Everything continued for a while until disciples of the Luo family came out to maintain order.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting, that's enough!"
However, these Luo family disciples were only verbally intervening.
Until almost everyone who had hesitated before became a branded scoundrel.
Among them, the women were relatively better off; at least their clothes were mostly intact.
The men were less fortunate, especially some of the white-bearded old men, who were in a pitiful state.
Despite their advanced age, they had to practice the "捂档大法" (a technique of covering one's crotch).
"Come, come, those who want to follow my son-in-law, stand on the left; those who want to be cowards, stand on the right."
With a rustle...
Most people moved to the left side of the martial arts field.
Those branded scoundrels, with one hand covering their crotch and the other covering their faces, remained crouched on the ground.
"I say, move! Don't you know left from right? Why are you squatting in the middle?"
If Chu Tian were present, he would have recognized the speaker.
It was Luo Yicheng, whom he and Ma Deju had severely beaten the first time they met.
He had later also acknowledged Chu Tian as his sworn elder brother.
"Steward Yicheng, we... we also want to go to the left. Please ask them to return old man's clothes!"
An old man, with a snow-white beard more than a foot long.
He was squatting on the ground, covering his face with both hands, and pleading with Luo Yicheng.
You might ask why this old man wasn't covering his crotch?
That's because his beard was long enough that when he squatted down, his head dangled to the ground, directly obscuring his private parts.
As for Luo Yicheng, the young man was doing very well for himself.
After the previous chief steward, Luo Qingyu, was killed by Chu Tian, the position of the Luo family's Grand Steward became vacant.
Luo Yicheng, who had been staying in the mortal world to manage the Luo family's secular businesses, returned with Luo Yiyi. He was immediately parachuted into the position, and the title of Luo family's Grand Steward fell upon his head.
Of course, many people opposed this, but after Luo Yiyi, Chen Yuer, and Zhang Chengcheng, the three women, severely injured the old powerhouses of the Shenhai Hall with a single palm strike, such voices were completely silenced. The clan elders who had been living in retirement in the small world all became subdued.
In the martial world, strength is paramount.
Luo Yiyi had become their savior; who dared to defy her wishes?
However, in the Luo family's council hall at this moment, these individuals had reappeared.
The reason was nothing other than the stunt Chu Tian had pulled just now.
"Patriarch, we absolutely cannot go to war. Shenhai Hall is not something we can defeat."
"Yes, Patriarch. I've consulted the clan's ancient records, and there's very little information about Shenhai Hall. However, there's one sentence I remember very clearly: Shenhai destroys the world, myriad races rise, spiritual energy revives, heaven and earth change."
The one speaking was a man with white hair and beard, resembling an old scholar.
"Ancestor Tian, are you saying this 'Shenhai' is Shenhai Hall?"
An old man beside him pressed for details.
"It must be Shenhai Hall. Shenhai destroys the world... destroys the world!"
"Myriad races rise, spiritual energy revives... is the mythical era about to begin? I think we should drive these people out, and like the Song and Qi families, seal our small world and wait for the changes in heaven and earth to pass."
"Yes, I also think this is an opportunity. We should use this chance to recuperate, and when the situation stabilizes, we will make a strong return!"
A group of men, all seventy or eighty years old, who had difficulty walking, and some even needed support, stood in the middle of the hall without sitting.
They discussed amongst themselves, speaking one after another.
The old man called Ancestor Tian, seeing that his words had sparked collective brainstorming, smiled, stroked his beard, and nodded frequently.
His gaze kept drifting towards Luo Yiyi, who was sitting at the head of the table and had remained silent.
"Ahem..."
He suddenly coughed in the crowd.
These old fellows, shrewd as they were, understood the meaning of Ancestor Tian's gaze.
Several old men simultaneously turned towards Luo Yiyi's direction.
"Patriarch, we all unanimously agree that sealing the small world is the best solution. It allows us to preserve our strength and wait for the opportunity to rise powerfully!"
"Yes, Patriarch, we must not believe the slander of others!"
"Patriarch, the Luo family's millennium foundation cannot be destroyed!"
"Patriarch..."
More than a dozen old men below spoke in turn.
Though they addressed her as "Patriarch," there was no hint of respect in their voices.
Luo Yiyi's lips curled into a smile.
She remained silent.
Several old men did not understand what she meant.
Suddenly...
"Heh heh!" Laughter came from ahead.
They looked over and saw Luo Lingfeng, sitting on the leftmost side.
He was holding a teapot and patting away tea stains on himself.
He had likely chuckled and accidentally sprayed some out.
"Luo Lingfeng, you are now part of the Elder Council. It's one thing not to consider the family's interests, but why are you so unprofessional?"
The old man called Ancestor Tian was clearly the highest-ranking among them.
His title of Ancestor Tian stemmed from this.
It wasn't that his name was Tian Zu.
"Uh... I... I'm laughing at you; you're going to be unlucky!"
Luo Lingfeng placed the teapot on the tea table beside him.
"We're going to be unlucky? What do you mean? Our Elder Council has the right to remove the current Patriarch and select a new one. Who in the Luo family dares to touch us?"
A grey-robed old man next to Ancestor Tian's eyes widened.
"Is that so?"
Just then, a light, airy question arrived.
"Of course!"
Immediately, several old men responded in unison.
"Then this retirement home shall be disbanded!"
The light, airy voice echoed again. These old fellows' eyes widened; they were actually calling them a retirement home again.
At the same time, they noticed someone walking into the hall from outside.
This fellow was dragging something that resembled a large conch shell.
Everyone was stunned, even Luo Lingfeng was dumbfounded.
The person who arrived was indeed Chu Tian. Luo Lingfeng knew he would show up and that these old guys were in for trouble, but he hadn't expected Chu Tian to somehow pry this thing... off?
Yes, he had pried it off.
Chu Tian hadn't been present earlier; he had gone to the forbidden grounds.
He had heard before that in the Luo family's forbidden grounds, there was something like a giant conch shell that regularly produced Qi Soul Beads.
However, it could emit a demonic sound that disturbed one's mind.
And his grandfather, Chu Batian, had exhausted his entire cultivation to seal this thing.
Therefore, the eight great families wanted to rebel.
Chu Batian, along with his wife and son, disappeared directly in the Luo family's small world.
He had gone to the Xuan Tian Star, the Sea of Death, which he had visited before.
He had also left behind the Seal of the Four City Lords, which Chu Tian now kept within his Divine Altar.
All of this Chu Tian had learned from Chu Xinghe, his father.
Also, Xiao Hei... had lived with his grandfather on the Sea of Death for a period.
Therefore, upon returning to this place, Chu Tian's first priority was to see what this conch shell was.
And also, the spatial bag with the mark of Hurricane City that was previously found on Luo Qingyu.
Although the spatial bag looked ancient and heavily worn, the mark was undeniably familiar to him.
All the clues pointed to the possibility that the Luo family's small world might be connected to the Sea of Death.
However, after investigating the forbidden grounds, Chu Tian found nothing initially. The giant conch shell seemed to grow out of the rock.
But their materials were completely different. He pulled with force.
*Crack...*
Chu Tian was dumbfounded; the giant conch shell was directly torn from the rock wall.
Indeed, the ten-meter-large conch shell was not integrated with the rock wall.
"My strength has increased, and I'm still not in perfect control!"
Chu Tian shook his hand. He hadn't felt like he used much strength earlier.
But since it was already broken, what could be done?
He casually tossed the conch shell aside and looked at the rock wall behind it.
He scanned it with his divine sense.
"Hmm?"
Chu Tian discovered something different.
Before, with the conch shell in place, his divine sense could not penetrate.
Now, he saw that a magic array was carved vertically inside the rock wall.
The symbols on it were extremely profound; Chu Tian, being an idiot when it came to formations, couldn't understand them at all.
With a flash, he disappeared and reappeared in the resting place of Zhao Lei and the others.
This courtyard was where Chu Tian stayed the first time he visited the Luo family.
He directly found Miao Zuo and dragged him along.
Returning to the forbidden grounds, Miao Zuo, without Chu Tian needing to say anything, immediately spotted the magic array.
"Can you understand it?" Chu Tian pressed.
Because Chu Tian felt he had discovered something extraordinary.
"It's an ancient teleportation array, but... it's already damaged. I need to study it."
As Miao Zuo spoke, he took out a bag.
From it, he took out a small shovel, a small brush, and other tools.
"As expected."
Chu Tian was a little excited because he knew that Chu Batian, his grandfather, had gone to Xuan Tian Star from here.
Later, Chu Xinghe had returned with his mother from here.
It was likely that only members of the Chu family knew about this teleportation array and how to use it.
If it worked, he wouldn't have to worry about time constraints.
Another year and a half had passed. There were still more than two years left until the time Dao Tian had mentioned.
He had lost a year and a half of time. Although his cultivation and strength had greatly improved, Chu Tian vaguely felt that it was still not enough to deal with the final crisis.
He needed time, he needed to settle.
If he could go to Xuan Tian Star, he would have a thousand times the time.
He could even clash with the Void God Realm over there in Xuan Tian Star.
However, he didn't know if Xuan Tian Star, located in the second universe, still existed.
"Brother Tian, this array was forcibly used and is almost ruined, but the basic formation and directional coordinates are still there.
Give me some time, and I should be able to repair it...
However, it's strange that there's also a timed array here, where items can be transmitted from the other side at regular intervals."
Miao Zuo frowned and replied to Chu Tian after observing for a while.
"Mm, you just focus on this. Let me know if you need anything."
"I need Lin Ran's help. That kid's understanding of formations is no less than mine, and he has many brilliant ideas."
Miao Zuo directly requested personnel.
"You can go find him yourself. Remember, you must fix it!"
Chu Tian vaguely felt that this array might be more important than many other things.
"I'll do my best! I wonder where this array leads; I'm quite curious too!" Miao Zuo muttered.
Chu Tian didn't say that this teleportation array likely led to the Sea of Death.
Nor did he explain the function of the timed receiving array that Miao Zuo mentioned.
Miao Zuo didn't ask, assuming Chu Tian didn't know either.
Chu Tian knew very well that the legendary conch shell produced Qi Soul Beads; it now seemed that was just a guise.
The Qi Soul Beads weren't produced but sent from the other side.
"Who is on the other side? Could it be Grandpa?"
Many speculations arose in Chu Tian's mind.
With his questions, he prepared to leave. Seeing the giant conch shell, Chu Tian suddenly remembered.
The strength he had used earlier must have been considerable; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pull it off the mountain wall.
This thing's texture seemed quite resilient.
He decided to put it away and let Sui Xing analyze it later to see what uses it had, perhaps for crafting something.
Thinking this, he moved his divine soul.
However, the divine soul space, which had always worked for him to collect items, failed at this moment.
This giant conch shell couldn't be stored in his divine soul space.
"Hmm?"
Chu Tian reached out, and the muscles in his arm instantly swelled.
The veins on his muscles bulged like coiling pythons.
With a squeeze, the edge of the giant conch shell showed no reaction.
Chu Tian's brow furrowed slightly. This giant conch shell seemed more extraordinary than it appeared on the surface.
What was this thing made of? The strength of his grip could have powdered even the hardest forged steel.
With a thought, Moon God's Wrath appeared.
Chu Tian held Moon God's Wrath and used its sharpest tip.
He gently poked the giant conch shell.
*Ding...*
With a crisp sound, Moon God's Wrath and the giant conch shell vibrated simultaneously.
"Master... don't..."
Moon God's Wrath suddenly flew out of Chu Tian's hand.
It transformed into a human form, and Yue Yue appeared.
She looked panicked.
"Sacred relics colliding, we'll both explode!"
The little fellow looked at Chu Tian nervously. She was afraid Chu Tian would go mad and smash her本体 (true form) against it.
"What? You're calling this thing a sacred relic?"
Chu Tian was shocked. This was the first time he had heard Yue Yue refer to herself that way.
So, she was a sacred relic.
He had learned this title for the first time. In the Heavenly Dao World, she was a legendary weapon.
Could it be that legendary equipment in the Heavenly Dao World were all sacred relics?
Currently, Chu Tian only possessed Moon God's Wrath as a sacred-level weapon.
He had intended to smash the giant conch shell before him and have Sui Xing craft something from it.
Unexpectedly, it was also an incredible item.
"Master, it has fallen into slumber. It should be a heritage item, possibly related to this family."
Yue Yue circled the giant conch shell.
"Indeed, it is slumbering. Its owner is Luo Shen!"
At this moment, a weak voice echoed in Chu Tian's mind.
Chu Tian blinked and then exclaimed with surprise.
"You're awake? I thought you were dead!"
"You brat, I've lived for tens of thousands of years; I don't die that easily. Damn it... I was truly harmed by that fellow of good fortune this time."
The speaker was none other than the great angel, the Devouring Dragon, who had nearly died.
"If it weren't for that little fellow of good fortune, you might have been cut in half!"
Chu Tian pouted. Before the Devouring Dragon could retort, he continued his question.
"Who is Luo Shen?"
The Devouring Dragon, having had its scar picked, was about to continue that topic.
Hearing Chu Tian change the subject, it quickly replied.
"The God of Luo Water, a goddess who once governed this world!"
"God of Luo Water? The Luo family? Could it be..." Chu Tian's expression flickered.
"It's possible. Otherwise, why would this thing be here!" the Devouring Dragon said, and then fell silent.
Chu Tian chuckled. Wasn't this sacred relic meant for his beloved Luo Luo?
Thus, carrying the conch shell, he flew directly towards the Luo family's assembly hall.