The moment the middle-aged man's One Sword landed on Chu Mo's right shoulder, Shangguan Na, who had been standing beside the stone coffin, abruptly made her move, like a fierce beast pouncing on its prey. The sharp long sword in her hand shone coldly, thrusting straight at Chu Mo's throat!

Sacrifice... it was the Shangguan Family's code word, indicating a family member willingly sacrificing their life in times of crisis to stall the enemy, creating an opportunity for their companions to kill the enemy!

Such a tactic, by and large, wasn't often used. After all, it would mean someone had to sacrifice their life. But in the realm of illusion gods, such concerns didn't exist.

Thus, when the middle-aged man shouted that one word – Sacrifice – Shangguan Nan... acted instantly!

In Shangguan Nan's view, the middle-aged man's sword would certainly sever the arm of the man before them. His own strike... would surely pierce the throat with one stab!

He wasn't trying to hog the glory. As a direct descendant of the Shangguan Family, it wasn't necessary for him to vie for merit with other family members. Besides, killing this man wouldn't bring much in terms of merit. He simply held a deep hatred for this man and wanted to kill him personally as an act of revenge.

However, nobody had expected that the middle-aged man's sword... would feel like it struck on gold and stone. The immense rebounding force numbed his arm. Shock etched on his face, he bellowed loudly, "Crap, he's got a protective artifact!"

A hint of mocking smile surfaced on Chu Mo's face.

A protective artifact, huh?

So be it!

With a casual swipe of his long sword, a brilliant plum blossom blossomed on the throat of the middle-aged man.

The man's eyes bulged out wide. He made desperate attempts to thrust his sword into Chu Mo's body, but his strength receded like the tide, far from his reach. Then, he tried to turn his head towards Shangguan Nan. He didn't succeed. Faintly, he seemed to hear Shangguan Nan let out a resounding growl of rage.

After that, the middle-aged man could hear nothing at all.

He woke up in the next moment, a splitting headache torturing him, and felt that his primordial spirit had taken a severe hit. Shaking hands reached into his storage and took out an elixir for primordial spirit healing, which he put in his mouth.

Suddenly, an extremely angry roar erupted from outside. "You dare to kill me... I won't let this go!"

The middle-aged man's face turned deathly pale. The worst scenario he feared had eventually unfolded!

As the team leader of this operation, Shangguan Zhao knew all too well that he would definitely face extremely severe punishment from the family. With the thought, a bitter smile emerged on Shangguan Zhao's pale face as he slowly stood up and walked out of the room.

Even though he belonged to the collateral lineage in the Shangguan Family, his promising talent had garnered attention from the family and a lot of resources to assist his cultivation, and he had reached the realm of the true immortals. It could be said that in the Shangguan Family, Shangguan Zhao was a prominent figure.

Nevertheless, rules are rules!

The loss they suffered this time was too overwhelming.

Though there was no real death, the end result was almost as good as dying once.

When Shangguan Zhao opened the door, he saw Shangguan Nan storming his way in. His heart sank at the sight, "This time... it's my fault..."

Unexpectedly for Shangguan Zhao, although Shangguan Nan looked extremely annoyed, he didn't lash out at him. Instead, he spoke in a grave voice, "As I said before, it's not your fault. I'll explain this incident to the family. Don't blame yourself."

"My lord..." A touched Shangguan Zhao felt his eyes moistening.

At this moment, the others from the Shangguan Family who had taken part in the operation also filed in. They all looked pale, their primordial spirits severely damaged. Even though they seemed okay on the surface, they would need at least several months of rest to completely recover.

If anyone in their realm fought against them now, they would undoubtedly lose on the spot!

Shangguan Nan seemed to be in a better shape compared to others, which was the privilege of those born of a direct line, carrying more advanced elixirs for primordial spirit restoration.

But it was only slightly better. It would still take him about a month to fully recover.

"Enough, no more words. We'll get back at them sooner or later for the loss this time. Uncle Zhao, I came here to ask you to do something," Shangguan Nan told Shangguan Zhao.

Shangguan Zhao had the same generational status as Shangguan Nan's father. Nevertheless, Shangguan Nan's respectful address of "Uncle Zhao" made him feel honored. He hurriedly said, "Just give me the order, my lord."

"You must dispatch someone immediately, delve into the layers of the realm of illusion gods, and no matter what, find this person for me!" Shangguan Nan said through gritted teeth, despising his first death in the realm of illusion gods.

"Then… what about the Five Elements' essence of Wood?" Shangguan Zhao carefully glanced at Shangguan Nan. Somehow, they would have to face this matter.

Shangguan Nan took a deep breath before saying, "I'll explain this matter to the clan leader. This time, we underestimated the difficulty of the trip. Taking more people wouldn't have been much help anyway. There, regardless of one's realm, everyone's power would be suppressed to the threshold... Damn it!"

With a sigh, Shangguan Zhao said, "Yes, I didn't anticipate that the essence of the Wood from the Five Elements would be so formidable. Our plan seemed perfect..."

"A failed plan can't be regarded as perfect." Shangguan Nan patted Shangguan Zhao's shoulder and spoke to the others, "You all don't need to worry. The responsibility of this failure won't be on any of you."

These people were all members of collateral branches in the Shangguan Family. They were moved to the brink of tears.

"I'll explain this matter to the clan leader. All of you… rest well. Soon, I'll have people send you the best elixirs. Don't worry as long as you're all alive." Shangguan Nan then turned around and walked out.

The two ladies finally couldn't help but start crying.

"The young master cares for us so deeply. We can't let him down." With a solemn gaze at everyone, Shangguan Zhao spoke sternly.

"Rest assured, my lord, we'll give our all to repay the young master!" everyone echoed in unison.

The Shangguan Family's expedition to the realm of illusion gods ended in utter defeat.

The realm of illusion gods, the land of Fire from the Five Elements.

Standing beside Gold, Earth, Water, and Wood was an alluring and mature woman.

The woman, dressed in a fiery red dress, looked at Chu Mo with a somewhat teasing gaze.

Listening to Gold narrate the incident that had just transpired in the land of Wood from the Five Elements, the woman burst into fury, "How dare they plot against my brother's master? They're seeking death!"

Wood timidly muttered beside her, "I'm a bit older than you..."

"Shut up!" The woman glared at him.

Wood instantly retracted his head and tightly shut his mouth.

Gold also seemed somewhat afraid of this brash woman as it carefully said, "Master has already killed that group of people!"

"Master?" The woman's beautiful eyes swept over Chu Mo before she asked, "Are you referring to yourself?"

Chu Mo looked at her in confusion, "Who are you talking about?"

The woman hesitated for a moment before she chuckled, "Nothing... I've heard you have a Sacred Elemental Fruit." She swiftly changed the topic.

Chu Mo nodded, "I have a few."

"Great! I can finally ascend to a higher realm!" The woman burst into joy, eyeing Chu Mo as she said, "Let's get going! What are we still doing in this damn place?"

"..." Chu Mo was left speechless. He wondered whether this was truly an elemental spirit of the Five Elements. Was the spirit of Fire from the Five Elements like this?

All of them... from Gold to this woman, seemed to have something eccentric about them.

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This season's snow is so terrible. It's like climbing a mountain and crossing ridges to get to the studio to write. Every step is a struggle... I hope for a monthly ticket as consolation!

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