“Your stay this time was longer than usual. You should visit more.” The Xi Emperor said to his sister, Mengfei, as he and his entourage bid farewell.
This visit had been truly a surprise. In the past, Mengfei had only visited long enough to attend the banquet and give a Dao lecture. But this time, she stayed for over a month and even walked toured the imperial capital streets. The Xi Emperor had an urge to grab Mengfei by her arms and ask, “Who are you, and what have you done with my sister!?”
“Don’t worry, Emperor-Uncle. When we have a chance, we definitely will. I’ll bring Older Cousin Ri next time too.” The Xi Emperor’s gaze turned towards Tianyi. The affection in his eyes deepened. He wasn’t blind, and he could locate the source of Mengfei’s change.
“Definitely, definitely!” The Xi Emperor said. “Take these as well. I heard you aren’t returning to the sect yet, so these should still be helpful.”
Saying so, The Xi Emperor clapped his hands, and rows of servants came forward, each with intricate and thoughtful gifts such as food, clothing, and even recreational books. However, the amount of alcohol took about a third of all the gifts. Tianyi glanced at Daoyi, who showed a happy expression at the drinks. Since the emperor prepared them based on what they used every day, how much did Daoyi drink for him to prepare this much alcohol?
Tianyi had to remind himself that Daoyi only looked under the age of twenty-one, so it wasn’t illegal for her to drink. Besides, there was no law against underage drinking in this world. But as a rule-abiding citizen in his past life, Tianyi always froze for a second when he saw Daoyi drink alcohol.
Speaking of Daoyi drinking alcohol, she always took dainty sips whenever Tianyi saw her drink. It was like a quintessential noblewoman, the perfect posture and manner. But without realizing it, there would be many jugs of empty alcohol piling up. Ninety-nine percent of the alcohol served at the Xi Dynasty went into Daoyi’s stomach. If she weren’t a cultivator, Tianyi would have worried for her liver because she obviously didn’t.
Mengfei accepted the gifts without any fuss. In terms of value, the things she gave the Xi Emperor were more than a million times worth of what she had been gifted, but the emotional value of these gifts far outweighed the monetary value. Tianyi, Daoyi, Mengfei, Su Bojing, and Elder Meng all stepped onto Mengfei’s immortal boat and departed for the Lei Clan.
The Lei Clan was based within the Southern Region; more specifically, they were located in the Earthsea Land. It was a desert, and the center of the region was Paradise Sand City, located in the largest oasis. Due to being situated on several earth veins, the land was filled with earth-type resources.
The Lei Clan was one of the four great clans of Paradise Sand City. They were originally decaying due to their only nascent soul grandmaster nearing the end of his lifespan, but who knew that many of their descendants would suddenly reach Core Formation Realm en masse? Although ten core formation masters could not equal a single nascent soul grandmaster, there was still an advantage if the number was large enough. And there were four peak core formation masters who seemed ready to challenge their Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation.
There were only four Nascent Soul Grandmasters in Paradise Sand City, so if the Lei Clan suddenly produce one or two more on an off chance, the power balance would significantly shift. Not only were there clans eyeing the Lei Clan’s position, but the other three great clans also closely paid attention to them. They did not wish to see the Lei Clan become the ruler of Paradise Sand City.
So during these few years, whether openly or hidden, the various forces had been suppressing the Lei Clan. Of course, there were some clans that chose to ally themselves with the Lei Clan. If the Lei Clan won, their rewards would be plentiful. But most clans chose to be neutral. They didn’t want to gamble on their clans’ future for a moment of prosperity, instead choosing the safe and stable route.
“Sure, enough, the family of the protagonist will rise up with him,” Tianyi muttered.
“Young Master, did you mean when one person ascends to heavens, their pigs and dogs will follow. Are you saying that the Lei Clan’s rise is due to someone?” Su Bojing asked.
Tianyi waved his hand. “You can say that.”
Lei Jingye wasn’t around yet. But with his future memories, he should be able to predict the future of the Earthsea Land, allowing the Lei Clan to gain the upper hand if they used the knowledge well. Not to mention, even if Lei Jingye didn’t have any treasure at the time, his mind should be filled with numerous cultivation techniques. He was still someone who entered the Unity Realm, no matter what methods he used.
Due to Tianyi’s intentions, the group of four arrived in Paradise Sand City quietly. They didn’t directly enter the city without the guard’s awareness. Otherwise, it would only create more trouble than it was worth in the future. The guards were only foundation establishment disciples, but Tianyi could sense three core formation masters hidden within the walls.
The guard’s eyes lit up when they caught Daoyi’s appearance. Although Mengfei’s face was obscured, it only made her beauty more mystifying. One of the guards even began to leak saliva as his eyes glazed over. Tianyi frowned and slightly unleashed the pressure of his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation.
The guards were instantly awakened from their stupor. Sweat dripped down their foreheads, and they bowed respectfully. “Please forgive our earlier insolence. My brothers are just lowly guards. They have never seen such beautiful fairies in their life.”
Tianyi impatiently waved his hands. “Hurry up and let us in.”
“Right, right,” The guards quickly welcome Tianyi’s group in. “This esteemed lord, can you divulge why you would come to our Paradise Sand City?”
Tianyi turned toward the recordkeeper and curled his lips up. “I’m waiting for an old friend.“
That was all he said, and the recordkeeper only nodded his head politely. The Earthsea Land was rich in resources, but water and food were still scarce, so the lives of many people were worth less than many regions less prosperous but with more abundant food. If Tianyi killed them, he would only have to pay some reparation if he wanted to enter the city. That was because he was a nascent soul grandmaster! It wasn’t worth it to offend a nascent soul grandmaster for mere foundation establishment disciples.
The recordkeeper glanced at the people in Tianyi’s group. None of them were simple. All of them were stronger than him, and their disposition was not normal. Compared to the descendants of the four great clans, this group easily exceeded them in aura alone. The recordkeeper quickly reported to the core formation masters on what had just occurred. “No need, we already have the gist of what happened. Hurry and inform the four great clans. I’m afraid that his arrival spells turbulent times.”
Within the Lei Clan, the Lei Clan patriarch and the Lei Clan nascent soul grandmaster were currently discussing the possible effect of Tianyi’s appearance.
“Lei De, what do you think?”
“Waiting for a friend, waiting for a friend. Ancestor, I’m afraid that the friend he speaks of isn’t really a friend, but an enemy.”
“I think so too. It shouldn’t be anyone from our clan. He is a nascent soul grandmaster. All our core formation masters haven’t gone out for the last few years.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be Jing’er, right?”
“Hmpf, that is nascent soul grandmaster. How can a foundation establishment disciple be worthy of him personally taking action? Speaking of Jingye, has he sent any word back yet?”
The Lei Clan nascent soul grandmaster wasn’t paying attention to Lei Jingye because of his potential. Although his potential was there, what he paid more attention to was Lei Jingye’s mysterious master.
Lei De sighed. “I’m afraid Jing’er hasn’t sent any news back since five years ago. I’m worried.”
“We can only hope that Jingye is safe. If he came back, it would greatly aid our clan.”
Lei De nodded in agreement. “But going back to the main topic. Who do you think that nascent soul grandmaster came for?”
“Too hard to tell. It could be core formation master from other clans or even the other great clans.” The Lei Clan nascent soul grandmaster paused. And he furrowed his brows to think. “I heard that the Meng Clan’s nascent soul grandmaster was away for a time. But it’s only a rumor.”
“Haha, if that mysterious nascent soul grandmaster can deal with the Meng Clan, that would be great.” Lei De nodded along with the Lei Clan nascent soul grandmaster.
Back with Tianyi, he had rented a large plot of land. In terms of size and quality, it was only lesser than the four great clans. Tianyi had to stop his mother from setting up a formation. Any casual formation from her would raise a far larger ruckus than the appearance of nascent soul grandmaster. Instead, Tianyi set up the formation.
Tianyi wanted to start his plan right away, but he needed to gather some information before then. Well, not him, but Su Bojing. Su Bojing naturally obeyed Tianyi’s order and left to gather information. With Su Bojing’s cultivation, he could fight all the native nascent soul grandmasters without trouble, and he can just as easily sneak around. At least far better than Tianyi can.
Not long after, Su Bojing returned and reported what he had discovered to Tianyi. It was only recently that three of the four great clans had been suppressing the Lei Clan. Ideally, the Lei Clan wanted to hide their increasing strength until a new nascent soul grandmaster had emerged, but the news leaked due to one of the nascent soul grandmaster candidates’ spoiled grandson blurting it out. Now that particular core formation master’s chances decreased due to most of his resources being allotted to the others due to his grandson’s wrongs.
Tianyi couldn’t help but twitch his lips at just how the Lei Clan’s secret was leaked. Sure enough, wastrels were the sins of the clan.
Although the Lei Clan’s secrets were exposed due to the spoiled grandson, they should be hiding far more than what is on the surface. If the three of the four great clans fought against the Lei Clan, it would be hard to predict who would win. Perhaps, the Lei Clan would even emerge victorious. But there was a higher chance of them reaching a stalemate. And if that happened, how could Lei Jingye return to heroically save his clan?
A spatial pouch appeared in Tianyi’s hand, which he threw towards Su Bojing. Su Bojing took the spatial pouch with a confused expression. “Inside is a million middle-tier spirit stones.”
Su Bojing’s hand almost dropped the pouch due to how much it was trembling. This was a million mid-tier spirit stones! Heavens, how long would he have to save until he saved enough high-tier spirit stones that could equal this amount?
“Y-y-young Master?”
Tianyi pointed waved his hand. “Use this to entice the other great clans to deal with the Lei Clan. Even though spirit stones cannot compare to pure resources, with this amount, even a Unity Realm Venerable’s eyes should turn red. As for how to do it, you’re more skilled at this than me. Remember that the Lei Clan shouldn’t fall too fast. I still want to lure that Lei Jingye here.”
The next thing Su Bojing knew, he was already flying out of the mansion. “Young Master, I’m not skilled in these matters either!” Su Bojing cried out. But having received the order, he could only grit his teeth and carry it out. “Just think of the rewards! Young Master is willing to take out a million mid-tier spirit stones just to deal with that little foundation establishment fellow. Think of how much he will reward me if I do a good job!”
Inside the mansion, Tianyi sighed as he drank a cup of tea. He knew that his actions would cause the innocent Lei Clan members to suffer. But so what? He was only speeding the process up a bit. It truly was an era of clans and descendants sharing glory and death. His eyes frosted over. He felt that his heart had changed ever since he discovered the danger of his position. Before worrying about others, he should take care of himself first.
“Is this the place?” An elderly figure appeared, his nascent soul realm cultivation revealed to the world. He frowned when he sensed another figure, it was the nascent soul grandmaster of one of four great clans. “You too?”
The newly appeared figure nodded. A few days ago, they had suddenly received a message through their spiritual senses from an unknown nascent soul grandmaster telling them to meet up at this location. They immediately suspected the young nascent soul grandmaster who had recently entered the city.
Their attention was directed away when a third figure appeared. Unlike the two of them, the third nascent soul grandmaster appeared relatively young in comparison. This was Meng Nang, the youngest nascent soul grandmaster of the four great clans. But that was only relative, he was still nearly eight hundred years old.
“You’ve all arrived.”
All three of them increased their guard at the unexpected voice. They hadn’t noticed him until he revealed himself. Su Bojing’s figure appeared as he undid his cloaking spell.
“Welcome, grandmasters.” Su Bojing said. He didn’t dilly dally and directly took out fifty thousand mid-tier spirit stones for each of the nascent soul grandmaster present.
Upon receiving the spirit stones, the Nascent Soul Grandmasters from the great clans all felt their hearts shake. But it was still only fifty thousand, it wasn’t like they couldn’t bring out the same amount. “Speak, what do you want.”
“Nothing much. My young master doesn’t want the Lei Clan’s days to be good.” At Su Bojing’s words, they instantly thought of Tianyi. Unbeknownst to them, there was actually a second nascent soul grandmaster that had entered without their knowledge. Instantly, they all pondered on Tianyi’s background.
“This friend, I hope you aren’t asking us to offend the Lei Clan just for this measly amount.”
“We are suppressing the Lei Clan, but we won’t jump at your order just because of that. All things have a process to them.”
“Naturally not.” Su Bojing smiled. “This is just the first.” Saying Su Bojing revealed three hundred and fifty mid-tier spirit stones. “There are more. Just think about it, I’m giving you money for you to do what you already planned to. This also not all that I have left. However, supply is limited. Where the rest of this goes depends on your actions. That’s all that I have to say. If you’re not willing, then you don’t need to come. But for those who are willing, I will be here every six months and distribute the spirit stones according to my liking.”
Su Bojing left after leaving those words. The three nascent soul grandmasters looked at each other. Naturally, they were unwilling to do the bidding of others. But thinking about it from another perspective, those that actually listened would gain an enormous monetary advantage. In the past few years, their income had already decreased for unknown reasons. Their current investigation led to clues of the Lei Clan’s involvement.
Furthermore, they had to wonder what kind of person would have a nascent soul grandmaster as an attendant. Thinking of the report concerning Tianyi, their eyes sharpened. They had glanced at the formation erected and could discern that it was far beyond their abilities. Even if they added the Lei Clan nascent soul grandmaster, they were unsure of whether they would be able to take down the formation. From this perspective, they were incapable of dealing with the newcomers.
The three of them shared a knowing glance before returning to their own clans. The Lei Clan’s nightmarish days were just about to begin.