The next day, the news of what happened in Thorne City started spreading through the major cities on the continent. All across the five major regions on the continent, prominent noble families received the shocking news.
This included the twelve great families. All the heads of the various great families received the news with mixed reactions. Though they were all collectively regarded as the Twelve great families, the relationship between them was far from harmonious.
Against the collective threat of the demonic cultivators, they would band together and fight, but that didn't mean they were all buddies. In fact, the competition among them was very fierce.
The only silver lining among this was that they were all very far from each other. The southern region which Adrian was currently in only had three great families residing in it.
Well, two now. After finding out that it was the work of the demonic cultivators, they all became alert. They started conducting investigations, making sure people of the demonic faction were not in their territories.
This was especially true for the House of Vyre and the House of Blake, which occupied the southern region alongside the House of Thorne.
Only a few of them were sympathetic to the plight of the Thorne family. Most of them just treated it as a lesson to learn from. In a way, the disaster of the Thorne family woke them up from their laziness and made them become more vigilant.
A week after the news broke out, in Thorne City. Two figures stood in the air, looking down on the entire city. They had arrived at roughly the same time, with one not being able to outpace the other.
Their figures were hidden in the clouds, so the residents weren't aware of their presence. Their auras were retracted, not revealing a single hint of their true level.
"Hoho, Old ghost Malric, I didn't expect it to be you who would come this time. Did you get tired of making your little concoctions?" A voice resounded from the man on the right. His gray hair and sky blue robes gave him a warm and gentle demeanor.
The old man on the left didn't get angry at his words. His back was hunched, and his faded purple robes were filled with the odor of deadly poisons. Ordinary individuals wouldn't even be able to get close to him. A single whiff would leave them writhing in agony, before dying a painful death.
He opened his wrinkled mouth and spoke.
"If you, Herbert, who is one foot in the grave, can come, why can't I?" His raspy voice making him seem even older than he was.
"Hahahah. It seems your concoctions are not the only things poisonous." The blue-robed man let out a hearty laugh, not taking the words of Old ghost Malric to heart. Their brief exchange of words already demonstrated the attitude of the two towards one another.
On the surface, it seemed like playful banter and harmless remarks, but the real situation was far more than that. The relationship between the two wasn't the best.
The same went for the families behind them. While there wasn't any open feud or hostility between them, they certainly weren't friends either.
"I thought you would be sadder about this incident, given that you guys were about to enter an alliance. Tsk tsk. As expected of the House of Blake."
Old ghost Malric's next words shut Herbert up. His expression was still gentle. But there wasn't a hint of warmth in his eyes anymore. The atmosphere suddenly became tense as the two old men just stared at each other.
They waited in silence for a while, not addressing each other. After about fifteen minutes, the two of them suddenly turned their heads in the same direction and stared off into the distance.
Two streaks could be seen cutting through the clouds at breakneck speed. In the blink of an eye, the two streaks arrived in front of the two old men, revealing two figures. A man and a woman.
Their silver robes, with gold-trimmed edges, radiated luxury and gave off a feeling of otherworldliness. On their backs bore the emblem of a magnificent griffin that was woven out of golden threads.
One of them, a tall, middle-aged man with sharp sword-like eyebrows, spoke after they arrived.
"It seemed we've kept the two seniors waiting."
"The two envoys must be joking. This old man also just arrived here." Herbert responded with a smile. His attitude towards the two newcomers became much more gentle and welcoming.
Old ghost Malric simply nodded his head towards them as a form of greeting, and didn't say anything, but his silence was also a response. From their auras alone, the two old men were far stronger than the newcomers, but they didn't dare to be rude towards them.
This was because these two individuals were the envoys sent by the Everhart Royal family, the rulers of the Floating Cloud continent. If the twelve great families were giants, then the Everhart Royal family was a behemoth that they didn't dare provoke.
The middle-aged man nodded his head slightly, pleased by the demeanor of the two old men. He then turned his attention towards the city below them and spoke in a grave voice.
"There's no mistake about it. It's definitely the aura of demonic cultivators. Furthermore, it's still so potent after so long." His partner, a young-looking woman, spoke while covering her face with her hand fan.
"To be able to attack and destroy the House of Thorne without anyone noticing. I'm afraid they've at least reached the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm. Perhaps even taking a step further. I'm afraid the orthodox faction has suffered a great loss this time."
This statement made everyone present fall into silence. The Heavenly Immortal realm. That was a realm that they didn't dare to dream about. With their talents, it was almost impossible for them to reach that realm.
"The main question is why they would attack the House of Thorne specifically. From everything we've gathered so far, this attack is very suspicious." The middle-aged man finally spoke.
"I agree. With the normal attitude of demonic cultivators, the whole city would have been razed to the ground. Instead, this seems like a covert operation. Something they didn't want people to find out quickly." Old ghost Malric spoke this time, his eyes squinting slightly.