Chapter 1 The Dance of Bloody Sleeves

A blood-soaked white sleeve danced in the air.

Bai Xiu emerged from the snow mountain cave, the [Thunder Realm Walker] behind him slowly dissipating.

The old man, collapsed on the ground, was covered in blood.

His wounds were not healing quickly.

The purple divine radiance of the Dionysus Throne flowed between the folds of his robes but didn't seep into his flesh... Clearly, this wisp of divine power lent very limited strength to Bai Zesheng.

Bai Xiu watched this scene silently.

Only an extraordinary being who controls the emblem of a Divine Throne's relic can be considered an [Apostle]. Apostles are extremely rare, and the requirements are incredibly stringent. They must be able to withstand "Divine Advent" to be considered true [Apostles].

After all, an apostle is chosen as a vessel for the descent of a Divine Throne's will.

They must have the determination to dedicate everything and possess unparalleled aptitude.

However, Divine Thrones have fewer restrictions on bestowing their power... The fellow he'd just slain could be considered a half-[Apostle], as Bai Xiu sensed an extremely vast and terrifying pressure of divine power on him. If he hadn't killed him immediately, it could have caused future trouble. He didn't sense the corresponding pressure on Bai Zesheng.

Therefore, he didn't immediately kill him.

Facing the old man who had nurtured him, Bai Xiu had a few words he wanted to say.

The stench of blood permeated the wind and snow.

Bai Xiu stood amidst the falling, blood-soaked white sleeves and asked, "Where are Bai Lu and the others now?"

The snow cave was empty.

Clearly... his initial guess was correct. The cemetery did indeed have teleportation rules, and judging from the earlier anomaly, Bai Zesheng could activate them.

The old man chuckled softly. "Don't worry about them… I was only targeting you."

In other words, they were all safe.

Bai Xiu felt a slight sense of relief, along with a faint wave of sorrow.

This old man who had brought him out of Jiangbei was the one who despised his bloodline the most within the entire Bai Clan.

Those direct descendants who entered the cemetery would receive the greatest protection.

And he… was to be eliminated.

"The plan was to kill you or cripple your power, preventing you from continuing to cultivate..." Bai Zesheng struggled to move his decaying body, leaning against a cold, massive rock, and said with a smile, "I brought you out of that small town and allowed you to gain immense glory. Now, I think I have the right to take it all back."

Before meeting him, Bai Xiu was just a pitiful, lonely child.

Besides a tragic background, he had nothing left.

Bai Xiu was silent for a moment.

Actually, he didn't hate Changye.

For a long time, he felt warmth within the Bai Clan, and the people there treated him well.

Part of the reason he cultivated so diligently was because of these new "family" members.

However… Bai Zesheng's actions had dealt an irreparable, devastating blow to Bai Xiu's fond memories.

All these years, the Second Elder had been pretending, so what about the other members of the Bai Clan?

How many of those smiling faces actually harbored murderous intent?

He dared not guess.

"Since it's for the sake of the Bai Clan… what's wrong with letting me grow stronger?"

Bai Xiu lowered his gaze and pondered for a long time. Finally, he looked at the blood-covered old man and said softly, "I will become a reliable person, and the family will become even stronger."

"At that time, the Bai Clan will no longer be the Bai Clan."

Bai Zesheng smiled faintly. "You are just a… branch family member without the proper bloodline, unworthy of entering the clan's ancestral hall."

Bai Xiu's face didn't show any additional emotion.

He nodded slowly.

This signified his understanding.

Instead, it was Bai Zesheng who was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Bai Xiu to react this way upon hearing the news.

"You should be furious," Bai Zesheng said with difficulty, "and then kill me with a single strike."

"I thought I would be very angry too, but I'm actually not."

Bai Xiu said calmly, "Perhaps it's because… I already knew you were these kinds of people."

*You* was a very broad concept.

A year ago… Qu Long had died in battle for him, but his name wasn't qualified to enter the ancestral hall.

At that time, he had seen through some of the truth flowing in the "ancient" bloodline of this massive clan.

One of the synonyms for arrogance is exclusiveness.

Perhaps he and Qu Long were the same… No matter what they did, they were destined not to be truly accepted by the Bai Clan.

"…There's no point in saying more."

Bai Zesheng slowly raised his head.

He looked at the young man approaching him and gently closed his eyes, his voice hoarse. "How do you intend to deal with me?"

Bai Xiu gently raised his hand.

A broken blade fragment flew out of the snow on its own, hovering in front of Bai Zesheng.

He watched the old man in silence.

That irregular, sharp blade fragment was the answer he gave.

"Do as you wish."

Bai Xiu showed his final respect and turned his back.

The last leg of life's journey.

He was willing to give Bai Zesheng a dignified death.

"Heh…"

Bai Zesheng gasped for breath.

He laboriously stretched out his palm and caught the blade. The old man's eyes were somewhat blank. His long life had become short at this moment, flashing by like a revolving lantern… The scene of making vows with his deceased elder brother was still vivid. At that time, he and his elder brother were still young, determined to propel the "Bai Clan" to the pinnacle of Changye. It was only a pity that the tides of the times were beyond human control.

The Gu Clan was always an insurmountable mountain for the Bai Clan.

And in those years when Gu Changzhi emerged, the Bai Clan, second in Changye, had become a dim star that served to highlight the Gu Clan's bright moon.

In fact… the Bai Clan had also ushered in a true dawn.

He couldn't forget that monstrous figure who could contend with Gu Changzhi and awaken the [Flow Reversal] power. Back then, he proposed the plan to gather the strength of the entire clan to cultivate one person to break through the boundaries...

Unfortunately, the Bai Clan's peak bloodline still lost to Gu Changzhi and didn't become a Divine Throne.

After that, his elder brother died of illness.

The Bai Clan plummeted and once disappeared from Changye for a time.

He had seen true brilliance, so when he saw Bai Xiu's progress becoming faster and faster, he couldn't help but think of the scenes of decades ago, of that man who carried all the bloodline power of the Bai Clan and disappeared.

He thought of countless regrets.

As well as the prairie fire that refused to be extinguished in his chest…

Bai Zesheng took a deep breath.

He raised his head, looked at the white-clothed youth not far away, and said in a hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry."

As soon as the words came out, Bai Xiu frowned slightly.

The surrounding thunderous power had already stirred up the snow layer, transforming into a cage.

However, above Bai Zesheng's head, that compass once again swelled with the divine power of the Dionysus Throne, erupting with rays of purple radiance. The wind and snow intensified, and the atmosphere of silence in the cemetery instantly spread.

The thunderous cage locked down the large rock.

But… the blood-covered figure leaning against the rock was gradually obscured by the wind and snow, and the entire space was shifted by the power of will!

Bai Xiu watched expressionlessly as the mottled, blood-stained, rugged rock remained after the thunderous light dissipated.

The spiritual power of the Dionysus Throne disappeared into the wind and snow.

Second Elder Bai Zesheng had vanished without a trace.

Only a dying, exhausted voice echoed across the snowfield.

"I'm sorry…"

"I want… to live."

……

……

With a "buzz," a wisp of invisible spiritual ripple spread out.

Passing through the trees and striking the leaves.

Sweeping towards the distance.

Gong Qing's expression wasn't good. He stood on a snow tree, and wherever the spiritual ripple reached, the needles of the snow tree trembled, and large patches of snow were shaken off.

He had deliberately waited here for some time.

Last time, this wisp of spiritual ripple had rippled here and completely dissipated.

And this time, the withered snow on the snow tree had been shaken off by almost eighty percent.

It could be seen that the vibration of this wisp of spiritual ripple was becoming more and more fierce.

After entering the cemetery, he was teleported away and came to this empty and extremely quiet, strange place. Following the induction of the Clan Head's Order, he stepped into the snow forest, and then… he saw that wisp of invisible ripple that surged like a tide.

If he hadn't sensed it wrong.

This wisp of spiritual ripple… seemed to contain an extremely powerful "divine power"!

If it continued to stack up like this, it would eventually spread outside!

Inside the cemetery, there were still his clansmen.

Outside the cemetery, there was a garrison of most of Changye's elite forces!

Gong Qing took out his token.

He looked at the distance indicated by the token, his expression uncertain.

What exactly was there?

Just as he was hesitating, a gentle voice rang out not far away.

"Brother Gong."

Gong Qing lowered his head, only to see a wheelchair figure gradually emerging from the snow dust amidst the wind and snow between the distant snow forests… Gu Lushen pushed the wheelchair, smiling and greeting, "After walking for so long, I've finally seen a living person."

Gong Qing narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "You came from there. What was that anomaly just now…?"

"A very powerful mental fluctuation is spreading in the Qingzhong Cemetery."

Gu Lushen didn't hide anything, speaking seriously. "Brother Gong must have also seen that this cemetery is currently shrouded in a powerful mental realm, and only one person is capable of doing this… Gu Changzhi."

Gong Qing neither nodded nor shook his head.

He simply looked at Gu Lushen calmly, waiting for the rest of the story.

"I guess this wisp of spiritual ripple is the fluctuation of the Tinder. After all, only the Tinder has such powerful power." Gu Lushen shrugged and said lightly, "Perhaps Gu Changzhi is about to awaken… or perhaps it's some other situation."

"The Gong Clan's Clan Head Order is constantly fluctuating, guiding me here."

Gong Qing gazed into the distance and murmured, "I'm afraid the place where the ripples originated is the 'Colossus Ruins' in the real world."

"Oh?"

Gu Lushen adjusted the wheelchair, gazing into the distance with Gong Qing, and asked with a smile, "What does this mean?"

"I don't know either… I'm afraid I'll have to go there to find out the answer."

Gong Qing shook his head. He suddenly asked, "Brother Gu, since you've returned from the depths of the snow forest, have you seen Old Man Gu Qilin?"

Gu Lushen also shook his head.

His expression was complicated as he said with emotion, "I wanted to find that old man, but unfortunately… I haven't seen him after searching in the cemetery for so long. On the contrary, Brother Gong, didn't you see his old man's figure on the way here?"

"Doesn't Brother Gu know the answer to this question himself?"

From the distant snow forest, a third voice rang out.

That voice penetrated the snow curtain, thick and powerful. Accompanied by the undulation of the voice, a middle-aged figure wearing a deep blue clan robe slowly appeared. The Mu Clan Head, Mu Yi, holding a snow mirror, slowly walked out.

"Mu Yi… what a coincidence, you're here too."

Gu Lushen smiled.

Among the Five Great Clans, the Mu Clan's bloodline ability was somewhat unique. It didn't belong to the kind of combat bloodline that directly amplified one's own strength, but rather an auxiliary power similar to healing and prophecy.

Therefore, the Mu Clan had a forbidden relic.

This item was called the "Snow Reflection Mirror"!

As long as there was a sufficient amount of extraordinary source matter and spiritual power, the Snow Reflection Mirror could point out the "truth" of many things. At first glance, it seemed to contain the effects of a "divination art" sealing object.

But in reality, it wasn't so.

The Snow Reflection Mirror didn't have the power of the gravekeeper's divination technique and couldn't reveal the future… but it could directly reflect the "falsehood" and "truth" before one's eyes.

Mu Yi, holding the Snow Reflection Mirror, injected his power into the mirror surface.

A ray of snow light shot straight out, landing on Gu Lushen.

Truth and falsehood, truth and lies… flowed in the mirror surface. The snowflakes floating above Gu Lushen's head faintly mixed with a touch of black.

This meant "lying."

Seeing this, Gong Qing's expression immediately became solemn.

Mu Yi stood firm, forming a tactical position with Gong Qing.

He cautiously maintained a safe distance before speaking, "Brother Gu, why lie about Old Man Gu's matter…?"

The smile remained on Gu Lushen's face.

He slowly turned his head, looked at Mu Yi, and said helplessly, "Brother Mu, you really are…"

He paused slightly.

Gu Lushen sighed and asked softly, "It's just a small matter of entering the cemetery, why did you bring in a treasure like the Snow Reflection Mirror? If you're killed… wouldn't the Mu Clan suffer a heavy loss?"

As soon as these words came out.

Mu Yi's expression immediately turned gloomy.

He held the Snow Reflection Mirror, increasing the injection of source matter. Flying snow surrounded Gu Lushen, and every snowflake was dyed pitch black. From afar, tens of thousands of black snowflakes danced wildly around the man in the wheelchair. This scene was like the descent of disaster.

But in reality, this was the Snow Reflection Mirror reminding its master.

This person… was extremely dangerous!

From within the storm of swirling black snow, came the crackling sound of bones.

"I was planning to come find you one by one."

A touch of purple radiance covered his calf. Gu Lushen slowly stood up from the wheelchair. He glanced at the two clan heads on and below the tree, and said with a gentle smile, "But since the two of you have come together… it saves me some trouble."

In between words, the previous wave of spiritual ripples dissipated, and the second wave arrived again.

A tsunami of superimposed tides was brewing.

This time, hundreds of snow trees here were affected, trembling one after another, with heavy snow flying.

Gu Lushen stretched out his hands, and with the help of the divine power of the Dionysus Throne, he miraculously unfurled his domain in this region of extreme cold where spiritual power couldn't extend.

In the vast snow forest, only the sound of silent falling snow remained.