Within the Ancient Realm, after a thorough investigation, a total of eleven Spies were found.
Some were directly turned, which was the fewest, only one, because he was so desperate to break through to Dou Sheng that the Soul Clan seized the opportunity.
The others were the kind whose original Soul of a Gu Clan member had been replaced at some unknown time, without anyone realizing it.
Ten of them, spread across various Cultivation Level strata of the Gu Clan, interacting with different people. If they were determined, many of the Gu Clan's secrets would no longer be secrets...
"Clan Head, the responsibility for this lies with me. There have been almost no major battles in the past Thousand Years, and I've been somewhat lax in managing the Black Annihilation Army, which allowed them to take advantage."
In the Grand Hall, there was silence. Gu Lie spoke first, taking responsibility.
Gu Yuan looked at him indifferently. Under his gaze, Gu Lie felt as if his body was freezing, even though he had completely stabilized at Nine Star Dou Sheng, it was still like this.
After a long time, Gu Yuan spoke indifferently, asking only one question:
"What use is admitting fault now? I just want to know, with Xun'er gone, what do you plan to do?"
As soon as he said this, including Gu Lie, all the Elders lowered their heads. They understood Gu Yuan, because they also liked that little girl who was only Three Years Old.
Moreover, because of her terrifying Talent, most of them had high hopes for her, hoping she would become someone no weaker than Gu Yuan, leading the Gu Clan to continue its glorious Legacy. But now, that hope was shattered...
"Clan Head, please accept our condolences."
After a long silence, until only the sound of breathing could be heard in the Grand Hall, an Elder spoke up to comfort Gu Yuan.
Hearing this, Gu Yuan's fingertips tapped incessantly on the table, making everyone's hearts race. They all focused their gaze on him.
He scanned the few people and said:
"Talking nonsense is useless. I want to make others mourn as well."
His tone no longer held the previous easygoingness; it was replaced by a faint hint of dominance.
As soon as he said this, even the many Elders of the Gu Clan were stunned for a moment and didn't react. They found it hard to believe that Gu Yuan had such decisiveness. The contrast was simply too great. Since Gu Yuan became Clan Head, when had he ever made such a decisive decision?
One must know that he was declaring war not on some Small Fry, but on the Soul Clan, a Peak Power that was in no way weaker than the Gu Clan in any aspect!
Gu Yuan naturally saw the astonishment in the eyes of the many Elders. He knew why they were astonished; it was nothing more than the fact that he seemed a bit more dominant this time compared to before.
But how could someone who could cultivate to his Realm be a Goody-Two-Shoes? The way he was before was just because he didn't care.
Furthermore, Gu Yuan knew that he seemed to have surpassed the scope of an ordinary Dou Sheng. If Hun Tiandi hadn't made any progress over the years, once they Exchange Blows, he was confident he could completely defeat him, and there was even a good chance he could kill him.
This was the reason he was no longer willing to be so passive and wanted to use this excuse to force the Soul Clan into war!
Seeing that no one responded, a powerful, heart-palpitating aura quietly emerged from him. Then, he directly made the decision:
"This Seat is not discussing with you. Quickly assemble the forces. In Half a Day, follow This Seat to flatten the Soul Nurturing Mountain Range."
This was also a last resort for him. The Soul Clan was too cautious and had kept the Soul Realm well hidden. Even with the Gu Clan's energy, they only managed to find a location like the Soul Nurturing Mountain Range, which was neither here nor there.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing Gu Yuan's words and did not reply. But then, one by one, feeling the determination in Gu Yuan's words and under his sweeping gaze, they all agreed.
In truth, after a Thousand Years of peace, some of them had lost their fighting spirit. With their current Strength and status, they were superior to others no matter where they were. They didn't want to risk a large-scale battle of this magnitude with the Soul Clan, because in such a battle, no one knew if they would fall.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Gu Yuan made some simple arrangements and then disappeared. As for what everyone was thinking in their hearts, he was completely indifferent. To him, all these people combined might not even be his Match, so there was no need to care about their thoughts.
Half a Day later, Gu Yuan led his army to the Soul Nurturing Mountain Range. Their arrival seemed to awaken these Deep Mountains and Old Forests. For a time, birds chirped and beasts roared, and the deep mountains became unprecedentedly lively.
Gu Yuan's Soul Power extended outwards. After a long time, he shook his head helplessly. As expected, he still didn't find any Pocket Dimension or Pocket World.
But he didn't find nothing either. The Soul Hall, which had been scared away by Zhao Li decades ago and was no longer active on the Continent, seemed to have all been gathered here...
His figure flickered, and he was already inside a Mountain-Carved Grand Hall deep within the mountain range. When he appeared, the Heavenly Venerates, Venerable Elders, and even some Dou Sect level Protectors of the Soul Hall in the Grand Hall were idle, gathering in twos and threes to drink and play cards...
The scene was exactly like when workers gathered to play when it rained on a construction site and they couldn't work.
"Hey, you over there, don't just stand there, come play with us."
At this moment, a drunken Dou Sect discovered Gu Yuan. He mistook Gu Yuan for a member of the Soul Hall, held up his wine flask, and waved at Gu Yuan, signaling him to come and play. As he spoke, he also took a large gulp of wine.
Hearing the Protector's words, the people nearby all looked towards Gu Yuan, but none of them recognized Gu Yuan. They just glanced at him and then stopped paying attention, continuing to busy themselves with their own affairs.
Gu Yuan looked around and quickly locked onto the few strongest individuals in the area. Then, the aura that erupted from him was just slightly stronger than those few people, stronger than them, but only by a limited amount, which gave them enough hope.
There was nothing he could do. Since he couldn't find them, he could only try to lure them out and see if these people could attract someone with weight in the Soul Clan.
"I was too impulsive. I should have kept Hun Tiansheng alive."
Thinking of this, Gu Yuan regretted killing Hun Tiansheng directly in his anger earlier. Otherwise, even if he was just a Living Dead, with his Eight-Star Dou Sheng Strength, he would definitely be a very good hostage.
When an aura of Early One-Star Dou Sheng erupted from him, everyone in the hall sobered up instantly. The four individuals whom Gu Yuan had noticed earlier, whose Strength had reached the Half-Saint level, stepped forward from the crowd and came before Gu Yuan, looking at him with solemn expressions and asking:
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Since Soul Extinguisher led the Soul Hall's higher-ups to Starfall Pavilion and was almost completely wiped out by Zhao Li, the Soul Clan had already recalled their Dou Sheng level existences back to the Clan. Moreover, the current Soul Hall had long since retreated into the shadows, and there was no need for Dou Sheng level existences to be stationed there. Therefore, the few Half-Saints were the true higher-ups of the current Soul Hall.
Gu Yuan put on a curious expression, sizing up the few people, and said:
"I didn't expect there to be such a powerful force in this small mountain range. Hehe, it seems This Seat is destined to get rich."
As he spoke, he appropriately displayed greed, truly appearing like a Genius who, after breaking through to Dou Sheng, no longer put anything in his eyes.
Hearing Gu Yuan's words and seeing the undisguised greed in his eyes, the few people from the Soul Hall felt a bad premonition in their hearts. They exchanged glances, and one of them said in a deep voice:
"Friend, some places are not as simple as you think. If you retreat now, our Soul Hall can let bygones be bygones."
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