Chapter 1252: Rest

Venerable Wuyu was terrified and took a step, wanting to rush up and stop her, but he also feared Venerable Wutong's power. He only dared to plead, "Senior, please be merciful!"

"A catastrophe has befallen the Great Barren State; how can it withstand such a massive loss of fortune?"

Venerable Hongchen was also terrified by Venerable Wutong's act of absorbing the world's fortune. Taking the Great Barren State's fortune to achieve sagehood at a time like this? Wouldn't that condemn the Great Barren State to hell?

With the ancient giants now aided by mysterious ancient sinkholes, the Great Barren State was facing near certain destruction. Their only chance of survival was for the Great Barren State's fortune to remain intact. This ensured an abundance of spiritual energy, flourishing natural treasures, and ample resources for alchemy, artifact refining, talisman crafting, and array formation. With these, they could stand a chance against the ancient giants.

However, the Great State of Taicang had already shown the world what would happen if Venerable Wutong took the Great Barren State's fortune. Spiritual energy would dissipate, resources would become scarce, and cultivation breakthroughs would become arduous. The Great Barren State's sole path to survival would be extinguished. She pleaded, "Senior, please leave our Great Barren State a path to survival."

The other four Venerables' expressions also changed drastically, and they all spoke up to stop her.

Venerable Wutong paid them no mind. Completely disregarding their pleas, she raised her small hand and sharply grabbed towards the sky.

Instantly.

An invisible substance was drawn out from the bodies of everyone present. No one could pinpoint what it was, but all six Venerables felt subtle changes in their bodies. Venerable Hongchen suddenly touched the corner of her eye; on her meticulously maintained face, a trace of crow's feet had appeared. Venerable Wuyu took out a mirror and looked at the divine halo behind his head; two flame marks there had somewhat faded. The other four Venerables also showed signs, to varying degrees.

Ominous signs! These were the consequences of the fortune draining from their bodies! The fortune Venerable Wutong was taking was not just the unowned fortune of the Great Barren State. A portion of the fortune of every living being was being taken by her.

Venerable Wuyu's eyes flickered with horror as he said in a low voice, "Senior! Why, for your own selfish reasons, would you throw us into such misery?"

Venerable Hongchen also said resentfully, "If you want to seek refuge in a secluded paradise and refuse to help fight the ancient giants, I won't stop you. But why must you harm us?" The four Venerables were also enraged by Venerable Wutong's obstinacy.

However, Venerable Wutong continued to ignore them completely. She continued to draw upon fortune from even farther away.

Seeing this, Venerable Wuyu gritted his teeth slightly, his eyes flashing with a fierce glint, and said: "Five fellow Daoists, let's proceed with the predetermined plan!"

The six Venerables had secretly communicated on their way here. They had prepared for two possibilities when meeting Venerable Wutong. If Jiang Fan's plea proved effective and she let them leave the forbidden area, that would be ideal. If not, they would have to find a way to secure their hope themselves!

And there was only one way: a combined attack from all six of them! Two were at the Heaven-Human Second Decline, and four were at the Heaven-Human First Decline. The power of their combined attack might be far inferior to Venerable Wutong's, making it difficult to harm her directly. However, Venerable Wutong was currently at the critical moment of achieving sagehood. Their combined attack would be enough to scatter the fortune, potentially injure Venerable Wutong, and thus prevent her from achieving sagehood.

Venerable Hongchen gritted her teeth and cried out, "Attack!" The consequence of attacking might well be death. But not attacking, and letting Venerable Wutong act recklessly, would also lead to death. They might as well take a chance now.

A fierce glint flashed in the eyes of all six Venerables as they simultaneously made their moves. Their respective domains overlapped and intertwined, forming a dazzling, colorful expanse of light that emitted a supreme pressure capable of making half of the Great Barren State tremble. The ethereal demonic liquid surrounding them receded. The boundless forbidden area itself began to tremble. The air was filled with a suffocating sensation of impending annihilation.

Just as they were about to unleash their terrifying domain, Jiang Fan raised his hand to stop them. He gazed deeply at Venerable Wutong and sighed softly, "There's no need to act. She won't succeed."

The six Venerables looked at Jiang Fan, momentarily stunned, their faces showing doubt. How could Jiang Fan know?

But as soon as his words fell, the fortune that had drained from their bodies returned. The world's fortune that had been converging towards this spot suddenly stopped and began to recede. Only Venerable Wutong remained, eyes closed, her five fingers outstretched towards the sky, maintaining the posture of absorbing fortune. She stood motionless.

Jiang Fan gently lowered Venerable Wutong's raised hand, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Senior, I'm sorry. Senior Lu Jiulin asked me to tell you... he cannot keep his appointment. Rest in peace."

Venerable Wutong seemed to lose some powerful support. Two lines of tears slid from her closed eyes. Her jet-black hair visibly whitened, though it remained tied in two braids, gently swaying in the wind. Her fair and delicate face rapidly turned grayish-brown, and age spots emerged like mushrooms after rain. It was as if an invisible knife carved wrinkles onto her forehead, face, lips, and neck. In the blink of an eye, the bright and charming young woman transformed into a frail, white-haired elder.

Her breath ceased. She stood under the ginkgo tree, her eyes closed, gazing into the distance. Motionless.

The entire scene fell silent. The sudden drastic change caught them completely off guard. After a long silence, Venerable Hongchen stammered, "What... what just happened?"

Jiang Fan gazed at the aged Venerable Wutong and said, "This is what she looked like before her death. Time did not spare her."

"Before her death?" Venerable Hongchen felt as if she had been struck by lightning. "You mean Venerable Wutong, she..." Venerable Wuyu and the other four Venerables also felt utterly devastated. The Great Barren State's strongest, Venerable Wutong, had actually died?

Jiang Fan nodded gently, his voice hoarse: "How could Venerable Wutong possibly mistake the person she had waited for her entire life?"

Everyone's hearts were struck hard. Indeed. Having waited for Senior Brother Lu for five hundred years, how could she have mistaken Jiang Fan for him? Unless, the one standing before them was no longer the real Venerable Wutong.

A trace of mist welled up in Venerable Hongchen's charming eyes, and an inexplicable sadness arose in her heart: "That's right, she kept saying she had waited five hundred years, five hundred years. But she has been here for a full thousand years. She fell into the Giant Emperor's sleeping curse five hundred years ago and never woke up again. She, after all, never waited for that person..."

Waves of light flickered in Venerable Wuyu's eyes, and his usually stern voice became unusually gentle. "So, what exactly did we see?"

Venerable Lianjing, who had remained silent throughout, looked past the aged, cold, and breathless Venerable Wutong. His gaze landed on the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. He sighed softly and said, "It was Venerable Wutong's dying illusion. This thousand-year-old ginkgo tree developed consciousness. It secretly intervened to fulfill Venerable Wutong's final wish, allowing her to truly rest in peace."

Everyone simultaneously looked at the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. Their hearts were greatly shaken! So, for the past five hundred years, the true master of this forbidden area was this thousand-year-old ginkgo tree? Had it been manipulating everything?