265: Chapter 263 Beat the young, and the old will come out.

"Bi... Great Proprietor?!"

The surrounding Cultivators watching the scene felt their jaws nearly hit the ground one by one.

Who was Shopkeeper Qian of Luoxian Pavilion?

He was a famous figure in Tianzhou City with connections reaching the heavens!

Usually, even when Elders from some great Sects visited, he would maintain a dignified air like a smiling Maitreya Buddha. When had anyone ever seen him cowering on the ground, trembling like a dog?

And that title he called out... Great Proprietor!

What did that mean?

It meant that this veiled woman in the purple dress was the true Revered Master of the entire Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce—the world's largest gold-consuming den!

"Fatty Qian, did you drink your brains away at the brothel yesterday?!"

However, in this moment of deathly silence, an extremely discordant voice—one filled with pure stupidity—rang out.

Long Aotian fanned himself with a folding fan, looking at the kneeling Money Abundant with a Face full of disdain. He strode forward and even kicked Money Abundant's shoulder with the tip of his toe.

"This Young Lord has been standing here for ages. Instead of welcoming me, you run off to kneel before some little girl who popped out of nowhere? Does your Luoxian Pavilion not want to stay in business in Tianzhou City anymore?"

"Do you understand the concept of first come, first served? No one is taking away the carriage or the woman this Young Lord has set his eyes on today!"

Being kicked, Money Abundant's body gave a violent shudder.

But he didn't dare look up at Long Aotian at all; his heart was currently filled with nothing but endless terror.

He knew this Great Proprietor's methods all too well. She killed without drawing blood and could squeeze you dry, skin and bones, and still have you count the money for her!

"Shut up! You death-seeking fool!"

Money Abundant finally couldn't take it anymore. He snapped his head up and roared at Long Aotian, "Blind your dog eyes!

Daring to be disrespectful to the Great Proprietor—even ten Aotian Sects wouldn't be enough to pay for your death! Hurry up and kneel down to kowtow!"

"Make me kowtow?"

Long Aotian acted as if he had heard the world's biggest joke. He snapped his folding fan shut with a 'clack' and pointed at Gu Qiuyue with a series of cold sneers.

"Fatty Qian, I think you've truly gone mad! Don't you know what kind of high branch my Aotian Sect has recently climbed?

My Elder brother, Long Zhantian, is currently in the Heaven-rank private booth on the top floor of your Luoxian Pavilion, hosting a banquet for an Inner Sect Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land!"

"Zixiao Holy Land! That is a top-tier lineage ranked in the top three of the Central Province!

With them as our backers, my Aotian Sect will walk sideways in this Tianzhou City from now on!"

The more Long Aotian spoke, the more smug he became. His gaze swept unscrupulously over Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue.

"I don't care if you're some Great Proprietor or Little Boss.

Today, either obediently leave the carriage behind and take off your veil to accompany this Young Lord upstairs for a few drinks;

Or, this Young Lord will have my Elder brother bring down the Great Power from the Zixiao Holy Land to smash your Luoxian Pavilion to pieces!"

Su Lin stood to the side, watching this textbook-level villainous speech of seeking death, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

"Qiuyue, has the threshold for the cultivation world become this low? Even this kind of brain-dead trash can live to reach the Nascent Soul Stage?"

"In reply to Revered Master, when the forest is large, there are all kinds of birds. He's just the stupid son of a nouveau riche family, spoiled since childhood and hasn't seen the world."

Gu Qiuyue's tone was gentle, but those golden eyes were as cold as ice.

She ignored the shouting Long Aotian and instead looked down at the still-shaking Money Abundant.

"Shopkeeper Qian."

"Your... Your subordinate is here!"

"I ask you, does the Aotian Sect have any loans with our bank?" Gu Qiuyue's golden abacus spun once between her fingers.

"In reply... reply to Great Proprietor!" Money Abundant's mind raced, and he immediately answered, "Yes! Last month, to welcome the Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land, the Aotian Sect mortgaged three medium-sized Spiritual Veins from their Sect's back mountain to our Nine Provinces Bank's Tianzhou City branch and borrowed fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Very good."

Gu Qiuyue nodded with satisfaction, her lily-white finger clicking a bead on the abacus.

"Pass down my order. First, as of this moment, sever all commercial ties with the Aotian Sect.

The Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce will short all industries under their Sect's name across the board."

"Second, regarding those fifty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones, notify the bank to calculate the interest at the highest rate. From now on, they are given half an hour to return both principal and interest.

If they cannot pay, immediately send people to take over their Spiritual Veins and Sect entrance."

"Third, cancel all of the Aotian Sect's member jade plaques in Luoxian Pavilion, blacklist them, and never host them again."

As these three orders were issued, every word was like a blade!

Money Abundant broke into a cold sweat as he listened, kowtowing repeatedly. "Your subordinate obeys! Your subordinate will handle it immediately!"

The surrounding Cultivators sucked in a breath of cold air.

Ruthless! Too ruthless!

This didn't even require lifting a finger; this was directly draining the Aotian Sect's Bloodline at its root!

However, Long Aotian still hadn't realized the severity of the situation.

"Hahaha! You're killing me! Who do you think you are?

You think you can short my Aotian Sect just by saying a few words? And make us pay back the money?"

Long Aotian laughed arrogantly and waved his hand, ordering the dozen or so guards behind him.

"Get them! Tie up this woman playing god, and that pretty boy too!"

"Yes, Young Lord!"

A dozen wolf-like guards instantly unsheathed their Magic Treasures, carrying fierce spiritual fluctuations as they lunged directly at Su Lin's trio.

"Noisy."

At that moment, Mu Qingxue, who had been standing on Su Lin's other side like an ice sculpture without any presence, finally lifted her eyelids.

She didn't even move a finger.

Only a trace of the absolute zero of the Dao of Ice leaked from those pale blue eyes.

"Crackle, crackle..."

The dozen guards lunging through the air, along with the glowing Magic Treasures in their hands, instantly froze three zhang away from Su Lin.

A layer of crystal-clear profound ice erupted from within them. In the blink of an eye, the dozen people turned into a dozen lifelike ice sculptures, suspended in mid-air, still maintaining their ferocious lunging postures.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Following that, these ice sculptures seemed to lose the support of gravity and crashed onto the white jade plaza, shattering into a floor full of ice shards and blood-colored ice chunks.

An instant kill.

They didn't even have time to let out a scream.

"..."

This time, even the sound of the wind seemed to stop.

The arrogant laughter on Long Aotian's Face instantly froze, and his hand, held high in the air, began to tremble uncontrollably.

He might be stupid, but he wasn't blind!

The cold Qi that erupted just now, even though it wasn't aimed at him, made even his Nascent Soul shudder!

"You... You all..."

Long Aotian finally panicked. While retreating, he scrambled to pull a jade talisman from his robes.

"You dare kill my people! You're dead!

My Elder brother is upstairs! The Great Power from the Zixiao Holy Land is upstairs!"

"Snap!"

He crushed the jade talisman and screamed shrilly, "Brother!! Help!! Someone is trying to kill me!!!"

The moment the jade talisman shattered, a piercing red light shot into the sky, heading straight for the top floor of Luoxian Pavilion.

Su Lin watched this scene without stopping it.

He even took a cup of freshly brewed spiritual tea from Gu Qiuyue with interest and took a light sip.

"Revered Master, aren't we going to stop him?" Gu Qiuyue asked in a low voice.

"Stop him for what?" Su Lin's lips curled slightly. "Beat the young, and the old comes out.

This is how the scripts are always written.

It's just as well; I also want to see how much of a sky this so-called Zixiao Holy Land can hold up for him."

Barely three breaths of time passed.

"Boom!"

A powerful and matchless spiritual fluctuation suddenly erupted from the upper floors of Luoxian Pavilion.

A violent wave of sound exploded over the plaza like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens:

"What lowly vermin dares to touch my, Long Zhantian's, younger brother?! Are you tired of living!"

Before the voice had even faded, a golden rainbow whistled down from the top floor like a falling meteorite, crashing heavily in front of Long Aotian!

Amidst the rising dust, a burly man wearing golden silk battle armor revealed himself.

His Face was resolute and bore some resemblance to Long Aotian, but his brow was filled with overbearing dominance and Evil Qi. Six Flying Swords circled his body, and his cultivation had impressively reached the Early Stage of Body Integration!

This was the favored son of the Aotian Sect, Long Aotian's Elder brother, Long Zhantian!

"Brother! You're finally here!"

Seeing his backer appear, Long Aotian scrambled over and hugged Long Zhantian's leg, crying with snot and tears everywhere.

"Brother! It's them! They not only insulted our Aotian Sect but also had the audacity to say they'd cut off our Spiritual Veins!

They even used some demonic technique to turn the guards I brought into ice and shatter them!"

"You must seek justice for me, cut that man into a thousand pieces, and capture those two women to bring back to the Sect as Cauldrons!"

Listening to his brother's tearful complaints, Long Zhantian's Face turned so dark it looked like it was about to drip water.

His gaze was like lightning, coldly sweeping over the ice shards on the ground before looking up, his vision piercing toward Su Lin's trio like a sharp sword.

When his gaze fell upon Mu Qingxue and Gu Qiuyue, a flash of amazement couldn't help but cross his eyes, but it was followed by even deeper greed and killing intent.

"To be able to instantly kill a dozen Nascent Soul guards of my Aotian Sect in one move, it seems you two Fairies are also hidden experts."

Long Zhantian sneered, and his Body Integration Early Stage pressure was released without reservation, attempting to overwhelm them with his Aura.

"But in Tianzhou City, even if you are a Dragon, you must coil; even if you are a tiger, you must crouch!"

"This seat doesn't care what your background is. Today, you killed my Aotian Sect's people and harmed my brother—this debt must be settled clearly!"

"Oh?" Su Lin put down his teacup and looked at him with a half-smile. "How do you want to settle it?"

"It's simple."

Long Zhantian raised his chin arrogantly and pointed at Su Lin.

"You, cripple your own cultivation and kneel to give my brother three kowtows."

He then pointed at Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue.

"You two Fairies, remove your veils, hand over that purple-gold flying carriage as compensation, and then come upstairs with me to pour a cup of wine and apologize to the Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land.

If you serve the Elder well and make him happy, perhaps you might be left with an intact corpse."

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding Cultivators watching the scene shook their heads and sighed one after another.

"It's over. Long Zhantian is famously ruthless, and with an Elder from the Zixiao Holy Land presiding upstairs, these three have no escape today."

However, facing such a threat.

Gu Qiuyue acted as if she had heard an extremely hilarious joke and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Giggle... Revered Master, did you hear that?

He wants your disciple to go pour wine and apologize to someone else."

Gu Qiuyue laughed so hard she trembled, but in those golden eyes, a true Mahayana Stage fury began to burn.

"What are you laughing at?!" Long Zhantian felt slighted and flared up in anger. "Daring to be so arrogant when death is at your door!"

"I'm laughing at your Aotian Sect, for not realizing that death is at your door."

Gu Qiuyue stopped laughing and took a step forward, looking directly at Long Zhantian.

"You keep using the Zixiao Holy Land to pressure me. Then let me ask you, do you know the name of that Zixiao Holy Land Elder upstairs?"

Long Zhantian snorted, his Face full of pride. "That is the Grand Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land's Outer Sect, Venerable Lei Yan!

A supreme power at the half-step Body Integration Late Stage! To be able to invite him is my Aotian Sect's supreme glory!"

"Venerable Lei Yan, is it?"

Gu Qiuyue unhurriedly pulled a thick, gold-rimmed ledger from her sleeve and flipped to a certain page.

"Zixiao Holy Land, Outer Sect Elder Leiyan.

Three years ago, he borrowed eight million High-Grade Spirit Stones from my Nine Provinces Bank to purchase a Rank-breaking Medicinal Pill.

Two months ago, his Outer Sect branch faced massive compensation because they damaged the main lineage's Formation during a Sect conflict.

With no other choice, Venerable Lei Yan privately mortgaged the three-year mining rights of a medium-sized Spirit Stone mine belonging to the Zixiao Holy Land's Outer Sect to my Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce."

Gu Qiuyue finished reading and looked up at the dumbfounded Long Zhantian, her lips curling into a mocking sneer.

"The backer you're so proud of is currently relying on borrowing new loans to pay off the interest of the old ones every month."

"You want him to come down and have me pour him wine? He probably doesn't even have the courage to look directly at this plaque on my waist!"

"You... you're talking nonsense!"

Long Zhantian's Face changed drastically. Although a storm was raging in his heart, he still held on for the sake of Face.

"You wench, daring to slander an Elder of the Zixiao Holy Land when death is imminent! I think you're tired of living!"

"My Elder brother is about to form a marriage alliance with the Zixiao Holy Land! Elder Leiyan has already agreed to take my brother as a Personal Disciple!" Long Aotian also shouted anxiously from the side.

"Is that so?"

Su Lin finally spoke.

He sighed, seemingly bored by this low-level bickering.

"Since you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, then call that coffin down."

Su Lin didn't use any spiritual power; he just calmly looked up toward the top floor of Luoxian Pavilion.

"The one up there called Leiyan."

"Get down here."

Su Lin's voice wasn't loud and didn't even contain any magic power, just like calling out to an acquaintance on the street.

But these words, in the ears of the Long brothers, were the height of rebellion!

"Presumptuous! How dare you directly call Venerable Lei Yan by his name! You even dare tell him to get down here?!"

Long Zhantian laughed in extreme anger. His six Flying Swords instantly buzzed and hummed, turning into six golden lights aimed straight for Su Lin's head!

"Since you're in such a hurry to die, this seat will fulfill your wish!"

However, the Flying Swords hadn't even traveled three feet.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the top floor of Luoxian Pavilion.

The wall of the top floor, protected by a special defensive Formation, was actually forcibly smashed through from the inside!