Chapter 543 - 179: Why Torment Your Own Kin? Li Ran Descends, the Dust Settles

The Gongsun Family’s Little World trembled violently. Its barrier erupted with terrifying power, sending out one ripple after another in a blaze of dazzling light.

Many clansmen suffered from the backlash, spitting up blood in unison. The few elders maintaining the Little World were even more grievously wounded. They were thrown from their meditative postures and sent crashing into pillars, their internal organs violently displaced.

In the grand hall, Gongsun Ziwei’s expression was grim. She held a Treasure Furnace, a golden artifact shaped like a crouching Immortal Phoenix. Its body was crystalline and inscribed with countless Sacred Texts, pulsing with a rich, fiery light, ready to awaken at any moment.

She kept her eyes on the commotion outside the Little World. If the Little World was torn open, she would immediately activate this item. It was the Lifebound Sacred Artifact left behind by the Gongsun Family’s Saint Ancestor.

However, with her current cultivation, she could not truly awaken a Sacred Artifact.

The situation was dire for the Gongsun Family. The Helian Family was bent on attacking, determined to devour them whole. The resources and foundations they had accumulated over the years were rapidly being depleted.

Elsewhere, within the Tantai Family’s estate, Tantai Qing sat cross-legged on her bed, her face as pale as a sheet. Only after consuming several doses of Healing Holy Medicine and recuperating for two days did some color return to her cheeks.

She felt a pang of retrospective fear. ’If I hadn’t remembered Jiang Lan’s warning and immediately used my trump card to escape, I really might have died at Helian Wen’s hands.’

’Who could have known that his strength would suddenly surge to such an unimaginable level in that moment? Even Gongsun Shuqiu, a Great Power, couldn’t break free. He was seized, his neck snapped, and he perished on the spot.’

"Grandfather, what’s the situation outside?"

Feeling that her injuries had mostly healed, Tantai Qing left her room and went to find her grandfather, Tantai Xu.

Many of the family’s elders were gathered in the main hall. The three patriarchs were currently outside the Little World, locked in battle with Helian Wen, while the other Elders led their clansmen against the rest of the Demons. In this turmoil, it seemed the Tantai Family was bearing the brunt of the assault.

This made Tantai Qing suspect that it was likely caused by Helian Wen’s subconscious hatred for the Tantai Family.

However, the Tantai Family knew that Saint Li Ran would eventually make his move, so they hadn’t wasted their foundational resources. The three patriarchs were merely stalling Helian Wen, awaiting his arrival.

"The Gongsun Family... I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold on..."

"The Helian Family plans to break through the Gongsun Family’s Little World, then use its ten-thousand-year accumulated resources to power the Little World and open a Space-Time Passage to escape. This way, they can preserve their family’s foundational strength, find a new home, and slowly recover."

"We still have the Gongsun Family’s letters pleading for aid right here."

Tantai Xu stroked his long beard with a smile, appearing completely calm and composed.

Tantai Qing nodded, then asked, "And Jiang Lan?"

Tantai Xu shook his head. "He should be fine, but we have no news of him at the moment."

Tantai Qing froze for a moment, her gaze drifting outside the hall. Her expression was inscrutable, her thoughts hidden.

"I have arrived. All members of the Tantai Family, follow me and slay the Demons."

Just then, a faint, ethereal voice resounded from within the Tantai Family’s lands.

The voice rang out suddenly, without any warning.

At first, the Tantai Family elders were stunned, but then their faces lit up with joy.

Many even prostrated themselves in the direction of the voice, kowtowing and proclaiming, "We greet Li Sheng."

Tantai Qing also bowed hastily, daring not be disrespectful.

A living Saint, regardless of the era, was one of the few who stood at the very apex of existence, looking down upon all of creation.

As the voice faded, the previously silent Tantai Family estate erupted with a massive roar. With a BOOM, the Little World was thrown open, and the numerous clansmen, long prepared, charged out, brandishing their Magical Artifacts and Talisman Treasures.

"The Helian Family has colluded with the Demon Race and defied our ancestral teachings! Such a crime is punishable by death!"

"Kill..."

The three Tantai Family patriarchs, who were locked in combat with Helian Wen, heard the commotion from their clan and understood that the time had come. With furious roars, they stopped holding back.

A Seven-Layered Exquisite Treasure Tower appeared in the palm of one of them. It was ancient and unadorned, carved with intricate patterns. It began to glow, as if a Saint were about to awaken within it.

Its oppressive might made one’s heart tremble, creating an irresistible urge to kneel.

The Tantai Family cast aside their defensive posture, threw open their gates, and launched a powerful counterattack against the Demons. This scene instantly caused morale to surge across Immortal Ascension Island.

The two Helian Family patriarchs, who were in the middle of attacking the Gongsun Family’s Little World, frowned. They sensed that something was wrong, but the arrow was already nocked; they had to follow through.

The two immediately combined their power to summon the Helian Family’s ancestral Sacred Artifact. A Daoist Sword, so brilliant it seemed forged from Flawless Immortal Jade, appeared. The blade was ancient, radiating a hazy brilliance as Holy Might filled the air. It was as if a peerless Saint had truly awakened and was about to reign supreme over the world.

"Our Ancestor’s Sovereign Sword can cut through anything! So what if this is a turtle shell...?"

"Shatter!"

Helian Rujian offered his Essence Blood to the sword. As he wielded it, he seemed to transform into the Helian Family’s original Saint Ancestor, one hand holding the sword, the other pointing to the sky.

He slashed down with the sword. Time itself seemed to manifest and flow by, revealing scenes of the world’s creation. Howling Chaos Qi submerged everything. This single ray of sword light stretched for ten thousand miles, seeming to fall from the distant cosmos.

BOOM!!!

With a CRACK, the barrier of the Gongsun Family’s Little World shattered, the cracks rapidly spreading and expanding.

All the clansmen inside turned deathly pale, their faces like sheets of golden paper.

"You have gone too far..."

"You spring from the same root. Why are you in such a rush to destroy each other?"

At that moment, a sigh suddenly echoed between heaven and earth. A shower of sparkling, crystalline light rained down, and an old man in a Daoist Robe with an ancient air and an aged yet vigorous face appeared in the Void.

With a wave of his robes, the boundless Sword Qi seemed to sink into a deep ocean, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

"A Saint?"

Watching this person’s sudden appearance, both Helian Rujian’s and Helian Yuansheng’s pupils constricted. Their expressions changed drastically in disbelief, and a chill slowly crept into their hearts.

「Deep within the Demon Abyss」

In an oceanic trench, the fierce battle had finally come to a close. In the end, the Wushang Demon God, who had lived for countless ages, proved to have a more profound Dao Practice. Huangfu Hao was defeated.

The fact that he lacked a physical body had been anticipated by the Wushang Demon God, who focused the battle on attrition. The Demon God’s techniques were grand and sweeping, his aura overwhelming.

Without a physical body to act as a foundation, Huangfu Hao was like a rootless water plant. Once enough time passed and his Magical Power was exhausted, he would be nothing more than a fish on the chopping block.

Therefore, knowing this, after exhausting every method he had and still being unable to harm the Wushang Demon God, he had no choice but to retreat in bitter defeat.