Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Half an hour later, the moon was high in the sky.

The blood oath outside the Gu family ancestral hall has been completely closed.

From the outside, only a faint red light curtain can be seen enveloping the ancestral land behind the mountain.

It looks like an upside-down bowl of blood.

Gu Jingshan stood outside the ancestral hall and glanced down at the black stone in his sleeve.

The black stone was burning hot, and the blood-red light inside pulsed like a heart.

He took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.

The ancestral hall was surprisingly lively at the moment.

The Gu clan members gathered in the front and side halls, with spiritual fruits laid out on the tables and spiritual wine poured cup after cup.

At first, everyone was terrified because of the strange behavior of the blood lamp in the ancestral temple.

But as more people gathered, and with Gu Jingshan saying he wanted to invite the ancestor back to the clan to continue the family line and settle the ownership of the resources left behind, the atmosphere gradually changed.

Some people were quick-witted, while others lowered their voices.

Some people have already started calculating how much their branch of the family will receive.

"How do you think the patriarch will divide up those possessions he had?"

A middle-aged monk from a collateral branch held a wine glass, his eyes gleaming.

"Putting everything else aside, the things taken from the sect's treasury can't all go to the direct line, can they? Back then, our branch also offered spirit stones to our ancestor, and we're the ones who guard the clan's spirit fields."

A man nearby sneered.

"You wish! The spots for true disciples, inner disciples, and candidates for Foundation Establishment Pills will definitely be given to the direct descendants first. We collateral branches will be lucky to get any scraps."

"Soup is fine too."

The third person lowered his voice and said, "With the ancestor dead, the Gu family has lost its biggest backer. If we can get a Foundation Establishment Pill now, our branch can produce another Foundation Establishment cultivator. We'll have more leverage when we speak in the clan in the future."

Another young man looked excited.

"I don't need Foundation Establishment Pills. Just give me a high-grade magic weapon. Our ancestor is a Golden Core sword cultivator; even a small thing he casually leaves out is enough for us to use for a lifetime."

The words were spoken with great filial piety.

But two words were written all over everyone's face.

greedy.

Near the entrance, several of the direct descendants were drinking the most.

Normally, the Gu family would be reluctant to take out such a precious wine, but today they displayed it as if it were free.

A young man shook his head and laughed, "This liquor is really strong."

"Why do my legs feel a little weak?"

The people next to them also stood up, using the table as a support.

"Me too, it's probably because I have too much spiritual energy."

"The patriarch is here, get up quickly."

They saw Gu Jingshan enter and hurriedly straightened their clothes.

Someone bowed in greeting.

"Master..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

A streak of green light flew out from Gu Jingshan's sleeve.

puff.

The young man's chest was instantly pierced.

He staggered backward, looking down at the bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Master...?"

Gu Jingshan did not answer.

He twirled the magical artifact in his hand, and a line of blue light flashed, instantly slicing through the throats of more than ten clansmen at the door.

Someone was about to shout when the sound got stuck in their throat.

Some people wanted to retreat, but found their legs were weak and their spiritual energy was stagnant.

Four or five breaths.

The dozen or so members of the Gu family, both direct and collateral, who were standing at the entrance collapsed to the ground.

Blood flowed into the floor tiles.

The lively noise inside the ancestral hall finally subsided little by little.

Gu Jingshan looked at the black stone in his sleeve.

The blood-red light on the surface of the black stone intensified.

The originally hard and rough stone shell began to soften.

A small, curled-up outline is faintly visible inside.

Like a fetus.

Gu Jingshan's breathing suddenly became heavy.

almost.

It's really coming soon.

"Gu Jingshan!"

In the center of the ancestral hall, an elderly member of the Gu family suddenly stood up.

He was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, of very high seniority, and his beard and hair were all white.

His eyes turned red as he looked at the corpses scattered on the ground.

"Are you crazy?"

"This is the ancestral hall!"

"How dare you kill your own family members in front of the ancestral tablets?"

Another Foundation Establishment elder roared, "Our ancestor is still recuperating in the back hall! How dare you be so insolent!"

"Someone come here!"

"Take him down!"

Several elders of the Gu family simultaneously activated their magical artifacts.

But the next moment, their expressions changed simultaneously.

The spiritual energy remains still, not because it has disappeared.

Instead, it's as if something is stuck to it, blocking the meridians, making it impossible to circulate smoothly.

The old clan elder looked down at the spirit wine on the table, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"Oh no! There's something in the wine! And the spirit fruit is problematic too!"

The surrounding tribesmen then realized what was happening.

Some people tried desperately to activate their spiritual power, but only felt their dantian become heavy.

Someone tried to run outside, but fell to the ground after taking only two steps.

Someone screamed in terror.

"Master, what exactly did you feed us?"

"Gu Jingshan, you beast!"

"You even harm your own kind, you deserve a terrible death!"

A barrage of insults erupted.

Fear, anger, disbelief.

All emotions were mixed together.

But Gu Jingshan was no longer listening.

All he could see was the gradually forming blood fetus in his sleeve.

He stopped explaining and stopped making excuses for himself.

The blue light rose again, and one after another, members of the Gu clan were pierced through the body.

The blood was drawn by the black stone, turning into thin blood threads that flowed into the mass that was becoming more and more like the primordial embryo.

The more Gu Jingshan killed, the redder his eyes became.

almost.

A little more.

Once the nascent embryo is formed, he will be qualified to touch the ancestor's blood-corresponding golden pill.

At that time, the Golden Core will be his.

The future of the Gu family also belongs to him.

Outside the ancestral hall.

On the mountain path surrounding the Gu family, a patrol of Xuan Yang Sect disciples happened to pass by.

The leader was a Foundation Establishment deacon named Li Li.

He didn't just wander here randomly.

The sect's higher-ups had already given them instructions to keep a close eye on the Gu family these past few days.

Gu Changjin had just been invited back to the Gu family ancestral hall when the Gu family immediately sealed off the ancestral land.

This whole thing seems a bit strange no matter how you look at it.

Li Li stopped halfway up the mountain and squinted at the back of the Gu family's mountain.

"Blood Prohibition?"

A disciple behind him whispered, "Uncle-Master, the Gu family says the blood lamp in the ancestral hall is unstable, and outsiders are not allowed to peek inside."

Li Li didn't say anything.

Normally, it's not a big deal for a cultivation family affiliated with a sect to break the blood oath at their ancestral shrine.

But Gu Jia is not normal now.

Just then, a beam of blood-red light suddenly shot into the sky from the depths of the Gu family's ancestral land.

boom!

The blood-red light crashed into the array's light barrier, actually dispersing a portion of the blood restriction.

The next instant, screams and curses came from inside the ancestral hall through the crack.

It may be very vague for ordinary people.

But to a cultivator, it's no different than being shouted in someone's ear.

"Gu Jingshan, you've gone mad!"

"How dare you slaughter your entire clan!"

"Grandpa, save me!"

"Don't kill me! Patriarch, I'm a direct descendant!"

Immediately following was Gu Jingshan's hoarse and frantic voice.

"Shut up!"

"What do you know?"

"The Gu family has raised you all for so many years, what's wrong with asking you to dedicate yourselves to the family's cause now?"

"The patriarch is the foundation of the Gu family!"

"Today you sacrifice your blood to continue the lamp, and your lives to create this new life, for the sake of our ancestors, and for the sake of the Gu family's longevity!"

"Anyone who dares to resist is disloyal and unfilial!"

"kill!"

Li Li and the others were all frozen in place.

The patrolling disciples turned pale instantly.

What did they hear?

Is Gu Jingshan slaughtering members of the Gu family?

They're even using the excuse of continuing the family line and ensuring the family's longevity?

Is this some kind of ancestral hall lamp-lighting ceremony?

This must be a demonic blood sacrifice!

Li Li's mind went blank.

This is a big deal.

It was too great for a Foundation Establishment deacon to suppress.

The disciple beside him said in a trembling voice, "Uncle-Master, what... what should we do?"

Li Li suddenly snapped back to his senses, his expression changing drastically.

"What are you all standing there for!"

He took out the sect's communication talisman and poured his spiritual power into it frantically, his voice almost cracking.

"Li Li, the patrol officer of the Xuan Yang Sect, urgently reports to the sect!"

"Blood was spilled into the sky behind the Gu family's residence, and screams echoed endlessly from the ancestral hall!"

"Gu Jingshan, the patriarch of the Gu family, is suspected of practicing demonic arts and sacrificing his entire clan!"

"Elder Gu is also located within the Gu family ancestral hall!"

"The Gu family..."

Li Li stared at the increasingly intense blood-red light in the distance, his scalp tingling. He practically roared out the last four words.

"The Gu family has rebelled!"