Anthony smiled with no trace of hesitation in his tone.

"Definitely, I won't turn back. The dragon clan might have locked me in here in hopes that I die and give them the opportunity to break my brother's wings to cull the influence of my branch. But I won't give them that satisfaction. I must turn this calamity they prepared for me around. And the only way to do that is to cross over and soar beyond their wildest imaginations. Sorry senior, you can't keep me here."

"You're from the dragon clan? Could it be the branch that seceded and left for a lower realm?"

"Probably. I'm not sure since I returned to the clan not long ago." Anthony replied.

"Xiao gege, since you have made up your mind, you can continue on your way. However, before you leave, there are a few things in here that can help you. The perilous lands used to be a great kingdom ruled by a powerful cultivator of the high god level. Even though it has fallen to this level, it still has lots of good things inside it. Otherwise, the blood tribe won't choose to relocate to this place despite the death energy hanging around. You should seek a little fortune before you continue your journey. After all, the currency of where you're going to is definitely not the same as the one you used in the place you came from. But if you have a set of things that are valuable no matter where you go, you can exchange them for other things."

"Alright senior." Anthony whispered.

"Wait, take this with you." The voice said hurriedly, making Anthony who was about to withdraw his hands stop in his tracks.

A bright flash of white light flew out of the statue and encircled around his wrist which was in contact with the statue. Anthony inspected the bracelet with a frown on his face. It looked like a charm bracelet with unknown crystals and pieces of meteorites strung together.

"With this holy light bracelet, none of those corpse soldiers would come close to you. My aura will frighten them off, and protect you from negative energy. However, it can't do much if you encounter traps or monstrous beasts."

Anthony touched the bracelet with his free hand, trying to feel the energy hidden within. His heart was full of doubts as he wondered if the puppet could be trusted or not. And if the original owner was truly powerful enough to do all it said it could do for him. He sighed and looked up at the puppet's face.

"Did you know your descendants were destroyed? All that is left of the blood tribe is resentful ghosts and sea of corpses. Since you had the power to protect them and send things through the puppet, why didn't you try to preserve even a little of their population. Even the kids were destroyed."

The connection went silent as if the voice coming through the puppet no longer wanted to answer. Just as Anthony smiled wryly and wanted to remove his hands, he heard a soft sigh, making him stop midway.

"The enemy outside is easier to defeat than the one inside. It was the rat at home that told the one in the forest about the fish in the pot. Most times, your greatest enemy is yourself. People often bring ruin to themselves, and thinking you can save the whole world is simply delusions. A person trying to be a hero and save everyone often loses everything, enduring the spite of people for generations. While the villains pulling strings behind the curtain get adorned with the robe of a saint. Xiao gege, how do you guard against the enemy at home? The greed of men always leads to ruination, but people never learn."

"I don't understand. Can you please explain more?"

The voice laughed bitterly.

"The story of the blood tribe is a bad memory I don't want to revisit. I can't continue to protect them forever. They were over pampered, making them silly and unable to fend for themselves. When they were besieged, why didn't they run into the temple to take refuge? Why didn't someone activate the teleportation array? Who told the enemies about the trump cards making them lock the hall in advance and prevent everyone from hiding here? And most importantly, why do you think every member of the blood tribe was present in the square at that moment? If it was not greed, those living closer to the back mountains would have had a chance to hide once the siege began. But like foolish fish, they ate poisoned baits. In that situation, what could I have done when I'm galaxies away? What could A'Cheng do? Xiao gege, don't talk to me about blood tribe. Just leave." The voice said in an impatient annoyed tone and severed the connection. Anthony could even hear the disappointment in his tone.

He waited for a while but it was obvious the connection had been cut off. Not even the wind and chirping of birds in the background could be heard anymore. The owner of the voice had truly left the array.

Anthony sighed and withdrew his hands. It seemed that if he wanted to understand what happened to the blood tribe, he had to investigate them on his own. As he turned to leave, a painting on the wall, just below the table being used for offerings caught his eyes. He instinctively moved closer to the painting to get a better look at it.

In the painting, Hua Cheng, the beautiful man with the guqin whom Anthony had been talking to, and a young woman, could be seen on a golden platform situated on a peak. The peak had beautiful flowers, herbs, and unknown trees growing in it. A waterfall could also be seen in the background.

In the painting, Hua Cheng was holding his sword in his right hand while leaning against a sturdy tree with his signature cold look pasted on his face as he watched the other guy playing guqin.

Despite his cold face, the indulgent and loving look in his eyes as he stared at the carefree beautiful young master playing the guqin was obvious. They were dressed just like their statue / puppet present in the temple. And the girl was dressed in an ancient Chinese female robe. She was kneeling beside the table which was placed before the man playing the guqin, pouring tea. On a closer look, she seemed to be a servant, following Hua Cheng and his male lover. The table was only set for two with fruits and other delicacies placed on it.

The girl was definitely their servant due to the way the painting was portrayed. Not just the fact that there was no space set out for her to sit, her posture was also one of servitude. What's more? None of the men were paying her attention. They were lost in each other as they flirted with their eyes. Even the one playing the guqin right beside her took no notice of her. He was rather smiling at Hua Cheng with a flirty look on his face as he played.

Anthony furrowed his brows in thoughts. He could understand Hua Cheng and the guqin playing senior in the picture, but why did the artist see the need to add a woman? With a frown on his face, he moved down to Hua Cheng's statue to search for clues.

Sure enough, at the foot of the statue which was used as a platform for Hua Cheng to stand, words were written in the same language as the previous one Anthony saw. He squatted before the statue and used his sleeves to wipe it clean, although there was no dust in the first place. The altar area was clean compared to the rest of the hall.

"Hua Cheng was the prince of the imperial holy sword clan. He was a genius that only came once in a millenium, with the purest bloodline in the clan. His family ruled a huge part of the sixth heaven with the ability to call down rain and thunder as they pleased. At twenty-one years of age, Hua Cheng ascended to god realm, causing a storm in the cultivation world. This storm was even greater than the one created when he became a sword saint at fifteen. However, he was born in the era of geniuses. He was not the only genius born in his time. There was another one worthy of mention. Lan Xuanyu of the mythical heaven sect. At fourteen he also reached saint realm, and by twenty two years, he crossed over to god realm. He was equally from a powerful background. Although his parents were not as prestigious as Hua Cheng's, his strength earned him a place of honor. During an inter sect competition, the two geniuses met. But unexpectedly, the rivals who were like fire and ice became dao companions. The guqin demon who can slay a thousand geniuses with the sound of his music fell in love with the sword god, causing a scandal in the nine worlds. Forced to leave their sects, they became wandering cultivators, and eventually settled at the immortal's peak. During one of their adventures, they picked up a girl who made the balance tilt."

At this point, Anthony's eyes went back to the painting, he could already guess where the story was going to.

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