157: Chapter 157 Old Friend

A few years had passed, and Cheng Yue's elegance remained unchanged.

Since his Foundation Establishment, his head of white hair had returned to obsidian black, and he was as spirited as a young man. He seemed to have taken a youth-preserving pill, as he now looked even younger than before.

The green girl of the past had also transformed into a slender and graceful mature beauty, with a waist like a willow, standing tall and elegant, her entire being still surrounded by a cold temperament like fresh snow.

Looking at Cheng Ningxiang before him, Su Yang felt as if he were seeing the future Su Xinyue; his granddaughter's temperament was particularly similar to Cheng Ningxiang's.

"Head of the Su Family, I hope you have been well!"

Cheng Yue did not put on the arrogant air of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, greeting him familiarly as if treating a Fellow Daoist of the same realm.

Su Yang wore a warm smile and said enthusiastically, "Sect Leader Cheng's elegance is as of old. Are the affairs of the Lingxi Sect all finished?"

"They are all finished. I came this time because I wanted my granddaughter to gain some experience; we might have to trouble the Su Family in the future."

After speaking, his Divine Sense swept through the Su Family, but he failed to find a familiar figure, and his expression couldn't help but freeze slightly. "Head of the Su Family, where did that boy Xuanxiao go?"

Su Yang smiled and said, "Xuanxiao went to the Yunmeng Ruins three years ago and is currently serving as the Vice Alliance Leader of the Yunshou Alliance." He paused slightly, his tone carrying a hint of emotion. "Speaking of which, I resigned from the position of Family Head long ago. It is now my son, Xuanming, who is in charge of the Su Family."

Upon learning that Su Xuanxiao was not there, a slight change appeared in Cheng Ningxiang's eyes.

Su Yang noticed this and immediately smiled, saying, "If Sect Leader Cheng wants his granddaughter to gain experience, going to the Yunmeng Ruins is actually perfect. That place is backed by the Ten Thousand Mountains and has countless Yao Beasts to serve as sparring partners."

"Moreover, with the Su Family and Xuanxiao looking after her, Sect Leader Cheng can feel more at ease."

Cheng Yue's trip was intended to create an opportunity for his granddaughter to spend time with Su Xuanxiao. If the two were mutually attracted, they would become Dao Companions; if there was no spark, it would be treated as ordinary experience.

Su Yang had once revealed to Cheng Yue that he intended to have Su Xuanxiao marry both Zhao Wanyi and Cheng Ningxiang.

There was no longer any objection from Zhao Wanyi's side; the key lay in the attitude of Cheng Ningxiang herself and Cheng Yue. Su Yang had guaranteed Cheng Yue that both women would hold the status of primary wife and that Cheng Ningxiang would not be relegated to a concubine.

To ask the granddaughter of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to marry a Disciple of a Qi Refining Family alongside another woman—only Su Yang would dare to make such a request.

Cheng Yue nodded slightly, accepting Su Yang's proposal.

Going to the Yunmeng Ruins for experience was indeed more appropriate than staying in the Qingyuan Market. After all, this place was too peaceful, making it difficult to achieve the desired training results.

Subsequently, Su Yang led the grandfather and granddaughter into the Su Family residence and treated them with rare spiritual tea.

During the gathering, Su Yang and Cheng Yue sipped tea and discussed the Dao, reminiscing about the old and talking about the new in a harmonious atmosphere. Meanwhile, Cheng Ningxiang remained silent throughout, her thoughts drifting who knows where.

Suddenly, Cheng Yue, who was talking and laughing, paused mid-sentence. He abruptly turned his head, his sharp gaze fixed on a certain direction outside the Su Family's ancestral land.

Su Yang also noticed it, but he remained unmoved, pretending not to know.

"There is the aura of a Demonic Cultivator!" Cheng Yue stood up and said in a heavy voice, "It seems the Qingyuan Market is not as peaceful as imagined. You stay here; I will be right back."

Su Yang opened his mouth, wanting to say that the appearance of this Demonic Qi was rather suspicious and they should wait and see.

However, before he could speak, Cheng Yue's figure suddenly flashed, transforming into a streak of light that shot through the air, chasing directly after that Demonic Qi.

"Your grandfather truly hates Demonic Cultivators to the bone!" Su Yang looked at Cheng Ningxiang and teased with a smile.

"Demonic Cultivators killed many Lingxi Sect Disciples," Cheng Ningxiang replied softly.

A long time passed without Cheng Yue returning.

Su Yang, who was leisurely sipping tea, suddenly rose and left behind a sentence: "I'll be right back. Jiangmei, take good care of Ningxiang."

Qin Jiangmei understood his meaning and nodded her head slightly.

...

Outside the Su Family's ancestral land, over a dozen black-robed figures were hidden within the dark woods, their eyes locked onto the prosperous scene inside the Su Family territory.

"I didn't expect that after waiting specifically for a while, just as one Song Baiqing left, another Foundation Establishment Cultivator would come from out of nowhere. The Su Family's luck is truly something else."

Huo Chen clicked his tongue twice, marveling at how well the Su Family hid themselves. Not only did the Family hide a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they even hid Foundation Establishment connections.

Yet, on ordinary days, they only presented themselves as a Qi Refining Family. This ability to pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger was actually a few points more skillful than even them Demonic Cultivators.

"Qin Chuanxing has already lured that Foundation Establishment Cultivator some distance away. Should we take this opportunity to strike?" a Demonic Cultivator behind Huo Chen asked.

"No rush. The Su Family's wealth is staggering. With Su Yang's steady character, he will surely have arranged the best protective Formation for the Su Family."

A light of wisdom flashed in Huo Chen's eyes as he sneered, "When that Foundation Establishment Cultivator fails to return for a long time, the Su Family will definitely send someone out to investigate. That's when we'll fish them out one by one!"

Rumor had it that the Su Family had even deployed a second-grade High Grade Formation at the Drunken Immortal Tower, so the protection within the ancestral land must be even better. A frontal assault would be unwise.

Huo Chen's strategy was to wait for the Su family members to take the initiative to come out. Currently, most of the Su Family's Cultivators had gone to Wangchuan Valley, and the clan was at its emptiest.

Therefore, the person leaving the clan to investigate would, in all likelihood, be Su Yang himself.

Everything was developing exactly within his calculations!

The subsequent situation completely confirmed Huo Chen's prediction.

The person who stepped out of the Su Family's main gate was indeed Su Yang.

His steps seemed slow, yet his movement speed was eerily startling. As if taking a stroll in a courtyard, he walked straight toward the position where the Demonic Cultivators were hiding.

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Huo Chen's mouth. They had deliberately exposed a flaw to lure the opponent over.

In the blink of an eye, Su Yang stepped out of the ancestral land and reached the woods.

Over a dozen Demonic Cultivator figures immediately landed on the Formation positions. The dozen or so Demonic Cultivators who had been lying in ambush for a long time instantly leaped out from the shadows, landing precisely on the preset Formation eyes, their fingers flying in hand seals as they muttered incantations.

In an instant, the Formation barrier rose abruptly, completely isolating the internal and external space.

A pungent, fishy wind of blood-colored Devilish Qi, like a bursting blood-river tide, surged turbulently toward Su Yang!

"Su Yang, hand over the Su Family's secrets..."

Before Huo Chen's threat could be uttered, a sudden change occurred!

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi seemed to be throttled by an invisible hand, suddenly stagnating. Immediately after, a terrifying suction force erupted from Su Yang's fingertips, forming a visible violent vortex that poured backward frantically!

Vast and boundless spiritual power was compressed and condensed, turning into a blindingly bright white star that flashed wildly at his fingertips, as if a real celestial star from beyond the heavens was being held within a tiny space!

"Star Plucking Art!"

Su Yang's lips moved slightly, his whisper exploding like a clap of thunder.

He pressed his two fingers together, and they actually seemed to penetrate the spatial barrier, reaching into the depths of the boundless, vast starry sky, precisely grabbing one of the stars.

With a flick of his finger, that seized star suddenly shot out.

Suddenly, the world lost its color!

A phantom of a massive star-stone carrying world-destroying power appeared out of thin air, burning with the raging flames of its friction-filled descent. Carrying the mighty power of a star, it crashed down violently toward the Demonic Cultivator Formation below!

"This... what is this thing?!"

Huo Chen's pupils instantly shrank to the size of needlepoints, and an unprecedented horror and trembling erupted from the depths of his Soul! That scene of world-ending destruction completely exceeded the limits of his cognition!

Rumble—!

The star fell to the earth!

The turbulent, surging flood of blood-colored Devilish Qi within the Formation was like boiling water poured on snow, evaporating completely in an instant! The seemingly sturdy Demonic Path Formation could not even hold for a single breath before it shattered inch by inch with a bang, turning into powder!

The ten or so Qi Refining Demonic Cultivators within the Formation could not even let out a short scream before they were obliterated in the blinding starlight, their forms and Souls utterly extinguished!

"No—"

It wasn't supposed to be like this!

Huo Chen let out a howl of despair. He never dreamed that Su Yang would be so decisive and ruthless, using such an unimaginable destructive Dao technique the moment he struck.

His survival instinct made him exert all his strength, desperately sacrificing all his trump-card Magical Artifacts and protective Spells, wanting only to escape.

However, the falling star seemed to possess a gravitational field that swallowed everything, pinning him firmly to the spot, unable to move a single step!

In boundless despair, Huo Chen watched helplessly as his body, along with those protective Magical Artifacts and Spells, shattered inch by inch like fragile glass under the crushing weight of the star's might, finally being completely annihilated and turning into an insignificant speck of dust in the world...