Chapter 571: Chapter 571

Although it was left to Li Hong and Zhou Tongyue to handle the takeover of Cangyuan Immortal City, Zhouyang couldn’t truly relinquish all control.

This time, he brought most of the high-ranking members of the Zhou Family from the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm. If anything happened to them here, the losses would be enormous. While the Zhou Family might not fully follow in the footsteps of the Yellow Sand Sect, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they could regress by a century.

Therefore, after Li Hong and Zhou Tongyue left, Zhouyang also cautiously concealed his aura and lurked about one or two hundred miles outside Cangyuan Immortal City.

At this distance, without actively revealing his presence, the Golden Core Stage cultivators in the Immortal City wouldn’t be able to detect his whereabouts. Yet, he could still receive any distress signals from Zhou Guangxiang and his companions promptly and rush to rescue them.

Of course, this was a contingency plan for the worst-case scenario.

The best situation would be if "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan was still alive and could suppress Deputy City Lord Geng Zhong. After eliminating Guo Jinhong with Yin Hanguang, they could "peacefully take over" Cangyuan Immortal City.

However, things often take a turn for the worse.

Less than half a month after Zhouyang and Li Hong met, news about the latest situation of "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan came through Li Mubai.

It turned out that as early as six months ago, "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan had already passed away in meditation.

Due to some arrangements he made before his death and with Geng Zhong lacking rivals now, under the Li Family’s news blockade while they gradually withdrew from Cangyuan Immortal City, he wasn’t willing to take the risk of uncovering this secret.

After all, the true situation of "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan was known only to a few in the Li Family, and Geng Zhong merely inferred his impending death after his last public appearance.

If "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan was feigning death to test Geng Zhong’s attitude towards the Li Family, such hasty actions would only endanger himself.

Cangyuan Immortal City was already largely in his grasp, and he had enough patience to wait for the truth to unfold.

Originally, that was it. The Li Family withdrew from Cangyuan Immortal City, and Geng Zhong only needed to wait a few years to take over.

But the appearance of Zhou Guangxiang brought some changes.

Secrets never stay hidden for long, and the reunion of Li Mubai and Zhou Guangxiang as Dao companions, along with the emotional and psychological changes of Zhou Guangxiang’s children upon seeing their long-lost mother after decades, couldn’t be completely concealed from those with keen eyes.

Geng Zhong soon received reports from spies within the Li Family, learning about the appearance of a mysterious Purple Mansion Stage cultivator within the family.

Treating this news seriously, he immediately went to the Li Family under the pretext of checking on "Cangyuan Wanderer".

At that time, Zhou Guangxiang hadn’t left the Li Family yet. With Geng Zhong’s Third-Layer Golden Core cultivation and insider information, he quickly located Zhou Guangxiang with his divine sense upon arrival.

Fortunately, because Zhou Guangxiang was wearing a disguise mask given by Zhouyang, even though Geng Zhong discovered her presence, her aura and cultivation had changed from when she left, and he couldn’t immediately identify her identity. However, being suspicious of her being a female Purple Mansion Stage cultivator raised his suspicions.

Knowing Geng Zhong was suspicious, Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai dared not stay in the city any longer. They hurriedly sent messages to Zhouyang and Li Hong outside the city, notifying them to prepare for a retreat, while they packed to leave Cangyuan Immortal City.

Unbeknownst to them, Geng Zhong had already, upon becoming suspicious, ordered checks on recently arrived middle-to-high tier cultivators while keeping a watch on the Li Family.

Thus, as soon as Zhou Guangxiang and her husband made a move, Geng Zhong knew they intended to flee.

Why were they fleeing?

Because that female cultivator’s background was unclear, she very likely was Li Mubai’s Dao companion, Zhou Guangxiang.

Realizing this, Geng Zhong became very excited. Latest content publıshed on novel{f}ire.net

Within the "Anti-Light Alliance", the bounty on Zhouyang was very high. Killing or capturing Zhouyang would reward with a Jade Liquid Golden Pill, a Tier Five Middle Grade Magical Artifact, and thirty top-grade Spirit Stones.

Both Zhou Guangxiang and Xiao Ying, who were closely related to Zhouyang, also had their own bounties.

Although Geng Zhong, who was about to become the City Lord of Cangyuan Immortal City, didn’t care much for the bounty on Zhou Guangxiang, he did want to capture her to interrogate Zhouyang’s whereabouts.

Once Zhouyang’s exact whereabouts were found, even reporting it to the Haoyang Sect would earn a substantial reward and gain favor with Guo Jinhong, the Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

Thus, as soon as Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai left the Li Family and before they could leave the city, Geng Zhong, having received the news, attacked.

Fortunately, Zhou Guangxiang was traveling within Cangyuan Immortal City. Upon receiving a message from his sister, he instructed the Zhou Family cultivators still in the city to scatter and leave while rushing to assist his sister and brother-in-law.

Therefore, when Geng Zhong was about to strike, Zhou Guangxiang arrived on time, deploying the Tier Five Puppet Beast granted by Zhouyang for protection, blocking Geng Zhong.

Zhou Guangxiang and Zhou Guangxiang are twin siblings, and as the saying goes, ’A nephew takes after his uncle.’ Zhou Guangxiang and Li Mubai’s eldest son, Li Zifeng, resembles Zhou Guangxiang by seventy percent.

Therefore, as soon as Geng Zhong saw Zhou Guangxiang’s appearance, he immediately knew he had guessed correctly.

With a face full of excitement, he couldn’t help but shout, "Well, Zhou Guangxiang, you little wench, you dare to come back. All these years, Geng and countless cultivators in the Land of the Far West have been searching hard for you and your master. I never expected you to deliver yourself to my door. How wonderful!"

Upon hearing his words, Li Mubai and Zhou Guangxiang, the two men closest to Zhou Guangxiang, both had their expressions change at once.

"Geng Zhong, what do you want to do? The family patriarch is not dead yet. Do you want to harm the Li family’s descendants?"

Li Mubai was startled and angry, his face flushed as he glared at Geng Zhong, trying to intimidate him with the name of "Cangyuan Wanderer."

However, his face turned pale when Geng Zhong, after listening to him, directly sneered and exposed the facade he relied on.

"Old Ghost Li’s remains are probably no longer in Cangyuan Immortal City, right? Do you think you’ve kept it flawlessly hidden? Geng didn’t want to act against you before because you were sensible and didn’t want to be thought of as heartless and faithless. It is only you who thought Geng was afraid of your facade!"

Li Mubai pointed at Geng Zhong with a pale face, unable to say a single word.

Indeed, just three days ago, the remains of "Cangyuan Wanderer" Li Cangyuan had been quietly taken out of Cangyuan Immortal City by the Li Family cultivators and buried in a secret manor of the Li family.

Less than ten people in the entire Li family knew about this news. Li Mubai didn’t know how Geng Zhong was aware, but he already had an answer in his heart.

Zhou Guangxiang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly pushed Li Mubai towards his sister, Zhou Guangxiang, and said in a deep voice, "Brother-in-law, you first take Xiang’Er and Feng’Er to leave. I will hold him off!"

Upon hearing his words, Li Mubai was immediately anxious and shouted, "No, elder brother, you and Xiang’Er go first. I’ll hold him off. I don’t believe Geng Zhong would dare to kill Li family juniors in Cangyuan Immortal City!"

"Mubai, don’t argue. I trust our elder brother. Let’s go!"

Zhou Guangxiang suddenly reached out and pulled on Li Mubai, who was about to say something, intending to leave first with him and their two children.

"Go? None of you can leave!"

With a flash of cold smile on his face, Geng Zhong suddenly performed a spell, mobilizing the power of Cangyuan Immortal City’s City Defense Array to seal off this district, trapping the several of them here.

After finishing all this, he looked passionately at the Tiger Human Puppet Beast and said, "This Tier Five Puppet Beast should have been left by Zhouyang for your protection, right? It seems his resources were much more abundant than Geng had imagined, worthy of someone who won three consecutive battles in a death duel. But after today, this treasure will belong to Geng!"

"That depends on whether you have the life to take it!"

Zhou Guangxiang shouted sharply, and with a thought, the Tiger Human Puppet Beast roared in fury and rushed towards Geng Zhong with its axe raised.

The true combat power of this Tiger Human Puppet Beast was absolutely no less than that of a third-layer Golden Core Stage cultivator, just lacking the varied methods a Golden Core Stage cultivator would possess.

Blocked by it, Geng Zhong couldn’t spare much power to capture Zhou Guangxiang and the others for a while.

However, he wasn’t worried at all, because with the mobilization of the City Defense Array, a large number of Immortal City Guard Cultivators belonging to him were rushing over, and Zhou Guangxiang and others would surely be unable to break the City Defense Array in a short time and escape.

"No, the old wretch Geng has changed the City Defense Array’s permissions, and our tokens for entry and exit have already become invalid!"

In the array, Li Mubai, after trying the exiting token of the Immortal City originally held by the Li family, angrily threw the token away.

What a sight of ’people walking with cold tea.’ He learned it fully today.

To know that Cangyuan Immortal City was established by their Li family’s patriarch, "Cangyuan Wanderer," and the City Defense Array was set up upon his request, yet now, not even a year after "Cangyuan Wanderer" had passed, this Deputy City Lord Geng Zhong secretly changed the permissions of the City Defense Array; it is clear he had long harbored unrighteous intentions.

Changing the City Defense Array’s entry and exit permissions is not an easy task. If Geng Zhong hadn’t long harbored unrighteous intentions and sought advice from a skilled Array Master to understand the City Defense Array’s specifics, how could he have mastered the City Defense Array control so soon after "Cangyuan Wanderer" passed?

Note that until now, the most important central control Token of the City Defense Array is still in their Li Family’s hands, which was their biggest leverage in negotiations with Geng Zhong. Unexpectedly, this leverage had long been worthless!

Zhou Guangxiang, hearing her Dao companion’s words, only flashed a look of disappointment on her face before rejuvenating herself to comfort, "Now we can only wait. Ninth Uncle is outside the city, he surely would have received the news and will arrive soon. Once the Elder arrives, any difficulty will be resolved!"

"Elder Zhou has just succeeded in Core Formation for less than a century. Even if his strength was astonishing before Core Formation, now at most he is at the Second-Layer Golden Core Cultivation. Can he do it with Cangyuan Immortal City’s City Defense Array, which is a Tier Five Middle-grade Array?"

Li Mubai, somewhat lacking confidence, looked at his own Dao companion with a face full of doubt.

He sometimes didn’t understand why his Dao companion had such blind confidence in the clan uncle, who appeared younger than himself!

Even though he had to admit, that clan uncle indeed had his exceptional qualities. After all, not every Golden Core Stage Cultivator could, right after forming their core, successfully ambush and force a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator to abandon their original body and reincarnate through possession.

"Hmph, are you doubting Ninth Uncle’s strength? If you don’t believe it, you’ll find out later!"

The matter involved his most revered and admired Ninth Uncle, so even if it was his bed-sharing Dao companion, Zhou Guangxiang didn’t show a pleasant face. He glared at Li Mubai with full displeasure and turned his head away to continue watching the battle between his brother Zhou Guangxiang and Geng Zhong.

Seeing this, Li Mubai certainly felt a bit resentful, but having just reunited with his Dao companion after a long separation, he didn’t want to provoke her over such a verbal spat, lest he find himself alone for decades again.

All he could do was smile apologetically, without further pursuing the topic.

Meanwhile, Zhouyang, who was hiding outside the city in seclusion training, rushed towards Cangyuan Immortal City upon receiving the communication from Zhou Guangxiang.

At that time, as Geng Zhong had not yet taken action, he dared not reveal his true cultivation by flying on clouds, lest he alert the enemy and ruin the plan.

But when he saw from afar that the city defense array of Cangyuan Immortal City had been activated, he immediately realized that the situation had changed, and Zhou Guangxiang’s whereabouts had been exposed.

Therefore, he no longer cared about hiding his cultivation, directly employing the "Rainbow Light Gold Escape" divine technique, and flew immediately to the exterior of the city defense array of Cangyuan Immortal City.

Upon his arrival, Geng Zhong was just engaging in battle with the tiger-human puppet beast controlled by Zhou Guangxiang.

Seeing this scene through the protective shield formed by the city defense array, he slightly breathed a sigh of relief, then furrowed his brows, his eyes locking onto Geng Zhong with a murderous intent.

A mere Geng Zhong at the Third Layer of the Golden Core, Zhouyang didn’t even take him seriously. If he were to go all out, he could take him down in less than three moves.

On the contrary, the city defense array was somewhat troublesome. With his strength, breaking through such a grand array would require some time.

Luckily, although Geng Zhong had initiated the city defense array, it was only partially activated and did not unleash the full power of the array.

If the entire defense array of an Immortal City like Cangyuan Immortal City were fully activated, it wouldn’t be just Zhouyang; even a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator couldn’t break through it single-handedly.

However, to fully activate such a city defense array and unleash its fullest power, preparations must be made in advance, and people must be stationed to guard the array base. It’s not something that can be done in a short time.

This gave Zhouyang the opportunity to break the array and save people.

He stood in mid-air outside the array, waved his hand, and summoned a silver long knife.

Among the numerous powerful artifacts in his possession, only this "Taiyin Soul-cutting Saber" was best suited for achieving the fastest array-breaking rescue.

With a low shout, he made a spell gesture, and the silver long knife suddenly radiated intensely like a silver meteor, crashing onto the city defense array of Cangyuan Immortal City.

With just one slash, the protective shield formed by the city defense array shook violently, and the rumble echoed throughout the city.

"Amazing, so powerful!"

Inside the array, Li Mubai looked up at the scene and couldn’t help but tremble at the knees, exclaiming in awe with a face full of shock.

He had witnessed Golden Core Stage Cultivators make a move before, but such a powerful attack as the previous slash was definitely something that ordinary Golden Core Stage Cultivators couldn’t achieve. At least he knew that Geng Zhong certainly couldn’t manage it.

Then his eyes flashed with joy, and he looked intently at Zhou Guangxiang, asking, "Wife, what is Ninth Uncle’s cultivation? This strength is beyond what an Early-Stage Golden Core Cultivator should possess!"

"Hmph, who told you Ninth Uncle is an Early-Stage Golden Core Cultivator? Ninth Uncle, with his extraordinary talent, successfully advanced to the Middle Stage of the Golden Core not long ago!"

Zhou Guangxiang snorted coldly, proudly answering her Dao companion’s question.

Upon hearing this, Li Mubai’s mouth opened wide enough to swallow a goose egg, leaving him speechless for a long moment.

As he recalled his previous doubts about Zhouyang’s strength, his fair face turned crimson with embarrassment.

Seeing him in such a state, Zhou Guangxiang, rather than comforting him, smugly said, "I warn you, you’d better respect to my Ninth Uncle in the future, otherwise, even if I don’t hold you accountable, my brother will never spare you!"

Li Mubai opened his mouth and, like a defeated rooster, replied dejectedly and helplessly.

There’s no way around it. In terms of cultivation, he can’t compare with Zhou Guangxiang, his brother-in-law. In terms of family background, the Li Family, which has lost Golden Core Stage cultivators, can’t be compared to the Zhou Family either. This leaves him with little confidence when facing Zhou Guangxiang.

As for Geng Zhong, upon seeing the power of Zhouyang’s strike, he was also taken aback.

He naturally recognized Zhouyang, but he never expected that Zhouyang, who formed his core less than a hundred years ago, already possessed such strength.

Consider Geng Zhong himself, who formed his core almost four hundred years ago, and now is only at the Third-Layer Golden Core. Whether he can break through his cultivation bottleneck and advance to the Middle Stage of Golden Core remains unknown.

In less than a hundred years, he rapidly advanced three levels to the Fourth-Layer Golden Core. Such cultivation speed truly left Geng Zhong astonished and filled with jealousy, overwhelmed by fear and envy.

"It must be that silver long saber magical artifact. He must be relying on that Tier Five High-Grade Spiritual Artifact for such power. It’s not his true strength, definitely not!"

Geng Zhong stared intently at the silver long saber, attributing Zhouyang’s strike entirely to this Tier Five High-Grade Spiritual Artifact, unwilling to believe it was Zhouyang’s own strength.

"Now, let you be arrogant for a while. Once I inform Elder Guo Jinhong of your presence, let’s see how you can still be arrogant!"

"By then, I will certainly request Elder Guo to reward me with that silver long saber magical artifact."

His heart viciously plotted, while his assault against Zhou Guangxiang grew even more fierce.

The appearance of Zhouyang made him feel immense pressure, and he was no longer entirely confident that the City Defense Array could withstand Zhouyang’s attack.

Therefore, he planned to capture Zhou Guangxiang and the others first, then retreat to the City Lord’s Mansion with the hostages. There, at the core of the entire City Defense Array, it boasts the strongest defensive power. As long as they retreat there, he would have ample time to fully activate the City Defense Array.

By then, he might even be able to use the power of the City Defense Array to trap Zhouyang within the city and crush him, calling upon the strength of all the guard cultivators in the city to suppress Zhouyang!

Unfortunately, the idea was good, but reality was harsh.

Upon discovering his actions, Zhouyang not only accelerated the frequency of his saber attacks but also unleashed other magical artifacts, like the "Lion Fire Ruyi" and "Mountain Shifting Seal," into the assault.

After a fierce attack lasting several dozen breaths, the protective shield formed by the City Defense Array was shattered by his single strike, revealing a massive breach. In the next instant, he flickered and appeared inside the City Defense Array.

"Zhouyang, let you be rampant for now. In a few days, Elder Guo Jinhong will arrive, and let’s see how rampant you can still be!"

Within the City Lord’s Mansion, Geng Zhong’s voice was filled with resentment and quickly spread throughout the city.

It was because he realized that after Zhouyang broke through the protective shield, he knew the situation was hopeless and fled back into the City Lord’s Mansion, not daring to confront Zhouyang directly.

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but sneer: "Hah, even at my worst, I wouldn’t be like you, a coward hiding in a turtle shell, barking endlessly. How could a person like you hold the seat of the City Lord of Cangyuan Immortal City?"

Upon hearing his insult of being called a "coward hiding in a turtle shell," Geng Zhong was furious, shouting back angrily: "Who wouldn’t talk big? If you really have guts, don’t run away. If you’re still here in seven days, I’ll kneel and call you Grandpa!"

"Forget it, a turtle grandson like you who always wants to call someone Grandpa, I gladly decline. Whoever likes it can have it!"

Zhouyang shook his head in mock disdain, and many people saw the look of contempt on his face.

For a moment, laughter reverberated throughout the Immortal City, sweeping away the tense atmosphere of the earlier upheaval.

"Ah, damn it, that bastard dares to call me a turtle grandson, I’ll curse his ancestors, I’ll curse his forebearers..."

Geng Zhong was provoked, infuriated!

As a dignified Golden Core cultivator, at this moment, he was so agitated like a street rogue, cursing indiscriminately, losing all the dignity of a Golden Core cultivator.

Yet at this moment, Zhouyang had already lost interest in arguing with such an incompetent coward, instead he gestured to summon Zhou Guangxiang and his siblings, along with Li Mubai and his son, bringing them all before him, then tapping his feet to summon golden cloud light to fly out of the Immortal City and vanish from the sight of the city’s cultivators.

At that moment, his graceful departure and Geng Zhong’s incessant swearing and jumping in anger inside the City Lord’s Mansion formed a stark contrast.

Perhaps Geng Zhong never imagined that in that instant, many cultivators’ impression of him underwent a complete reversal.

His meticulously crafted image of competence over several centuries collapsed due to today’s scene, and many cultivators redefined him as a dishonest and cowardly scoundrel, hiding in the City Lord’s Mansion angrily barking with impotent rage.

And as what happened today spread through the mouths of all the city’s cultivators, his reputation for incompetence and cowardice could never be washed away.