"Elder Brother!"
Fei Tongxiao bent down, gripping his brother's hands tightly, and said in a heavy voice, "Three hundred years ago, when our Fei family ancestor was killed while away and our house was on the brink of ruin, an heir of the Immortal Mansion fought a great battle that forcibly suppressed the Jiang family, compelling all the clans into seclusion for a hundred years... Over a hundred years ago, when our family suffered a drought of talent, the five families partitioned the Jiangs all the same, giving us respite to breathe..."
"Every single one of these hardships was forged by our ancestors striving relentlessly to lift our clan to the rank of a prominent family! How can we give up so lightly!"
Gritting his teeth, tears welling in his eyes, Fei Tongxiao said in a deep voice, "We have not yet reached the end of the road! We must never give up! Have you forgotten, Brother..."
"Go. Go find the Li family."
Hearing these words, Fei Tongyu finally straightened up and gathered his composure, only to feel a violent shudder rock the earth. Fortunately, as a peak Embryonic Breathing cultivator, his feet rooted firmly to the ground, though his face darkened grimly.
"What is going on?!"
Fei Tongxiao was seized with dread. Just as he was about to speak, the doors of the ancestral hall banged open. A middle-aged cultivator clad in white robes walked inside, his voice grim:
"The Yu family has surrounded Hanyun Peak!"
"What?!"
Fei Tongyu froze, his expression transforming drastically. In a frantic tone, he blurted, "Notify the Li family... No... I'm afraid..."
"It is too late."
The middle-aged man in white had gentle features and a cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. He was Fei Wangbai's only surviving brother, and sorrow still lingered on his face as he whispered, "The Yu clan has sealed Hanyun Peak tight. Not even an insect can fly out!"
Fei Tongyu and Fei Tongxiao exchanged a glance. Fei Tongxiao exhaled deeply, quelling his unease, and said in a resolute tone, "The Yu family's siege of the mountain is a massive commotion. The Li family is bound to notice. Our Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array is a first-rate formation; there is no way the Yu family can breach it anytime soon! As long as the Li family is willing to come to our rescue, we will not be driven to utter ruin."
Fei Tongyu, however, stared fixedly at his younger brother and murmured, "And what if they have no such mind?"
Rumble!
A colossal jade mountain crashed against the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array atop Hanyun Peak, triggering another tremor that shook the ground. Stepping firmly to steady himself, Fei Tongyu took on a manic look, his voice hoarse:
"Yu Mugao is no ordinary man! For him to dare attack our family, he has certainly prepared the means to stall the Li clan, and even Li Tongya himself! I fear it is already too late!"
Tears filled his eyes as he cried in bitter sorrow, "A pack of wolves prowls around the lake! Ever since Grandfather died... our clan's fate was sealed. The board is no longer what it was a hundred or three hundred years ago. Wolves in front and tigers behind—wolves in front and tigers behind!"
────
"It seems Fei Wangbai truly is dead."
Yu Mugao watched the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array, its light undulating over Hanyun Peak. He had waited an entire incense stick of time, yet there was still no sign of Fei Wangbai. Beside him, Yu Xiaogui, the ancestor of the Yu family, wore a complicated expression and murmured, "How could this be?!"
Before Yu Mugao took charge of clan affairs, Yu Xiaogui had clashed with Fei Wangbai for decades. In their contests, neither had held a decisive edge. Yu Xiaogui had always found him an exhausting, intractable opponent, only ever able to keep half a step ahead of him by leaning on the collective strength of his clan.
For such a figure to simply die out of nowhere gave Yu Xiaogui a sense of unreality. Standing with his hands behind his back and gazing down at Hanyun Peak, he lowered his head and said, "Dropped right into our laps like this... it makes one wonder if it's a trap."
"Hah!"
Yu Mugao let out a cold chuckle. He had anticipated this all along, and replied, "Back when Chi Zhiyan came to Lake Wangyue for the conscription, he let something slip. Fei Wangbai stood in the way of a certain genius within the sect, or perhaps a Purple Mansion master! Put simply, his luck ran out. An untimely death was only a matter of time."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogui felt a faint shock, and a pang of grief for a fallen peer welled within his heart. He whispered, "Foundation Establishment requires enduring thousands of hardships and trials—one in ten thousand. Yet in the end, if one cultivates the wrong art or tempers the wrong immortal foundation, one is reduced to blood food and an early grave... Still, Fei Wangbai was cultivating peacefully on the lake; how could he have blocked anyone's path?"
"Who knows?"
Yu Mugao slowly shook his head with a touch of melancholy, replying, "The entanglements of fate and divine abilities cannot be seen clearly until one reaches the Purple Mansion. The sparrow does not possess the vision of a swan. All the clans walk blindly with their eyes bound, being used by others without ever knowing it."
The Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array was an ancient formation sufficient to hold off Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yu Xiaogui and his entourage encircled Hanyun Peak. Gazing at the lustrous white formation beneath their feet, a barrage of spells cascaded downward, detonating violently against the barrier.
"The Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array is indeed a Foundation Establishment-grade formation..."
Yu Mugao praised as he watched the flames and frost formed from the spells of the Yu cultivators dissipate into nothingness upon the array. He remarked, "It is a cut above our market's Yuting Defense Formation back in the day. No wonder the Fei family has managed to reign supreme on the north shore year after year with such an array in hand."
Yu Xiaogui struck the gleaming white barrier with both palms, but the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array did not budge in the slightest. With a cold snort, he flicked his sleeve, sending a small jade mountain flying from his cuff.
"Jade Smoke Mountain!"
This supreme treasure of the Yu clan expanded upon meeting the wind. In the blink of an eye, it grew as tall as a man. Cranes and ancient pines appeared lifelike upon its surface as it slammed down against the Fei family's formation with dull, reverberating thuds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yet the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array merely brightened slightly, its intricate runes shining all the more brilliantly. No matter how the Jade Smoke Mountain battered it, it remained completely unyielding.
"Edict!"
Yu Xiaogui gave a slight nod and formed a hand seal. His Foundation Establishment cultivation surged as his internal immortal foundation circulated alongside it. The Jade Smoke Mountain in the sky instantly began to spin like a top, expanding rapidly until it reached the size of a small hill.
Upon it, the cranes appeared vivid as life, lifting their heads in piercing cries. Sturdy ancient pines stretched out vigorously, and clouds and mist drifted lazily across its contours as though about to spill over.
"Ha!"
Yu Xiaogui's face flushed slightly as the Jade Smoke Mountain plummeted from above, crashing onto the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array of Hanyun Peak. A thunderous roar erupted across the heavens. Within the barrier, the members of the Fei family looked on in terror, while outside, the Yu cultivators broke into cheers.
Rumble...
The Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array finally showed a reaction. Its dense canopy of light flickered briefly, rippling like a disturbed pond, but swiftly settled back into tranquil calm.
"A fine formation."
Yu Xiaogui let out a long breath. The Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array had a formidable reputation, and he had never expected to shatter it by force—it was merely a test of the waters.
Raising his hand gently, the Jade Smoke Mountain deflated, shrinking as it spun several times in midair before returning to the size of a fist, then obediently flew back into his sleeve.
"There is no rush," Yu Mugao murmured. He singled out over a dozen men from among the guest elders and Yu family cultivators and sent them toward the foot of the mountain to cast spells and bind the earth veins. Then he said, "Though the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array is formidable, its consumption of spiritual energy is like a great whale gulping water. We need only disrupt the earth veins and attack in shifts to accelerate their exhaustion. Keep watch here for a while; in less than half a month, the Fei family will be completely drained."
"I only fear that delays breed complications..."
Yu Xiaogui's expression turned somber. He looked down at the busy Yu cultivators below. The northern wind over the lake grew fiercer, driving back the rolling sea of clouds until the vast sky was left without a speck of cloud. In a daze, he raised his head, staring toward a small white speck on the horizon.
Chapter 316