Proofreader: Papatonks

In the large hall on the 7th Sacred Mountain, six elders sat in their chairs, overlooking the three youths below.

The three youths kneeled in respect.

The elder with the long beard nodded, “You have been carefully selected among all the talents to go out and replace Xu Tianchuan and the other two in taking over the Eight Emperors’ lands. I hope you won’t disappoint us like they did.”

“Mountain Lord, we won’t fail you!” They cupped their hands and declared.

The elders nodded with smiles.

Xu Tianchuan’s group had been an utter disappointment, but if there was one thing the Sacred Mountains had, it was disciples. They had done a harsher selection this time around and chosen the best of the best to replace those fools.

[This should settle it, ha-ha-ha!]

The elder with the long beard waved them away, “You’re to leave in three days!”

“Yes, Mountain Lord!” They bowed again as they withdrew.

The elder with the long beard turned to the others, “I have high hopes for these three. They aren’t arrogant and reckless. They are more than enough to take over the Eight Emperors’ lands.”

“Yeah…”

The others nodded and an elder with white brows added, “Old He has been gone for a long time to just be setting those three brats straight. What’s taking him so long? We haven’t heard from the brats either. Strange.”

The others squinted.

The elder with the long beard waved it off, “Ha-ha-ha, those brats must’ve been so berated by Old He that they feel too ashamed to come back. They must be working hard to make up for their mistakes in the Eight Emperors’ lands. It may take time to uproot the devious and heinous Luo clan from this world and restore the Sacred Mountains’ dignity. Old He must be keeping watch. Everything should be fine, ha-ha-ha…”

Everyone nodded and smiled.

“Mountain Lord, this is bad!”

A shocked voice came from outside. The elder with the long beard frowned and shouted back, “What happened that has you so panicked? Report!”

“Mountain Lord, this is really bad!”

A young man entered the hall incoherent and distraught. He fell to his knees and stammered, “It’s crazy, utter madness…”

“What is? Speak clearly!”

“The Eight Emperors’ lands have risen up!”

The youth yelled, “Xu Tianchuan and the two senior brothers were killed by the Luo clan, and their heads are hanging on the Luo clan’s gate. They also declared to all the lands that they’ll eliminate the Seven Sacred Mountains…”

“What?”

The six elders were shocked, with the elder with the long beard slapping his armrest in rage, “Outrageous! The Luo clan must’ve gone mad to kill someone from the Sacred Mountains! And they even dare say something like that? Humph, they should’ve been removed from the start. Tell some elders to annihilate the Luo clan. Let all of the Eight Emperors’ lands know what braggarts get for running their mouth!”

The disciple cried there, still not going out.

The elder with the long beard roared, “What are you standing there for? I gave you an order!”

“Mountain Lord, I don’t believe a few elders are enough. This involves the 6th Sacred Mountain. Allow me to finish…”

“What? A few Sacred Mountains elders aren’t enough for a nobody clan? I even thought it was too much!”

The elder with the long beard shook and glared, “Who is your master? You dare question my orders?”

The disciple reported, “Mountain Lord, I’d never. There’s just another matter I need to report. Mountain Lord can decide after sir hears it.”

“Speak.”

“The 6th Sacred Mountain is no more…”

Ugh!

The six old men went wide eyed from disbelief, the elder with the long beard blinked at a loss, “C-come again?”

The youth repeated himself and the head elder finally clutched his sparse hair in shock.

“This can’t be!”

The elder with the long beard howled at last, “Old He’s 6th Sacred Mountain has many experts with hardly anyone daring to attack it, with no one capable of crushing it. Where did you get that information? Don’t go spouting things!”

The youth’s lips quivered, “Mountain Lord, I’d wish for it to be fake, but I was sent to look into the 6th Sacred Mountain and saw it destroyed. The entire mountain is gone, now replaced by a strange golden sea of flames. It burns for thousands upon thousands of miles. Mountain Lords can go inspect it for themselves.”

Plop!

The elder with the long beard slumped in his chair, lost.

For the disciple to say that, it meant this was real.

[How could… a mighty Sacred Mountain…]

The elders were dark, their hearts sinking in fear. If the 6th Sacred Mountain was gone, then what about the rest…

They all shuddered. The grand and godlike Mountain Lords for thousands of years might be gone overnight. Dread gripped their hearts.

“Who did it? Did you find out?”

“As long as the culprit doesn’t say it, it will be hard to find out.” The elder with white brows spoke in shock.

The others nodded, their faced hard.

The disciple bowed, “Mountain Lords, there’s no need to investigate, for the culprit declared it himself.”

“Who?” They all shouted at the same time.

The youth muttered, “The Luo clan from the Eight Emperor’s lands…”

“What?”

“Mountain Lords, the information first came from the Luo clan’s announcements. It declares that Mountain Lord He had gone to the Luo clan and took their Clan Head. So the Head Steward Zhuo Fan went to the 6th Sacred Mountain in rage. He not only rescued his Clan Head but also flattened the mountain.”

The youth retold the same words on the declaration, “No one took it seriously when they declared war, but with the 6th Sacred Mountain gone, the Eight Emperors’ lands are boiling. The people go to the Luo clan and help them defeat us. All of Emperor lands see us with enmity.”

“Mountain Lords, this is why I did not convey your order. With the Emperor lands as our enemy, sending someone will have all eyes on them, but with the Luo clan having the power to destroy a mountain, there’s even more reason to be prudent. Sending the elders will only get them killed. I ask Mountain Lord to reconsider.”

The elder with the long beard’s face twitched and clenched his fists, “A puny Eight Emperors’ land clan dared to destroy a Sacred Mountain? Something just isn’t right here…’

“Yeah, this much power is a rarity. Unless…”

“What?” The head elder turned to the elder with white brows.

The latter continued, “Do you all remember the ancient legend?”

“You mean…”

“The ten Sovereigns fell, the five beasts vanquished, Shu Jing is gone, and the Sacred Mountains live on.” The elder with white brows said, “After the supreme experts vanished in ancient times the Sacred Mountains took over the Sacred Domain, but there’s one place that still strikes fear in us…”

“Mirror Moon Cottage!” They all shouted.

The elder with white brows continued, “Yes, the lord of Mirror Moon Cottage, Sir Shui Jing, is rumored to be exceptional. Some of our people offended him in ignorance and made thousands of Saints on Seven Sacred Mountains die. No one knew what happened or who triggered it. Since then, the Seven Sacred Mountains made a rule to never mess with Sir Shui Jing and his people.”

“After all these years, with the Sacred Mountains growing with every generation, Sir Shui Jing was never seen again and was forgotten. Now that the 6th Sacred Mountain is destroyed, it made me remember about an old senior’s warning. Maybe…”

“The Luo clan is theirs?”

Sss~

Everyone gasped, their hearts shuddering.

If it were true, then they had brought doom to themselves…