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“Detouring would waste too much time. We don’t have much time to spare. Can’t we just leap over it from the sky?” another elder on the boat suggested, walking toward the bow.

The elder who spoke first shook his head and replied, “If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have stopped. Powerful formations likely include anti-flight arrays.”

“Moreover, I can sense that this trapping formation is square-shaped, likely stacking multiple worlds together. Going up or moving sideways will take the same amount of time.”

Another elder, becoming impatient, exclaimed, “Detouring is a waste of time! A formation this large must have a cement foundation; it shouldn’t withstand a direct attack. I’ll break it in a few breaths. You all wait here and see how I shatter this small formation in seconds!”

With that, the elder charged into the formation alone, his figure quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.

The elders on the boat waited quietly, but after a long time, he still hadn’t returned. Their expressions gradually changed, and they could no longer sit still.

“Didn’t he say he’d be back in a few breaths? How many breaths have passed? Useless! Getting trapped by a small formation, I’m going in to drag him out. You all wait here,” another impatient elder declared, unable to restrain himself any longer. He left a sentence behind before flying into the formation.

However, after an unknown number of breaths passed, there was still no movement from within the formation. At this point, the people on the boat couldn’t remain calm any longer.

“Why is it taking so long? How much time has passed? We don’t have much time to waste!” an elder couldn’t help but grumble.

“It’s likely something happened. It seems this formation has some tricks. We underestimated it. I’ll go in and bring them out! I’ll be back soon.”

With that, the elder prepared to jump off the boat.

However, the elder standing at the bow hurriedly stopped him, urgently saying, “Don’t! Don’t send anyone else in!”

“This formation is not simple.” The elder’s face changed drastically.

“Take the detour! Quickly!”

Without giving the others a chance to react, the elder hastily steered the spirit boat away…

Although this elder was rational, they had already wasted a lot of time in this place. Now, it was too late to do anything else.

As expected, when they finally flew the spirit boat to the Long family, ready to launch a fierce attack on the treasure house, the battle at the Holy Land had long ended, with all the invaders completely wiped out.

At this moment, the Long family’s experts weren’t held up by anything. The strategy to lure them away had lost its effectiveness. If this group were to charge in now, wouldn’t it be walking right into a trap?

So, just after the Long family had dealt with one group of invaders, they noticed a small boat flying in from a distance, arriving late, heading straight for the treasure house.

Everyone was baffled, not understanding why these people were coming in waves. What kind of strategy was this?

No one could figure it out, but seeing only a few people daring to launch a direct assault on the Long family, how could they not swallow them whole?

Everyone grinned ferociously and surrounded the group.

The outcome was predictable. When the people on the boat realized something was wrong, it was too late. Just as they turned the boat around to retreat, a bolt of lightning struck them down.

Soon after, a swarm of Long family Gu cultivators swarmed them. The battle ended quickly, and those few Hun family Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators died miserably.

“They shouldn’t be sending anyone else, right? This is already the third group!” Long Lie said with a strange expression, looking into the distance.

“It’s hard to say. These people like to fight with fewer against more. There might really be a fourth or even a fifth group. We should stay vigilant and keep an eye on the sky,” Long Buhui said, looking at the sky with some uncertainty.

“Long Lie, we really owe you this time. Although these fools were a bit lacking in intelligence, if it weren’t for your intelligence, it would’ve been quite troublesome if so many Spiritual Sea stage experts had suddenly rushed into the Holy Land. You’ve done a great service this time,” Long Wanli said seriously, looking at Long Lie.

However, Long Lie seemed distracted, frowning as he said, “I wonder where these people came from? They don’t seem like a local force. The previous group was weak, but this group was unexpectedly strong.”

The others also fell into contemplation. These sudden arrivals were too strange. Their techniques were unfamiliar, and they had never encountered them before, let alone had any enmity. They couldn’t understand how they had provoked this force.

At this moment, a Long family Gu cultivator came over, holding a large, plump insect, and respectfully said, “Patriarch, we found this in the brains of those corpses.”

“It seems that the brains of those people were completely eaten by this thing. These creatures were controlling those bodies in battle.”

Long Wanli immediately approached, and upon seeing the large insect, his face changed drastically, revealing a serious expression.

“It’s a Brain Gu, without a doubt. These people must be from the Hun Clan of the Western Lands.”

Long Wanli frowned deeply, clearly understanding how troublesome this Clan could be.

The Great Elder walked over and said with a wry smile, “If it’s that family, then we’re in trouble. The Hun family is one of the strongest clans in the Western Lands. They can refine Brain Gu to control the corpses of many powerful beings, including humans, spirit beasts, and other races. They often raid major tombs, using Brain Gu to control the corpses of many powerful beings.”

“As a result, the high-level forces of this Gu cultivation family in the Spiritual Sea stage and above are numerous. However, the combat power of a corpse controlled by Brain Gu is far inferior to when it was alive.”

“That’s why you found the last group easy to deal with but found this group troublesome. The reason the previous group was able to escape from the insect bag was that those people were essentially insects, not humans.”

“Moreover, the Brain Gu is as intelligent as humans. After devouring a person’s brain, it can obtain all of their memories and abilities. Once it infiltrates other families as a spy, it’s almost impossible to detect.”

“Long Chen fell into this trap because his brain was eaten by this thing. It was pure luck that we noticed something was off with him.”

The Second Elder then said, “It’s true that the Hun family has many high-level Gu cultivators, but we don’t need to fear them. A strong dragon can’t suppress a local snake. The Western Lands are too far from here; they can’t launch a large-scale invasion.”

"Moreover, it is said that they are currently at war with the Gui Clan, so they don\'t have the energy to bother with us. During this time, we can form an alliance with the Long Clan of the Western Lands, and then we won\'t have to fear them at all."

Long Wanli, however, did not look any less worried and said, "Although that may be true, without absolute strength, there is no absolute safety. We cannot entrust the family\'s safety to the assumption of security."

"The family should aim to have a second Gu King. With two Gu Kings guarding us, unless the Hun Clan leaves one of their Gu Kings behind to guard their own home, we would be absolutely safe."

Long Wanli\'s suggestion caused the clan\'s high-ranking members to fall into deep thought.

In recent years, the family had been developing rapidly, and their annual income was reaching new highs. The wealth they had accumulated was already enough to cultivate another Gu King.

Thinking this over, all the elders felt tempted. The benefits of having a second Gu King in the family were obvious.

For any family, the most important asset is always the power at the level of a Gu King. Having one more Gu King is an immense attraction for any clan.

Moreover, with the Long Clan\'s increasing wealth and the many coveted items in their possession, they indeed needed more Gu Kings to protect them.

The First Elder, moved by this, said, "Our clan should indeed start the process of cultivating a second Gu King. Even without the threat of external enemies, this plan must proceed."

"However, should we pay a high price to trade for the breakthrough elixir, or should we have Long Ao refine it? Although he has already become a third-grade alchemist, he is still inexperienced, and it’s uncertain whether he can refine a breakthrough elixir, which is one of the most challenging types of elixirs to make."

The Second Elder, stroking his beard, said, "Then we can only first ask Long Ao how confident he is. But among us, only Long Buhui seems to have touched the threshold of the Gu King, correct?"

The Second Elder looked towards Long Buhui, and the others also turned their gazes on him.

Everyone understood that, barring any unexpected events, the second Gu King of the clan would be him. He would become another pillar of the Long Clan.

Long Buhui, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the attention, hurriedly waved his hand and humbly smiled, saying, "No, no! I haven\'t made many contributions to the clan; I\'m not suitable for this. It really wouldn\'t be appropriate. You should consider someone else."

Although he knew in his heart that the opportunity to break through to the Gu King was undoubtedly his, and he was so excited he could almost burst, he still had to appear humble on the surface, declining a few times before reluctantly accepting.

"Buhui, don\'t be so modest. You\'ve done great service to the clan by guarding the Sacred Tree for so many years. Your merits are more than enough. The Gu King position is yours, so don\'t refuse."

The First Elder laughed heartily, patting him on the shoulder.

Long Buhui shook his head, and just as he was about to humbly decline again, someone suddenly shouted, "Oh no! Something has happened to the Sacred Tree!"

At that moment, the faces of all the clan\'s high-ranking members changed. They rushed madly towards the sacred land.

All the ordinary Gu Masters of the clan also turned pale and hurriedly followed.

In no time, the previously quiet sacred land became noisy again. A large group of people charged in madly, and when they saw the state of the Sacred Tree, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, and they were furious beyond belief.

No one understood the importance of the Sacred Tree to the Long Clan members.

"Who did this? Who the hell did this?" The First Elder hurried to the Sacred Tree, emotionally stroking its broken branches, tears streaming down his face.

"Those bastards from the Hun Clan dared to harm our Sacred Tree like this! I swear, I will never coexist with them!" Long Lie roared in agitation.

Long Buhui\'s face was grim as he tried to suppress his anger. He had guarded the Sacred Tree for fifty years without incident, only for something to happen on this last day. He was almost bursting with rage.

The Second Elder took a deep breath, patted Long Lie on the shoulder, and said with a sharp look in his eyes, "Don\'t be rash. It might not be the Hun Clan. If it were them, why not destroy the whole tree or take it all away? Why damage just a small part? I suspect someone else is behind this."

A fierce glint flashed in the Second Elder\'s eyes.

"You mean..." Long Buhui asked, deep in thought.

"Hmph! If it wasn\'t the Hun Clan, then it must have been done by someone from within our ranks."

"The barrier protecting the Sacred Tree was breached. Not only was the formation here damaged, but the family-protecting formation was also sabotaged."

"Who could silently destroy our family-protecting formation besides an insider? Indeed, even a thousand precautions can\'t prevent betrayal from within. Traitors are the hardest to guard against."

The Second Elder\'s face twisted with anger. He was on the verge of passing out from rage, his eyes filled with fury.

Long Wanli, his face dark with anger, looked around and shouted furiously, "Who? Who the hell did this? Who was the last to leave? Step forward!"

At these words, the Gu Masters of the Long Clan who had just entered looked at each other, bewildered.

Long Xuan also wore an expression of anger, looking around as well.

He had no reason to panic. To avoid suspicion, he hadn\'t been the last to leave. Moreover, it was Long Xuan who had stolen the branch of the Sacred Tree, so what did it have to do with his Fire Clone? Let them investigate all they want.

Just then, the unconscious Long Chao was finally revived by someone. He opened his eyes in a daze and groggily asked, "Huh? What happened?"

In the next moment, everyone turned their gazes to him, their expressions strange.

If anyone had been the last to leave, it was undoubtedly him. He had never left and had been alone there for who knows how long.

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