Chapter 199: Two Moves

What? Do you really expect me, He, to personally invite a few fellow Daoists out for a meeting?

Yunhe's face showed a hint of coldness, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Hahaha—I never expected to meet Fellow Daoist He here; what a coincidence!

A voice suddenly rang out.

Then I saw a dense sea of clouds part, revealing three figures.

Coincidence?

The coldness on Yunhe's face faded, but the chill in his eyes grew even sharper.

Fellow Daoist Liu, Fellow Daoist Wang, and I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Wang to be here as well—what a coincidence!

His gaze swept over the three, and he greeted them without any emotional fluctuation, merely emphasizing the word 'coincidence' slightly.

These three before him.

The old man wearing a dark green robe, with three strands of long sideburns, was the Supreme Elder of the Liu Clan of Nanxu Island, Liu Yanfeng.

And the middle-aged cultivator in light blue linen robes was the Patriarch of the Wang Clan of Nanxu Island, Wang Fengbai.

Standing between the two, also the one who spoke earlier, clad in a purple robe, one hand behind his back, the other holding two unknown-metal spheres, was the Supreme Elder of the Wang Clan of Nanxu Island, Wang Lou!

On Nanxu Island, aside from the island lord position appointed by the Cloud Upper Hall being supremely exalted, the vast Cloud Island is rooted with at least dozens of cultivation clans of all sizes.

The top tier consists of families that possess three or more Golden Core elders and at least one Late Golden Core cultivator; the Wang Clan is one such family.

Besides the Wang Clan, there are also the Shen and Liu clans, making three major families in total.

Next are families that either have at least one Mid-Golden Core cultivator or two or more Golden Core elders.

Originally, the He family would have been in this category, but now the Liu and Wang clans are.

Previously, due to He Yao's accidental disappearance, the Wang Clan risked falling out of this tier, but later, thanks to Yunhe's usurpation of the magpie's nest and employing the Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse as a guest elder, the He family was barely pulled back.

Without He Yao, a Mid-Golden Core cultivator, although the He family now counts two Golden Core cultivators, it is far from its former state.

After that come families with only a single Golden Core elder.

The difference between a family possessing one versus two Golden Core cultivators is still considerable.

Finally, there are families without any Golden Core cultivators; they can exist on Nanxu Island mostly as vassals of Golden Core families.

At present, the three individuals before Yunhe are Liu Yanfeng and Wang Fengbai, who are Early Golden Core cultivators, while Wang Lou is a Mid-Golden Core cultivator.

Yunhe narrowed his eyes.

Three Golden Core cultivators!

He felt no fear.

He had no confidence in keeping all three, especially Wang Lou who had reached the Mid-Golden Core realm.

Defeating a Golden Core cultivator is not hard, but killing one who has lived for hundreds of years and is adept at self-preservation is considerably more difficult.

Hearing his veiled words, Wang Lou acted as if he hadn't heard, still wearing a smile.

Isn't that right? I, Wang, said it was a coincidence.

While speaking, he waved his sleeve, and a splendid pavilion appeared out of thin air above the sea of clouds.

He flew forward, sat down inside, and actually began brewing tea.

Since we've met, fellow Daoists, why not give me a little face and sit down for a cup of tea?

Saying this, he smiled and made a gesturing invitation.

Compared to Wang Lou's superficial amiability, Liu Yanfeng and Wang Fengbai's hostility was more apparent; they glanced at Yunhe and also projected avatars that landed in the courtyard.

I'm afraid some people are so old they don't even have the time to drink a cup of tea.

Liu Yanfeng, stroking his long beard, lifted his teacup and let out a sneer.

Whoosh——

Just as his words fell, Yunhe landed in the courtyard, lifted the teacup before him, lightly sniffed it, took a small sip, raised his eyebrows slightly, and asked Liu Yanfeng in return:

Oh? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Wang's lifespan is nearly exhausted? Tsk, what a pity.

Cough cough.

Beside him, Wang Fengbai's hand stalled, almost failing to keep from spitting out the tea in his mouth.

Who among those present doesn't know each other's background?

He, Wang Fengbai, is not only the youngest in appearance, but also truly the youngest in age among the three, right?

But after all, he is also a clan patriarch; he quickly recovered from his lapse, glanced at Yunhe coldly, and said:

I hadn't heard before that Fellow Daoist He's words were so sharp.

And now you know?

Yunhe didn't even glance at him, merely lightly rubbing the rim of the teacup in his hand.

Hmph, I don't know whether Fellow Daoist He's magic treasure is as sharp as his words? Liu Yanfeng interjected.

But Yunhe still didn't look at him; instead, he gazed at Wang Lou sitting opposite, gave a smile with a hint of meaning, and said: 'Just try and you'll find out.'

Liu Yanfeng and Wang Fengbai's faces turned stern.

Wang Lou felt a bit uneasy under Yunhe's gaze as well.

He was secretly astonished in his heart.

This He family elder, He Wen, is famous for being 'timid'; when did he start speaking so forcefully?

But after a moment's thought.

'He Wen' has little lifespan left; such a change in temperament is not surprising, but rather makes one think he is feigning toughness to cling to the last shred of dignity.

He lifted the teapot and poured Yunhe another half cup, saying:

Eh, I, Wang, am aware of the conflicts among you three Daoists and your clans, so I volunteer to act as a mediator, turning swords into jade and silk for the three Daoists and their families; after all, we are all cultivators of Nanxu Island, and now the Cloud Upper Realm—cough cough—we ought to unite.

Unity?

Yunhe secretly sneered in his heart.

From the Wang Clan's perspective, they probably hope that clans like the He Clan, Liu Clan, and Wang Clan, which could threaten the Wang Clan's position, would constantly wear themselves down.

"Oh? Brother Wang's righteousness; I, He, have no objection."

Though he sneered, Yunhe still showed agreement on the surface.

His words earned cold smiles from Liu Yanfeng and Wang Feng.

The two simultaneously clasped their hands toward Wang Lou, and Liu Yanfeng further said, "Since Brother Wang has spoken to mediate, I naturally shouldn't refuse his face. But."

Wang Fengbai continued, "Within the clan, it's not a one-man decision; we also owe an explanation to the deceased clansmen."

"An explanation? What explanation do you two seek?" Wang Lou put on a solemn expression and asked in a deep voice.

Watching the three perform their double act before him, Yunhe felt like laughing a little.

As they say, three women make a drama; these three men are quite good at acting too.

"I've heard Brother He excels at defense, often thus preserving his life; he could be called the old turtle best at survival. If Brother He can take one move from each of us, then we'll have given the clansmen an explanation." Liu Yanfeng said, also throwing in a mocking remark.

Yunhe didn't care at all about this, merely sipping his tea by himself.

They're talking about He Wen; what does that have to do with me?

"One move? This."

Wang Lou feigned difficulty, looked at the calm Yunhe, and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Brother He, what do you think?"

Although they were just acting, after hearing them Yunhe somewhat realized something.

He thus understood the other party's true purpose.

The three also lacked confidence in being able to completely detain He Wen here, especially after He Wen had noticed them in advance.

After all, if they truly drove a dying Golden Core cultivator to desperation, and he abandoned everything, fighting desperately before death, then that person and his clan might possibly share the He Clan's fate.

And if He Wen escaped, the other side would recklessly slaughter their clan's juniors, which they also did not want to bear.

But over the years they've seen the He Clan getting better and better, and they really couldn't hold back, so they came up with this plan.

As long as they could force He Wen to expend a large amount of mana, they could "accelerate" the consumption of his lifespan.

For someone like He Wen, with less than twenty years of lifespan left, both his body and spirit are already at the point of exhaustion; if he wants to exert his original abilities, he must stimulate his body and spirit to mobilize more mana, thereby "accelerating" his demise.

"It's also hard on them."

As for what Wang Lou and the Wang Clan are doing here besides playing the so-called mediator, Yunhe couldn't quite figure it out.

Under the gaze of the three, Yunhe smiled, set down his teacup, flew out of the pavilion and hovered in midair, extending his hand and saying, "Please."

Liu Yanfeng and Wang Fengbai exchanged a glance.

They knew He Wen wouldn't and couldn't refuse, but they didn't expect him to be so straightforward.

But it also suited their wishes.

"Then let Wang Mou go first."

Wang Fengbai also flew out of the pavilion, coldly staring at Yunhe.

"Brother He, I apologize."

The words fell.

His body suddenly surged with tremendous mana, and he immediately tossed out a brilliant azure sphere, pouring a spell into it.

The Wang Clan is known for its water-attribute cultivation method, and the treasure he tossed out is called the "Water Essence Pearl," also a formidable water-artifact.

With a soft shout from him, vast streams of water gushed from the Water Essence Pearl, turning into countless fine needles as thin as cowhair, densely packed and innumerable.

Then.

These countless blue needles shot out densely from all directions at Yunhe, leaving no blind spot.

Yunhe also without hesitation slightly opened his mouth and summoned a small cauldron—the Thick Earth Cauldron.

He formed hand signs to mobilize earth-attribute mana.

The cauldron rapidly expanded, enveloping him.

At the same time, Yunhe mobilized his five-element mana, placing a palm on the inner wall of the cauldron, his eyes flickering.

Five elements overcoming each other—earth covers water!

Poof poof poof!

Countless blue needles nearly submerged Yunhe.

But after it all passed, the small cauldron remained intact, its surface flowing with a misty earth-yellow glow, appearing quite mystical, accompanied by wisps of Wu Earth qi.

"Huh?"

Wang Fengbai raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised: "Brother He's treasure seems to have been improved?"

He put away the Thick Earth Cauldron, holding it in his hand, and Yunhe smiled without speaking.

This Thick Earth Cauldron is He Wen's natal treasure; even if he disguises himself as He Wen, he cannot unleash its full power.

Therefore, to conceal this difference, he had to spend some time reforging it.

Fei Ling's basin of "Wu Earth Black Sand" was melted into it, and he added some materials from third-rank earth-attribute demonic beasts.

Now this cauldron, aside from its appearance, attributes, and some abilities, is still the Thick Earth Cauldron, but its power has increased by more than a little.

Furthermore, with his five-element abilities, the attack from Wang Fengbai's water-artifact naturally struggles to have much effect.

Yunhe ignored Wang Fengbai and instead looked at Liu Yanfeng.

"Hmph!"

Noticing Yunhe's gaze, Liu Yanfeng in the pavilion snorted coldly and shot out.

As he flew out, his body suddenly surged with rich wood-attribute mana; he raised his hands above his head, clasped them, and a wooden great axe engraved with exquisite patterns appeared out of thin air—the wood-artifact "Beech Wood Xuanhua Axe"!

"Open!!"

Liu Yanfeng fiercely swung his arms at Yunhe; the axe head came down violently, and as it fell, the axe grew larger and its momentum became sharper.

Yunhe narrowed his eyes, again summoning the Thick Earth Cauldron, but this time he did not protect his surroundings; instead, he enlarged it and went up to meet it.

He circulated the five elemental power within his body, using the way of mutual generation of the five elements to stimulate earth-attribute magical power, turning it into a murky earth-colored essence qi that he exhaled, which fell upon the Thick Earth Cauldron.

In a moment.

The Thick Earth Cauldron, under the stimulation of the magical power, gave rise to a Wu Earth qi, which transformed into layer upon layer of illusory earth cauldrons.

Boom!!!

The Beech Wood Xuanhua Axe fell down with a boom; the entwined wood qi split apart layer after layer of illusory earth cauldrons, and when it finally struck the Thick Earth Cauldron, its power had already been reduced to less than half; aside from emitting a deep rumbling sound, the Thick Earth Cauldron remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Liu Yanfeng and Wang Fengbo twitched the corners of their eyes, silently cursing.

"This old turtle!"

However, upon seeing the pallid-faced "He Wen", they also realized that this time's purpose had been achieved; given the current situation, "He Wen" could at most persist for another fifteen years, or even less.

Then, it would be the day they divide and consume the He family.

Liu Yanfeng withdrew the Beech Wood Xuanhua Axe and said loudly, "Since Fellow Daoist He blocked my and Brother Wang's move, this time."

But his words had not yet finished.

Just then, Yunhe, standing aloft, had his robes rustling, his speckled-white long beard fluttering without wind; his face showed an unrestrained smile, displaying the final frenzy of a dying old man in vivid detail.

"If so, then please, you two fellow Daoists, also take a move from He!"

Seeing this, the two men's hearts jolted, and they showed looks of alarm.

Oh no, they've driven this old turtle to desperation!

But then they felt a surge of joy.

This old turtle's defense is passable, but its offensive capability is severely lacking; what sort of tricks could it possibly pull out?

Perfect, let's take this opportunity to drain even more of his magical power!

(End of chapter)