62: Chapter 62 Stirring up the situation

Central Plains, Star-Plucking Tower.

Gu Sheng leaned back in his grandmaster's chair, a plate of peeled Purple Jade Grapes resting by his hand. A light screen hung in mid-air, displaying a scene of a rolling sea of clouds.

[Host, you sent your Clone to Tianshui City, which is the territory of the Penglai Sword Sect. Those Sword Cultivators in the Eastern Region have terrible tempers; they usually draw their swords the moment they see the Dragon Clan.] The System's mechanical voice carried a hint of mockery.

Gu Sheng picked up a grape and tossed it into his mouth. "A bad temper is good. The Eastern Region is too quiet; it needs a stone thrown into it. Without an opposing side, how can the heritage of the Hidden Family be highlighted?"

The scene shifted to the Eastern Region.

Three Silver Flood Dragons pulled a bronze chariot, plowing a long passage through the clouds.

Tianshui City, the largest city in the Eastern Region, was built by the sea. On the city walls, guards and Loose Cultivators looked up one after another, breathless from the overwhelming pressure descending from the sky.

"A Soul Transformation Stage great demon! And there are three of them!"

"That's... the Dragon Clan's Atavistic Silver Flood Dragons? How are they being used to pull a carriage!"

Atop the tallest Sword Tower in the city, several sharp streaks of Sword Qi pierced the clouds. Five figures rose on their swords, blocking the path of the war chariot.

The leader was an old man in a moon-white Daoist robe, carrying an ancient sword on his back. He was the Third Elder of the Penglai Sword Sect, Li Qingfeng, with a cultivation of the Dao Integration Stage Early Stage. Behind him were four young Disciples, all in the Nascent Soul Stage.

Li Qingfeng's scalp tingled as he stared at the three Silver Flood Dragons. The Dragon Clan had always been proud, and Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, was notoriously short-tempered. Yet today, these three Silver Flood Dragons were willingly harnessed to pull a weathered bronze chariot.

On the war chariot, Ye Yuan stood in black robes, his long hair dancing wildly in the wind. The Evil Qi emitted by his Ancient Desolate Magic Body forcibly pushed aside the surrounding Spiritual Qi, causing even the air to let out burdened muffled thuds.

"Halt, traveler." Li Qingfeng cupped his hands, his voice infused with True Essence as it echoed across half of Tianshui City. "Tianshui City lies ahead, which is the territory of my Penglai Sword Sect. Since you are passing through with Dragon Clan demon cultivators, Fellow Daoist, you must submit to an inspection according to the rules."

Ye Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids, his fingers tapping the copper ring on the edge of the war chariot.

"Rules? I, Ye Yuan, never follow rules when I go out."

A Sect Disciple stepped forward, his hand on his sword hilt. "Presumptuous! In front of the Penglai Sword Sect, there is no room for your arrogance!"

Ye Yuan finally looked up.

Dark purple Magic Runes flashed deep within his pupils.

The Disciple felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His face turned deathly pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood and tumbled from his Flying Sword. A companion beside him quickly reached out to catch him.

Li Qingfeng was horrified. A single glance had severely injured a Nascent Soul Stage Sword Cultivator. This black-robed youth's cultivation was clearly only at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection, yet that fundamental sense of oppression made even him, a Dao Integration Stage expert, tremble.

"Fellow Daoist, your hand was a bit too heavy." Li Qingfeng's tone turned somber.

Ye Yuan stood up, the pressure of the Ancient Desolate Magic Body being released without reservation.

"Noisy. I intend to enter the city; whoever blocks me dies."

Li Qingfeng weighed the pros and cons. Anyone who dared to use Silver Flood Dragons to pull a chariot must have an immensely powerful background. Although the Penglai Sword Sect did not fear trouble, there was no need to make enemies for no reason.

He suppressed his anger and changed his form of address. "Fellow Daoist Ye. The Eastern Region is filled with many Sects. Acting like this, Fellow Daoist, will easily invite trouble. May I ask which famous family Fellow Daoist Ye hails from?"

The Hidden Ye Family.

Li Qingfeng searched his mind for the major powers of the Eastern Region, but there was no Ye Family. He had never heard of one in the Central Plains, Western Desolation, or Southern Border either.

Hidden Family.

These two words had been very sensitive recently.

Recalling the information from the Sect's intelligence network a few days ago, Li Qingfeng spoke tentatively, "The Ye Family... I am poorly informed. However, recently in the Central Plains, a power claiming to be a Hidden Family has also appeared."

Ye Yuan's brow arched slightly. "Oh?"

The Everlasting Gu Family. Li Qingfeng watched Ye Yuan's expression closely. "Since you are also from a Hidden Family, Fellow Daoist, I wonder if you have heard of them?"

The temperature on the war chariot suddenly plummeted.

The indifference on Ye Yuan's face vanished, replaced by a look of pure disgust. He clenched his fists, his knuckles making a crisp cracking sound.

"The Gu Family..." Ye Yuan squeezed the words through his teeth. "Those hypocritical pretenders actually dare to emerge into the world as well?"

Li Qingfeng's eyes lit up. He really knew them! And judging by this reaction, the enmity was extremely deep.

Ye Yuan sneered. "Those old fogies of the Gu Family were... by the Heavenly Dao back then... Hmph, and now they've come out to stir up trouble. What have they done in the Central Plains?"

Li Qingfeng quickly recounted the arrival of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, the Great Xia Dynasty's humiliation, and the Human Emperor of Great Xia being severely injured by two Saints.

After hearing this, Ye Yuan threw his head back and laughed.

His laughter was filled with an indescribable mockery.

"Two Saint Middle Stage and one half-dead Saint King couldn't even overturn the Great Xia Dynasty? The Gu Family is truly regressing as they age. Back then, when we fought for... Forget it, why am I telling you ants all this?"

Ye Yuan sat back down on the war chariot and kicked the back of a Silver Flood Dragon.

"Go back and tell your Sect Master that my Ye Family is wading into the waters of the Eastern Region. As for the Gu Family, I will eventually go to the Central Plains to settle this score with them."

The three Silver Flood Dragons let out a long roar, pulling the war chariot to smash through the Sword Qi barrier ahead as they sped away.

Li Qingfeng did not stop them, allowing the war chariot to fly over Tianshui City.

A Disciple beside him clutched his chest, filled with indignation. "Third Elder, we're just letting him go like that? No matter how strong he is, he's only a Nascent Soul. If we formed a sword formation, we might have been able to take him down!"

Li Qingfeng slapped the Disciple on the head. "Take him down? Didn't you see what he's stepping on? Is Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, someone to be trifled with? If he can force the Dragon Clan to bow their heads and offer Silver Flood Dragons, do you really believe he doesn't have a Saint backing him?"

The Disciple didn't dare to make a sound.

Li Qingfeng watched the direction where the war chariot had disappeared, his expression solemn. "A Gu Family appeared in the Central Plains, and even the Great Xia Dynasty could only swallow their pride and accept it. Now, a Ye Family has popped up in the Eastern Region, and from Ye Yuan's tone, the two families have deep roots going back to the Ancient Era. The world is truly about to change. Return to the Sect immediately and report this to the Sect Master!"