Countless cultivators gathered at a Hong family branch.
“The Hong family compound has been swallowed by a yellow mist. Everyone in the fifty-eighth branch of the Hong family vanished in an instant, not a single person left.”
“Good heavens, what on earth happened? Could all the Hong family people really be dead?”
“Disappearing all at once means either they were all killed and their bodies destroyed without trace, or they were all captured.”
“Capturing so many people without leaving a single clue is almost impossible. It must be destruction of evidence after slaughter.”
“But killing them all would not be easy either.
How could there be no sound of fighting at all?”
“Could a Martial Saint have made the move?”
“It must have been a Martial Saint-level expert. Otherwise, it would be impossible to leave no trace. Remember, this Hong family branch had a half-step Martial Saint stationed there.”
“Who is bold enough to target the Hong family?”
“Could it be Lin Xiao and his group, the ones the Hong family went to besiege?
They even dared to kill the Hong family Great Elder. Destroying a branch is not beyond them.”
“Were they not trapped on Spirit Pool Island by the combined forces of the five major powers?
How could they come here? Did they escape?”
… The crowd buzzed with speculation. No matter how thoroughly they searched the entire Hong family compound, they found no clues, no treasures, nothing at all.
News of the complete disappearance of everyone in the branch spread rapidly in all directions.
Some wanted to claim credit and rushed to report to the nearest Hong family branch.
Yet when they arrived, the same thing happened again.
The nearest branch had also lost all its people.
Not long after, more reports came: another Hong family branch had vanished, entire branches wiped out.
Even more shocking news arrived from other locations. Some branches had been destroyed with a single palm strike. Others had their people drained of blood, reduced to dry corpses.
The news spread like wildfire through Youzhou, shaking the entire region.
As the reports continued outward, Hong family branches kept falling to the same fate: entire populations vanished, or flattened by a palm, or turned into bloodless husks.
In less than a month, twenty-eight Hong family branches had been destroyed. All of Youzhou trembled.
The remaining branches lived in constant fear.
“What? Twenty-eight of our Hong family branches destroyed?
Who dares such audacity?”
“Lin Xiao. It must be Lin Xiao!”
“Withdraw! Everyone withdraw to headquarters at once!”
… Panic gripped the remaining branches. They hurriedly pulled back to the central stronghold.
The experts at Hong family headquarters mobilised, searching far and wide, yet they found no trace of those responsible.
From onlookers, however, they learned that the attackers were a woman in her twenties, a demon frog, a middle-aged man, and another youth.
This confirmed it: the four were none other than Lin Xiao and his companions.
Rage and fear swept through the Hong family. Their elders raced to Spirit Pool Island at top speed to deliver the news.
Mysterious experts emerged from headquarters, scouring the land for the culprits.
Yet no matter how powerful those experts were, they found no sign of the perpetrators. The four had vanished without trace.
In just half a month, a Hong family elder reached Spirit Pool Island.
At the outer edges of Spirit Pool Island, Martial Saints from the five major forces lay hidden in every direction, maintaining constant pressure.
Many half-step Martial Saints from those forces had taken up long-term residence on the island itself, searching relentlessly.
With Ximen Haoyue’s permission, they had practically turned the entire island upside down.
Every search was escorted by Spirit Pool Island elders and disciples, leaving the island’s own people restless and uneasy. Many began to resent Lin Xiao.
Some even blamed Ximen Haoyue for weakness.
These past days had been deeply humiliating for Spirit Pool Island.
The five great families were equally frustrated. Spirit Pool Island had played this card, refusing to admit Lin Xiao was there yet allowing searches. It left them unable to strike or retreat.
Of course, the five forces were also mobilising vast numbers of people, scouring everywhere for information.
In a concealed woodland dwelling northwest of Spirit Pool Island’s perimeter, where the Hong family patriarch and a Martial Saint elder were stationed, a middle-aged man reported, “Patriarch, the Canglong Sect branches cannot be breached. Those people remain inside, and we cannot capture anyone to threaten them. The other four forces have no further news.”
The Hong family patriarch slammed the table in fury, his palm cracking the wood. He snorted coldly. “Humph, they must be hiding on Spirit Pool Island. The island relies on the prestige of its spirit controllers to defy our five great forces!”
The patriarch’s temper was notoriously explosive. Among the five forces besieging the island, he was the most unyielding.
Yet he knew full well that the other forces had no desire to offend Spirit Pool Island too deeply.
Even if they wanted to storm in, they were powerless.
“If our five forces became true enemies of Spirit Pool Island and went to war, the other major powers would gladly watch us weaken each other. That is the main reason Spirit Pool Island dares to stand fearless.”
The Martial Saint beside him was calm in stark contrast.
“It is the Ji family that is too useless. They let their headquarters be levelled and still allowed the enemy to escape. Otherwise, our Hong family Great Elder would not have fallen to them again.”
The patriarch said.
Whoosh!
At that moment, an elder’s figure sped towards them.
“Elder Hong Xiaofeng, what brings you here?”
The patriarch recognised the newcomer at a glance and asked.
This elder had not been one of those assigned from headquarters.
“Patriarch, Elder Hong Ping, disaster has struck.”
Elder Hong Xiaofeng hurriedly reported, “Twenty-eight of our Hong family branches have been destroyed by Lin Xiao’s group of four. Over twenty thousand of our clansmen have fallen.”
“What?”
The patriarch and Hong Ping froze as if struck by lightning.
Then a thunderous roar erupted. “Lin Xiao!!!”
The sound echoed across the heavens, carrying for hundreds of miles.
One could imagine the patriarch’s rage.
They had besieged the island for months, nearly going to war with Spirit Pool Island, yet Lin Xiao and his group had never been there at all. Instead, they had gone to Youzhou, destroyed twenty-eight branches, and slaughtered over twenty thousand Hong clansmen… The patriarch was livid with fury!
The commotion drew many Hong family experts. Large numbers converged on the area.
“Quick, summon all Martial Saints from the four other forces.”
Elder Hong Ping ordered the intelligence gatherers.
Figures shot off in every direction.
