Chapter 499: Northern Plains Great Hero Blood Flowing Cloud

A faint, concealed-type divine-sense electromagnetic wave unfurled, and every detail of the Yu clan estate was laid bare before his eyes — no formation could hide it.

One mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator, one early-stage Jin Dan.

An old man, and a middle-aged cultivator.

Both wore the magnificent beards characteristic of Yu clan cultivators — they were the Yu family head, Yu Zhong, and the Yu family head's son, Yu Zheng.

This was no surprise; the Wei family's intelligence reports already contained information on both men, and their appearance and cultivation matched perfectly.

Only the cultivator before them — a white-haired, white-bearded figure with an ethereal air — was a complete blank in the intelligence.

Though his cultivation was concealed, showing only early-stage Jin Dan, under the probe of the divine-sense electromagnetic cannon he had nowhere to hide; it was clearly discerned that he was in fact at the peak of Jin Dan.

"Bai Mei…"

"The Yu clan…"

Jiang Ding gave a soft sigh and recalled the blood-soaked palm that had been about to slam down, ready to cause a great commotion.

The white-haired, white-bearded peak-Jin-Dan cultivator before the Yu father and son was none other than the Qi Yu Zong Grand Elder, Bai Mei True Person!

Qi Yu Zong, the Yu clan, Bai Mei True Person.

Once these threads were strung together, many things fell into place.

A thousand five or six hundred years ago, before Xuetudian had even appeared, before Li Li Qingyun, the first Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator appeared in Qi Yu Zong. He cultivated to the peak of Jin Dan, invincible across the three nations' Cultivation World, and came north to the Northern Plains to seek his chance at forming a Nascent Soul.

After countless searches and countless explorations, he was utterly despairing.

At that time, the Dari Sect had not yet risen, the great grasslands were ruled by the Twenty-Eight Families of the Northern Plains, many of them descended from a common ancestor, dividing the land and founding kingdoms, with Nascent Soul cultivators garrisoning each region to ensure every inch of Northern Plains soil belonged wholly to the Twenty-Eight Families.

Even if some heaven-defying Nascent Soul cultivator chanced to appear, they would join forces and hunt him down with thunderous force — dispatching dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators to pursue a newly ascended early-stage Nascent Soul was not considered excessive.

Their rule was terrifyingly solid.

In the very end, that generation's Qi Yu Zong Grand Elder pinned his hopes for Nascent Soul on that generation's General Heishi clan head — Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun's father — helping him enter the Thousand-Year Wang Ting War, fighting life and death at his side, earning glorious military merit, and seizing a Wang Ting Token for him, thereby entering Wangting Wangting Fudi and successfully ascending to Nascent Soul.

At that time, the General Heishi clan had two Nascent Soul cultivators at once, illustrious for a time.

And that generation's Qi Yu Zong Grand Elder was granted a third-grade inferior spirit vein—and was likely bound by a restriction placed upon him, his life and death held in another's hands…

No, more likely he was simply killed outright.

A peak-Jin-Dan cultivation, in the eyes of many clans, posed a danger; and now it was not the time of the Thousand-Year Wang Ting War, so he was of no further use.

The Yu clan was the descendant line of that generation's Grand Elder.

Perhaps out of a sliver of guilt, Divine Crow Master Dinghai Zhenjun's father did not exterminate the Yu clan, but sealed his descendants within the lush, water-rich Yu clan grasslands.

And now, times had changed.

Another Qi Yu Zong Grand Elder, his lifespan nearing its end, had left the lands of the three nations to seek his own path to Nascent Soul.

"Bai Mei True Person…"

Jiang Ding murmured to himself.

This man he had once addressed as Senior Brother had shared a stretch of experience with him in his youth; there was little affection between them, all of it weighed in the balance of profit.

Twice, this fragile relationship had nearly shattered under outside pressure.

The first was his failure to advance to Qi Refining for eight years.

The second was Zhou Zhou Kunlong's advancement to False Dan.

But,

in the end it only wavered, never broke.

To ask him to slay Bai Mei True Person outright, merely over one rather unimportant chess piece of the Wei family… that was not enough.

"Qi Yu Zong… at least for a thousand years, I will not let it perish."

Jiang Ding thought calmly.

This was a promise he had once made, and could be considered repayment for the grace received from the Qi Yu Sect's founding patriarch.

As for Bai Mei True Person as an individual, that was beyond his power to address.

There was no deep bond between the two of them; in his youth he had never been treated like a personally-taught disciple the way Li Li Qingyun had been.

Therefore,

he would not fight to the death for Bai Mei True Person's Dao — that would be unreasonable.

At the same time, he would not deliberately interfere — would not slay him, nor obstruct his pursuit of the Nascent Soul path.

"Senior Brother, Shi Chun Jian's son and I together grievously wounded the Wei family head, Wei Wei Qingqing."

Yu family head Yu Zhong said quietly: "There is an eighty percent chance he will yield the Wei clan estate and head to the front lines between the Dari Sect and the Dari Sword Sect; a twenty percent chance he acts on pride and fights to the death defending the estate."

"By doing this, we should be able to put the collateral-branch Jin Dan of the General Heishi somewhat at ease, and halt their pressure."

Clearly, he was also fairly familiar with this Senior Brother, trusted him, and was not a stranger to him.

This place's ties with Qi Yu Zong had been intermittent but never fully severed — it was a Qi Yu Zong secret, known only to a handful.

"Merely cope and survive is enough."

Bai Mei True Person nodded slightly: "Whether collateral-branch Jin Dan or main-line Jin Dan, neither will allow an outsider to advance further; the strife between them can bring us no benefit, only calamity."

"Back then, the eighth-generation founding patriarch harbored false hope and ended up with nothing but an empty basket."

"Still, we may cope for a time, but not for a lifetime."

"If you two wish to preserve yourselves, you must still find a way to resolve the issue of the soul restriction."

"How easy is that to speak of?"

Yu Zhong's face fell.

This restriction was created by a Nascent Soul cultivator and personally applied by a peak-Jin-Dan cultivator of the General Heishi; every few decades they must pay homage for reinforcement and inspection—how could they possibly break free?

"It is not easy."

"But there is still a way."

Bai Mei True Person smiled faintly: "The Dari Sect has drawn many collateral-branch Jin Dan to serve it, and vassal-family Jin Dan as well; naturally it can resolve such a problem — only, the timing has passed."

He sighed.

It is no longer the time years ago when both sides were locked in fierce battle; many cultivation methods and ways to break seals are now offered freely by the Dari Sect—as long as you slay a certain number of Zhengmo Alliance Jin Dan cultivators, they will hand them over without conditions.

Now, it is much more difficult.

Yet he felt no regret.

On such battlefields, Jin Dan peak cultivators died too easily; had he arrived first, he might already be dead.

The Yu family father and son's expressions darkened.

They were not without ideas.

But such methods to break seals—even the Dari Sect could not accomplish them easily, requiring great cost—and they had never caught the Dari Sect's attention.

"However, there is another path."

Bai Mei True Person suppressed a trace of regret and continued: "The Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders—their leader, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, possesses astonishing fortune; he too can resolve soul seals."

"Though I am weak, I have connections with a sword intent sword cultivator—a hermit—and thus managed to meet him."

"If you two are interested, you may choose one or two after this."

He fell silent, clasping his hands behind his back, gazing toward the horizon.

"Brother, you plan to meet Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun?"

The Yu family father and son trembled, then wore expressions of inner turmoil.

The Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders, though famed, were far weaker than the Dari Sect; rumors said their members had changed hands over ten times, and except for their leader Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, most had been hunted down and killed by powerful families, none surviving.

After dozens of breaths.

A faint haze appeared at one point in the Yu family's formation, and three robed cultivators in blood-red robes walked forward openly; Yu family disciples passed by constantly, yet ignored them entirely.

"Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, the great hero of the Northern Plains…"

The Yu family father and son were stunned, staring at the lead figure.

He was a man with a lion-like nose, broad mouth, horned brow, over nine feet tall, towering above all others; they expected his cultivation of Dong Xue Dao Gong Fa to make him radiate cold, dark, fearsome energy.

Yet upon seeing him, they found a vigorous, imposing youth, his face always lit with a warm smile.

Merely by his appearance, one felt instant goodwill—no trace of cultivation art, only pure inner charisma radiating outward.

"Brother Bai Mei!"

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, seeing them from afar, broke into a broad grin and hurried over, bowing deeply: "I have heard many times in the Northern Plains of Brother Bai Mei's righteous deeds resisting the Xuetudian branch of the Liu Dao Sect—I longed to meet you, and today my wish is fulfilled."

"Rider Master, you flatter me."

Bai Mei True Person quickly returned the bow.

Though he knew it was formalities, such courtesy still warmed the heart.

"These two must be the descendants of the late Master Yu, who once used the alias Yu Tianqing?"

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun did not forget the Yu family father and son: "Back then, Master Yu dominated the Northern Plains, shining brilliantly in the Thousand-Year Wang Ting War, suppressing numerous Jin Dan peak cultivators of the Northern Plains' direct lineages—his fame preceded even ours."

"To be honest, Master Yu was the elder I admired most in my youth."

"Without his inspiration, Dong Xue Liuyun could never have reached today. Brothers, I humbly ask for your guidance henceforth."

He bowed deeply again.

"No, no!"

Yu Zhong and his son were overwhelmed with surprise, waving their hands frantically, their hearts instantly filled with goodwill toward him.

In the sky, Jiang Ding watched this scene in silence.

This man held no rigid hierarchy of power common among Cultivation World elites; he often lowered himself to mingle with others, never belittling or ignoring them based on cultivation level—he won hearts easily.

Moreover, this display was not entirely performative.

Jin Dan cultivators each lived for centuries, enduring countless battles and partings, their minds deep and guarded—hard to sway.

Over his centuries of life, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun had proven his outward demeanor through countless deeds and bloody battles.

Righteousness as vast as the clouds.

With facts as his foundation, he earned the three Jin Dan cultivators' goodwill in mere moments, making them believe he would not harm them—thus lowering their guard.

Two

(End of Chapter)