219: An era without saints!? (18)

"I will make the Ji Family, the Wang Family, and that 'Human World' pay a bitter price for what they have done."

Gu Yun's voice echoed within the secret chamber of the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhan's entire body trembled.

He looked at the child before him who had a weak aura and a pale face, yet from those cold eyes, he saw the presence of a monarch.

"Daoist Seed, please give your orders!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Zhan knelt on one knee once more.

Gu Yun nodded.

His gaze pierced through the walls of the palace, looking into the distance.

The moment he returned from the Falling Star Mystic Realm, he had already resolved to take revenge.

And now, it was time for this fire to burn across the Five Domains... Three days later.

A legal decree bearing the dual seals of the Family Head and the Saint Ancestor was issued from the Gu Family's ancestral lands.

The content of the decree was simple.

The Gu Family was declaring war on the Ji Family, the Wang Family, and the 'Human World' organization.

As soon as the news came out, the Five Domains were shaken.

No one expected that after their Daoist Seed was ambushed and they suffered heavy losses, the Gu Family would not choose to endure in silence, but instead take such a forceful stance to initiate an immortal-level war.

However, the Ji Family and Wang Family were well-prepared for this.

They united dozens of top-tier forces subordinate to them, forming the grand 'Anti-Gu Alliance'.

The Alliance declared that the Gu Family's Daoist Seed, Gu Yun, was an ominous person carrying great horror and should be executed.

The fuse of war was completely ignited.

The flames of war quickly spread across the Gu Family's vast territories.

The Eastern Domain.

'Heavenly Gold City', which the Gu Family had managed for tens of thousands of years and which controlled thirty-seven divine metal ore veins, was breached overnight.

The Wang Family dispatched three God Emperor Old Ancestors and, coordinated with a damaged Saint Weapon, quickly slaughtered all the Gu Family members guarding the ore veins.

All the divine metal was looted clean.

The Southern Border.

The Gu Family's largest Spirit Medicine production site, 'Hundred Herb Valley', was surrounded by the Ji Family's vassal forces.

They did not attack by force, but simply laid down a Spirit-Severing Array, cutting off all life within the valley.

Millions of acres of spirit fields turned into scorched earth within just a few days.

The Western Desert, the Northern Plains... the chambers of commerce, outposts, and subordinate forces established by the Gu Family abroad all suffered devastating blows at the same time.

Even more terrifying were the assassinations from the 'Human World' organization.

Those killers lurking in the shadows were pervasive.

They did not attack the strong, but specifically hunted down the young Gu Family disciples out for training, as well as branch managers holding key positions.

In just one month.

The Gu Family suffered heavy losses.

Countless pieces of bad news were sent back to the Gu Family's ancestral lands one after another.

The entire Gu Family was shrouded in a cloud of gloom.

The Gu Family, Council Hall.

The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive.

"This is too much!"

A hot-tempered Elder slammed the table, and his God King-level aura leaked out uncontrollably, shaking the entire hall.

"Family Head! Please allow me to lead troops into battle! I want to personally twist off the heads of those old fogies from the Wang Family!"

"Do not be impulsive!"

Another more rational Elder immediately countered.

"The three enemy parties have joined forces and are coming with great momentum. If we gather our main forces for a decisive battle, we will fall right into their trap!"

"Once our main force is pinned down and the ancestral land is empty, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Then what do you suggest? Do we just watch helplessly as our Family's properties abroad are destroyed and our clansmen are slaughtered?"

Within the hall, the arguing was incessant.

In the main seat, Family Head Gu Tianxing's face was grim, and he didn't say a word.

He had activated the 'Heaven Patrol Guards' to carry out counter-attacks and hunts in secret, but facing the frontal crushing force of the three major powers, it was still a drop in the bucket.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for the Gu Family.

Right at that moment.

An announcement came from outside the hall.

"His Highness the Daoist Seed has arrived."

The hall instantly fell silent.

Everyone's gaze converged on the doorway.

They saw the six-year-old Gu Yun, wearing a white robe, calmly walking in under the protection of the newly ascended 'Primordial Chaos War Body', Gu Zhan.

Ignoring everyone's gazes—some suspicious, some worried—he walked straight to the center of the hall.

He bowed slightly toward Gu Tianxing at the head of the hall.

"Father."

Then, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping across every Elder present.

Those youthful eyes were exceptionally calm.

"Elders, are you still arguing about how to break this deadlock?"

The youthful voice left the old monsters present stunned.

Gu Yun did not wait for their answer and spoke of his own accord.

"The enemy is powerful, and the three parties have us surrounded. A frontal decisive battle is a path to certain death."

With one sentence, he pierced through to the core of the issue.

The Elder who had advocated for a decisive battle turned red in the face but could not refute it.

Gu Yun continued.

"The enemy's advantage lies in numbers. My advantage lies in unity."

"They appear to be a solid block, but in reality, each has their own ulterior motives; they are nothing more than a motley crew."

"Whereas my Gu Family is of one heart and mind from top to bottom."

"Therefore, in this war, we should avoid their sharp edge and attack what they must save."

He paused, his youthful voice echoing in the hall.

"I have a sixteen-character policy to offer to the Family."

Everyone held their breath.

Family Head Gu Tianxing's eyes lit up.

"Yun'er, speak."

Gu Yun slowly uttered the first four characters.

"Break the whole into parts."

"Contract all external defensive lines and order the main force of the Heaven Patrol Guards to transform into countless sharp daggers, lurking throughout the Five Domains."

"Sustain the war through war."

"Do not engage the enemy's main force. Focus on attacking their resource veins and subordinate cities. Use the looted enemy resources to compensate for our war losses."

"Withdraw the firewood from under the cauldron."

"The Ji and Wang families have legacies spanning eons, with clansmen spread across the Five Domains. The Heaven Patrol Guards should take my Gu Family's assassination list and carry out indiscriminate hunting of their core and branch geniuses, severing their Foundation and ending their future!"

Gu Yun spoke the last four characters with overflowing Killing Intent.

"Exhaust and harass the enemy."

"Let them fall into endless passive defense, let their backyards catch fire, and let them be unable to attend to both head and tail!"

The sixteen-character policy—sixteen words, each one chilling to the heart.

The entire hall was silent.

All the Elders were shocked beyond measure by these words.

They looked at the six-year-old child talking eloquently and felt that he didn't seem like a child at all, but rather a far-sighted Elder.

How could this be a strategy a child came up with?

This was clearly a set of the most vicious and effective war tactics!

After a brief silence, cheers suddenly erupted in the hall.

"Good! What a 'withdrawing the firewood from under the cauldron'!"

"This plan is brilliant! Why didn't I think of it!"

"The Daoist Seed is truly a Qilin son bestowed upon our Gu Family by heaven!"

Family Head Gu Tianxing was even more excited, standing up from his seat, his face full of wild joy and pride.

Right at that moment.

A vast Saintly Might descended from the depths of the Forbidden Ground.

It was the will of the Ancient Ancestor of the Saint Realm.

"Approved."

The Ancient Ancestor said only one word.

But this one word represented the highest recognition.

"Pass my decree: this war is to be fully coordinated by Family Head Gu Tianxing."

"Anyone in the Gu Family who does not comply shall be treated as a traitor!"

The majestic decree fell, completely setting the tone for this long-lasting war.

All the Elders bowed together.

"We respectfully obey the Saint Ancestor's decree!"

However, just when everyone thought Gu Yun would personally participate in commanding the war.

Gu Yun walked up to his father and spoke calmly.

"Father, the matters that follow will be left to you and the Elders."

Gu Tianxing was stunned.

"Yun'er, then you..."

Gu Yun's gaze looked toward the deepest part of the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.

"I gained some things from this trip to the Secret Realm."

"I need time to refine them."

"I am going into Death Seclusion."

Death Seclusion!

These two words shocked everyone once again.

Gu Tianxing asked urgently, "For how long?"

Gu Yun's answer made everyone's heart heavy.

"Twenty years at the shortest."

"Fifty years at the longest."

Having said that, he no longer stayed and turned to walk out of the hall.

Under everyone's gaze, that small figure and Gu Zhan's tall figure, one after the other, disappeared at the hall's entrance.

One day later.

In the deepest part of the Gu Family's Forbidden Ground, the stone door of a secret chamber specially opened for Gu Yun and inscribed with Saint-Grade array patterns slowly closed.

Holy Light flowed over the stone door, isolating everything.

Outside the door was Gu Tianxing's worried yet expectant gaze.

Inside the door was Gu Yun's calm and resolute face.

He sat cross-legged, and within his Sea of Consciousness, the Azure Heaven Indestructible Art and that 'Supreme Divine Ability Seed' slowly emerged...