As Lu Tianqing gathered the conch-shaped magical treasure beneath the Cangwu Tree and departed that realm,

Hundreds of worlds away, Lu Yungge also let out a cold snort.

With a mere flick of his sleeve, the layered formations and restrictive runes before him faded into nothingness.

This was a transmission array, though not exclusive to the Burning Sky Immortal Court.

However, the Court’s array covered nearly one-tenth of the entire domain, spanning at least five thousand worlds.

Within this domain, few could stand against the Court, save for a handful of great powers comparable to the Lu Clan of Burning Sky.

And the number of individuals qualified to activate this array was merely a few dozen.

He, Lu Yungge, was one of them!

“Old curmudgeon!”

Squinting, he cursed under his breath. Lu Yungge’s eyes held a faint, chilling light; how could he not understand Lu Tianqing’s implication?

The matter of the Scarlet Bee Bird was indeed his doing. Yet, this old man was too lacking in tolerance and utterly obtuse!

Shaking his head, Lu Yungge still tossed out a jade slip and fled into the distant void.

The State Lord of Xuanhua was perpetually busy; it was not as if one could see him at will. Sending a message was sufficient; it was hardly an earth-shattering event.

He then fell into deep thought, recalling Zong Shou.

Entering the eighth layer of the Death Prison seemed to have earned the Saint Venerable Jue Yan's special attention?

Rumors had long circulated that Zong Shou was no longer a weakling in the Cloud Realm.

Could he truly possess some capability? A dual-vein body, a crippled physique—could such a person truly cultivate?

It was a pity that Lu Tianqing had been vague. Conversing across the vast void consumed too much vital energy to learn the details.

This man was too arrogant, too unreliable. Should he one day gain absolute authority over the life and death of the Lu family, he would certainly teach Lu Tianqing a lesson!

And that woman—

The corner of Lu Yungge's lips curled upward, his eyes filled with malicious glee.

Did she not always consider herself of the direct lineage, never affording him a proper glance?

All his careful fawning and flattery over the days had earned him only betrayal.

She would rather follow some useless, lowly brat from the Cloud Realm than marry him.

But what was the situation now?

Hanyan, oh Hanyan. You will ultimately have to watch that father and son suffer the torment of this world, never to find peace! You will regret your choice then—

As he mused on this, Lu Yungge heard a clamor from outside. There was a massive uproar, and looking out from the pavilion, he saw countless fiery streaks of light descending.

“How dare you cause such a disturbance here?”

Frowning, Lu Yungge also ascended, flashing out of the private chamber.

This was the Burning Sky Sacred Court, the most sacred foundation of the Lu Clan.

Even a Saint Venerable of the Ultimate Realm from outside the Lu Clan would never dare act arrogantly here.

And the direction from which the noise originated was precisely where the Lu Clan’s ancestral temple stood!

After several swift movements, he arrived.

Upon reaching the spot, Lu Yungge, who had intended to use his status as the Second Heir of the Lu Clan to issue a stern reprimand, froze.

He stood speechless, looking where the eyes of everyone present were focused.

It was a colossal stone tablet, beneath which a fierce crimson flame now burned.

A thick swath of blood-red color was flowing across the surface of the monument.

“The Burning Sky Tablet—how can this be?”

Like the crowd below, Lu Yungge’s face was etched with bewilderment.

This was the Burning Sky Tablet, also known as the Name-Confirming Tablet.

On it were inscribed the names of all individuals within the Lu Clan, below the Saint Realm, who were qualified to contend for the position of Saint Emperor.

The order of inscription determined the sequence of succession and the hierarchy of status.

Including the newly inscribed ‘Lu Shou,’ there were forty-nine names in total.

But now, the blood-red characters on the tablet had vanished. The intense, blood-red flame on the monument flickered erratically, refusing to manifest any script.

“How strange! Could someone whose name is registered on our Lu Clan’s direct lineage roster have appeared on the Burning Sky Tablet?”

“Unlikely! Even with a new addition, there wouldn't be such a commotion. All the names have completely disappeared.”

“If not an addition, then has someone inscribed on the tablet perished?”

“What about Lu Wushuang? Despite being ranked in the top five, his status only resulted in a momentary crimson warning flash. Besides, most of our top ten heirs are within the Sacred Court; how could any accident occur?”

“I have a feeling a massive upheaval is coming! Such an anomaly on the Burning Sky Tablet hasn't occurred in millennia. I recall the last time was seven thousand years ago, when our Lu Clan’s Saint Venerable Yanyuan—”

The speaker seemed to realize their indiscretion and immediately fell silent.

Lu Yungge let out a cold laugh. Such a reaction from the Burning Sky Tablet was exactly what had happened when Saint Venerable Yanyuan ascended to the Ultimate Realm previously.

However, it surely couldn't be one of the Lu Clan’s Venerables achieving Sainthood now.

He had never heard any such rumors—

Given the foundation and strength of the Lu Clan, the ascension of a Venerable would undoubtedly be announced far and wide, inviting all factions to witness the ceremony.

It would be a display of might, a show of strength; they would never keep such a monumental event secret.

Moreover, at that time, the phenomenon of all the heirs’ names vanishing had never occurred.

Shaking his head, Lu Yungge lifted his gaze again, looking toward the stone steps of the ancestral temple in the distance.

There stood a group of female cultivators in scarlet robes. The one in the center wore attire exceptionally solemn and luxurious; her countenance and temperament were unparalleled, exuding an aura of sanctity.

Yet, this Saintess of the Lu Clan’s ancestral court currently wore a blank expression, utterly unreadable.

Neither joy nor sorrow, neither anger nor surprise.

“It seems a great change is imminent for our Burning Sky Lu Clan. The storm is about to break—”

A voice sounded from behind him.

Lu Yungge turned his head and saw a noble-looking youth in his thirties, clad in purple-gold scale armor, standing directly behind him.

His chin was slightly cleft, giving him an appearance that was both handsome and composed.

“Lu Daoyan!”

This individual ranked sixth among the Lu Clan’s heirs. Ten years prior, he had been second only to Lu Yungge.

Lu Yungge’s pupils contracted momentarily before returning to normal: “The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease. Even within this Burning Sky Sacred Court, there are always those who wish to see the world thrown into chaos—”

The youth in golden armor smiled instead of getting angry, shaking his head slightly: “It seems Brother Yungge truly hasn't perceived it! Do you think I am speaking nonsense? What benefit would chaos in the Sacred Court bring to me?”

Lu Yungge paused, a look of astonishment crossing his face.

Only now did he realize something was amiss. Among the crowd before the stone tablet, many Lu Clan disciples showed expressions of shock mixed with disbelief.

They began leaping into the air, flying to unoccupied spaces nearby, and sitting cross-legged on the spot.

Lu Daoyan’s tone turned sardonic: “You didn’t feel it? The change within the bloodline? That’s why I say, Lu Yungge, though you are named as part of our Lu Clan’s direct lineage, you are actually a distant collateral branch, too far removed from the true line. If I were you, I would have given up long ago.”

Lu Yungge had no heart to quarrel with this upstart’s mockery at the moment.

In that precise instant just past, his own heart had given a violent lurch.

It was unmistakably a reversal of the bloodline; if that was the case—

As if recalling something, Lu Yungge’s pupils widened furiously as he looked towards the stone tablet.

Lu Daoyan then murmured softly: “Still don’t understand? Someone has already mastered the Blood of World Burning—our Lu Clan’s supreme divine ability, our ultimate bloodline—”