Chapter 360: Chapter 221: The Destruction of the Cangyu Islands

Gu Binglong was furious, but he hadn’t lost his wits.

He only knew that the Spirit Stone Vein had been ambushed by a powerful enemy. As for the specifics—what was happening inside, how many enemies there were—he had no idea.

"...What did you say? There’s only one of them? And they’re still hiding inside?"

After hearing the disciple’s report, Gu Binglong thought he must have misheard.

After confirming the report one more time, the Sect Leader, who was by no means a fool, took a deep breath. His cold gaze fell upon the entrance to the mining area.

The light screen of the Protective Array was gone, clearly the work of the ambusher.

The entire mining area was, in fact, completely undefended. Anyone could just waltz right in.

He couldn’t imagine what kind of devastation had been wrought inside. The few True Pill and Pseudo Core Cultivators stationed there, along with the other Disciples, were most likely dead.

"Elder Jiang Feng, take some men and check the situation!"

Gu Binglong ordered coldly.

’No matter who the ambusher is, they won’t be leaving this place alive.’

A man in gray robes with a beefy, fierce-looking face acknowledged the order. He pointed to three Pseudo Core Cultivators, and together they rode their Escape Lights deep into the mining area.

But once they entered, they vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. Gu Binglong and the other Elders waited outside for a full hour, but no one emerged.

"What’s happening? Did someone manage to pin them down?"

Core Elder Gu Changhe muttered in confusion.

Gu Binglong’s expression grew colder. ’Elder Jiang Feng has an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivation. Even if he couldn’t defeat the enemy inside, surely he would have had a chance to escape?’

’What exactly went wrong?’

"Sect Leader, let me take some men in and have a look,"

Gu Changhe proposed.

He himself was at the Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivation. Even if he were ambushed by a Late Stage Golden Core Cultivator, he could hold them off for a long time.

’If there’s really only one person,’ Gu Changhe thought, ’I have nothing to worry about.’

"..."

Gu Binglong had a nagging feeling that something was wrong, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Unseen threads of karma and Destiny were disrupting the Celestial Secret, clouding the Sect Leader’s mind. For the moment, he had lost his ability to accurately judge the situation and respond effectively.

’Maybe if they all go in together, things will be different? It would be safer, more secure?’

After much hesitation, Gu Binglong produced a large, blue-black banner. It gleamed with an eerie light and radiated a formidable aura. He handed it solemnly to Gu Changhe and said,

"Uncle, take this in with Elder Song and Elder Yu. Warn us immediately if you find anything!"

The banner was a Middle Grade Magical Treasure called the Nether Moon Celestial Net Banner. Its defensive power was formidable, and it was one of the Cangyu Islands’ most prized treasures.

Years ago, Gu Binglong’s father had passed this treasure down to him early on. As a result, when the old man later fought against Liu Qianlan, the Hall Master of Longevity Hall, he was defeated, suffered grievous injuries, and ultimately perished.

Had his father possessed this treasure at the time, he might well have escaped unscathed.

"Thank you, Sect Leader."

A hint of delight touched Gu Changhe’s face. ’With this important treasure on me,’ he thought, ’even if that person inside is at the Peak of the Golden Core realm, I should be able to make a clean escape, right?’

Taking the banner, Gu Changhe ventured deep into the mining area, accompanied by two True Pill Cultivators and six Pseudo Core Cultivators.

And just like the first group, he vanished without a trace.

Gu Binglong, the two remaining Golden Core Masters, and the other Disciples waited for over an hour, but still no one appeared.

The entrance to the mining area was eerily silent, like a Gate of Hell, sending an inexplicable chill down everyone’s spines.

’Damn it, what the hell is going on?’

Gu Binglong’s face grew increasingly grim. He realized he’d made a fatal mistake; he never should have sent his Golden Core Masters in to die.

’Now the enemy is in the shadows while I’m out in the open. With the loss of six Core Formation Cultivators one after another, the Sect’s high-level combat strength has been cut in half. How are we supposed to withstand the pressure from Longevity Hall now?’

"Sect Leader, what do we do now...?"

A Golden Core Elder asked in a low voice, glancing at the Sect Leader’s expression.

Before Gu Binglong could speak, his face went deathly pale. He felt as if his Divine Soul had been struck by lightning.

The Divine Soul Brand he had placed on the Nether Moon Celestial Net Banner had just been violently erased by the enemy.

"Sect Leader, are you..."

Two Pseudo Core Cultivators at his side rushed to support him.

After a long moment, Gu Binglong finally caught his breath and cursed resentfully, "That bastard... Is the person inside a Golden Core Peak expert? Even someone at the Peak of Golden Core couldn’t have dealt with Elder Gu so easily, could they?"

The crowd exchanged glances, but no one had an answer for him.

Even now, it had not occurred to any of them that a Nascent Soul True Monarch was hiding inside the mine—and an extraordinary one at that.

「Deep inside the mining area.」

"...This is a nice Defensive Magical Treasure. Here, Husband, you take it."

Luo Qingxuan said with a beaming smile, giving Gu Changhe’s lifeless corpse a little kick before handing the Nether Moon Celestial Net Banner to Ling Changqing.

"Thank you, my dear wife."

Ling Changqing said, immediately beginning to refine the treasure on the spot.

Ling Qiyue smiled. "They’ve sent two waves already. Surely there won’t be a third?"

With Princess Long Nu, Luo Qingxuan, taking the lead, and with Ling Changqing and Ling Qiyue providing support, even though those two Golden Core Masters were no pushovers, they were still fated to be reaped.

Ling Changqing mused, "There probably won’t be a third wave. As long as that Gu Binglong isn’t a complete idiot, he should be leading his people in a full retreat back to his sect to mount a desperate defense."

Luo Qingxuan pouted. "Oh, that won’t do. We should make them all stay right here!"