The Four Great Clan Lords

"Auntie Azure Heaven Roc, you've finally returned."

Shi Hao leaped up, his movements as agile as a Golden Winged Roc fledgling taking flight, landing nimbly upon the back of the Azure Heaven Roc.

"I was only out for a bite to eat, and already a group of death-seeking insects has come to harass the village. Who are they?"

The Azure Heaven Roc's hawk-like eyes swept across the ground with indifference as it spoke in human tongue.

Indeed, the Azure Heaven Roc had long since gained the ability to speak, and could even shift into a human form.

In truth, any Ancient Relic that stepped into the Inscription Realm possessed a relatively rich ancestral bloodline, granting it all manner of miraculous abilities.

It was simply that the Azure Heaven Roc was accustomed to its beast form and rarely shifted into a human shape.

With the true blood of three Ancient Relics acting as a catalyst, the purification of the Azure Heaven Roc's Ancient Demonic Bird bloodline had accelerated, and its strength had already faintly entered the late stage of the Inscription Realm.

Every movement it made carried an astonishing aura of power.

The Willow Deity had said that once this adult Azure Heaven Roc finished its first wave of bloodline purification, it would likely attain the status of an Array Formation King, though it would still require some time.

"Just a pack of hunting dogs drawn by the scent of blood after the Mountain Treasure reappeared."

Shi Hao glanced at the ground. The experts from the major tribes, who had been so arrogant and overbearing just moments ago, were now huddled like quails, their heads buried deep against their chests, behaving with extreme docility.

He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The Willow Deity was truly far-sighted to have acted early to tame four Ancient Relics to guard the village. If the Willow Deity, a divine being, had to personally intervene for every little matter, it would be beneath its status—not to mention that these were merely Spirit Transformation Realm small fry.

"Contending for the Mountain Treasure? Do they even deserve to?"

The Azure Heaven Roc let out a disdainful snort, filled with contempt.

The further its cultivation progressed, the more it understood the terrifying power of the creatures deep within the Great Wilderness that were fighting for the Mountain Treasure; those were clashes between several supreme beings.

Even it lacked the qualifications to intervene, let alone these small fry.

"Of course, if the Sacrificial Spirit were willing to intervene, that would be a different matter entirely. However, the Sacrificial Spirit likely has no interest in that so-called Mountain Treasure..."

Thinking this, the Azure Heaven Roc cast a subtle, respectful, and fearful glance toward the charred willow tree at the village entrance.

Yet, it did not expect this subtle action to make the experts of the various tribes even more nervous.

It... what is it asking for?!

"Little Brother Shi Hao, we are willing to accept our defeat. The three jars of fierce beast blood per tribe we promised beforehand are yours—no, we will give you double."

Zishan Shou no longer possessed his previous composure. His aged face was filled with terror as he gritted his teeth and bowed to Little Shi, begging for mercy.

"Yes, yes, yes! We accept our defeat, we accept our defeat."

Jiao Cang and Lei Yunkun nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, scrambling to pull out several fragrant earthen jars, within which the faint flow of various true bloods could be seen.

"Now you're willing to accept defeat? Where was this attitude earlier?"

Shi Hao gave a cold laugh and looked down, saying, "Auntie Azure Heaven Roc, this bunch of thieves not only tried to welch on the bet, but they also dared to covet our Stone Village's two supreme precious techniques and plotted to wipe us out. Kill them all!"

"Kill them? Very well. They are just a group of lowly crawling insects anyway."

The Azure Heaven Roc nodded, its chest heaving as it inhaled sharply. The endless essence of heaven and earth surged inward, as if a monstrous rage were gathering in its belly.

"Hum!"

The next moment, a silver, disc-shaped wind blade, several dozen feet in diameter, rapidly formed at the beak of the Azure Heaven Roc. The terrifyingly sharp cutting intent it radiated could be clearly felt even from a great distance.

"Tribal Lord, save me!"

"Thunder Marquis, please, protect us!"

The experts of the four tribes, their livers and gallbladders shattered by fear, no longer dared to resist. They turned to flee while shouting desperately for help.

"Wait! Please, stop!"

"My Luofu Marsh is willing to compensate for your village's losses!"

"The Golden Wolf Tribe is equally sincere..."

As these cries rang out, sudden changes erupted on all four sides.

In the east, a purple sun streaked across the sky, its surging purple energy staining a vast expanse of the heavens.

In the west, scorching thunder crackled as a burly man, wrapped in black lightning, strode forward upon ten thousand thunderbolts.

In the south, the rushing river suddenly parted.

A grey, ancient fierce flood dragon lunged from the riverbed, carrying a mysterious figure as it descended rapidly.

In the north, a golden whirlwind roared.

Within the whirlwind, a tall, majestic old man was faintly visible.

More importantly, a Golden Divine Wolf paced beside him. The wolf's fur was golden, and countless runes flickered in its eyes—it was truly terrifying.

The majestic old man even lagged half a step behind the Golden Divine Wolf, appearing quite respectful.

Seeing that the experts of their respective tribes were about to meet their end, the four Tribal Lords, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally could no longer hold back and revealed themselves.

"Hmph, four slightly stronger ants. Do you dare to stop me?"

The Azure Heaven Roc's gaze was cold. With a light flap of its massive wings, which looked as if they were cast from bronze, the silver disc radiating endless sharpness tore through the air at the speed of light, slashing toward the most densely packed crowd.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Flesh and blood splattered, severed limbs flew, and the scene was instantly filled with wails of agony.

More than half of the experts from the four great tribes fell in an instant, their ranks collapsing like harvested wheat. Even Spirit Transformation Realm early-stage cultivators like Zishan Shou, Jiao Cang, and the old servant of the Thunder Clan perished one after another after offering only a moment of resistance, their deaths gruesome and bizarre.

In the blink of an eye, only a few children remained from the four great tribes, including Lei Mingyuan and Zishan Kun. Looking at the exceptionally tragic battlefield before them, they burst into tears.

After all, they were merely children of five or six, or perhaps seven or eight years old. Seeing the powerful and majestic family experts who had once loomed over them die so miserably had deeply terrified them.

"Hiss! They're all dead, and they died so miserably..."

The various tribes that had retreated far away beforehand stared blankly, a deep chill washing over them like a tide, leaving them trembling from head to toe.

"It is fortunate that our Cloud Clan did not involve ourselves in this matter, otherwise, I fear we would never have returned to the palace."

The white-robed elder from Cloud Heaven Palace had his body taut, his aged hands gripping the pure white Snow Feather so tightly that the veins bulged; anyone could see he was on high alert.

Behind him, the twin sisters, who looked like elven fairies, seemed completely stunned by the horror, their faces deathly pale as they clutched the white-robed elder's robes and refused to let go.

"Clan Uncle!"

"Yunkun!"

"Cang!"

Following several roars filled with intense grief, the four clan leaders, who had flashed over from all directions, finally revealed themselves, their expressions looking incredibly grim.

Even so, no one dared to cross the line, and they could only land from a distance.

"Peng'er, my Peng'er..."

The Lord of Luofu Marsh coughed up a mouthful of blood on the spot.

His favorite youngest son, Jiao Peng, had actually died miserably right before his eyes. How hateful!

"Respected sir, we have already agreed to the compensation; why must you continue to strike with such ruthlessness?"

The Thunder Marquis, that burly man wreathed in pitch-black lightning, spoke while suppressing the grief between his brows.

His fourth son, Lei Yunkun, had also unfortunately perished just moments ago.