Infighting Among the Eight Generals?

The moment those words fell, Li Guanqi's heart tightened. He had not expected the leader of Sha to possess such terrifying strength! He was not the only one; everyone else present, knowing full well how powerful Youming was, blanched as well. Suddenly!! The void trembled, and Gu Changsheng raised a hand to open the domain. Two furious figures appeared in the hall one after the other. One was Xiang Huaizhi, engulfed in blazing crimson flames. The other was Nangong Xuandu, the Green Mountain swordsman, with a wine gourd hanging at his waist and a sword strapped across his back. Both men wore grim expressions, having learned what had transpired at the Gu clan... This time, the consequences were severe! Xiang Huaizhi glared at Youming and barked, "Useless trash! How could you let so many of them get away?!" Youming straightened up, an unnatural look on his face as he said, "You can't blame that on me..." Before he could finish, Nangong Xuandu cut him off with a chilling glare. "It seems the Eight Generals ought to strike your name from the ranks. You've botched one assignment after another!" The corner of Youming's mouth twitched. Seeing the two of them fuming with rage, he knew better than to provoke them right now. Averting his gaze with a touch of sheepishness, he lowered his head to sip his tea. Yet the moment he lifted the cup, Nangong Xuandu brushed past him and shattered the teacup with a single glance! The splattering spiritual tea was instantly incinerated by a burst of flame. Xiang Huaizhi snapped, "You still have the nerve to drink tea?" Youming opened his mouth, but swallowed his words. Submissive and timid, he sat in his chair sandwiched between the two of them, looking like a man seated on a bed of needles... Gu Lie had also been invited into the grand hall. Feeling the two men suppress Youming purely through their auras, he was shaken to his core!! Blood Venerable Youming—everyone present knew just how formidable he was. Yet these two newly arrived men suffocated him with their auras alone. By now, the newcomers had gathered the gist of what had happened, and after brief inquiries, the full picture became clear. Xiang Huaizhi narrowed his eyes, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and turned toward Youming, who had sat up straight beside him. "How did you suddenly end up here?" Youming's expression sharpened. Turning to Xiang Huaizhi, he asked with a faint smile, "Huaizhi, what are you implying?" The corner of Xiang Huaizhi's mouth curled slightly. He met Youming's gaze, smiling without a word as scorching crimson flames drifted through the air around him. Youming scoffed. "If I told you I only came because I received word from Yu Shan, would you believe me?" Xiang Huaizhi frowned. What Youming said might be true, but it could just as easily be a lie!! Yu Shan was the most enigmatic figure among the Eight Generals; even Xiang Huaizhi did not know where he was or who he truly was! Even Nangong Xuandu's brow furrowed upon hearing this. Because they could not track down Yu Shan, there was no way to verify Youming's claim! Yet he had indeed arrived at the Gu clan just in time to thwart the Lu clan's plan to abduct Ye Feng and the others. Not only that, he had obliterated Yu Chang'an, the ancestor of the Yu clan, and fought against the leader of the Sha organization in the end. On the surface, all of it seemed completely 'reasonable'! Youming's expression gradually darkened, and his earlier meekness and timidity evaporated. He reached for another teacup, intending to drink. A burst of flame erupted, only to be deflected by an array of glowing inscriptions. Clang! Bang! Bang!! Xiang Huaizhi snorted coldly, and a torrent of fire surged forth as if to swallow Youming whole!!! The onlookers held their breath. When tempers flared to the point of violence over a single disagreement, none of them had the power to intervene. Gu Changsheng opened his mouth to speak, but the suffocating pressure choked the words back down his throat. Youming stubbornly lifted the teacup beside him, his deep eyes fixed on Xiang Huaizhi as he downed the spiritual tea right before his face. Crack!!! He crushed the teacup in his hand, and crimson flames instantly enveloped the space around him!! The flames incinerated the void, carving out a patch of pitch-black nothingness in the center of the hall. The lingering fire prevented space from mending for a long time. Even Gu Changsheng's forehead was beaded with cold sweat, leaving him utterly at a loss before the unfolding scene. Gu Li swallowed hard. "These two seniors aren't going to tear our house apart fighting, are they?" Li Guanqi glanced at them, in no mood to speak. Youming tilted his head toward Xiang Huaizhi and murmured, "If you already have someone in mind to replace me among the Eight Generals, I can step down. "Being suspected once was bad enough. Having it happen twice pisses me off. "This time it's you. Last time, when the Abyss Demon went berserk, Chankongzi sent me a message asking what I was up to. "If I'm not mistaken... you've all been suspecting that I have ties to Sha." Xiang Huaizhi narrowed his eyes and remained silent. Nangong Xuandu reached back toward the hilt of his sword, watching Youming without a word. Youming scoffed and continued on his own. "If memory serves, Hong Zhi had clashed with the leader of Sha that day. "Right then, Chankongzi immediately asked where I was. He was clearly suspecting me..." A suffocating tension hung over the hall. Youming rose, his gaze sweeping over Xiang Huaizhi and Nangong Xuandu. Suddenly, he bared his white teeth in a wide grin. "You two don't actually think I'm afraid of you, do you? "Hmm?" Nangong Xuandu slowly stood, unbuckled the sword from his back, and sneered. "You're welcome to try." Youming burst into loud laughter. Clutching his chest, he feigned terror and gave Nangong Xuandu a sideways glance. "Ah! I'm so terrified..." "The Green Mountain Sword Immortal, Master Nangong~" "Hahahahahaha!!!!" Youming raised his hand and traced an eerie array talisman in the air, sneering. "I know why you suspect me. Isn't it just because I was the one who drew the Abyss Demon seal in the Purgatory Abyss back then? "And that dharma artifact that broke the Purgatory Abyss seal—I can draw the inscriptions on it too." The moment those words were spoken, Xiang Huaizhi and Nangong Xuandu both shot to their feet!! The atmosphere instantly turned volatile, swords drawn and bows bent. Youming smiled nonchalantly. "You think you're the only clever ones, and everyone else is an idiot? "If there were real proof that I was behind all this, do you think I, Youming, would still be drawing breath today?" Nangong Xuandu pondered in silence for a moment, then took a deep breath, placed a hand on Xiang Huaizhi's shoulder, and said softly, "Enough. Let the matter rest here. When we return, the Boss will naturally investigate." Xiang Huaizhi drew back the Chiyang flames and said coldly, "Youming, you'd better have had nothing to do with it." Youming pulled down an eyelid and stuck out his tongue in a mocking face, grinning cheekily. "I'm used to getting beaten, so it doesn't matter to me. But the two of you... this might be your first time, right? "Hahahahaha! Brace yourselves—Long Hou's whip stings like hell." Youming felt thoroughly vindicated; after all, if he had to take a beating, neither of them would escape unscathed either. Hearing this, Xiang Huaizhi, who had just sat down, made to leap up again, but Nangong Xuandu pressed him firmly down. Meng Jiangchu spoke in a low voice. "What we can confirm now is that two Ancient Clans, the Lu and Zhu clans, have allied themselves with the Sha organization. "I can somewhat understand the Lu clan's motives, but I cannot fathom why the Zhu clan would entangle themselves with Sha. "Moreover... Sha also abducted twenty-eight alchemists from the Gu clan this time. Why would they do that?" From the side, Li Guanqi said in a grim tone, "And Tang Ru... was taken by them as well."