Chapter 227: Is This Your Father?

Chapter 227: Is This Your Father?

In a small county, blood-red clouds covered the sky, causing panic among the cultivators and civilians within the city.

"Who dares to cause chaos here? Do you not fear the wrath of the imperial court?!"

Su Guangdao shouted angrily.

He was the magistrate responsible for managing the city. When he saw the blood-red clouds appear, he instinctively felt a sense of unease.

However, despite his unease, Su Guangdao did not show any fear. As his voice fell silent, a figure in blood-red robes suddenly appeared in the air. It was a middle-aged man with an evil grin on his face.

"Heh heh, to be able to serve as nourishment for my Blood Banner is an honor you should be grateful for. A mere kingdom has no right to threaten me. The name of Blood Cloud Patriarch is something you have likely never heard of!"

Blood Cloud Patriarch sneered, his gaze filled with contempt as he looked at Su Guangdao.

A cultivator at the Fifth Stage of the Internal Organ Refinement Realm was like an ant to him.

Through his divine sense, he detected many cultivators in the city, but the strongest among them was only at the Internal Organ Refinement Realm. To Blood Cloud Patriarch, such cultivators were nothing more than ants.

At that moment, some cultivators from outside Xing'an County, upon hearing his words and seeing the blood-red clouds in the sky, their faces changed slightly.

"Blood Cloud Patriarch!"

"So he's here too!"

"Hiss, I didn't expect the celestial anomaly to attract him here. Many people are going to die—"

Many cultivators spoke of Blood Cloud Patriarch with a mix of fear and apprehension, as if he were a terrifying being.

On the other side, Fu He and Gu Xuan had also arrived.

Upon hearing Blood Cloud Patriarch and the other cultivators' discussions, Gu Xuan turned his head and asked,

"May I ask, Master, who is this Blood Cloud Patriarch?"

"Blood Cloud Patriarch is a wandering cultivator from the Eastern Domain. He is infamous, and it is rumored that he has already reached the Third Stage of the Dao Palace Realm. His cultivation is truly formidable.

Furthermore, his methods are cruel. He practices a technique called Blood Cloud Demon Art, often slaughtering ordinary cultivators, which has earned him the wrath of heaven and humanity.

Once, a sacred land sent several Dao Palace Realm cultivators to besiege Blood Cloud Patriarch, but he managed to escape easily.

With him here, the people of this city are unlikely to escape their fate!"

Fu He looked at Xing'an County, now covered in blood-red clouds, and shook his head, as if he could already foresee the fate of the civilians.

It wasn't surprising that Fu He thought this way. After all, any cultivator at the Dao Palace Realm was a terrifying existence, let alone Blood Cloud Patriarch, who was at the Third Stage of the Dao Palace Realm, making him even stronger than the average Dao Palace Realm cultivator.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuan's face turned grim.

The current realm was under the Gu family's rule. If Blood Cloud Patriarch were to slaughter the civilians, it would be a direct affront to the Gu family's authority.

For a moment, Gu Xuan was tempted to take action.

However, Fu He saw through his thoughts and immediately stopped him.

"Blood Cloud Patriarch's strength is not to be underestimated, and he acts with complete disregard for the rules. If you do not act, your identity as a disciple of the Great Void Sacred Land will give him some hesitation.

But if you truly anger him, even the Great Void Sacred Land might not be able to protect you!"

Fu He said sternly.

"Remember, once you are dead, you are dead. Even if the Great Void Sacred Land avenges you and kills Blood Cloud Patriarch, you will not come back to life.

Preserve yourself for a better fight. This is another lesson I want to teach you!"

Every prodigy was proud and arrogant.

Fu He understood this well. However, in his view, knowing when to yield was crucial, as many great cultivators throughout history had reached the peak through such prudence.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xuan clenched his fists tightly, his gaze filled with murderous intent as he looked at Blood Cloud Patriarch, yet he felt helpless.

As Fu He had said, with his current strength, taking on Blood Cloud Patriarch would be like a moth flying into a flame, achieving nothing.

At that moment, Blood Cloud Patriarch seemed to sense something and his cold eyes fell on Gu Xuan, his expression turning sinister.

"Little one, it seems you have some grievances against me?"

As he spoke, a terrifying aura surged toward Gu Xuan. Fu He stepped forward, blocking Gu Xuan and bowed to Blood Cloud Patriarch.

"Blood Cloud Senior, please do not be angry. The young one is ignorant. I hope you will give the Great Void Sacred Land some face!"

"Great Void Sacred Land... heh heh!"

Blood Cloud Patriarch's gaze flickered as he looked at Fu He, a cold killing intent surfacing, but then he seemed to recall something and eventually retracted his gaze.

Fu He, a Ninth Rank Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, was not taken seriously by Gu Qingfeng.

However, the backing of the Tai Xu Holy Land and the Blood Cloud Patriarch was something that could not be ignored.

His survival up to this point was due to his clear understanding of who he could offend and who he could not.

As a Holy Land, the Tai Xu Holy Land was one of the top forces in the Eastern Domain.

It was important to note that not all Holy Lands were on the same level.

Some Holy Lands were once only guarded by Saints, while others had produced Great Saints, and even stronger beings.

At this moment, when others heard Fu He's words, their gazes toward him were filled with a mix of caution and respect.

"Who would have thought that someone from the Tai Xu Holy Land would show up!"

"Thirty thousand years ago, the Tai Xu Holy Land produced a Great Saint, causing a stir throughout the Eastern Domain. The depth of their strength is truly unfathomable..."

The Tai Xu Holy Land had an ancient foundation, and in each era, it almost always produced a Saint. Thirty thousand years ago, it even produced a top-tier Great Saint, showcasing its formidable strength.

Gu Xuan, standing nearby, finally understood the true status of the Tai Xu Holy Land in the Eastern Domain upon hearing the words of the other cultivators.

On the other side, Blood Cloud Patriarch's cold eyes fell upon Xing'an County, and a terrifying force suddenly descended, intending to refine all the people within the city.

Seeing Blood Cloud Patriarch take action, Su Guangdao's face changed. He immediately summoned his official seal, and a powerful aura erupted, forming a green barrier that protected the entire Xing'an County.

"Hmph, the mere aura of a county's dynasty dares to obstruct me? Ridiculous!"

Blood Cloud Patriarch showed no respect, and with a snap of his fingers, a blood-red light struck the green barrier, causing it to shatter into pieces.

In an instant, Su Guangdao was struck by the backlash, his face turning deathly pale.

Looking at Blood Cloud Patriarch, his eyes were filled with despair.

"Is it truly the will of heaven to destroy Xing'an County!?"

Using the aura to protect the county was already the limit of Su Guangdao's abilities.

Normally, with such a technique, even if a Grandmaster were to attack, Su Guangdao would have the confidence to hold them off.

Unfortunately, the one who attacked was a Dao Palace Realm cultivator.

The power that could suppress Grandmasters was like a mere illusion in the face of such a formidable opponent.

"Destroy!"

Blood Cloud Patriarch formed a seal, and just as the blood cloud was about to descend completely, he suddenly felt a strong sense of foreboding, as if something terrible was about to happen.

Blood Cloud Patriarch's face changed, and then a figure in green robes stepped through the air, causing the blood cloud to disperse instantly.

"Who are you—"

Blood Cloud Patriarch's expression was grave, as the appearance of this cultivator made him feel an immense threat.

"I am Gu Qingfeng. Those who dare to cause chaos shall be punished!"

Gu Qingfeng spoke, and with a wave of his hand, a palm strike descended, shattering layers of space as if the heavens were collapsing, causing Blood Cloud Patriarch's heart to race in terror.

Gu Qingfeng!

He had just arrived in the Nine Provinces and did not know much.

But with the other party's move, Blood Cloud Patriarch realized that the newcomer's strength was terrifying. If he did not use his full power, he would surely perish here.

He would die!

With this thought, Blood Cloud Patriarch could not afford to hesitate. He immediately summoned a blood banner, and a terrifying blood cloud surged, covering the sky, as if it could corrode everything.

However, in front of Gu Qingfeng, this power was like paper, and the palm strike crushed all the blood clouds. The blood banner trembled violently and then shattered in front of Blood Cloud Patriarch's horrified eyes.

"No—"

Blood Cloud Patriarch was filled with terror.

He had refined the blood banner for thousands of years, elevating it to the level of an ancient weapon. Now, it was shattered by a single palm strike from this unfamiliar cultivator, which was enough to shock him.

Ignoring the pain from the destruction of his blood banner, Blood Cloud Patriarch turned and fled.

Gu Qingfeng's left hand was behind his back, while his right hand transformed into a blade, slicing down toward Blood Cloud Patriarch's back.

"Boom—"

A simple movement, but a terrifying celestial blade cut through a hundred miles of space. Blood Cloud Patriarch's figure paused, and in the next moment, he was cut in half, his body falling to the ground.

After a long while, the shattered space gradually healed.

...

Silence!

The entire scene was deathly quiet!

Everyone looked at the figure in green robes in the sky, as if they had encountered a terrifying being.

"Blood... Blood Cloud Patriarch is dead!"

"Two moves to kill Blood Cloud Patriarch, this person's strength is truly terrifying!!"

"Who would have thought that Blood Cloud Patriarch, who had roamed the Eastern Domain for years, would fall in a place as small as the Nine Provinces... Gu Qingfeng, that name sounds familiar!"

"Hehe, how could it not? This person is the Martial Saint of the Nine Provinces, hailed as the strongest existence in the Nine Provinces—"

Everyone was shocked by Gu Qingfeng's strength, and some of the new cultivators who had just arrived in the Nine Provinces felt unfamiliar with the name Gu Qingfeng.

But for those cultivators who had long set foot in the Nine Provinces, this name was far from unfamiliar.

Saint of Martial Arts, Gu Qingfeng!

The strongest in the Nine Provinces!

Before Gu Qingfeng truly displayed his power, these Eastern Domain cultivators had always thought he was just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, not taking him too seriously.

Their wariness of the Divine Martial Dynasty stemmed from the fact that the dynasty had four Ninth Rank Divine Transformation Realm powerhouses as its guardians.

Without those four Ninth Rank Divine Transformation Realm powerhouses, the Divine Martial Dynasty would have already been toppled.

But now, they realized how naive they had been.

This Martial Saint was far more than just a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

With two moves, he subdued the Blood Cloud Old Ancestor as easily as squashing an ant. Such power was something even a typical Sixth Rank Dao Palace Realm cultivator would struggle to achieve.

It was clear that his strength was at least Seventh Rank Dao Palace Realm, and possibly even higher.

In the Nine Provinces, such strength would be considered top-tier, and even in the Eastern Domain, it would be truly elite.

After all, in this current Lawless Era, with no Sages emerging, the Dao Palace Realm cultivators were the most formidable. And those who could reach Seventh Rank Dao Palace Realm and beyond were exceedingly rare.

No one had expected that a mere Divine Martial Dynasty could produce a powerhouse suspected to be Seventh Rank Dao Palace Realm or higher.

For a moment, everyone who looked at Gu Qingfeng was filled with both awe and fear.

In this era where strength was paramount, Gu Qingfeng's power was enough to instill terror.

" Ninth Rank Dao Palace Realm!"

"This person is at least a Ninth Rank Dao Palace Realm powerhouse!"

On the other side, Xi Yu looked at Gu Qingfeng with shock in his eyes.

While others might not fully grasp the terrifying nature of Gu Qingfeng's power, as an elder of the Purple Cloud Sacred Land and a Sixth Rank Dao Palace Realm cultivator, Xi Yu could accurately sense the overwhelming force the moment Gu Qingfeng acted.

He had only felt such a level of power once before, from the Sacred Master of the Purple Cloud Sacred Land, who was also a Ninth Rank Dao Palace Realm powerhouse.

In an instant, Xi Yu suppressed all his thoughts, including the idea of competing for the Sage Legacy of the Sunlight Sacred Land.

No way.

With a Ninth Rank Dao Palace Realm powerhouse right in front of him, even if the Sage Legacy was tempting, no one would dare to make a move.

After all, such a level of strength was considered the pinnacle below the Sage realm. In an era where no Sages emerged, there were very few who could stand against him.

Even if there were other powerhouses of the same level, who would risk a confrontation over a Sage Legacy?

The risk far outweighed the benefits.

The Sunlight Sacred Land was destroyed because it had declined and lacked the kind of formidable powerhouses that could deter other forces. Thus, obtaining the Sage Legacy brought about its own destruction.

But the Divine Martial Dynasty was different.

Even if this force announced to the world that it possessed a Sage Legacy, no other faction would dare to make a move.

This was the influence of sheer strength.

Just like the Purple Cloud Sacred Land and the Great Void Sacred Land, both of which possessed Sage-level legacies and even Great Sage-level legacies, yet no one dared to covet them.

Simply put, it was because these two sacred lands were strong enough to intimidate all.

Now, in Xi Yu's view, the Divine Martial Dynasty, with a powerhouse like Gu Qingfeng as its guardian, had the qualifications to possess a Sage Legacy.

As the various factions had different thoughts, Gu Qingfeng's expression remained cold, and his authoritative voice echoed in the ears of every cultivator.

"I don't care where you come from or what your purpose is, but if you dare to harm the people of the Divine Martial Dynasty, this will be your fate!"

This statement was a clear challenge to the dignity of all present, yet no one found fault with it.

Only Fu He's expression was stunned as he looked at Gu Xuan beside him, asking in disbelief,

"Is this your father?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end