"What did you say? Seventh Brother is dead?"
"Qilang's soul lamp has indeed gone out."
"Who would dare to be so audacious!"
"Get out of the pass! Get out of the pass immediately!"
"We must capture him and use his soul to offer as a sacrifice to the heavens for Seventh Brother!"
Upon hearing the words of the black-robed elder, the powerful beings immediately began to sense that Gongshu Lian's soul lamp had indeed gone out, and they were all enraged.
Because the seventh brother had not been able to break through, his lifespan was running out, and his essence, energy, and spirit were weakening year by year. In order to maintain his cultivation, he had not even separated his divine soul.
If the soul lamp goes out now, then he is truly dead, with no chance of resurrection.
One can imagine the anger in the hearts of these powerful beings of the Gongshu family.
Immediately, numerous powerful auras revived from the inner city, rose up, and rushed towards the outer city.
Such a commotion naturally alerted the other powerful figures in Zhou Tian City.
The powerful figures within the outer city, especially those affiliated with the Gongshu family, were greatly shaken.
"What happened? Why have all the ancestors come out of seclusion?"
"Who is assassinating the Nascent Soul stage expert of the main family?"
"The entire city's protective formation is activated, so they still haven't caught the assassin?"
"Hurry up and get out of here. If we can help the ancestors capture the assassin, it will be a great achievement!"
Suddenly, many Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in the outer city also took action, wanting to help the ancestors capture the assassins.
As for those at the Golden Core stage, they wouldn't dare to do that.
They had all heard clearly that the assassin had killed a Nascent Soul ancestor of the Gongshu family. Facing such a terrifying existence, going to the Golden Core stage would be no different from sending oneself to one's death.
The credit may be good, but you have to be alive to receive it.
"Fourth brother, we're almost there. Have you caught that little thief yet?"
As the stronghold of the Gongshu family, Zhou Tian City is extremely vast, and even a powerful cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage cannot traverse it in a short period of time.
Otherwise, Lu Qing wouldn't have needed nearly half a year to figure out the formation here, even with his special abilities.
From the time Lu Qing killed Gongshu Lian and fled, to the appearance of the black-robed old man, and then to his awakening of the many ancestors in the inner city, only twenty or thirty breaths had passed.
The Gongshu family ancestors have only been revived for less than ten breaths; that's not enough time for them to arrive so quickly.
"That guy is very cunning. He kept using buildings to block my view, but I've already locked onto his scent. He can't escape... How is that possible!"
The old man in black robes flew over Zhou Tian City and replied with great confidence.
He could actually be faster and catch up with the assassin, but the thought that the other party could kill Lao Qi in an instant made him somewhat wary.
So they were still thinking of waiting for reinforcements to arrive before capturing him together.
However, before he could finish answering, his eyes suddenly widened and he let out a gasp.
His body suddenly accelerated, arriving at an area ahead, his primordial spirit power enveloping the surroundings.
However, no matter how hard he searched, he could no longer find that faint aura from before.
"Fourth brother, what's wrong? Where's the assassin?"
Just then, more than ten figures suddenly descended and came to the side of the old man in black robes.
"Strange, I had clearly locked onto the assassin's aura just now, but just now, his aura suddenly disappeared and I could no longer sense it."
The old man in black robes looked rather grim.
"Disappeared? Has he already fled the city?" a figure asked.
"Impossible. I already activated the city's protective formation. Without permission, it's impossible for anyone to escape! Besides, I didn't sense any fluctuations in the formation."
The figure in black robes spoke with a serious expression.
"That means they're still in the city, perhaps they've concealed their presence with a magical artifact."
Another elderly man with white hair and a youthful face said coldly, "Did you think you could escape just because you have a magic weapon to conceal your aura?"
Fourth brother, transmit the aura of the assassin you sensed earlier to us.
"Eldest brother, second brother, you and I will activate the formation together and search the entire outer city. Even if he concealed his aura with a spiritual artifact, he will inevitably be caught by the Zhou Tian Star Array!"
"Yes, Father!"
The other two figures, each possessing an incredibly powerful aura, responded in unison.
The old man in black robes first simulated an aura based on what he had sensed earlier and transmitted it to his father and his two elder brothers.
Then, quickly, led by the white-haired, youthful-looking old man, the three powerful Nascent Soul cultivators unleashed their spells and landed on the ground below.
The next moment, the entire outer city's formation started to activate.
The powerful array force ignored all obstacles and began to search the entire outer city inch by inch.
The first place to search was the location where the assassin's aura had disappeared, which the old man in black had sensed earlier.
Let them be as expected, they gained nothing there.
However, the group did not lose heart and continued searching other locations.
The powerful figures from the various forces, large and small, within the outer city naturally sensed the terrifying fluctuations of the formation.
However, they dared not show any dissatisfaction, and even cautiously remained in place, letting the fluctuations of the formation sweep over them without daring to resist in the slightest.
Because they knew that it was the ancestors of the Gongshu family searching for the assassin.
If one is not careful and the ancestors think that he has some connection with that assassin, then there will be no way to explain oneself, and disaster will befall one.
"So they really did use the Zhou Tian Star Array?"
Just as the ancestors of the Gongshu family were activating the formation to search.
In a secluded corner more than ten miles away from them, Lu Qing's figure slowly emerged.
He could sense that the outer city section of the entire Zhou Tian Star Array was already in operation.
"You want to use the Zhou Tian Star Array to find my location?"
A smile appeared on Lu Qing's face, his aura ethereal and elusive, already integrated into the entire grand formation.
Even when the power of the formation swept over his body, it had no effect; it simply treated him as part of the formation.
Lu Qing's understanding of the outer city formation now surpasses even that of the Gongshu family's ancestors.
In addition, the perfect golden elixir is formless and shapeless, and can transform into any aura at any time.
How could they possibly find his trail?
"However, this is an opportunity."
After glancing discreetly at the dozen or so powerful figures in the sky, Lu Qing turned his gaze toward the inner city.
The reason he did so so ostentatiously, killing Gongshu Lian in the street, was to attract the attention of the powerful figures of the Gongshu family within the inner city.
Otherwise, he could have waited until Gongshu Lian entered Mengyun Tower to indulge in pleasure, and then assassinated him silently.
With his current strength, it's quite possible for him to achieve this.
Now, with him deliberately making a big fuss, the ancestors of the Gongshu family were indeed enraged and mobilized as a whole.
Right now, even if there are still many experts guarding the inner city, there are certainly not many, making it the most vulnerable time.
Lu Qing's figure moved silently.
Zhou Tian City has many buildings, so it wouldn't be difficult to block the view of the Gongshu family ancestors.
Moreover, he had already used a stealth technique to distort the light around him and conceal his figure.
As for sensing the primordial spirit, Lu Qing, who had already completely integrated his aura into the Zhou Tian Star Array, was even less likely to be sensed.
And so, Lu Qing transformed into a shadow and moved swiftly through the city, arriving at the inner city in no time.
This place is quite far from where the dozen or so Gongshu family ancestors were located.
Looking at the towering inner city walls and the array light screen radiating powerful fluctuations, Lu Qing did not hesitate. He transformed into a transparent shadow and flew directly forward.
When his body came into contact with the light barrier, it was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, without causing any ripples, silently passing through the light barrier and entering the inner city.
Over the past month, Lu Qing has become thoroughly familiar with the protective formation on the city wall through continuous downloading, copying, and studying.
Getting inside is incredibly easy.
Once inside the inner city, the scenery is completely different from that of the outer city.
There are no grand buildings inside, but rather a series of beautiful mountains filled with spiritual energy, nourished by flowing clouds and waterfalls, and surrounded by cranes and birds.
On each mountain peak, there are many elegant buildings, making it seem like a fairyland.
If viewed from the air, it is even more visible.
These beautiful mountain peaks, like stars in the sky, are arranged in some mysterious formation.
In fact, that's exactly what Lu Qing did.
He concealed himself, silently hiding in a floating cloud, activating his supernatural ability to observe the distribution of the mountain peaks below.
With his mastery of formations, he could easily see that the distribution of the spiritual peaks within the inner city was based on the positions of the stars in the heavens.
He has already downloaded and copied 70% of the formations in the entire Zhou Tian City, and mastered them.
The most crucial 30% likely lies within the formation of these mountains, rivers, and spiritual peaks.
After activating his special ability to gaze at the mountain formation below for a while, Lu Qing felt a slight surge of joy when he saw the message appear in his field of vision.
Without hesitation, he immediately chose to download it.
【...Download complete. Do you wish to start the simulation?】
Seeing the information provided by his superpower, Lu Qing did not choose to simulate it this time.
Time was limited; those dozen or so Gongshu family elders could return at any moment, so he had to act quickly.
Since the formation has already been downloaded, simulating and studying it later when I get back will be the same.
So after surveying the terrain, Lu Qing descended and headed in one of the directions.
In the past six months, Lu Qing has not only been studying the formation, but he has also figured out Qiao Rong's location.
It should be noted that the population living in the outer city was quite considerable.
Besides the various forces, large and small, that were attached to the Gongshu family, most of them were actually members of the Gongshu family's collateral branches.
Because of the weapon-refining shop that Lu Qing runs, he is able to come into contact with some of the collateral disciples of the Gongshu family.
With his strength, plus his 【illusionary】 supernatural powers.
It's not difficult to learn about the inner city from these people.
This includes the place where Qiao Rong lives.
"Xiaoyou Peak, it is said that after Qiao Rong went crazy that time and publicly offered a bounty on Nangong Yuanwu, which seriously injured him, the Gongshu family and the Nangong family broke out into conflict and almost started a war."
Finally, with the mediation of the Holy Alliance, the Gongshu family and the Nangong family were able to barely reconcile.
However, Qiao Rong was still punished after that incident. Even though she was the legitimate wife of the second branch of the family, she was still exiled to Xiaoyou Peak to recuperate and was not allowed to leave the mountain without orders.
Lu Qing's mind flashed with the information he had gathered. His figure moved swiftly through the inner city like a ghost, constantly approaching Xiaoyou Peak.
Before long, he arrived at a sacred peak that exuded a cold aura. Looking at the three large black characters engraved on the mountain wall, he smiled.
Just then, a young girl who looked like a maid walked over from not far away, seemingly heading up Xiaoyou Peak.
Lu Qing's expression shifted slightly, and a wisp of divine soul energy landed in the girl's brow acupoint.
Just as Lu Qing was using illusion magic to probe for information from the maid's mind.
In a house on Xiaoyou Mountain, a middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious clothes asked with a somewhat nervous expression, "Have you found out what happened? Why did the ancestors suddenly come out of seclusion?"
More than ten primordial spirit ancestors suddenly revived and emerged from seclusion, something that had never happened in thousands of years.
What urgent matter has happened? Could it be that the demons have attacked?
"Reporting to Madam, this old servant just went to the ancestral hall to check and found out that the spirit lamp of the seventh ancestor of the third branch, which was enshrined in the ancestral hall, suddenly went out."
Then the Fourth Patriarch flew into a rage, shouting, "How dare you assassinate the primordial spirit of my Gongshu family!" and rushed to the outer city.
Immediately afterwards, the other patriarchs also emerged from their seclusion and rushed out of the outer city together.
An elderly man who looked like a butler answered respectfully, his face still showing surprise.
He seemed still shocked by the information he had uncovered.
"The Seventh Patriarch was assassinated in the outer city. Are you sure you've confirmed this?"
When the middle-aged woman heard this, she was so shocked that she stood up immediately.
She had naturally heard the words of the Fourth Ancestor that shook the entire city, but she never expected that the one who was assassinated was actually the direct descendant of their Gongshu family.
"How did the Seventh Ancestor end up in the outer city? Oh, that old man is fond of women. Every six months, he goes to those brothels and lowlife places in the outer city to seek pleasure. Today just happens to be the day he goes out."
The middle-aged woman was initially incredulous, but then she realized the reason.
Then, the next moment, her expression changed; she was no longer nervous, but instead showed a look of pleasure.
"No wonder the old guys have all come back to life. They were the ones who protected that old man the most. Now that he's dead, they're bound to do something desperate!"
However, it's good that he died; that old bastard should have died long ago!
The middle-aged woman smiled, seemingly quite pleased with Gongshu Lian's death.
The steward, on the other hand, changed his expression drastically upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "Madam, be careful what you say! If the elders hear this, we'll be in big trouble!"
"What's there to be afraid of? I've already been banished to this godforsaken place, how much worse can it get? Do you think they can kill me? Back when I married into the Gongshu family, that old man Gongshu Lian was drooling over me. Now that he's dead, how could I not be happy!"
The middle-aged beauty remained unfazed and continued to speak with resentment.
Ever since Yu'er died and she was banished to this secluded peak, she has been filled with hatred for the Gongshu family and wishes the family would be destroyed immediately.
The butler stood by, anxious and helpless, but dared not say anything more.
"Have you found out who killed that old bastard Gongshu Lian?"
The middle-aged woman continued to ask.
