Gu Yigu smiled and replied, “Tell me.”

“This is not the first time I’m taking this route. But the last time I came, I didn’t see you come out to buy over horses,” said Chu Yang.

Gu Yigu was taken aback for a moment. “The last time? You passed by this area? Were you riding a horse then?”

Chu Yang was taken aback too. “No.”

A contemptuous Gu Yigu replied, “Since you weren’t riding a horse, what am I supposed to come out to buy over from you?”

Chu Yang was stunned.

“Everyone who passes by this place must leave their horses behind as long as they are riding them!” Gu Yigu said, “Five large clans had passed by this place of mine to head in that direction. And now, the horses of four of those clans have already been disposed of by me.”

Chu Yang smiled wryly. This old fellow was truly intense.

“The Chen Clan’s Wind-Chasing Beasts were the only ones that I didn’t ask for when they passed by this place the last time.” Gu Yigu snorted and said, “The blood of those Wind-Chasing Beasts stink!”

Mo Qingwu shivered.

Mo Tianji’s brows drew together. “What Elder means is… All those horses have been eaten by you?”

The corners of Gu Yigu’s lips spasmed. “No. I was injured and needed blood essence to nourish my body. War horses have a staunch enough nature and they are out in battles all the time. Thus, their bodies naturally contain a fierce and raging aura and their blood essence is also easier to absorb… After the horses come into my ownership, I would use a secret art to extract half their blood essence for my consumption. I sell the horses away after that.”

“All the money I get is exchanged into daily necessities and resources. Once every two years, I send them directly to the northeast wastelands from here as supplies for my clansmen.” There was sorrow in his eyes. “The place where we live is covered in perennial ice and snow… It’s not so bad for the adults but for the children and the elderly, as well as some women… All of them can’t…”

Chu Yang nodded solemnly and sighed.

“These last 30,000 years, I’ve already sent resources worth a total of 70 million Purple Crystals back…” The corners of Gu Yigu’s lips spasmed a little. “At the same time while I maintained my own consumption at the minimum threshold, I also committed arson, murder and robbery, and did a lot of wicked things… All the money and Purple Crystals I got were used to fill in this huge hole… At this point, other than having my cultivation and a few taels of silver, this ninth-grade peak-level Supreme Martial Artist here is but a pauper!”

70 million Purple Crystals worth of resources!

This colossal number gave everyone a huge shock!

One must understand that 70 million Purple Crystals were not as simple as 70 million taels of silver. Moreover, all of those daily necessities that Gu Yigu spoke of were things that could be bought with gold and silver.

A Purple Crystal was worth as much as a million taels of silver!

Doing a calculation based on that rate, the amount of resources that Gu Yigu had sent back was practically beyond estimation!

“Why do they need that much?” asked a surprised Chu Yang. “Some things can be used for quite a number of years…”

The corners of Gu Yigu’s lips spasmed again. “Over at where we are… Most things only have the lifespan of a year! Things like cotton blankets can’t be used anymore after just three months…”

He said somberly, “As for us… Back when the world hadn’t changed, there were two billion of us. After the change, the survivors didn’t even make up 200 million. In addition, we were imprisoned in the Ice Wastelands. 80,000 years ago, the population decreased drastically to 150 million. 50,000 years ago, it had become less than 100 million. 30,000 years ago, there were still 70 million people while 20,000 years ago, we were left with only 40 million people. And now… we barely make up 10 million!”

Chu Yang and the others couldn’t help exchanging looks of horror.

What a high mortality rate! If this were to continue at such a rate… The Three Stars Divine Clan wouldn’t be far from extinction.

“Every time the Nine Tribulations Sword Master emerges into the world, the Ice Wastelands would open. The opening lasts for only a day before it shuts. Within those few days, the clan must select experts and quickly send them out. Then, those people must do everything they can and work hard to earn money so that they can buy resources and send them back…”

When he reached this part, Mo Tianji raised his hand. “Elder, there’s something I don’t understand.”

Gu Yigu asked, “What is it?”

“Since there’s only a day’s time, this means that there are very few people who can come out. In that case, how do all of you send the resources back after gathering them? If things can be sent in, can’t people come out then?” asked Mo Tianji.

Gu Yigu smiled tragically. “We’ve been sealed inside. As long as a door of life doesn’t appear, living people cannot come out. However, they can receive things sent in from the outside… which is to say, inanimate objects can be sent in and out usually. What that door restricts is just life and souls.”

Mo Tianji went ‘oh’ and fell silent.

Inwardly, he secretly wondered just what kind of door that was? To think it was this domineering to actually be able to restrict souls.

“And once we, the ones who come out, have our identities exposed, it would incite a mass attack by the entire continent on us… All these years, other than this old man, there hasn’t been any Three Stars Divine Clan expert who could last until the next Nine Tribulations Sword Master emerged…”

“In my batch, 400 people came out. All of us were elites but… by now, this old man is the only one who’s still alive in this world. Everyone else had already died a long time ago, 20,000 years back…”

“It was only three years ago when the latest generation of the Nine Tribulations Sword Master emerged that that hateful door finally opened once more. But… my clansmen are already…”

Gu Yigu heaved a heavy sigh. “Over all these years, I’ve robbed good people and killed bad people. I’ve honestly killed a lot of people but I don’t dare to die. I don’t fear death but I cannot die… Hurhur… Brother Chu, you should also know that for people who can attain a cultivation level like mine, how many of us actually fear death…? Yet I had to beg for mercy in front of that big brother of yours. Let’s not even talk about just a promise and a few Heavenly Treasures; even if he were to demand that I get on my knees and call him ‘grandpa’, I must also retain my life…”

“If even I die too… The Divine Clan would really have no one on the outside anymore… Their supply of resources would also be cut off…”

When he reached this part, Gu Yigu sighed and stopped talking.

Chu Yang and the others were also silent.

What were they supposed to say?

None of them knew what they should say to this. They couldn’t help but feel a heaviness in their hearts.

When Gu Yigu had relayed what happened back then, they had already found it strange. Wasn’t this ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artista little too fearful of death…? To actually beg for mercy?

But it was only now that they knew and also understood the reason why. Looking at Gu Yigu, a sense of respect suddenly welled up within them.

Dying nobly for the sake of righteousness wasn’t difficult. What was truly challenging was to endure humiliation and cling on to life for the sake of their clan.

After a long while, Chu Yang asked tentatively, “This… Is it possible for the Three Stars Divine Clan to co-exist peacefully alongside humans?”

Gu Yigu was terribly enraged!

Even his eyes were bulging. He snapped furiously, “What do you mean by that?”

Chu Yang was startled. “…?” A raging Gu Yigu questioned, “What do you mean by whether the Three Stars Divine Clan can co-exist peacefully alongside humans? Are the Three Stars Divine Clan not humans?”

Chu Yang nearly fainted.

Wasn’t that obvious? In this legend that had been passed down for 90,000 years, who had ever said that people of the Three Stars Divine Clan were also humans? The Three Stars Divine Clan stood alongside the Dragon, Phoenix and Fairy races. When were they actually… human?

Gu Yigu’s fury hadn’t subsided. “The Three Stars Divine Clan is just a little special. Which part of us don’t look human? 100,000 years ago when the Three Stars Divine Clan had ruled the world, did they ever drive the so-called humans into a corner and wipe them out?”

“At that time, wasn’t people of the Three Stars Divine Clan uniting in matrimony with the humans you speak of something very normal? Why is it that when these so-called humans rule the world, they instead kill all the descendants of interracial marriage? Is it really the Three Stars Divine Clan that is cruel or is it these so-called humans in this current continent who are cruel?”

“Other than putting on the pelt of a human, which part of these so-called humans in this continent now can you say is really human? Are they even worthy of being called humans? What the hell!”

Lord Gu Yigu spat viciously.

Mo Tianji lowered his head and thought about it for a while. Then, he said, “From the point they are born till they mature to adulthood, people of the Three Stars Divine Clan are indeed the same as humans. The only difference is that their meridians are slightly different. In addition, the bloodline of the Three Stars Divine Clan can also be awakened; this aspect seems to differ from regular humans. The next thing is that their forehead carries the symbol of the clan from the moment they are born… They are regarded as a different existence and isolated because of this.”

“But if one returns to the origin and looks at it from that perspective… There is nothing wrong with saying that people of the Three Stars Divine Clan are humans. However… there is also nothing in saying that they are not.”

Mo Tianji’s statement was extremely fair and just. Chu Yang nodded slowly.

He finally understood why Du Shiqing’s guard whom he had encountered when he went to Iron Cloud back then could wield the Three Stars Divine Clan’s fire control technique. That must be some kind of bloodline awakening?

The Three Stars Divine Clan had already suffered for 100,000 years. Should he be able to unite the Nine Heavens, was it also time that he returned them some justice?

However, Chu Yang didn’t say this out loud. In fact, this was something that he also needed to discuss properly with the brothers. He would also need to consult Moon Breeze and the others and come up with a safe and foolproof plan.

Otherwise, should he recklessly make a decision, the day he united the Nine Heavens would also be the start of a great interracial war!

The cruel consequences resulting from that were something that nobody could afford.

This was also the true reason why Chu Yang didn’t dare to agree to Young Master Yu’s request back then.

Musing, Mo Tianji glanced at Chu Yang. From Chu Yang’s tightly knitted brows, Mo Tianji completely understood what this Boss of his was thinking about.

A hint of worry couldn’t help but flash across his eyes.

This topic was too heavy. Chu Yang decided to just skip over it and push it down to the bottom of his heart. Then, he started to talk about interesting stories of the martial world again. Dong Wushang and the others also took the opportunity to rest during this break that didn’t come easy.

Mo Qingwu rested in Chu Yang’s arms, nodding off in a half-awake manner.

“This… Elder Gu, according to what I know, there are three people who left their mark on this Black Blood token back then. Does Elder Gu know who the other two are?” asked Chu Yang seriously.

“This… I am indeed unaware.” There was embarrassment on Gu Yigu’s face as he said, “After all, this matter is ultimately not something glorious. Nobody would spread it around…”

Chu Yang said impassively, “That’s not necessarily true. Does Elder Gu know this? If the other party isn’t a rare expert… That big brother of mine wouldn’t have allowed them to leave their mark on this thing… Every one of those who was able to leave their mark on this is a rare ultimate expert in this world!”

Gu Yigu’s face turned as red as a monkey’s butt immediately.