Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 582 - 270, I will collect them_2

"Nobody takes a stand."

"Nobody takes a stand!"

......

Given the current strength of the Hou Clan, regarding the highest position in the Holy Church, it was best to avoid taking sides whenever possible. Hou Yuduan's consideration was faultless. Hou Yuxiao acted out of a mix of fear toward Zhan Taiqing and Sikong Yue; both women were formidable, and together with Sikong Xingzhou, the number one in the world, involving themselves in this matter would bring nothing but harm to the Hou Clan.

It was fortunate that the New Moon Gathering had not invited the powers of Xiayuan Dao, so the Hou Clan could conveniently pretend to know nothing. They could remain detached and simply accept the results from the Headquarters willingly after everything was settled. Even the fiercest blaze would not reach them.

"For now, we need not worry about Hedong. Even without Great Jin's support and only having Ziqing Holy Sect as family, the Wuwei King's entrenchment in Hedong is already an established fact. Xuzhou and Bailu Academy won't eradicate him anytime soon. As long as the flames of war don't spread to our side, there's nothing to worry about."

In the upcoming time, closely monitor the changes at the Headquarters. Yongzhou would soon experience a reshuffling. It would depend on who, between Zhan Taiqing and Sikong father and daughter, proved more adept. If Yongzhou could maintain stability, there was no need for concern. However, the worry was that after changes at the Headquarters, the whole region might descend into chaos. We must make early preparations, consolidate our forces from all directions, heavily recruit troops and buy horses. At the very least, we needed the strength to protect ourselves amid the turmoil!"

"Big brother is right. Even excluding Hedong and the Headquarters, the downfall of Great Yu has so far affected only the north, but a chain reaction will likely soon follow. In the southern five provinces and our side in Yongzhou, turmoil will soon ensue. With our family's current strength, even self-preservation in front of Earth Level forces is somewhat strenuous; we really must speed up our troop recruitment and purchase of horses."

Hou Yuduan spoke gravely, his expression fraught with concern. Considering the Baiye Camp, while the family's current strength had improved significantly, when he looked around the surrounding area with the Wuwei King in Hedong being the most imminent threat, and although the west posed no significant threat, who knew what stirrings the Headquarters might provoke. A sense of urgency inevitably arose in his heart.

"Right, I almost forgot. Do you know about the River Lord of the Tongtian River?"

Only then did Hou Yuxiao suddenly remember what Lu Yuanfu had told him and quickly turned his head to ask the other two. Hearing the words "River Lord of the Tongtian River," both Hou Yuduan and Hou Yujie's expressions noticeably darkened as they both nodded gravely.

"Before big brother came back, just at the end of last month, the River Lord of the Tongtian River had already sent a little demon to our Hou Clan once!"

"Visited once?"

Hou Yuxiao's expression immediately tensed.

"Nothing happened. That little demon was only seventh rank; its attitude was not arrogant. It merely conveyed the River Lord's command that from now on, any large-scale movement on the river must first be reported to the Lord, and he proposed a cooperation. From now on, any warship flying the Hou Clan's flag could navigate the river, with the condition being that the Hou Clan must tribute one hundred taels of Mysterious Gold to the river each year. I weighed it carefully; the terms are not harsh. If we could control the navigation of the Tongtian River, the profits would be astoundingly high. One hundred taels of Mysterious Gold are within our means to give, so I agreed to it!"

Old Fifth's words left Hou Yuxiao utterly stunned!

That's a third-rank demon, the River Lord of the Tongtian River, being so courteous to the Hou Clan?

And even cooperating with the family on navigation rights?

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What a joke! Although the Hou Clan's current strength was indeed not bad, cooperating with a third-rank demon equivalent to a Sub-Saint of Martial Dao seemed quite undeserved.

"What's going on?"

Hou Yuxiao immediately turned his gaze toward Hou Yuduan, emitting a puzzled aura. Seeing Hou Yuduan's somewhat evasive expression, his brow furrowed immediately, and he looked toward Hou Yujie at his side.

"Let me explain, big brother. That River Lord of the Tongtian River seems to know Old Fifth!"

......

Knows Hou Yuduan?

Hou Yuxiao shifted his gaze toward Old Fifth, eager to hear his explanation. But Hou Yuduan himself appeared equally puzzled and took a long time before slowly beginning to speak.

"That little demon was indeed very respectful to me. But as for that River Lord, I've only read about him in history books. I truly don't recall having dealt with him before, and there should be no connections. Him being so kind to us, I also cannot understand it."

Even if Hou Yuduan didn't know why the River Lord was so cordial, his words were clearly reserved, and Hou Yuxiao caught on to that while also gaining a rough idea.

So far, the Hou Clan had become quite entangled with demons, the most profound of which, of course, had to be the encounter between Old Fifth and Maiden Hong. The River Lord was a third-rank demon, and ordinary demons surely couldn't catch his eye, but conveniently, Maiden Hong was also a third-rank demon. Thinking this way, everything could be connected.

This River Lord, could he have some relation to Maiden Hong...

Old Fifth didn't want to discuss it, and naturally, Hou Yuxiao wouldn't press further. Ultimately, he was concerned about the safety of the clan members. Before returning, he had worried about a potential threat from such a powerful demon to the family. Looking at how the River Lord had not only not harmed the Hou Clan but had also provided them significant benefits, there was obviously no need to pry any further.

"Since the River Lord of the Tongtian shows goodwill towards us, that's a good thing. The intense battles in Hedong are thronging, and having him block for us in the middle means the fires of war won't reach our side anytime soon. This period is perfect for us to muster our full strength to develop, and once the situation in Yongzhou becomes clear, we can plan for other things!"