Amid layer upon layer of mountain peaks, palaces and Cave Mansions built against the slopes could faintly be seen. Dark crimson banners snapped sharply in the mountain wind.
It was nearly dusk. The setting sun stained the entire mountain range a deep blood-red, echoing the clan's dark crimson buildings and lending the place an air of grim slaughter.
Qin Gu finally returned with his clansmen.
His nerves had been wound tight throughout the journey. Only when he stepped across the boundary of the clan grounds did the exhaustion rising from his very bones surge over him like a tide.
Yet he did not rush off to rest. He first settled the injured clansmen, instructed the clan's medical cultivators to tend to them carefully, then had someone tally the losses among those who had gone out this time. Only after confirming that some had been injured but no one had fallen did he let out a long breath.
After finishing all this, Qin Gu straightened his robes and strode toward the clan's main hall.
The Jiaolong Grand Hall had been renamed Dragon Abyss Hall. It was where the Dark Blood Jiaolong Clan held discussions and received honored guests.
The hall was lofty and majestic, built from massive blocks of dark stone. The relief carvings on its pillars depicted lifelike jiaolongs, baring fangs and brandishing claws with extraordinary grandeur.
The Everlasting Lamps within the hall burned year-round without extinguishing. Their firelight shone over the carvings, casting mottled shadows and giving the entire hall a solemn, mysterious atmosphere.
When Qin Gu entered Dragon Abyss Hall, he saw the person standing in the middle of the hall at a glance.
Ao Jianlie.
Since becoming the Clan Leader of the Dark Blood Jiaolong Clan, Ao Jianlie's entire bearing had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation.
The youth