Chapter 97: Three Ancestral Gods

The sun was setting in the west.

The golden afterglow cast the entire Wumeng Island as a golden leaf floating on the black sea.

On the island, from some mortal villages hidden among the mountains and forests, wisps of cooking smoke rose, and the number of ships anchored at the port was also increasing.

Several Wumeng Island cultivators patrolled around the island, looking at the peaceful scene, their faces beaming with contentment.

In the great battle half a year ago, the Luo Clan had nearly been annihilated. That they had survived safely was all due to the blessing of their clan's old ancestor.

Now they had no other extravagant hopes, only wishing to cultivate quietly here and guard the land passed down by their ancestors.

“Eh?”

During the patrol, a leading cultivator's expression flickered as he stopped and looked toward the distant sea.

“What's wrong?” The others also halted upon seeing this.

Before he finished speaking, the sea surface in the distance began to churn violently, rising one after another towering waves dozens of feet high, rolling toward Wumeng Island.

Not only the sea area ahead, but the entire sea surface within their sight rose with massive waves, surging toward them.

The ground around them began to tremble, accompanied by rumbling muffled sounds.

Seeing this, the few of them changed expression drastically.

The leader quickly took out a cylindrical object from his body, pulled it, and a brilliant light shot into the sky.

However, what they did not know was that at this moment, the sea within a radius of a hundred miles around Wumeng Island was boiling like a cauldron, rising wave after wave from all directions toward the island.

Inside the Luo Clan's main hall, a figure shot out, and as it converged, Luo Feng's form appeared.

His divine sense had already covered the sea around the island, and his face turned grim.

With a few “whoosh” sounds, several more figures flew over from around and appeared beside Luo Feng. They were the other cultivators at the Combined Movement stage on the island.

They had clearly also noticed the anomaly around the island, and their faces turned pale.

At that moment, a drastic change occurred again!

The surging waves suddenly converged, forming an enormous water curtain that rose simultaneously from around the island and converged toward its center.

In an instant, a colossal transparent water curtain appeared, enveloping the entire Wumeng Island.

Seeing this, Luo Feng and the others suddenly became panicked.

“Clan leader, what is this? Could it be...” a长老 murmured.

“The enemy is here, and this time they are unprecedentedly powerful! Quickly go invite Senior Liu!” Luo Feng said with a livid face, loudly instructing a elder beside him.

Without a word, that person immediately rose in a streak of light and flew toward Han Li's residence.

“Pass the order: activate all the island's restrictions immediately!” Luo Feng quickly issued successive commands.

In a few breaths, light flickered around the main hall, and one after another grand formation restrictions opened, covering all important areas.

At that moment, three extremely bright streaks of light flashed from the distant sky and flew toward the Luo Clan's main hall at an inconceivable speed.

In almost the blink of an eye, they arrived above the hall, revealing three figures.

The first was a burly man in a white armor carved with patterns, his face covered with a hollow mask that hid half of it, with two curved fangs protruding from his mouth, looking quite fierce.

Beside the white-armored man was an old man in a black robe, his skin somewhat dark, with faint crystal blue light flickering in his eyes.

The third was a woman in blue, appearing to be in her forties, with lingering charm in her features, but her nose was somewhat sharp and hooked.

Strangely, the facial features of the three were somewhat dull, lacking a bit of vitality, as if they were three exquisitely crafted puppet dolls.

“You... you!”

Luo Feng looked at the three through the water curtain above, his face suddenly turning deathly pale, and his body involuntarily trembled, as if he had seen a ghost.

The other elders and some older cultivators had the same expression, as if seeing demons, both shocked and terrified.

Most of the young Luo Clan cultivators did not recognize the three in the air, but seeing the expressions of the clan leader and elders, they knew these three must be formidable, and their faces became uneasy.

“Hanqiu Ancestral God... Lukun Ancestral God... Hugu Ancestral God!”

Luo Feng let out a long breath and said slowly, as if trying to expel the fear in his heart.

Upon hearing this, the young Luo Clan cultivators' faces turned ashen.

Lu Kun and Hugu were one thing—they were the ancestral gods of two islands quite far from Wumeng Island, and the two sides had little interaction. But Hanqiu, the ancestral god of the Hanjing clan who had recently invaded Wumeng Island, was a mortal enemy of the Luo family on Wumeng Island for tens of thousands of years.

The three ancestral gods, including Hanqiu, were spaced over a hundred zhang apart from each other. Looking down from their heights at the trembling crowd on Wumeng Island, their already somewhat dull gazes turned icy.

“Daoist Hanqiu, are you certain that Luo Meng has fallen? I heard that your Blue Crystal clan recently suffered heavy losses and returned in defeat,” said the black-robed old man, a cold glint in his eyes, his words tinged with doubt.

“Hmph, if Luo Meng were still alive, would he have never shown himself in nearly ten thousand years? As for my clan’s recent setback, it’s because another immortal has recently come to guard Wumeng Island,” the white-armored giant snorted coldly and said slowly.

“What? Daoist Hanqiu, you never mentioned this to us before! Are you deliberately deceiving us?” the blue-robed woman questioned with some anger.

The black-robed old man frowned, his white brows knitting together, and looked at the white-armored giant with some displeasure.

“Both of you, calm down. I have already investigated that person’s background. He is merely a newly ascended lower-realm cultivator who somehow ended up here, hardly worth worrying about. If Wumeng Island had no one in charge, why would I have invited you two?” Hanqiu said calmly.

“A newly ascended lower-realm cultivator…” Upon hearing this, the blue-robed woman’s expression softened slightly, but her words still carried some hesitation.

The black-robed old man raised an eyebrow, appearing thoughtful, and likewise did not immediately respond.

“How about this: after the matter is accomplished, in addition to the previously agreed reward, I will give each of you an extra Zi Wu Ming Shen Dan as compensation for not explaining earlier. Are you two satisfied now?” Seeing this, Hanqiu smiled and said.

“Haha, since Daoist Han is so sincere, Daoist Hugu and I naturally won’t harbor any more doubts,” the black-robed old man laughed heartily.

The blue-robed woman also slowly nodded.

“That’s the right way to think. A mere newly ascended minor cultivator—how could he withstand the combined force of the three of us?” Hanqiu laughed loudly.

“In that case, let’s act now, to avoid any delays,” the black-robed old man said, making the first move.

He waved his hand, and with a loud rumble, dozens of enormous water columns rose from the sea below, each dozens of zhang thick, connecting the sky and the sea.

These water columns suddenly intertwined and condensed, merging into a single giant hand hundreds of zhang tall, which came crashing down overwhelmingly toward Luo Feng and the others.

Before the giant hand arrived, a fierce wind howled in. The various barrier shields trembled violently, nearly torn apart by the gale, and several barriers even burst with a “bang,” shattering into specks of light.

Luo Feng and the others’ faces changed drastically. They had no time to dodge, and it seemed they would be crushed by the giant hand.

At that moment, a long howl came from afar, arriving in an instant. It was a streak of cyan light shooting like lightning, appearing before Luo Feng and the others in a flash.

The cyan figure punched into the void.

An invisible force tore through the void, emitting a thunderous roar. Where it passed, visible ripples spread through the air, colliding with the giant water hand.

With a deafening boom that shook heaven and earth,

the giant water hand was shattered by the fist force, exploding into countless water droplets that splattered in all directions.

A shockwave spread like a wave in all directions, stirring up a hurricane wherever it passed. Rocks and trees were either swept away by the wind or shattered into powder.

Fortunately, there were no mortals nearby, so casualties were minimal.

The cyan light around the figure in midair dissipated, revealing Han Li’s form.

Hanqiu and the other two changed expression.

“Ancestral God!” The people of Wumeng Island rejoiced, cheering as if they had survived a disaster.

Luo Feng also breathed a sigh of relief, but then a hint of worry appeared on his face.

Although Han Li was powerful, the other side had three ancestral gods!

“Where do you three daoists hail from, and what business do you have on Wumeng Island?” Han Li withdrew his extended arm, swept his gaze over the three in midair, and demanded in a deep voice.

“Senior Liu, these three are ancestral gods from nearby islands. The white-armored giant in the middle is Hanqiu, the ancestral god of the Hanjing clan. The black-robed old man beside him is called Patriarch Lu Kun, and the middle-aged woman is known as Madam Hugu,” Luo Feng flew to Han Li’s side and transmitted his voice.

Hearing this, Han Li’s mind stirred, but his expression remained unchanged.

“Daoist Hanqiu, this doesn’t match what you said. This man is a Xuan Immortal, not the weakling you described,” Lu Kun transmitted coldly, a hint of chill in his eyes.

Madam Hugu’s expression also turned unpleasant.

“As far as I know, this man ascended less than a year ago. Even if he is a Xuan Immortal, his immortal power has certainly not fully converted to immortal spiritual power. He is nothing to fear!” Hanqiu remained calm, transmitting with a smile.

Patriarch Lu Kun and Madam Hugu exchanged glances but said nothing.

“You must be Daoist Liu, I presume. I imagine you can guess our purpose without me saying it. Wumeng Island and our three clans are sworn enemies. Today, we three have come to destroy the Luo family. This matter has nothing to do with you, daoist. It’s best you don’t wade into this muddy water and leave immediately. As for the few clan members you killed the other day, I can let it go,” Hanqiu said coldly, his eyes gleaming.

Hearing this, Luo Feng’s heart sank, and he glanced nervously at Han Li.

The other Luo family members around also changed expression drastically. The older clan members were alarmed by the situation, while the younger ones were shocked by Hanqiu’s words.

Hanqiu addressed the ancestral god as “Daoist Liu,” and the younger Luo family members couldn’t help but recall a rumor that had been quietly circulating in the clan: the current ancestral god was not Luo Meng, but someone else.

The clan elders had always sternly denied this rumor and forbade discussion of it, but now it seemed highly likely to be true.

“Heh, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Since I have agreed to protect Wumeng Island, I will not break my word. The three of you should withdraw now, to avoid harming our goodwill,” Han Li said calmly, completely ignoring the threat in the other’s words.