gu Qingfeng drained his cup in one gulp, poured himself another, and replied, "So what if they arrive?"
"Esteemed sir, although your physical body is..." True Being Nanji was speaking, but when Gu Qingfeng turned to look at him, he was so frightened his heart trembled. He immediately shut his mouth, not daring to utter another word.
"Why did you stop?"
Gu Qingfeng glanced at him and asked indifferently, "Continue."
True Being Nanji dared not continue, especially when his gaze met Gu Qingfeng's dark, silent eyes. He didn't even have the courage to look up and meet them, lowering his head as the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"You don't even have that much guts, yet you want face from me?"
At this moment, Gu Qingfeng's cold, stern face still showed no emotional color. However, the severity in his expression lessened somewhat, the arrogance between his brows gradually faded, and his previously domineering tone now became much calmer.
He continued pouring wine, raised his head, and drank another cup in one go. Looking at the Three Elders of Yunxia and True Beings Nanji and Hong Xuan on the high platform, his calm tone suddenly turned thunderous again: "If you don't have the guts, then stand there properly and don't move. Dare to say another word, and I'll kill you along with them!"
Throughout the entire Qingyang region, no one dared speak to the Three Elders of Yunxia and the five Golden Core experts who had survived the Longevity Tribulation—True Beings Nanji and Hong Xuan—in such a manner. Absolutely no one. Lord Wei Qing from the Nine-Hua Alliance might not be overly courteous to these five, but he would definitely not threaten them so blatantly to their faces. After all, these five were Golden Core experts who had survived the Longevity Tribulation, having cultivated for a thousand years, their strength unfathomable.
Gu Qingfeng had said it, and he had acted on it. The threat was plain and direct.
Everyone present had thought the five elders would take action, but they did not. They didn't even dare speak, let alone act.
No one knew what Gu Qingfeng intended to do. He didn't say, and no one dared ask.
Just then, a commotion seemed to come from outside. Everyone looked over to see a group of over a hundred people flying grandly in their direction.
Leading them was an elder with a sinister, cold expression. When the Three Elders of Yunxia saw this elder, a gleam immediately flashed in their eyes.
Because the newcomer was none other than the Li Clan's ancestral founder, Li Fengying.
If it were just Li Fengying arriving, it wouldn't have made the three elders' eyes gleam. Accompanying Li Fengying were True Being Tiancan, True Being Baiyu, and True Being Tieyi—all three were also Golden Core experts who had survived the Longevity Tribulation. The several dozen people behind them, though they hadn't survived the tribulation, were all Golden Core True Beings with over five hundred years of cultivation.
"Ancestral Founder, save us!"
"Ancestral Founder!"
The twenty-plus kneeling Li Clan members, seeing Li Fengying arrive with so many experts, ignored their injuries and screamed hoarsely, especially Li Changxin, who shouted with furious intensity.
Li Fengying, flying over, focused his gaze. When he saw Li Changxin and the twenty-plus Li Clan members kneeling on the ground, covered in blood, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Changxin, you all... Who! Who did this!"
Li Fengying shot into the hall in an instant. True Being Tiancan, True Being Baiyu, True Being Tieyi, and the other hundred-plus people also arrived one after another.
"Father... it's him! It's him! Kill him!"
Li Changxin strained to lift his arm, pointing at Gu Qingfeng.
"What!"
Li Fengying's eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Gu Qingfeng and roared, "Your life is forfeit!"