The atmosphere inside Main Peak Hall was unbearably oppressive.
The Moon-Tide Dao Sage's price—one complete high-grade sacred vein for each Dao Sage—far exceeded Ancestor Yan Tian's expectations. It had become a crushing weight on his heart.
He could not calm his mind, no matter how he tried.
Ancestor Yan Tian's eyes were bloodshot, and the blood in his veins nearly flowed backward.
He stared at the Moon-Tide Dao Sage, who sat calmly in the seat of honor. His chest heaved, and every word he spoke carried fury and resolve strained to their limits.
"Yue Xi, forty-nine complete High-Grade Saint Veins are impossible!"
"Setting Sun Divine Palace doesn't have that many High-Grade Saint Veins. Even if we did, we would never hand them over to you."
"That would destroy the very foundation of Setting Sun Divine Palace's existence."
His aged, hoarse voice rang through the hall, fierce with the resolve to perish alongside his foe.
"Rather than let Setting Sun Divine Palace be destroyed like this, we might as well fight to the death and bring about Mutual Destruction!"
In the seat of honor, a smile of utter coldness touched the Moon-Tide Dao Sage's lips. He met the furious Yan Tian's gaze without yielding an inch or showing a trace of mercy. Only bone-deep indifference remained.
"Oh? Mutual Destruction?"
He rose slowly. His white robes stirred in the breeze, and moonlit Dao Resonance surged faintly around him. His presence suddenly pressed down on everyone in the hall.
"Ancestor Yan Tian, are you threatening me?"
Before Yan Tian could answer, the Moon-Tide Dao Sage's tone sharpened.
"You want Mutual Destruction? Then so be it."
"It would only mean war. What does Bright Moon Spirit Tide Valley have to fear?"
"There's no need to continue these negotiations. They were never Bright Moon Spirit