True Lord Tianyang's usually strong and confident face was etched with deep exhaustion.
"The battle ahead is urgent. I can't just withdraw whenever I please. I've rushed here as fast as I possibly could."
True Lord Baidan no longer dwelled on the matter and quickly said, "Senior Brother, the news you received on the front lines should be more accurate. Those rumors should just be rumors, right?
After all, even if that brat really formed his Nascent Soul and returned, his strength would at most be comparable to Wang Xuance. How could he possess the power of a Great Cultivator?
It must be those people spreading rumors and exaggerating his strength!"
After speaking, True Lord Baidan anxiously watched True Lord Tianyang, desperately hoping to hear the answer he wanted from his lips.
However, True Lord Tianyang let out a deep sigh. "I also thought it was just rumors, but not long ago, I witnessed a Great Cultivator, who is suspected to be from another cultivation world, make a move.
This person shattered the physical body of Old Monster Xie from Biyou Palace in just a few moves. Only his Nascent Soul managed to escape. This shows how strong he is, even more so than an ordinary Great Cultivator.
But during the battle at Huangdang Mountain, Ning Fa fought this person alone for a long time and returned safely.
This undoubtedly proves that his strength has indeed reached the Great Cultivator realm, just as others have said."
After True Lord Tianyang finished speaking, True Lord Baidan's originally ruddy face instantly turned pale, and his body even swayed.
"How is this possible, how is this possible..." he muttered, his eyes wide.
But he quickly took a deep breath and immediately said urgently, "Senior Brother, do you know the situation of fellow Daoists Pei and Yu Chan, and the other Great Cultivators? Why can't we contact them? Could it be that..."
At this point, Baidan didn't continue, but panic flickered in his eyes.
True Lord Tianyang's face was also grim as he slowly said, "As far as I know, the Great Cultivators of our Cangyuan realm do have other important matters to attend to, so it's not strange that we can't contact them for now. Junior Brother, you don't need to worry too much."
Although Tianyang said this, his eyes were full of worry. His concern was the same as Baidan's: "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hounds are cooked."
Over the years, ever since Pei Nanshu and True Lord Yu Chan successively advanced to Great Cultivator, their influence in Cangyuan had greatly increased. Furthermore, these two had shown clear hostility towards the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family.
Pei Nanshu, in particular, was very overt about it.
Previously, True Lord Baidan, because his grandson Chu Kai died at the hands of Ji Minxiong of the Huayu Sect, and although Ji Minxiong was also dead, True Lord Baidan did not let the matter go.
Especially when he went to cause trouble for the Huayu Sect, he was blocked by Ning Fa, who was only at the Core Formation stage at the time, and was forced to retreat, losing face.
This further fueled his resentment towards the Huayu Sect, and he proceeded to cause trouble for them at every turn.
Because of this, the newly advanced Great Cultivator Pei Nanshu began to favor True Lord Baidan and the entire Tianyang Sect, providing them with significant assistance.
True Lord Tianyang also changed his mind as a result.
Originally, with True Lord Cang Lei's return to the Huayu Sect and his potential, Tianyang was unwilling to incur too much enmity with him.
But facing the almost explicit intentions of Pei Nanshu, Tianyang easily made his choice and began to openly target the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family.
With his personality, he would do things thoroughly.
Although in the current situation, he dared not openly attack the disciples of the Huayu Sect, he colluded with the Giant Cauldron Gate, Flying Star Sect, and other sects, secretly encouraging their disciples to bully the Huayu Sect disciples.
At the same time, he contacted many merchant guilds and marketplaces, half enticing and half threatening them, to make it difficult for them to sell resources to the Huayu Sect. This made it extremely difficult for the Huayu Sect to obtain spiritual materials and resources.
Later, the Huayu Sect even had to rely on the support of friendly sects like the Tianyin Pavilion and Golden Rainbow Sect to barely survive.
It could be said that although many sect and family powers sought trouble with the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family to show their loyalty to Pei Nanshu and Yu Chan, the Tianyang Sect was definitely the vanguard.
As a result, the Tianyang Sect received generous rewards.
For example, without fully meeting the requirements for military merits, they were relocated to the core area of the South Heng Mountain Range.
Furthermore, Tianyang personally received some precious cultivation resources and even cultivation insights as rewards from Pei Nanshu, which greatly boosted his strength, allowing him to enter the Profound Ranking.
However, the current situation was indeed like the old saying—unforeseen circumstances.
Who could have imagined that Ning Fa, a person who was long thought to have perished decades ago, not only survived but also returned with a Nascent Soul, and his strength had soared to an unbelievable level?
A Nascent Soul early stage cultivator possessing strength comparable to a Great Cultivator, what kind of concept was that? Tianyang's scalp tingled just thinking about it.
This undoubtedly indicated that as long as Ning Fa grew smoothly, he would eventually become the number one person in Cangyuan, and this time would not be too long.
Putting aside other factors, the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion would definitely regard Ning Fa as a beacon of hope and cultivate him at all costs.
Tianyang knew very well how powerful the foundation of the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion, a mysterious force that had been hidden for tens of thousands of years, was. It was very possible that they could further advance Ning Fa's strength in a short period.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that Ning Fa would be one of the most powerful individuals in Cangyuan for a considerable period, and as time went on, even the "one of" might be removed.
The thought of this made Tianyang feel as if a ten-thousand-foot mountain was hanging over his head, filling him with despair.
This was also why True Lord Baidan, despite his status and position, was so panicked now.
After all, under normal circumstances, Baidan, as one of the top three alchemists in Cangyuan, was far more important than Tianyang, comparable to the experts ranked in the top twenty of the Profound Ranking.
But facing the immense fury of Ning Fa, who was already at the pinnacle of Cangyuan, this status offered no security.
Especially since Baidan had acted even more ruthlessly. The two Golden Core cultivators of the Ji Family from the Huayu Sect, as well as many disciples of the Ji Family, had all died under his arrangements.
Therefore, their Tianyang Sect, especially Tianyang and Baidan, had forged an irreconcilable enmity with the Huayu Sect and the Ning Family. And given Ning Fa's personality, he would absolutely not let this matter go.
Wasn't the ancestor of the Wu Family previously killed by Ning Fa? Therefore, Tianyang now dared not place any hope on begging for mercy to make Ning Fa spare them.
The reason why Tianyang and Baidan were now worried about Pei Nanshu and Yu Chan being discarded after their usefulness was not unfounded.
Although these two were the main culprits, they were Great Cultivators after all.
Tianyang felt that Ning Fa's strength had at most reached the same level as theirs, and he could not do anything to them, especially since there were two of them.
Under the current circumstances, the Pavilion Master of the Spiritual Pivot Pavilion, Hermit Xuyuan, would definitely intervene to mediate. The most likely outcome would be for Pei Nanshu and True Lord Yu Chan to apologize and compensate with a large amount of resources to settle the matter.
If that happened, then those who acted as accomplices would be in trouble.
To appease Ning Fa's anger, they might be sacrificed. The first to bear the brunt of this would naturally be their Tianyang Sect, especially Tianyang and Bai Dan.
Of course, there was another possibility: Pei Nanshu and True Lord Yu Chan might not fear Ning Fa's pressure and could join forces to suppress him. That was still quite possible.
After all, the two of them might have very powerful sect and family backing, with deep-rooted connections to other major powers. Ning Fa, on the other hand, only had the weak Huayu Sect and the Ning Family behind him.
Tianyang truly hoped for the second scenario, but his reason told him that this possibility was much smaller than the first, ultimately due to Ning Fa's terrifying potential.
If he were in Pei Nanshu and True Lord Yu Chan's shoes, he would definitely choose the first option. Even if it came at a great cost, he would seek peace with Ning Fa.
Therefore, Tianyang could only hope that Ning Fa would not agree to the peace offering from the two, so that the second possibility could become a reality.
At this moment, Tianyang took a deep breath, flicked his sleeve, and a storage bag flew in front of Bai Dan.
Bai Dan looked at him in confusion at first, then scanned it with his spiritual sense. His expression changed from surprise to thoughtfulness.
Tianyang said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother, this is a set of materials for the Life Origin Pill, obtained by trading precious treasures from the sect's collection and my personal belongings.
If you can refine this Life Origin Pill and offer it to Daoist Xuan Weizi, perhaps we can escape this disaster.
After all, Xuan Weizi has less than two hundred years of lifespan left. As far as I know, he has already consumed many pills that increase lifespan or consumed rare heavenly fruits.
Therefore, ordinary spiritual materials that increase lifespan will not have much effect on him.
However, this ancient supreme pill, the Life Origin Pill, should be effective. It could very likely extend his lifespan by at least sixty years.
So, for the sake of the pill, he might very well step in to coordinate.
With Daoist Xuan Weizi's status, plus Daoist Pei and Daoist Yu Chan, a total of three Great Cultivators, I don't believe Ning Fa can still refuse to yield.
Of course, we must also be prepared to bleed heavily, but as long as we survive, we can always find more opportunities. So, Junior Brother, whether we can get through this ordeal depends on you."
"Life Origin Pill..." True Lord Bai Dan's brow furrowed deeply, but he gritted his teeth and grabbed the storage bag.
At the same time, in the core urban area of Tianyu City, there was a mansion with a considerable footprint. This was the residence of True Lord Yu Chan, one of the newly promoted Great Cultivators.
In one of the halls, the sound of a teacup being smashed against the wall suddenly erupted.
Inside the hall sat a handsome cultivator in his thirties, dressed in luxurious brocade robes. This person was Shi Shaoyang, who had been making a name for himself in Cangyuan in recent years.
Shi Shaoyang already had outstanding talent. After becoming True Lord Yu Chan's son-in-law and personal disciple, he received his strong cultivation and had now advanced to the Mid Core Formation stage, not far from the Late Core Formation stage.
And because of True Lord Yu Chan's connections, even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators had to treat him with courtesy. He had been enjoying great success in recent years.
However, at this moment, his face was ashen, filled with frustration and unconcealed panic.
"How is this possible, how is this possible...!" he muttered through clenched teeth.