Chapter 41: Life and Death as a Game

  Endless howling, Hu Gao finally looked at himself fainting again, feeling dizzy and confused, he slowly returned to the sea of consciousness. This time, he was surprised to see that in his sea of consciousness, two figures overlapped for a moment, and the next moment, he completely lost consciousness.

  At the same time as Hu Gao's death, the entire Ning City also fell into chaos.

  The Liqing branch of the Hu family, led by the Great Elder Qingju, went to the ancestral temple to negotiate with the Dark Warriors of the Grand Priest. The two sides had a disagreement and eventually broke out in a fierce battle, which spread throughout the entire Elder's Council. Even the reclusive Grand Priest was startled out of seclusion and carried out a bloody suppression. From then on, the Liqing lineage was completely annihilated.

  The other branches of the Hu family were all involved in the suppression activities, and the war lasted throughout the night. The other families in Ningcheng, except for sending out a large number of scouts to gather intelligence, did not directly send their main forces to participate in this internal strife.

  When the last flames dissipated, the entire Hu family ancestral hall had almost turned into ruins. The heads of the four families finally saw the true depth of the Hu family, which had been entrenched in Ning City for a thousand years, and found that countless hidden Explosive Yuan Boundary experts could easily crush any one of their families.

  For over a hundred years, the battle of the five major families seemed like an unfeeling joke on this night, dropping countless people's jaws. Even many adventurer teams and legions that had been stationed in Ning City for a long time quietly left Ning City after this night.

  However, the Hu family, which had exhausted all its strength, was truly severely wounded this time! Except for the elite troops stationed in the Qingyuan mine vein, almost all the masters who stayed behind were injured. The powerful strength displayed by the Qingyi vein in the desperate situation made even the Ze Bai vein, which had been eyeing them covetously, feel unbelievable. The worst was that the three family heads of the lower three branches, Chi Luo, Ji Youcai and Luo Hong, all fell in the final battle to besiege Qingju.

  At this point, the upper echelon of Hu's family in Ning City only had the Grand Priest, the Elder of Punishment, the Elder of Internal Affairs, and the Elder of Transmission, as well as the two Elders temporarily replacing Zebai's lineage and the nine Elders of Lianqing's lineage.

  Among them, the most tragic is the ninth elder Hu Yuanjin. On one hand, it was the interest of the entire family, and on the other hand, it was the lifeblood that gave birth to him, the Li Qing lineage. Both sides were his own people, leaving him with no choice but to stay in the council chamber, melancholy and sorrowful.

  From then on, the series of events triggered by the assassination of the five elders finally came to an end and became a topic of conversation for countless warriors in Ning City after dinner.

  Hú Gāo personally heard Hú Fēng recount this tragic event two days later.

  Old man Hu's words were filled with sorrow and indignation. Ever since Bai Xiao's counterattack, the entire Hu family seemed to have been cursed, step by step walking towards the abyss of destruction. He looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh, wondering if heaven really wanted to destroy his family, the Hus.

  Hu Gao fell silent, he had heard the resolute tone in Qing Hui's words when his soul was in a state of turmoil. However, an unignorable detail was that he had once said to believe in family, while Dark Shadow had said they would definitely reunite smoothly!

  These words all have deep meaning. Although Hu Gao doesn't understand what secrets are hidden inside for now, he knows that in Ning City, there must be someone who can dispel his confusion.

  Hufeng Elder left Hu Gao with a copy of the "Condensed Shadow Technique" before leaving again. Since the sect's main hall was destroyed, all the remaining elders moved into the direct lineage's residence, making it even more convenient for Hu Gao to find Master Transmitter to ask for guidance in the future.

  Hu Feng had just left when Hu Yin Xue came in right after him.

  Hu Gao was also puzzled about his personal shadow guard, last night when he was taken away by the fat boss while eating at Yipin Building, where was this woman? According to Yue Le's words, that time coincided with the time of the assassination of the Five Elders, as a member of the Dark Guard, did she also hide secrets unknown to others?

  "I went to find the family's alchemist today and handed over the Black Leaf Grass, asking him to help refine the Green Body Pill. He still has some pills to refine in his hands today, and it is estimated that he can only spare time to help you refine tomorrow."

  "Whatever tomorrow brings, I'm in no hurry."

  "The battle on the other side of Qingyuan Mine is getting more and more intense, so the demand for Dan medicine is very large. Therefore, the family's alchemist does not dare to relax for a moment, and is always refining Dan medicine at all times. Moreover, this time's Liqing rebellion is really adding insult to injury."

  Hu Gao felt that Hu Yin Xue's performance today was a bit like a housewife who lacked life, speaking about all things in a manner as if reciting scriptures, even the absurd rebellion was spoken of so lightly, this was truly too abnormal.

  "Qingyuan Mine?" Hu's eyebrows furrowed slightly, this was the countless time he had heard that name, the place that stirred the blood of the Hu family, what kind of battle was unfolding there?

  "Never mind, it's pointless to tell you these things. You haven't been to the War Institute for several days now, so just focus on cultivating and improving your own realm." Hu Yin Xue seemed very tired, and after saying this, she quietly turned around and left.

  Hu Gao looked at the back of Hu Yin Xue, for the first time feeling that although the Hu family was only using him as a tool, every person here was sincere and genuine, without any pretence, but he seemed to be an encumbrance.

  Hu Gao irritably summoned Xiao Wu, listening to his nonsense talk to relieve the annoyance in his heart. It had only been a few days since they last met, but this guy was unusually quiet for half a day without saying a word.

  "Xiao Wu, what's wrong with you? Why couldn't I communicate with you when we were at the Old Man of the Netherworld's place?"

  "Master, I don't know either. At that time, I felt like my soul was severely struck, completely numb." Xiao Wu looked wronged, and he, who had always been very confident in himself, was really shocked this time, being plotted against on his own turf, making him somewhat depressed.

  Hu Gao patted Xiao Wu's head, looking at his gloomy expression, and didn't ask any more questions. At that time, the substitute soul that spoke for him must have been incredibly powerful. With Xiao Wu's current strength, he was indeed unable to resist. "Unfortunately, most of the mid-term demon beasts on the outskirts of Mt. Tu have already been killed by us. The late-term demon beasts take too long to kill, so we can't use this method to cultivate for now."

  Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu suddenly became excited and loudly exclaimed, "Boss, I still have several dozen of the demon pellets that I absorbed last time that I haven't given to you yet. They should be enough for you to break through again."

  "So much?" Hu Gao was taken aback, and if it weren't for Xiao Wu's reminder, he would have almost forgotten about this matter.

  Xiao Wu suddenly spat out a large pile of mid-term demon pills from his mouth, "Wow, I'm awesome, boss!"

  Hu Gao's lips twitched as he looked at the vomit, his stomach churning with nausea. "Xiao Wu, is this how you store your elixirs?"

  Xiao Wu didn't know where Hu Gao's confidence came from. He blinked his eyes and said, "Master, the demon pill is stored in my belly..."

  Hu Ga raised his hand slightly, then gritted his teeth and restrained himself from slapping Xiao Wu flying.

  "Boss, why aren't you practicing?" Xiao Wu saw that his master's face was not right and quickly changed the subject.

  "I just got injured a moment ago. Although it's nothing serious, I'm not suitable for breaking through immediately. Let me wait until my injury is fully recovered tomorrow before making another breakthrough."

  Although his injuries have now recovered seven or eight, almost completely healed, if he cultivates now, the majestic yuan force in his body will impact the not yet fully healed wounds, which will inevitably worsen. Perhaps it won't affect his current cultivation, but worsening injuries will leave a bad influence on the future and be disadvantageous to him later on.

  "Wow, when are you going to break through?" Xiao Wu suddenly realized that Hu Gao had been injured. The human body was not as resilient as theirs, and this kind of injury could be completely ignored.

  "After tomorrow when the Green Body Pill is refined, I'll break through to the Seventh Stage of the Condensed Shadow Realm in one go." Hu Gao already had an idea.

  That night, Hu Gao didn't cultivate but continued to ponder the mysteries of the Primordial Scripture in his mind.

  He found that he was now more proficient in the original trick, and immediately able to induce one from another. A single move of the original trick that had been full of flaws in his mind suddenly became perfect.

  The next day, Hu Gao arrived at the Ordinary Hall of the War Academy.

  As soon as he arrived at the ordinary hall, he found that many of his fellow disciples were looking at him with all sorts of strange eyes. He didn't bother to pay attention to these people. The dramatic changes in the Hu family in Ning City had also raised his attention again, which was expected.

  Just as Hu Gao turned his head to attend the tenth class, a group of people walked towards him, led by a young man who was about the same age as him. However, the aura on his body was strong and condensed, giving Hu Gao a feeling that was in no way inferior to Wu Yun. Moreover, the long sword in his hand seemed to be no ordinary weapon.

  In this world, the precious artifacts are also divided into three levels: heaven, earth and human. Each level is further divided into lower, middle, upper and absolute grades. However, during the Condensing Shadow Realm, warriors are still in the process of tempering their bodies. Even if they use weapons, they would only be ordinary iron instruments, not precious artifacts, as this could lead to dependence on the weapon. Yet, this young man surprisingly carries a precious artifact with him.

  Around him, many people gathered to watch, and their eyes on Hu Gao had a hint of sympathy.

  "Guo De Sheng, what are you trying to do? Are you looking for trouble with Hu Gao? Let me tell you, it's best if you keep your distance from him, otherwise you'll bring trouble upon yourself."

  With a gloomy face, the extreme joy unexpectedly arrived. He walked several steps to Hu Gao's side and stared coldly at the young man in front of him: "Don't think that just because your big brother is backing you up, you're impressive. In our presence, you are nothing."

  "Get out, Jile! You think I don't dare to lay a hand on you? Hmph, at a time like this when you're not even by your father's side keeping vigil, yet you still come to the battlefield to cause trouble. What an unfaithful and unfilial wretch!" Guo Desheng retorted fearlessly, refusing to back down.

  "You..."

  Jile was about to get angry, but was stopped by Hu Gao. Hu Gao didn't want Jile to be embarrassed because of him, which would easily lead to owing someone a favor. At least the current trouble didn't need Jile's intervention yet. He immediately said to Guo De Sheng: "I don't care what your identities are or what you have to say, just get straight to the point and stop wasting each other's time."