Chapter 357 - 189: Backstab

Once the matter of his collaboration with Demon Fiends was exposed, he would face unprecedented danger.

He would likely be hunted down and killed by the great powers of the Human Race, and his plans would be thrown into chaos!

’Old Ghost Du, I can’t let you live any longer!’

A crimson light flashed in Wu Qianlong’s eyes. A frigid killing intent erupted from him, and the temperature in the dim secret chamber plummeted!

...

「Lingxiao City.」

The sky was just beginning to lighten as white clouds drifted by.

Tall buildings and pavilions soared into the air.

The bustling crowds hurried on their way.

The streets were a ceaseless river of people and carriages.

Cultivators in Daoist Robes, their faces resolute and bearded, strode along with large, wine-red gourds on their backs. Graceful female Cultivators in red dresses, their beauty striking, also passed by holding umbrellas.

Occasionally, a True Martial Realm Cultivator would streak across the sky on a beam of light, kicking up a whistling gale of Powerful Qi before vanishing in a flash!

The shouts of vendors hawking their wares echoed endlessly. All of Lingxiao City seemed to be a picture of bustling vitality.

At that moment, in the city’s northwest district, stood a massive estate that stretched for dozens of miles. Pavilions and towers dotted the landscape, where a Spirit Gathering Array had been established to concentrate the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Within the estate, in an extremely secret chamber protected by layers upon layers of Arrays, an old man sat cross-legged on a cushion. He wore a white robe, his hair was white, and he had a long beard. His ancient face was utterly haggard. A terrifying aura radiated from him, distorting the very space around his body, which glowed with a faint, hazy green light that brimmed with immense Vitality Power.

A fist-sized hole gaped in the old man’s chest, emitting a deep and terrifying Demon Power. His entire body was covered in countless wounds; he clearly looked to have suffered extremely severe injuries.

"Wu Qianlong, I never thought you could be so audacious and reckless!

To dare collaborate with Demon Fiends, to commit such an act of betrayal against the Human Race... You actually did it. You’re truly insane!" Unstoppable fury flashed in Du Yuan’s ancient, deep eyes, so intense that for a moment he seemed to forget his own grievous wounds. He then muttered to himself, "You didn’t expect this, did you? Even an ambush like the Absolute Heaven and Earth Kill couldn’t finish me off for good."

"What awaits you now is an endless hunt by the Human Race—one that will not stop until you are utterly destroyed!"

At this thought, a smile finally appeared on Du Yuan’s face, a stark contrast to his body, which was covered in wounds left by Dao Rhythm.

He then began to circulate his Cultivation Technique. The hazy green light around him intensified, and his grievous injuries slowly started to mend.

Suddenly, a pillar of dark light, condensed to an absolute extreme, tore through the void. In an instant, the stone door of the secret chamber and the Defense Array upon it were effortlessly shredded as if they were made of paper!!

BOOM!!

The pillar of dark light, imbued with a terrifying Dao Rhythm, pierced through everything in its path, whipping up a horrifying storm in the void.

It seemed as if the powerful pillar of dark light could effortlessly tear space itself to shreds!

This overwhelmingly powerful force blasted through the chamber’s defenses and, in the blink of an eye, shot viciously toward the white-robed old man who was enveloped in a hazy green glow!

At that moment, Du Yuan, who was in the middle of healing, never imagined he would be attacked from the outside while inside his own secret chamber. The force of the attack had not been impeded by the Arrays in the slightest. In a single instant, the pillar of dark light, brimming with terrifying power, was right before him.

"What?!"

In that instant, the faint smile on Du Yuan’s face vanished, replaced by an expression of pure shock.

The terrifying attack came too quickly, so fast that he couldn’t mount any effective counter. But at the last possible second, relying on his vast experience, Du Yuan forcibly shifted his vitals out of the way, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow!

BANG!!

The pillar of dark light, brimming with terrifying Magical Power, slammed into his body. An immense force erupted, shattering the surrounding space. Du Yuan’s torso was pierced through. The dark Daoist Technique Power instantly clashed with the fundamental energies in his body, setting off a horrific internal explosion as shockwave after shockwave radiated outward.

The secret chamber, hundreds of yards across, was instantly pulverized. His radiant blood arced through the air; each drop seemed as heavy as a mountain, possessing incredible power, gouging huge, bloody craters into the earth where it landed!

Du Yuan’s body shot backward like a laser, tearing through layers of space. The ground shattered in his wake as a chain of explosions erupted into the sky, annihilating all surrounding walls and soil!

"COUGH! COUGH!!"

In the long trench carved into the earth, the surrounding ground completely fractured and collapsed. Du Yuan was half-kneeling on the shattered land, one blood-soaked hand clutching his ruined chest as he violently spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood.

Now, another large hole gaped in Du Yuan’s chest. All the flesh in that spot was gone, exposing the stark white of his bones. Streams of Dao Rhythm flickered around the wound, and his organs could be seen pulsing unceasingly!

With two gaping holes now in his chest, his already grievous injuries had been made catastrophically worse. He was now on the verge of death!

"Why would you do this!" Du Yuan lifted his head, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared venomously at what lay before him!

HUMMM!

The void ahead trembled softly. As the dust and smoke settled, an imposing figure gradually came into view. A look at his face revealed him to be none other than the Grand Elder of the Du Family, Du Pengfei!

The Jade Talisman in his hand, which was carved with arcane markings and had been glowing with a faint light and immense energy, was now gradually fading away. Seeing that Du Yuan wasn’t dead, Du Pengfei’s expression turned ugly. A flicker of regret flashed in his eyes before transforming into steely resolve!

"Ancestor, you’ve gotten old!"

"That good-for-nothing Du Ting is completely unfit to be the head of the Du Family!" Du Pengfei snarled, his face contorting into a savage expression.

Du Ting was the current Patriarch of the Du Family, while he, Du Pengfei, was its Grand Elder.

And as a member of the Du Family’s inner circle, Grand Elder Du Pengfei was, of course, familiar with every detail of the clan’s secret chamber.

By using a Jade Talisman imbued with the power of another True Monarch Level expert, he had nearly succeeded in killing Du Yuan in his sneak attack!!

And even though he hadn’t succeeded in killing him, he had landed a direct hit, leaving Du Yuan on the verge of death!

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Du Yuan let out a chilling laugh, as sinister and terrifying as that of a Demon King ruling over ghosts.

"Du Pengfei, you beast!"

"So what if you seize control of the Du Family? Without me watching over things, how could you possibly hope to defend it?!" Du Yuan said, his voice dripping with ice.

Then he murmured with bleak self-mockery, "How laughable. I didn’t die at the hands of an enemy, but will instead be killed by my own family... I was such a poor judge of character!"

"Don’t you worry, Ancestor. You can pass on peacefully.

I’ve already thought of that. Once I break through to the Tongxuan Realm, our Du Family will have a new Tongxuan expert watching over it. Who would dare try to take a piece of us then?!" A slight smile touched the corner of Du Pengfei’s mouth as he chuckled.

Then, the aura around him erupted, its terrifying might violently shaking the surrounding space. The Cultivation he revealed had already reached the Half-Step Tongxuan realm!

"Half-Step Tongxuan?"

"Heh. Without help, how could you possibly step into the Realm of Tongxuan so easily!" Du Yuan said hatefully, his voice laced with scorn.

"Who said no one is helping him?"

"Old Ghost Du, why must you be so resentful?

He’s just trying to rise through the ranks. What’s so wrong with that?"

A cold, sinister voice rippled through the void, clearly reaching both men’s ears.

A profound, dark light surged forth like a black tide, blanketing everything. The void shook violently before coalescing into the figure of Wu Qianlong, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. The corners of his lips were curled into a smile, and his eyes held a hint of pity as he gazed upon the old rival he had fought for so many years.

"He’s going to help you? Hahaha!!" Seeing Wu Qianlong arrive, Du Yuan laughed bleakly. "Trying to bargain with a tiger for its own hide... How do you expect that to end?"

’Others might not know what kind of person Wu Qianlong is, but don’t I? Cooperate with him, and you’ll likely be devoured until not even your bones are left!’

Thinking of this, Du Yuan looked at Du Pengfei with a hint of pity.

He then gave another self-mocking laugh. ’I was wise my entire life, yet I was blind to this! To think I raised such a wolf cub within my own clan!’