More than half of the Hidden Clan, led by its Great Elder, had not obeyed the clan rules laid down by the Old Clan Chief while he was alive.
Once Yang Qing and his companions found the Spirit-Passing Treasure Pearl, they were supposed to leave this dead land with him and settle elsewhere.
That way, they would encounter an environment entirely unlike this place, and the peculiar mark in their blood would gradually fade until no one could detect it at all.
But after the Great Elder found the Yin-Yang People and obtained the so-called "Life-Extension Secret Art" from them, many members of the Hidden Clan changed their minds.
They wanted to hold their destinies in their own hands, rather than be controlled and swayed by others.
Moreover, the Old Clan Chief was gone. Those who had harbored other intentions could now seize the opportunity to act on them.
Thus, although fewer than a few hundred members of the Hidden Clan remained, those few hundred had now split into two factions.
Some declared their support for the orders left by the Old Clan Chief. They would follow Yang Qing and his companions out of this place, go somewhere new, and begin new lives.
Even more, however, declared that they would stay with the Great Elder, master the Life-Extension Secret Art, and take charge of their own lives.
"Do you know where this Life-Extension Secret Art came from? What consequences will you face once you become tainted by it?"
Wood looked at his clansmen. Their usual lifeless demeanor was gone, their eyes bloodshot and shining with unbridled excitement. His heart sank straight into the depths.
These clansmen had gone mad. All they thought about was rising above the crowd and freely controlling their own lives, yet they knew nothing of the