The Heavenly Gu Grandmother raised her head, glanced in the same direction, and silently withdrew her gaze.

Seeing this, the Gu tribe leaders present knew Long Tu had indeed arrived.

Spirit masters’ aura-sensing technique could detect enemies dozens or even hundreds of li away. In the Southern Frontier, besides Dark Gu and Heavenly Gu, there were no other methods to counter aura-sensing… The gorgeous woman with red snake earrings slightly turned her almond eyes.

After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, everyone under the skylight felt the ground trembling. The vibration frequency remained constant, but the waves grew stronger.

Though the Li Gu tribe was known for supernatural strength, surely the mighty Li Gu tribe leader couldn’t be unable to control his power… Ge Wen Xuan’s pupils contracted slightly as a bold conjecture formed in his mind.

Twenty years ago, Long Tu was already at peak third rank. Twenty winters and summers had passed, and even if his realm hadn’t advanced, his foundation should have grown increasingly profound.

Perhaps he was in a state of accumulated power ready to break through, and the ground tremors accompanying his walk were an uncontrollable manifestation of his touching the threshold of the second rank.

The ground tremors grew stronger until something blocked the light at the courtyard entrance.

Everyone turned to look as a nine-chi-tall giant entered, head lowered and back hunched.

He straightened up under the skylight, his head nearly touching the eaves.

Seeing this body flowing with vigorous qi and blood, Luan Yu, wearing thin gauze and with an alluringly tall figure, extended her delicate pink tongue to lick her red lips.

She didn’t hide the desire in her eyes.

For the Love Gu tribe members, the Li Gu tribe and Central Plains martial artists were premium vessels, but while Central Plains martial artists were tens of thousands of li away, the Li Gu tribe people were right at hand.

But as fellow Gu tribes, the Love Gu tribe couldn’t lay hands on the Li Gu tribe, and the Li Gu tribe had one rule specifically targeting the Love Gu tribe:

Anyone who has relations with Love Gu tribe members will be killed without mercy.

“Grandmother!”

Long Tu called out respectfully.

He ignored the other leaders.

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother “hmmed”:

“This time gathering you all here, the letter wasn’t clear. Have you all heard about the Central Plains situation?”

Grandmother’s voice was kind and gentle, carrying the indifference of one who had experienced much.

Long Tu and the others nodded slightly.

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother said:

“This child’s master had some friendship with my late husband. He came to me with his master’s letter, hoping I could take the lead in gathering everyone for discussion.”

After speaking, she looked at the white-robed spirit master.

Ge Wen Xuan looked at Long Tu and introduced himself:

“I am Ge Wen Xuan, from Yun Province.”

He had said the same words to the other leaders earlier; now he was saying them specifically to Long Tu.

Long Tu glanced at him expressionlessly, his other hand secretly reaching for the wooden basin of meat silkworm larvae in front of the Heavenly Gu Grandmother.

Slap!

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother swatted his hand away.

Long Tu grinned and scratched his head.

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother shook her head helplessly and pushed the basin over.

Long Tu’s eyes brightened as he happily grabbed the basin, scooped up a handful of wriggling larvae, and stuffed them in his mouth to chew. He closed his eyes, showing an expression of enjoyment.

Ge Wen Xuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he strongly suppressed the urge to vomit. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and said:

“My master entrusted me to persuade you all to deploy troops to attack Great Feng.”

The tribal leaders’ expressions remained calm, showing neither surprise nor interest. From under the cloak, the walking corpse’s hood came a hoarse, cold voice:

“What benefits can we get?”

Ge Wen Xuan smiled:

“The benefits that can be seized from winning a war are unimaginable.

“In the Shanhai Pass battle twenty years ago, the Buddhist sect and Great Feng, as victors—the former like oil added to fire—grew increasingly profound in the foundation, producing talents in succession.

“Though Great Feng lost half its national fortune, my master and I once calculated that including the fallen Wei Yuan and the early-fallen Emperor Zhen De, Great Feng had fully eight Transcendent masters.

“If my master and the Heavenly Gu Elder hadn’t worked together to steal half of Great Feng’s national fortune, today in the Nine Provinces, only Great Feng could stand as equals with the Buddhist sect.”

The gorgeous woman holding a scorpion in her palm and wearing snake earrings asked coquettishly:

“Grandmother, what is he saying? Yan’er doesn’t understand.”

The Heavenly Gu Grandmother sighed:

“Twenty years ago, to steal Great Feng’s national fortune and repair the Confucian Saint statue, that old fool and the Supervisor’s senior disciple conspired together, pushing forward the Shanhai Pass battle.”

She explained the details of those years to the leaders.

Under the skylight fell dead silence.

In the Shanhai Pass battle, the Gu tribe lost many masters, including some Transcendents.

The gorgeous woman played with her earrings, narrowing her large round almond eyes:

“Sealing the Gu God has been the Gu tribe’s unchanging goal for thousands of years. We can understand and not mind the Heavenly Gu Elder’s actions. However, where is the national fortune?”

Ge Wen Xuan shook his head and sighed:

“The national fortune is still in Great Feng, yet not in Great Feng. Now it dwells within Xu Qi’an’s body.”

Long Tu’s brow twitched violently.

“Who is Xu Qi’an?”

Luan Yu asked.

The Gu tribe leaders all frowned, quite unfamiliar with this person.

Long Tu was silent for a moment, then said:

“He is now Great Feng’s premier martial artist.”

Great Feng’s premier martial artist… Luan Yu’s eyes brightened like a girl seeing her favorite doll.

Ge Wen Xuan continued:

“This person is my master’s eldest son, originally meant as a vessel for hosting the national fortune. After the national fortune was extracted, the vessel would die. So he existed as a sacrificial piece.

“But when his mother was pregnant, she suddenly changed her mind, secretly fled Yun Province, and gave birth to him in the capital. Because of this, he entered the Supervisor’s sight, and my master held back for twenty years without inquiring about him, fearing consequences.”

Ge Wen Xuan didn’t continue. He only needed to let the Gu tribe leaders know about the grudge between Xu Qi’an and his master; details weren’t necessary.

The leaders appeared thoughtful.

Ge Wen Xuan continued:

“You’ve all heard more or less about Great Feng’s situation—refugees everywhere, the imperial treasury empty, unable to provide disaster relief. In the south, my Yun Province troops are advancing north. In the West, Western Regions countries’ armies are gathering.

“If the Gu tribe joins us, Great Feng will undoubtedly fall. Then, the vast Central Plains will all belong to us.”

Luan Yu was startled: “The Buddhist sect is involved too?”

The leaders exchanged glances.

The cloaked walking corpse coldly laughed:

“Speak of practical matters, stop painting pie in the sky for us here.”

Hearing this, Ge Wen Xuan, far from being displeased at the other’s unfriendly tone, smiled instead.

His previous speech’s true purpose was to analyze the enemy’s situation for the Gu tribe, letting them see hope for victory.

To get the Gu tribe involved, the first step wasn’t to tempt them with benefits, but to make them understand this was feasible!

If they were dealing with the Buddhist sect, no matter how great the benefits offered, the Gu tribe wouldn’t pay attention.

But now, after hearing the Buddhist sect was involved and Great Feng’s situation was so dire, the leaders were indeed moved, especially the Corpse Gu leader—his previous words implied agreement to cooperate.

“Don’t rush, let me explain slowly,” Ge Wen Xuan said with a smile, his tone steady:

“My master’s offered reward is, after success, to cede Yu Province and half of Qing Province to the Gu tribe, and help the Gu tribe establish a nation in the Southern Frontier, condensing fortune.

“You must believe, for spirit masters, condensing fortune isn’t difficult. This way, ruling half the Southern Frontier and part of Central Plains territory, you’ll have enough fortune to repair the Confucian Saint statue and suppress the Gu God.”

Luan Yu and the other leaders silently exchanged glances, all-seeing desire in each other’s eyes.

Ge Wen Xuan added:

“Yu Province and Qing Province have fertile soil, and the people are skilled at farming. After establishing the nation, the Li Gu tribe will never worry about food again.

“Clan Leader Long Tu, for the tribe’s prosperity, surely you won’t refuse?”

Long Tu looked at the Heavenly Gu Grandmother:

“Grandmother, what do you think?”

Meeting everyone’s gaze, the Heavenly Gu Grandmother spoke calmly:

“The future has countless possibilities, like rivers covering the earth with countless branches. But undeniably, this is one possibility.”

The Heavenly Gu tribe could glimpse corners of the future.

“My Corpse Gu tribe agrees.”

The cloaked figure’s hoarse voice said: “My father died in the Shanhai Pass battle, died in Wei Yuan’s ‘Seven Days Killing Formation.’ This grudge must be avenged.”

Luan Yu sighed: “In the Shanhai Pass battle, my Love Gu tribe also suffered heavy losses. Our people view Great Feng and the Buddhist sect as mortal enemies.”

The implication was that she agreed too.

The middle-aged man wearing beast skin clothes and eating poisonous creatures swallowed his food and said flatly:

“Central Plains soil is indeed fertile, but lacks poisonous creatures and plants, holding little attraction for my Poison Gu tribe.

“But sealing the Gu God is indeed a condition hard to refuse.”

The Heart Gu tribe leader with large alluring almond eyes touched the small snakes on her earlobes and frowned:

“We can’t just listen to General Ge’s one-sided words. If you want our Gu tribe to deploy troops, fine, but not now. We need to send our people north to gather intelligence.

“If the situation proves true, it won’t be too late to deploy troops then.”

The cloaked walking corpse said deeply:

“Shadow, what’s your attitude?”

“Either way!”

The deep voice echoed under the skylight, but no corresponding person appeared.

This was the Dark Gu tribe leader.

He had been there all along, just hiding very well, not letting people discover him.

The Gu tribe people were long used to this. The Dark Gu tribe, whether day or night, was like a dead city, and that tribe’s people were very good at hiding themselves.

But they were also everywhere. Sometimes you might lift a rock and pull out a Dark Gu tribe person from the shadows underneath. Or accidentally fall into a deep pit, where a Dark Gu tribe person would greet you saying:

What a coincidence, you came down too!

Luan Yu said with a smile:

“Long Tu, what about your Li Gu tribe?”

The corpse puppet said flatly:

“How could he refuse? The Li Gu tribe would do anything for food.”

Everyone looked at Long Tu.

This giant’s rugged face showed no expression. He swept his gaze over his fellow tribe members, then looked at Ge Wen Xuan, and said flatly:

“Whether sealing the Gu God or satisfying the Li Gu tribe’s food needs, these are incredibly tempting conditions.”

Ge Wen Xuan’s smile spread uncontrollably across his face.

“But, I refuse!”

Long Tu said flatly.

Ge Wen Xuan’s face suddenly froze as he looked up at Long Tu in disbelief.

…

The Extreme Abyss was in the central region of the Southern Frontier, a hundred-li-long ground fissure of unfathomable depth.

Around this crack was a vast primeval forest where countless poisonous insects and fierce beasts lived.

They were natural Gu, classified into seven types according to their abilities, corresponding to the Gu God’s seven powers.

On the outskirts of the primeval forest, on the wasteland, the Li Gu tribe elders brought their registered disciple Xu Ling Yin to the Extreme Abyss.

“The power permeating this area corresponds to Li Gu. The further in you go, the more overwhelming the power becomes, unsuitable for beginners. This far is enough.”

The Grand Elder stroked his beloved disciple’s head, kindly saying: “Do you remember the secret technique I just taught you?”

Xu Ling Yin shook her head: “I forgot it all!”

“Good!”

The Grand Elder praised loudly: “A child’s heart, pure and untainted. Truly a genius born for cultivating Li Gu.”

The other five white-haired, imposing elders also showed satisfied expressions.

…Mu Nan Chi and Xu Qi’an’s minds were full of criticism.

Bai Ji also felt these Southern Frontier people were somewhat abnormal, but her experience was limited and she was young and unable to accurately assess.

The Li Gu tribe elders and clan chief, and the now-ugly Li Na, had nearly come to blows earlier over claiming Xu Ling Yin.

The elders had rolled up their sleeves, thrown away their walking sticks, ready to fight to the death with the clan chief.

The tribespeople on the side had cheered, waiting to see whether the clan chief would kill the elders or the elders would kill the clan chief.

Xu Qi’an had given them a clever solution: have Clan Chief Long Tu take Xu Ling Yin as his disciple, the six elders take her as a registered disciple, and as for Li Na, she would pass on secret arts on behalf of her father.

Xu Qi’an’s cleverness won praise from the Li Gu tribe people, who rated him as talented as “Miss A Zi.”

“Don’t be afraid of forgetting. The master will guide you in absorbing Li Gu power.”

The Grand Elder spoke kindly, finding this simple little face more endearing the more he looked at it as if she were truly a child of the Li Gu tribe.

At this moment, Xu Qi’an’s neck tingled as he felt the dormant Seven Deadly Gu awakening, developing an extreme desire for power in this area.