Chapter 1300 - 928: Collecting the Hell Path Reincarnation

The Eight Great Clans are important, but the Tree of Life, which can extend life, is even more important!

The Bloodline Power can only enhance combat strength, but it cannot increase lifespan. For the Great Victory Human King and the major families, all Bloodline Practitioners only have a fleeting hundred-year lifespan. If they could obtain the Tree of Life, they could extend their lifespan for a thousand or ten thousand years. Who wouldn’t want to live for tens of thousands of years?

"Reporting to the Great King, the Eight Great Clans have all received news of the Tree of Life. This matter is undoubtedly true. Previously, when the Tree of Life Coffin went missing in Marquis Wen’s territory, the Grand Steward had already traced the footprints of the Gong Family disciples. It was the Gong Family disciples who played the dirty trick; however, there was no irrefutable evidence, so the investigation turned covert. Now, someone within the Seven Great Clans claimed to have seen the Tree of Life in person, and this matter cannot be a fabrication." That guard reported respectfully.

The Great Victory Human King paced back and forth in the palace, eyes filled with excitement: "Good, good, good. Unexpectedly, the trace of the Tree of Life Coffin has appeared again. This time, I definitely won’t miss the Tree of Life Coffin."

"Summon the forces outside the city to sneak into the city and lie low. I want the Eight Great Clans to fight among themselves, let them weaken each other, and then I’ll emerge to clean up the remnants and take them all down," the Great Victory Human King said with full confidence.

At that moment, another attendant came to report: "Great King, members of the Gong Family request an audience."

"Members of the Gong Family request an audience?" The Great Victory Human King showed a curious expression: "They must be coming to pledge allegiance to me. After the Gong Family and the other seven families had a falling out and their attempt to silence failed, retaliation from the seven families would be relentless, something the Gong Family simply cannot withstand. Pledging allegiance to the Great Victory Royal Court is the best choice for the Gong Family. Now not only will the Tree of Life fall into my hands, but even the Eight Great Clans will disband, truly making today a celebration."

"Bring the Gong Family members in," the Great Victory Human King commanded.

Soon, a man in his forties strode into the great hall. Upon seeing the Great Victory Human King, he immediately knelt respectfully and saluted: "Sire, Assistant Minister of Works Gong Shao pays respects to the Great King."

"Why are you here in the Inner Palace when you should be working at the Ministry of Works?" The Great Victory Human King feigned ignorance of the Gong Family’s upheaval, asking curiously.

"I have come here today to plead for the Great King’s salvation," Gong Shao said respectfully.

"Salvation? You are the Assistant Minister of Works, an official of the court. Who would threaten your life?" The Great Victory Human King feigned confusion.

Gong Shao smiled bitterly: "Not only my life, but someone wants the lives of the entire Gong Family."

"The Gong Family and the Seven Great Clans are closely intertwined. Who in the world could threaten the Eight Great Clans?" The Great Victory Human King said ambiguously.

Gong Shao smiled bitterly: "It’s the other seven families that want the Gong Family’s lives! The Gong Family wishes to pledge allegiance to the Great King, willing to serve as the vanguard, and pleads for the Great King to accept the Gong Family’s submission. The Gong Family is currently attacking the Zhang Family with all their might, willing to offer the Zhang Family’s entire clan as proof of loyalty, asking the Great King to accept."

"Hmm, this is truly strange. You Eight Great Clans have always been close-knit. How suddenly did you become enemies? You must explain this to me clearly, otherwise, I dare not accept the Gong Family’s submission," the Great Victory Human King said unhurriedly.

"This matter started with the Zhang Family losing the Life and Death Record. Someone unknown framed it and made the Zhang Family believe it’s the Gong Family that stole it. The Gong Family is truly innocent. What would we do stealing the Life and Death Record anyway? Even if it came into our hands, we couldn’t use it!" At this moment, Gong Shao continued to express grievances.

The Great Victory Human King became interested: "It’s true the Zhang Family’s Life and Death Record wasn’t stolen by your Gong Family?"

The whereabouts of the Zhang Family’s Life and Death Record is a mystery. Even the spies under the Great Victory Human King couldn’t trace the real culprit, but the aura of the Life and Death Record repeatedly appeared in the Gong Family, leading the Great Victory Human King to secretly presume it was stolen by the Gong Family. But looking at Gong Shao now, it seemed there was more to the story.

Gong Shao immediately started lamenting: "Great King, the Gong Family is innocent! Who knows who is secretly instigating and sowing discord. Although the aura of the Life and Death Record appeared within the Gong Family, we haven’t even seen a hint of it! If the Gong Family truly stole the Life and Death Record, how could we let the Eight Great Clans search openly?"

The Great Victory Human King’s expression turned surprised: "That is indeed strange. Could there be a hidden hand?"

The Gong Family has now reached such a state that if they truly stole the Life and Death Record, they wouldn’t dare to lie. Watching Gong Shao’s demeanor, the Great Victory Human King had already decided in his mind that perhaps the Life and Death Record wasn’t stolen by the Gong Family.

"Even if the Zhang Family falsely accused your Gong Family of stealing the Book of Life and Death, at most you’d go to war with the Zhang Family. So why are you now fighting with all the other seven families? Could the Gong Family have gone mad?" The Great Victory Human King steered the conversation toward the Tree of Life.

Upon hearing this, Gong Shao had an even more aggrieved expression, his eyes fixed on the Great Victory Human King, hesitating to speak.

"Why are you hesitating?" the Human King asked.

"The Gong Family has committed a crime! Before narrating this, please have Your Majesty punish the Gong Family." Gong Shao knelt on the ground, kowtowing and pleading guilty.

"Oh? What crime has the Gong Family committed?" The Great Victory Human King knew they were talking about the Tree of Life, and his heart couldn’t help but feel excited, but he still suppressed his excitement and replied calmly.

"In the past, the Grand Steward Dugu Qiu was ordered to escort the Tree of Life Coffin to the Northern Land, and indeed, the Gong Family did intervene, taking the Tree of Life Coffin from the hands of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency." Gong Shao said, "At that time, the body of Gong Bai appeared near the Tree of Life Coffin. This incident could not have escaped the investigation of the Inspection and Supervision Department."

"How bold of the Gong Family! The Inspection and Supervision Department indeed tracked it to the Gong Family, but lacked concrete evidence, and thus I could not say much. The matter had to be left unresolved, but I instructed the Inspection and Supervision Department to continue the investigation in secret." The Great Victory Human King looked at Gong Shao without any expression and asked, "So, is the Tree of Life Coffin really with the Gong Family?"

His words were indifferent and emotionless, but Gong Shao could sense the suppressed anger of the Great Victory Human King. He could only brace himself and say, "Even though the Gong Family acted, we were caught off guard by someone else; the remains of the Tree of Life Coffin were stolen from us, and Gong Bai was killed by them. So, the Tree of Life Coffin is not in the hands of the Gong Family at all."

The Great Victory Human King looked at Gong Shao without any expression and quickly pondered the sequence of events, thinking of the Gong Family members who died at the scene and the corpse of Gong Bai. The Great Victory Human King felt a chill in his heart, the flames in his heart doused, as the inference indeed suggested that the Gong Family had been sabotaged, and that the Tree of Life Coffin was unlikely to be with them.

"Do you think I would believe your words?" the Great Victory Human King asked coldly.

Gong Shao heard this and smiled bitterly, "I know this matter is incredibly bizarre; not only would Your Majesty not believe it, but even I, were I not a member of the Gong Family and directly involved, would not believe it."

"But I heard from spies that the Gong Family has recently shown the Tree of Life again, and that your family wanted to kill to silence this, causing the clash with the Eight Great Clans." The Great Victory Human King queried again.

Hearing this, Gong Shao felt even more wronged: "Your Majesty, the Gong Family is being wronged! Greatly wronged! I don’t know who started it in the Gong Family, sparking a bloody massacre. We didn’t even have a chance to clarify and resolve the misunderstanding!"

Gong Shao felt an extreme injustice, and all the Gong Family felt wronged as well, as they were inexplicably pushed to a point of no return.

If the Gong Family really had the Book of Life and Death and the Tree of Life, they would have accepted it. But they had nothing!

Listening to Gong Shao’s continuous grievances and complaints, the Great Victory Human King looked at him expressionlessly, "Do you think I would believe your explanation?"

"Not to mention Your Majesty, even within the Gong Family, there’s suspicion of an insider!" Gong Shao said, looking at the Great Victory Human King, "Judging from all prior deductions, these actions were not done by the Gong Family. First, if we had done this, the Book of Life and Death would have been taken out of Kyoto, and no aura would have leaked. How could the Gong Family, having acted, have made such a basic mistake? As for the Tree of Life, if the Gong Family truly possessed it, we wouldn’t have allowed the remaining seven clans to search. The Gong Family could not make such basic mistakes."

The Great Victory Human King remained silent, and Gong Shao bit his lip, "This is sacrilegious, but from all deductions, someone is inciting the Eight Great Clans against each other, and the most likely culprit is the Great Victory Royal Family, as today’s outcomes favor Your Majesty greatly. Could it be the treasures are with the royal family?"

The Great Victory Human King was startled, his eyes revealing surprise. If Gong Shao’s deduction were correct, the biggest instigator should be the Great Victory Royal Family, the beneficiary also. Both the Tree of Life Coffin and the Book of Life and Death should have been in their possession, but the Human King knew it was certainly not done by the royal family, as they lacked the ability.

"This was not done by the royal family," the Great Victory Human King stated.

Gong Shao seemed unimpressed by his words, evidently disbelieving, and said, "Regardless of whether the royal family was involved or not, the Gong Family admits defeat and is willing to submit to the Great Victory Royal Family, willing to serve and act as their vanguard against the Seven Great Clans, hoping only for mercy for the Gong Family. We would be eternally grateful!"

Upon hearing Gong Shao’s words, the Great Victory Royal Family felt betrayed, thinking they were accused without blame.

Nonetheless, Gong Shao made a valid point, as the Great Victory Royal Family had unwittingly become the victor, creating a breach among the eight clans.

"This is truly not done by the royal family," the Human King patiently reiterated.

"Even if it is Your Majesty, the Gong Family is sincerely ready to serve, and the king’s methods would be admired," Gong Shao earnestly stated, looking at the Great Victory Human King.