Two Forms Continent, central region.
A pavilion that had been abandoned for years and had almost fallen into ruin stood at the center of the continent.
This was none other than the ancestral land of the Su Imperial Clan, one of the twelve great imperial clans.
Even though the Su Imperial Clan had been gone for a hundred thousand years, no one had dared to occupy this prime cultivation spot, where the natural energy of the Two Forms Continent was most concentrated.
Some clans, however, had quietly moved their ancestral lands closer to that of the Su Imperial Clan.
The closest of them was none other than the Wang Clan, which had once been a subordinate clan of the Su Imperial Clan.
"Ancestor! What is that?"
Inside the Wang Clan's protective formation, quite a few people turned to an old man before them and asked. His hair was streaked with white, but the vitality in his body was immense.
The Wang Clan was closest to the Su Imperial Clan's ancestral land. Besides seeing a gigantic blood-colored pillar that reached into the sky rising from its center, they could also see veinlike patterns crawling across the ground.
The patterns crisscrossed and linked together, forming a vast blood-colored formation.
The presence emanating from the formation made even the old man standing at the front of the crowd feel his heart tremble.
After all, he had successfully broken through to the Great Emperor Realm.
Although he was only at the First Heaven of the Great Emperor Realm, he still stood above countless living beings in the Black-Yellow Realm.
"The Liu Imperial Clan must have made its move!"
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly. He could vaguely sense what seemed to be a terrifying presence within the blood-colored formation.
That person's cultivation was definitely higher than his.
Over the years, the Liu Imperial Clan had occasionally sent people into the Su Imperial Clan's ancestral land.
Others might not have known, but he had learned a thing or two.
Though it was possible the other side simply did not care whether he knew.
"The Liu Imperial Clan?"
At the back of the crowd, an old man dressed in an elder's robes looked excited. "Ancestor, could it be that the Liu Imperial Clan intends to have our Wang Clan replace the Su Imperial Clan and become a new imperial clan?"
That was the promise the Liu Imperial Clan had made them.
"Right! The clan leader went to the Realm Sea, and even his soul tablet shattered. It was very likely the Su Imperial Clan that did it. Once we become a new imperial clan, we'll make the Su Imperial Clan's people serve as dogs for our Wang Imperial Clan!"
Another person spoke, his voice carrying unmistakable anger.
They had not expected the Su Imperial Clan to be so bold.
Although the Wang Clan's leader had not reached the Emperor Realm, he had gone bearing an imperial decree from the Liu Imperial Clan. Yet the Su Imperial Clan's people had dared to kill him.
For the Wang Clan, that was a tremendous loss!
Fortunately, an Emperor Realm expert had emerged from the Wang Clan. Otherwise, they would have taken a loss all the way to their grandmother's house.
"Do they still think they're the second imperial clan of old? What a joke! Once we turn the tables and become the masters, I'll get to order the former second imperial clan around too. Hahahaha!"
"Shut up!"
Just as the discussion was growing heated, the Wang Clan's ancestor barked at them.
The crowd fell silent at once.
"It is not our place to point fingers at whatever the Liu Imperial Clan does. We need only follow their wishes!"
As he spoke, he turned to look in another direction.
News of the Devil Race's emergence had already reached them.
Of course, as an Emperor Realm expert, he naturally had access to more sources of information.
Among the things he had learned was the fall of the Zhao Imperial Clan.
The one thing that puzzled him was why, when the continents ruled by the other imperial clans had all been invaded by the Devil Race, there was not a trace of them on the Two Forms Continent.
Could the Devil Race have been wary of the Liu Imperial Clan's deterrence?
After all, the Two Forms Continent was closest to the Liu Imperial Clan's One Origin Continent.
But that explanation did not seem to hold up either.
Even the One Origin Continent under the Liu Imperial Clan's rule had suffered a large-scale attack by the Devil Race, with countless dead and wounded.
He simply could not make sense of it.
As he pondered this, the blood-colored patterns covering the Su Imperial Clan's ancestral land began to turn black.
At the same time, a dense Sha Qi spread outward from the Su Imperial Clan's ancestral land.
"Everyone, get back inside the clan's protective formation!"
The Wang Clan's ancestor let out a terrified roar.
He had seen that as the Sha Qi gradually spread, every animal and plant it touched, without exception, turned into a rising blood-colored mist that flowed into the gigantic blood-colored pillar.
Even he, a Great Emperor expert, felt his scalp tingle.
Was all this the Liu Imperial Clan's handiwork?
Liu Imperial Clan, One Origin Continent.
"You'll die first!"
Instinct told Su Ting that the other side had very likely laid a trap for the Su Imperial Clan.
And by coming here, they had jumped straight into the trap the Liu Imperial Clan had dug long ago.
At the thought, Su Ting did not hesitate. Seven-colored lightning surged from his body, and he gripped his spear, ready to finish Liu Ruyan off.
But just as he was about to move, a series of whimpers came from behind him.
"Something's wrong. My cultivation... why is it gradually draining away?!"
"Mine too!"
Su Ting turned around and saw that the first to speak were elders with relatively low cultivation.
They discovered to their horror that the power within them had begun to drain away beyond their control. Even their Emperor Blood seemed to have come alive, slamming frantically against their meridians as if trying to burst out of their bodies.
Wisps of blood-colored mist began to rise above each of their heads.
They tore straight through the air, converging on the blood-colored pillar of light that stretched between heaven and earth!
In just a few dozen breaths, the elders, who had gained greatly increased lifespans and grown much younger in appearance after breaking through to the Emperor Realm, saw their flesh begin to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Wrinkles covered their faces.
And that was only because they were Emperor Realm experts.
Would ordinary clan members not be refined in an instant?
"Clan leader!!"
For a moment, everyone turned their eyes to Su Ting.
By now, how could they not guess that the changes in their bodies had something to do with the Liu Imperial Clan?
But what kind of method could make even experts as powerful as those in the Emperor Realm so vulnerable?!
"Liu Imperial Clan, you've truly gone mad!"
Suddenly, Su Ting seemed to realize something. His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, and he roared at Liu Ruyan, "You even dare to use a formation that outrages both man and god!"
"Wh-what... what is that?"
In another direction, Yuwen Shendu and the other ten great experts felt their hair stand on end as they watched the changes in the Great Emperors of the Su Imperial Clan.
Leaving the other Emperor Realm experts aside, even Su Yun and the others at the Minor Perfection Peak Emperor Realm had begun to wither.
That meant that if the Liu Imperial Clan used this method on them, they would be utterly unable to resist it too.
It was downright terrifying!
"The legendary... Myriad Spirits Return to Ruin Ghost Immortal Baleful Formation..."
The others turned and saw that Yuwen Shendu's face had gone pale.
When he spoke those words, the other imperial clan leaders also searched their memories for information about the formation.
Clearly, they too had thought of the foremost formation recorded in their clans' ancient texts as having been forbidden.
"Oh! You recognized it!"
Seeing Su Ting's expression, Liu Ruyan smiled to herself.
Even the humiliation of having just been defeated by Su Ting vanished without a trace.
"So what if you know? My Liu Imperial Clan has prepared for this day for a hundred thousand years. How could anything go wrong?"
"As for you... you can only watch with your own eyes as you are transformed into energy to nourish my clan, and watch my clan accomplish this undertaking for the ages and become the only immortal clan in the Black-Yellow Realm's history to surpass an imperial clan!"
"Your Su Imperial Clan deserves the greatest credit!"
"Hahahaha!"
To kill was not enough; she had to crush their hearts too!
Liu Ruyan intended not only to wipe out the entire Su Imperial Clan, but also to make them die in despair and helplessness.
"Oh, right, a word of warning: anyone who carries your Su Imperial Clan's bloodline cannot escape the formation's reach, even at the ends of the earth!"
That meant that not only would Su Ting and the others die today, but even the Su clanspeople far away in the Realm Sea would have to die!
After all, the Myriad Spirits Return to Ruin Ghost Immortal Baleful Formation used a clan's bloodline as its guide.
As long as they shared even a trace of that bloodline, even if they were only from a branch, they could not escape death.