Chapter 116: The Bleakness of Autumn Leaves

Dark clouds pressed down upon the city, shimmering with golden light.

Amid the dim sky, a golden symbol appeared out of nowhere, nearly enveloping the entire Heavenly Origin Sect.

Su Fan felt as if his whole body was being torn apart, unable to move or take a single step forward, forced only to watch as the golden light slowly enveloped him.

Behind him, the Black Hawk seemed to be exerting itself to the utmost, desperately striving to devour Su Fan.

Suddenly, Su Fan realized he had been mistaken. Knowing the great secret of Young Master Situ, how could he expect to be let go?

He carried the token of General Lan; Young Master Shangguan must reclaim this token to command the army to annihilate the traitor. How could he simply let Su Fan escape?

At this moment, Su Fan just wished to quietly wait for the two to retract their spells so they could all sit down and have a proper conversation.

But such a request was clearly too much. Young Master Shangguan found his golden seal was not as flexible as he had thought.

Though the Heaven-Sealing Seal controlled Su Fan perfectly, achieving its purpose, the golden light showed no sign of weakening, intent only on crushing Su Fan.

When the Black Hawk was about to strike at Su Fan, Young Master Shangguan cried out sharply to Young Master Situ, “Bastard, stop that beast at once! You must not kill him!”

Young Master Situ was also surprised. The Black Hawk seemed enraged by Su Fan, completely ignoring the summons of the soul flag, single-mindedly intent on killing Su Fan.

But Su Fan’s death was of no concern to him; in fact, it would be better if Su Fan died—then fewer people would know today’s secret.

Su Fan felt as though every inch of his skin was being peeled back and sliced.

The piercing pain was unbearable, yet no wounds appeared on his body. A dark aura enveloped Su Fan.

Upon close inspection, one would see his skin was being slashed by invisible blades, but immediately smoothed over by the dark light.

Outwardly, Su Fan appeared unharmed, but inside and out, he was riddled with injuries.

So when the Black Hawk lunged, Su Fan had no strength to dodge. The stabbing pain nearly drained all his energy; he could only let the giant claws grasp him.

Young Master Shangguan was filled with anxiety, rushing to rescue Su Fan amidst the raging conflict, hoping he was still alive.

Since the token was in his hands, it meant General Lan had chosen him. There was still a glimmer of hope to resist the combined forces of the three great families.

The might of the three families united was beyond doubt—both in manpower and wealth, they were the empire’s strongest.

Whether for the safety of the empire or for the survival of their own clans, all urged Young Master Shangguan to act thus.

A shadow gray as a dove passed through the golden seal, attempting to approach Su Fan.

At this moment, Young Master Shangguan, desperate to save Su Fan, had not expected the deadly intent of Young Master Situ behind him.

Young Master Situ casually flicked out a silver needle, then followed its path.

The silver needle silently neared Young Master Shangguan, who was about to intercept the Black Hawk.

Su Fan had long since lost consciousness, his clothes tattered.

At that moment, a roar came from the storage pouch at Su Fan’s waist. A gray dragon shadow appeared.

The dragon opened its massive jaws, swallowing the Black Hawk. Seeing the dragon, the Black Hawk halted as if it had come just for this.

The dragon then let out a disdainful roar, like a bolt of thunder charging toward the Black Hawk.

The Black Hawk, vast enough to blot out the sky, was immense, yet the dragon did not yield, circling fiercely in the air.

The Black Hawk stretched out a giant claw to probe the dragon, but with a thunderous roar, the dragon swallowed the Black Hawk whole, then let out a piercing howl.

Young Masters Situ and Shangguan were stunned. The Black Hawk was no ordinary creature; though weakened, it still possessed cultivation at the Heart Transformation stage. Yet it was casually devoured—almost laughable, but the truth was undeniable.

The dragon circled back to Su Fan, then tossed his body and charged fiercely at the golden seal.

While the dragon acted thus, the silver needle fired by Young Master Situ veered off course, flying toward Su Fan’s waist and transforming into a streak of light before vanishing.

The two men looked at each other, faces full of shock and disbelief.

The golden seal shattered. They seemed numb and did not even watch further.

They thought they had never encountered such a twisted Golden Core cultivator. Su Fan had surprised them so many times that the collapse of the Heaven-Sealing Seal seemed only natural.

But neither noticed the consequences of the seal’s destruction.

Fragments of the golden seal scattered across the Heavenly Origin Sect. The sky appeared as if a gaping hole had been torn open.

A pitch-black vortex descended slowly. Anything it touched vanished as if swallowed.

As the vortex was about to engulf the two, Young Master Shangguan finally noticed and shouted, “The elder said the Heaven-Sealing Seal has a miraculous effect—upon collapse, it transports the person anywhere in the world...!”

Before his shout ended, the vortex engulfed them both.

...

Far to the east of Heavenly Origin County, so distant that even a Drunken Immortal’s cultivation would require a hundred years of flight to reach,

There stood a city a thousand times larger than Heavenly Origin County.

Within a high tower in the city, two men sat facing each other. One was an elderly sage with white hair and beard, clad in Daoist robes. The other was a middle-aged man dressed in gray.

The gray-clad man appeared deeply anxious, his face dark and slightly angry. “National Teacher, what do you think we should do?”

The robed elder smiled faintly. “Brother Shangguan, why be so impatient? Everything in this world is predestined. If I say there will be a turning point, then there will be one.”

The gray-clad man urged, “You said the same years ago, yet General Lan has already fallen.”

The elder laughed heartily. “How could General Lan have fallen? Isn’t his life token still intact within the palace?”

The gray man’s face remained grim, as if blaming the elder.

The elder chuckled lightly, then spoke loudly, “Very well, today I shall divine for you.”

With that, the elder waved his hand, releasing three copper coins and a tortoise shell from his sleeve.

He casually tossed the three coins onto the chessboard, where the black and white stones lay motionless.

A glint flashed across the coins. The elder’s expression grew serious as he gently placed the tortoise shell within the area enclosed by the coins.

The tortoise shell flickered red light. The chess pieces began to move slowly, apparently opening a path.

Yet one path was blocked by a single coin. The elder’s face changed as he looked at the gray man, about to speak.

Suddenly, two more paths emerged on the board, and the elder’s expression brightened.

But then the remaining two coins shifted slightly to block those paths.

The gray-clad man could no longer contain himself and shouted, “Your turning point is dead!”

The elder stroked his robes, his face grave, staring at the board and murmuring, “Three changes in a moment—wonderful.”

The gray man pressed, “Then what shall we do now?”

The elder closed his eyes slightly, ignoring the question. Was he deep in thought or deliberately hiding his unease?

Suddenly, the elder’s eyes snapped open. The three copper coins on the board emitted a crisp sound, breaking apart from the center and being flung outward.