53 Awakening of the Rank 5 Guardian
"You seem to be getting easily distracted lately. Are you still quite concerned about the inheritance being a trap?" Chen Wang, who is gazing at the horizon alongside Chen Wei, comments calmly.
"I... was just... reminiscing about a conversation I had with Mei'er a few days ago." Chen Wei quickly wipes the distracted expression off his face as he recalls his conversation with Wang Mei about them being otherworldly demons.
"But that's not important now, as we're nearing the climax of this war that has plagued Mount Longhua Shan for nearly a decade." Chen Wei looks around, seeing hundreds of Gu masters, all at least rank 2, with rank 3 elders numbering in the dozens and a rank 4 leader of the clan inside a military tent at the center of the He An clan's military camp.
"The clan leader is really going all out; he surely believes this is his big chance to reach rank 5, maybe even immortality." Chen Wei remarks.
"Not just him, but all the leaders of the three clans on Longhua Shan Mountain. And if it weren't for us managing to prevent the information from leaking, it would have been Gu masters from all over the southern border." Chen Wang heaves a sigh of relief, thinking of the chaos they managed to avoid, made possible only by the three clans uniting to prevent any hint of the inheritance from leaking.
This was probably the first time the three had cooperated so honestly since the war began. In fact, they were so efficient in concealing information about the inheritance that even the vast majority of rank 2 Gu masters in this war camp were unaware of it, as such knowledge was common only among elders or high-ranking rank 2 Gu masters.
In the eyes of most, the He An clan merely halted its advance due to resource and manpower shortages. This brought sighs of disappointment from He An members and cheers of joy from those in the other two clans.
"If information about this inheritance were known, rank 5 Gu masters would be the least of our worries..." Chen Wei speaks, for him, the greater concern is the immortals who could wipe out this mountain with ease for a possible immortal Gu inheritance.
In fact, one of the reasons he believes this inheritance was left by a rank 8 Gu master is that the fact that the inheritance is widely known among mortals, yet no immortal has claimed it so far, only indicates that those who searched could not find anything and ultimately dismissed this inheritance as a false rumor.
At least, that's Chen Wei's theory, but even so, he's already extensively prepared in case information about the inheritance leaks out and rank 3, rank 4, and rank 5 Gu masters start flocking to Mount Longhua Shan. If that happens, he's prepared with various Gu and resources to assist him and his family as they travel through the various mountains of the southern border as they flee Longhua Shan Mountain.
Of course, this is if the immortals delay their actions and don't come immediately after hearing about the immortal Gu inheritance. If that happens, all the Gu masters here could die before they even notice, or they could be caught as slaves by demonic immortals. Chen Wei had already discussed with Wang Mei about the horrible fate they could face, even giving her a Gu to kill herself if necessary to avoid this fate.
"Elder Chen Wang! Elder Chen Wei! The clan leader is summoning everyone for a new meeting at the central military tent." A Gu master messenger bows as he informs both of them about the leader's orders.
"Hmm... it's likely the other clans are beginning their more intense preparation movements, if Wang Xi decided to hold another one of these meetings." Chen Wang says as he walks alongside Chen Wei, both heading towards the central military tent.
"It also seems that the Feng Zhi and Xiong Mao clans will continue their alliance to deal with us, mainly over this inheritance that gives an advantage to Water path cultivators." Chen Wei remarks, turning his head back to see in the distance a large irregularly shaped lake, spanning hundreds of meters in length and width.
"They might even deepen their cooperation... I believe they might be planning a merger, as they lack the strength to survive the wolf pack alone." Chen Wang speaks as they quickly enter the central military tent, which along with them has nine rank 3 elders and the clan leader.
"It seems we'll have to wait a bit longer for everyone to arrive..." Chen Wei murmurs as he respectfully greets all the elders present, as well as the clan leader.
Chen Wei spends the time waiting for the other elders having a friendly conversation with the clan leader, who, despite not having the best opinion of Chen Wei, as son-in-law and father-in-law, they publicly have to act harmoniously and friendly, especially now that Wang Mei is carrying Chen Wei's heir in her belly.
So the time passed quickly until all twenty three elders of the clan who were on the war camp arrived at the central tent. "Well, now that everyone is here, we can start our meeting."
"Firstly, to state what I believe all elders here already expected and knew through informants, the Feng Zhi and Xiong Mao clans have merged their war camps and are likely planning a joint attack." All the elders of the clan show no change in expression upon hearing this, as there is no one in this room who wasn't already aware of this development.
"And of course, as everyone is aware, we will be at a numerical disadvantage for higher cultivation ranks in this battle." The leader uses an information path Gu to create an illusory image that appears to be made of water, demonstrating the numbers of Gu masters on both sides to everyone in the room.
"As everyone can see, our side has 23 rank 3 Gu masters... of whom, 6 advanced to rank 3 in the last twelve months and may still lack experience or methods." He speaks this part while glancing quickly at Chen Wei, who is the great exception of this group, having recently advanced but already having killed the once-considered greatest genius of Mount Longhua Shan, as well as Mo Kai, a renowned elder who was a seasoned war veteran.
"For the Feng Zhi clan, their numbers stand at 14 rank 3 Gu masters after they suffered the loss of 5 elders in the past months," Wang Xi narrates the images and numbers formed by the information path Gu he used.
"For the Xiong Mao clan, the number of rank 3 gu masters is 12, after 2 of their elders died in recent months... of course, when it comes to rank 4 Gu masters, I will be facing two at once, while for rank 3 Gu masters, it will be 23 of us against 26 of them." Well, of course, 49 elders are not the total number in the clans of Longhua Shan Mountain, but the few remaining, totaling no more than 15 together, are too old to be of any use in combat and would hinder more than help in battle.
"Of course, we have the advantage of much greater unity than these two clans, which are forced to ally due to their precarious situations... furthermore, due to the nature of this inheritance, the cultivation of the Water path in our He An clan will have a significant advantage over the Wind and Strength of the other two clans." Wang Xi declares magnanimously and decisively.
The knowledge that this inheritance belonged to the Water path was merely a guess by everyone, but despite that, it is almost like an absolute certainty, as the large and magnificent lake that now occupies an area of hundreds of square meters, until just over a month ago, did not exist for anyone to see.
In fact, this region that is now occupied by a large lake, filled with fish and Water path Gu, was a large low-lying region with a desert climate that produced small amounts of Earth and Fire path Gu until less than a month ago.
This was the effect of a rank 4 Gu being activated and shining with a dazzling blue for three days while creating this artificial lake, while various other rank 1 and 2 Water path Gu began to emerge continuously in the region, now a large lake with only a small island in the center and a wooden temple on the island.
Of course, such a significant change in local geography made even those rank 1 Gu masters who knew the region suspicious, but they never came to know the fact that this was a rank 5 inheritance, since except for the elders, even those rank 2 Gu masters who will participate in this battle are being kept in the dark about what caused this great change.
"Well, now that we've reviewed the general situation, let's focus on specific points to win this battle, starting with..." Chen Wei listens to the leader's detailed explanations and tactics with little attention, as he and he also imagines all the elders have memorized these tactics down to every point and comma, knowing even the smallest details by heart.
In fact, Chen Wei's mind at this moment is on the Gu that allowed the elders to conclude that this is a rank 5 inheritance: the rank 5 Water dragon Gu. This gu is lying dormant while sleeping peacefully in the small temple on the island in the middle of the lake.
The Water dragon Gu is constantly emitting an aura that is imperceptible to rank 1 and 2 Gu masters, who can't even see the Gu that is hiding from them. But for those who are rank 3 and 4, the conversation is different, as the aura they feel has a tone of warning and threat, as if it were saying that if they were to attempt to obtain the inheritance prematurely, they would meet a swift and cruel death.
This is the only reason why all the clans are still waiting outside and haven't attacked the lake to reach the temple in the middle with all their might, as those who do would attract the wrath of a rank 5 Gu, renowned as one of the strongest melee attackers of the Water path, with his only demerit being his consumption of primeval essence, which is no longer a problem for this Gu now that it is a wild one.
"...Well, finally, we must be very careful with the elder of the Feng Zhi clan, Lou Co... he was able to discover various of this inheritances in the past, so it's possible he has information on this one as well." Wang Xi continues with his speech that has been going on for more than an hour without stopping "...anyway, even if he doesn't, we must focus on kil-!"
The words of the clan leader are cut short when he feels an overwhelming aura belonging to a rank 5 Gu awakening. Clearly, he is not the only one who senses this, as judging by the shocked expressions of all the elders, they too have definitely noticed this aura, and the same must be true in the enemy's war camp.
"Let's go!" Without needing to say more, the clan leader, along with all the elders of the clan, exits the military tent to be greeted by the sight of several rank 2 Gu masters with panic expressions on their faces. For the first time, they have begun to feel the overwhelming aura of the rank 5 Gu, which is no longer hiding from them.
"Everyone calm down! This is the aura of a rank 5 Gu guarding the lake in front of us!! Everyone calm down because this Gu has no intention of attacking us; it is just announcing the opening of an inheritance!" Hearing the leader's shouts, as well as seeing the calm expressions of him and the clan elders, the panic that was beginning to emerge like a flame is quickly extinguished. The Gu masters of the He An clan begin to talk among themselves about this inheritance, which they only discovered the existence of now but quickly concluded that this is the reason they are here, not what was told to them before.
The clan leader looks at the island in the middle of the lake, where the Water Dragon Gu is now floating amidst the temple, roaring with great excitement as if a moment he had been waiting for a long time had finally arrived.
"Well, gentlemen, now will be a decisive hour in the history of our He An clan. May the Heavens be with us." Wang Xi speaks as he walks calmly, with the elders of the clan following him closely, to the end of the He An clan's military camp, where, due to the flat geography of the region, they can see the enemy camp in the distance on the horizon.
In the enemy military camp, they see the elders and leaders of the Feng Zhi and Xiong Mao clans, who seem to have had the same idea as them and also went out to look at the opposing military camp.
Prominently featured is an old man with white hair exuding an aura of authority and calmness like a wise governor scholar, wearing white clothing while holding a fan in his hand. This old man is the leader of the Feng Zhi clan, who less than a month ago was a man of no more than forty-five years old, so his new appearance left the elders of the He An clan somewhat shocked.
Beside the old man, almost as his opposite, is a woman with bronzed skin of beautiful youthful and wild appearance, highlighted by her clothes that combine white, black, and red in a dazzling way, along with the large neckline on her chest that would make any man feel excited. But this woman with a youthful appearance is actually older than the leader of the Feng Zhi clan, She is a woman that no one on Longhua Shan Mountain would know because she is the famous leader of the Xiong Mao clan.
