Roar—
A dragon's roar exploded forth. A monstrous creature, nine meters in size, resembling both a dragon and an elephant, both illusory and real, suddenly burst forth from Ma Zhengtian's body. It was the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant.
Everyone knew that Ma Zhengtian's Chixiao Dragon-Elephant had been inherited from his grandfather. It was a genuine Dragon-Elephant, its majesty and power incomparable to mere Dragon-Elephant seeds.
Perhaps sensing Ma Zhengtian was in mortal danger, the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant emerged instantly, coiling around him to protect him.
Yet, even with the Dragon-Elephant's protection, Ma Zhengtian was still too terrified to stand.
The Chixiao Dragon-Elephant was genuine, but he was not a genuine Chixiao person. He did not have Dragon-Elephant blood flowing in his veins. Even inherited from his grandfather, he could not truly become one with the Dragon-Elephant.
That wasn't important.
What was important was that back on the Taixuan Platform, he had summoned the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant. Yet, when facing Gu Qingfeng, not only did it not charge forth to devour him, it had instead shown fear.
As for why...
Ma Zhengtian didn't know and couldn't understand.
And now, at this moment, when the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant emerged again, it still did not charge to devour Gu Qingfeng. It remained fearful.
Yes.
Ma Zhengtian could clearly sense the fear emanating from the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant, even stronger than on the Taixuan Platform.
He truly didn't know why this was, and he didn't want to know now. He only wanted to live, only wanted Gu Qingfeng to spare him.
As Gu Qingfeng slowly approached, Ma Zhengtian could bear it no longer. Trembling, he begged for mercy. "I... my father is the branch master of the Leiyun Branch... the Elder Incense Master Fang who presides over... presides over our Leiyun Branch is... is my grand-teacher... you can't... can't kill me... can't..." He had wanted to say that if Gu Qingfeng killed him today, his father and grand-teacher would surely avenge him. Yet, facing the expressionless Gu Qingfeng before him, he dared not utter those threats.
Awoo—
The Chixiao Dragon-Elephant guarding Ma Zhengtian looked at Gu Qingfeng and let out a deeply meaningful dragon's roar. It was a sound of reverence, of self-reproach, and also of pleading.
Gu Qingfeng stopped, gazing at the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant. He just looked, not saying a word.
Then, the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant roared angrily at Ma Zhengtian. Ma Zhengtian, not understanding what was happening, found his body involuntarily kneeling on the ground.
Awoo—
The Chixiao Dragon-Elephant seemed to be expressing something to Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng watched. After a moment, he closed his eyes, still silent.
In the distance, Lan Feier, Shui Yunruo, and Huo Wu Chen Yue could not comprehend what was happening. In their impressions, the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant was awe-inspiring, suppressing demons above and frightening ghosts below, filled with murderous intent and fearless of heaven and earth. At least Lan Feier knew that the Dragon-Elephants of the twelve Chixiao people presiding over the Fengyun and Huoyun branches were like that.
Although Ma Zhengtian's Chixiao Dragon-Elephant was inherited and perhaps could not unleash the Dragon-Elephant's true power, its inherent nature shouldn't change, right?
Why would it show such reverence and fear upon seeing Gu Qingfeng? It had been so on the Taixuan Platform, and now it was even more pronounced.
Just as the women were plunged into deep astonishment, something even more unbelievable happened. When Gu Qingfeng closed his eyes, the illusory-yet-real Chixiao Dragon-Elephant actually transformed into a blurry human silhouette. Then, it knelt before Gu Qingfeng and kowtowed—nine times in succession. Immediately after, it leaped up, transforming back into the Dragon-Elephant, and shot straight into the sky, releasing an earth-shaking dragon's roar.
Roar—
The might of the roar caused dark clouds to gather in the sky, thunder and lightning to flash across the firmament, and the natural world to undergo strange changes.
Amidst the lightning and thunder, everyone saw the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant turn into specks of starlight, turning to dust and smoke...
The Chixiao Dragon-Elephant... had dissipated?
Yes.
It had dissipated.
Lan Feier and the other two saw it clearly. The Chixiao Dragon-Elephant had truly dissipated, had truly turned to dust and smoke.
But...
But why?
Why did the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant suddenly commit this suicidal act of turning to dust and smoke?
And why did it transform into a human shadow just now and kowtow nine times to Gu Qingfeng?
What... what in the world was going on?
They didn't know.
Lan Feier and the other two felt their minds go blank, their thoughts utterly scrambled.
However, just because they didn't know didn't mean Huode didn't. He had heard Gu Qingfeng say that the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant Ma Zhengtian inherited from his grandfather was no longer a pure Chixiao Dragon-Elephant; it contained his grandfather's spiritual will and soul.
In Huode's view, the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant's appearance just now was surely pleading for Ma Zhengtian's life.
He could also tell that Gu Qingfeng must have agreed; otherwise, he wouldn't have closed his eyes.
As for the Chixiao Dragon-Elephant's self-destruction, turning to dust and smoke, it wasn't dying in Ma Zhengtian's place. It was a wordless admission of fault, an act of atonement, a release.
Ma Zhengtian lay on the ground, motionless. He wasn't dead, but had fainted from terror.
Boom! Crash!
Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky. A torrential downpour of wind and rain poured down.
Within the area, a deathly silence reigned.
The crowd that had gathered here earlier had long since fled in terror. Only the bloody, mangled corpses remained.
Gu Qingfeng stood amidst the ruins, his black long hair dancing wildly across his cold, stern face, the sleeves of his white robes fluttering madly around his solitary figure.
No one knew how much time passed before he slowly opened his eyes. He did not move to kill Ma Zhengtian, nor did he even glance at him. Turning, he picked up a jar of wine from the ruins and said softly, "Let's go."
With that, he left. Huode curled his lip but said nothing, following Gu Qingfeng.
"Gu... Gu Qingfeng, you... where... where are you going?"
Lan Feier asked tremulously. She didn't know why she asked; it was completely subconscious, a question blurted out without thought.
Unfortunately, Gu Qingfeng did not respond. He walked through the gale, drinking as he went.
He walked slowly, as if strolling. Yet, when he tilted his head back to drink, he was still within the ruins of the Yunxia Sect. By the time he finished one cup, he was already a thousand meters away. With another cup finished, that white silhouette completely vanished from the sight of Lan Feier and the other two, disappearing without a trace.
Even long after Gu Qingfeng had vanished, Lan Feier and the other two had not regained their senses.
Everything had happened too quickly, too suddenly, too bizarrely. It seemed Lan Feier and the others' thoughts and memories were still stuck on Gu Qingfeng sitting cross-legged in the ruins earlier... and then there was no 'and then'...
Dead. They were all dead...
Huo Dong, Tu Gao, Wei Jiaojiao, Chang Tianrui, Xu Jintong... all the Little Hidden Dragons and Hua Pavilions' Young Masters were dead. Dozens of them.
"Dead... they're all dead?"
Lan Feier seemed unable to believe this was real, asking in an extremely complex tone.
"Dead... all dead..." Shui Yunruo replied as if her soul had left her body, numb and indifferent.
Realizing this was fact, Lan Feier could barely stand steady. Trembling, she murmured, "A major disaster has occurred..."