The enemy might already be aware of their presence by now, but they were definitely not the target.
Now that Jiuxiao and Pengluo had both broken through, Pengluo could no longer send word through the power of their contract.
Tang Ru looked over the people he had brought along. The most correct decision right now was to wait!
Wait for Gu Changsheng and the others to return, and wait for the alchemists within the Gu clan to rise up in resistance and hold the invaders off to buy time.
With the strength of Gu Chuan and his men, going out now would just be throwing their lives away!!
In a single clash, they would all be captured.
Yet... alchemists were frail in strength, possessing almost no combat power.
Their opponents now had three full Mahayana realm cultivators; they would suppress everyone in no time.
When that happened, Lu Hengtian and his cohort would never spare Ye Feng and the others!!
If they truly managed to capture Ye Feng and his companions, failing their breakthroughs was a minor matter... Li Guanqi being held hostage with threats was what would be most fatal!!
Everyone was staring at Tang Ru, waiting for him to make a decision.
They had already tried every possible method. Unless this realm was broken open by a powerful external force, there was no way for them to leave on their own.
Tang Ru took a deep breath and looked around at everyone.
Gu Chuan said in a deep voice, "Elder, give the order. Whatever it is, we will carry it out."
Tang Ru smiled with a touch of helplessness. "I could order you to die, but I would never send you to an obviously meaningless death...
"Three Mahayana realm experts. Even if you poured out everything you had, what difference would it make?
"This situation has no easy answer."
With that, Tang Ru looked at the crowd and issued his first order in a grave voice.
"Everyone, conceal your aura with all your might. As for the Gu clan members here... seal the primal energy in their dantian and their souls, then stuff them into Gu Chuan's realm."
Gu Chuan sighed and asked, "That's it?"
Tang Ru smiled. "That's it. Just take care of that."
Gu Chuan gave Tang Ru a deep look, then turned to make the arrangements.
They absolutely could not let the Lu clan discover their presence.
Yet just as Gu Chuan turned around, he suddenly seemed to realize something.
His eyes flickered, but when he looked back, where was there any sign of Tang Ru?
Emerging from the dungeon, Tang Ru was greeted by continuous explosions, accompanied by heaven-shaking battle cries that rang incessantly in his ears!!
Cultivators of the Lu clan and Zhu clan were frantically searching for the realms hidden within the Gu clan.
Yet with Gu Li in the Gu clan, along with their terrifying network of connections, the hidden grotto-heaven blessed lands could only be uncovered through special means.
The Lu clansmen scoured inch by inch like headless flies anywhere a grotto-heaven blessed land might exist.
Tang Ru hid behind a cluster of boulders, his eyes darting restlessly.
At this rate, the Lu clan would uncover clues sooner or later.
He dared not gamble on whether Li Guanqi and the others could return before the Lu clan found them.
Tang Ru gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed tightly on the battle in the sky above.
The Gu clan's mid-tier experts were already at a distinct disadvantage. Had it not been for several Gu clan elders emerging from secluded cultivation one after another, they would likely have fallen long ago.
Furthermore, the other two alchemists were already on the back foot.
Lu Hengtian's sword gleams were frigid, his strikes ruthless and unsparing.
For the crone to inspire such wariness in Lu Hengtian, she naturally possessed heaven-defying methods of her own.
At this moment, the crone handled the elderly alchemist with effortless ease. The intensity of his flames was far too weak to inflict any harm on her.
The crone's face was lined with wrinkles as deep as grooves in tree bark, and her sagging skin only made her appear all the more sinister.
The cane in the crone's hand was as swift as a spear. Raising her hand, she thrust it through the elderly man's shoulder and planted a vicious kick!
Bang!!!
The old alchemist flew backward like a discharged arrow, slamming violently into a massive mountain.
Pfft!!
Spitting blood, the pale-faced old man bellowed in fury, "Zhu Ying! Your Zhu clan is courting death!
"If you fail to kill me today, tomorrow I will rally three hundred cultivators to flatten your Zhu clan!"
A chilling glint flickered in the crone's eyes, and she sneered.
Teleporting to his side, she thrust out a palm print of spiritual light that blotted out the sky, her voice cold as ice.
"Oh, I'm so frightened. Since that's the case... you won't be leaving today!!"
Boom!!!
Seeing this, the old man hurriedly whipped out a Purple Cloud Banner and flung it into the air, instantly forming a heavy defensive barrier.
Crash!!
The banner shattered, but it bought the old man enough time to break away and flee.
The crone furrowed her brows. "Stop wasting time! They've surely noticed by now—hurry up!!"
Boom!!!
Yu Chang'an sprayed blood from his mouth, the flesh on his body mangled as if it had been ripped off raw.
"Lu Hengtian! Hurry up! I can't hold on much longer!"
Gu Lie roared with laughter. "A woman through and through! You've barely lasted a moment and you're already collapsing?
"Your grandpa hasn't even had his fill yet!!!"
Yu Chang'an clutched his shoulder and retreated rapidly through the air, barking in cold fury,
"You like having your fill, do you?! I'll give you more than you can take!"
Buzz!!!
As he spoke, Yu Chang'an's eyes flashed dark red, gleaming with sharp luminescence as he snapped his gaze toward the old man before him!!
Bang!!!
Gu Lie's fist smashed into the side of Yu Chang'an's face, sending the man flying backward like a tattered sack.
The entire lower jaw of his face was shattered. Had it not been for the formidable protective spiritual light shielding him, that single punch would have blown Yu Chang'an's head apart.
Gu Lie frowned where he stood.
In that very instant just now, he had felt his divine sense blanketed across the surroundings get devoured clean by an inexplicable force!!
Thud!!!
Yu Chang'an's body was embedded deep inside the mountain.
Gu Lie did not pause to ponder; he pressed the attack without hesitation.
Boom!!!
Gu Lie's body was sent flying backward at an even greater speed!!!
His entire right arm had been ripped clean off by a terrifying force, dripping with blood.
Gu Lie fell back rapidly, his brow knitted tight, tiger eyes glaring intently at the figure amidst the billowing dust.
There stood Yu Chang'an, his figure now burly and his hair disheveled as he hung in midair.
He licked the blood from the corner of his lips and casually crushed the old man's severed arm, letting the blood trickle into his mouth as he swallowed it.
Snap!
Slipping on the old man's knuckledusters, Yu Chang'an cracked his neck and said chillingly,
"Come. Let me feel just how strong your power truly is!"
Boom!!!
A crater hundreds of zhang wide blasted open on the mountain, and the man shot forward in an instant. The surge of vitality and blood energy made Gu Lie furrow his brow.
The man's eyes...
"Could it be that after devouring my divine sense, he gained my power?
"How could something be this absurd?"
Yet as the two clashed and traded flesh-shattering blows, the old man realized that Yu Chang'an truly had obtained his power!!
Even the rhythm and style of his punches were seventy percent identical to his own!!
Lu Hengtian heard the crone's voice and swept his gaze over the fierce clash in the distance.
Lu Hengtian slashed and wounded the elder before him, gave a nod, and then teleported ten thousand zhang up into the sky.
With a wave of his hand, dozens of pitch-black array plates the size of wooden barrels arrayed themselves in the void.
Lu Hengtian's eyes flickered. Reaching into his robes, he drew out a black treasure seal and crushed it, unleashing an outpouring of black demonic flames.
The surging demonic flames instantly shot into the array plates, causing them to emit a soft, shimmering glow.
Waves of mysterious spatial fluctuations rippled outward. Seeing this, Tang Ru was stricken with sudden panic!!
These array plates...
With his discerning eye, he could naturally tell that these things... were used to detect hidden spatial fragments.
If they managed to locate Ye Feng and the others, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Chapter 896