Chapter 326: Shadow Clan

"Lord Fire God, the announcement has been completed! There are currently eighteen tribes on Cloud Hill Ridge with their own heritage, and seventeen of their chiefs have agreed to the unification treaty. Only..."

The elder's words suddenly stopped. Everyone in the tent understood that this sole exception must be the Zhanhui tribe.

"It seems Kuangzhan Wuji still hasn't grasped my intentions. No matter, we'll have to face them sooner or later. My order: within three days, all tribes supporting the unification are to send thirty of their strongest elites to assemble at headquarters. They will join me in attacking the Zhanhui tribe."

"As you command!"

This battle was undoubtedly Ling Qingshu's chance to establish her authority and showcase the Fire God's formidable power.

Once she gained the recognition of the true powerhouses from these tribes, the Shepherd God Tribe would no longer have to worry about their people rebelling.

Three days later, this elite force of over five hundred, the strongest on Cloud Hill Ridge, completed their assembly. With Xu Yang's team's cooperation, they headed straight for Zhanhui headquarters.

"Archers, fire!"

From the Zhanhui tribe's side, there were two hundred archers positioned on the perimeter. One of their lineage's unique strengths was precise archery, allowing them to infuse the power of runes into their arrows to attack enemies.

To protect the elite warriors behind her and to display her formidable power, Ling Qingshu launched herself from her horse. A powerful crimson-gold rune light blazed, and the Profound Fire light surrounding her instantly refined the incoming runic arrows.

"What?! Is this the power of the Fire God?"

Everyone behind her was astonished, having never imagined that Ling Qingshu had become so formidable.

"Indeed, she is worthy of being the Shepherd God lineage's most outstanding leader, the future sole ruler of Cloud Hill Ridge! Long live Lord Ziling!"

The elite warriors from various tribes were completely convinced. If they had harbored any other intentions before arriving, those thoughts vanished the moment they witnessed Ziling, the Fire God, in her full glory.

They knew that if the current Ziling were angered, she could annihilate an entire tribe in moments. The gap between mortals and gods was insurmountable.

Rumble!

Vast flames raged, completely destroying all resistance from the Zhanhui tribe. In fact, not many people were left in the entire tribe; besides three to four hundred elderly, weak, women, and children, all able-bodied fighters had died in battle.

When Xu Yang and others stormed the main tent with Ling Qingshu, they found it empty. Kuangzhan Wuji was nowhere to be found.

"Report! Lord Fire God, we've captured this fellow! I recognize him; he's Kuangzhan Wuji's most trusted strategist!"

The man, with shifty eyes, prostrated himself on the ground. Having never seen such a terrifying display, he immediately cowered in submission.

"Lord Fire God, esteemed Lords, please spare me! I truly know nothing!"

Xu Yang smirked. "Whether you know or not, we'll have an answer very soon."

With that, Xu Yang approached the man, placed his palm on his head, and his powerful mental energy swiftly breached the man's sea of consciousness, extracting many crucial clues.

"The Shadow Clan? Ziling, have you heard of that name?"

Xu Yang turned to Ling Qingshu, still using her name from this fantasy world.

"They are said to be a mysterious force that invaded Cloud Hill Ridge a century ago, only to be repelled by the combined tribes and vanish without a trace. What do these findings have to do with the Shadow Clan?"

Xu Yang spoke gravely: "This fellow's memories indicate that members of the Shadow Clan secretly contacted Kuangzhan Wuji recently, seemingly reaching some kind of secret agreement with him. I'm concerned he has a much larger plan! Otherwise, if it were merely a retreat, why would he abandon his elite warriors here to die instead of taking them with him?"

Ling Yao and Long Kun also largely agreed with this assessment.

"At first, I couldn't understand either—what kind of tribal chief abandons their people so easily? It suggests there's an ulterior motive for his actions, perhaps even instructed by the Shadow Clan! But if that's the case, what is their objective?"

Wushuang pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking: "I remember a report from a palace spy, mentioning that purplish-black demonic energy occasionally appears in some ancient jungles to the northwest. This dark energy has a powerful soul-devouring ability and is very sinister! Could the Shadow Clan be connected to them?"

"Report! This is bad, Lord Fire God, strong warriors in the team are starting to collapse! It appears they've been afflicted by some kind of poison!"

Xu Yang and the others immediately understood. They rushed out of the tent to investigate and indeed found that this so-called poisoning was actually caused by soul contamination and absorption!

"That's right, this must be a demonic source with unique properties. Unfortunately, I cannot summon the Eternal Divine Sword here; otherwise, that demon-tribe divine weapon should be able to perfectly counter or even absorb this type of demonic energy. It now seems clear that Kuangzhan Wuji acted intentionally. Every battlefield with corpses will be a place for them to operate."

Xu Yang's judgment was practically Ling Qingshu's guiding principle. Upon realizing this, Ling Qingshu immediately used the power of Profound Fire to completely refine the corpses on the battlefield, preventing the demonic poison from further invading others' bodies.

"Unfortunately, we cannot yet track the movements of the Shadow Clan, otherwise this problem would be easily solved."

Xu Yang chuckled, "It's fine. I have a plan that should lure out those who are pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

...

Five days later, under the command of Lord Ziling, the Fire God, all the tribes on Cloud Hill Ridge, a grand force of tens of thousands, completed their assembly.

Following this, Ziling publicly announced that she would pass on her position as chief of the Shepherd God lineage to a trusted confidant. She also stated that she and Xu Yang's team would leave Cloud Hill Ridge after tomorrow.

This news immediately caused a huge stir throughout Cloud Hill Ridge and naturally reached everyone's awareness.

As expected, early the next morning, tens of thousands of people gathered spontaneously to see off Lord Fire God and Xu Yang's team.

For these people, Ling Qingshu was now a divine presence. As it was a god's will, they dared not disobey, but they were still very reluctant to see Ling Qingshu and her companions leave.

"There's no need for a send-off; we will meet again!"

Tens of thousands of people watched the vehicle ascend and depart. It wasn't until late into the night that the unwelcome guests they had anticipated, the true conspirators of the Shadow Clan, finally appeared!

"Everyone, be careful, we have enemies!"