553: Ah Gu? It's you!

"Stop pretending!" the Blood Butcher sternly rebuked. With a wave of his hand, a bound Disciple in black was pushed forward—the Disciple was in rags and covered in wounds, clearly a remnant of the Black Wind Stockade. "I learned from this brat that a year ago, Black Impermanence of the Black Wind Stockade sacrificed nine villages in this vicinity to open the gate of the blood realm! Do you dare tell me you don't know about it?"

Murong Xue replied coldly, "I don't understand what you are talking about!"

The Blood Butcher sneered, "Little girl, don't try to play tricks on me! Right now, the top ten Schools of the Eternal Continent, along with various powerful Loose Cultivators, have all flocked to the Fallen Immortal Valley in the south to fight for a secret cave's Divine Artifact. It is said that this Divine Artifact can open up a new Small World. I originally intended to go and join the fun, but I didn't expect to learn from this brat that a Small World had already been opened in the north—the Blood Realm!"

Looking at the greedy face of the Blood Butcher, Murong Xue felt a chill in her heart.

She had spent a whole year trying to restore some vitality to the Falling Snow Pavilion and rekindle hope among her Disciples, but now, the arrival of the Blood Shadow Sect was about to destroy everything.

She felt a wave of powerlessness, and her eyes instantly reddened.

She wanted to take her Disciples and flee, to stay away from these conflicts, but she couldn't—she was the Sect Head of the Falling Snow Pavilion, the person entrusted by Immortal Master Ling Shuang, and she could not fail that trust.

"I said, I don't know!" Murong Xue still tried to argue, "A year ago, Black Impermanence did indeed lead the Disciples of the Black Wind Stockade to almost wipe out my Falling Snow Pavilion, sacrifice nine villages, and open the gate of the blood realm. But that gate has long since closed, and we don't know how to open it!"

Hearing this, a flash of displeasure crossed the Blood Butcher's eyes. "You don't know the method? That's fine. Since Black Impermanence chose to open the gate of the blood realm at your Falling Snow Pavilion, there must have been a reason. Now, I just need to kill everyone in your Falling Snow Pavilion again, and perhaps the gate of the blood realm will open once more!"

"Hahaha! The Elder is right! Kill them and open the gate of the blood realm!" The Disciples of the Blood Shadow Sect laughed out loud, raising their weapons with fierce glints in their eyes.

The Disciples of the Falling Snow Pavilion were all terrified. Some even couldn't help but cry out, yet none of them chose to run away—they didn't want to lose this home they had worked so hard to rebuild.

Murong Xue's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed. Tears finally couldn't be held back, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the Sect Head token.

The hardships of the past year, the countless days and nights of holding on, the expectations of her fellow Disciples, the entrustment of Immortal Master Ling Shuang... everything was about to vanish into thin air at this moment.

So be it, so be it.

Murong Xue sighed softly. The tears in her eyes stopped, replaced by determination.

The Falling Snow Pavilion was destined to suffer this calamity, destined to perish. Then let her, as the Sect Head, accompany the Falling Snow Pavilion and these Disciples to their deaths.

At least she had not failed the entrustment of Immortal Master Ling Shuang, and she had not abandoned a single Disciple.

She slowly straightened her body, wiped the tears from her face, and her spiritual power surged wildly. The Sect Head token in her hand emitted a faint white light.

She looked firmly at the Blood Shadow Sect Disciples, her voice cold and resolute: "If you want to kill us and raze the Falling Snow Pavilion, then step over my dead body first!"

Seeing their Sect Head's resolute figure, the Disciples of the Falling Snow Pavilion raised their weapons and shouted in unison: "We are willing to follow our Sect Head to face life and death together! Protect the Falling Snow Pavilion!"

Watching this scene, the Blood Butcher shouted impatiently: "Ignorant fools! Since you are seeking death, I will grant your wish! Kill! Leave no one alive!"

"Kill!"

The Disciples of the Blood Shadow Sect roared in unison, brandishing their weapons as they charged toward the mountain gate. A thick, evil aura instantly enveloped the entire gate. A catastrophe was about to descend.

However, just as the weapons of the Blood Shadow Sect Disciples were about to strike down everyone in the Falling Snow Pavilion!

A heaven-shaking roar came from the main hall of the Falling Snow Pavilion. A dazzling blood-red light shot straight into the sky, dyeing the entire firmament a dark red.

"Rumble—!"

The rumbling grew louder and louder. A huge crack split open in the sky. Within the crack, the blood-red light became increasingly dazzling. An ancient and heavy blood gate slowly rose from the crack. On the blood gate were carved complex and eerie blood-colored patterns—it was precisely the gate of the blood realm that had been opened by Black Impermanence a year ago!

The Disciples of the Blood Shadow Sect stopped their charge, gazing greedily at the slowly rising gate of the blood realm, their eyes filled with shock and ecstasy, their breathing becoming rapid.

"It's open! It's open! Hahaha!" The Blood Butcher laughed up at the sky, laughing maniacally, "Searching high and low, only to find it without any effort! I didn't expect it to actually be here, and for it to actually open!"

He hurriedly turned around and sternly ordered a trusted Disciple beside him: "Quick! Go back and tell the Sect Head that the gate of the blood realm has been found! It is at the Falling Snow Pavilion. Tell the Sect Head to immediately lead all the powerful cultivators of the School to come here, take control of the gate of the blood realm, and seize the power of the Blood Realm!"

"Yes! Grand Elder!" The trusted Disciple acknowledged, turned, and sprinted down the mountain with astonishing speed.

The rest of the Blood Shadow Sect Disciples gathered around the gate of the blood realm, standing on tiptoes, stretching their necks, their eyes filled with longing and covetousness.

Just then, a tall and upright figure slowly walked out from the gate of the blood realm.

He was dressed in a robe interwoven with gold and red, surrounded by a faint blood-colored halo. His face was handsome with deep eyes. The aura around him seemed calm, yet it carried an invisible pressure that made people afraid to look directly at him.

His pace was slow and steady. With every step he took, layers of blood waves rippled across the sky.

Everyone in the Blood Shadow Sect instantly fell silent, gazing vigilantly at that figure and tightening their grip on their weapons—anyone who could walk out of the gate of the blood realm was definitely no mere Mortal; they dared not be the slightest bit careless.

Murong Xue stood on the mountain gate, staring intently at that figure. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Is it Black Impermanence? Did he come out of the Blood Realm? But that figure looked so young, and his temperament was completely different from Black Impermanence's sinister nature.

Just as she was puzzled, the figure slowly raised his head, looking toward Murong Xue on the mountain gate. A faint gentleness curled at the corners of his mouth, and then he bowed, his tone respectful and affectionate: "Aunt Xue, it's me. I've returned."

This voice...

Murong Xue trembled all over. The confusion in her eyes was instantly replaced by extreme shock. Tears couldn't be held back again as they fell. She staggered a step forward, her voice trembling uncontrollably, almost crying out: "A Gu?! How is it you?! You didn't die?! You really didn't die?!"

It was Murong Gu! The Murong Gu who had been captured by Black Impermanence! He hadn't died, and he had even walked out of the gate of the blood realm!

Murong Gu straightened his body, looking at Murong Xue with gentle eyes, and nodded lightly: "Aunt Xue, I've made you worry. I didn't die. The reasons for this are a long story. Let me deal with these flies first, and then I will explain everything to you slowly."

Before he finished speaking, his gaze turned to the Blood Shadow Sect members below. His eyes instantly turned cold, and the pressure around him was released in an instant. Although he was hiding part of his cultivation, it was enough to make the Blood Shadow Sect Disciples present feel a sense of palpitation.

The Blood Butcher frowned, thinking to himself that this was bad, and hurriedly circulated his Divine Sense to probe toward Murong Gu.

But no matter how he urged his Divine Sense, he could not clearly probe Murong Gu's cultivation. It was as if Murong Gu's cultivation was like a bottomless abyss, impossible to fathom.

But on second thought, Murong Gu was so young, looking only about twenty years old. Even if his cultivation was high, it would be limited. He must have cultivated some secret technique to hide his cultivation and was just putting on an act.

Moreover, Murong Gu knew the people of the Falling Snow Pavilion. Perhaps he was just an ordinary Disciple of the Falling Snow Pavilion who had luckily escaped from the gate of the blood realm and knew some secrets about it.

Thinking of this, the vigilance in the Blood Butcher's eyes was replaced by greed. He shouted sternly, ordering the Blood Shadow Sect Disciples beside him: "Capture this person! Since he was able to walk out of the gate of the blood realm, he must know the method to freely open the gate of the blood realm! Capture him and torture him for a confession; we must get the method out of him!"

"Yes! Elder!"