Chapter 103 Xiong Clan

After the caravan departed, Gu Yue Village soon settled back into its usual rhythm. The campsite it had occupied was now deserted, leaving behind muddy pits, deep wheel tracks, puddles, and scattered rubbish from several days of activity. Cleaning up the mess would eventually become another task for the academy students.

On a distant hillside, Fang Yuan stood in an inconspicuous corner and silently watched the caravan depart. The enormous procession slowly squeezed through the narrow mountain path before gradually disappearing into the dense bamboo forest beneath the pouring rain.

If it weren’t for this heavy rainfall, dealing with the traces left behind by Jia Jinsheng’s death would have been much more troublesome. That old bastard, the first-generation Gu Yue, dragged Jia Jinsheng’s corpse underground as though nothing had happened, then left me to clean up the rest of the mess.

Fang Yuan suspected this was another test from the first-generation Gu Yue. Unfortunately, even with five hundred years of experience, he currently lacked suitable Gu and could only rely on limited methods.

Fortunately, the continuous rain had already washed away most of the remaining traces, greatly reducing the chance of anyone discovering what had happened. Even so, Fang Yuan did not dare lower his guard.

Jia Jinsheng concealed his true strength so well that outsiders still believed he was nothing more than a useless playboy. Until his death, almost no one knew he was actually a Rank Two peak stage Blood Path Gu Master. But no matter how useless others thought he was, his identity hasn’t changed. He’s still the son of the Jia Clan leader.

It would probably not be long before Jia Fu returned with the caravan to investigate his younger brother’s disappearance. If Fang Yuan failed to handle the matter properly, the first-generation Gu Yue could easily push him forward as a scapegoat while continuing to hide beneath Qing Mao Mountain.

In truth, Jia Fu himself did not worry Fang Yuan nearly as much as his newly awakened ancestor. The first-generation Gu Yue was an experienced Rank Five Blood Path Gu Master who had survived for hundreds of years. Even in his weakened zombie state, he was far more dangerous than anyone else currently on Qing Mao Mountain.

Everything else can still be dealt with. But if that old monster discovers that I possess the Rank Six Immortal Gu, Spring Autumn Cicada, he’ll kill me immediately.

Fang Yuan’s gaze became increasingly deep. Although the first-generation Gu Yue was currently providing him with resources and protection, that support came with an even greater threat to his life. He needed to begin refining Blood Path Gu as soon as possible and prepare methods to free himself from the old monster’s control.

His current situation was like walking through dense fog along the edge of a cliff. He could not clearly see what lay ahead, while a single careless step could send him falling into the abyss.

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Meanwhile, the merchant caravan continued traveling through the mountains beneath the heavy rain. As it passed through a dense stretch of forest, several sharp whooshing sounds suddenly came from the surrounding bushes.

A number of Gu Masters rushed out from hiding.

The group was led by a young female Gu Master in her early twenties. She possessed Rank Two cultivation and rode atop an enormous black bear. Yet even the imposing bear could hardly draw attention away from its rider. The girl’s beautiful face and alluring figure immediately attracted the gazes of many Gu Masters and mortals in the caravan, especially the long, snow-white legs revealed beneath her light-brown skirt.

She was Xiong Jiaoman, a newly rising Enslavement Path genius of Xiong Clan Village.

Several young Gu Masters followed behind her. Among them were Xiong Li, known as the strongest man among Qing Mao Mountain’s younger generation, and Xiong Jiang, who had recently advanced to Rank Two.

Upon seeing the welcoming party from Xiong Clan Village, the caravan gradually came to a halt. Jia Fu sat atop the Treasure Brass Toad and casually waved his hand, immediately sending someone forward to discuss the arrangements for the caravan’s stay.

“Gu Masters from Xiong Clan Village?”

Lin Feng looked toward the approaching group as memories concerning Xiong Clan Village surfaced in his mind.

Like the Gu Yue Clan, Xiong Clan Village had also been founded by a Rank Five Gu Master. However, their ancestor had originally been a demonic Gu Master. This was hardly surprising, as establishing a clan and securing enough territory for generations of descendants generally required the strength of at least a Rank Five expert.

According to the original course of events, when the wolf tide swept across Qing Mao Mountain, the three clans should each have faced one of the three enormous Lightning Wolf packs. Instead, Xiong Clan secretly activated a Rank Five Gu left behind by their ancestor, concealing their clansmen and escaping from the battlefield while intentionally leaving Gu Yue Clan and Bai Clan to bear the brunt of the disaster.

Neither Gu Yue Clan nor Bai Clan had expected Xiong Clan to be so ruthless. They had intended to use the wolf tide to severely weaken their two rivals, then return afterward and seize dominance over Qing Mao Mountain. If Tie Xue Leng had not arrived while investigating a case and happened to preserve the remaining strength of the Gu Yue and Bai clans, Qing Mao Mountain might truly have fallen entirely into Xiong Clan’s hands.

Lin Feng recalled that this was hardly the first time Xiong Clan had resorted to such methods. They’ve even hired demonic Gu Masters to assassinate talented juniors from the other two clans before. When it comes to becoming the sole overlord of Qing Mao Mountain, they really don’t care what methods they use.

However, Lin Feng did not particularly despise the Xiong Clan for this. If anything, he could understand their reasoning. Competition between people was not always decided by who possessed greater strength. Sometimes, victory simply belonged to whoever was willing to lower their bottom line further.

The future Great Love Immortal Venerable was perhaps the finest example of this principle.

Fang Yuan’s bottom line was that he had no bottom line. Concepts such as shame and honesty were merely tools to him, useful when they brought benefits and discarded the moment they became burdens.

To Lin Feng, allowing oneself to be bound by moral vanity and rejecting the most practical choice merely to preserve appearances was nothing short of foolish.

If no powerful outside force had interfered, Xiong Clan, with its willingness to use any means necessary, might truly have become the sole ruler of Qing Mao Mountain.