Chapter 549

Pink clouds rolled over the skies above Canglan City.

Hongluan looked down at the ravaged city below with a surprised expression.

“This is the city Sister Hongyun resides in? How miserably rundown…”

“There was a Nascent Soul-level battle here,” the Supreme Elder of Delight said flatly.

Yet as he sensed the lingering fluctuations of Nascent Soul power within the city, even he couldn’t help showing a hint of surprise.

He had come intending to bring Mo Hongyun back and perhaps settle the score with the vermin bold enough to lay hands on his woman.

But the sight before him made it clear—this matter wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.

What made him even more uneasy was the fact that he couldn't sense Mo Hongyun's presence anywhere in the city.

Could it be… he was too late?

“A Nascent Soul-level battle?” Hongluan gasped softly. “There aren’t many Nascent Soul cultivators left in the Xiao Cang Realm. Why would they fight?”

“Who knows? Let’s just ask someone and find out.”

With a casual flick of his hand, the Supreme Elder of Delight grasped an old man out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, the terrified elder was yanked skyward, crashing through his rooftop as an invisible force carried him into the air.

When the old man saw the pair awaiting him in the sky, his eyes widened in shock.

“Spare me, seniors!”

Though a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator himself, he hadn’t been able to resist at all. To be captured and hauled into the sky like this—these two were beings he absolutely couldn’t afford to provoke.

But the Supreme Elder of Delight didn’t even deign to speak to him.

Twin beams of pink light suddenly flared in his eyes and shot directly into the old man’s gaze.

The old cultivator immediately went stiff, his pupils dilating, and his face contorting in visible agony.

“A Soulsearching Technique… So husband is truly furious this time, to use such a forbidden method without hesitation,” Hongluan thought, a chill rippling through her.

Soulsearching severely damaged the victim’s Divine Soul.

At best, their soul would suffer grave wounds; at worst, it could be utterly destroyed.

Thus, among Righteous Cultivators, it was considered a forbidden and taboo art—one rarely used except to slay monsters and demons.

Even witnessing someone else use it was often enough reason to intervene.

As the Golden Core elder’s face twisted in agony, the Supreme Elder of Delight extracted the information he needed from the man’s soul.

Then, withdrawing his divine sense, he ceased the Soulsearching.

The Golden Core cultivator now wore a vacant, slack-jawed expression. Drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Clearly, his soul had suffered injuries far beyond what a Golden Core cultivator could endure. He had been reduced to a fool.

With a look of disgust, the Supreme Elder of Delight flung the man back toward the ground, not bothering to see whether he lived or died.

“Husband, did you learn what happened here? And where Sister Hongyun has gone?” Hongluan asked.

“The Nangong Clan and Gongshu Clan clashed here. One of the Gongshu Clan’s direct bloodline Dao Sons was even killed in the fight.”

The Supreme Elder explained succinctly.

“The Nangong Clan and Gongshu Clan?” Hongluan’s eyes widened.

These were no ordinary clans.

Even among the Thirty-Six High Clans, they ranked solidly in the upper tier.

Even a major sect like the Hehuan Sect had to tread carefully around them.

For the two clans to clash—especially if one of Gongshu’s Dao Sons had died—meant something major had occurred.

A sense of unease welled up within her.

She could sense that Mo Hongyun had been dragged into something far from ordinary.

“The City Lord here is a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Nangong Clan—and also Mo Hongyun’s uncle. She caused quite a stir in the city, which eventually led to Nascent Soul experts from both clans clashing.

The Gongshu Dao Son died in that conflict.”

The Supreme Elder’s brow furrowed.

This was far more complicated than he had expected.

First, the revelation that Mo Hongyun was connected to the Nangong Clan—something he hadn’t known.

But if she had such a background, why hadn’t she sought help from the Nangong Clan before?

If he’d known about it earlier, he might’ve even considered letting her go for the sake of maintaining good relations.

Could there be hidden reasons?

Still, he now understood how the

Heart-Corroding Joy Curse

on Mo Hongyun had been broken.

Even the trace of his split soul attached to her had been completely erased—without leaving the slightest clue.

Not even his artifacts could trace anything.

If someone from the Nangong Clan had intervened behind the scenes, everything made sense.

But that meant… this was no trivial affair.

If it involved the Nangong Clan, he’d need to tread with caution.

“So Sister Hongyun really was involved…” Hongluan murmured, realization dawning in her eyes. “Is that why Husband rushed over in such a hurry?”

She then asked, “What should we do now? And where is Sister Hongyun?”

Just as the Supreme Elder was about to answer—

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he looked sharply ahead.

Hongluan, sensing the same thing, turned as well.

A flying vessel had appeared on the horizon, rapidly closing in on their position.

It was a high-grade flying artifact!

Sensing its immense power, the Supreme Elder’s expression grew grim.

Flying vessels of this level—combining speed, offense, and defense—were far rarer and more valuable than his pink-cloud artifact.

Whoever controlled it had to be a formidable cultivator.

“Is that the Supreme Elder of Delight from the Hehuan Sect?”

A voice rang out from within the vessel just as it came to a halt nearby.

Then, five or six figures disembarked.

Several among them eyed the Supreme Elder and Hongluan warily.

When the Supreme Elder of Delight saw the middle-aged man in the lead—dressed in black robes—his eyes narrowed slightly.

But he quickly regained his composure.

“So it’s you—Gongshu Clan’s Fourth Patriarch. I suppose you’re here about the Dao Son of your clan who died here?”

At his words, the opposing cultivators’ expressions tightened.

The black-robed man’s gaze sharpened. “From the sound of it, Supreme Elder, you're claiming our Dao Son’s death has nothing to do with you?”

“You think I killed your direct bloodline Dao Son?”

The Supreme Elder immediately understood why the group had arrived with such hostility.

He had no intention of taking the blame for something he didn’t do.

“You’ve misunderstood. I only just arrived at Canglan City myself. When I saw the destruction, I questioned the locals and learned what happened.

Your Dao Son’s death has nothing to do with me.”

“Oh? The Supreme Elder of the Hehuan Sect—a Four-Tribulation Nascent Soul Expert—just happened to be in this minor city of the Xiao Cang Realm?

If I recall correctly, the Hehuan Sect doesn’t even have an Interdomain Teleportation Formation set up here.”

The black-robed man’s eyes narrowed, clearly not so easily convinced.

The timing of the Supreme Elder’s appearance was far too convenient.

Such a sudden appearance was, in itself, highly suspicious.

Let alone the fact that the man had clearly shown surprise upon seeing them.

All of this only deepened the black-robed middle-aged man’s suspicions toward the Supreme Elder of Delight.

“There’s no need for you to worry about why I’m here,” the Supreme Elder replied coolly. “If you still doubt me, why not go into the city and ask around yourself?

Find out whether it was really I who killed your Gongshu Clan’s Dao Son.”

He still hadn’t revealed his true reason for descending to the lower realm.

While he held some wariness toward the Gongshu Clan, he wasn’t about to grovel.

This so-called Fourth Patriarch Gongshu was, at best, on par with him.

If it came to a fight, there was no guarantee he would lose.

Seeing the Supreme Elder’s calm and open demeanor, the black-robed man grew hesitant.

After a moment’s thought, he gave a command: “You two, head to the city and ask around at the Tianji Workshop. Find out what really happened.”

“Yes, Patriarch!”

Two figures immediately descended.

Canglan City’s defensive array had already been broken earlier by Gongshu Yu.

The City Lord—who maintained the formation—had left.

The City Lord’s Mansion guards were still recovering from their injuries.

Thus, the two had no trouble landing in the city.

Before long, they returned with a person in tow.

“Patriarch, this one claims to be a steward of the Tianji Workshop and says she knows what happened yesterday.”

The woman they brought was none other than Luo Yan, one of the trusted aides of the Tianji Workshop Master.

“Luo Yan greets Patriarch,” she said respectfully.

Feeling the terrifying auras around her, she instantly understood—each of these individuals was a cultivator far beyond her.

Not one of them could she afford to offend.

“You’re with the Tianji Workshop in Canglan City? I thought Gongshu Qian was in charge here,” the black-robed man frowned.

Before descending, he had looked into the situation in the Xiao Cang Realm.

“The Workshop Master was taken to the City Lord’s Mansion by the City Lord, along with two Nascent Soul Seniors,” Luo Yan replied cautiously.

“They’re not dead?” the black-robed man asked, his eyes narrowing. “Explain—what exactly happened?”

“Yes, Patriarch…”

Luo Yan quickly recounted the recent events in Canglan City.

From the mysterious talisman master hired by Treasure Pavilion who suddenly undercut the market with cheap talismans, to the Nascent Soul battle yesterday—how Young Master Yu was severely wounded by that mysterious talisman master and subsequently killed by the City Lord himself.

Then, the arrest of the Tianji Workshop Master and others by the City Lord.

She spared no embellishment, telling the entire tale in simple, direct terms.

Because she knew full well—these people could sense even the faintest fluctuation in her Divine Soul.

If she lied and got caught, she’d be the one to suffer.

When she finished, the entire group fell silent for a moment.

No one had expected such a whirlwind of events in a tiny place like Canglan City.

The earlier squabble over the talisman market was trivial in their eyes.

But the Nascent Soul-level battle that followed—now that made their hearts tremble slightly.

“You’re saying that Gongshu Cai and the others lost because Nangong Yuanwu self-detonated a spiritual artifact?

And Gongshu Yu was defeated head-on by a mysterious young Golden Core cultivator?”

Even the black-robed middle-aged man looked shocked.

He had assumed that with two Nascent Soul experts in tow and a Dao-Protection Jade Talisman, Gongshu Yu would have been untouchable.

Surely, his death must’ve involved some top-tier powerhouse.

He hadn’t expected the root cause to be Nangong Yuanwu’s artifact detonation.

“Yes, Patriarch,” Luo Yan confirmed respectfully.

“And who is this mysterious young Golden Core cultivator who defeated Gongshu Yu?” a red-haired youth from the Gongshu Clan asked urgently.

“I don’t know where he came from,” Luo Yan replied. “All I know is that he was hired by the Treasure Pavilion as a talisman master and only recently arrived in Canglan City.

But no matter how we investigate, we can’t trace his origin or background.”

“That’s impossible…”

The red-haired youth was visibly shaken.

He couldn’t believe that Gongshu Yu—a rival he had once viewed with disdain—had been bested by a fellow Golden Core cultivator.

Even though he often criticized Gongshu Yu and mocked the superficiality of his cultivation in the

Imperial Heart Scripture

, he still acknowledged his strength.

If they were to fight for real, he figured he had at most a sixty percent chance of victory.

But to hear that Gongshu Yu had been completely crushed—without even being able to fight back?

He found it hard to accept.

“Are you certain that man was in the Golden Core Realm?” he asked again.

“Well…” Luo Yan hesitated.

She couldn’t say for sure. But based on intuition, that mysterious talisman master didn’t exude the distinct aura of a Nascent Soul expert.

“That’s enough. Are you trying to embarrass us further?” the black-robed patriarch said coldly. “Whether or not he’s in the Golden Core Realm, we’ll know once we capture him.

That over there is the City Lord’s Mansion, isn’t it? I’d like to see just what kind of courage Nangong Yuanwu has—to dare kill a Dao Son of the Gongshu Clan!”

With that, the black-robed man dismissed his flying vessel and flew directly toward the heart of Canglan City.

The red-haired youth and the others quickly followed.

“Husband, what should we do?” Hongluan asked via divine soul transmission.

“We follow, of course. A clash between the Gongshu and Nangong Clans? How could we miss such a show?”

The Supreme Elder of Delight hadn’t expected so much to have happened in Canglan City.

And now, hearing that Mo Hongyun was likely at the City Lord’s Mansion as well, he had no intention of leaving.

He had wavered earlier, unsure whether to retreat upon learning of Mo Hongyun’s ties to the Nangong Clan.

But now, with the Gongshu Clan moving against the Nangong Clan…

He saw a golden opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

If he could take Mo Hongyun away in the chaos, there might yet be hope for his Dao path.

…

While the Supreme Elder of Delight schemed his next move…

Far away, in a secluded valley of the Tianyuan Great World, Lu Qing was observing his surroundings.