Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1325 - 716: Clan Extermination Tragedy Shocks All Sides

While Zhao Sheng was tracing the Nine Nether Tower and making his first contact with the Cloud Mist Zhao Family, a wave of terror gripped the Central Continent’s Cultivation World. Sixteen Constant Years away, a brutal sect extermination had left everyone in a state of panic.

Ten days prior, the great sects and Cultivation clans of the Central Continent became as skittish as startled birds, each fearing they might be next. Upon hearing rumors that the Ghost God Sect had been completely wiped out, every major power hurried their elite disciples toward the Heavenly Burial Plain to secure reliable intelligence.

Within days, the Immortal Device Sect, Primordial Demon Sect, Supreme Sensing Sect, Zhao’s Central Sect, and the Elixir Cauldron Sect all received verified reports. The total destruction of the Ghost God Sect was officially confirmed.

This terrifying massacre rippled through the Central Continent at breakneck speed before crossing over into the Outer Domains, reaching the West Wilderness, the North Cold Sea, and the various islands Overseas.

The Tianzhu Realm, which had enjoyed centuries of tranquility, was plunged back into chaos as the atmosphere grew suffocatingly tense.

Breaking their usual routines of meditation, numerous Golden Core Masters and even Nascent Soul Ancestors ended their seclusions abruptly, frequently traveling under the guise of "visiting old friends."

Simultaneously, the mountain strongholds of the Central Continent’s various sects activated their grand defensive arrays, entering a state of total mobilization. The Elixir Cauldron and Immortal Device Sects went as far as declaring a century of isolation, barring all outsiders from their gates.

Located in close proximity to the Heavenly Burial Plain, these two sects lived in constant dread that the mysterious and lethal "exterminator" might target them next.

As the Central Continent’s powers remained on high alert, desperately trying to unmask the "culprit," a sudden explosion of manic laughter shook the City Lord Mansion in Mountain City.

The sound was like a rolling thunderclap, instantly blanketing the city and echoing through the Upper Sky!

High-ranking members of the Zhao Family within the city were left stunned and confused, unable to fathom why Ancestor Dingshan was laughing so hysterically without warning.

However, a few sharp-witted individuals soon linked the laughter to the recent annihilation of the Ghost God Sect. A sudden realization struck them like a bolt of lightning, as if a monumental secret had been unveiled!

"Could it be... that the one who wiped out the Ghost God Sect... was actually our Zhao Family?!"

Almost at once, this identical thought took root in the minds of many "clever" cultivators.

Two impatient Golden Core Masters, unable to contain their burning curiosity, immediately transformed into streaks of tunneling light. They raced toward the City Lord Mansion, hoping to pay their respects at the ancestor’s cave mansion.

To their disappointment, they arrived too late. Zhao Dingshan had already departed in silence, his current location a complete mystery.

At that moment, no one observed a yellow streak of tunneling light piercing through the nine layers of the Cloud Sea, hurtling toward the Ascension Platform atop the Heavenly Pillar Mountain Peak.

Before long, Zhao Dingshan arrived at the vast, misty outskirts of the Ascension Platform, only to be halted by the exterior defensive barrier.

Gazing into the dark, murderous void that lay ahead, Zhao Dingshan’s excitement began to wither. His brow furrowed as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

Just as he wavered on whether to announce his presence, a brilliant display of multicolored starlight erupted in the void. From the shimmering depths, a faint, narrow path of light unrolled, stopping right at his feet.

Witnessing this, Zhao Dingshan’s frown deepened, and his face took on a look of profound gravity.

"Haha, Brother Dingshan, it has been a long time! What brings you out of Mountain City to the Ascension Platform today? You should have sent word so I could receive you with proper ceremony!"

A voice as smooth as a spring breeze drifted out, followed by an elder with a long beard and a transcendent, immortal air walking down the path of light.

In a mere few strides, the figure stood before Zhao Dingshan, his face beaming with a friendly smile.

Zhao Dingshan’s pupils tightened, and a hint of wariness flashed across his features.

"Taoist Qi Mountain, you are too kind! I am merely an old man nearing the end of his lifespan. I hardly deserve the honor of having you personally greet me!" Zhao Dingshan replied, cupping his hands with a forced smile.

Qi Mountain Taoist was a Nascent Soul Cultivator who had presided over the Ascension Platform for nearly a century. He was rumored to be at the Absolute Peak of his stage!

In the resource-depleted Tianzhu Realm, where Spiritual Energy was failing, there were only three or four Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators in existence. This made Qi Mountain Taoist’s status incredibly prestigious.

However, Zhao Dingshan’s wariness didn't stem from the man's power alone, but from the fact that Qi Mountain Taoist was the Supreme Elder of the Supreme Sensing Sect.

For millennia, the Supreme Sensing Sect had relentlessly oppressed the Heavenly Pillar Zhao Family; the enmity between them was common knowledge.

Qi Mountain Taoist offered a thin smile and asked, "Taoist Zhao, have you come to the Ascension Platform for some urgent matter? If so, why not step inside so we can talk?"

Zhao Dingshan dismissed the invitation with a wave of his hand. "There is no need! I was simply passing through the area and decided to take a look. Having seen it, I shall return to Mountain City now!"

Though Qi Mountain Taoist knew the man was "lying," he did not call him out. He simply watched with cold, calculating eyes as Zhao Dingshan retreated through the Boundary Membrane and vanished into the distance as a streak of light.

"Arriving neither early nor late, but at this exact turning point... Does he truly believe that guarding the Ascension Platform has made me deaf and blind?" Qi Mountain Taoist whispered to himself.

A moment later, his frame shuddered, his eyes flashed with realization, and he let out a sharp breath. "Hiss! Could it be... that the Zhao Family is the power that annihilated the Ghost God Sect?!"

Qi Mountain Taoist never dared to overlook the Zhao Family, who were once the undisputed masters of the Heavenly Pillar.

He had once studied top-secret records within his sect, which suggested that the Heavenly Pillar Zhao Family had been preparing a secret escape route as far back as six or seven thousand years ago.

Prior to the war between the two realms, the clan had already moved several branches to the Netherworld and Ghost God Realms. Later, they had gone even further, migrating more of their kin to various hidden Otherworlds in the Outer Domain.