"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The visions came to an abrupt halt, yet the sound of the heartbeat remained.
Wearing complex expressions, the members of the Li family walked into the depths of the cave.
They had just witnessed the life of an Integration Realm cultivator—a testament to the lifelong struggle of an Old Ancestor who had raised his clan, step by step, to the height of an Integration Realm family.
What met their eyes was a colossal heart!
That heart was pulsating violently.
Apart from the heart itself, the Zhao Clan Head, Zhao Qingguang, was kneeling before it.
His body was hunched over, his hands pressed against the ground, and his eyes were wide open.
He seemed to have received some information that shook him to his core, and he was repenting with a vacant, listless expression.
"I was wrong, Old Ancestor... it was this child who was wrong... this child has harmed you..."
"Zhao Buqun! Zhao Bailing! Zhao Jingmiao!"
As the heart filled his vision, Zhao Tingyu cast aside all decorum and respect for the Old Ancestor.
He roared frantically, "Come back! They found the Old Ancestor! Come back quickly!!!"
Zhao Qingguang continued his repentance, oblivious to the noise.
Suddenly, spiderweb-like cracks fractured the space within the cave, and silhouettes began to emerge.
Three Clan Elders of the Zhao family appeared calmly before the colossal heart, staring expressionlessly at the members of the Li family.
"That... what is that thing?!!"
Supreme Elder Puci, the Martial Emperor, and Zhuo Linlin also appeared beside the Li family members, staring in horror at the massive heart.
However, it was clear that the three of them were no match for the three Zhao Clan Elders.
After more than a hundred years, the Martial Emperor—that little old man—had taken a beating once again.
Zhuo Linlin's gaze was solemn as well, while Supreme Elder Pu Ci's severed limb was currently knitting itself back together with spiritual Qi.
"The Old Ancestor of the Zhao Clan." Li Yaowen remarked casually.
"I once consulted an ancient record.
In those chaotic times, a swarm of devils slaughtered their way into the Zhao Clan.
Not a single corpse of the Zhao clansmen remained intact.
The Zhao Clan Old Ancestor was devoured completely by the devils, leaving behind only bloody hair."
"It seems the person who recorded that history only wrote down what they saw."
How could the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Clan be a... heart?!!
Supreme Elder Puci's face was pale.
He could sense the powerful life force within that heart.
Such an eerie existence made his scalp tingle!
"Hahaha! You're done for! You're all done for!"
Even while sealed, Zhao Tingyu showed not the slightest hint of anxiety.
Though his life was held in the hands of the Li family, he continued to grin hideously.
"This is the one place you absolutely should not have come.
My Zhao Clan's Old Ancestor is right here!
You're all going to die!
You will—"
His voice had not yet faded.
"Noisy." Li Yaozu furrowed his brows.
Amidst the crimson glow illuminating the cave abode, a cold glint flashed, and a sword had already pierced through the center of Zhao Tingyu's brow.
Yet, even as Zhao Tingyu died right before the eyes of the three Zhao Clan Elders, not a single ripple of emotion stirred within them.
Fairy Bai swept a cold gaze over the Li family forces.
"We severely underestimated you.
The Azure Cloud Li Clan has existed for less than seven hundred years; I never imagined that people like you would be capable of killing Tingyu and Ancestor Wan.
Nor did I expect that this Azure Cloud Prefecture was actually a trap set by you.
What a pity... You will never defeat our Immortal Zhao Clan."
Compared to Fairy Bai's cold indifference, Zhao Jingmiao was far more arrogant.
He grinned,
"You guessed correctly.
We secluded factions all have our own territories, and other secluded factions won't easily trespass into another's domain.
But did you really think we could keep them out without sufficient trump cards?"
"You think you know the Zhao Clan inside and out, but do you truly know why both the Devils and the Human Emperor wanted to exterminate my Zhao Clan? You don't know."
"You think yourselves clever, you think you are fully prepared, but you provoked the wrong people. Because we are..."
"Incapable of death!!!"
As Zhao Jingmiao's hideous laughter rang out, the expressions of the Martial Emperor, Zhuo Linlin, and Supreme Elder Puci all changed drastically.
They watched as that massive heart began to beat rapidly!
"This is..."
The group looked at themselves in bewilderment, only to see "Destiny" floating up from their bodies—identical to the Destiny that had appeared on the people of the Duravia Trade Prefecture!
"Hahaha, I have returned!"
"I shall be reborn! Reborn from the Old Ancestor's Divine Embryo!"
"Foolish Li family, foolish world!"
"..."
The sound of maniacal laughter was like the shrieking of evil ghosts from hell.
Zhao Qingguang, who had been kneeling before the heart the entire time, stiffened his body and looked toward the members of the Li family.
"Flee... you cannot win... You cannot win!"
"Flee!!!"
Amidst these roars, even Li Wei felt his scalp tingle in horror.
Looking ahead, the Zhao Clan Heart writhed, and from within it, heads began to emerge one after another.
Zhao Wan'er, Zhao Qingxia, Zhao Hongchang... those densely packed heads laughed with morbid madness, looking as if they might crawl out of the heart at any moment.
There was even... Zhao Tingyu, who had just died!
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