163: Chapter 163 Old Grudges and Feuds

The steward was momentarily stunned, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Grand Elder, you, what did you just say? Has something happened to the Clan Chief?"

Lai Yuechan glared at him with her long, narrow eyes. "Shut your mouth! This is not your place to speak!"

The steward immediately covered his mouth, his attitude shifting from arrogance to subservience. "It is this humble one who overstepped…"

Lai Yuechan said coldly, "Do not spread word of this. I am returning to the Family grounds to investigate first."

"Understood."

Lai Yuechan moved at full speed, quickly arriving at the other end of Qianqiu Ridge.

Here, pavilions stood in rows, and palaces were scattered about.

She walked to the main hall, passing through eaves pillars carved with Dragons and painted with Phoenixes.

She saw that the usually quiet main hall was now bustling, with all the Senior members of the Family standing there, arguing with one another.

As she stepped over the threshold, she immediately drew the gaze of everyone present.

In an instant, everyone seemed to have found their backbone.

An old man with white hair standing on the platform pushed through the crowd, walked forward, bowed, and choked out, "Grand Elder, the Clan Chief, he…"

He finished speaking.

A stream of light flashed, and a pile of broken wood shavings appeared in his palm.

Among the scattered shavings, a few clear pieces could be identified as bearing the name of Lai Tianxiang.

Lai Yuechan's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. She reached out to cup the wood shavings, her hands trembling.

However, right at this moment.

"Boom."

The ground shook violently.

Then, the chirping of birds and the songs of orioles came from outside. The chatter filled the air, and the solemn main hall was suddenly flooded with a fresh atmosphere.

The old man, however, did not feel the slightest bit happy; instead, he was terrified. "This is the sound from within Qianqiu Ridge? Has it not been isolated by the Sect's grand formation? How can we hear it?"

At the same time.

A young Family Disciple rushed into the hall in a panic and knelt on the ground. "Report! We are under enemy attack."

Lai Yuechan's expression remained calm. "Speak. Which force dares to offend our Lai Family? They must have a death wish."

Her pale, thin lips trembled slightly; her composure was merely a facade.

"It is the Xie Family. They have joined forces with the Wang Family and the Yao Family to attack. They are currently slaughtering our Family Disciples!"

Hearing that it was just these neighboring families, she felt relieved.

"How preposterous! That bitch Xie Wantang really refuses to appreciate kindness. It would have been one thing for her to reject my brother's good-willed marriage proposal, but to turn around and strike back like this!"

The old man stepped forward to remind her, "Grand Elder, could this be a trap?"

She furrowed her slender brows. "What do you mean?"

The old man explained, "Previously, the Clan Chief claimed he was going to propose marriage, but in reality, he was using the proposal as a pretext to attack Donglin Fortress. Now that the Clan Chief has fallen, the Xie Family is counterattacking."

Her anger subsided slightly. "What Elder Zeng says is not without reason. I wonder, what strategy does Elder Zeng suggest?"

"In this old man's opinion, before the Clan Chief departed, he arranged for the elite Disciples of the Family to be stationed in the rear hall. Grand Elder, you should take them and temporarily avoid the brunt of their force."

"What?"

Someone immediately stood up to object. "Elder Zeng, did I hear that correctly? Are you suggesting we flee in the face of battle?"

"Oh, it is not fleeing, but rather, given the urgency of the situation, we ought to act with caution."

"I think you are just afraid of death. Your precious grandson is also stationed in the rear hall right now, isn't he?"

"You all… Everything depends on the Grand Elder's decision. It is possible that people from the Zhou Family have arrived."

Lai Zeng, knowing he could not win against the crowd, looked at Lai Yuechan.

Now that the Clan Chief's fate was grim, she was the only one who could make decisions for the Lai Family.

Lai Yuechan pondered for a moment. "Elder Zeng is being alarmist. If it were truly the Zhou Family, the scouts from Donglin Fortress would have returned to report it long ago."

She then asked the young Family member, "Did you see any Spirit Beasts?"

He replied, "No, it is basically all Cultivators from the three families. There are very few Spirit Beasts, and they are all First Level Yao Beasts."

She felt relieved. "That is good. At least there is no one from the Zhou Family among those attacking the Family."

"But…"

"There are no 'buts.' My mind is made up. Everyone, follow me out, drive away the invaders, and kill that hateful Xie Wantang!"

The crowd echoed her words and followed Lai Yuechan out of the main hall.

Elder Zeng shook his head helplessly and had no choice but to follow them out at the back.

On the square in front of the Lai Family's mountain gate, Xu Changsheng and Xie Wantang stood side by side on the balcony of the Lai Family's guest tower, quietly overlooking the smoke and fire in the distance.

On the ground.

A burly man with a face full of whiskers walked up excitedly.

Xie Wantang looked down and said indifferently, "Clan Chief Wang, how is the battle situation at the front?"

Wang Dawei was in a great mood. "Reporting to Clan Chief Xie, our three families are currently unstoppable, and we are advancing toward the Lai Family's core territory."

He looked up at the man beside Xie Wantang, his eyes filled with reverence.

The Wang Family and the Lai Family had a deep blood feud.

A few years ago, his father had obtained a foundation establishment pill from Yellow Ox Immortal City, intending for him, the most promising candidate in the Family to advance to Foundation Establishment, to consume it.

But for some reason, the news was leaked.

The Lai Family did not allow another new Foundation Establishment Family to appear in this region. Lai Tianxiang personally set a trap and intercepted them on their way back.

His father and older brother both died in that interception, and the foundation establishment pill was taken by the Lai Family, leading to the success of Lai Yuechan as the Lai Family's second Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The Wang Family had been in decline ever since. He had personally gone to confront the Lai Family, but they had brushed him off with the excuse that the foundation establishment pill in his father's possession had been obtained through illicit means, and they had even broken one of his legs.

Since then, he had laid low, waiting for a chance to turn the tables.

Today, he had finally waited for it!

This Senior named Xu Changsheng had displayed formidable strength, breaking through the Lai Family's protective grand formation in just a hundred breaths of time.

Furthermore, he possessed a Second Level Spirit Beast.

Xie Wantang nodded. "Mm, continue to advance according to Clan Chief Wang's plan."

"Yes."

"Bang—"

He turned around abruptly, intending to remind the two people above, but discovered that the balcony was empty.

Lai Family front mountain.

The sharp tip of Lai Yuechan's crescent moon hook Spiritual Artifact was embedded in the chest of a Wang Family Disciple.

The latter's eyes were wide open, clearly not expecting that his life would come to an abrupt end just when he was enjoying the slaughter.

"Snap."

She split the soul in her hand in two.

Looking around, the Family Elders who followed her were also crushing the Disciples of the three families with their superior cultivation, sweeping through them like withered weeds.

A sense of pride rose in her heart.

The current Lai Family was leaderless and in the midst of a life-or-death crisis.

Regardless of whether her brother was still alive, she had to take on the corresponding responsibility and hold up the entire Lai Family.

Suddenly, a powerful Divine Sense came from above.

She looked up abruptly.

She saw a black shadow hovering in mid-air.

It had bald, angular wings, and its aura was immense.

"A Second Level Yao Beast…"

Lai Yuechan's heart jolted, and her previous pride vanished instantly.

Could it really be the Zhou Family? But she had never heard of the Zhou Family having a Second Level Spirit Beast like this Yao Bat before her.

Right at this moment, two figures poked their heads out from the back of the Yao Bat.

One of them was none other than Xie Wantang, whom she recognized, and the other was a male Cultivator she had never seen before.

That male Cultivator ignored her look of surprise.

He raised his hand.

A flaming Spiritual Artifact sword emitting astonishing spiritual energy shot straight toward her.

Under the shroud of its pressure.

She could not move.