"Patriarch, Patriarch, spare me! I truly didn't know!"
Mo Lin, seeing Mo Lan's burning anger and the disapproving stares of his fellow elders, finally couldn't hold back the truth.
"Patriarch, I truly don't know the Great Elder's exact whereabouts. However, the day the Great Elder left, it was because the 'Bloodline Wheel' sensed the appearance of a rare bloodline physique near the Eastern Provinces."
"Speak, speak clearly! What exactly happened?"
Mo Lan, upon hearing this, realized that Mo Lin had indeed been holding back. His anger flared!
Mo Lin hurriedly explained, "On the day the Great Elder left, the Bloodline Wheel seemed to sense the awakening of a special bloodline. It seemed to be the legendary number one miraculous eye of the continent, the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."
Silence. The entire hall was deathly still. Everyone present was a high-ranking member of the Mo Clan and naturally knew of the Mo Clan's most famous secret technique of organ fusion.
They understood why Mo Cheng had left in such a hurry. If they had received news of such miraculous eyes, they would have seized the opportunity to snatch them.
"Humph!"
Mo Lan slammed his chair arm in dissatisfaction, but he couldn't continue his outburst. With a gloomy face, he coldly said,
"The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils can only be born from a hybrid of a snake-people and a human. The closest snake-people gathering place to the Eastern Provinces is the Tager Desert.
The Great Elder must have gone there. Someone, quickly send people to the Tager Desert to inform the Great Elder to return promptly."
"There's no need. I've brought the person back for you."
Just as Mo Lan gave the order, a voice suddenly echoed from outside the council hall. Two figures entered, one after the other.
"Who are you?"
Mo Lan looked at the two figures that had suddenly appeared. The one behind had a weak aura and was insignificant, but the one in front was completely shrouded in a cloak, making it impossible to see their face. Their aura was also elusive, making them difficult to perceive.
The cloaked figure was naturally Yan Qingshan. "Who am I? A good question. Of course, I'm here to demand an explanation!"
Mo Lan sneered. "Demand an explanation? From our Mo Clan? You have quite the audacity. What makes you think you can demand an explanation?"
"Mo Ran!"
Yan Qingshan didn't answer directly but turned to signal the person behind him.
The person stepped forward shakily, removing their cloak to reveal a disfigured face. It was Mo Ran, the survivor of the Mo Clan's Rock Desert City expedition. "Patriarch, elders, the Great Elder was wrong!"
Mo Lan, after careful observation, exclaimed excitedly, "Mo Ran! You're Mo Ran! You were with the Great Elder! What exactly happened? Explain clearly."
"Patriarch, after our group followed the Great Elder to the Tager Desert..."
Mo Ran began to narrate in a hoarse voice, explaining the entire sequence of events, including Mo Cheng's fate.
Of course, regarding Qing Ling, Yan Qingshan, and Xue Lan, he didn't dare to say much as instructed, only giving a brief overview without revealing too much information about them.
"The Great Elder is dead!"
Mo Lan slumped back into his seat, stunned. Although he was quite dissatisfied with the Great Elder, who had vied with him for power, Mo Lan knew very well that Mo Cheng had contributed greatly to the Mo Clan's current status.
Without Mo Cheng, the Mo Clan, lacking a Dou Spirit expert, could only dominate Yan City. In the entire Eastern Province, they could only be considered a first-rate power, barely worthy of being mentioned alongside the other three major clans.
"The limb of a Rank 5 Blazing Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros's. You should know its origin better than I do, right?"
Yan Qingshan casually tossed out a crimson beast arm. The Mo Clan's high-ranking members were all shocked upon seeing it.
"The Mountain-Breaking Arm! The Great Elder even used this!"
"The Mountain-Breaking Arm has been severed. The Great Elder must be in grave danger!"
"The Great Elder actually used the family's treasured foundation!"
The Mo Clan's core members were naturally familiar with this item, and the discussions grew louder, their faces turning increasingly grim.
Mo Lan's lips twitched uncontrollably. He was initially just shocked, but now he was filled with grief and fear. As the family head, he was quite angry that Mo Cheng had used such a precious family treasure for himself.
But after the shock came grief and fear. He grieved that the Mountain-Breaking Arm had lost much of its value after this ordeal and could no longer be transplanted onto a person.
He feared Yan Qingshan's strength even more.
The Blazing Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros was not weak among Rank 5 magical beasts, and its forelimbs possessed immense power.
Even a high-ranking Dou Spirit like Mo Cheng, combined with the Mountain-Breaking Arm, would be difficult for a Dou King to subdue. Yet, Mo Cheng was dead, and the Mountain-Breaking Arm had been severed. This showed the person's strength.
"Patriarch, Mo Ran has committed a grave mistake and dares not seek forgiveness. He only hopes that you will consider his past contributions to the clan and not harm his wife and children!"
After saying this, Mo Ran struck his own head with a heavy palm, blood spilling from his mouth as he fell to the hall floor. Having completed what Yan Qingshan had asked him to do, he took his own life, bringing this matter to a temporary end.
Mo Ran was destined to die. Not only had he gone to Rock Desert City and participated in the entire affair, but he had also seen the true faces of Yan Qingshan and the others. To tie up loose ends, Yan Qingshan could not let him live.
As for why he was brought back to the Mo Clan alive, it was because Yan Qingshan wanted to make the Mo Clan yield legitimately. What better evidence than the Mo Clan's own member speaking the truth?
Mo Ran knew Yan Qingshan's intentions. He certainly didn't want to harm the clan's interests, but he also understood that the Mo Clan couldn't contend with Yan Qingshan's current strength. Following Yan Qingshan's plan was the method that would cause the least harm to the Mo Clan.
Otherwise, if the two sides couldn't reach an agreement, Yan Qingshan would be fine, but the entire Mo Clan would be doomed. It was precisely because he understood this that Mo Ran actively cooperated.
However, regardless of his reasons, he was inevitably a sinner to the Mo Clan, so he couldn't live on and had to take his own life to ensure that his family wouldn't be implicated.
Mo Lan looked at Mo Ran's fallen body, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes. A peak Dou Master, a backbone of the clan who had a good chance of breaking through to Dou Grandmaster, had died. How could he not feel heartache?
But before he could grieve, Yan Qingshan's voice rang out, "I warned Mo Cheng, but he insisted on seeking death. I could only send him on his way. But he destroyed my cultivation seclusion, and your Mo Clan must pay the price."
Mo Lan said in grief and indignation, "Pay the price? What price do you want? Mo Cheng is already dead! What else do you want? Do you think my Mo Clan..."
Before he could finish his words, a hissing sound echoed, and a fiery red figure slithered into the council hall. The tyrannical and undisguised aura made Mo Lan instinctively swallow his words.
"A Rank 5 magical beast!"
Mo Lan looked at the two-headed Flame Spirit Serpent, which obediently coiled around Yan Qingshan, and finally understood why Mo Ran had made that decision.
The Mo Clan was indeed powerful. With Mo Cheng, a high-ranking Dou Spirit, in their Yan City stronghold, they dared to face even a Dou King. But the current Mo Clan had suffered great losses.
Mo Cheng and three Dou Grandmaster, along with a dozen Dou Master, had all perished in the Rock Desert City expedition.
Now, the person had appeared in the clan's core council hall, and the guards outside were completely silent. Moreover, the person had brought a Rank 5 magical beast. Could the Mo Clan afford to offend them?
If not for Mo Ran's self-incrimination, giving the Mo Clan a handle in the person's hands, the Mo Clan would have directly refused or even attacked when the person came knocking.
But with the person's strength, could they afford to offend them? He was now extremely grateful for Mo Ran's initiative, which gave him a lot of room to maneuver. Hadn't the elders, who usually loved to chatter, all turned into mutes?
"The Flame Spirit Serpent has a bad temper, but it's very obedient to me. I hope you'll be just as obedient!"
Yan Qingshan gently stroked one of the Flame Spirit Serpent's heads, and the serpent obediently allowed him to do so. This scene led to another misunderstanding in the eyes of the Mo Clan members.
The one who possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils was very likely the man before them. Great Elder Mo Cheng had kicked an iron plate!
Yan Qingshan wanted them to misunderstand. He wanted to keep Qing Ling's information hidden for as long as possible. He didn't want his little servant girl to become the center of attention so quickly.
Mo Lan's posture was now very low. "Sir, what kind of apology do you require? As long as the Mo Clan can do it, please feel free to ask!"
Yan Qingshan's voice echoed, making the faces of Mo Lan and the other Mo Clan high-ranking members turn grim. "The Mo Clan is, after all, a local tyrant in Yan City. I believe you must have some hidden treasure troves!"
Mo Lan stepped down from his main seat and bowed. "It's an honor for the Mo Clan that you have taken a liking to our things. I will personally take you there!"
"Alright! I believe Patriarch Mo is a smart person and won't take any risks!"
Yan Qingshan was quite composed, gesturing for Mo Lan to lead the way. Mo Lan went ahead, followed by Yan Qingshan, and they slowly left the council hall, heading towards the secret chamber deep within the Mo Clan.
…
Inside the Mo Clan's treasure chamber, the heavy stone door slowly opened, revealing a somewhat stuffy atmosphere, probably due to being closed for a long time.
Yan Qingshan followed Mo Lan through the dazzling array of shelves, filled with various rare treasures, herbs, ores, weapons, Dou Qi Method, Dou Qi skills, secret arts... Among them, a significant number were various bodily organs, some from magical beasts, others from special races like Snake-people.
Yan Qingshan casually picked up a green cultivation technique scroll. A technique locked in this treasure chamber would at least be a Xuan-Grade treasure, and here, there were at least a dozen Xuan-Grade Dou Qi Method, covering various basic attributes, including even the extremely rare lightning attribute.
"Xuan middle grade, Azure Wood Sword Qi!"
Yan Qingshan looked at the wood-attribute Dou Qi Method before him. This technique, with its matching Dou Qi skill, was the highest-grade wood-attribute technique in the treasure chamber.
Even the Mo Clan, which almost dominated the Eastern Provinces, seemed to have only Xuan middle-grade as their strongest wood-attribute Dou Qi Method.