It was already deep into the night but Springmountain City was stirring.
This was because many Connate experts instantly realized that nearly all the upper echelons of the Tantong family clan had disappeared! Only two or three slipped through the cracks.
"All the upper echelons of the Tantong family clan are dead. Nearly all of them were wiped out, right?" Many Connate experts shuddered in trepidation. It was one of the three fiendcelestial family clans. Who would dare act so carelessly? Instantly, experts in the city employed various measures to fly across the sky in the direction of the Tantong family clan.
When they arrived, they saw a towering figure hovering in midair above the Tantong family clan. He was dressed in pale gold armor and had an immense aura.
"It"s Fiendcelestial Yugu."
"Patriarch Fiendcelestial."
Most of the experts of Springmountain City identified him as they respectfully bowed.
Fiendcelestial Yugu overlooked the manor as he released his Dao domain. He carefully probed for any clues he could find.
"He killed so many mortals and these mortals are people of importance. The karma from such ma.s.s murder is not trivial. The murderer cannot be a fiendcelestial," thought Yugu. "But who would have such power that isn"t a fiendcelestial? It"s quite unlikely for a Connate third Firmament to instantly vanquish all these people. Could it be that the murderer is more than one person?"
"Whatever. This is Brother Tantong"s problem. I"ll leave the investigation to him." Yugu immediately contacted Tantong.
Mt. Plumblossom.
This was where Monarch Plumblossom cultivated. Many of the fiendcelestials under her did their cultivation here as well.
In an inconspicuous mountain peak on Mt. Plumblossom was a cave abode. Fiendcelestial Tantong was cultivating in there when his family was killed.
"How is it possible…" Tantong, who was in seclusion, suddenly opened his eyes. His expression changed. He flipped his hand and took out his transmission token. Looking at it, he pondered in horror, "How could this happen?"
Tantong looked at his transmission token in disbelief.
He enjoyed a high status to the point that only six of his clansmen were qualified to contact him. And now, all six transmission marks had dissipated!
"They died all at the same instant?" Tantong"s body trembled, his eyes were filled with pangs of fury. "Who, who dares do this? Who is it?"
"Whoosh."
His token indicated it was getting a transmission so Tantong activated it. Yugu"s phantom appeared in midair.
"Brother Tantong," said Yugu. "I believe you are already aware of what has happened."
"What exactly happened? How many members of my Tantong family are dead? Who is the murderer?" Tantong"s eyes were filled with rage.
"I just did a probe. All the upper echelons of the Tantong family inside the manor were killed. A total of 105 people were killed," said Tantong. "They were simultaneously pulverized into nothingness. I am unable to figure out anything else."
"One hundred and five? And it happened in my family"s manor? Is my Tantong family"s array formation that easily cracked? The person behind this must be a fiendcelestial! It must have happened under the orders of a fiendcelestial!" Tantong was infuriated. "Yugu, help me watch the area. No one is to enter or leave the area around my manor! Springmountain City is to be put on lockdown as well. I will rush back now. I want to know who has attacked my Tantong family."
"Alright. I"ll be waiting for you then." Yugu nodded. He also guessed that the implications could run deep. He did not wish to be too involved.
Fiendcelestials were typically very selfish. They did not do anything unless it brought them benefits.
Qin Yun flew towards Springmountain City while riding a black wind. He had traversed fifteen hundred kilometers using Void Transference and now, he was flying slowly.
When he flew to a spot about five hundred kilometers away from Springmountain City, a vertical eye opened in his glabella.
The Eye of Lightning activated to take in the distant Springmountain City. It saw straight through into Tantong Manor. There was a stalwart fiendcelestial with dark red skin there and he was angrily berating his subordinates and ordering them to investigate."
"Tantong sure came quickly. I have only covered about a thousand kilometers but that was enough for him to rush back to Springmountain City from five thousand kilometers away." Qin Yun smiled faintly. He was in no rush either as he continued flying slowly at the pace of an ordinary Connate third Firmament.
As he flew, he carefully observed the surroundings of Springmountain City with his Eye of Lightning.
"Yes. Monarch Plumblossom isn"t here. After all, only a few mortals died. How could that stir a Skyfiend?" thought Qin Yun.
Soon after, he traversed the remaining five hundred kilometers.
"I"ve arrived."
Qin Yun overlooked the ancient city from high up in the night sky. He opened his Eye of Lightning again, carefully monitoring his prey.
Inside Tantong Manor.
"Sigh. Who knows who the Tantong family offended. It was nearly wiped out all at once. How are we to investigate the matter? The answer is quite obvious after a little thought. The ent.i.ty that dares to attack the Tantong family clan must have a fiendcelestial backing it. It"s not an ent.i.ty we can go against." Two Connate experts were walking alongside each other. One of them was a Connate third Firmament guest Elder and the other was Tantong Qi"s guard leader, Yi Lou. Yi Lou was also at the peak Connate second Firmament.
"It"s a matter between fiendcelestials. Let"s just do our job without a fuss," said Yi Lou through a voice transmission. "Brother w.a.n.g, we can sure be considered lucky that we live outside the manor! If we lived inside, we might have been killed as well."
"That"s right." The guest Elder nodded immediately and replied with a voice transmission, "The other two guest Elders that live in the manor were killed. As for a guard leader like you… perhaps you might have been spared. But for an Elder like me, I"d definitely be killed."
Both of them felt a chill.
They had chosen to work for a fiendcelestial family clan to reap the benefits of being under the protection of people with power and influence.
However, there were open and veiled contentions between fiendcelestials. At times, the conflicts could turn crazy. They finally experienced such an event for themselves.
"Oh?"
Their expressions suddenly changed.
A terrifying force enveloped dozens of kilometers around them as the guest Elder and the guard leader, Yi Lou, became motionless. Both of them were horrified.
"A fiendcelestial! Another fiendcelestial has arrived! And it"s definitely an enemy!" The guest Elder and Yi Lou looked each other in the eye and saw the horror in each other"s eyes.
And at that moment.
Tantong and Yugu were still speaking in a palatial building in the middle of the manor. Tantong still looked enraged.
"Once the person is found, I"ll definitely make him pay the price!" Tantong said through gritted teeth. Yugu consoled him, "Brother Tantong, the person made sure to employ such underhanded techniques. They are probably not your match in actual combat."
Suddenly, Qin Yun"s Dao domain descended upon them!
Boom!
The Dao domain that enveloped them instantly suppressed the probing Dao domain that Tantong had released.
"Oh no."
"This Dao domain is much stronger than ours." Tantong and Yugu shuddered in fear. The clash of Dao domains was the easiest way to determine the difference in realms. If both parties were almost equal, they could put up a fight with their treasures, Dharmic formulations, and experience! But if it was a complete imbalance, a total wipeout was inevitable.
Sou! Sou!
They immediately separated and charged out of the place in a bid to escape.
However, Qin Yun released two flying swords from high in the sky as he maintained his Dao domain.
The two flying swords plummeted downwards one after another.
They flew at extremely fast speeds.
As the two escaped, the flying swords had arrived by the palatial building. Bam! Bam! The two fiendcelestials crashed through the building"s walls in a bid to escape. At the same time, they turned to look up and saw a white-robed Qin Yun hovering high in the sky.
Due to the suppression of his Dao domain, none of them could probe Qin Yun"s aura. They could only tell from their Dao domains that the white-robbed youth was an existence that far exceeded them in strength.
"We have no grudge against you. Why are you killing us?"
"Spare me! I"ll do anything."
They separately sent two very different voice transmissions.
As they sent the voice transmissions, the two flying swords flashed, as a misty rain appeared before their eyes.
"How cold." Tantong felt a biting cold course through his entire body. A layer of frost formed on the surface of his body as his organs and blood began to freeze. His speed decreased drastically to less than ten percent of his original speed.
Following that, the flying sword penetrated Tantong"s forehead.
His eyes widened.
Fiendcelestial Tantong was dead!
Although fiendcelestials fought intensely, the weak ones did not dare to provoke the powerful ones! Right up to his death, Tantong had no idea how he could have offended the terrifying white-dressed man to the point that he had to be killed.
If Tantong could be said to have kept his thoughts, with him being able to move under the frozen ice, then the weaker Yugu was a completely frozen ice sculpture. His mind was turbid after being frozen.
A misty rain flashed before his eyes amid his disorientation.
"I have never met you. Why are you killing me?" Yugu only had such a thought. Following that, he plummeted into an eternal darkness. He did not know how he had formed a vendetta with his murderer even at his death.
However, he did not know that Qin Yun"s target was Tantong. He had only killed Yugu in pa.s.sing…
After all, he would not go easy if he had the chance to kill a fiendcelestial.