NOVPUB"It really is Elder Su..." The young man in white was somewhat excited as he hurriedly introduced himself, "My name is Gong Rui, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Spirit Taoist Sect."
Elder Su Changkong kept an extremely low profile within the Spirit Taoist Sect, rarely showing his face on important occasions. However, Gong Rui had seen Su Changkong a few times while on duty guarding the sect gate and therefore recognized him.
Of course, Su Changkong had never heard the name Gong Rui. In the Spirit Taoist Sect, he was only familiar with the Sect Master, Helian Yuan, and a few others.
Su Changkong nodded slightly, then turned back to look at the ruins of the Spirit Taoist Sect and asked, "I’ve been away for half a year, what happened to the Spirit Taoist Sect? How did it end up like this?"
Could it be that the Spirit Taoist Sect had provoked some enemy?
Ordinarily, the Spirit Taoist Sect would not actively provoke outsiders. Even if there truly had been enmities, the enemy almost severed the very foundation of the Spirit Taoist Sect, an act even more cruel than annihilating a clan!
Hearing Su Changkong inquire, rage and fear flashed across Gong Rui’s face. Remembering the events of several months ago, his body trembled slightly.
Su Changkong did not rush him but waited quietly. Gong Rui calmed his mind and then, swallowing hard, gritted his teeth and said, "About three months ago, suddenly a group of people in black robes came to the Spirit Taoist Sect, four individuals."
"These four were clad in black robes, their faces obscured. Among them, the most burly, towering over two meters tall, could instill dread in one’s heart with a single glance or word. These four people came to the Spirit Taoist Sect and directly ordered us to pack up and leave, claiming that Zhongling Mountain was theirs now..."
Gong Rui began recounting what had happened.
A group of people came to the Spirit Taoist Sect not seeking revenge, but for Zhongling Mountain which the sect occupied.
"Zhongling Mountain has been the foundation of our Spirit Taoist Sect for a thousand years. Naturally, the Sect Master and the Elders would not agree. After some negotiation, there was no choice but to take action. These four individuals were very strong... It was obvious to anyone, our whole sect exerted its full strength, resolved to take them down at any cost..."
"Thousands of elite Spirit Taoist Sect disciples formed a battle array and, led by the Sect Master and the Elders, attacked together. But as soon as the battle commenced... it was a one-sided fight. With a single strike from one of the black-robed figures, the Sect Master was grievously injured on the spot, and all four seemed not to be made of flesh and blood.
Regardless of swords, spears, or staffs, nothing could injure them in the slightest, it was a unilateral massacre..."
Gong Rui’s voice quivered a bit. Having personally experienced the battle, he had witnessed how terrifying those four black-robed individuals were—inhumanly strong!
Whether it was Martial Artists of the Qi-Blood Realm, or those like Helian Yuan, who was a distinguished Martial Artist within the Innate Earth Flower Realm, none stood a chance against even one of the four black-robed individuals. It was a complete and utter dominance, incapable of posing even the slightest threat to them.
"With the strength of the Spirit Taoist Sect’s Martial Artists, a large number of Qi-Blood Realm Martial Artists arranged in battle formations, and even warriors with ’Three Flowers Gathering at the Top’ could put up a fight, yet none could oppose any of these four? Are all four Five-Qi Grandmasters?" asked Su Changkong, his brows slightly furrowed.
Merely three or four individuals had effortlessly slaughtered and swept through the Spirit Taoist Sect, which, in Su Changkong’s view, quite possibly meant they were Five-Qi Grandmasters.
Five-Qi Grandmasters, after all, are few and far between, each carrying immense fame. To suddenly encounter four such mighty figures who seemed to be Five-Qi Grandmasters, all targeting the Spirit Taoist Sect? Who on earth were these four individuals?
"How are the Sect Master and the others?" asked Su Changkong, wishing to know whether Helian Yuan and the rest were alive or dead.
"At that time, the Sect Master and the Elders fought against these four black-robed individuals... but to no avail. And the Spirit Taoist Sect disciples suffered heavy casualties, massacred unilaterally. In his severe injury, the Sect Master had no choice but to order everyone to retreat, to escape from Zhongling Mountain."
"These four did not pursue the ordinary disciples, but they captured all the Innate Martial Artist Sect Master and Elders."
Gong Rui said.
Su Changkong nodded slightly; since these four individuals didn’t kill Helian Yuan and other Innate Martial Artists on the spot, they probably had some use for them. Perhaps Helian Yuan and the high-level members of the Spirit Taoist Sect were still alive.
"We all fled from the Spirit Taoist Sect and from afar we saw rampant Spiritual Energy raging within Zhongling Mountain, like an Earth Dragon turning over, reducing the Spirit Taoist Sect to ruins.
At dusk, those black-robed individuals left, and only then did some of us dare to return to the sect, only to find not only had the Spirit Taoist Sect turned to wreckage but even the Spiritual Energy within Zhongling Mountain had vanished without a trace. It was definitely those four black-robed people who had tampered with our Spirit Vein!"
Gong Rui spoke through gritted teeth.
The Spirit Taoist Sect disciples had scattered, and only after the four black-robed individuals departed, did they dare to return to the sect. But they found the Spirit Taoist Sect in utter ruin, the Spirit Vein compromised.
After burying those who died in battle from the Spirit Taoist Sect, the remaining disciples some sought the identity and whereabouts of the black-robed quartet, while others went back to their hometowns.
A great tree has fallen and the monkeys scattered.
The Sect Master and Elders, life and death unknown, and Zhongling Mountain, once a place with excellent fengshui and abundant Spiritual Energy, had become an ordinary mountain. Many disciples of the Spirit Taoist Sect had lost hope, realizing the sect was finished.
And then there were Inner Sect Disciples like Gong Rui, who, apart from seeking help from sects friendly with the Spirit Taoist Sect, also settled down near Zhongling Mountain, not leaving but instead occasionally returning to the Spirit Taoist Sect’s location, keeping an eye on news.
Gong Rui was staying temporarily in a small town close to Zhongling Mountain, visiting the Spirit Taoist Sect every few days. This time he happened to encounter Su Changkong.
"Elder Su… Now that the Spirit Taoist Sect has disintegrated, only you have the power to take control. With just one command from you, you can surely summon the scattered disciples of the Spirit Taoist Sect and bring the people together again!"
