Chapter Two: The Enemy Approaches—The Last Stand of the Fallen Imperial Clan

Celestial Profound Continent, Eastern Wasteland.

An ancient mountain, grand and steep, shrouded in immortal mist, stood as if it were a paradise on earth. Scattered among its heights, old temples lay nestled like jewels. Yet today, this tranquil sanctuary was shattered by an arrogant voice.

“Members of the Xiao family, hear my command! By order of Martial Emperor Cangyan, your daughter Xiao Jinyu is to be taken into the emperor’s son’s harem. The Xiao family’s imperial scripture shall be given as dowry. You must not defy this decree. Those who do will be executed!” A purple-robed elder hovered high above, gazing down at the mountain with cold disdain and mocking eyes.

“It would be wise for you to comply. You have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you refuse Martial Emperor’s will by then, your clan will face annihilation!”

Above his head floated a decree exuding ancient power. Its oppressive aura enveloped the entire mountain like a bottomless abyss.

Inside the main hall atop the mountain, the Xiao clansmen clenched their fists, flames of rage burning in their eyes as they heard the order.

“This Martial Emperor Cangyan… he has gone too far!” Xiao Qingtian, the current patriarch, slammed his chair in anger, his voice trembling with suppressed fury.

Though the Xiao family was no longer as glorious as in days past, it had once been counted among the imperial clans. Cangyan was but a quasi-emperor, styling himself as Martial Emperor simply because he might ascend. To so brazenly oppress the Xiao family, threatening genocide at a whim, was intolerable.

“Patriarch, this demand is outrageous! He means to sever our lineage. We must never agree!” their voices thundered.

“Yes! This is nothing but an insult to the Xiao family. If we submit, we shall have no standing left on the Celestial Profound Continent!”

Xiao Qingtian understood well. The emperor’s son, Cang’er, was not only mediocre in cultivation but infamous for his depravity, having taken many female cultivators as concubines and vessels, his reputation foul. Xiao Jinyu, pride of the younger generation, possessed the lunar constitution and had already reached the Four Extremes Secret Realm at a tender age, with hopes of one day becoming an emperor herself—the future of the family.

“I know…” Xiao Qingtian’s voice was low, filled with helplessness.

A hundred thousand years ago, their ancestor Xiao Xuan achieved emperorhood, eclipsing all rivals, and so the Xiao clan’s fame soared. To protect the continent’s people, Xiao Xuan fought the demonic invaders from foreign realms alone, vanishing from the world. He departed with the imperial weapon and immortal herbs, leaving little of the clan’s legacy behind.

The family’s sole imperial scripture had become incomplete through repeated upheavals, now a mere fragment.

Thus, though the Xiao family bore the name of imperial clan, it lacked true imperial strength. If only they had the imperial weapon’s protection, a mere quasi-emperor would not dare insult them!

“Patriarch.” A clear, crisp voice interrupted Xiao Qingtian’s thoughts. It was a young girl in pale yellow robes, ethereal in bearing, skin like snow, breathtakingly beautiful—the pride of the Xiao family, Xiao Jinyu.

“Even though we have fallen, we are still an imperial clan. Martial Emperor Cangyan uses his quasi-emperor decree to pressure us. Will the other imperial families simply stand by?” Xiao Jinyu said calmly.

Xiao Qingtian paused. Her words rang true. A hundred thousand years ago, when foreign invaders threatened all life on the continent, it was only Xiao Xuan’s sacrifice that saved the imperial clans from destruction.

Their survival was owed to Xiao Xuan. They were indebted to the Xiao family.

“Yes! Without Ancestor Xiao Xuan, those imperial clans would have perished. Their current glory is owed to him!” the clansmen said, rekindling hope that the patriarch might seek aid from the other imperial families.

Yet Xiao Qingtian’s face remained grave. He shook his head. “Before the Martial Emperor’s envoy arrived, I had already sent word for help. But… you mustn’t hold too much hope. If Cangyan dares to oppress us today, he must have made preparations.”

“When the tea grows cold…” Xiao Qingtian continued, “When Ancestor Xiao Xuan was here, the imperial clans bowed their heads. But it’s been a hundred thousand years since he left, and perhaps…”

A quasi-emperor with prospects and a declining imperial clan—the other families have likely already chosen.

His words were like cold water, extinguishing the fire of hope in the hall.

Though Xiao Qingtian hated to snuff out hope, at a moment of life and death, false illusions were the gravest error.

…

Outside, the purple-robed elder hovered impatiently in the void. Though the incense had not yet burned out, the Xiao family’s hesitation displeased him.

“Indecisive fools. Let me help you choose,” he sneered, unfurling a corner of the quasi-emperor’s decree.

A low hum sounded.

Instantly, a dense pressure emanated from the decree, bearing down upon the Xiao family’s domain.

A thunderous boom echoed as the quasi-emperor’s might swept through an ancient hall, reducing it to ashes in an instant.

More than a dozen clansmen within were forced to their knees, vomiting blood under the crushing force.

“Xiao family of the Eastern Wasteland, you were once among the ten great imperial clans. Has your decline reached such depths that you cannot withstand a single decree?” the elder mocked, floating above.

His words incited furious helplessness among the Xiao family’s disciples, their anger ready to erupt like a volcano.

“Damn it! We are an imperial clan, yet they dare treat us thus—this is the gravest insult!”

Their gazes were sharp as blades, fixed upon the elder in the sky. They knew their fate hung by a thread.

“Mere insignificant insects.”

“I’m only helping you make your choice.”

“When the incense burns out, I will make every member of the Xiao family kneel before my lord’s decree, then slaughter you one by one, letting the world witness the Martial Emperor’s inviolable might!”

His words brimmed with contempt, as if the clan’s fate was already sealed.

“Too much!” In the hall, several elders stood angrily, ready to fight to the death.

To be so humiliated on their own ground was a desecration of the clan’s dignity.

“Patriarch, we cannot just sit and wait!”

“Yes, we must fight!”

The young disciples’ blood boiled, preferring to die honorably rather than live in disgrace.

“Wait a little longer. Our messengers will return soon,” Xiao Qingtian gritted his teeth, struggling to calm his people. As patriarch, he must bear the burden of protecting the clan, even if hope was slim.

Time crawled by, heavy and tense.

At last, several Xiao clansmen hurried into the hall.

“You’re back! What did the other imperial clans say?” Xiao Qingtian asked anxiously, hoping for good news.

But hope was quickly dashed. The messengers knelt in shame and anger.

“Patriarch, we failed. The other clans shut their doors—we couldn’t even see them.”

“They clearly have no intention of helping us.”

The hall fell silent. Xiao Qingtian seemed to age years, waving his hand with bitter resignation. “I understand.”

He had expected this outcome, yet when it arrived, it was hard to bear. Was the Xiao family’s past sacrifice for the continent to be forgotten so easily? The cold indifference of the imperial families chilled the heart.

“Patriarch, if there is no other way, I will leave with Martial Emperor Cangyan’s envoy.”

Xiao Jinyu, who had remained silent, spoke calmly, as if discussing someone else’s fate.

“Rest assured, once I leave and the crisis is resolved, I will end my own life, never bringing shame to the clan. As for the imperial scripture, I will not let it fall into their hands.”

Her words provoked fierce opposition from the clansmen.

“No! That would play right into Cangyan’s hands!”

“Absolutely not! Even if our clan is wiped out, we will never sacrifice one of our own for survival!”

None would agree to her plan.

“I am grateful for your goodwill…” Xiao Jinyu’s heart warmed at their refusal. Even at the brink of extinction, no one would sacrifice her for the clan. Such a family was worth defending with her life. Yet it was a pity…

She gently stroked an ancient ring on her finger, a trace of unwillingness flickering in her eyes.

“Let me do it instead.”

As the debate raged, a weak cough silenced the hall.

It was the elder beside Xiao Qingtian, robed in black, his face gaunt, hair snow-white, clearly at death’s door.

“Grand Elder, weren’t you asleep within the Divine Source? How have you awakened?” Xiao Qingtian hurried to intervene.

The elder was Xiao Cangming, the clan’s last saint. He had been in deep slumber due to his failing lifespan, sealed away until today—when the Xiao family faced extinction.

Yet Xiao Qingtian knew that at Cangming’s current state, fighting with all his strength could only last a short while, and he might perish at any moment.

“If the clan is to be destroyed, what use is this old body?” Cangming ignored the protests, rising slowly with deep resolve.

“Qingtian, remember this.”

“The Xiao family, even in decline, remains an imperial clan of the Celestial Profound Continent. If our clan falls, let it be in glory, never in disgrace!”

“The other clans shut their doors, standing aside, waiting to see us beg. We will not give them the satisfaction!”

“Even in death, we die standing! Never kneeling!”

With that, Cangming swept his sleeve and departed, his figure in the hall solitary but resolute.

“Who dares challenge the Xiao family!” Cangming’s voice echoed like the roar of dragons and tigers, resounding through heaven and earth.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, the aura of a saint emanating from his frail body, shining like the last embers of a dying tree.