174: Chapter 174 The Dilapidated Mountain Gate

The Wei Family territory, Wutong Mountain.

A Black Dragon Clan member, hundreds of meters long, roared in the sky. A massive scar on its tail was madly spurting Dragon blood, which sprinkled onto the land below like churning magma, corroding the earth and leaving countless holes.

"Roar, Old Man Wei, I didn't expect you to still be alive."

Clan Leader Cang Lan had been successfully ambushed by Wei Changyao using the Grade 5 Formation, the Wutong Hundred-Kill Formation. A large chunk of his Dragon tail had been severed, and he was currently rolling in the sky, emitting bursts of angry Dragon roars.

Wei Changyao was the father of the Wei Family's Old Ancestor, Ancestor Wei Xinghe. Five hundred years ago, at the ripe old age of over two hundred and seventy, he attained the Dao of the Martial King. When the news spread, it shocked the entire East Sea Province. Martial King Families from neighboring prefectures all sent envoys to congratulate the Wei Family on producing another Martial King Old Ancestor.

In just a short hundred years, the Wei Family produced two Martial Kings, dominating the entire Cang River Prefecture. The Family's influence expanded extremely rapidly. At its Peak, the Family business extended to neighboring prefectures, opening Medicinal Pill shops in Linhai Prefecture and Artifact Refining shops in Nanya Commandery.

Until two hundred years ago, during that great centennial beast tide, Wei Changyao was caught by Clan Leader Cang Lan and his beloved son, Cang Xing, who seized the opportunity to severely injure him. They broke the Dragon bone in his spine, severed half an arm, and blinded one eye. Wei Changyao suffered massive blood loss on the spot and nearly perished, but fortunately, the passing Grand General of the East saved his life.

Since then, Wei Changyao disappeared from people's view. During the great beast tide a hundred years ago, the Wei Family's Grade 5 Formation was broken, and the current Old Ancestor, Ancestor Wei Xinghe, was nearly beaten to death on the spot by a Grade 5 Great Demon, yet Wei Changyao did not appear.

After this incident, the major aristocratic families believed that Wei Changyao had perished in the beast tide two hundred years ago; otherwise, he would not have refused to save his son, watching him die before his eyes.

"Clan Leader Cang Lan, I had intended to drag you down to the grave with me in five years, but I didn't expect you to be so eager to deliver yourself to death. Today, I shall fulfill your wish." Wei Changyao, with a full head of white hair, looked spiritedly at the constantly rolling Clan Leader Cang Lan in the sky, not looking at all like an old man on the verge of death.

"Ancestor Wei Xinghe, stand by and guard for your father. Find the right opportunity to sever another one of Clan Leader Cang Lan's Dragon claws, and then this old dragon will naturally be no match for you." Wei Changyao handed the control token for the Family's Grade 5 Formation to Ancestor Wei Xinghe and transmitted his voice secretly.

Ancestor Wei Xinghe's eyes filled with hot tears as he watched his father walk out of the Formation. He knew that this was very likely his father's last battle!

Ancestor Wei Xinghe knew his father's physical condition all too well. Although he appeared ruddy and healthy on the surface, ever since he was severely injured in an ambush by Clan Leader Cang Lan two hundred years ago, he had slept in Wutong Mountain for a hundred years without recovering. His Lifespan was all but exhausted, with only these few years left.

If the Family hadn't truly reached the end of its rope, Wei Changyao would never have walked out of the Family graveyard.

That's right! It was a graveyard!

Wei Changyao had already found a spot for himself in the Family graveyard, waiting for his final passing.

Wei Changyao took a step, and his entire figure appeared less than ten meters from Clan Leader Cang Lan. He pressed his right index and middle fingers together, with brilliant radiance swirling around them, and gently pointed forward. Breaking through the final ten meters, a sound like thunder exploded in the sky. Several more bloody holes appeared on Clan Leader Cang Lan's hundreds-of-meters-long body, and the speed at which the Dragon blood gushed out increased by several degrees compared to just a moment ago.

"Awooo, Old Man Wei, you are courting death!"

Clan Leader Cang Lan felt the pain and rolled even more violently, causing the loss of Dragon blood from its body to accelerate even further.

"Hmph, I think the one who should die today is you, this despicable and shameless old dragon."

Wei Changyao, having succeeded with one strike, immediately pressed his advantage to settle old and new scores. His right hand grabbed the injured Dragon tail, pulling back Clan Leader Cang Lan, who wanted to escape into the Void Realm. His left hand reached out from his sleeve; the severed arm had not been reattached, but instead, a metal iron hand of unknown material was connected. It was incredibly sharp, and with one claw, it actually pierced through the scales of the Grade 5 Dragon, tearing off a large chunk of Dragon meat.

"Awooo!"

The shrill Dragon roar resounded throughout Wutong Mountain. The cloudless sky suddenly flashed with lightning and thunder, and wild winds raged. Then, a drizzling rain began to fall, which instantly turned into a torrential downpour, washing away the sparse bloodstains on the ground and revealing the original appearance of the earth.

"Not good!"

Seeing the sudden heavy rain in the sky, Wei Changyao's fierce offensive paused briefly before accelerating again. The metal iron claw struck Clan Leader Cang Lan's body time and time again, tearing away pieces of flesh.

"Hahaha, Heaven helps me!"

Clan Leader Cang Lan, which had just been screaming shrilly, let out a few hearty laughs. Its Dragon body retreated from the Void Realm. When Wei Changyao next used the metal iron claw to pierce its body, it endured the excruciating pain and used the Dragon bone inside its body to wedge Wei Changyao's iron claw into its Dragon body, restricting Wei Changyao's range of movement. It coiled its body back, wrapping him up like a large meat dumpling, with only half his head left exposed in the air.

"Dragon Draws Water."

After controlling Wei Changyao, Clan Leader Cang Lan directly drew a massive amount of water vapor from the air and launched a Divine Ability attack at the half of Wei Changyao's head that was exposed.

"Father!"

Ancestor Wei Xinghe shouted loudly and directly activated the Family Protection Formation, the Wutong Hundred-Kill Formation, launching a fatal strike aimed at the middle section of Clan Leader Cang Lan's body.

Thousands of Wutong trees on Wutong Mountain were uprooted, including a large number of Grade 3 and Grade 4 Wutong trees, as well as two Grade 5 Wutong trees. Under the tempering of the Formation, they formed a small golden sword with a crimson flame burning on its exterior. It slashed onto Clan Leader Cang Lan's body; the small sword entered as if there were no one there, breaking through the scales, piercing the flesh, severing the tendons and bones, and slicing Clan Leader Cang Lan in two right down the middle.

The section with the Dragon tail fell from the sky in its original state, while the section with the Dragon head still fully executed the Divine Ability, striking accurately onto Wei Changyao's head.

Half of Wei Changyao's head was caved in by this "Dragon Draws Water" attack, and he fell into a state of unconsciousness. Naturally, Clan Leader Cang Lan would not let this excellent opportunity for a counter-kill slip by. It reached out its front claw, slashed open his chest, and dug out an internal organ covered in fascia and blood vessels—it was pitch black, and it was unclear exactly what it was.

This violent claw strike instantly shocked the unconscious Wei Changyao awake. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to bite down on Clan Leader Cang Lan's Dragon body, sucking hard on the Dragon blood to replenish his body's losses.

"Get lost!"

Although Clan Leader Cang Lan had lost half its body, its momentum was even more ferocious than before. With one claw, it directly swatted away Wei Changyao, who was sucking on its body.

"Junior, you are courting death!"

Clan Leader Cang Lan mobilized its remaining half-body, took a deep breath, and gathered the water vapor from dozens of miles around Wutong Mountain. It once again launched the Black Dragon Clan's Divine Ability—Dragon Draws Water. A blue water sphere collided with the protective shield of the Wei Family Protection Formation, the Wutong Hundred-Kill Formation. After breaking through the last layer of the Formation's defense, the water sphere's momentum remained undiminished, smashing violently onto the Wei Family's mountain gate.

The front mountain of the Wei Family was razed to flat ground, leaving only a ruined mountain gate, swaying lonely in the wind...