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What Song Chao and Jade Sea City were planning, Yan Zhaoge could not really tell at the moment.
However, for the time being at least, Yan Zhaoge did not intend to continue considering it.
For Broad Creed Mountain's entire faction, what they were most concerned about now was the funeral.
In this great tribulation of Broad Creed Mountain, having first experienced the chaos of the Decimating Abyss before encountering the attacks of the Sacred Sun Clan and the Heavenly Thunder Hall, the number of Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioners who had perished was not few.
Shi Tie was one of them. Apart from him, there were other fellow disciples who died as well. Right now, their corpses were collected and buried together.
Everyone, more or less, had old friends and family. Everyone represented a tragedy and sorrow.
And to Broad Creed Mountain as a whole, the greatest influence was still Shi Tie's death.
Not counting Xin Dongping and Elder Wang who had been purged, Shi Tie was the strongest expert of Broad Creed Mountain who had perished in this tribulation.
Including those who had been corroded by the Decimating Abyss, Broad Creed Mountain's losses this time were not small, having suffered a great deal of damage to their vitality.
Fortunately, Yuan Zhengfeng and Yan Di's successive breakthroughs as well as the strengthening of Broad Creed Mountain's guardian formation, the Clear Qi Grand Formation, had caused Broad Creed Mountain's overall strength to rise instead of falling.
Counterattacking the territories occupied by the Sacred Sun Clan in the Fire Domain and the Wind Domain, they had obtained a great amount of resources, also making up for Broad Creed Mountain's losses.
Meanwhile, their enemies, the Sacred Sun Clan and the Heavenly Thunder Hall, had similarly suffered heavy losses, especially the Sacred Sun Clan who had lost their Sacred Artifact, the Great Sun Heaven Measuring Ruler, suffering losses to the point of vomiting blood.
The funeral was presided over by Yan Di, who had taken over the position of Chief. Yuan Zhengfeng and the other higher echelon experts of Broad Creed Mountain all appeared, sending Shi Tie and the others on their final journey.
Runes flickered within Yan Di's pupils as he controlled the Clear Qi Grand Formation to slowly circulate.
As the great formation operated, a beam of clear light shot into the distance, forming an illusory world of light and shadow, as if it was another world.
It was a foreign dimension, completely different from the one in which Yan Di and Yan Zhaoge had battled Xin Dongping and Yuan Tian.
This space flickered with a watery light, like a giant lake.
The entire foreign dimension, the entire small world, seemed to be a lake.
Yan Zhaoge, Xu Fei, Feng Yunsheng, Sikong Qing, Ying Longtu and the other Broad Creed Mountain disciples all had solemn expressions on their faces.
Song Chao and the others who had come to watch the ceremony were also watching the world in the lake.
Li Jingwan said softly, "That is the burial ground of Broad Creed Mountain's past disciples, the Heavenly Born Lake …"
Song Chao nodded. "Not bad."
According to Broad Creed Mountain's customs, when disciples of the Broad Creed Mountain perished, other than the families of the deceased who had special requests, such as bringing them back to the clan for burial, all corpses that could be collected for burial would be buried in the Natural Spirit Lake.
After burying the others, Yan Di personally carried the transparent ice coffin containing the stone and metal to the world within the lake.
Standing in mid-air above the massive lake, placing the ice coffin before him and looking at Shi Tie's serene face within, Yan Di was silent, not speaking for a long time.
There was even a faint smile on Shi Tie's face. It was a mixture of comfort and joy.
Yan Di's face was sunken as water as his palm streaked across the cover of the ice coffin.
Now, a figure arrived beside Yan Di. Yan Di did not move as he knew who it was.
Fang Zhun's features were as lean as ever, gentle and refined, just that the usual faint smile on his face was now nowhere to be seen, his gaze heavy.
He reached out, as if wanting to place his palm on the coffin lid like Yan Di.
However, when his finger was less than an inch away from the ice coffin, Fang Zhun's hand stopped in mid-air, not moving, as if not daring to touch it.
Yan Di said softly, "Eldest apprentice-brother will not blame you. Master, I, and the others also do not have such thoughts."
Fang Zhun's expression did not change, but he resembled a statue as he stood in mid-air, not saying a word, not moving in the slightest.
While the chaos of the Decimating Abyss had been quelled, Xin Dongping and the others having already been slain, from a certain perspective, Fang Zhun felt that he was the true source of this great tribulation.
It was he who had first pushed open that great, forbidden door.
While he himself, with supreme willpower, had closed the great door once more, causing the shadow of the Nine Underworlds that had first attempted to extend into the Eight Extremities World to shrink back.
However, Xin Dongping had stepped on his shoulders, following the path that he had once walked, only then having taken that nightmarish step.
Between him and Xin Dongping, who exactly was the true founder of the Decimating Abyss, it was really hard to say.
Looking at Shi Tie within the ice coffin before him, looking at the people of Broad Creed Mountain who had already fallen into the Natural Spirit Lake below, even more figures seemed to surface before his eyes.
From Clear Concealed Lake to the incident of Yunwu County in the Sand Region, to this tribulation of Broad Creed Mountain this time.
Fang Zhun already knew about Shi Songtao's matter, and could only remain silent at this moment.
Yan Di said, "Don't waste your time on it. What eldest apprentice-brother wants to see more is a carefree Broad Creed Mountain."
Retracting his hand, Fang Zhun nodded slowly, turning and leaving.
Sucking in a deep breath, Yan Di released his hand on the ice coffin, the ice coffin descending downwards.
Shi Tie's figure gradually grew smaller and further away, the ice coffin descending into the lake, waves rippling.
Gazing at Shi Tie's gradually disappearing face within the water, Yan Di's gaze did not shift for even a moment.
At the top of the Heaven Rising Peak, Yuan Zhengfeng had a sorrowful expression on his face as he looked at the figures of Yan Di and Fang Zhun, as well as that transparent ice coffin.
The person within the ice coffin was his eldest disciple, the first disciple he had ever had in his life.
How many years of trials and tribulations had passed together, many things still seemed like they had happened yesterday.
"Lion, your Master is clear about his injuries. If I enter secluded cultivation, it is very hard to say whether I will be able to come out alive. I intend to choose you as the new Chief; are you willing to bear this burden?"
"Master, junior apprentice-brother Fang and junior apprentice-brother Yan are both more outstanding than this disciple."
"The former is too extreme, while the latter is too flamboyant. While as they grow older, they have gradually become more stable, if they want to take charge of Broad Creed Mountain, they still need to be tempered. Sadly, external enemies like the Sacred Sun Clan might not give us that much time."
"This disciple's personality is too pedantic, and I'm afraid that he is also not Chief material. This disciple believes that whether it is junior apprentice-brother Fang or junior apprentice-brother Yan, they will both become the central pillars of our clan. This disciple is foolish, but is also willing to lay down my life for the clan. Whatever the position, when and where, as long as the clan needs this disciple, this disciple will definitely stand up without hesitation. "
"That's also true. Your personality is too straightforward, and I'm afraid that you will be schemed against by those crafty old foxes like Unreasonable Old Huang and Bald Shen. Forget it, since you insist on not being willing, then let's see whether 'Hidden Dragon' or 'Invincible' can distinguish themselves first and take on this heavy responsibility …"
Thinking back on his past life, Yuan Zhengfeng closed his eyes somewhat painfully.
Having clashed head-on with Huang Guanglie, the Heaven Equalling Saint Yuan Zhengfeng who had supported Broad Creed Mountain for so many years, whose name shook the entire Eight Extremities World, who had already stepped into the Martial Saint realm that he had dreamed of for so many years, currently appeared extremely weak.
Seeing this, the Grand Elder Zhang Kun and He Ning behind him both sighed.
They had only seen such a senior apprentice-brother Yuan once before. That was after Yuan Zhengfeng's Master, the Heaven Diviner Zhan Xilou had perished.
Today, however, they met once again.
"When you were needed, you said that you would definitely stand up, and you indeed did as you said." Yuan Zhengfeng muttered to himself in a voice that only he could hear, "… But, silly boy, you've stood up. After the waves have calmed down, you should stand back up for your master!" (To be continued)
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