Xu Mikong’s face darkened slightly.
Could Ye Xuan have reached this level through his own cultivation?
Of course, he didn’t believe it!
Someone without resources could never have achieved such heights! Moreover, that small pagoda was so extraordinary, something never seen in the Six Realms before. Why would it appear in Ye Xuan’s possession?
There was more to this than met the eye!
With this thought, Xu Mikong looked at Ye Xuan and smiled faintly. “What are you saying, young friend? Didn’t I just say ‘if’? It was hypothetical. My Xumi Clan has no grudge against you—why would we target you? Our common enemy is the Ancient Clan, isn’t it?”
Ye Xuan smiled. “Senior, what do you think of my earlier proposal? If you’re willing to give five star veins, I can publicly declare that the small pagoda belongs to the Xumi Clan. I could even confront the Ancient Clan directly to testify… All for just five star veins!”
Five star veins!
Xu Mikong fell silent.
Ye Xuan suddenly laughed. “If Senior isn’t willing, I’ll go talk to the Heaven Realm, let them take the moral high ground. And then…”
Xu Mikong abruptly flicked his finger, and a storage ring flew towards Ye Xuan.
Inside the ring were exactly five star veins!
Xu Mikong smiled. “Young friend, the small pagoda is now my Xumi Clan’s!”
Ye Xuan pocketed the ring and nodded. “It’s yours!”
Xu Mikong suddenly smiled. “Young friend, did you come to the Six Realms alone?”
“Of course not…” Ye Xuan began, but he quickly stopped himself and corrected, “I mean, of course I came alone!”
Sometimes, you had to say the opposite for people to believe you!
Ye Xuan often found this world perplexing. Tell the truth, and no one believes you. Tell a lie, and they buy it…
Xu Mikong glanced at Ye Xuan, then smiled. “Young friend, we’ll meet again!”
With that, he turned and vanished.
Ye Xuan looked into the distance, then turned and left as well.
In a certain cloud-shrouded place, Xu Mikong watched Ye Xuan depart, his brows slightly furrowed, lost in thought.
Beside him stood another elder, dressed in a cloud-coloured robe, hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold.
This was Tian Chan, the clan leader of the Heaven Clan!
Tian Chan suddenly spoke. “You just gave him five star veins like that?”
Xu Mikong smiled. “I think it’s quite a bargain!”
Tian Chan shook his head slightly. “I don’t like this fellow!”
Xu Mikong laughed. “Neither do I, but what choice do we have? As he said, we need a justifiable cause! Otherwise, what excuse do we have to wage war on the Ancient Clan?”
Tian Chan was silent for a moment, then said, “Is that small pagoda’s function really so extraordinary?”
Xu Mikong’s expression grew grave. “It should be true! Otherwise, the Ancient Clan wouldn’t act this way!”
Tian Chan said in a low voice, “Then we can’t give them too much time!”
Xu Mikong nodded. “I’m not worried about the Ancient Clan right now, but the Nether Clan and the Divine Clan…”
He glanced aside. “I’m afraid of the praying mantis catching the cicada, only for the oriole to swoop in behind!”
Tian Chan’s brows furrowed.
Xu Mikong continued, “Contact them and see their stance! If we can ally, that’s ideal. If not…”
He sneered. “Then we all wait and watch the Ancient Clan grow stronger!”
Tian Chan nodded. “I’ll go to the Nether Clan. You go to the Divine Clan!”
With that, he turned and left.
Xu Mikong also vanished from the spot.
…
Elsewhere, Ye Xuan paused. He opened his palm, revealing a storage ring. Inside were twenty-seven star veins!
Twenty-seven star veins!
A slight smile curved Ye Xuan’s lips as he pocketed the ring.
He had a great need for star veins. Each cultivation session consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy within the small pagoda wasn’t enough to sustain his practice!
The small pagoda!
At that thought, Ye Xuan suddenly remembered—the pagoda had been stolen!
The small pagoda: “…”
Ye Xuan wasn’t worried. No matter whose hands the pagoda fell into, they wouldn’t mistreat it!
Of course, he wouldn’t truly abandon the pagoda either!
Ye Xuan glanced around, then turned and vanished from the spot.
…
About a day later, the clan leaders of the Nether Clan, Divine Clan, Xumi Clan, and Heaven Clan suddenly gathered in the Ancient Realm.
**Ancient Realm**
The Ancient Clan leader, Gu Ming, appeared in the skies above the Ancient Realm. He glanced at Tian Chan and the others, then smiled. “Fellow clan leaders, what brings you to my Ancient Realm today?”
Xu Mikong, leading the group, smiled. “Clan Leader Gu Ming, I’ll be straightforward. We’re here to ask you to return something!”
Gu Ming’s eyes narrowed. “Return?”
Xu Mikong nodded. “Indeed! To be frank, Ye Xuan is one of our Xumi Clan. That small pagoda is also ours. I don’t know how he offended you, Clan Leader Gu Ming, for you to seize his pagoda… In any case, please return it!”
“Haha!”
Gu Ming burst into laughter. “Xu Mikong, don’t you think this excuse is laughable?”
Xu Mikong smiled. “It seems Clan Leader Gu Ming doesn’t believe me!”
Gu Ming’s eyes narrowed. “Believe? Xu Mikong, do you take me for a fool?”
Xu Mikong said calmly, “Since Clan Leader Gu Ming refuses to return it, we have no choice but to offend!”
Gu Ming sneered. “Xu Mikong, when did you become so hypocritical? If you want to steal the pagoda, just do it. No need for such grandiose excuses. Shameless!”
Xu Mikong said calmly, “Everyone, let’s act!”
As his voice fell—
*Boom!*
Dozens of powerful auras suddenly appeared in the skies above the Ancient Realm, all Realm-Breaking powerhouses!
In addition, there were hundreds of Manifestation Realm experts!
Clearly, the four clans had sent their elite forces!
Gu Ming’s expression remained calm. “Xu Mikong, are you truly going to do this?”
Xu Mikong said calmly, “Gu Ming, if you’re willing to hand over the pagoda, we’ll leave immediately!”
Gu Ming laughed. “There’s only one pagoda, but there are four of you. Who should I give it to?”
Xu Mikong sneered. “What, trying to play crude divide-and-conquer tactics in front of us?”
Gu Ming laughed. “Xu Mikong, I’ll ask you one last time—are you truly going to be this shameless?”
Xu Mikong’s eyes narrowed, a trace of unease rising in his heart.
Something wasn’t right!
With the elite forces of four clans gathered, why was the Ancient Clan so calm?
This was abnormal!
At that moment, his face changed dramatically. The Nether Clan leader and Divine Clan leader beside him suddenly vanished from their spots.
Xu Mikong spun around, slamming his palm downward.
*Boom!*
The strike sent him plummeting into an unknown, mysterious spacetime abyss. As he entered, a black fist imprint suddenly shot through the void, aiming straight for his head!
A glint of ferocity flashed in Xu Mikong’s eyes. He raised his right hand and struck downward.
*Boom!*
The strike caused the entire spacetime abyss to boil, then collapse, turning into a pitch-black spacetime vortex!
Xu Mikong’s face was grim. The one attacking him was none other than the Nether Clan leader, Nan Si!
Meanwhile, the Heaven Clan leader was simultaneously restrained by the Divine Clan leader, Ku Qian.
Betrayal!
Xu Mikong’s expression was utterly grim.
At that moment, Gu Ming in the distance sneered. “Xu Mikong, did you really think my Ancient Clan would be foolish enough to try to monopolise the pagoda?”
Gu Ming knew full well that the pagoda’s allure was too great. The other five clans would never give up or let the Ancient Clan grow stronger unchecked!
Thus, the Ancient Clan had to find allies!
He had chosen the strongest of the other four clans: the Nether Clan and the Divine Clan!
Xu Mikong looked at the Nether Clan leader, Nan Si. “Nan Si!”
Nan Si said calmly, “You have your choices, and my Nether Clan has ours!”
Xu Mikong suddenly laughed. “Good! Very good! Haha…”
Gu Ming said calmly, “Kill!”
As his voice fell, countless Ancient Clan powerhouses soared into the sky from within the Ancient Realm, charging towards the Xumi Clan and other forces!
Meanwhile, the Divine Clan and Nether Clan powerhouses also rushed towards the Xumi Clan and Heaven Clan forces!
Seeing this, a ferocious glint flashed in Xu Mikong’s eyes. “Retreat! Back to our realm!”
Back to the realm!
Though the Heaven Clan and Xumi Clan had many powerhouses, they couldn’t possibly defeat the combined forces of the Ancient Clan and the other two clans!
Returning to the Xumi Realm, they still had a chance to fight, thanks to the grand array there!
At Xu Mikong’s command, the Xumi Clan powerhouses turned and fled. For Realm-Breaking powerhouses, escaping wasn’t difficult. At their level, unless they insisted on fighting, it would take at least three Realm-Breaking powerhouses to hold one down! But the Manifestation Realm experts weren’t so fortunate!
As the Xumi Clan and Heaven Clan’s Manifestation Realm experts retreated, the Ancient Clan and the other two clans directly attacked them!
Slaughter!
Without Realm-Breaking powerhouses to hold the line, the Manifestation Realm experts of the two clans were butchered!
In less than a moment, all the Manifestation Realm experts of both clans were slain!
However, the Realm-Breaking powerhouses of the Xumi Clan and Heaven Clan all managed to escape.
In the battlefield, Gu Ming’s face was somewhat grim.
He noticed that the Nether Clan and Divine Clan hadn’t truly gone all out against the Heaven Clan and Xumi Clan. Otherwise, they could have kept some of the Realm-Breaking powerhouses!
Clearly, the Nether Clan and Divine Clan were wary of the Ancient Clan!
At that moment, the Nether Clan leader, Nan Si, suddenly looked at Gu Ming. “Show us the pagoda!”
Show us the pagoda!
The Divine Clan leader, Ku Qian, also turned to Gu Ming!
The atmosphere in the battlefield grew tense once more!
The small pagoda!
All three clans wanted it for themselves, especially the Ancient Clan, who currently held it. How could they bear to hand it over?
After a moment of silence, Gu Ming laughed. “Fellow clan leaders, let’s enter the pagoda!”
With that, he led Nan Si and Ku Qian into the pagoda. As soon as they entered, their expressions changed!
They discovered that the flow of time inside the pagoda was truly different from the outside!
Cultivating in here—wouldn’t that be defying the heavens?
No, even “defying the heavens” wasn’t enough to describe the pagoda’s terror!
Ku Qian and Nan Si exchanged a glance, both showing deep shock in their eyes.
At that moment, Nan Si suddenly asked, “Does this pagoda have a spirit?”
Gu Ming nodded.
Nan Si glanced around, then said, “Small pagoda, who created you?”
After a moment of silence, the pagoda’s voice echoed in the space. “My sister… Her name is Tian Ming. She’s a forger, only good at crafting treasures, not fighting. Her strength is pitifully weak… She has many other treasures. Would you like to meet her?”
