I picked up the scattered attributes

That is why he was so puzzled by the timing and reasons for Yuanzong's disappearance.

Yuanzong has protected the Southern Heaven for at least 20,000 years.

Logically speaking, given his knowledge of Lu Tiancheng, Yu Hui, and others' personalities, unless they encountered unavoidable circumstances, it would be almost impossible for them to simply leave.

“If Yuanzong had already left Nantian three thousand years ago, then everything would be easy to explain.”

In a flash, Feng Xia figured out the key point: "The only thing that cannot be explained is how the traces of Yuan Zong's activities in the Southern Heaven over these three thousand years were forged?"

He gently shook his head, temporarily setting aside his doubts.

Because the old woman's story was still going on.

"My benefactor may not know this, but don't be fooled by our current disheveled appearance. We were once the Heavenly Robe Clan, one of the Ziwei Divine Clans."

"You have been stripped of your divine status?"

Upon hearing Feng Xia's words, the old woman couldn't help but show a hint of surprise. Then, she nodded and said, "The Celestial Robe Clan was once a group of people who tailored clothes for the Heavenly Emperor. Even the most powerful gods in the world often wanted to have clothes made by the Celestial Robe Clan."

"The precious garments crafted by our clan are known as the Heavenly Garment, which is both beautiful and practical. It is unparalleled in the world and only exists in this one."

"But you have been stripped of your divine status."

Feng Xia said calmly. Upon hearing this, the members of the Heavenly Garment Clan all looked gloomy. The old woman smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "No matter how much we talk about it, it's just the glory of the past. The Heavenly Garment Clan now... is just a bunch of pitiful worms begging for survival."

The situation of the Celestial God Clan described by the old woman was very similar to that of the Feathered God Clan back then.

They were stripped of their divine status by Ziwei, losing their aura overnight. Not only were they expelled from Ziwei, but they were also subjected to endless persecution.

In some ways, the fate of the Celestial Gods is very similar to that of the Feathered Gods.

What makes them better than the Feathered God Clan is that the Celestial Robe God Clan has a higher status and greater strength. Even though they were stripped of their divine status and suffered heavy losses, they still retained a large portion of their power.

Back then, the already extremely weak Feathered God Clan fell to the bottom almost instantly after being stripped of their divine status.

However, because the Feathered God Clan was too weak, apart from a few who coveted their beauty, very few people in the entire universe cared about their life or death.

"After the Celestial Garment Clan was stripped of their divine status, our former identity and position have ironically become the greatest source of danger." The old woman's voice was filled with bitterness. "Because we have crafted various Celestial Garments for many important figures, our clan knows some of their secrets. If our clan still held its position, with the balance of power among various factions, naturally no one would dare to harm our clan. However..."

Feng Xia could easily imagine what happened next.

The Celestial Garment Clan has been stripped of their divine status and is no longer a noble divine race. Naturally, powerful figures will want to take drastic measures to completely wipe the Celestial Garment Clan, who know their secrets, from the world!

A perfect garment may be flawless, but the human heart bears the marks.

"However, those big shots won't go too far, lest they push you too far and expose all the secrets at once. At the same time, they also need to maintain a basic level of decorum."

Feng Xia continued the old woman's sentence: "So, they adopted a relatively roundabout method, arbitrarily accusing someone of a crime, offering certain benefits, and getting others to hunt down the Celestial Gods for them."

"That's right, it was under these circumstances that my clan met the benefactors of the Yuan Clan."

As the old woman finished speaking, she was already bracing herself for the fierce winds and rains of summer.

Fortunately, Feng Xia's breath only moved slightly, causing her to catch her breath for a moment before returning to normal.

"Go on," he said calmly.

"The benefactors of Yuanzong arrived aboard this dragon ship. They seemed to be fleeing from someone's pursuit, or perhaps searching for something. Their words revealed an extraordinary urgency. Even so, they still rescued us and took us through the cosmos. Even in the most perilous moments, they never abandoned us..."

Feng Xia's heart sank once again.

Even in the most dangerous times, they never gave up?

Now, on this dragon boat, not a single one of my old friends is here. Doesn't that mean...?

"What exactly... happened to you?" He took a deep breath and squeezed out a few words with difficulty.

"We have encountered an unknown enemy."

The old woman's face showed deep terror.

The other members of the Celestial Clan on the deck wore expressions of grief or terror, clearly indicating that their experiences at that time had left them with immense psychological trauma.

“My benefactor, you have no doubt. We have indeed encountered an ‘unknown’ enemy. They are invisible, formless, and without a trace. No one can find them. Yet, the people on the ship are dying one by one.”

"Some of them died suddenly from demonic possession during their cultivation, and their deaths were not discovered until many days later."

"Some were killed by cruel methods, and the whole process was carried out without a sound reaching the outside world."

"And some people, while chatting and laughing with others, suddenly die in full view of everyone."

"At first we thought it was just a coincidence. After all, the years of fleeing for their lives had left many of our people with countless hidden injuries, not only physical but also psychological ones. So it was not surprising that there would be sudden casualties."

"But gradually we discovered that the frequency of accidental deaths was increasing, and at each death scene, there would be some grotesque symbols. They often belonged to different eras and came from different civilizations, but they mostly expressed one meaning—"

The old woman swallowed hard, lowered her voice, and said with a terrified expression, "I'm... here!"

It wasn't until then that the Celestial Clan and the Yuan Sect realized that there were probably other people on board!

However, the opponent's methods were extremely strange, and no one could find out where it was hiding. The only one with this ability, the Ancestral Dragon Will, had to fall into a temporary slumber due to years of traversing the starry sky.

It's fair to say that the situation on the dragon boat at that time was extremely dire!

"And then?" Feng Xia glanced at the old woman. "What happens next probably won't be that simple, will it?"

"What happened next was a complete tragedy."

……

Chapter 1042

The process of events is not complicated.

As their companions died one after another, and the murderer could not be caught, the atmosphere of unease continued to spread, and both the Celestial God Clan and the Yuan Sect were shrouded in a terrible sense of oppression.

Under immense pressure, someone finally broke down first.

First, some members of the Celestial Clan accused the Yuan Sect members, saying that although they had been wandering and displaced before, they had never encountered anything so bizarre.

The reason why our clansmen are dying one after another is purely due to the crisis brought about by the Yuanzong people.

Within Yuan Zong's group, some believed that it was a powerful figure from Ziwei who had dispatched forbidden power in order to hunt down the Tianyi Divine Clan!

Both sides have their own version of events, and the conflict is escalating.

Until one day, strange deaths struck again, and the Celestial Clan could no longer hold back, leading to a sudden bloody conflict.

"And the result of that bloody conflict was that many people died on both sides."

As the old woman spoke, her body inexplicably tensed up.

A chilling wind suddenly swept across the dragon boat, causing every member of the Celestial God Clan present to shiver involuntarily.

That was the ultimate terror of death!

They had no doubt that if Feng Xia were to fly into a rage and strike, no one would be able to escape!

After all, the scene of Feng Xia defeating the three great gods with a single blow was still etched in their minds.

Although the old woman from the Celestial Garment Clan could unleash god-level power with the help of the treasured garment passed down in her clan, she would still be at a complete disadvantage when facing those three god-level beings.

"Keep talking. I didn't say stop, so you're not allowed to stop."

Feng Xia's chest heaved as he practically forced the words out between his teeth.

He does have a strong urge to kill right now!

However, he still held back.

Because he knew it wasn't the Celestial Gods' fault—or rather, neither side was really at fault in this bloodshed.

If there really is one, then that invisible, intangible, and traceless enemy is the real culprit!

Even if we were to settle scores with the Celestial God Clan, it would definitely not be now.

"Later, we both calmed down and realized that continuing like this would only cause more unnecessary damage."

"So we decided to split up again—yes, it was a pretty risky gamble. We were betting that the unseen enemy would leave with one of us, and then the other would be safe."

"Indeed, it was the most effective and simplest measure that could be thought of under those circumstances."

Feng Xia nodded in agreement.

The members of the Celestial God Clan subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"but."

But Feng Xia's next words made their hearts leap into their throats!

Feng Xia calmed the turmoil in his chest once more, narrowed his eyes, and swept his sharp gaze around: "You didn't say what the final result was. Why was the dragon boat left to you, and where have my old friends gone?"

In particular, where did the will of the ancestral dragon in the dragon boat go?

Even a powerful figure like the First Emperor, who constantly plotted to be resurrected, would never easily give up his former physical body.

Unless a more perfect solution is found!

Boom——

An incredibly terrifying pressure erupted from Feng Xia, directly pressing all the members of the Heavenly Robe Clan to the ground, even causing the dragon ship to sink continuously and knocking several nearby stars away.

Feng Xia stood tall in the center of the storm, unleashing countless supernatural powers, great paths, and phantoms of gods and demons, tearing apart space and creating an incredibly terrifying distorted phenomenon!

"Now, give me an answer—"

"They...they..."