Chapter 878: Under Our Ancestor's Radiance, Our People Shall Return Home

A flicker of killing intent flashed in Jin Chengwu's eyes. Without a doubt, Tang San had the upper hand. As a city lord visiting another main city, Tang San had been treated in an incredibly disrespectful manner, yet he hadn't made a fuss about it. If this matter were brought to the Ancestral Court, they would definitely lose. Not only were they in the wrong, but the Adamant Nymph clan already had quite a bad reputation in the Solstice Empire. Now that the Ancestral Tree had awakened, almost no Nymph Emperors would stand with them, and the Empyrean Dominion wouldn't get involved either.

"I will, of course, report this matter to Its Majesty and leave the final decision to it. But your clan leader has killed members of my clan, and Adamant City does not welcome guests like you. Please do not linger any longer and leave the city at once," Jin Chengwu said. It knew there was no advantage to be gained at the Ancestral Court, so its best option now was to endure in silence and leave the matter for the Adamant Nymph Emperor to deal with.

Driving Tang San and his group away was the best option. Jin Chengwu couldn't very well attack a city lord, even though it was a deputy city lord itself; even if they could win, the Ancestral Court would never tolerate such actions.

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan couldn't help but relax a little. They had already killed one of the enemy's Nymph Kings, which was most definitely enough to send a message, and now they were being allowed to leave. Moreover, if they took the matter to the Ancestral Court, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage. Their young clan leader was truly impressive!

However, to their surprise, Tang San remained seated and showed no intention of standing up. "Since your clan does not welcome us, we will leave after we've finished our business."

"Finished your business?" Jin Chengwu was stunned, a sense of unease rising within it. What else did this guy plan to do?

Before it could ponder further, a brilliant blue-golden light shone in Tang San's eyes as he bellowed, "I call upon the will of the Ancestral Tree."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a radiant blue-golden light burst out from his entire body, enveloping all the elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan in its glow.

Immediately, the Ancestral Tree's imprint within each elder made them shine with the same light. Their auras quickly linked with Tang San's, connecting through both bloodline and divine consciousness.

A grand and majestic life force erupted, and a massive blue-golden shadow burst through the building they were in, reducing it to ashes. The enormous light surged into the sky, reaching thousands of meters high in an instant. It then spread out, forming a colossal apparition.

As the blue-golden light appeared, Jin Chengwu attempted to intervene, but as soon as it moved, it felt the space around it grow thick and oppressive. A tremendous force of unparalleled majesty pressed down on him, rendering it immobile. The other Adamant Great Nymph Kings and Nymph Kings were similarly frozen, unable to move as they watched the once fire-infused inn crumble into dust while the blue-golden light surged into the sky.

The blue-golden light took the form of a massive tree with a giant canopy. The ethereal silhouette of the Ancestral Tree then started to grow clearer, and the life energy emanating from it was so overwhelming that even the vegetation outside Adamant City instinctively radiated its own life force in resonance.

Inside Adamant City, the mineral-type nymphs felt the immense life energy, and at the same time, they could clearly sense their own life force slowly being drawn away. The massive Blue-Gold Tree silhouette was absorbing their life energy, causing widespread fear and confusion among the denizens that were completely unaware of what had just transpired.

"Under our Ancestor's radiance, our people shall return home," Tang San's powerful voice reverberated across the sky over Adamant City, reaching every corner.

Specks of blue-golden light began to fall from the branches of the Ancestral Tree's image, descending into Adamant City. A few moments later, blue-golden rays of light started to rise here and there, transforming into ethereal tree-shaped apparitions. Some were large, some small, but all radiated the same blue-golden light.

"Bring them back," Tang San ordered in a low voice.

Figures emerged from the massive silhouette of the Ancestral Tree, none other than the twelve elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan. They transformed into vines, shooting toward the places where the blue-golden shadows of their clansmen appeared.

As the branches descended, the earth trembled.

One by one, blue-golden figures were pulled out by the vines, returning to the Ancestral Tree's light.

There were more than a hundred such figures, and most of them appeared to be nothing but chunks of wood, blue-golden trunks and branches. Those still intact were fewer than one in ten.

Jin Chengwu's expression finally changed drastically as he watched the Blue Gold Trees—or whatever remained of them—being retrieved by the vines.

The Ancestral Tree—this is truly the power of the Ancestral Tree. The Blue Gold Tree clan can bring the Ancestral Tree's power out of Skytree City? Such terrifying power—could even Its Majesty stand against it?

And then, there's the real problem...

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The Ancestral Court had issued a decree ordering that all Blue Gold Tree clan members and their remains be returned to Skytree City. Not half an hour back, Jin Chengwu had confidently assured Tang San that Adamant City held no such prisoners or remains thereof, yet now the truth was laid bare. There was no way to deny it.

The radiance of the Ancestral Tree continued for five full minutes, during which all the Blue Gold Trees in the city, whether alive or dead, were transported into the light of the Ancestral Tree's light.

As the Ancestral Tree's radiance gradually receded and sunlight shone upon the empty space where the inn once stood, Tang San and the twelve elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan reappeared before Jin Chengwu and the other Adamant Nymph clan powerhouses. Tang San's expression was just as calm as it had been, but the elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan were filled with visible grief and rage.

Beside them lay broken branches and incomplete trunks. Even the dozen or so Blue Gold Trees who were still alive were barely hanging on and were clearly in a dire state, with little life force left. There was no doubt that their life energy had been absorbed by the Adamant Nymphs.

Moreover, these were the still-alive ones, as well as the remains with some lingering life energy that allowed the Ancestral Tree's will to detect them. Those who had been dead for a while and whose trunks and branches had dissipated into dust could, of course, no longer be sensed. The Ancestral Tree had been asleep for many centuries—how many more Blue Gold Trees had perished in Adamant City throughout these centuries, their life force used as a mere cultivation resource?

Jin Chengwu realized that it could move again, but now, its heart was gripped with fear.

"Your Highness, I can explain. What you found must have been hidden by some individuals, and has nothing to do with Adamant City," it said urgently.

"Nothing to do?" Tang San asked calmly. "As you may have noticed, I personally found these people using my divine consciousness, so I am well aware of where they were. Over a third of them came from the city's lord's manor...

your

manor. Please, go ahead and explain now. I am all ears."

Jin Chengwu was left speechless.

"Monsters, you're all monsters!" Jin Miaosen was now kneeling before the broken remains of her clan members, sobbing uncontrollably.

Earlier, when Tang San had killed the Fire Adamant Nymph King and the other fire-attribute nymphs in the inn, it had seemed a bit excessive. Now, with the evidence laid out before them, the enmity between the two clans had become a blood feud.

The Blue Gold Trees were the most precious source of life energy on the planet; this was known to all, whether demons or nymphs. Yet, regardless of their value as resources, they were still a first-tier clan that had produced Emperors; they were the rulers of Skytree City and heirs of the Ancestral Tree. It was one thing to act against them in secret, but being exposed in public was an entirely different matter. Worst of all, the Ancestral Court had just issued a decree to that effect not one month before, and Jin Chengwu had just confidently declared that Adamant City did not have any Blue Gold Trees.

Things had truly gone past the point of no return.