I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 933 Receiving the Hell Path of Reincarnation

While the eight major families are important, the Tree of Immortality, which can prolong life, is even more important!
Bloodline power can only increase combat strength, but cannot increase lifespan. For the Great Victory King and the major families, all bloodline holders only have a short lifespan of a hundred years. If they could obtain the Tree of Immortality, they could extend their lifespan by a thousand or ten thousand years. Who wouldn't want to live for ten thousand or ten thousand years?
"Your Majesty, news of the Longevity Tree has been discovered within all eight great families, so this matter is undoubtedly true. When the Longevity Tree coffin went missing from Marquis Wen's territory, the Grand Steward had already tracked down the Gong family disciples. It was the Gong family disciples who committed the crime, but there was no conclusive evidence, so the investigation was conducted in secret. Now, someone from one of the seven great families has personally witnessed the existence of the Longevity Tree, so this cannot be faked," the guard said respectfully.

The Great Victory King paced back and forth in the palace, his eyes filled with excitement: "Excellent, excellent! I never expected that the traces of the Longevity Tree Coffin would reappear. This time, I will definitely not miss the Longevity Tree Coffin."

"Men, secretly dispatch the army outside the city to lie in ambush. I, the King, want to make the eight great families fight like dogs, let them fight to the death, and then I will come out to clean up the mess and wipe out the eight great families in one fell swoop." The King of Great Victory's voice was full of pride.

Just then, another eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, a member of the palace family requests an audience."

"The Gong family requests an audience?" The Great Victory King's expression was strange. "They must be here to pledge allegiance to me. The Gong family had a falling out with the other seven families, and after failing to silence them, the Gong family is now facing relentless retaliation from the other seven families. They simply cannot withstand the retaliation from the other seven families, so pledging allegiance to the Great Victory royal family is the best choice for the Gong family. Now, not only will the Tree of Immortality fall into my hands, but even the eight great families will fall apart. Today is truly a day of great joy."

"Summon the people from the Gong family in," King Dasheng ordered.

Before long, a man in his forties strode into the main hall. Upon seeing the Great Victory King, he immediately knelt down and bowed respectfully: "Your subject, Gong Shao, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"My dear minister, you're not on duty at the Ministry of Works, so why have you come to the inner palace?" The Great Victory King feigned ignorance of the palace's troubles and asked curiously.

"I have come here today to beg Your Majesty for my life," Gong Shao said respectfully.

"Help? You are the Vice Minister of Works, an official appointed by the court. Who could take your life?" King Dasheng feigned ignorance.

Gong Shao said with a bitter smile, "It's not just my fate, it's someone who wants the entire Gong family dead."

"The Gong family is closely connected with the seven great families. Who in the world can shake the eight great families?" the Great Victory King said ambiguously.

Gong Shao said with a wry smile, "It is the other seven families who want to take the life of my Gong family! My Gong family is willing to submit to Your Majesty and be Your Majesty's vanguard. Please accept our submission. My Gong family is currently attacking the Zhang family with all its might and is willing to offer the entire Zhang family, young and old, as a pledge of allegiance. Please accept our offer, Your Majesty."

"Hmm, that's really strange. Your eight great families have always been close friends. How come you've suddenly become enemies? You must explain this to me, otherwise I dare not accept the Gong family's submission," the Great Victory King said unhurriedly.

"This matter started when the Zhang family lost the Book of Life and Death. I don't know who framed us, making the Zhang family think that my Gong family stole it. My Gong family is truly wronged. Why would we steal the Book of Life and Death? We can't use it even if it's in our hands!" Gong Shao complained aggrievedly.

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King also became interested: "The Zhang family's Book of Life and Death really wasn't stolen by your Gong family?"

The whereabouts of the Zhang family's Book of Life and Death is a mystery. Even the spies under the Great Victory King could not trace the real culprit. However, the aura of the Book of Life and Death has repeatedly appeared in the Gong family. The Great Victory King also secretly concluded in his heart that the Gong family stole it. However, judging from Gong Shao's appearance, there seems to be another hidden story.

Upon hearing this, Gong Shao immediately began to complain: "Your Majesty, my Gong family is innocent! I don't know who is secretly sowing discord and causing trouble. Although the aura of the Book of Life and Death appeared in my Gong family, my Gong family didn't even see a trace of the Book of Life and Death. If it were really my Gong family that stole the Book of Life and Death, why would the eight great families openly search for it?"

The Great Victory King looked surprised: "That's really strange. Could there be a hidden hand behind this?"

Given the current state of the Gong family, if they had truly stolen the Book of Life and Death, they wouldn't dare lie. Looking at Gong Shao's expression, the Great Victory King was certain that the Book of Life and Death might not have been stolen by the Gong family after all.

"Even if the Zhang family falsely accused your Gong family of stealing the Book of Life and Death, your Gong family would at most fight the Zhang family. Why did you fight the other seven families? Has the Gong family gone mad?" The Great Victory King steered the conversation toward the Tree of Immortality.

Upon hearing this, Gong Shao looked even more aggrieved, his eyes fixed on the Great Victory King, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Why are you stammering?" the King asked. "My Gong family is guilty! Before recounting this matter, I beg Your Majesty to punish my Gong family." Gong Shao knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for forgiveness.

"Oh? What crime has the Gong family committed?" The Great Victory King knew that the topic of the Tree of Immortality had come up, and he couldn't help but feel excited, but he still suppressed his excitement and spoke slowly.

“Back then, Grand Steward Dugu Qiu was ordered to escort the Longevity Tree Coffin to the North. My Gong family did indeed intervene and snatched the Longevity Tree Coffin from the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency.” Gong Shao said, “At that time, Gong Bai’s body was found near the Longevity Tree Coffin. This matter could not be hidden from the investigation of the Inspection Department.”

"The Gong family is incredibly audacious! The Inspectorate has indeed traced the Gong family to them, but there is no conclusive evidence. I, the King, cannot say much, and this matter can only be left unresolved. I can only instruct the Inspectorate to continue its investigation in secret." The Great Victory King looked at Gong Shao expressionlessly: "So, the Longevity Tree Coffin is really in your Gong family?"

Although his words were indifferent and devoid of emotion, Gong Shao could sense the suppressed anger in the heart of the Great Victory King. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Although my Gong family took action, we were ambushed and robbed of the Longevity Tree Coffin by someone who secretly attacked us. Even Gong Bai was killed. So the Longevity Tree Coffin is not in the hands of my Gong family at all."

The Great Victory King looked at Gong Shao expressionlessly, quickly considering the ins and outs of the matter. Thinking of the Gong family members who died at the scene of the Longevity Tree, and the corpse of Gong Bai, the Great Victory King felt a chill in his heart, and the flame in his heart was extinguished. According to the deduction, the Gong family had indeed been attacked by someone, and it was indeed unlikely that the Longevity Tree coffin was in the Gong family.

"Do you think I, the King, will believe your words?" the Great Victory King said coldly.

Gong Shao smiled bitterly upon hearing this: "Of course I know this matter is full of bizarre twists. Not to mention Your Majesty's disbelief, even I, if I were not a member of the Gong family, but someone who personally experienced the plot, would never believe it."

"But I heard from my scouts that your Gong family has discovered the Tree of Immortality again, and your Gong family wants to kill them to silence them. This is the reason why your Gong family is fighting with the eight great families," the Great Victory King asked.

Upon hearing this, Gong Shao felt even more wronged: "Your Majesty, the Gong family is wronged! Utterly wronged! I don't know which bastard started the fight in the Gong family, and a bloody massacre ensued. My Gong family didn't even have a chance to quell the incident and clear up the misunderstanding!"

Gong Shao felt extremely aggrieved at this moment. Not only was he aggrieved, but all members of the Gong family felt aggrieved. A fight had broken out for no reason, pushing the situation to an irreversible point.

If the Gong family really had the Book of Life and Death and the Tree of Immortality, that would be fine; the Gong family would just accept it even if they had to swallow their pride. But the Gong family has nothing at all.
Listening to Gong Shao's constant complaints and grievances, the Great Victory King looked at Gong Shao expressionlessly: "Do you think I will believe your explanation?"

"Don't even mention Your Majesty's disbelief; even within my own Gong family, there's suspicion that there's a traitor among our own!" Gong Shao said, his eyes fixed on the Great Victory King. "Based on all the previous deductions, none of these things were done by my Gong family. First, if it were my Gong family, the Book of Life and Death would have been taken out of the capital, and there wouldn't have been any leaks. If my Gong family had taken action, how could we have made such a basic mistake? As for the Tree of Immortality, if it were truly in my Gong family's hands, we wouldn't have allowed the other seven great families to search for it. My Gong family couldn't possibly have made such a basic error."

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King remained silent with his head bowed. Seeing this, Gong Shao gritted his teeth and said, "I may speak disrespectfully, but based on various inferences, all of this should be the result of someone sowing discord behind the scenes and plotting to divide the eight great families. The most likely culprit is the Great Victory royal family. The current outcome should be a win-win situation for Your Majesty. Could the treasure be in the hands of the royal family?"

Upon hearing this, the Great Victory King was taken aback, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes. If Gong Shao's deduction was correct, the biggest mastermind was indeed the Great Victory Royal Family, and the beneficiary was also the Great Victory Royal Family. So, the Longevity Tree Coffin and the Book of Life and Death should be in the hands of the Great Victory Royal Family at this time. However, the Great Victory King knew in his heart that this matter was definitely not done by the Great Victory Royal Family, and the Great Victory Royal Family did not have the ability to do this.

“This was not done by the royal family,” said the Great Victory King.

Upon hearing this, Gong Shao remained noncommittal, clearly not believing the words of the Great Victory King. Instead, he said, "Regardless of whether the Great Victory Royal Family did this or not, my Gong family accepts the loss and is willing to submit to the Great Victory Royal Family, serve them like dogs and horses, and even become the vanguard of the Great Victory Royal Family in dealing with the Seven Great Families. We only hope that the Great Victory Royal Family will give our Gong family a way out. Our Gong family will be grateful to the point of tears!"

Upon hearing this, the royal family of Dasheng felt utterly humiliated. They hadn't even admitted that the Gong family was responsible, yet the Gong family had turned the tables on them.

However, Gong Shao's words did make sense, because the Dasheng royal family won by accident and became the final victor, tearing a hole in the eight great families.

"This was truly not done by my Great Victory Royal Family," the King patiently repeated.

“Even if it was Your Majesty who did it, it doesn’t matter. The Gong family is now sincerely loyal to Your Majesty. It doesn’t matter if Your Majesty admits it. The matter has already been settled and cannot be changed. I can only admire Your Majesty’s methods.” Gong Shao looked at King Dasheng very seriously.

(End of this chapter)