"To be frank, fellow Daoist, we weren't part of the reinforcements. We merely happened upon you by chance. It really is time for us to leave now."
"Indeed. We should find another secret realm to recuperate in first."
Gu Fu and Jin spoke in succession. Though they had quelled this small upheaval, establishing a foothold was now their greatest priority.
"I see. Why not travel together, then? We can look out for one another. Our clan has fallen behind the other evacuating clans. If you hadn't intervened, we would have been wiped out. With all the Heavens falling now, we ought to join hands and help each other."
Lu Canglan spoke. As the clan's acting leader, he too felt utterly helpless. Ever since that Female Emperor had died in battle several epochs ago, the Heavens had been forced entirely onto the defensive.
They were powerless to resist, unable even to assemble a proper force to launch an offensive. Now, nearly all the clans unwilling to fall into darkness were retreating while fighting back. Sadly, countless clans in the Heavens were still overtaken and offered up in blood sacrifices every day. The plight of Lu Shan's lineage was merely one tiny corner of this vast starry expanse.
Yes, the entire Heavens no longer had anyone to raise the banner. The Immortal Emperor had fallen, and everything had turned to ashes amid the rout. The clans of the Heavens fled wherever they could. Once they could no longer sense the enemy, they stopped to recuperate; when the enemy arrived, they fled again. This had become the norm for untold years. Even Lu Shan, an Ancient Ancestor of his clan, had lived this way from the earliest days he could remember.
Yet some still could not outrun their pursuers. Every day, countless clans