106: The tragedy of the Wang family! The fall of the second patriarch!

The Northern Region, the Wang Family's ancestral land.

Palaces forged from Divine Gold appeared indistinctly amidst the sea of clouds, manifesting the supreme majesty of this immortal Family's Legacy that had lasted for hundreds of thousands of years.

However, today, the Wang Family's ancestral land was shrouded in a thick, inescapable gloom of grief and oppression.

Dull, long tolls of a funeral bell, sounding as if they could shatter a person's Divine Soul, echoed repeatedly between heaven and earth.

“Dong—!”

“Dong—!”

“Dong—!”

...Nine tolls of the funeral bell, ringing for a Great Sage!

The Wang Family's fleet had returned.

They did not bring back glory, nor did they bring back that piece of void immortal gold that held the future hopes of the Wang Family.

What they brought back were the shattered Life-plates of eight Elders, a Young Lord who had fainted from terror with a collapsed Dao Heart, and... a cold shell whose vitality was completely severed and whose Divine Soul had burned out.

The Second Ancestor of the Wang Family, that peerless Great Sage who had protected the Wang Family for a full eighty thousand years and once repelled a demon god from an outer realm with a single punch, ultimately failed to hold on three days after returning to the Family.

The price of burning one's soul was something even a Quasi-Emperor could not reverse.

In his final moments, he used the last of his strength to place the dimly glowing soul suppressing ancient mirror into Wang Zhantian's hands, then passed away with endless resentment and regret.

The Wang Family mourned as one.

Countless Wang Family disciples knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

They could not believe that their Second Ancestor, who had sheltered them like a god, had fallen just like that.

Inside the Mourning Hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive it could crush a person's bones.

Wang Zhantian stood before the coffin in plain white mourning clothes, his face expressionless.

He did not cry, nor did he even show a hint of sadness.

But the hatred and killing intent contained within those bloodshot eyes were ten thousand times colder than the eternal black ice beneath the Nine Netherworlds.

He stood silently, like an emotionless stone statue.

Until the funeral ended and all the clansmen withdrew.

Inside the empty Mourning Hall, only he and the three equally grim-faced Great Sage Ancestors remained.

“Family Head, please restrain your grief.”

A Great Sage Ancestor spoke with a raspy voice.

Wang Zhantian slowly turned around, his voice terrifyingly calm.

“The Second Ancestor's grudge must be avenged.”

“Su Chen, Ye Linghan, and that wretch who hid his face and held the nine nether soul-slaying bell—every single one of them must die!”

“Not only must they die, but the powers behind them must also pay a price in blood for this!”

His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried an unquestionable resolve and madness.

“Family Head, this matter... still needs to be planned carefully,” another Great Sage Ancestor frowned. “That Ye Linghan's strength is unfathomable; she has likely already surpassed the realm of a Quasi-Emperor. The Su Family is an immortal Family with a Legacy spanning endless ages, and their foundation is bottomless. If we rashly start a war, our Wang Family...”

“Plan carefully?”

Wang Zhantian sneered, interrupting him.

“By the time we are prepared, it will be too late!”

“Do you think the Su Family won't know about this? After Su Chen returns, he will certainly exaggerate and push all the responsibility onto our Wang Family!”

“At that time, it won't be us seeking revenge on them, but the Su Family joining forces with that demoness to come to our doorstep and ask why we 'ambushed' their Divine Son!”

Wang Zhantian's words caused the faces of the three Great Sage Ancestors to change simultaneously.

They had only thought about revenge, but had neglected this most fatal issue.

This time, the Wang Family had completely lost the moral high ground.

“Then... what is the Family Head's meaning?”

A fierce light flashed in Wang Zhantian's eyes.

“Wait? We cannot wait!”

“What we need to do now is not seek revenge, but... become stronger!”

“Become stronger than them! Strong enough to crush all their schemes and plots!”

With a sudden wave of his hand, the Purple-Gold Shrine sealing the void immortal gold appeared with a boom in the center of the Mourning Hall.

Mottled bloodstains still remained on the shrine; it was the blood of the eight Wang Family Elders and the Second Ancestor.

As Wang Zhantian looked at this shrine, a flicker of fanatical fire finally ignited in those deathly eyes.

“This is our Wang Family's only hope!”

His voice was filled with a power that could bewitch one's heart.

“The blood of the Second Ancestor and the eight Elders cannot be shed in vain! They used their lives to exchange for this immortal gold so that our Wang Family could take this opportunity to soar to the heavens!”

“As long as we can comprehend the ‘Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art’ within it, let alone a mere Su Family, even that legendary Immortal Realm—our Wang Family might not be unable to venture there!”

“At that time, what Divine Son of the Su Family, what demoness—in my eyes, they will all be nothing more than ants that can be crushed at will!”

His words caused the breathing of the three Great Sage Ancestors, who were originally somewhat hesitant, to become rapid.

Indeed!

The Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art!

That was the number one demonic art of all eternity!

Once mastered, one could swallow the myriad Daos and prove one's Dao to become an Emperor!

Compared to the temptation of becoming an Emperor, what did this bit of loss and humiliation matter?

“The Family Head is right!”

“As long as we can obtain the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art, our Wang Family will surely rule the world!”

“Open the immortal gold! We will open the immortal gold right now!”

The emotions of the three Great Sage Ancestors were completely ignited.

Wang Zhantian looked at their fanatical expressions and nodded with satisfaction.

What he wanted was exactly this effect.

He wanted to use the hope of becoming an Emperor to dispel the Family's grief and unify everyone's strength.

“Good!”

Wang Zhantian took a deep breath, and his face showed an unprecedented solemnity and piety.

He walked to the Purple-Gold Shrine, reached out a hand that trembled slightly from excitement, and gently stroked the cold Restriction on it.

“Ancestors above, today, I, Wang Zhantian, shall open a brand new era for the Wang Family!”

His voice deepened as he shouted sternly.

“Open!”

He and the three Great Sage Ancestors struck at the same time.

Four majestic forces containing Great Sage Laws simultaneously poured into the four Formation Eyes of the shrine.