Chapter 111: Gathering Storm

Just as he turned his head to look inside the main hall, a mighty pressure that he could not resist surged out from the entrance and slammed into him, accompanied by Xu Ziyan’s cold shout:

“Don’t you hurry up and get lost! Are you waiting for This Venerable One to kill you?”

Although the mighty pressure touched him and immediately withdrew, it still sent Brother Tang stumbling back several steps. His face turned pale in an instant, and he urgently whispered to Yang Rui and the other two:

“Let’s go quickly!”

Under Xu Ziyan’s aura pressure, the three did not even dare to fly through the air. Instead, they ran desperately on the ground, fleeing from the scene.

Behind the screen inside the main hall, the Low-grade Spirit Stone in Xu Ziyan’s hand made a cracking sound and turned into a pile of powder. Xu Ziyan spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

By now, Xu Haoran had also moved behind the screen. He happened to see Xu Ziyan spitting blood and hurriedly took an Elixir from his storage pouch, placing it into Xu Ziyan’s mouth. He looked at her with deep concern and softly asked Xu Haoliang:

“Ninth Brother, what just happened?”

Xu Haoliang shook his head blankly and said, “I don’t know!”

Xu Haoran slightly furrowed his brows. He had never seen such an expression on Xu Haoliang’s face before, so he asked again in a low voice:

“What was that mighty pressure just now?”

Xu Haoliang suddenly snapped out of his daze. Pointing at Xu Ziyan, he stammered:

“It was her… Ziyan… That mighty pressure erupted from her body all of a sudden!”

Although Xu Haoran had already guessed that the previous mighty pressure was released by Xu Ziyan, hearing Xu Haoliang’s confirmation still shocked him greatly.

Xu Haoran and Xu Haoliang exchanged a silent glance, neither speaking further. They both silently stared at Xu Ziyan, who was lying on her back on the ground. Their eyes revealed concern, confusion, joy, shock, and bewilderment…

Brother Tang and the others ran far away, finally stopping only when they turned a corner and could no longer see the main hall.

Yang Rui, Zhou Ba, and Han Kui each took a new set of clothes from their storage pouches, changing out of their torn garments, and asked Brother Tang:

“Senior Brother Tang, what should we do now?”

“It seems the people from Taixuan Sect don’t intend to wipe us out completely. Most likely, our Huayang Sect is still holding the upper hand, but perhaps some unexpected event occurred. For now, you should take the teams back to your families and halt all actions against the Xu Clan. I will immediately return to the sect. Don’t speak about today’s events to anyone. We’ll wait until I return from the sect before deciding anything else.”

“Alright! We will strictly follow Senior Brother Tang’s instructions!”

Brother Tang soared into the air and departed alone. In his heart, he felt extremely anxious, not knowing what exactly had happened to his sect. He rushed back to Huayang Sect without stopping along the way.

As for Yang Rui, Zhou Ba, and Han Kui, the three of them returned to Central Plaza. Without giving any explanation to Xu Haobo and the others, they gathered their family disciples and hurriedly departed.

Not only did this leave the Xu Clan feeling bewildered, but even the guests couldn’t make any sense of it.

Staring at the retreating backs of the three great families, everyone was filled with doubts. With this uncertainty, they didn’t leave immediately, hoping to obtain some information from the Xu Clan. Among these were Li Wanpeng, Xiao Rugui, and Wu Meng.

However, the Xu Clan remained perfectly calm afterward, leaving these people with no information to gather. Unable to linger at the Xu Clan any longer, they reluctantly left one by one.

City Lord’s Manor.

Inside the study.

Li Wanpeng, Xiao Rugui, and Wu Meng sat around a table. All three had grim expressions, deep in thought.

“Brother Li, what agreement do you think the heads of the Four Great Families reached that made the aggressive Zhou Family, Yang Family, and Han Family willing to withdraw?”

Li Wanpeng shook his head and said with some emotion, “The affairs between these great families are sometimes truly beyond our understanding. However…” At this point, Li Wanpeng glanced at Xiao Rugui and Wu Meng, frowned slightly in thought, and continued:

“It’s likely just a matter of interests. I think the Xu Clan must have made huge concessions to secure the departure of the three great families.”

“Then… why didn’t the three great families just destroy the Xu Clan? That way, everything the Xu Clan has would belong to them, wouldn’t it?” Wu Meng asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xiao Rugui shook his head and said, “Those three great families are different from us. They are already major powers in the Northern Region. If they really fought the Xu Clan to the death… after all, the Xu Clan is also one of the great families of the North. How could they not have some tricks up their sleeves? Thus, even if they ultimately destroyed the Xu Clan, they would probably suffer significant losses, which is something they would not want to see. If they can obtain huge benefits from the Xu Clan without shedding any blood, why wouldn’t they take that option?”

“Then… should we make a move against the Xu Clan?” A sharp glint flickered in Wu Meng’s eyes.

“Move! Why not move! Those three families only left; they haven’t announced an alliance with the Xu Clan. It seems they are confident they have the Xu Clan cornered and can’t even be bothered to form an alliance with them. This means the Xu Clan has lost external support. As long as we destroy the Xu Clan and promise those three families even greater benefits, everything will fall into place!” Xiao Rugui’s eyes were filled with greed.

“Good, let’s discuss this in more detail…”

Inside the Xu Clan’s Council Hall, Xu Ziyan, who had somewhat recovered, was seated in a lower position.

The main doors were closed at this time, and the seats above Xu Ziyan were filled with the main bloodline elders of the Xu Clan.

Xu Haoran sat in the leader’s seat, looked at Xu Ziyan, and asked softly:

“Yan’er, you mean that Illusory Realm Talisman can only scare people, but cannot be used to attack?”

“Yes!” Xu Ziyan nodded with a bitter smile.

“Oh…” Xu Haoran let out a soft “oh,” a look of disappointment appearing on his face. Soon after, a deep worry surfaced on his face as he said:

“For now, we’ve only scared off Huayang Sect’s Senior Brother Tang. If he returns to Huayang Sect and finds out we were bluffing him, he probably won’t let it go easily and will return very soon. When that happens, I’m afraid it will be even more ferocious!”

Everyone present now understood the whole story. Hearing Xu Haoran say this, each person’s heart grew heavy.

What everyone was thinking was that probably before long, the Xu Clan would no longer exist in the Northern Region.

“Clan Leader!” Xu Haobo, seated to the side, said gravely, “What do you think about evacuating the clan immediately?”

Xu Haoran shook his head and said, “No, if we carry out a large-scale evacuation, it will definitely attract the attention of various forces. Even if the three great families don’t act, those small and medium-sized powers will pick off our evacuated disciples one by one.”

“Then… what if we only evacuate the elite of the younger generation? Have them leave Zhongdu City immediately and go into hiding. If something happens to the clan, at least we’ll have preserved some seeds for the future!” Xu Haoliang looked up at Xu Haoran and spoke seriously.

“That might work!” Xu Haoran finally nodded. After thinking carefully, he said, “The number cannot be too large, otherwise it will draw the attention of other forces. You all consider the candidates as well!”

“Then… how many disciples does Big Brother plan to have go into hiding?”

“Ten. No more than ten.”

Everyone nodded, falling into silence as they pondered the candidates for evacuation. Xu Ziyan simply lowered her head and closed her eyes. She had no knowledge of the Xu Clan in this regard and thus no say in the matter.

“Let me suggest a few people first!” Xu Haoran, seated at the head, said softly, “Yan’er, Liner, Tianlang. I nominate these three.”

Everyone nodded. These three were among the best of the Xu Clan’s younger generation. From the list Xu Haoran proposed, it was clear he held no personal bias whatsoever.

Xu Haoliang’s gaze showed a touch of emotion. He looked up at Xu Haoran and said:

“Big Brother, you shouldn’t leave out Qier. He is also worthy of being considered an elite of our Xu Clan’s younger generation!”

“He is my eldest son. He should stand with the clan at all times!” Xu Haoran declared resolutely.

“No,” Xu Haobo said loudly, “You are disregarding the clan’s legacy here. You can’t ignore the clan’s future just because Qier is your eldest son.”

A flicker of emotion passed through Xu Haoran’s eyes. Finally, he waved his hand weakly and said, “I only suggested three names. You propose the others. If you all believe Qier should take one of the spots, I won’t oppose it.”

After a brief discussion among everyone, ten names were quickly finalized. They were:

Xu Lin, male, Fourth Layer of Qi Refining Stage peak.

Xu Tianlang, male, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage late stage peak.

Xu Ziyan, female, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage late stage peak.

Xu Qi, male, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage late stage.

Xu Meiruo, female, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage mid stage.

Xu Peng, male, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage mid stage.

Xu Liangwei, male, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage early stage.

Xu Mei, female, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage early stage.

Xu Lan, female, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage early stage.

Xu Tianhai, male, Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage early stage.

As Xu Haoran’s eldest son, Xu Qi normally participated in the clan’s management. Among these ten people, he had the broadest experience and was relatively the most familiar with the Northern Region.

Therefore, the clan elders unanimously agreed that although Xu Qi did not have the highest cultivation level among them, he was the most suitable candidate to take on the role of Team Leader.

Xu Qi solemnly accepted the position of Team Leader. That very night, precisely at midnight, he secretly left Zhongdu City through the clan’s hidden passageway…

※※※

Outside the mountain gate of Taixuan Sect.

A day and a night passed.

The Tribulation Clouds in the sky finally dispersed.

Outside the mountain gate, Xiang Ziyun opened his eyes and spoke clearly toward the interior of Taixuan Sect:

“Congratulations, Junior Sister Liu, on your breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage!”

“Hmph!” A cold snort came from the mountaintop of Taixuan Sect.

Just that single snort caused the Huayang Sect disciples to momentarily sway, feeling unsteady on their feet.

“Senior Brother Xiang, the grudges between your Huayang Sect and Taixuan Sect will be settled with you sooner or later.”

“Haha, for that you’ll need to reach the Mid Nascent Soul Stage. But in the Northern Region, for thousands of years, we haven’t heard of anyone reaching the Mid Nascent Soul Stage. I think Junior Sister Liu should just calm down. The Northern Region will remain as it is!”

“Haha, you are right, Senior Brother Xiang. But don’t forget, I, your junior sister, have just broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage and still have a long lifespan. I don’t know how much lifespan you, Senior Brother Xiang, have left if you don’t reach the Mid Nascent Soul Stage. After you fall, our Taixuan Sect will definitely repay Huayang Sect properly.”

Hearing Liu Qinghan’s words, Xiang Ziyun’s face darkened involuntarily. He slightly frowned and uttered a low command:

“Withdraw!”

Thousands of sword lights filled the sky as the Huayang Sect disciples followed their Family Patriarch Xiang Ziyun, riding their swords as they departed.

Behind them, the mountain gate of Taixuan Sect slowly began to open…