Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 118 - 106: Negotiations Collapse, Immediate Falling-Out
No one was a fool. The Ling Family’s leaders knew exactly what the three families were scheming and certainly weren’t about to walk into their trap.
Since a conflict was inevitable, it was better to act now while they had the upper hand. Even if it meant paying a certain price, they could destroy the very foundations of the three families.
If they waited, the three families might produce more than one Pseudo Core cultivator—or even a True Pill Cultivator. By then, it would be too late to make a move.
Yuan Junlin sighed. "Fellow Daoist Ling, if you insist, does this mean there is nothing left to discuss?"
Ling Qiyue’s expression was resolute. "Indeed, there is nothing to discuss. The Ling Family will shed its last drop of blood to defend our foundation on the Changqing Continent!"
The envoys from the three families exchanged glances. The Ling Family Patriarch’s unexpectedly firm stance was something they had not foreseen.
After a long moment, Gong Qingya’s expression grew cold as she said:
"Very well. We will see you on the battlefield! Let’s just hope you don’t regret this later, Fellow Daoist Ling!"
Ling Qiyue lowered her gaze, saying nothing, and made a gesture of dismissal.
The three envoys rose silently and started toward the doors of the hall.
However, they quickly discovered the Council Hall had been sealed. Multiple layers of a heavy, resilient, dark-gold barrier of light had silently materialized, cutting them off completely.
Bai Yunhe was furious. He spun around and demanded sharply, "Fellow Daoist Ling! Envoys are not to be harmed during disputes between two powers. Are you throwing away even the most basic of decorum?"
Yuan Junlin added coldly, "Even if you trap us here, our families will simply appoint new leaders! When that happens, the Yuan Family will fight your Ling Family to the death! Fellow Daoist Ling, you had better think this through!"
Ling Qiyue did not speak, but Ling Changqing said calmly, "Since this confrontation was inevitable, let’s dispense with the talk of righteousness and morality. Once you’re dead, the pressure on the Ling Family will be significantly reduced!"
In the face of sufficient profit, any and all rules could be trampled underfoot.
According to past conventions, the Changqing Continent should have belonged to the Ling Family. But these three families had no intention of honoring that, determined to use their strength to carve out a piece for themselves.
’So, was there any reason for the Ling Family to keep observing the rule that envoys are not to be harmed?’
’Adhering to that outdated principle now would mean paying for it with the blood and lives of countless Ling Family cultivators in the future!’
Therefore, Ling Changqing saw nothing wrong with their actions. The Cultivation Realm was an era of great struggle where strength was supreme and the law of the jungle reigned.
’With enough power, your word becomes the law. Without it, no one gives a damn what you think.’
"Good... Very good..."
Gong Qingya laughed, her anger reaching its peak. The spiritual pressure emanating from her surged as a clear dragon’s cry echoed and golden light erupted.
A grim, murderous aura filled the hall. Two snarling flood dragons emerged from Gong Qingya’s body, wreathed in roiling clouds of golden fire. Their killing intent surged as they locked onto Ling Qiyue.
’A Talisman Treasure?’
Ling Changqing’s eyes narrowed, but he wasn’t overly concerned.
’In the face of a true Magical Treasure, the threat from something like this is limited. Besides, it’s not like Gong Qingya could have a particularly high-grade one.’
Seeing Gong Qingya attack, Bai Yunhe no longer hesitated. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a pair of jet-black, High Grade Spiritual Artifact flying swords, which multiplied into thousands of hazy sword shadows that besieged their target.
Yuan Junlin snorted and slapped the Companion Bag at his waist. With a piercing shriek, a Silver-winged Sea Eagle with a wingspan of dozens of feet emerged in a flash of crimson light. It was a War Beast at the Pseudo Core stage, and it dove viciously toward Ling Qiyue.
The remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivators then joined the fray. They unleashed all manner of powerful Divine Techniques and magic, Second Grade Talismans, Spiritual Artifacts, and Daoist Soldier Puppets in a frenzied assault on Ling Qiyue, throwing the hall into chaos.
’Aside from Ling Qiyue, the Ling Family had no other expert of sufficient strength. As long as they could kill or cripple her, the crisis would be over.’
A pale golden barrier of light from the Glazed Yellow Umbrella materialized around Ling Changqing. He pulled Tang Qiu Yao back, knowing this was no time for heroics. The important thing was not to distract his senior sister.
Ling Qiyue’s expression was frigid. A heavy cloud of crimson light floated from her body, and the phantom toll of a bell, echoing only in one’s Divine Soul, resounded as it blocked every incoming attack.
"A Magical Treasure?"
Bai Tinglan froze, her heart plummeting. ’Ling Qiyue, a newly ascended Golden Core Master, already has a Magical Treasure?’
Yet that wasn’t the most dreadful discovery. With a clap of thunder, the hidden Array and its Restrictions activated layer by layer within the hall. The cultivators from the three families felt an immense pressure suddenly weigh down on them.
"My Magical Power... How can this be..."
Yuan Junlin’s face filled with terror. Under the Array’s suppression, circulating his Magical Power had become excruciatingly difficult, and it was draining away at an alarming rate.
"This is bad! If this keeps up, we’re all going to die here!"
Gong Qingya ground her teeth, a crazed glint in her eyes. She pulled out two pitch-black Elixirs, hesitated for a second, and then swallowed them.
Instantly, her aura surged, quickly breaking past the True Pill threshold and soaring all the way to the Early Stage Golden Core realm before finally leveling off.
"It’s useless. This hall is protected by a genuine Third Grade Array—more than enough to suppress and imprison the few of you!"
As Ling Qiyue’s cold, murderous voice echoed, several hidden doors within the hall slid open. Under the silent control of Ling Family cultivators, over a hundred heavily-armored Daoist Soldier Puppets strode forth.
These cold, merciless killing machines formed a battle array and attacked in relentless waves, forcing the cultivators from the three families to divert a significant portion of their strength just to fend them off.
Every so often, a Daoist Soldier Puppet would be destroyed on the spot, focused down by a barrage of Divine Techniques and magic, but these losses had no impact on the overall battle.
With the Fenghuo Panyun Bell floating above her, a longsword now appeared in Ling Qiyue’s hand, radiating a piercing chill and wreathed in a bloody aura. At the direction of her Divine Thought, streams of razor-sharp Sword Qi rained down, sending the cultivators from the three families scrambling in disarray.
