The commotion here had finally caught the attention of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm elder left behind at the Nangong Family's estate. However, only one of the Nangong Family's three Tribulation Transcendence Realm elders had appeared.
Generally speaking, once cultivators reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, most entered secluded cultivation, cutting themselves off from the outside world and taking no further interest in external disputes.
After all, the Tribulation Transcendence Realm was the gateway to ascension. Once a cultivator passed through it, they could be called a Void Immortal. Though cultivators at this realm possessed tremendous combat strength, they were also extremely vulnerable. Any injury could directly affect their tribulation.
The Nangong Family had only one Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator in the open: a cultivator at the middle stage. Although he occasionally appeared in Moon-Gazing City, most of the time he remained in seclusion.
But now the Nangong Family's inner grounds had come under attack, and even the defensive formation was on the verge of being shattered. How could he not know?
At once, this middle-stage Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator—the clan uncle of Nangong Shenhe, Nangong Xianglu—flew out of his place of seclusion.
When he saw the throngs of cultivators surrounding the family treasury, his head spun, and he nearly toppled over.
This was one of the Nangong Family's secret treasuries—their true vault. Over the years, every fortune and treasure they had gained in Moon-Gazing City, along with all their important artifacts, had been stored here.
Nangong Xianglu quickly steadied himself, formed a hand seal, and sent streaks of golden light into the Guardian Array. In an instant, the breach in the array was repaired.
"Which insignificant wretches dare to run wild in the Nangong Family's territory?"
Nangong Xianglu glared and shouted.
His cultivation had reached the peak of the middle stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, and he was preparing to face his second heavenly tribulation. He knew nothing of what had happened in the family over the years, but as the Nangong Family's former patriarch, how could he not know why they had come to Moon-Gazing City?
Nangong Xianglu wore a gray robe. His face looked to be in his forties, and three long strands of beard fluttered over his chest, lending him an otherworldly air, almost like an immortal.
At Nangong Xianglu's challenge, everyone turned their eyes toward Ao Xie. After all, they had only come to investigate, while Ao Xie had led the attack on the treasury.
A sinister smile curled the corners of Ao Xie's mouth. His body flashed into motion, and the long halberd in his hand became a streak of golden light, thrusting toward Nangong Xianglu.
"A martial cultivator? Are you from the Immortal Martial Sect?"
Nangong Xianglu's cultivation was inferior to Ao Xie's, but this was the Nangong Family's headquarters. He feared nothing, not even a Mahayana Realm expert. Seeing Ao Xie wielding a halberd and closing in to fight at close range, he mistook him for someone from the Immortal Martial Sect.
Those who cultivated immortality through martial arts were known as martial immortals; before attaining immortality, they were martial cultivators. In Glazed Heaven, the Immortal Martial Sect was the only martial cultivation sect—the same sect Chen Xiao had joined in his previous life.
"Hmph!"
Ao Xie neither confirmed nor denied it. He gave a cold snort and brought his halberd crashing down toward Nangong Xianglu.
"Activate!"
Nangong Xianglu hurriedly retreated, guiding the array with his sword fingers. The formation below sprang into action. The purely defensive array abruptly shifted, transforming into a vast killing formation that instantly engulfed the entire Nangong Mansion.
The fierce killing intent of the Geng Metal aura enveloped everyone.
Nangong Xianglu had no idea what had happened or why so many cultivators had descended upon the Nangong Family's estate. But he knew one thing: he absolutely could not let these people leave alive.
The Nangong Family's treasury held something of the utmost importance. If word of it got out, it would spell disaster not only for the entire Nangong Family, but also for their patron, the Southern Overlord.
Now that the treasury had been exposed, even if the Nangong Family's secrets were revealed, they still could not let these people leave alive!
"Heavens! It's the immortal-grade Taiyi Gengjin Immortal-Slaying Array! So it really was the Southern Overlord's doing!"
As soon as the killing formation activated, someone recognized it.
"Nangong Clan, don't push this too far! I'm Chu Tiankuo, an outer sect steward of the Tianxuan Sword Sect. We were in the wrong today, but if your clan slaughters us all, are you trying to make a blood feud with the Tianxuan Sword Sect?"
A middle-aged man in a blue robe immediately summoned his flying sword to protect himself and shouted.
"Chu Tiankuo, you're only an outer sect steward at the Body Integration Realm. How can you speak for the entire Tianxuan Sword Sect? So what if we kill you?"
At that moment, two more figures flew out—both cultivators at the late stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.
"Nangong Xiangluan! Nangong Xiangque! How can it be you two? Didn't you die after failing your tribulations five hundred years ago?"
Chu Tiankuo recognized the two late-stage Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivators who had appeared.
The next moment, Chu Tiankuo shrieked again. "So it really is you! What exactly is your Nangong Family plotting by hiding here in Moon-Gazing City?"
"Heh..."
Nangong Xiangque said nothing. His hands moved rapidly through a seal, and in an instant, countless silver-white blades of light filled the entire formation.
Caught off guard, Chu Tiankuo was hacked into pieces in a single exchange.
The other cultivators were horrified. They hurriedly unleashed their defensive treasures, desperately resisting the Geng Metal blades, which appeared and vanished without a trace yet were terrifyingly powerful.
Meanwhile, Ao Xie wielded his halberd and clashed with Nangong Xianglu amid a clanging flurry of blows. The formation's attacks were powerful, but they could not break through Ao Xie's defenses.
Ao Xie was the heir of the Crystal Palace, a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Dragon Clan. Ever since he had been ambushed during his last tribulation, he had long since shed his arrogance. High-grade immortal artifacts now covered him from head to toe, and this mere Geng Metal Killing Array could not inflict any real harm.
However, Nangong Xianglu used the formation's power to hold Ao Xie at bay. For the moment, Ao Xie could do nothing to him.
"Xiangluan, leave these people to me. Take that item to Mingyu Mountain at once. We don't know what has happened to the family, and Shenhe and the others should be at Mingyu Mountain. That item must not be exposed."
Nangong Xiangque sent Nangong Xiangluan a voice transmission.
"Big brother, be careful."
Nangong Xiangluan nodded. Then he flashed over, activated the treasury's protective array, and entered the treasury.
"Looks like we'll have to change the plan."
Seeing the Nangong Family raise such a formidable formation, Cai Di immediately realized they must be guarding some secret—something they would protect even at the cost of slaughtering spies from powerful factions and antagonizing those factions!
The two dark, sinister wisps that had appeared in Cai Di's hands vanished at once.
"Ao Xie, keep Nangong Xianglu and Nangong Xiangque occupied as much as you can. Don't let them slaughter all these cultivators."
A sinister smile appeared on Cai Di's face. "Shadow, go in and see what treasures are in that vault."
Shadow had already turned into a wisp of nothingness. Before Cai Di could even give the order, he had slipped in behind Nangong Xiangluan and entered the array.
The first update is here.