Tang Guangjun shot to his feet, the roasted chicken in his left hand, and slowly drew the "Dengtian" sword from behind his back with his right. His eyes coldly fixed on Feng Quan, and he spoke word by word, "I'll say it again, Junior Brother is not to be bullied!"
"Enough, enough!"
Feng Quan was utterly annoyed by him. He plopped back onto the rock, took a swig of his wine, and asked, "What now? It's really a confrontation between two armies. Are you going to chop me?"
"We'll see."
Tang Guangjun tore off a duck leg, sniffed it. It smelled delicious. "We'll take it one step at a time. In the end, I'm human, and a strategist. Do you know what a strategist is? When the world is in chaos and the common people suffer, heroes will emerge to quell the turmoil and govern the land. These people are called strategists. We strategists are born to fight. Now, as a human strategist in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, with your demon race attacking the mountain, do you think I can really stand by and do nothing?"
He said sullenly, "If I truly stood by and did nothing, when I returned to the ancestral court of the strategists, the sect leader would surely split me in half with a sword."
"That won't happen."
Feng Quan chuckled, "A sword cultivator of the fourteenth realm killing a twelfth realm? A casual strike would be seven or eight pieces. You want two halves? You wish."
"Damn it..."
Tang Guangjun was somewhat troubled.
"Are we really going to fight?"
Feng Quan still hesitated.
In fact, Feng Quan was a humble cultivator from the demon race's realm. He had cultivated step by step from a small demon, never relying on anyone. He had no friends all these years. Back then, Feng Quan of the Star River realm met Tang Guangjun, also at the Star River realm, and they wandered the Jianghu together for nearly a hundred years, reaching the twelfth realm together. His only friend in this life was Tang Guangjun, but fate played a cruel trick, and they met in the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool.
Tang Guangjun took another large gulp of wine and said, "In my opinion, with the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool as the boundary, the north belongs to the demon race, and the south belongs to the human race. Wouldn't this peaceful coexistence be good? Yet, your four northern tribes are clamoring to go south, south, south every day. If a war breaks out, you can't blame me, can you?"
"What can I do?"
Feng Quan frowned. "The demon race's realm has changed drastically over the years. Many new demons have been born, and mountains are filled with demons, densely packed. If we don't go south, we won't even have a place to stand on our ancestral mountains. Moreover, can I decide whether to go south or not? If only the Demon Ancestor could listen to me, I would directly abdicate..."
"Hahahaha~~~"
Tang Guangjun burst into laughter, pointing at Feng Quan's nose. "You unfilial bastard, you're truly worthy of your reputation!"
Feng Quan looked sheepish, rubbed his nose. "I was just thinking. Unlike you, who actually committed an act of unfilial impiety. Li Xin's self-annihilation and departure have spread throughout the world, almost becoming legendary tales, circulating among everyone in the human world's Jianghu."
"..."
Tang Guangjun fell silent, his heart aching. He hadn't actually intended to make the old man die of anger. His words at the time were meant to humiliate the old man, hoping he would open his heart and sever his inner demons. But who knew the old man's disposition was so narrow-minded? In a fit of rage, he truly self-annihilated and departed.
Who in the world would be willing to bear the stigma of unfilial impiety?
Tang Guangjun was somewhat dejected. He admitted he hadn't shown proper respect to his master, but he certainly hadn't committed unfilial impiety. The sect leader had truly wronged him.
Thinking of this, he took another large gulp of wine. "Whatever," he thought, "let's get drunk. When I pass out, Feng Quan can just cut me down. Dying by Feng Quan's hand is better than dying by the hands of other demons."
...
Qingliang Sect.
Night fell. A group of outer disciples practiced punches and swordplay on the mountain path. Some humble disciples, carrying their long swords, patrolled the mountain path, guarding the Qingliang Sect. Amidst the cool night breeze and dew, a figure in gray and white drifted up the mountain. His speed was not fast, but his form seemed to be hidden within the interplay of light and shadow. His aura was concealed to the point of invisibility, so much so that despite the Qingliang Sect disciples scattered along the mountain path, not a single one detected his arrival.
At the peak of Qingliang Sect, the Ancestral Hall.
Sect Leader Zhao Suiguang had just finished offering the evening incense. The moment he stepped out of the Ancestral Hall, he felt a unique watery aura accompanying the cool breeze and dew, along with wisps of almost imperceptible demonic energy. This faint demonic energy might have escaped the notice of even a human cultivator of the eleventh realm. Only Zhao Suiguang, who was in the twelfth realm, perceived the subtle implications.
"Which esteemed Daoist friend is here?"
Zhao Suiguang smiled slightly and said, "Since you have arrived at the Ancestral Hall of Qingliang Sect, why not reveal yourself and meet me?"
In the midst of the cool breeze and dew, a figure in gray and white slowly materialized. A smile played on his lips. "Shall we find another place to talk?"
As he spoke, he tapped the ground with one foot. The mountains and the bustling human world before Zhao Suiguang vanished completely, leaving only the barren peak of Qingliang Mountain. He had already entered the opponent's personal domain.
"Not good!"
Zhao Suiguang inwardly cursed. He immediately summoned his life-bound artifact, a colossal green cauldron exuding a powerful aura. It was with this green cauldron that he had exhausted the spiritual energy of the eleventh-realm Zhuo Zhi. Later, the old ancestor had easily shattered its sword heart. Now, the moment the treasure cauldron was summoned, it forcefully created a small domain hundreds of zhang in radius around Zhao Suiguang, beginning to compress the opponent's domain restrictions.
"As expected of the Sect Leader of Qingliang Sect!"
The opponent let out a hearty laugh and took another step forward. The pressure of the domain restriction intensified. He looked at Zhao Suiguang and said with a smile, "Although Qingliang Sect is still guarded by Old Ancestor Zhao Jingyu, in my opinion, even if Zhao Jingyu were to ascend one day, I believe you, Sect Leader, would still be able to stand on your own and shoulder the burden of this entire Qingliang Sect."
"Who exactly are you, Daoist friend?"
Zhao Suiguang's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by these words? Are you trying to sow discord between my father and me?"
"How could that be?"
The visitor smiled faintly. "The world knows that Old Ancestor Zhao Jingyu of Qingliang Sect and Sect Leader Zhao Suiguang are a filial father and son. Have I eaten bear's heart and leopard's gall to dare to provoke your father-son relationship?"
Zhao Suiguang gritted his teeth. Although he had summoned his life-bound artifact, he was still inferior to his opponent in terms of domain suppression. Why? Because both were in the twelfth realm, and the opponent clearly possessed a deeper foundation, and not just a little deeper. If a fight were to truly break out, the outcome might be undecided within a hundred moves, but Zhao Suiguang would be at a disadvantage within two hundred moves. After three hundred moves, Zhao Suiguang might very well be killed by a cultivator of the same realm.
The opponent's spiritual energy, foundation, and roots were all slightly deeper than his own. He was extremely troublesome.
"Alright."
Suddenly, the opponent reduced his domain to a very simple, small world. The irreverence on his face vanished, replaced by a respectful fist-and-palm salute. "I am Yu Wu, a traveling cultivator from the demon race's realm. I pay my respects to Sect Leader Zhao Suiguang of Qingliang Sect!"
"You are too kind, Brother Yu."
Zhao Suiguang returned the salute.
Yu Wu smiled faintly and said, "I have come to Qingliang Sect this time for only one matter."
"What matter?"
"I wish to secure a position in Qingliang Sect and serve as the Chief Enshrined Elder of the Ancestral Hall of Qingliang Sect."
Yu Wu's lips curled. "I will help you, Sect Leader, truly solidify your position as the Sect Leader of the Human Race's Northern First Sect. In exchange, two-tenths of the Jin Zi Qian that enters the treasury each year will be mine."
He's here for the money?
Zhao Suiguang frowned and sneered, "Brother Yu speaks beautifully. I would like to ask how you will help me truly solidify my position as Sect Leader?"
"Hmph!"
Yu Wu chuckled. "You, Zhao Suiguang, as the Sect Leader, have had your request for 500 Jin Zi Qian to refine your life-bound artifact delayed? Why? It's simply because you cannot manage the household, nor make decisions. To put it more offensively, why are there no thirteenth realm cultivators in the human world? Even if there are, are they in the Upper Realm? Because the spiritual energy of a world is finite. If a thirteenth realm cultivator like you stays in the mortal world, greedily absorbing everything, what about other cultivators seeking to cultivate and seek the Dao? Your father, Zhao Jingyu, has lingered in the mortal world for so many years and refuses to ascend, simply because he is unwilling to part with the spiritual energy of this mortal world. After all, no one dares to compete with him in the lower realm. This is the legendary act of only eating and not excreting."
His eyes carried a hint of contempt. "The Saint of War, Ding Muchan, a fourteenth-realm Sword Immortal. Why did he ascend? Lin Qing'er of Changming Mountain, a thirteenth-realm Sword Immortal. Why did she ascend? The rogue cultivator Lu Xun, a thirteenth-realm Sword Immortal. Why did he ascend? To leave opportunities for the mortal world, allowing more cultivators to reach the Upper Five Realms. Only your Qingliang Sect's Old Ancestor, Zhao Jingyu, lingers in the mortal world without ascending, arousing heavenly wrath and popular resentment. I have connections in the Confucian Academy, the Mohist Ancestral Court, and the Strategist Ancestral Court. If this matter were slightly amplified, do you think the sages in the heavens would descend a decree, forcefully ordering Zhao Jingyu to ascend? Once Zhao Jingyu ascends, won't this Qingliang Sect be under our control? You take the larger share, I take the smaller, and it will be enough for us to reach the Ascension Realm within a hundred years!"
Zhao Suiguang's gaze was indifferent. He lightly clasped his fists and said, "Since Brother Yu is willing to serve as a consecrated elder of my Qingliang Sect, I, Zhao Suiguang, will naturally not refuse. As for the other matters Brother Yu mentioned, I, Zhao Suiguang, know nothing and have never heard of them."
Yu Wu burst into laughter. "Haha, did I say anything?"
Zhao Suiguang looked towards the back mountain, the cultivation place of Old Ancestor Zhao Jingyu, a hint of anger in his eyes. Back then, I took a fancy to my personal disciple, and you made excuses, saying I, Zhao Suiguang, was unsuitable for a partner. And what happened in the end? Your exceptionally beautiful disciple was taken into the back mountain by you. How could this grievance of having my love snatched away be easily forgotten? What old ancestor, what father? Bullshit, they are nothing more than jackals!"
...
Guxiao Pass.
The snow filled the sky, as if it would never stop.
Li Chunyang slept fully clothed on the simple wooden bed behind the commander's desk. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he heard what seemed to be faint hoofbeats amidst the sound of the wind and snow. He immediately got up and said sternly, "Who's there? What happened?"
"Great General!"
A cavalry captain entered the tent. "The demon cavalry has arrived. Yu Feng is leading his remaining three thousand-plus cavalry to break through Guxiao Pass. What should we do?"
"No need to resist head-on!"
Li Chunyang's gaze turned cold. While donning his armor, he said sternly, "Order the flanks to continuously shoot arrows, do not forcefully block the path of the demon cavalry. Let them charge through the pass!"
"Yes!"