Chapter 339: Ancestral Guards

John laid down in his bed, staring at the ceiling above. His mind was repeating everything he had seen in that chamber, unable to forget what he had seen. 

He had no problem with cultivators doing such things to each other, as such was the way of the cultivation world. When one stepped on the cultivation pathway, they were doing so with the knowledge that strength was the only truth in the world, and without it, their fates were not their own.

However, mortals were different. They valued the simple life, and did not tread the cultivation pathway. It was an unwritten rule of the cultivation world that mortals were off limits. However, John could see that those 'rules' were as flimsy as wet paper, and were only followed by the Honorable Alliance. 

He kept wracking his mind for solutions to what he had witnessed, but could only come up with one idea. 

'The only way I can see that issue solved is through Sect Leader Thunderzen's help. As I am right now, I am far too weak to do anything about it.'

Bang!

John's fist slammed on the wooden frame of the bed, shaking it slightly. 

'No matter how strong I get, it's never enough. Until I stand at the very peak of the cultivation world, I will always be weak.'

Although he needed no such motivation, as his motivation to stand at the peak of cultivation was already at the utmost, this still lit a fire under John once again.

'The only thing I can do next is become Elder Praxx's direct disciple. Once that is done, maybe I can get his trust enough for him to divulge some secrets of whats going on. Only then can I contact the Sect Leader.'

With this in mind, John ignored the immediate issue and focused on cultivation until the morning.

…

In the middle of a vast mountain range, a mountain was carved flat at the top, and a great pyramid pierced up hundreds of yards into the sky, catching the attention of all those nearby. The pyramid was surrounded by five great statues, each facing outwards, as if guarding the pyramid itself.

On the pathway up to that mountain, several caravans were traversing the perilous road. Each caravan, painted with the insignia of a Phoenix, was being pulled by a Mist Creation beast. 

Boisterous conversation and laughter could be heard from within the caravan's, as those within happily conversed with one another.

"Garve, how much longer until we reach the Ancestral Building?" a shout boomed out from within the caravan.

The driver, sitting at the front of the caravan and steering the beast, looked over his shoulder as he shouted out in reply.

"We're almost there, just a few more minutes."

"You hear that? Just a few more minutes, and then we get to lay our eyes on the grand Ancestral Building once again," a man inside the lead caravan boomed out in joy.

"Right, no matter how many times I see it, it still instills awe in me," another man within replied.

"Dannel, how long is our guard duty this time around?" a woman within the caravan suddenly asked.

"It should be around four months this time around, before the next guard duty comes to replace us," the man who had spoken up first replied.

"Let's just hope that the Crimson Valley Sect doesn't try anything," the woman replied. "They've been getting more and more brazen with their actions."

"We'll be fine. If they try anything, we'll just teach them a lesson," Dannel replied, his voice filled with confidence.

His cultivation was at the Middle Core Formation Realm, and he was one of the strongest warriors within the Fenix Clan. With him in charge of guarding duty for this rotation, those within the caravans felt a great sense of ease.

"We're he-"

The driver's voice boomed out for a short moment, but quickly cut off.

"Garve? Did you say something?" Dannel asked, but received no reply.

"Garve?" He called out again, but still nothing.

"What's going on?" the woman asked.

"Not sure, let's get out and check it out," Dannel replied. 

He stood up and walked to the caravan door, and opened it with heightened caution. The open door revealed no danger in sight, and so Dannel hopped out and surveyed the area. He noticed Garve sitting in the driver's seat, not moving at all and staring forward. He followed Garvey's gaze, and is head swiveled towards the Ancestral Building.

"This!" Dannel's voice sounded out, as his gaze turned heavy. "Crimson Valley Sect, what is the meaning of this!"

His voice boomed out with anger and rage, startling those within the caravans. The several dozen guards from the caravans quickly hopped out. Their gazes turned heavy and angered as well as they noticed what Dannel was looking at.

In the distance, directly in front of the Ancestral Building, a dozen or so Crimson Valley Sect Elder's stood with looks of amusement on their faces. Next to them, dozens of pikes jutted out from the ground, each containing a body completely impaled through.

The bodies all wore robes etched with Phoenix insignias', revealing them to be the previous Fenix Clan guards.

"What's the meaning of this?" one of the Crimson Valley Sect Elder's chimed up in an amused tone. "We're just cleaning out the trash of these lands."

"What did you say?" an angered shout boomed out from within the Fenix Clan's group.

"You will die for this," another shout echoed out, completely angered.

The bodies on the pikes were their fellow clan members. Some brothers, some sisters, some friends, and some parents. However, all of them were dead, and had been killed in a completely brutal manner.

"I don't care for your reasoning, you will all die here!" Dannel boomed out in anger.

He had already inspected the cultivations of the Elder's of the Crimson Valley Sect, and the highest was at the Early Core Formation Realm. It would be trivial to eliminate them, permanently.

"Is that so?" the Elder replied with an amused smile on his face. "Then come."

Dannel instantly pushed off the ground and dashed towards the Crimson Valley Sect Elders. He was followed up by all the other Fenix Clan members, who wanted nothing more than to rip out the throats of their enemy.

The Crimson Valley Sect Elder's stood there unflinchingly, with smiles on each of their faces. A sense of danger crawled up Dannel's spine, but it was too late to do anything about it.

Boom!

A loud boom echoed out, as the ground before the Fenix Clan was upheaved. The Fenix Clan members all stopped in surprise at the sudden attack, but quickly realized it was not an attack at all.

Dannel stared forward, eyes wide, as the dust faded, revealing the source of the sound. 

A middle aged man stood there, clad in blood red robes. However, it was not the same robe design as the Crimson Valley Sect, and was something else entirely. He stood there with an indifferent expression as he stared at the Fenix Clan guards, as if they were beneath notice. 

Dannel stood there in stunned silence, while a panicked cry sounded out from behind him.

"Meridian Forging!"

The mysterious man stood there for a moment before his figure blurred. Agonized cries echoed out from the mountaintop for a short while, before silence once again descended on the mountain.