8 Massive Hunt

The Xue clan elder hall was a large underground room with a long table at the center and statues on both sides left and right. There were two entrances to the hall, one in the back and one in the front, the back entrance being used for elders while the front entrance was where guests of the Xue clan such as caravan leaders would enter from.

Today, all forty-six elders of the Xue clan were gathered here; an unusual sight to see. Oftentimes even when a large-scale caravan stops by the Xue clan village, not all the elders would be bothered enough to attend an overview. Today was different however. The elder meeting was a precursor for the massive event that was to come later in the day. 

Entering the hall from the front side, Ji Gu led two Rank 2 Gu Masters to sit down at the foot of the table. The elders collectively frowned when they saw that the two muscular Rank 3 Gu Masters were not present for the meeting, but did not speak ill of the Ji clan for a minor offense such as this.

"Welcome Ji Gu and the denizens of the Ji clan to our humble Cao Da Mountain. We are pleased to have you." The clan leader of the Xue clan said. She sat at the head of the table, and although she wasn't a flawless beauty, she had an aura of dominance.

Most of the elders raised a glass of Melting Wine to the clan leader's speech. Even the elders who were openly affiliated with the Grand Elder raised their glasses. This was a matter of foreign affairs and not internal politics. To the Xue clan, although the Ji clan was very far away and could not invade them or support them, there was no harm in making allies with a large clan.

"Thank you, Xue clan leader. I think I speak for the whole Ji clan when I say that your management of the beast tide has been excellent."

As Ji Gu finished, the Grand Elder slightly grimaced. 

"Now then, let us get into the official business. Ji Gu, you told one of our squads that you were just here to resupply, but if that was the case, you wouldn't have opted to meet with us today." clan leader Xue Mei You started.

Ji Gu kept his signature eyes-closed smile and simply said, "guess."

"Hmph!" The Grand Elder snorted, but no elder said anything while they waited for the clan leader's stance. 

"...Interesting. You know your clan is the width of the Southern Border away, yet you, a Rank 3 Peak Stage Gu Master, are playing cheeky in a room with two Rank 4 Middle Stage Gu Masters and forty-six Rank 3 Gu Masters. I'm curious, are you so confident in your own ability or your clan backing you up?" Xue Mei You laughed diabolically. It was her aggressiveness and nature that made the assembly of elders choose her to lead the clan instead of the Grand Elder all those years ago.

At this moment, Ji Gu used his Essence Sense Gu once more. The first time he used it was when he entered the room, but he felt something different now and decided to see how strong this Xue Mei You truly was.

In her primeval essence's true nature, Xue Mei You had previously displayed normal characteristics for a Rank 4 Gu Master, maybe a little bit lower than it should have been for her Rank 4 Middle Stage cultivation, but it was within the margin of error. He was more interested in the Grand Elder, whose primeval essence seemed to spread widely throughout the clan, and one old Rank 3 Upper Stage Gu Master he saw save the group from the thousand beast king Vile Rabbit's trap. Now that he checked again however, it seemed that a demon's face was carved deep within Xue Mei You's primeval essence. Compared to the Grand Elder, she was leagues ahead of him, almost reaching the level of a Rank 5 Gu Master. If Ji Gu wasn't controlling a puppet at the moment and had brought his true body instead, he might hesitate before getting into a fight with the Xue clan. 

But he hadn't brought his main body, so there were no consequences right now.

"I assure you Mrs. Xue clan leader, my capabilities lie no further than protecting Ji An and Ji Wang Mei here on the long journey." Ji Gu said while gesturing to the two Rank 2 Gu Masters seating next to him.

"Ji Gu, I think we can get along quite well. You seem to have the qualities I like in an elder, maybe you can join the Xue clan as a primary advisor…"

"I think we can stop our games right there Mrs. Xue clan leader. My loyalty lies solely with the Ji clan."

"That's a shame, but regardless, your Ji clan has business in Cao Da Mountain, meaning my Xue clan has business with your Ji clan. I believe that our talks would go much smoother if you revealed your intentions, no?"

"Hehehe…"

What happened in the elder hall after that, only fifty-one individuals knew, but later in the same day the Xue clan's strongest squads all gathered in the mission hall.

"Xue Xia Yin." Xiao Pan said as if he was meeting an old friend.

"Xiao Pan, what brought your ass-kissing ass here today? I thought you never wanted to see me again." Xue Xia Yin seemed to regurgitate at the sight of his frenemy.

"Are you stupid? Everyone knows that the clan's been planning this hunt for days. I would've thought that someone like you would know a little bit more about the inner workings of the clan. You know, considering the whole nepotism thing."

"Fuck you! I swear if you let me catch you outside the clan you won't live to kiss another elder's ass!"

With the two Gu Masters cursing each other (but not their ancestors; Xue Xiao Pan wouldn't dare insult such a noble lineage), it became awkward for Xue Mingyu and the other members of the Xiao Pan squad to make conversation. Xue Mingyu barely knew anyone on the Xia Yin squad anymore. When he was in the academy he had gotten relatively close to Xue Liangren because he liked her, but after graduating and joining Xiao Pan squad they drifted away very fast. The only time he had heard from her in the past 6 months was when she broke through to Rank 2 and held a small celebration. Xue Mingyu didn't have nearly as many connections so he didn't bother with the party.

The loud sounds coming from all directions started to slowly soften. Soon, elders started to fill the mission center, which caused the Rank 1 and Rank 2 Gu Masters to turn their heads to the backroom they all came from.

"A majority of the Vile Rabbits have been slaughtered, but there are still many left. Not long ago, Elder Xue Liu Ri discovered the den they originate from, and today we will hunt them until none remain." Grand Elder Xue Gu Yuan spoke after gathering the crowd's attention with his Rank 4 Middle Stage aura.

The overpowering aura and his blood relation to Xue Xia Yin made Xue Xiao Pan stop his argument and pay attention to the surroundings. There were fifteen elders on the stage of the mission center, all of them dressed in their official wear. In the center was Xue Gu Yuan, and Ji Gu stood in a corner looking cool.

"Now then, follow along and don't get lost. No mercy for the Vile Rabbits!"

***

"Mingyu, are you feeling alright? You've been panting on this walk quite a bit…" Xue Sun Teng asked.

"Actually no, I think I caught a cold or something because I haven't been feeling that well lately." Xue Mingyu said.

"That's not good, I can check you for any illnesses if you'd like."

"That'd be great."

Xue Sun Teng used a Gu worm or two to scan Xue Mingyu for anything harmful, but he couldn't find anything. Actually, Xue Mingyu seemed almost inhumanly healthy. 

"Are you really okay, Mingyu? Now that I haven't found anything I fear you might've been poisoned or something…"

"Y-yeah, I don't think it's that. I don't have any way to defend against poisons, so if it was a poison I'd be dead by now…" Xue Mingyu's voice got weaker as he spoke, probably because he realized that he could benefit from a way to defend against poisons outside of his Second Wind Gu, which wasn't activating, so it seemingly had not recognized a legitimate threat to Xue Mingyu's health.

The groups of Gu Masters walked through the forests until they came along a hole in the ground. It seemed to reach far into the abyss with how dark it was.