The battle with the Great Elder was probably considered a struggle in a trial of strength.
The thread of Divine Power from the Wine God intervention gave the Great Elder a "flashing back to light," a miraculous chance at "RETURNING TO THE PEAK."
But in reality, even the Great Elder at his peak couldn’t directly kill Gao Tian; he could only imprison him, wearing him down over a lengthy period in this cage...
The war became difficult to define towards the end, hard to say who exactly was being tortured.
The balance of victory, in fact, had already started tilting towards Gao Tian.
Even if the Wine God hadn’t withdrawn his Divine Power... it should have ended with Gao Tian defeating the Great Elder, although he too would pay a heavy price.
As one of the top three wielders of "spiritual power" in Changye City, Uncle Gao would be unable to act to his full capacity for at least six months. His Spiritual Domain greatly reduced; luckily, these were all recoverable losses.
And now, the Li Family no longer faced so many turmoils that required Gao Tian’s intervention to resolve.
This rebellion was an event shocking enough to shake the entirety of Changye City.
But in the grand scheme of the Qingzhong Cemetery incident that involved the East Central, it seemed rather trivial. The five major families each suffered to varying degrees, with the Gu family hit the hardest.
Once they confirmed that Gao Tian was unharmed,
Li Qingsui, the young girl, took Uncle Gao and their group on their journey to Divine Temple Mountain. At the base of Divine Temple Mountain, a group of "criminals" who had pursued her and her sister were still detained.
On the road to Divine Temple Mountain.
Uncle Gao didn’t drive this time; instead, he sat in the passenger seat, resting with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, he asked, "Miss, how do you plan to deal with these people?"
Li Qingsui remained silent for a short while.
Indeed, she had already considered how to handle them before setting out for the cemetery... If she were defeated, then those people could serve as bargaining chips, at least to secure her sister’s freedom.
If she won, just as it was now.
Li Qingsui uttered these three words lightly, seemingly casual, but with a chilling decisiveness.
Upon hearing her words, Gu Shen felt his hair stand on end.
Based on his understanding of this young girl...
This was likely her true intention.
The thought wasn’t excessive; every Transcendent that came to Divine Temple Mountain was akin to a sword hanging overhead. Without Chu Ling’s appearance, the Li sisters, Li Qingsui and Li Qingci, would have lost all power and freedom.
To punish the rebels was naturally to execute them!
However, with the Li Family facing a massive upheaval, if they eradicated these "elders" from the Elder Council, then the family would enter an unprecedented period of weakness.
"Then... they must not be allowed to leave Divine Temple Mountain," Uncle Gao said, his expression unchanging. "It will be quite troublesome if they are let go, and if we follow the federal laws, their crimes do not warrant the death penalty."
That statement seemed to imply that Uncle Gao would take action to eliminate these people within Divine Temple Mountain.
But upon closer listening,
It was in fact a subtle hint.
Li Quhu had expressed a wish before his passing that Li Qingsui be kind, but not too kind.
A matter of killing should be done swiftly and decisively.
"I don’t want to leave any future troubles..."
Li Qingsui of course understood Uncle Gao’s implication and, lowering her eyes, whispered, "When they wanted to kill me, they didn’t consider the federal laws."
Taking a deep breath,
Li Qingsui lifted her head to look at Uncle Gao, confused, "What would father have done in this situation?"
"Kill half, spare half," Gao Tian said softly. "Sins have their weight and punishments their order. Among those involved in this rebellion, there’s a faction of ringleaders who must be executed; those with lesser crimes can be spared. But this half will not be let off; after the Li Family has undergone reformation, the investigation will continue."
"There’s no need to worry about the Li family’s crisis."
Gu Nanfeng said softly, "I’ve talked with Lady Hua... For some time, the ladies of Da Du will assist the major families."
One by one, the fragmented, minor affairs were sorted out.
The injured from the cemetery were gradually taken to the healing sites.
The surroundings of Qingzhong, on the other hand, were cordoned off by a security committee with a long protective strip. It was resealed with domain-based sealing devices, leaving only one entrance and exit, guarded by numerous Transcendents.
The cemetery was in ruins, and there were still streams of raw essence flowing around it.
The most vital Array Patterns were still in reconstruction phase.
However, this time... there was no need for surreptitious repairs as countless materials for Array Patterns were transported to Changye under the mobilization of the East Continent Federation. It wouldn’t be long before the shattered Array Patterns could be restored.
Outside the mausoleum.
The one responsible for the guard duty was an old acquaintance from the Security Committee, Du Wei.
As a reliable subordinate of Zhou Wei, Du Wei did not directly participate in the rescue operations of the mausoleum this time, but due to his outstanding coordination work, he was also credited with great merit. Seeing Gu Shen, he took the initiative to come forward and greet him.
Gu Shen smiled as he shook hands with Du Wei.
At the emergence of the Golden Gate, he had been trapped inside the building, detained by the committee because of the street fight. Although he had the verbal instructions of Elder Zhou Wei, Du Wei had helped him a lot in secret, which he still remembered.
Catching on to emotions well, Chi Huo sensed a surge of emotion from Du Wei and laughed, "Congratulations in advance, you must be about to get a promotion."
Du Wei was taken aback for a moment, unable to restrain the smile creeping onto his lips, then coughed to suppress his laughter and carefully replied, "You shouldn’t say such things... people are watching."