Dragon Tu slightly bent his knees. With a thunderous impact that made the ground sink beneath him, he launched himself like a massive artillery shell, straight as a spear piercing toward the blue sky.

The several elders of the Gu Clan simultaneously bent their knees, “firing” themselves into the air as well.

“What are they saying?” Mu Nanzhi grabbed Lina, who was a beat slower as she bent down to put away her rice bowl.

“They’re going to kill Xu Qi’an.” Lina’s expression turned serious. “The leaders of each division are very powerful—they’re all at the Transcendent Realm.”

After speaking, she shook off Mu Nanzhi’s grasp, flexed her knees, and shot into the air.

All at Transcendent Realm… Mu Nanzhi watched anxiously, her eyes darting rapidly in their sockets. Looking at Bai Ji in her arms, a thought struck her, and she urgently asked:

“Bai Ji, what was your innate talent again?”

Bai Ji lifted her head, her bright black eyes gleaming with innocence: “It’s Swift Speed!”

Mu Nanzhi’s eyes lit up. She placed the palm-sized fox cub on the ground, mounted it, and said: “Quick, let’s go!”

Bai Ji, crushed under the round peach, was dumbfounded.

“Hurry!”

Concerned for Xu Qi’an’s safety, Mu Nanzhi scolded gently.

The tears that had welled up in her eyes retreated as the little white fox sniffled once, gritted her teeth, and struggled to stand on all fours. Her eyes, like black buttons, blazed with red light as she unleashed her potential. Carrying Mu Nanzhi, she transformed into a white shadow and vanished.

Only Xu Lingyin remained. She looked left and right, picked up a wooden stick from the roadside, raised her delicate eyebrows fiercely, and charged forward with determination.

She was going to help her big brother fight.

…

At the edge of the plains, Xu Qi’an watched the Force Gu Division’s experts shooting toward him like cannonballs. He lowered his gaze to his own shadow.

The shadow twisted and expanded as several figures emerged from it. Simultaneously, Xu Qi’an lost his hearing, vision, and smell… all five senses and six consciousnesses were completely blocked.

Remaining calm, he rolled to the right, tumbling dozens of zhang away to maintain distance from the approaching enemies.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous sounds of heavy objects landing erupted in succession as Dragon Tu arrived with the Force Gu Division’s experts, inserting themselves between the two sides.

“Dragon Tu!” The Corpse Bone Division leader, Yu Shi, spoke with anger in his voice. “You mean to stop us? Have you considered the consequences of defying the Gu Clan’s will? We’ve shown restraint multiple times for the sake of our shared heritage—don’t be ungrateful.”

Seeing Dragon Tu’s sharp gaze and anticipating his harsh words, Chun Yan sighed and intervened before he could escalate the conflict: “Dragon Tu, now that the Gu Clan has decided to deploy troops, Xu Qi’an is a mortal threat. If we don’t eliminate him, countless members of each division will die in the future.”

“Which is more important—the Gu Clan or a single friend?”

The question made Dragon Tu’s brows furrow deeply.

Chun Yan didn’t continue persuading but instead looked toward the silver-haired Granny Sky Gu: “Granny, what do you think?”

Dragon Tu and the six elders couldn’t help but look toward Granny Sky Gu as well.

The Sky Gu Division created calendars and observed celestial phenomena. All divisions relied on them for farming, and abilities connected to food were always revered. Additionally, the Sky Gu Division could glimpse the future and provide correct guidance. Though the six divisions weren’t completely led by Sky Gu, their prestige was high, and all divisions were willing to listen to Granny Sky Gu’s words.

As everyone looked at her, Granny Sky Gu instead turned to Xu Qi’an and smiled: “Dragon Tu, why not ask him his thoughts?”

Before Dragon Tu could respond, the First Elder spoke with displeasure: “If he says he won’t fight, would you let him go? Granny, why speak such cold words?”

Dragon Tu remained silent briefly, then turned to look at Xu Qi’an: “I promised not to interfere in their battle with you—that’s the most help I can offer. As a warrior, dying here would be your fate.”

“If you can kill them all, I won’t stop you either—that is also my promise to you.”

The Force Gu Division valued bravery and fighting spirit; their custom was to resolve conflicts through combat.

Hearing this, the First Elder helplessly snorted and said: “Don’t get too close to that girl, don’t breathe during combat, watch the shadows at your feet… if you really can’t win, then flee.”

This was the most he could do. The first half reminded him of details to watch during battle, but the latter half was the key point.

Flee!

A Third-Rank warrior in peak condition who was determined to escape would be difficult to intercept. But once caught in a bitter fight, trying to escape then would be nearly impossible against the Gu Clan’s methods.

Escaping would certainly be the best choice, but that would mean the alliance between the Gu Clan and Yun Province would be established, and Great Dao would surely fail… Xu Qi’an slowly scanned the crowd as thoughts flickered through his mind.

He had returned this time to break the alliance between the Gu Clan and Yun Province’s rebels.

He had formed a rough plan in his mind.

“Hiss…”

Xu Qi’an pressed his finger to his brow as a ring of fire ignited behind his head, radiating intense heat as his skin rapidly turned dark gold.

In an instant, an imposing Golden Body of supreme yang energy appeared before the Gu Clan crowd.

His lips curled into an arrogant and disdainful cold smile: “Let me experience your abilities!”

…

“Xu Qi’an cultivated the Golden Body?”

Several li away, Ge Wenxuan stood in a treetop, holding a monocular telescope as he observed the distant activity.

This type of observation tool was invented by Xu Pingfeng.

It allowed the user to see activity dozens of li away, and even further when viewing from a height.

Now, in Ge Wenxuan’s view, though Xu Qi’an and the others appeared tiny and details were unclear, he could still make out the general situation.

That burning ring of fire is reflected in Ge Wenxuan’s pupils.

“When did he cultivate the Golden Body… tsk, this fellow wasn’t recorded having it in the last intelligence report, which means he must have achieved it recently… truly worthy of one blessed with great fortune.”

Ge Wenxuan frowned repeatedly.

With the Golden Body plus a warrior’s immortal physique, it would be much more difficult for the Gu Clan’s Transcendent experts to kill him.

…

“The Golden Body?!”

Exclamations rang out beside Granny Sky Gu as Luan Yu, wearing clean clothes that accentuated her alluring figure, covered her rosy lips with her hand, her eyes gleaming as her breathing grew heavy.

Compared to her wild joy, the others merely frowned slightly.

Yu Shi spoke quietly: “Shadow, hide well and don’t act rashly. I’ll engage him head-on, and Ba Ji will use poison to affect him. Luan Yu, once his condition deteriorates, immediately provokes his desires.”

“As for Chun Yan, do as you see fit.”

After briefly establishing their battle strategy, Yu Shi said to Granny Sky Gu: “Please help conceal our presence, Granny.”

Granny Sky Gu smiled: “Very well.”

She raised her hand and gently wiped the air. Instantly, the presence of all five leaders vanished, including their heartbeats, breathing, and energy fluctuations.

This way, a warrior’s danger perception would not activate.

Thump thump thump… Yu Shi, wearing a cloak, charged toward Xu Qi’an, his running steps causing slight tremors in the ground.

As he approached Xu Qi’an, the footsteps suddenly ceased. He crossed dozens of zhang at a terrifying speed, appearing directly before Xu Qi’an.

As his cloak billowed, his fist shot out.

Clang!

A sound like a great bell rang through heaven and earth as Xu Qi’an, like a golden chunk of iron, was sent flying backward.

This was intentional—he used it to move the battlefield further out, trying to avoid destroying Boshan.

Yu Shi pressed his advantage, and the other leaders sprang into action, flanking from the sides to cut off any escape route for Xu Qi’an.

…

Thump thump!

The First Elder heard hurried footsteps that interrupted his intention to follow and observe the battle. Turning his head, he saw Xu Lingyin carrying a wooden stick.

“Lingyin?”

The First Elder frowned and scolded: “What are you doing here?”

He spoke as if scolding a child from his clan.

Dragon Tu and the others also temporarily halted their steps, frowning as they looked at the little bean.

Compared to the tall and mighty Gu Clan members, she truly looked like a little bean, her height barely reaching Dragon Tu’s knee.

“Where’s my big brother!”

Xu Lingyin roared like an angry little lioness.

She raised her delicate eyebrows and bared her teeth at the First Elder and the others:

“Whoever hits my big brother, I’ll hit them back. Big brother died once already—I don’t want Mother and Father to cry.”

She still vividly remembered that coffin from the beginning of the year.

She, who never remembered anything, clearly remembered that coffin.