38: Jin Sheng Shangren's Ambition

"Playing this game with me, are you?"

Moral blackmail??

A hint of killing intent flashed in Venerable Lie Feng's eyes, and he waved his hand impatiently, ordering, "Kill!!"

He really couldn't hold back anymore.

The Cultivators of the Wind Fire Gate immediately took action, as pillars of scorching fire and sharp wind blades blasted toward the Loose Cultivators.

Although the Loose Cultivators were numerous, their cultivation levels were lower, and they lacked Magical Artifacts and Talismans; they were simply no match for the elite Disciples of the Wind Fire Gate.

"Boom!!!"

A Loose Cultivator at the Early Stage Qi Refining walking at the very front couldn't dodge in time and was struck by a pillar of fire, turning into charcoal on the spot.

Another Loose Cultivator was struck in the arm by a wind blade, blood gushing as he fell to the ground screaming.

"Ah—"

The Loose Cultivators panicked instantly, retreating one after another, their faces filled with fear.

"Stop!"

Venerable Jin Sheng roared in anger, his magic power circulating as the Magical Artifact longsword in his hand instantly unsheathed.

"Shua shua shua~"

Golden sword light filled the sky like meteors, wildly shooting out and shattering all the fire pillars and wind blades from the Wind Fire Gate.

"Fellow Daoist Lie Feng, do you truly wish to make enemies of so many of us Loose Cultivators for the sake of a single Spiritual Vein?"

"You talk too much!"

Venerable Lie Feng no longer wanted to pay any attention to this fellow whose mouth was the only tough part of him.

He flipped his hand and took out a Second-Tier Low Grade Magical Artifact, the [Wind Fire Fan], and attacked Venerable Jin Sheng.

"Boom— Boom—!!!"

The storm, carrying raging flames, swept across a hundred yards with overwhelming power.

Today, he would definitely make this person suffer enough!

...Two hours later.

The heavily injured Venerable Jin Sheng led the group of Loose Cultivators in a pathetic escape from White Lotus Mountain, leaving behind nearly ten corpses.

He had somewhat overestimated his own influence and that of the Loose Cultivators.

The Wind Fire Gate truly wouldn't give him even a scrap of meat.

On the way back, the atmosphere was very somber.

However, a crazy idea sprouted in Venerable Jin Sheng's mind.

His decades as the overlord of Loose Cultivators weren't for nothing; he had also traveled through the Central Continent and made many friends.

He believed that as long as these people knew there was a vacant Spiritual Vein in Yuan Country, they would be just as crazed as he was.

At worst, he would just share the Spiritual Vein afterward.

"But if I'm looking for helpers anyway, why settle for White Lotus Mountain? There seems to be a better choice..."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on his face... July 10th.

Central Hong Country, Feixian County.

On the wide Canglan Great River, a small wooden boat only thirty feet long sailed lonely in the middle of the river.

There was no boatman, and it drifted with the current.

Only a figure in green robes stood at the bow.

The morning mist still blanketed the river surface, with visibility of less than ten yards; beyond that was just a vast expanse of white.

However, under Yu Xuzi's Spiritual Eye Technique, this bit of ordinary mist could not block his vision.

"That should be... Hunyuan Immortal Mountain, right?"

His gaze focused on the high mountain near the riverbank, more than five miles away.

Based on the information gathered in Hong Country during this time, Hunyuan Immortal Mountain was quite famous in the country.

Because it was located by the Canglan River, the world's greatest river known as the "Golden Waterway," countless ships passed through the river every day.

Therefore, it was inevitable to frequently see the light of Immortals' flying techniques entering and leaving, causing bursts of exclamation.

Many Mortals would even travel thousands of miles to detour here just to catch a glimpse of the Immortals' elegance.

"It truly is majestic and steep, with an extraordinary Aura."

Although it wasn't the tallest mountain he had seen, it was the one with the most "spirituality."

Even from five miles away, he could clearly sense a slight increase in the concentration of spiritual essence in the air.

He couldn't imagine what kind of scenery would be within the spiritual mountain.

"What a pity. The storm is coming; I wonder how much longer they can hold out?"

Yu Xuzi murmured to himself with some emotion.

No one would have thought that the Hunyuan Sect, which dominated the Southwest region's Cultivation World, would one day have someone come knocking at its door!

To the point that they have sealed the mountain and haven't dared to face the challenge until now.

Even while traveling in the Mortal world, he had heard about Hunyuan Immortal Mountain being besieged by a large number of Immortals some time ago.

Because countless people on the wide river had witnessed it with their own eyes, it had caused quite a stir in the Mortal world of Hong Country.

"The massive exotic beasts that blot out the sun—that must be the Thousand Spirits Sect, right? Perhaps along with their allies, the Heart-Corroding Palace and the Hundred Poisons Gate."

"But I heard those people besieged it for days and couldn't break in; the Hunyuan Sect's foundation is truly deep."

Yu Xuzi speculated in his heart.

A moment later.

The sky gradually brightened, and the mist on the river began to dissipate.

"Li~"

A cold eagle's cry descended from the sky, causing Yu Xuzi's expression to tighten.

This was the secret signal between him and the Golden Eagle couple.

"Someone is coming?"

He turned to look at the northern river surface.

In just a few dozen breaths of time, a burst of heroic laughter rang out.

"Hahaha, as soon as I saw this pair of Golden Eagles, I knew it must be Fellow Daoist Taiyin. As expected!"

Qiu Dao's figure slowly landed on the wooden boat.

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, why are you here as well?"

Yu Xuzi said in surprise.

"Sigh, it's a long story."

Qiu Dao shook his head with a bitter smile and turned to look at Hunyuan Mountain. "Fellow Daoist Taiyin must have guessed that I am working for Senior Jin Sheng. See, I was sent here to keep an eye on every move of the Hunyuan Sect."

"Keeping an eye on the Hunyuan Sect?"

Yu Xuzi was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Venerable Jin Sheng's plan, looking at him in surprise: "You want to capture Hunyuan Mountain?"

Hearing this, Qiu Dao first nodded, then immediately shook his head vigorously.

"It's not that I want to, it's Senior Jin Sheng who wants to!"

Yu Xuzi nodded in understanding, thinking to himself: It seems this Venerable Jin Sheng doesn't have much cohesion among the Loose Cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Taiyin might not know, but after the White Lotus Sect's sudden downfall some time ago, Senior Jin Sheng led dozens of us Loose Cultivators in a grand attempt to capture White Lotus Mountain."

"As a result... the Sect Head of the Wind Fire Gate had a Second-Tier Magical Artifact. When it actually came to fighting, Senior Jin Sheng was naturally no match, and we Loose Cultivators were no match for those Sect Disciples either."

"So we were driven back, and eight or nine Fellow Daoists died."

Was this Venerable Jin Sheng actually so unwise?

Yu Xuzi said in surprise, "You couldn't even take down White Lotus Mountain, yet you're actually thinking of taking down the Hunyuan Sect?"

"Exactly, right?"

Qiu Dao shook his head repeatedly with a bitter smile.

Although the Hunyuan Sect suffered heavy losses—hearing that even the Sect Master, Venerable Yuan Hao, several Late Stage Qi Refining Elders, and dozens of Disciples perished outside.

But the previous Sect Master of the Hunyuan Sect, the over-hundred-year-old Venerable Qian Yang, came out of seclusion at a critical moment.

This man once shook the Southwest region for decades and had a great reputation!

Additionally, the Hunyuan Sect still has half its Disciples and two or three Elders on the mountain, supplemented by the only Second-Tier Low Grade Mountain Protecting Grand Formation in the entire Southwest region!

Even with the Thousand Spirits Sect and the Heart-Corroding Palace joining forces, they still couldn't break in!

Senior Jin Sheng actually dares to covet it?

This caused some dissatisfaction to brew in his heart as well.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Qiu, now that such a great change has occurred in the Southwest region's Cultivation World, will your Loose Cultivators' trade fair still be held?"

"Of course, and it will be held on a grand scale!"

Qiu Dao nodded without hesitation.

"Oh?"

"Senior Jin Sheng said that this time, many Cultivators from other regions of the continent will also be invited, and the scale will be expanded significantly.

You are welcome to come then, Fellow Daoist Taiyin. Perhaps you might even find a treasure that can help you break through the Late Stage Qi Refining Bottleneck."

Qiu Dao issued the invitation once again.

Because Yu Xuzi used the Breath Concealment Technique to hide his cultivation level, he hadn't discovered that Yu Xuzi had actually already broken through to the Late Stage Qi Refining.

"On a grand scale, huh..."

Yu Xuzi pondered for a moment, somewhat understanding Venerable Jin Sheng's thoughts.

It was likely that he had suffered a setback and was planning to regain some face.

Then perhaps it would be worth taking a look.

With more people, the probability of encountering treasures would be higher.

Moreover, it would be safer under the watchful eyes of the public.