Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 424 - 102: The Hunt and Storm Manor (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Chapter 424: Chapter 102: The Hunt and Storm Manor (Requesting Monthly Votes)

With a close and open of the eyes, time had swiftly passed.

The Gu Family Patriarch, Gu Shi Qian, stood up and gazed at the sky where the sun was already tending towards the west, and he suddenly let out a sigh.

Gu Jingyun had entered the Sword Tomb trial grounds yesterday afternoon.

By this afternoon, a complete cycle of the clock had ended, twelve hours had passed, and he still hadn’t emerged, which evidently meant he was dead.

The other elders naturally had also deduced the outcome and could not help but express their regrets.

They had all originally placed great hopes on that young man.

Yet, it was the Great Elder, who seemed not to have thought much of Gu Jingyun, that declared today, clenching his fists in frustration, "Not everyone striving to rise can succeed; sad is the world that gains another soul lost to the sword!"

His sigh seemed more filled with mockery than genuine sorrow.

Gu Shi Qian, however, wasn’t bothered by it.

It had been many years of the Gu Family’s tradition—challenging the Sword Tomb was always a matter of life and death, and not coming out was the norm.

"It’s just the death of a youngster who seemed talented, nothing more. One falls, but there are countless others who will stand up."

"With the Sword Tomb, the Gu Family will continuously produce offspring, and there will always emerge geniuses!"

"Besides..."

Gu Shi Qian admitted that he had misjudged the situation. Since Gu Jingyun died in the Sword Tomb, it proved he wasn’t a true genius.

He calmly returned to the underground ancestral land, near the Altar.

There was no need to retrieve the bodies of those who died in the Sword Tomb, as they would become nourishment for the tomb itself.

But, as the saying goes, ’It’s easy to invite the gods, but difficult to send them away.’ The same applied to the ancestors; his descendants still had to shed some blood to respectfully send off the three ancestral Mysterious Birds within the Kasaya.

However, the scene before them left everyone stunned.

The once-open ruins’ gates had vanished, and the Altar was left in complete disarray, the ground split apart, with rubble everywhere, erasing any trace of the formerly intricate Array patterns.

...

Seeing this, Gu Shi Qian and the family elders all turned ashen.

How could this be possible?

Where was the altar entrance to the Sword Tomb?

The grand Altar—where was it?

It was just here a moment ago!

"This, this is an illusion, an illusion..."

Gu Shi Qian, as if in a dream, shakily turned back to look at the elders, only to see the same pallor and panic on their faces.

Reality had shattered his wishful thinking.

Now he had no choice but to admit.

The entrance to the Sword Tomb, the white jade slate that housed the Array, had completely shattered!

The Array could be redrawn, but the special white slate was the foundation of the family, irreplaceable.

What good would it do to replicate it with other materials?

What kind of altar is it without its base?

"Family Head..." an elder said, his voice trembling, wanting to say something.

Gu Shi Qian, struggling to suppress his inner fear, said nothing and quickly walked to the front of the Altar.

The stone stele that once stood before the Altar was now also lying on the ground, broken into eight pieces.

An ancient-looking box lay on the ground.

He took a deep breath, and like a gambler uncovering his dice cup, slowly lifted the lid.

The Kasaya was still there.

At first, he breathed a sigh of relief, but then, something was off.

The Kasaya was there, but the three ancestral golden birds that adorned it were gone!

Gu Shi Qian stood puzzled, suddenly struck by a strange thought: Good, at least he wouldn’t have to send off the ancestors this time, nor in the future.

He quickly banished this blasphemous thought from his mind and turned back to find the elders just as baffled.

The entire underground cavern fell into a dead silence.

Only their hearts pounded rapidly, rhythmically, as if screaming:

The Sword Tomb is gone.

The Gu Family is doomed!

...

...

As evening approached, at the edge of the Wasteland.

Located near coordinates (15,19), an old and isolated house with clear signs that its previous occupant had left over half a month ago, where a campfire burned, warding off the chill of early winter evening.

Three figures, one man and two women, sat around the campfire, enjoying tonight’s supper: a batch of ready-to-eat canned food that tasted better when heated.

One figure was tall and gave a sense of strength, carrying a bunch of fan-shaped steel bars; among the two women, one wore tight black clothes like an assassin, and the other, dressed in a fluttering white gown, seemed like a lady touring.

Such an odd combination, apart from Xu Shu, Gu Pan, and Gu Yue Ming, couldn’t be anyone else.

Since splitting up with Tang Rou and others, they had trekked through the night and the following day, and after a whole day’s journey today, they finally reached the abandoned supply point at (15,19) from the lighthouse at (19,19).

Today was the first day of December, and the sun was about to set.

Gu Yue Ming squatted on a crooked wooden stool, nibbling at her meal when she felt a slight vibration on her.

She moved to a secluded spot and opened the source of the vibration, her Promotion Drive.

The screen in front of her displayed a private message originating from the Gu Family Patriarch, Gu Shi Qian, with content that was brief and to the point, exuding a sense of power:

"It is well known that every Sword Master is a precious treasure of our Gu Family, a vulnerable being that must be carefully protected to allow them sufficient time to grow and restore the family’s honor."

"Ensure your Sword Master is safeguarded at all costs! Any negligence will be dealt with according to family regulations." — Gu Shi Qian, Third-tier Master.