"Elder brother!"

Fei Tongxiao bent down and tightly grasped his brother’s hand, his voice grave as he said:

"Three hundred years ago, our Fei Clan’s ancestor was killed outside, our family was on the brink of destruction, yet a descendant of the Immortal Mansion fought a fierce battle and directly suppressed the Jiang Family, forcing all the families to close off for a hundred years... Over a hundred years ago, our family was declining, and again five families divided the Jiang, allowing us to catch our breath..."

"Each and every one of these events are the result of our ancestors’ perseverance and progress in establishing our family’s position among the Noble Families! How can we speak of giving up so easily!"

Fei Tongxiao clenched his teeth, tears brimming in his eyes, and said solemnly:

"We have not yet reached a dead end, we must not give up! Elder brother, have you forgotten..."

"Go, go find the Li Family."

Upon hearing this, Fei Tongyu finally straightened up, composed himself, but suddenly felt the earth quake and the mountains shake. Fortunately, as a Cultivator at the Fetal Breathing Peak, he planted his feet on the ground, his expression turning unsightly.

"What’s going on!"

Fei Tongxiao was shocked beyond measure, just as he was about to speak, the ancestral hall’s door was violently pushed open, and a middle-aged cultivator walked in, wearing a white robe, his voice serious:

"The Yu Family has surrounded Hanyun Peak!"

"What?!"

Fei Tongyu was stunned, his expression drastically changing, he said urgently:

"Notify the Li Family... no... I fear..."

"It’s too late."

This middle-aged man in white had a gentle face, his Qi Cultivation also at the Sixth Layer, the only surviving brother of Fei Wangbai, his expression still filled with sorrow as he softly said:

"The Yu Family has tightly encircled Hanyun Peak, not even an insect can fly out!"

Fei Tongyu and Fei Tongxiao exchanged looks, Fei Tongxiao let out a deep exhale, calming his unease, and spoke with a heavy voice:

"The Yu Family’s siege on the mountain is massive, the Li Family will certainly become aware, our ’Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation’ is a first-class Great Formation, the Yu Family definitely won’t be able to break through in a short time! If the Li Family intends to rescue us, we will not face a hopeless situation."

But Fei Tongyu looked at his brother and said in a low voice:

"What if they are indifferent!"

"Boom!"

A massive jade mountain crashed onto the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Great Formation above Hanyun Peak, causing another quake and shaking of the mountains, Fei Tongyu stood firm, his expression a bit crazed, he screamed:

"Yu Mugao is no ordinary man, daring to attack our home, he must have devised a way to delay the Li Family and even Li Tongya! Now it’s probably too late!"

With tears in his eyes, he lamented:

"Wolves surround us on the lake, ever since our grandfather died... the fate of our house has long been sealed, this is no longer the situation of a hundred years ago nor three hundred years ago, with wolves in front and tigers behind, wolves in front and tigers behind!"

────

"It seems Fei Wangbai is truly dead."

Yu Mugao looked at the flowing lights of the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Great Formation atop Hanyun Peak, having waited a full stick of incense time without seeing Fei Wangbai’s figure, Yu Xiaogui, the Yu Family’s old ancestor next to him, wore a complicated expression, saying in a low voice:

"How could this be?!"

Before Yu Mugao took charge of the family, he had already fought with Fei Wangbai for decades, each having their own victories and defeats. Yu Xiaogui always found him both a headache and out of reach, relying only on the family’s power to suppress him somewhat.

Now such a figure has died just like that, causing Yu Xiaogui to have a sense of unreality as he stood with hands behind his back looking down at Hanyun Peak, then said softly:

"It’s like a gift delivered to our doorstep, making one suspect it’s a trap."

"Heh!"

Yu Mugao let out a cold laugh, he had anticipated this and responded,

"Years ago, when Chi Zhiyan came to Wangyue Lake to recruit, he had hinted that Fei Wangbai had blocked the way of some talent from within our sect, or perhaps of a Zifu. It was just his bad luck; his sudden death was inevitable."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogui’s heart trembled slightly, filled with a sense of sorrow for the like-minded, and he said in a low voice,

"Reaching Foundation Establishment is difficult enough, succeeding only one in ten thousand times. To find out later that one has cultivated the wrong spell, developed the wrong Immortal Foundation, is to face the consequences of a blood sacrifice and death... But Fei Wangbai was cultivating well above the lake, how could he have gotten in someone’s way again?"

"Who knows."

Yu Mugao slowly shook his head with a hint of desolation and replied,

"The workings of fate and Divine Skills are intertwined, incomprehensible until one reaches Zifu. With no vision of the great view, all families are like blind men walking, unknowingly being used by others." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation was an ancient Formation, strong enough to withstand attacks from Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Yu Xiaogui and his companions surrounded Hanyun Peak, looking at the radiant white Formation beneath their feet as several spells descended and exploded upon it.

"The Cloud Gathering Southern Sky is indeed a Foundation Establishment level Great Formation..."

Yu Mugao admired, watching the Yu Family Cultivators’ spells of fire and ice disintegrate into nothingness against the Formation, and said,

"Even more sophisticated than the Jade Court defense Formation of my family’s market, no wonder the Fei Clan has been able to dominate the North Shore year after year."

Yu Xiaogui slammed his palms against the radiant white Great Formation, but the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation remained unshaken. He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and a small mountain of jade flew out of it.

"Jade Smoke Mountain!"

The Yu Family’s treasure grew as it met the wind, quickly reaching the height of a person, with cranes and green trees on it looking vivid and lifelike. It pressed down towards the Fei Clan’s Great Formation with a series of muffled thuds:

"Bang, bang, bang..."

However, the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation merely flickered faintly, its intricate Formation Patterns glowing even more brightly, impervious to the impact of Jade Smoke Mountain.

"Seal!"

Yu Xiaogui nodded slightly, forming hand seals, his Foundation Establishment Cultivation swirling, as the Immortal Foundation within him also activated. The Jade Smoke Mountain in the air began to spin rapidly, growing larger and soon reaching the size of a small hill.

The cranes on top appeared lifelike, stretching their necks and calling out proudly, while the robust green trees sprawled vigorously, and the mist seemed to waft as if it were truly about to descend.

"Ha!"

Yu Xiaogui’s face flushed slightly, and the Jade Smoke Mountain in the sky suddenly plummeted towards the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation atop Hanyun Peak, making a thunderous noise. The Fei Clan members within the Formation turned pale with fright, while the Yu Family members outside cheered.

"Boom..."

The Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation finally showed signs of strain, its solid dome of light flickering for a moment like ripples on a pond, but quickly regaining its calm.

"What a Formation."

Yu Xiaogui exhaled deeply, knowing the reputation of the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation was well-deserved; he hadn’t really intended to break through it forcibly, just testing the waters.

With a casual lift of his hand, the Jade Smoke Mountain shrank as if deflated, spiraling downward in the air before returning to its original size of a fist, obediently flying back into his sleeve.

"No rush."

Yu Mugao muttered, selecting about a dozen people from among the Guest Elders and Yu Family Cultivators, and sent them down to the foot of the mountain to cast spells and control the Earth Veins. He spoke,

"Though the Cloud Gathering Southern Sky is formidable, it also consumes energy rapidly, like a whale gulping water. We only need to affect the Earth Veins and attack in turns, increasing the Fei Clan’s consumption. By keeping watch here for some time, in not more than half a month the Fei Clan will have drained themselves."

"But the longer we delay, the more chance there is for something to happen..."

Yu Xiaogui’s expression turned somewhat gloomy. He watched the busy Yu Family members below and the increasingly strong north wind blowing over the lake. The rolling clouds retreated, leaving a cloudless sky; he blankly raised his head, fixing his gaze on the white dot in the distance.