Chapter 69: A Realm Above Qi Sea, Clan Annihilation Calamity

Lu Yang’s expression turned solemn.

"What happened?"

The servant hurriedly cupped his fists.

"Supreme Elder, please go to the council hall first. The Family Head, Old Family Head, and the other elders are already gathering there."

Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He didn’t ask any further questions. The servant’s expression alone was enough to tell him that this wasn’t an ordinary matter.

Without wasting another breath, Lu Yang’s figure moved as he leaped off the ground.

*Whoosh!*

His body crossed several dozen meters in an instant.

His movements were calm and composed, yet his speed was astonishing.

With every step, he traversed a huge distance.

The scenery around him blurred, and within only a minute, Lu Yang had already arrived outside the Lu Family’s council hall.

He entered without hesitation.

The atmosphere inside was extremely heavy.

Several elders and Grand Elders were already seated.

The moment they saw him, they immediately stood up and cupped their fists.

"Greetings, Supreme Elder."

Lu Yuanfeng also stood up.

"Supreme Elder."

Lu Yang nodded slightly.

Lu Tianhe and Lu Qingyu also gave him a faint nod. There was no need for unnecessary formalities at a time like this.

Lu Yang walked directly to his seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

More and more Spirit Awakening cultivators arrived, looking solemn and anxious, with some whispering amongst themselves about what urgent matter had occurred.

Lu Yang didn’t say anything and simply waited.

After several more minutes, everyone who needed to arrive had arrived.

The doors of the council hall closed.

Lu Yuanfeng looked around, his expression unusually grave.

"Everyone."

The hall immediately became silent, everyone waiting for Lu Yuanfeng to speak.

Lu Yuanfeng took a deep breath before saying.

"The news we received concerns the Misty Cloud Sect."

Lu Yang’s brows slightly furrowed.

Misty Cloud Sect...

That name immediately brought back memories from several decades ago.

The conflict between the Divine Martial Hall and the Misty Cloud Sect, the death of one Qi Sea elder and the disappearance of another, the closure of the True Martial Sect’s mountain gates, and finally, the Imperial Court sending a Qi Sea powerhouse with an imperial decree.

All of those events had once shaken the entire Great Qian Dynasty.

But now, decades had passed.

That matter had already become history.

Why was Lu Yuanfeng suddenly mentioning it?

Just then, Lu Yuanfeng spoke the next sentence.

"The Qi Sea elder of the Misty Cloud Sect who disappeared back then has reappeared."

The expressions of several elders changed slightly, and Lu Yang’s gaze became slightly sharper.

Lu Yuanfeng continued, his expression becoming extremely unsightly.

"And... he has broken through to a realm above Qi Sea."

As soon as he uttered these words, it was as if even the air within the council hall had frozen.

Lu Yang’s pupils contracted sharply.

’A realm above Qi Sea.’

Those words were like a massive boulder falling into a completely still lake, causing boundless ripples to spread outward.

"What?" An elder stood up abruptly, his voice trembling slightly.

"A realm above Qi Sea?"

The other elders were no better, all of their faces were filled with disbelief.

Even Lu Tianhe and Lu Qingyu’s expressions changed drastically.

Lu Yang’s fingers slowly tightened.

A realm above Qi Sea, what kind of existence is that?

The Qi Sea Realm was already an existence standing at the absolute summit of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Even the Imperial Court only had a handful of Qi Sea cultivators on the surface, any one of them capable of suppressing an entire region singlehandedly.

And now... there was actually someone above Qi Sea?

Lu Yuanfeng’s voice continued to echo throughout the hall.

"The news has already begun spreading across the Great Qian Dynasty. Within several days, everyone in the dynasty should know that the Misty Cloud Sect’s missing elder has returned. He was already in the middle stages of Qi Sea Realm when he disappeared, and at that time, he was over one hundred and fifty years old."

The elders became increasingly solemn.

That elder, even back then, wasn’t an ordinary Qi Sea cultivator.

He fought against a Qi Sea elder of the Divine Martial Hall and even managed to kill the other party before disappearing.

The Misty Cloud Sect’s elder was believed to have died as well, but now, he had returned, and he had broken through to a realm above Qi Sea, which could be further confirmed by the fact that he should have died due to his lifespan being exhausted after more than fifty years, yet was still alive.

Lu Yang’s expression was extremely grim at this moment.

"How?" An elder muttered.

"How could someone break through beyond Qi Sea?"

No one knew the answer to that question.

The realm above Qi Sea was already something beyond the understanding of Spirit Awakening cultivators like them.

Even Lu Yang, from his past to present life, had never heard of it, only believing that the Great Qian Dynasty region might not have enough resources or sufficiently powerful legacies to produce experts of that level.

Perhaps that elder had encountered an extraordinary inheritance, discovered an ancient ruin, or obtained some heaven-defying treasure.

An even more terrifying possibility was that the battle between the Misty Cloud Sect and Divine Martial Hall decades ago might have never truly been about the Mysterious Grade Spirit Vein.

Lu Yang’s thoughts moved rapidly.

The two factions had fought over control of a Mysterious Grade Spirit Vein, that explanation seemed very reasonable.

But now, looking back, it wasn’t so reasonable at all.

Why would they suddenly begin fighting after maintaining balance for centuries?

It wasn’t as if the Spirit Vein just appeared out of thin air; it had always been there since the very beginning.

It meant that there must have been a catalyst.

Perhaps the Mysterious Grade Spirit Vein was merely a surface level reason, and both factions were fighting over something else entirely, something capable of allowing a Qi Sea cultivator to break through to an entirely new realm!

If that were true, then everything made sense.

The Misty Cloud Sect’s elder had disappeared after the battle, and everyone assumed he had died, but instead, he had obtained the opportunity, hiding for decades before finally emerging.

Lu Yang’s expression darkened.

"He intends to destroy the Divine Martial Hall."

His voice was calm, but there was an unquestionable certainty behind it.

Lu Yuanfeng nodded heavily.

"Most likely."

The hall fell deathly silent.

The Divine Martial Hall was the faction standing behind the True Martial Sect as the True Martial Sect was a branch of the Divine Martial Hall.

And the Lu Family... was now deeply connected to the True Martial Sect.

Lu Qingxue was even the personal disciple of Hall Master Su and the number one genius of the True Martial Sect’s current generation.

If the Divine Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Sect entered another war... could the True Martial Sect really remain uninvolved like before?

It was impossible now.

Even if they wanted to remain uninvolved, they might not be able to do so.

The Misty Cloud Sect had already produced an existence above Qi Sea Realm, holding an absolute advantage.

Even if the Divine Martial Hall possessed more Qi Sea cultivators, ordinary numbers were meaningless when facing a realm that surpassed theirs.

Lu Yang’s heart sank.

Lu Qingxue was currently in Tiannan Province, and if a war truly broke out at a time like this...

"Has the Imperial Court made any statement?"

Lu Yang suddenly asked.

Lu Yuanfeng shook his head, "Nothing."

The answer made Lu Yang’s expression even uglier.

The Imperial Court had previously intervened when the Divine Martial Hall and Misty Cloud Sect fought, but this time, there was no statement.

That could only mean one thing:

Even the Imperial Court was unwilling to casually provoke an existence above Qi Sea Realm.

Maybe they couldn’t suppress him, or maybe they simply weren’t willing to pay the price.

Either explanation was terrifying to the extreme.

Lu Yang slowly clenched his fists.

The muscles on his arm tightened as a faint pressure began spreading from his body.

"Supreme Elder..."

Someone noticed it, but before they could say anything, an extremely overbearing, tyrannical aura suddenly erupted.

*Boom!*

The entire council hall trembled as the tables and chairs shook violently and several elders’ faces turned pale.

The overwhelming might of a Ninth Stage Spirit Awakening cultivator swept through the hall without restraint.

Lu Yang’s eyes were cold, his Blood Qi surging like a raging sea.

For the first time in decades, he had completely lost control of his emotions.

The last time was when his parents died.

This wasn’t anger, but an uncontrollable fear, fear of losing a person he had spent his entire later half of life protecting.

His only daughter was now somewhere in Tiannan Province in the middle of this conflict, and Lu Yang couldn’t reach her right this instant.

That realization made his heart burn.

His Ninth Stage Spirit Awakening aura continued expanding.

If he deliberately targeted an ordinary mortal with this pressure, it could directly crush their mental defenses, causing their mind to collapse and making them a braindead person.

Fortunately, Lu Yang regained control at the final moment.

The terrifying aura vanished abruptly, but the gloom on his face never did.

Lu Yuanfeng stared at him with an extremely solemn expression.

This was the first time in his entire life that he had seen the Supreme Elder lose composure, and lose it so utterly like this.

Lu Yang slowly stood up, his cold voice echoing throughout the council hall.

"Prepare the entire clan for evacuation."

Everyone froze at these words, but Lu Yang gave them no time to think.

"At any moment’s notice, be prepared to take the younger generation and flee Wuyuan Province, even the Great Qian Dynasty if possible. This may become a true clan annihilation calamity."

Not a single person objected to his words even after realizing what he had just said.

Even if they thought Lu Yang was being overly cautious, no one would dare say so now, afraid of offending the Supreme Elder at this critical juncture.

At the same time, if the Divine Martial Hall lost, the True Martial Sect will inevitably be dragged into the catastrophe.

After the True Martial Sect fell, the Lu Family could be destroyed without even having the ability to resist.

Lu Yuanfeng immediately began issuing orders.

"Notify every branch, gather important resources, prepare the cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, artifacts, and other precious treasures. Prepare several evacuation routes; the younger generation will be prioritized."

The elders quickly followed his orders.

Lu Tianhe and Lu Qingyu exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated.

They had seen Lu Yang like this once before.

That was a very long time ago.

Back then, Lu Tianhe had almost died at his hands, the Lu Family had completely severed its relationship with the Shu Marquis Manor, and their mother had also been killed by Lu Yang.

Those events had once nearly torn the entire family apart.

But now, decades had passed, and they had long since let those matters go.

Their mother had indeed done something extremely terrible back then, what happened could only be considered karmic retribution.

Now, they could only pray for Lu Qingxue to return safely.

She was the little girl they had watched grow up, how could they wish for anything to happen to her?