"Two seniors, please try your best to buy us some time," Xu Mingwei pleaded.
Evacuating so many people was no easy task.
Hearing this, Mo Wentian suddenly chuckled, "Does the Nine Nether Demon Lord truly believe that the Ancestor of Profound Moon won't stand up for the Xu family?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"The Xu family's network is far from ordinary," Mo Wentian declared. "The number one prodigy of the previous generation in Heavenly South, Fairy Phoenix Plume, hails from the Xu family, and she joined the Heavenly Foundry Sect.
She is the beloved disciple of Scarlet Dragon Child and Zhen Yangzi.
Perhaps you Demon Lords feel that Daoist Friend Scarlet Dragon Child's prestige is not enough, but what about Daoist Friend Zhen Yangzi?
He is an artifact refinement grandmaster ranked in the top three of the entire Heavenly South.
Do you think he lacks connections with a few Grand Cultivators?
Scarlet Dragon Child was straightforward and disliked beating around the bush, but Mo Wentian was different, naturally excelling at analyzing pros and cons.
Hearing this, the three of them calmed down slightly.
They had no need to worry about a single mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, the influence of an artifact refinement grandmaster was not something to be underestimated.
It would be child's play for him to invite several mid-stage Nascent Soul experts and a couple of Grand Cultivators to stir up trouble in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
A top-tier magic treasure perfectly suited to them was undoubtedly far more important.
"The number one prodigy of Heavenly South comes from the Xu family?"
"Of course, not from this Dongxi Xu Clan, but from their main branch, the Yunxi Xu Clan."
Mo Wentian continued, "The Yunxi Xu Clan is the leading authority of our Azure Dragon Prefecture. With a single command, all the forces within the Azure Dragon Prefecture will follow without question."
"And what does this have to do with the Ancestor of Profound Moon?" the Suanni Demon Lord demanded.
"A member of the Xu family caught the eye of the Ancestor of Profound Moon and was taken in as a personal disciple. He had not accepted a disciple for hundreds of years, which shows how much he favors this child.
If he also dies here, I wonder if your Hundred Thousand Mountains could withstand the fury of the Ancestor of Profound Moon."
The three Demon Lords, Nine Nether, Suanni, and Zhuyan, exchanged glances.
They finally realized just how thorny the Xu family was.
They did not know the Xu family's exact situation in Heavenly South, but there was no doubt they were a Nascent Soul power, and one that governed an entire prefecture at that.
Furthermore, they had extremely close ties with the number one artifact forging sect, the Heavenly Foundry Sect, and the newly ascended hegemonic power, the Profound Moon Sect.
Scarlet Dragon Child could also see that Mo Wentian was using external influence to pressure them.
His methods were significantly more brilliant than his own.
Merely parading the Ancestor of Profound Moon's name as a tiger skin would not have much effect.
However, since a Xu family member was his personal disciple, if that person accidentally died by their hands, they would inevitably have to endure the wrath of the Profound Moon Sect.
"Exactly. Our Ling'er possesses incredibly outstanding innate talent. She is the legacy inheritor of both me and my senior brother, representing the future hope of our Heavenly Foundry Sect.
If she dies, our Heavenly Foundry Sect and your Hundred Thousand Mountains will be locked in a blood feud!"
Scarlet Dragon Child similarly began to apply pressure.
They certainly were not going to mention that Xu Deling and Xu Mingxian had already entered the Ancient Battlefield and were not currently here.
"Why do you care so much about a mere branch of the Xu family? At worst, we simply won't touch anyone above the Golden Core stage," the Suanni Demon Lord offered.
Hearing this, rage surged in Xu Mingwei's heart.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh without him even realizing it.
Right to his face, they were talking about slaughtering everyone in the Xu family beneath the Golden Core stage.
How was this any different from wiping out the Xu family entirely?!
Others might not know, but how could he not know the truth about the so-called Dongxi branch?
The Dongxi Xu Clan was the main lineage of his Xu family; these clansmen were the very foundation of the Xu family.
"Demon Lord, do you think the human race is just like your demon race? Their children, relatives, and friends are all here. How can bloodline connections be abandoned so easily?
Would you be willing if a human severed the foundation of your clan?"
Mo Wentian said, "Besides, your Hundred Thousand Mountains has already cleared out most of the factions in the Land of Imprisonment. The Dongxi Xu Clan cannot be compared to ordinary powers.
Letting them off the hook in exchange for peace of mind in the future, what is wrong with that?
If you feel you cannot control the Xu family, at worst, once this expedition to the Ancient Battlefield ends, you can just have their entire clan leave."
The eyes of the Zhuyan and Suanni Demon Lords lit up, feeling that this might actually be a viable solution.
If the Xu family stayed here, they would indeed be difficult to manage. As long as the Xu family was gone, the Land of Imprisonment would return to normal, completely treated as their private captive breeding ground.
After a long moment.
The Zhuyan Demon Lord suddenly spoke, "What you say isn't entirely without reason, but if we do this, where does that leave the face of our Hundred Thousand Mountains?
Moreover, far too many Tier 3 demonic beasts have died at the hands of the Dongxi Xu Clan.
This is also a massive loss for our Hundred Thousand Mountains!"
Hearing this, Mo Wentian felt his heart relax slightly.
Scarlet Dragon Child's expression also softened a bit.
But immediately after, Zhuyan's next words made their faces grim once more.
"Someone in the Xu family must take responsibility for this. We won't touch the disciples of the Heavenly Foundry Sect and the Profound Moon Sect, but as for the remaining Golden Core cultivators, you must hand over at least three for us to deal with!"
Golden Core cultivators were the core heritage of a Nascent Soul power; no family would ever hand them over for nothing.
Scarlet Dragon Child retorted, "Zhuyan Demon Lord, you are being somewhat unreasonable now. It was a joint decision by multiple parties that the various factions in the Land of Imprisonment would fight it out, and life and death would be left to fate.
By your logic, shouldn't I, as a Grand Elder, also demand justice from you for the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment disciples of the Heavenly Foundry Sect who died to demonic beasts?"
The Zhuyan Demon Lord furrowed his brow.
He felt like they had just gone in a circle and were right back where they started.
"So you are saying the Dongxi Xu Clan shouldn't have to pay any price?"
"I believe the Xu Clan would be much more willing to offer resources or spirit veins as compensation," Scarlet Dragon Child suggested. "Wait until the person in charge of the Xu family returns from the Ancient Battlefield.
You gentlemen can negotiate with them then.
That way, we won't damage our amicable relations.
After all, during this slaughter, it isn't just your Hundred Thousand Mountains that suffered heavy losses; many factions from the Blackwater Region and our Southern Heaven Region also lost many people."
Zhuyan fell silent, mulling it over.
Meanwhile, deep underground beneath Dongxi.
Batch after batch of people were being teleported in an orderly fashion toward the Azure Sea Forest.
Xu Dezhao was among the first batch to be teleported, taking charge of settling the evacuees upon their arrival.
A few minutes later.
"We were almost completely fooled by you."
The Nine Nether Sparrow's untimely voice abruptly rang out.
"What is it, Nine Nether?" Suanni turned to look at him.
He saw the Nine Nether Sparrow looking as if he had just discovered a glaring flaw, his dark pupils brimming with anger.
"Fooled?" Zhuyan asked.
"What they said might be true, but they definitely haven't told us the whole story. If those two were truly that exceptional, they absolutely wouldn't be in this tiny Dongxi right now.
They would be in the Ancient Battlefield.
As long as those two special Golden Core figures don't die, the rest are just ordinary Xu clansmen. Even if we killed them all, what of it?
When that Xu Chuan comes out of the Ancient Battlefield, what could he possibly do?
In the end, this is just a branch family formed by descendants of a bloodline.
As for Zhen Yangzi and the Ancestor of Profound Moon, how could they possibly disregard the big picture and forge a blood feud with our Hundred Thousand Mountains just for the sake of their disciples' clansmen!"
'Damn it!'
Hearing this, the hearts of Scarlet Dragon Child, Mo Wentian, and Xu Mingwei all skipped a beat.
Fury ignited in the eyes of Suanni and Zhuyan as well.
"You are courting death!"
The Zhuyan Demon Lord had the most violent temper, and his rage was instantly ignited.
Without another word, his figure blurred, leaving only an afterimage in his place.
His true body transformed into a crimson lightning bolt that tore through the air, carrying terrifying, mountain-shattering brute strength and blazing demonic flames as he lunged straight at the closest person, Scarlet Dragon Child!
Before the fist even arrived, the berserk wind pressure from the punch had already generated a series of explosive booms.
The battle erupted with no further room for negotiation!
Scarlet Dragon Child's pupils contracted sharply. He sighed inwardly, acutely aware that there was no turning back now.
He abruptly opened his mouth, and a pigeon egg-sized, entirely crimson treasure orb shot out.
Within it, a dragon-shaped phantom could be seen swimming.
This was precisely one of the natal magic treasures Scarlet Dragon Child had nurtured for many years, the Scarlet Dragon Treasure Orb!
The one thing the Heavenly Foundry Sect lacked the least was magic treasures.
Someone like Scarlet Dragon Child, holding the position of Grand Elder, possessed at least two natal magic treasures.
One for offense and one for defense, and both were definitely of the top-tier level.
The treasure orb radiated brilliant light, instantly transforming into a solid, heavy, enormous light screen swirling with crimson-gold dragon patterns.
Like a solid sphere, it protected Scarlet Dragon Child, Mo Wentian, and Xu Mingwei inside.
"Bang!"
Zhuyan's heavy punch, capable of collapsing mountain peaks, smashed solidly against the crimson light screen!
Amidst the deafening boom, layers of ripples cascaded across the light screen.
The next moment.
The crimson-gold dragon patterns seemed to come alive, slithering across the barrier.
They rapidly dissipated the kinetic force, and the ripples smoothed out in an instant.
Clearly, this was no ordinary defensive magic treasure.
Beyond its sheer defensive might, it possessed a force-deflecting effect, allowing it to defend against even stronger attacks and making the defensive light screen last significantly longer.
Zhuyan's pupils shrank.
"As expected of the Heavenly Foundry Sect. Let me see just how many of my bombardments this magic treasure of yours can endure!"
Zhuyan unleashed punch after punch, raining down upon the crimson light screen like a violent tempest.
Seeing this.
The Suanni Demon Lord also made his move.
A massive claw covered in dark gold scales swiped down from the sky.
The tips of the claws were wreathed in space-tearing azure lightning power as they ruthlessly pressed against the other side of the crimson light screen!
"Crack! Crack!"
Sustaining this double application of immense force, the light screen fluctuated violently, the ripples on its surface nearly merging into a continuous wave.
Even so, it showed no signs of being broken.
Even a Grand Cultivator exerting their full power could not easily breach a top-tier defensive magic treasure.
What's more, the baseline quality of this Scarlet Dragon Treasure Orb was at the level of an eight-pattern top-tier magic treasure.
It had been one of the congratulatory gifts Zhen Yangzi gave to Scarlet Dragon Child when he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Having been nurtured for hundreds of years to perfectly harmonize with Scarlet Dragon Child's attributes, how could it be broken so easily?
On the other side.
The Nine Nether Sparrow Demon Lord cast a frigid gaze toward the crimson light screen.
Immediately after, he locked onto Dongxi, which was protected by an array in the near distance.
His figure flickered, turning into a shadow as he arrived directly above Dongxi.
Raising a hand, he gently pressed down on the empty space below.
"Whoosh!"
An endless, freezing black wind materialized out of thin air.
It instantly coalesced into a gigantic, pitch-black palm that blotted out the sky and the sun.
With distinct palm prints and carrying a terrifying aura capable of freezing all matter and annihilating all vitality, it slowly pressed down toward the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array.
"Boom!"
The Tier 3 high-grade Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array was like paper before the wrathful strike of a Tier 4 Demon Lord.
The instant the black wind palm made contact with the array's barrier, a continuous series of bursting sounds echoed from the light screen.
The array patterns shattered inch by inch, and the spiritual light rapidly extinguished.
Holding out for only a single breath, the array completely collapsed, turning into countless specks of light that scattered across the sky!
Dongxi was no longer shielded.
It was completely exposed to the open air.
It appeared to be a quiet, peaceful, and prosperous village.
On the mountain, several peaks twinkled with faint, intermittent glows.
At this moment.
Not a single figure could be seen within Dongxi.
Everyone had retreated underground beneath the Xu Family Manor.
Witnessing this scene.
Mo Wentian knew he could not just stand by and watch any longer.
Although he knew he was no match, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step up.
His figure flashed, appearing at the flank of the Nine Nether Sparrow.
A flying sword materialized in his hand, and before him hovered a high-grade defensive magic treasure engraved with ancient tortoiseshell patterns, the Black Tortoise Shield.
With a swing of his sword, a thirty-meter-long azure sword beam slashed toward the Nine Nether Sparrow.
The Nine Nether Sparrow's attention was instantly drawn to Mo Wentian.
His figure flickered, leaving only an afterimage in its place to be cleanly cleaved by the sword beam.
His true body drifted like a phantom, circling to the rear and coalescing into the talons of a Nine Nether Sparrow as he swiped at Mo Wentian's back.
A layer of yellow light flared to life, blocking the strike.
However, Mo Wentian was still sent flying backward by the sheer kinetic force, skidding for nearly a hundred meters before coming to a halt.
'Such incredible speed!'
Mo Wentian was struck with immense shock; perhaps even the speed of a Grand Cultivator was no more than this?!
He continued to channel several streams of Sword Qi to attack.
Yet all of them were effortlessly evaded by the Nine Nether Sparrow's inconceivable footwork.
With every wave of his hand, the Nine Nether Sparrow swept up bone-corroding, sinister winds that were incomparably fierce and malicious.
If one's body were scraped by it, the sensation would absolutely be agonizing.
In their clash, Mo Wentian attacked rarely and defended constantly. He was in an extremely passive state, feeling that lasting for fifteen minutes would be his absolute limit.
His defeat was merely a matter of time.
Just as Mo Wentian was struggling to cope and sighing internally in despair...
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Three arrows arranged in a triangular formation, trailing multi-colored spiritual light, abruptly shot out from within the crimson light screen like meteors chasing the moon.
Their angles were exceptionally tricky, their timing exquisitely precise.
They flew straight for the Nine Nether Sparrow Demon Lord's arm and shoulder blades, which had been left slightly exposed due to his attack on Mo Wentian!
This was exactly the handiwork of Xu Mingwei!
Caught off guard for a split second, the Nine Nether Sparrow Demon Lord failed to dodge.
Fortunately, with a single thought, black feathers overlaid his body, blocking the incoming arrows.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The three arrows struck almost simultaneously!
They burst into thousands of blinding sparks but were immediately deflected by brute force, leaving only slight scorch marks on the feathers.
The Nine Nether Sparrow lowered his head to look at the faintly charred feathers on his arm, feeling the throbbing waves of piercing pain emanating from those spots.
"You are somewhat special, aren't you!"
The Nine Nether Sparrow's pupils constricted slightly. "An early-stage Golden Core, yet possessing an attack comparable to a cultivator with Great Accomplishment in Divine Abilities. The magic treasure is not of a high grade, yet its power rivals the strikes of a high-grade magic treasure."
'Another peerless prodigy!'
Mo Wentian's heart trembled.
Xu Chuan had been exactly like this in the past; he immediately stood out as soon as he reached the Golden Core stage.
Just a few years later, he was able to exchange blows with True Lord Canglang, who had Great Accomplishment in Divine Abilities.
Afterward, his growth speed showed absolutely no signs of stopping.
"Nine Nether Demon Lord, your opponent is me. To fixate on a Golden Core junior, aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by others!"
The Nine Nether Sparrow Demon Lord ignored Mo Wentian and attempted to attack the crimson light screen instead.
A thirty-meter blade manifestation entirely condensed from the Nine Nether Black Wind ripped through the sky, viciously slashing against the crimson light screen!
"Boom!"
The light screen shuddered once more, ripples spreading out wildly.
But the light screen remained ultimately steadfast.
'As expected, it cannot be broken easily!'
Mo Wentian was also faintly infuriated and launched a counter-offensive against the Nine Nether Sparrow.
Xu Mingwei, meanwhile, shot out a few arrows from time to time, every single one aimed at his vulnerable points, such as the heart, the face, the groin, and the like.
Even the Nine Nether Sparrow didn't dare to be careless.
Xu Mingwei occasionally disrupted his attacking rhythm, causing Mo Wentian's pressure to decrease sharply. Mo Wentian even seized a few opportunities to force the Nine Nether Sparrow Demon Lord to eat several of his sword beams.
Several new wounds appeared on his body.
In the blink of an eye, his hatred for Xu Mingwei surpassed his anger toward Mo Wentian.
However, since Xu Mingwei was inside the crimson light screen, there was nothing he could do to him in the short term!