Chapter 540: If you won't take money, then I'll have to use other methods

"An Tingfeng's only daughter was kidnapped, the Azure Glass Phoenix clan's young heir went missing... I had assumed this was the work of the Liangdaohuang Sect."

"After all, in this West Hong land and water, even the Long Gong has no reason to offend both of these great demon clans at once."

"Until Pan Boyang also perished."

Lu Mingchuan appeared to lead the way with a smile on his face, but his master's voice rang through his mind.

The Wanxiang Pavilion had planted informants all across the West Hong land and water, striving to grasp as much intelligence as possible; this was the foundation that had allowed them to successfully snatch a Dao-Comprehending treasure land amid the chaos of West Hong and rise to the rank of Xian Sect.

Pan Boyang's death itself was bizarre enough, but even more bizarre was how exaggeratedly fast the news of it spread.

It was obvious someone was fanning the flames.

Perhaps there truly was an unknown faction of tremendous strength trying to establish itself in West Hong; after all, the Tianyuan Huanlei Chi was indeed shattered with ease, but judging from the fact that they still needed to resort to such petty tricks, they certainly had not yet reached the level where they could openly contend with the Liangdaohuang Sect.

The Wanxiang Pavilion had only become a Xian Sect recently; its position was not yet secure, and it was in desperate need of a powerful ally... or perhaps a backer.

The original plan was to see if they could latch onto this newly arrived powerful faction early by leveraging their intelligence network; after all, newcomers were most in need of a qualified informant.

But as the Wanxiang Pavilion's investigation deepened, they discovered the strangeness of the matter.

Lately, if any major faction had truly set foot in West Hong, it was undoubtedly that group of savages who came from Yu Nanhong.

Coincidentally, before An Tingfeng's only daughter was kidnapped, if anyone in the entire Haoyue Shuanghu clan had offended anyone, it was An Tuxiao, who had gone to attend Lady Yushan's Dragon Consort birthday banquet.

According to the intelligence received, the one An Tuxiao had offended at the time was a young cultivator he didn't know, accompanied by an Azure Glass Phoenix.

The cause of the incident took the Wanxiang Pavilion a long time to trace, and was ultimately pinned on another equally unfamiliar woman—the Dao Child of the Bihai Sect among the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, named Lin You.

Then the Baoyue Grand Tomb had an incident.

The Wanxiang Pavilion then started from the Azure Glass Phoenix and discovered that someone had seen that clan's young heir head toward the Diming Youmang clan, and this Youmang clan had perished at the hands of the Banshan Sect.

Similarly, before the news of Pan Boyang's death spread, the last place he had gone was also the Banshan Sect!

If the informants' reports were correct, the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong had split into two groups, and the other group's target for seeking aid seemed to be the Banshan Sect.

At this point, the entire matter seemed to all link together at once.

Even the Wanxiang Pavilion's Dao-Comprehending realm giant was somewhat stirred; they seemed to have grasped what was arguably the most valuable piece of intelligence in all of present-day West Hong.

The only thing to consider was who to sell this intelligence to.

After careful deliberation, the Wanxiang Pavilion still ruled out the Liangdaohuang Sect, which appeared to be the most powerful presence; after all, a distant official couldn't outrank a local one... the one who could truly look after the Wanxiang Pavilion in West Hong still had to be the local tyrant here!

Moreover, apart from the West Long Gong, even the Yu Nanhong Ke family's Crown Prince had once sent someone to the Wanxiang Pavilion to inquire about news regarding some "Hall Master."

How could there be so many unknown factions, all so brazenly overbearing?

The Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong really had gone senile; wanting to return, yet lacking the courage, and still resorting to such laughably petty tricks, putting on airs.

No wonder they'd been suppressed by the South Long Gong in the borderlands for a full hundred thousand years without ever turning things around.

Now that the shrinking Wang Ba can no longer keep up the act, they've finally remembered to resist—don't you think it's a bit late?

With this little ability, they still seek aid? Pfft, just stay put and behave themselves.

"Please follow me, everyone."

Lu Mingchuan nodded politely, and casually glanced again at the silent young Miss in the black dress: "I haven't asked yet—who is this?"

These were all goods he had sold; of course he had to know in advance exactly how much they were worth, so that when the time came to claim credit before the Long Gong, he'd have more to say.

"A friend's daughter, entrusted to my care."

Shen Yi nodded and casually offered an explanation.

As a young cultivator handling affairs outside, carrying a little girl with no cultivation by his side did indeed look a bit odd.

But there was no helping it; having offended so many great demons, especially after witnessing the Haoyue Shuanghu clan leader's terrifying methods, he felt uneasy without a Dao-Comprehending realm guardian by his side.

"She's too young, hasn't seen much of the world, a little shy around strangers."

He noticed that even Dai Jianshu and Zhong Xiu kept casting curious glances over.

To make himself appear a bit more normal, Shen Yi put on an elder's manner and casually rubbed the little one's head.

He had assumed this laid-back West Hall Master would have no reaction, but unexpectedly, An Yi, while spacing out, instinctively nuzzled her head against Shen Yi's palm.

When she came back to herself, her petite frame stiffened slightly: "..."

Shen Yi quietly withdrew his hand.

It was precisely this action that caused another flicker of regret to pass through Lu Mingchuan's eyes—such an extraordinary bearing, yet she really was just an ordinary little girl, still at the age of acting coy and shy; it seemed there would be no unexpected gains here.

Dai Jianshu and Zhong Xiu exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled.

Others might not know, but did they not know clearly that Shen Zongzhu hailed from the Nanyang treasure land, and when he originally left Yu Nanhong there had only been eight of them in total; when had he ever had some old friend in West Hong?

But the other party was the Sect Master, and there were outsiders present, so the two of them quietly followed behind Shen Yi.

Led by Lu Mingchuan and the others, the group quickly left the Tengyun Market, traveling through the blue sky and clear waters, far from any signs of human habitation.

"Dao Child Lu, sorry to trouble you."

The burly Zhong Xiu suddenly spoke up and called out to them, his honest-looking face still wearing a smile: "This doesn't seem like the road to the Wanxiang Pavilion?"

"..."

Lu Mingchuan was briefly taken aback; he hadn't expected this group of Yu Nanhong savages to be so perceptive.

But he showed not the slightest fluster, and instead smiled: "Picking up some intel along the way—Dao Brother, you know we make our living on this. But if you're in a hurry, you can head back to the sect first."

Anyone else, already in the position of asking a favor of the Wanxiang Pavilion, wouldn't have the nerve to say no.

From start to finish, Zhong Xiu had never done anything presumptuous, yet now he refused without a shred of hesitation: "We're quite pressed for time; I hope Dao Child Lu will understand."

"No problem."

Lu Mingchuan immediately turned around and changed direction, a playful smile curling at the corner of his lips.

He lowered his gaze to the boundless clear water beneath his feet.

Perhaps this group of Yu Nanhong savages had no idea just what kind of position the West Long Gong held in this land of West Hong.

As long as they were on the water, it really didn't matter where exactly they made their move; no one would dare to intervene anyway.

It was just a bit more troublesome, that's all.

Setting a trap to catch a turtle in a jar? These people are overthinking it. The Wanxiang Pavilion is only responsible for pointing the way for the Long Gong — nothing more.

In the past, the Wanxiang Pavilion would certainly not have dared to casually get involved in such matters, but this time is different. Opposing the Nanhong Seven Sons, besides the two Dragon Palaces, there are far, far too many additional enemies.

The Liuli Azure Phoenix, Haoyue Shuanghu, and even the Wuliang Daohuang Sect.

This piece of information alone, they could even profit from it many times over.

Making enemies on all sides, courting death!

"Phew… we're here."

Lu Mingchuan suddenly stopped amid the sea of clouds, and without the slightest concealment, took out a conch shell.

He did not speak to the people behind him. More precisely, from the instant that sentence rang out, he had not given those Nanhong savages even a single extra glance.

Including the other cultivators of the Wanxiang Pavilion, they too cast an indifferent glance toward the two Nanhong Dao Sons — showing neither the intent to fight nor the move to withdraw — simply hovering quietly in place.

"You people are truly mad."

The instant the conch appeared, Dai Jianshu sighed softly, and in the next moment vanished from where he stood. Zhong Xiu vanished along with him.

By ordinary logic, no matter how they tried, they simply could not figure it out. It was only the South Long Gong attempting to resist the Seven Sons, and the West Hong Qi Family had so far dispatched only an elder brother. Forget making the Seven Sons suffer any real damage — purely on paper, the Seven Sons still vastly outmatched the South Long Gong.

When two tigers fight, the victor is yet undecided.

How dare these information peddlers pick a side so quickly?

The two did not even need to discuss it. With crisp efficiency, they sealed off all of Lu Mingchuan's escape routes. They didn't even need to summon their Dao weapons — the sheer weight of their aura was more than enough to render him utterly incapable of resistance.

The cultivation of a Three-City cultivator, placed among demons and monsters who need not undergo Tribulation Crossing, might be utterly unremarkable, but placed among human cultivators, it would absolutely rank among the top-tier prodigies — and this holds true whether one is of South Hong or North Hong.

After all, that deadly tribulation is not so easily crossed.

As for the gap between their arts… a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. How could a mere Wanxiang Pavilion dare to be mentioned in the same breath as the Dao Sons of the Nanhongqi Sect!

"…"

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from behind, Lu Mingchuan did not even have the slightest intention of turning around. The other Wanxiang Pavilion cultivators were the same — their expressions unchanged, as if they had no concern whatsoever for their own Dao Son's safety.

Only those within the West Hong faction can understand just how fearsome the West Long Gong truly is.

Just at the instant Zhong Xiu's rough, broad palm was about to make contact with Lu Mingchuan's shoulder, a translucent Bai Yu barrier descended with explosive speed, almost invisible to the naked eye — like an inverted wine cup. At its apex, nine lifelike golden dragons spread out in a claw formation.

That Bai Yu, which appeared as thin as a cicada's wing, after taking the full brunt of Zhong Xiu's palm, not only did not shatter, it did not even tremble in the slightest.

Lu Mingchuan's shoulder was right there within reach, yet in the eyes of this Dao Son of the Lingyue Sect, it seemed like an impassable chasm.

Dai Jianshu also slammed violently into the jade wall. As his aura scattered, his eyelids twitched violently, and a look of wariness welled up in his eyes.

The faintly ominous aura emanating from this thing was absolutely not something a Bai Yujing cultivator could break through!

"Tsk, the Nine-Dragon Bai Yu Barrier truly lives up to its name."

Lu Mingchuan's face showed a sigh of admiration, and he then respectfully bowed toward the water: "Lu Mingchuan of the Wanxiang Pavilion, bringing with me the cultivators of my sect, pays respects to Qi Seventh Master!"

Upon hearing that name, Zhong Xiu slowly withdrew his palm.

There was really nothing to deduce — the West Long Gong had a total of seven Dragon Sons, each a great demon comparable to the Hedaojing Sect.

Dai Jianshu rubbed his shoulder and looked at Lu Mingchuan with renewed seriousness: "Has your Wanxiang Pavilion truly prepared itself to bear the retaliation of our Nanhong Seven Sons? If you send someone now to deliver a message to my sect's Shen Zongzhu, this matter can still be discussed. Do not bring ruin upon yourself."

The wrath of six Hedaojing Sect masters — even the West Long Gong would have to think twice.

"Pfft, still putting on an act…" Lu Mingchuan couldn't help but laugh out loud. He straightened his posture once more and said playfully: "Just how many factions you've offended, you're well aware of that yourselves."

Hearing this, Zhong Xiu and Dai Jianshu both froze for a moment, then exchanged a puzzled glance.

The answer to what had been puzzling them all along seemed to be hidden within the words the other had just spoken.

But the Nanhong Seven Sons had always kept to themselves, even maintaining an attitude of "well water does not interfere with river water" with the South Long Gong. If not for the Crown Prince of the Ke Family suddenly going mad, even this dispute would not have occurred — how could they possibly have offended other factions?

"…"

Shen Yi slightly raised an eyebrow. Remembering that the Wanxiang Pavilion was famed for its well-informed intelligence, he suddenly felt a little reluctant to let the other continue speaking.

He glanced sideways at the surrounding jade walls, then raised his palm.

Rumble rumble rumble—

One figure after another suddenly burst out of the water — all old demon generals clad in scaled armor. Some had a single horn, some had long whiskers. More or less, nearly all of them possessed the bloodline of dragons.

At the very least, twenty-some of them — every single one radiating an aura above Bai Yujing!

Just for one operation, they had deployed a force that would require the full might of the entire Banshanzhu Sect to muster!

It was in no way inferior to the grandeur of the operation that had once annihilated the Diming Youmang.

"Oh? Where's Seventh Master?"

Lu Mingchuan, along with the Wanxiang Pavilion cultivators, hurriedly put on respectful expressions again. He subtly swept his gaze over these figures, yet a hint of puzzlement crept onto his face.

One must understand, this matter involved many great clans of West Hong, and even included the Wuliang Daohuang Sect.

Qi Seventh Master should not be stingy about descending here in person.

"Seventh Master's affairs — is it your place to inquire?" Among these old aquatic generals, the leader was the one whose dragon bloodline appeared the thickest. Apart from his ferocious and ugly features, he had horns and scales complete, with long whiskers fluttering.

He cast a cold glance at the Wanxiang Pavilion crowd: "Seventh Master has temporarily gone to attend to other matters. Having us here is enough."

"I see! I see!"

Lu Mingchuan laughed along repeatedly, yet inwardly his fury was raging.

The Wanxiang Pavilion had risked life and fortune to play along with the West Long Gong, yet the other side did not take it to heart at all — clearly they had agreed beforehand… Just what matter could possibly be more important than the intelligence he had provided?!

With the Nine-Dragon Bai Yu Barrier in hand, and with so many great aquatic generals added on, dealing with these few Nanhong savages was certainly more than enough.

The question was — where was the Wanxiang Pavilion's reward? Where was the West Long Gong's promised protection!

Without Qi Laoqi showing himself, relying only on these aquatic generals, who among them could make the decision?!

Even as he thought this, Lu Mingchuan still said politely: "Then I must trouble you generals to escort these people back to the Long Gong. If anything is unclear during the interrogation, the Wanxiang Pavilion will await your message at any time… If it's convenient, we could also set a time — we would still like to pay a visit and request an audience with Seventh Master."

"Tsk." That leading great demon general chuckled, brushing him off: "We'll see. Who knows whether what you say is true or false."

Having said this, he looked once more at the Nine-Dragon Bai Yu Barrier, his gaze falling upon the few people trapped within. He smacked his lips: "Palace Master? This doesn't look like it."

These people all looked so young — no matter which one, none of them matched the intelligence that had come from the South Long Gong.

Where are the arrogant turtle demons and the tyrannical dragon demons?

If one must insist there is something strange, it is that the youth in the ink-black robe looks a bit too calm.

The words of these water demons left Dai Jianshu and Zhong Xiu utterly bewildered.

Yet, as disciples of the South Hong Dao, they possessed some courage; neither showed excessive panic, but instead cast their gazes toward Shen Zongzhu behind them.

However, the other party seemed to have no intention of revealing their identity, merely extending a palm, its long five fingers slowly clenching tight.

"We now..." Dai Jianshu was losing his composure; in any case, they had to find a way to send a message out.

Zhong Xiu, however, furrowed her brows slightly, her ears twitched, and she looked to the side in confusion.

Just at the moment those long five fingers completely closed, a crisp sound rang out clearly beside everyone's ears.

Crack.

Countless thin jade shards flew apart, emitting a crystalline luster under the scorching sun; nine lifelike golden dragons, as if their spines had been crushed by some heavy weight, let out wails of agony.

Then they turned into a pile of scrap metal, carrying the sky-full of jade shards, and crashed into the waters with a clatter.

"..."

The flattery on Lu Mingchuan's face gradually stiffened, his arched palms also freezing in mid-air.

He stared blankly at the youth in the ink-black robe, only to see the other party casually glance over at that exact moment, but the gaze shifted away again in an instant.

Yet it was this fleeting eye contact that caused a field of brilliant stars to appear in Lu Mingchuan's eyes.

He and the many cultivators of Wanxiang Pavilion behind him all stood there like wooden stakes, dumbfounded.

Xiang Tianyan Sijiu brought to perfection, combined with the cultivation of the opened Fourth City.

Shen Yi didn't even bother to look again, but turned his gaze toward that group of Water Generals.

"Hiss... hiss..."

Lu Mingchuan wanted to beg for mercy, wanted to angrily denounce Ke Laoqi for breaking his word, but under the gaze of those sky-filling indifferent eyes, he trembled all over, with only the thought of prostrating himself on the ground remaining.

Yet, as a disciple of Wanxiang Pavilion, even this simple action had become a luxury.

He had just lowered his head when his head fell into the water; attempting to kneel and prostrate, his limbs and torso instantly burst apart, and apart from him, the many cultivators of Wanxiang Pavilion behind him also uniformly dissolved into flesh and blood, scattering.

A thick scent of blood instantly filled the surroundings.

Causing Dai Jianshu and Zhong Xiu to subconsciously stop their swallowing; such a familiar scene... the same raised palm, only last time it was Elder Liu Xingshan, and this time it encompassed a full eight cultivators of Wanxiang Pavilion, plus that Nine-Dragon Bai Yu Cover.

"Hah."

Shen Yi slightly adjusted his breathing; the Zhenyue Zhenfa brought to perfection had already granted him power extremely close to the Dao-Integration Realm, which is why he could break this jade cover, but the consumption was equally significant.

As for the remaining twenty-odd Water Tribe Generals...

He lowered his palm, flicked his finger lightly against the Yin-Yang Pendant at his waist; An Yi was always by his side, and this fourth Dao Soldier consumed her foundation, so Shen Yi had never taken it back in the first place.

In other words, he had been maintaining the buff of the Fourth City all along.

Ding.

The effect of the Yin-Yang Pendant was actually very simple.

Bai Yu protects the spirit, Xuan Yu injures the soul.

That tiger roar was a ferocious technique aimed directly at the cultivator's soul!

"You dare destroy my Seventh Master's treasure!"

The fall of the Wanxiang Pavilion crowd clearly caused that Water Tribe old general to pause; in an instant, it, carrying many demon generals, rose in a rage, and under the sweep of the demonic qi reaching the sky, it fiercely pounced toward that ink-black-robed figure.

Its array was even more terrifying than when the Banshan Sect had sallied forth en masse back then!

However, at the moment the jade pendant swayed, a roar nearly solidified into substance, appearing as a formless, grotesque tiger head, fully a hundred zhang tall, with sharp fangs, swallowed that group of figures entirely into that bloody maw!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Twenty-odd figures suddenly froze in mid-air; they stared blankly at Shen Yi ahead, their faces still maintaining expressions of rage, but their eyes had long since fallen into darkness, with not a shred of spirit left.

Like statues, they fell one after another toward the ground below.

Amidst this eerie scene.

Shen Yi casually waved his sleeve, storing all these intact demon bodies into his signet ring.

After finishing all this, he turned his gaze to the two beside him: "Are we still going?"

"..."

Zhong Xiu and Dai Jianshu instinctively looked left and right, seeing that the sea surface, which had just been crowded with figures, had become heart-stoppingly empty in a short time.

They swallowed hard, finally returning their gaze to the person before them, their voices trembling slightly: "Shen... Shen Zongzhu?"

Although this face was incredibly familiar, and even the expression on it hadn't changed much from back then, now, the two were truly hesitating.

"If we aren't going, then let's return first," Shen Yi nodded slightly.

He felt that through normal means, he probably couldn't get anything out of Wanxiang Pavilion, and moreover, this group seemed to know a bit too much, but if he were to use his own methods, having these two along would be somewhat inconvenient.

"We will listen to you," Dai Jianshu dared not say no anymore.

They all said Su Hongxiu had an extremely heavy killing nature, but compared to Shen Ye, who casually severed nearly forty lives and could still do so without a change in expression, with not even the slightest change in his voice, she could truly be called a harmless little girl.

(End of Chapter)