Actually, the logic was very simple.
When a subordinate power seeks help from its main sect, they must inevitably pay a heavy price afterward, handing over a tribute far exceeding their usual offerings as a token of gratitude.
Unless it was a matter of life and death, who would do such a thankless task?
Hearing this.
Lin Feiyan was slightly stunned.
Then.
Her beautiful eyes suddenly lit up, and she was instantly intrigued.
She wasn't afraid of twists and turns during this trial; she was only afraid of a lack of excitement!
If it was truly as Senior Brother Chen Yuan said, then this demon entrenched nearby was definitely not as simple as Chess-Player Four-Piece.
Perhaps.
There might even be a greater secret involved behind the scenes.
"You mean that the Xu Family misreported the situation, or rather... the demon's strength far exceeds what the Xu Family can handle?"
Senior Brother Chen Yuan nodded, his expression worried.
"That is exactly what I mean."
"In the Xu Family's letter for help, the details were vague, only stating the Demonic Qi was around Four-Piece. But if it were Four-Piece, the Xu Family Head could have suppressed it personally."
"I worry that the danger of this trip far exceeds our expectations."
Beside him, Junior Sister Su Liu also looked worried, unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes.
If it weren't for this.
They wouldn't have been so conflicted after receiving this trial.
They had originally thought about whether they could invite some Senior Brothers or Sisters with high cultivation to help; if not, they would have had to give up on this trial.
Who would have thought they would encounter these two... which was why they decided to try their luck.
Lin Feiyan, however, waved her hand dismissively.
"What's there to fear!"
"Whatever demons or monsters they are, even if it's an old demon at Chess Player Eight-Piece or Nine-Piece, this lady will still slay it with one sword strike!"
She patted the Storage Pouch at her waist, full of confidence.
Seeing this, Senior Brother Chen Yuan could only give a helpless, bitter smile.
He sighed inwardly; although this Junior Sister's cultivation was high, her temperament truly had never experienced the sinister nature of the world.
The demons within Yunmeng were not things where life and death could be easily decided based solely on the height of one's Realm.
But things had already come to this point, and the flying boat was halfway there; there was absolutely no reason to turn back.
They could only take it one step at a time.
Senior Brother Chen Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked back at the rolling sea of clouds ahead.
Forming hand seals, the flying boat's speed increased a bit more.
...
Although the Fifty Thousand Li Great Marsh was called a marsh, it actually contained quite a few mountain ranges.
Huangshan City.
It was named for being backed by the Yellow Mountain Range, which stretched for thousands of li.
The city walls were towering, built with blue bricks.
The city was filled with marketplaces and rising cooking smoke, with a million Mortals living and multiplying here for generations.
In this vast and boundless Yunmeng Township.
Aside from those Loose Cultivators who were like rootless duckweed, most Cultivator families with some foundation would choose to claim land and build cities to protect a region.
This wasn't because all Cultivators had the compassionate heart of a Bodhisattva.
The reason they were willing to spend effort protecting the Mortal world was, in the end, because in Yunmeng Township, Mortals were also a type of asset belonging to Cultivators.
Mining ore veins, planting Spiritual Plants, and even providing a steady stream of talented fresh blood... all required a massive population base as support.
Therefore.
A great Cultivator Family capable of protecting a city of such a scale naturally held a high status in this surrounding territory.
The Xu Family.
Inside the ancestral hall.
Countless members of the Xu Family were lined up on both sides, standing with their hands down.
The massive hall was deathly silent.
Even breathing was deliberately suppressed to the most minute level.
No one dared to look up.
And on the head seat.
At this moment.
It was not the formerly majestic and grave Xu Family Head sitting there.
A handsome young man with a hint of feminine elegance in his features was lazily reclining in the large red sandalwood chair.
The man's robes were half-open, unrestrained and wild.
A casual smile hung on the corner of his mouth.
One hand held a white jade wine cup, while the other hand was wantonly thrust into the lapel of a female member of the Xu Family beside him.
That woman was beautiful and had originally been a highly favored direct daughter of the Xu Family.
Now, she could only endure the humiliation and fear, her eyes red and her body trembling slightly as she allowed the young man to take liberties with her. Not only did she not dare to resist in the slightest, she even had to force a smile and carefully pour wine for the man.
The young man took a sip of spiritual wine.
He casually threw the white jade cup onto the ground.
The crisp sound of shattering was particularly piercing in the deathly silent hall.
The Xu Family members on both sides all trembled.
"This wine is a bit bland."
The young man slowly withdrew his hand and patted the woman's fair cheek.
Then his gaze moved past the crowd in the hall.
It landed on an old man with disheveled hair and a withered aura, kneeling in the center of the hall.
"Head of the Xu family, do you confess your guilt?"
The old man kneeling in the center of the hall shuddered.
Suddenly.
He slowly raised his head, curled his lips, and let out an extremely unpleasant sneer: "Confess my guilt?"
"Nothing but a bastard born of a lowly Mortal woman."
"Having luckily stumbled upon some opportunities outside and learned a bit of demonic arts, you dare to return to my Xu Family ancestral hall to flaunt your power."
The old man took a deep breath; even as a prisoner, his tone still carried the pride of an aristocratic Family.
"My Xu Family has served the Jieqing Sect for generations... Your perverse actions today, slaughtering your own kin, will surely bring a great Cultivator from the Dao Sect here to punish you."
Dao Sect.
Hearing these two words.
A glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the Xu Family members on both sides of the hall.
The Xu Family was a subordinate of the Jieqing Sect.
As soon as the people from the Dao Sect arrived, this Prodigy would surely die.
On the head seat.
The young man did not fly into a rage upon hearing this.
He leaned forward slightly, propping his chin with one hand, a trace of an interested smile hooking the corner of his mouth: "Is this the final source of confidence your Xu Family is clinging to?"
The young man stood up and walked down the steps with slow, light paces.
"To tell you the truth."
"Three days ago, I already used your Xu Family Head's official seal to have someone deliver a letter for help to the Jieqing Sect."
As soon as these words were spoken.
The ancestral hall instantly fell into a deathly silence.
Head of the Xu family's expression froze.
His cloudy eyes were instantly filled with unbelievable horror.
This kid was crazy?!
Even if his current cultivation was sky-high and he could suppress the entire Xu Family single-handedly.
That was, after all, the Jieqing Sect, one of the Nine Great Dao Sects.
Not only did he not flee, he even dared to plot against the people of the Dao Sect?
"You..."
The young man walked up to the old man.
He looked down from above at this face that had once caused him fear for countless days and nights.
He slowly squatted down, reached out his long fingers to pinch the other's chin, forcing him to look up.
"Very surprised?"
The young man murmured softly.
In his narrow eyes, there was no longer any of the previous laziness or casualness.
"My mother was just a Mortal woman who didn't even know many words... Back then, your 'good son' got drunk and forced himself on her, destroying her purity."
"If the Xu Family didn't acknowledge us, then so be it; my mother never thought of climbing high into a great cultivation Family like yours."
At this point.
The young man's fingers pinching the old man's chin suddenly tightened.
Head of the Xu family let out a muffled groan, sweating profusely from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound.
The young man seemed not to notice.
He leaned close to the old man's ear, his voice hoarse: "It would have been fine... My mother only wanted me to grow up safely and live out this life peacefully."
"But you all! You wouldn't even grant my mother this small wish! For that ridiculous Family face, to prevent the scandal of a Mortal woman giving birth to a Xu Family bastard from being exposed!"
"To this day, do you regret dealing the killing blow to my mother?!"
The old man suddenly gave a self-mocking smile.
He suddenly clenched his palms, his withered face full of ferocity.
Unfortunately, in this situation, such ferocity appeared completely unconvincing.
"I only regret that I shouldn't have been soft-hearted back then... and let you go afterward."
The young man laughed out of extreme anger.
"Then I should thank you?!"
As the words fell.
He slowly raised his palm, and a surging blood intent emerged from within it.
Just as he was about to crush this old fool's skull with a single palm strike.
Suddenly.
The young man's brow furrowed slightly, his hand paused, and he glanced toward the outside of the ancestral hall.
A cacophony of footsteps came from outside the hall.
Amidst the panicked pursuit of a crowd of Xu Family Cultivators.
Five figures unhurriedly stepped into the area.
"..."
The Xu Family members on both sides of the hall looked up in astonishment.
Upon seeing the Jieqing Sect attire on two of the newcomers, their eyes were instantly filled with wild joy.
Just as they were about to speak.
The young man swept a cold gaze around the room.
The Xu Family members' bodies trembled; they seemed to remember something, their faces instantly turned pale, and they forced back the cries for help that were at the tips of their tongues.
Looking at this bizarre scene.
Lin Feiyan's brow furrowed, and she muttered in a low voice, "What's the situation? Could it be we didn't come at the right time?"
Hearing this.
Senior Brother Chen Yuan's face showed bitterness.
What 'not the right time'... this was exactly the right time!!
Looking at this posture, they had clearly stumbled upon a major event of someone's internal Family strife!
Thinking of this.
Senior Brother Chen Yuan turned his head somewhat helplessly and looked toward the white-robed girl beside him.
Just now outside the door, he had clearly still been discussing with everyone how to investigate the truth of the situation.
But who could have imagined.
This girl didn't even ask a single question, kicked open the main gate, and barged straight in.
That kind of manner.
It was as if she were in a great hurry...
Senior Brother Chen Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in his heart.
His gaze swept over the silent-as-chilled-cicadas Xu Family members in the hall, then landed on the young man standing in the center.
His brow furrowed slightly.
He was just about to speak to ask for the reason.
But he saw the white-robed girl beside him completely ignore everyone and walk straight toward the head seat of the ancestral hall.
Seeing this white-robed girl walking straight toward him, a hint of wariness flashed in the young man's eyes.
Although he already had a plan, now was clearly not the time to completely tear off the mask.
He forcibly dispelled the blood intent in his palm, feigned a bit of a smile, and cupped his hands.
"I am Xu Liunian, welcoming..."
Before he could finish speaking.
He saw that the white-robed girl had no intention of stopping her footsteps at all.
And then.
He watched helplessly as she bypassed him and walked up the steps.
She sat down in the red sandalwood chair that symbolized the Xu Family's highest authority.
Her pitch-black eyes were as calm as water as she looked down at the crowd below.
"I'm in a bit of a hurry. Does anyone have something to say? Say it quickly."