Chapter 261: The Crisis of the Clear Sky Sect!
The northeastern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
This place was only a stone's throw away from the Far North.
Consequently, the weather here was bitterly cold; it would be no exaggeration to say that water froze the moment it touched the ground.
In this frozen, snow-covered land, a towering snow-capped mountain stood prominently.
On the snow-capped mountain, figures could be vaguely seen moving about.
At this moment, Tang Xiao was standing on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the endless expanse of white before him, and could not help but sigh.
"I wonder what the current situation on the continent is like."
"I do not know if I will ever have the chance to lead the Clear Sky Sect back into the world in this lifetime..."
"For some reason, my heart has been beating very fast lately."
"It seems… I have a bad premonition..."
Tang Xiao stood by the cliff for about an hour as usual, then finally turned around and returned to the Clear Sky Sect.
Although under Tang Xiao's leadership, the Clear Sky Sect's strength remained intact.
Except for the Fifth Elder, who had gone missing due to an accident last time, everyone else was unharmed.
"Sect Master, do we really have to believe that young man's words?"
Just as Tang Xiao returned to the main hall, the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect came before him.
"That young man claims to be Tang Hao's son, but his words cannot be fully trusted."
"Tang Hao already brought a disaster upon our Clear Sky Sect that nearly destroyed it."
"Now that his son is here, there is no guarantee he won't bring about some other catastrophe!"
The Seventh Elder looked displeased and wanted to continue gossiping.
Unexpectedly, Tang Xiao became inexplicably angry.
"Seventh Elder! That is enough; do not mention it again!"
"Although Brother Hao did indeed do many things wrong back then."
"But in the end, he still brought back the Sect's heirloom Soul Bone!"
"You cannot be unaware of what it means for a Soul Bone to be removed from the body!"
"Could it be that you insist on Brother Hao committing suicide right in front of you?!"
As Tang Xiao spoke, he exerted invisible pressure onto the Seventh Elder.
Feeling this immense pressure, the Seventh Elder let out a cold snort and turned to leave.
According to the Seventh Elder's wishes, he indeed wanted Tang Hao to come to the Clear Sky Sect in person to atone for his sins with death.
After all, the disaster he brought to the Clear Sky Sect had even caused his own grandson to die in that battle.
However, he also knew that Tang Hao was, after all, Tang Xiao's own brother.
No matter what, Tang Xiao would never agree to such a demand.
Watching the Seventh Elder leave, Tang Xiao sighed helplessly, feeling a bit of a headache.
Before the incident of intercepting and killing Qin Mu occurred, their Clear Sky Sect was at least internally harmonious.
But now, with the Fifth Elder dead, these Elders had also begun to harbor dissatisfaction toward him.
"Sect Master Tang Xiao, it has been many years; why do you look so haggard when we meet again?"
Inside the main hall, the voice came from all directions.
Upon hearing this, every hair on Tang Xiao's body stood on end, and a strong sense of crisis welled up within him.
"Who is it?!"
Hearing the voice, Tang Xiao felt it was somewhat familiar, but he could not match it to any of the powerful figures in his memory.
"What kind of hero hides and skulks? If you have the guts, show your true form!"
As soon as his words fell, a figure appeared prominently above the main hall.
Looking at the figure before him, Tang Xiao was stunned, his mind searching incessantly for a similar image.
The more he thought, the more cold sweat broke out on Tang Xiao's back.
When the person before him overlapped with the figure in his memory, a fear from the depths of his heart arose in Tang Xiao.
"You, you are Qin Mu?!"
Seeing Tang Xiao so shocked, Qin Mu just smiled slightly.
"Sect Master Tang Xiao, have you ever thought?"
"Since we parted years ago, our identities have undergone earth-shattering changes when we meet again?"
After identifying Qin Mu, Tang Xiao gradually calmed down.
In his understanding, the Qin Mu from back then was merely a Soul Elder who had not reached the Four-ring level.
Now, after many years of not seeing him, even if he had great talent, he would at most have only cultivated to the Seven or Eight-ring level.
As for how he could suddenly appear in the Clear Sky Sect, it was perhaps due to some magical item from Spirit Hall.
"I thought the current Pope of Spirit Hall, Qin Mu, just happened to share the same name as you."
"I didn't expect that it was actually you."
"However, to dare to trespass into my Clear Sky Sect all by yourself, are you not being a bit too arrogant?"
Qin Mu did not reply; the Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his hand.
Immediately after, without waiting for Tang Xiao to speak, Qin Mu's figure vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, Qin Mu had already arrived in front of Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao was startled by Qin Mu's speed, but after all, he was one of the continent's top experts today.
"Excellent!"
With a loud shout, Tang Xiao abruptly raised his own aura.
An almost identical Clear Sky Hammer appeared in Tang Xiao's hand, and facing Qin Mu's hammer strike, Tang Xiao defended with all his might.
Boom—
A huge roar rang out, and the entire Clear Sky Sect shook as if there had been an earthquake.
Tang Xiao's figure was sent flying backward, only stopping after crashing through four or five support pillars.
"Ugh!"
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Tang Xiao looked at Qin Mu with horror in his eyes.
Who could have imagined that in less than ten years, that little Three-ring Soul Elder from back then would now possess the strength to kill him!
No matter how slow Tang Xiao was, through the collision just now, he understood that he could absolutely not be Qin Mu's match!
Only then did Tang Xiao turn his gaze toward the Soul Rings on Qin Mu's body.
With just one glance, the horror in Tang Xiao's eyes intensified!
What did he see?
The first three Soul Rings were all purple, representing a thousand years.
This was already very shocking.
But for Qin Mu, this was just an appetizer.
The following two black Soul Rings, representing ten thousand years, could be achieved by only a few people across the entire continent.
If the previous Soul Rings were still within his range of understanding.
Then the three blood-red Soul Rings behind them caused Tang Xiao to completely lose the courage to face Qin Mu.
What did a red Soul Ring represent?
One hundred thousand years!
If an ordinary person had one such Soul Ring, they would already be considered a top expert.
Yet Qin Mu had three!
And he had a one hundred thousand year Soul Ring starting from his sixth Soul Ring!
Of course, the most exaggerated one was Qin Mu's Ninth Spirit Ring.
A Soul Ring emitting a dark crimson-gold color.
In Tang Xiao's cognition, he did not even know what the color of this Soul Ring represented.
But he believed that since it could become Qin Mu's Ninth Spirit Ring, it meant that the age of this Soul Ring was definitely higher than a one hundred thousand year Soul Ring!
"Sect Master! Countless experts have suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountain, and they are attacking the mountain!"
A disciple of the Clear Sky Sect ran into the main hall in a panic, only to find their Sect Master in a disheveled state amidst a pile of rubble.
"What did you say?!"
Tang Xiao turned his gaze back to Qin Mu.
At this moment, Tang Xiao felt his hands and feet turn cold.
Although he did not know how many people Qin Mu had brought this time.
But just based on that one strike from Qin Mu earlier, Tang Xiao knew that their Clear Sky Sect was doomed this time.
Qin Mu alone had the ability to defeat him in one move.
Perhaps only if he and all the Titled Douluo Elders joined forces would there be a possibility of defeating Qin Mu.
And that was just Qin Mu alone!
Below the snow-capped mountain, there were still countless experts brought by Qin Mu!
This time, their Clear Sky Sect was probably truly finished!