246: Chapter 245 Don't Look at Me

Clan Leader Ao Yi bowed and requested permission, willing to send Great Elder Ao Yin to his death with his own hands. His attitude was respectful and resolute, without a shred of hesitation.

This scene completely shattered the last line of defense in Great Elder Ao Yin's heart.

"You... you, you, you great filial son! I am your grandfather! You beast!"

His entire body shook violently. The complexion he had just forced himself to steady instantly turned as pale as paper. The warm color of blood faded away completely, and his entire face became so pale it was almost transparent. His body trembled uncontrollably, and from his fingertips to his very bones, a bone-chilling cold and despair surged through him.

A second ago, he was still the core figure of the Dragon Clan who took the initiative to seek peace and mediate the overall situation. He was the Prodigy with the most say in the clan, relying on his slick handling of affairs and his willingness to bow and concede to barely preserve the hope of the Dragon Clan's survival.

The next second, he was sentenced to death by a single word from Yuan Chen, reduced to an abandoned pawn, about to have his life ended by his own kin.

The huge contrast, the extreme absurdity, and the bone-piercing despair instantly swept over Great Elder Ao Yin's entire mind.

He suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at Clan Leader Ao Yi, who was bowing and waiting for orders before him. He then slowly looked at the members of the Dragon Clan around him who were kneeling in submission with various expressions. His throat tightened, and his voice was hoarse and dry, carrying an undisguisable tremor: "You... all want it to be this way?"

No one answered.

Dead silence spread across the entire scene. All the disciples of the Dragon Clan lowered their heads. No one dared to meet his eyes, and no one dared to speak up to plead for him.

After a moment of silence, several veteran Cultivators with deep seniority who were in charge of the Dragon Clan's internal affairs finally could not help but speak up to persuade him. Their tone was helpless yet realistic, and every word revolved around the so-called overall situation of the clan, cold and cruel.

"Grand Elder, things have reached this point; the overall situation is what matters!"

"Now that our Dragon Clan has surrendered completely and Yuan Chen's mind is made up, your struggle is in vain! Pointless resistance will only anger Yuan Chen and implicate the entire Dragon Clan, causing our tens of thousands of years of Legacy to be completely wiped out. There's no need for that, is there? After surrendering, we won't have to die, and the Dragon Clan's overall combat power will also be strengthened. This is a win-win!"

Great Elder Ao Yin: "Win-win your... %%(&￥&)*&￥%"

"If the Grand Elder dies, it can ensure the stability of the clan and the survival of the clansmen. This is your final value and your destiny as a disciple of the Dragon Clan! Do not be stubborn and ruin the vitality of the entire clan!"

"That's right, Great Elder Ao Yin, sacrifice the self for the greater good! The Dragon Clan's eternal Legacy is hard-won; it cannot be destroyed by your stubbornness alone! Accept your fate quickly, and do not make any more pointless resistance!"

Voices of persuasion rose and fell, each word piercing the heart.

Listening to the icy cold advice from his kin and feeling the extreme sorrow of being betrayed by everyone, Great Elder Ao Yin's chest heaved violently, and a surge of blood rushed to his throat.

*Pfft—!* A mouthful of scalding essence blood suddenly sprayed out, staining the Void Realm before him red and soaking his golden Dragon scales.

Great Elder Ao Yin stumbled, almost falling on the spot, his eyes completely bloodshot. He never imagined that one day, the boomerang of 'the overall situation is what matters' would strike him.

Extreme irony and sorrow.

In this oppressive and dead-silent atmosphere, in the corner of the crowd, Young Master Ao Xing had kept his head hung low from beginning to end, not saying a single word throughout. He even subconsciously shrank his body slightly, suppressing his presence to the minimum.

He dared not breathe loudly, his eyes darting around, his heart filled with extreme panic and a sense of fluke.

Today's catastrophe between the Immortal Realm and the Lower Realm, the crisis of the Dragon Clan's destruction, all had their roots in him!

In terms of guilt, he, Young Master Ao Xing, was the real culprit and deserved death!

But now, it was Great Elder Ao Yin whom Yuan Chen had named to be executed, not him, the instigator.

He was terrified that Yuan Chen would change his mind and name him instead, so he dared not make any sudden moves, praying only to survive and escape this disaster safely.

Yuan Chen looked down at the Dragons and said coldly: "Are you done discussing? I don't have time to waste with you. The conference has to continue; many Prodigies are already impatient to continue the battle."

Various Prodigies: No rush, we are not in a rush, the melon is tasty.

Above in mid-air, Golden Immortal Ao Li, who had been beaten until he was covered in serious injuries, dripping with Dragon blood, and his Immortal foundation damaged, coiled in the Void Realm, his aura fading, on the verge of death.

He had originally closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, letting the clan make its own choices. But looking at Great Elder Ao Yin below, abandoned by everyone and on the verge of destruction, the expressions in his aged Dragon eyes changed violently several times—struggle, hesitation, sorrow, and ruthlessness flashed by in turns.

After a brief struggle, the last bit of warmth in Golden Immortal Ao Li's eyes faded completely, leaving only extreme calmness and selfishness.

As a Golden Immortal, he had been defeated, his trump cards were all broken, and his Immortal foundation was damaged. He had long since lost any ability to resist; his life and death were tied entirely to Yuan Chen's whim.

To survive, he had to be completely obedient, make a clean break, and sacrifice what needed to be sacrificed.

After weighing the pros and cons, Golden Immortal Ao Li spoke slowly. His hoarse, aged Dragon roar carried a trace of exhaustion, but also extreme coldness, as he took the lead to advise the desperate Great Elder Ao Yin: "Great Elder Ao Yin, things have reached this point; there is no need to struggle anymore."

"If you accept this guilt and calmly go to your death, using your own body to appease the Mansion Master's anger and preserve the clan's survival, that will be your final glory and destination."

These words seemed like consolation, but in reality, they were a personal sentencing of Great Elder Ao Yin to death, completely cutting off all his hope of survival.

Before Great Elder Ao Yin could react, Golden Immortal Ao Li immediately turned his head to look at Yuan Chen, who was standing in the air, indifferently overlooking everything. His tone instantly became extremely humble, completely devoid of the arrogance of a Golden Immortal expert from before.

"Yuan Chen, from beginning to end, this old man was deceived and bewitched! This old man has long resided in the Immortal Realm and does not ask about the trivial matters of the mortal world. This time, descending to the Lower Realm, it was originally to regulate the order of the clan and punish baseless disputes, but I was completely unaware of the specific Karma of the Lower Realm!"

"It was all Great Elder Ao Yin who coordinated affairs in the Lower Realm; he was responsible for conveying messages and deciding matters throughout! It was his selfish motives, his stirring up of trouble, and his false reporting of the military situation that deliberately distorted the cause and effect. He used the slander of a villain to bewitch this old man and mislead my judgment, which caused me to be muddled for a moment, offending the Mansion Master without cause and causing chaos in the mortal world!"

"This old man was just too protective of his son!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar!

The millions of Cultivators watching from below, the Sect Masters and Old Ancestors of the major forces, were all stunned and dumbfounded.

Big brother, can you have some shame?

You didn't have this face when you first arrived!

No one expected that a dignified Golden Immortal of the ancient Dragon Clan, an eternal expert, usually aloof and majestically unparalleled, could be so shameless in order to survive!

In order to gain a chance at survival, he did not hesitate to invert black and white, shirk responsibility, and sell out his own son with his own hands.

"Outrageous! Too outrageous!"

"A dignified Golden Immortal expert, who has lived for eternal years, is actually so fearful of death and heartless! Immortals aren't that great after all!"

"To survive, he can even sell out his own son without hesitation. He has absolutely no bottom line and no integrity!"

"How arrogant and domineering he was before, looking down on the world, and now how humble, despicable, and unscrupulous he is!"

"As expected, those in high positions are the most heartless. Even an eternal Golden Immortal cannot escape the nature of fearing death! To survive, anyone can be abandoned!"

Countless whispers rose and fell, filled with disdain, mockery, and contempt. Everyone had completely seen through the selfish and despicable nature of Golden Immortal Ao Li.

Great Elder Ao Yin's face turned green, and he looked at Golden Immortal Ao Li in disbelief: "Dad, what are you doing~"

On the side in the Void Realm, Zhao Miao stood quietly, taking in the entire farce, and couldn't help but want to mock Golden Immortal Ao Li.

But when the words reached his lips, he ultimately swallowed them back down.

He slowly withdrew all the mockery in his eyes, leaving only silence and indifference.

My Daming Dynasty has already become Yuan Chen's.

He secretly glanced to the side and, as expected, locked eyes with the menacing Elder Hei Yan.

He pursed his lips; better not look for trouble.

He glared angrily at Elder Hei Yan: "Can you stop staring at me?"