Chapter 2918 The Peng Clan in the Storm

Seeing the man before him sobbing uncontrollably, shoulders shaking, utterly broken, Lin Xun furrowed his brow.

“Brother Peng...what kind of calamity has befallen you?” He asked softly, crouching down.

The man was none other than Peng Tianxiang! Once a radiant young master of the Immortal Imperial Peng Clan, and a devoted admirer of Dugu Youran.

In those days, he was handsome, spirited and admired wherever he went, with the mighty Peng Clan as his backing. Now, he was gaunt, ragged, and hollow-eyed, so unrecognizable that even Lin Xun failed to identify him at first glance. What kind of torment could possibly have reduced a man of such stature to this pitiful state?

After a long time, Peng Tianxiang finally stopped weeping. His trembling hands clutched Lin Xun’s sleeve as if clinging to his last lifeline. “Brother Lin...please...save my Peng Clan! Please, save us!”

He gripped with all his might, terrified that even the slightest loosened hold would shatter the fragile hope he grasped.

“Calm down first,” Lin Xun said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Then tell me what happened.” His voice carried a quiet yet profound power that reached deep into Peng Tianxiang’s heart, washing away his panic and despair.

Gradually, Peng Tianxiang’s breathing steadied. “Forgive my disgraceful display, Brother Lin,” he said bitterly.

“Never mind that,” Lin Xun replied. “Tell me everything.”

Peng Tianxiang drew several deep breaths, forcing down the trembling in his chest before finally speaking.

Eighteen years ago, the Ten Clans Alliance issued a public decree, ordering all forces in the Eternal True Realm to hunt down anyone with ties to Lin Xun. The announcement shook the heavens.

The Sixth Heaven Domain was thrown into turmoil. Peng Tianxiang never imagined that someone would betray him, leaking word of his close friendship with Lin Xun, and that led to his Peng Clan being targeted.

That year, like sharks smelling blood, many Immortal Imperial Clans of the Sixth Heaven Domain descended upon the Peng Clan. Some sought to seize their territory and power. Some coveted the vast cultivation resources the clan had amassed over countless generations. Others went further, eyeing the clan’s law power itself.

The Peng Clan became like a fat lamb surrounded by hungry wolves. They stood on the brink of annihilation. Peng Tianxiang’s father, Peng Zhan, patriarch of the clan, made a desperate decision. That very day, he sent his son away and forbade him ever to return.

On the same day, he publicly declared that all ties between them were severed, and from that moment on, Peng Tianxiang was no longer of the Peng Clan. It was an act of protection.

Unfortunately, even that could not quell the greed of the other Immortal Imperial Clans. On the contrary, their cruelty deepened. They threatened to capture every member of the Peng Clan and deliver them to the Ten Clans Alliance for judgment.

Driven to the brink, the Peng Clan could only bow their heads and yield, surrendering their lands, authority, and cultivation treasures one after another in a desperate attempt to buy their survival.

However, it was nothing more than drinking poison to quench their thirst. That could never sate the hunger of those Immortal Imperial Clans. In the days that followed, these Immortal Imperial Clans devised every possible scheme to torment the Peng Clan, stripping away their last remaining wealth bit by bit.

Just as the Peng Clan’s annihilation seemed inevitable, a decree swept across the Eternal True Realm: whoever stands against Lin Xun shall stand against the Origin Sect. The declaration echoed through the heavens, sending shockwaves across the world.

Those Immortal Imperial Clans that once saw the Peng Clan as easy prey now grew wary. Fear took root in their hearts and they dare not act as brazenly as before. At first, the Peng Clan thought their ordeal was finally nearing its end.

However, who would have thought that, as time passed, those Immortal Imperial Clans became restless once more? Though they ceased their open provocations, their schemes only grew darker. In the shadows, they launched a series of covert attacks. One after another, Peng Clan members scattered across the Sixth Heaven Domain were captured without a trace.

From then on, the remaining members of the Peng Clan lived in constant dread, afraid even to step beyond their doorsteps. Every day was filled with unease, never knowing when calamity would descend and extinguish their bloodline entirely.

When Lin Xun heard this, a storm of cold fury welled up within him. His gaze turned razor-sharp and the air around him faintly trembled. All of this...had started because of him!

Peng Tianxiang and the Peng Clan behind him had been dragged into disaster and suffered undeserved misfortune!

“Do you know what happened to those who were captured?” Lin Xun asked.

Peng Tianxiang shook his head. “All these years, I’ve hidden near the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range, too afraid to reveal myself. The information I’ve gathered is limited.”

Lin Xun’s eyes softened. Looking at Peng Tianxiang’s gaunt, ragged face, a dull ache welled in his chest. How could he not understand? Peng Tianxiang had fallen into such a wretched state because his heart was consumed with worry for his clan’s safety.

“You...have you been waiting for me here all this time?” Lin Xun asked.

Peng Tianxiang nodded, his voice hoarse. “Dragon Ridge Mountain Range once belonged to the Luo Clan, but it was taken by the Yao Clan. I believed that when you returned, you’d come to reclaim it. So...I waited for you here all these years.”

His shoulders trembled as he added, shame flickering in his eyes. “I know this is my Peng Clan’s grudge, but with my strength alone, I can’t do anything. And among all those I could think of...only you, Brother Lin, have the power to change anything...”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but Lin Xun understood.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xun rose to his feet and reached to help Peng Tianxiang stand. His expression hardened, his voice cold and resolute. “This began because of me. Your Peng Clan will receive the justice it deserves!”

The quiet oath carried the chill of an executioner’s blade. If he had not returned to the Sixth Heaven Domain this time, he dared not imagine whether the Peng Clan would have survived at all.

“Brother Lin...thank you!” Peng Tianxian’s voice broke as tears welled in his eyes. For years, he had lived in despair, feeling helpless and on the verge of collapse. Now...at last, he saw hope!

Lin Xun placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Brother Peng, lead the way. We are going to your clan now.”

Peng Tianxiang nodded fiercely. That day, the two departed from the Heavenly Water Divine State.

However, before leaving, Lin Xun had already sent the Black Water Dao Body to the Ling Clan, the other Immortal Imperial Clan rooted in this land. With the Black Water Dao Body’s power, erasing the Ling Clan from existence would be nothing more than a flick of the wrist.

......

The Celestial Azure Divine State.

In the past, the Peng Clan was the undisputed ruler here, their might spanning every corner of the land, and with countless sects and clans bowing beneath their banner. Even within the vast Sixth Heaven Domain, the Peng Clan stood among the strongest of Immortal Imperial Clans, their prestige rivaling that of the Wen, Heng, He, and Zhu Clans.

However, eighteen years ago, the Peng Clan’s might began to crumble. One by one, their vassals and territories were devoured, and even the wealth accumulated over countless ages was seized and divided among their enemies.

Everyone knew that if things continued this way, the Peng Clan’s downfall was only a matter of time. They would vanish and scatter like dust in the wind.

Heavenly Fortune Divine Mountain.

The stronghold of the Peng Clan.

On this day, in the ancestral hall, tension hung thick. Peng Zhan sat at the head of the hall, his face storm-dark, his hair and beard bristling with barely contained fury. Around him, the clan’s high-ranking figures stood grim and silent.

“You members of the Peng Clan would do well to think carefully. Are your treasures truly worth more than the lives of your own kin?”

In the center of the hall stood three outsiders. The one in front was a green-robed elder with a calm, condescending expression. His eyes gleamed like cold jade as his thin lips curled into a faint, disdainful smile. He was Wen Yonggui of the Wen Clan, here under the pretense of ‘negotiating a deal’ with the Peng Clan.

A Peng Clan elder’s voice trembled with fury. “One hundred million cosmic origin crystals for only nineteen of our captured Emperor-level clansmen? The Wen Clan truly knows no shame!”

As his words fell, grief rippled through the hall. Each Peng Clan elder felt a chill settle deep into their hearts. In the past, a hundred million cosmic origin crystals were nothing to the Peng Clan. They could have produced that sum without batting an eye.

However, years of plunder at the hands of the Immortal Imperial Clans had stripped them bare. To avoid the risk of annihilation, they had no choice but to pay a terrible price, sacrificing their wealth to avert disaster. By this point, their reserves were nearly exhausted. To them, a hundred million cosmic origin crystals was an impossible price!

Wen Yonggui merely smiled. “If you lack cosmic origin crystals, then trade with treasures. If those fall short as well...offer up the Heavenly Fortune Divine Mountain. There’s always another way.”

“You want us to surrender the Heavenly Fortune Divine Mountain? Over my dead body!”

Peng Zhan’s eyes blazed crimson as his voice roared through the hall. “I knew your Wen Clan was treacherous and ruthless, but I never imagined you would stoop so low as to covet the very foundation of my Peng Clan! You’re mad!”

Wen Yonggui’s expression remained calm. “Peng Zhan, anger will not save you. You know better than anyone that your Peng Clan has reached the end of its rope. In this Sixth Heaven Domain, do you think it’s only our Wen Clan that covets your Heavenly Fortune Divine Mountain? Which of the other Immortal Imperial Clan isn’t waiting to strike?”

He paused, then said slowly, “So why not hand it over to us? At least, for the sake of our past relations, my Wen Clan might still leave your Peng Clan a way to live.”

The atmosphere in the hall grew suffocating. Peng Zhan took a deep breath, his voice steady and firm. “We would rather shatter as jade than survive as clay. The Peng Clan would rather perish than hand over the Heavenly Fortune Divine Mountain!”

Wen Yonggui sneered coldly. “Very well. Let’s see how long your Peng Clan can last.”

With a flick of his sleeve, he turned to leave.

“Wait!” A Peng Clan elder couldn’t hold back. “What about our captured clansmen? What does your Wen Clan want in exchange for their return?”

Wen Yonggui didn’t even look back. “That negotiation is over. Even if you offered a hundred million cosmic origin crystals...no, a hundred billion, it would make no difference.”

He strode out of the great hall. Peng Zhan and the others were trembling with rage, their chests heaving violently. They longed to lunge forward, to strike, to wash away their humiliation in blood.

In the end, they forced themselves to hold back. They were utterly outmatched! If they dared to lay hands on Wen Yonggui, the Wen Clan’s army would storm their gates within days. And then the other Immortal Imperial Clans would seize the chance to strike. For a clan already tottering on the brink, it could lead to utter destruction!

If things reached that point, the Peng Clan would be truly doomed! They also knew all too well that if things continued this way, the Peng Clan would only sink further into ruin, and their position ever more dangerous...

However, there was nothing else they could do except stall for time, grasping at whatever hope remained. It was pitiful. It was despair itself. The Peng Clan had truly reached the end of the road, with nowhere left to turn.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, three figures were flung in from outside like kites with their strings cut, crashing into the floor and tumbling across the hall. Peng Zhan and the elders were startled. Looking up, they saw, to their shock, that it was Wen Yonggui and the two who had just left!

“They...”

Peng Zhan and the others’ faces changed drastically, their minds thrown into confusion. Just then, two figures appeared at the entrance of the hall.

Before they even stepped into the hall, a familiar, trembling voice rang out, choked with emotion, “Father! Your son has returned!”