Overturning the heavens of Chufung!

　　Said by anyone else, these words would be taken as nothing more than a joke, but no one could force a laugh when they’d been spoken by a Golden Core grand elder. This was especially the case since the one who’d said such a thing was someone famed within the generation—the old bastard Wanluo, someone who could form clouds and produce rain.

　　This old bastard was wretched yet easy-going, loved women yet was scared of them. He really didn’t seem to possess the qualities of a grandmaster at all, but anyone who knew him well enough understood this old monster was not someone to anger. Although his cultivation level wasn’t considered number one within all of Chufung and its surrounding seven smaller kingdoms, the knowledge he held was simply too vast. Whether it was dark arts and curses, alchemy, smithing, talismans, formations, medicine, it could be said he knew it all with no gaps to speak of. His cultivation level was only at the Golden Core Stage precisely because of how many things he’d studied.

　　Even the top cultivator of Chufung—old man Hu Qin—had to admit that if this old bastard Wanluo had been focusing solely on cultivating, his accomplishments would have easily eclipsed his own. For such a normally easy-going, always-laughing person to say something like overturning the heavens of Chufung with such a serious and stern look, Chu Taishang felt a chill from the depths of his heart that caused even his palms to shake.

　　Chu Taishang wasn’t afraid of Zhang Daoyi, whose battle prowess wasn’t as high as his. He wasn’t afraid of Mu Longyin, whose cultivation was one tier lower. He wasn’t even too afraid of the old man Hu Qin, who—despite having a higher cultivation level—had people to look after and a docile temperament. When it came to the old man Hu Qin who was typically kind to others and rarely quarreled, there were simply too many methods the Chu royal court could use to control him.

　　In front of this old bastard Wanluo who was normally all laughs but had suddenly become angered, Chu Taishang felt a sense of fear. Not only did this old Wanluo have enough power, he was also alone with neither family nor estate; there was nothing that could be used against him and naturally nothing he’d have to be concerned about. If he were to set about overturning the skies of Chufung and put all of his methods into doing so, the Chu royal court truly might not be able to retain their kingdom.

　　Chu Taishang was also nearly a hundred years younger than Wanluo. Back in his youth, Wanluo had the existence of an absolute genius and—although he was all smiles without ever being very proper—the rare powerful opponents who tried to face him were defeated with great ease. Many who actually knew him felt nothing but bone-chilling terror, and Chu Taishang was someone who knew this well. Chu Taishang truly feared this lone bastard Wanluo in the depths of his heart. If Wanluo hadn’t gone through some unknown trouble that forced him to retire, his name would certainly be no less renowned than Hu Qin’s, the current top cultivator of Chufung.

　　Yet in front of so many people, Chu Taishang of course wouldn’t so easily bow his head and admit defeat. His tone became heavier as he spoke, “Fellow Daoist Wanluo, our relationship spans a few hundred years, yet you’d say such things to an old friend because of a servant?”

　　Old Wanluo coldly replied, “We’ve simply met a couple times a few hundred years ago; it can’t even be considered an actual relationship. The reason I joined you in this grand opportunity this time was one, because of old man Hu Qin; and two, because I want to find someone to succeed all my knowledge and skills. You really think you had the power to bring me out of retirement to work for your Chu kingdom? I know, Chu Taishang. In the realm of cultivation, everyone seeks resources for themselves. When my Wanluo Sect was disbanded, your Chu court thought this was me giving up on everything I had and you didn’t even think twice about our ‘relationship’ before sending people to plunder all my valuables and savings left behind in the sect…. I haven’t mentioned this even once all this time, but do you really think I’ve forgotten?”

　　“It’s… those are old matters from hundreds of years ago, why would you bring it up again?” Chu Taishang stammered with a quavering voice.

　　“I originally didn’t want to bring it up again either, but I say what’s on my mind,” Wanluo calmly declared. “The five of us united here this time to prepare for that grand opportunity. It’ll either help lead Chufung to prosperity or have it plunged forever into the abyss, and there cannot be a single mistake. Whether those of you from the Chu royal court like it or not, you’ve ultimately come to the Snowy Mountain to work with us lone or estateless people. If you are willing to lower yourselves and cooperate, things will be fine, but if you want to continue your arrogance of being royalty, I think it’s best we end our cooperation here, lest we sacrifice all these children for the sake of your greed and selfishness….”

　　The old Wanluo’s words were filled with extreme gravitas, so much so not even Chu Taishang could find any words to say for a moment. Even the other Golden Cores grew quiet, leaving the place stilled with only chilling gusts of wind blowing past to break the silence.

　　‘Seems there’s something going on between these old farts, too…’ Fang Xing considered while hiding behind Wanluo. The atmosphere seemed a bit peculiar to him; there had to be some manner of preexisting disputes and disagreements between these five old men, and some of that tension just so happened to be revealed from this event.

　　After a few moments of silence, Mu Longyin suddenly laughed. “Among all of us here, my age should be the youngest and my seniority also the lowest. I shouldn’t interrupt, but since things have already been said to this point, I may as well make it a bit more clear. That grand opportunity is indeed extremely dangerous. Although we Chufung have the geographical advantage, we don’t have much advantage overall. This is already our final chance to fight back, but if we continue to have this internal strife, the speed at which we can increase the cultivation levels of these children will suffer…. Then, even a thirty percent chance will become less than ten….”

　　Although he was also a Golden Core grand elder, he was around two hundred years younger than the other four and so referred to himself as a junior. In the end, however, it was simply being polite and humble; with their cultivation levels where they were, a couple hundred years of age wasn’t a big deal. Besides, he wasn’t someone who necessarily thought of himself as a “junior” to these people—he’d certainly not been so humble when he’d brought out his sword against Chu Taishang earlier.

　　Hearing this, Chu Taishang felt as though everything started pointing towards him, causing him to feel rather angry. “Are you saying I’m the one starting internal strife? Hmph, this one wasn’t something I started….”

　　Fang Xing continued to hide behind the old man Wanluo and yelled out, “Are you saying you started all of the other ones, then?”

　　Immediately enraged once more, Chu Taishang sent a sharp glare in Fang Xing’s direction but couldn’t see even a hint of this little brat’s shadow. Granted, even if he’d seen Fang Xing, he wouldn’t have dared to attack again… not in front of the old bastard Wanluo, at least.

　　Chu Taishang could only feel annoyance and his words became muddled. It was also at this moment that Prince Chu Huang emotionlessly spoke up, “All esteemed seniors, the fact of the matter is our grand elder Taishang merely wanted to find and investigate who disrupted the trials and stole the Dragon Blood Pellets. Shidi Hou, Shimei Xiao, do you two not want to know who framed you and created such a chaotic mess?”

　　“I want to know!” Hou Guimen was the first to yell out before anyone else as he looked on with indignation. He’d been victimized the worst; not only had he been struck by someone for no good reason, it had brought such a huge problem to Demon God Valley on top of that. It could even be said he perhaps hated the damned bastard who’d pinned the blame on him even more than the Chu royal court did.

　　Fang Xing scolded in a low voice, “This bastard is trying to change the topic, pay attention and properly see what’s happening right now!”

　　A little surprised, Hou Guimen realized even his grand elder was sending him a dissatisfied look, and he immediately understood he’d interrupted and said the wrong words on top of it. Right now, the five Golden Cores were no longer interested in finding out who’d intruded in that trial and instead all had different intentions. Hou Guimen quickly lowered his head and thanked Fang Xing in a low voice, “Thank you for the reminder, little shidi….”

　　Fang Xing waved his hand. “We’re all good brothers, there’s no need to be so polite!” He then began speaking to Prince Chu Huang, “The investigation should of course continue, but why don’t you sort out the current matter first! The Demon God Valley was nearly destroyed by you guys. Brother Hou here was also wounded by you… are you not going to compensate us at least for the healing pellets I gave him? And this pretty shijie was also wounded, would it be so much to ask for some healing medicines for her? As for me, I was nearly killed by that flunkey of yours and am feeling a little dizzy even now. Are you planning on ignoring all your debts now? Once this matter is settled, you can go investigate all you want!”

　　Everyone present paused, a bit stunned. Although they wouldn’t so readily agree to things because of their status, they also felt there was sense in this boy’s words. The Chu royal court had indeed wounded others and caused problems; compensation was simply a matter of course.

　　Hou Guimen could only look at this boy with gratitude and marvel at how courageous and helpful this little shidi was despite only being in Spirit Stage. The boy had even asked the Chu royal court without forgetting to mention him as well—he was such a kind person!

　　Of course, Chu Taishang and Prince Chu Huang were clearly not pleased like Hou Guimen was, and the gazes they sent towards Fang Xing were cold and terrifying. Fang Xing subconsciously moved closer to the old Wanluo, genuinely concerned Chu Taishang might kill him with a single slap in the heat of the moment.

　　“How much do you want?” Prince Chu Huang frigidly asked.

　　Fang Xing wasn’t scared of him. He crossed his arms and roguishly asked, “How much do you have?” The area became quiet yet again and everyone began to give curious glances to this blackmailing boy.

　　It was the Demon God Valley’s Zhang Daoyi who smiled and broke the awkward silence. “Since someone has enough guts to cause chaos within the Snowy Mountain, it’s only natural the investigation needs to continue. However, we can’t let this person also disrupt the main reason we’d gathered here in the first place, right? This little friend here from the Wanluo Court did not speak without good reason. Chu Taishang, my Demon God Valley’s disciple just reached a pivotal point in their cultivation, yet you destroyed their valley and halted their progress. This is a debt I will need to collect. Also, this grand pupil of mine has been rather heavily wounded thanks to you; you will need to give me a satisfying explanation!”

　　Sword Cleansing Court’s Mu Longyin laughed as well. “I believe Fellow Daoist Chu was caught up in the heat of the moment and hadn’t intended it; although he should of course compensate for it, I actually think that is the more minor problem. For such a chaotic mess to happen like it has today, we can see the inner structure of our Snowy Mountain has been lacking protocol. Who knows what might happen when that grand opportunity arrives? If I may say, how about we old folks sit down and create some regulations and boundaries first to avoid having problems like this cropping up in the future….”

　　Once these two finished speaking, they looked towards Hu Qin, Wanluo, and Chu Taishang.

　　Wanluo coldly smiled. “I’m alone and all by myself. I have no problems with that!”

　　“There is nothing wrong with having some boundaries and regulations!” Hu Qin calmly replied.

　　In a quick moment, four had agreed and even if Chu Taishang’s opinion differed, he could no longer bring it up. Chu Taishang’s gaze was sharp and bright as he suddenly declared, “I am willing to personally brew pellet tea while listening to the lectures!”

　　Wanluo laughed. “You’re no longer in a rush to find out who interrupted the trials?”

　　Prince Chu Huang politely bowed. “As long as that person doesn’t leave Snowy Mountain, as the water recedes, so too will the stone one day reveal itself. What need is there for us to personally investigate?”

　　The five Golden Cores within the Snowy Mountain can be considered akin to five different forces. Now that four of these forces had suddenly shown hostility towards the fifth—the Chu royal court—even Chu Taishang and Prince Chu Huang felt the pressure on them grow exponentially. As for this matter, it had all been caused by that loathsome brat who’d interrupted the trials. The hatred both Chu Taishang and Prince Chu Huang felt towards this unknown person didn’t even need to be mentioned.

　　Taking stock of the situation, Fang Xing was once again overjoyed. He believed it was very likely he’d be able to extort a good amount of rather valuable stuff, earning himself a very handsome profit.