In a private room on the third floor, Chen Xiao spoke politely, but sat ramrod straight. He had no intention of going out to meet Nangong Wenyang. This was nothing less than blatant contempt—or a clash of pride between a young master and a spoiled brat.
If he were Nangong Wenyang, he would probably have done the same.
Besides, from Nangong Wenyang's words, Chen Xiao had already gathered that Shadow and the others had likely started killing some of the Nangong Family's experts.
Originally, Chen Xiao had asked the three of them to kill some of the Nangong Family's elders and stewards only to ease the tension among his three subordinates and get them to unite against outsiders instead of continuing to fight among themselves.
But after going out for a stroll, he had discovered that quite a few cultivators from outside the city had arrived, including members of several major powers. Chen Xiao had spent fifty years struggling his way through the Immortal World in his previous life, so he had naturally developed a keen eye for people.
So, after meeting Bei Yu Xian, Chen Xiao came up with this plan. First, he could have a proper reunion with his three friends. Second, he could lure the snake out of its hole and make the Nangong Family expose itself.
Chen Xiao had no idea who Nangong Xiangyan was, but he knew the man must have strong ties to the Nangong Family. The Nangong Family itself was a pawn planted in Moon-Gazing City by that power. This was the perfect chance to draw the attention of everyone in the city to the Nangong Family and shove it into the eye of the storm. That was Chen Xiao's ultimate goal.
If the matter had nothing to do with the Nangong Family, then Chen Xiao's actions would only have stirred things up for a while. But the key was that the Nangong Family's main purpose here was to seize the treasure hidden in Mingyu Mountain. The Chen Clan might not have noticed the many clues, but how could those members of the major powers from outside the city fail to spot them?
Originally, if anything extraordinary had turned up in Moon-Gazing City, the Chen Clan would have borne the brunt of the fallout. But after Chen Xiao's little stunt, everyone would likely turn their attention to the Nangong Family, unknowingly shielding the Chen Clan from a great deal of trouble.
"Young master, something terrible has happened!"
The Nangong Family servant looked ashen and panicked, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Nangong Wenyang was already furious. When he saw the servant rushing toward him in a panic, a wave of disgust rose in his heart. He kicked him away without a second thought.
"What's the matter? Can't you see I'm busy? Get lost!"
Nangong Wenyang had seized the chance to teach Chen Xiao a lesson. He had no interest in listening to the servant.
Besides, servants who came running to him in a panic, shouting that something terrible had happened, were a common sight. Unless they were his trusted confidants, Nangong Wenyang never cared about them.
He didn't recognize this servant. Nangong Xiangyang had never seen him around the family. Maybe Chen Xiao had sent him to throw him off... Convinced he had seen through Chen Xiao's ploy, Nangong Xiangyang grew smug.
At Heavenly Abode, most of the local cultivators from Moon-Gazing City had already slunk away in silence. Only the cultivators from outside the city remained, watching the spectacle.
Tsk, now that was a real spoiled young master. Just look at his expression, his gestures, the way he spoke. He made people want to beat his face in. By comparison, Chen Xiao, the notorious spoiled brat of Moon-Gazing City, seemed undeserving of his reputation.
Yet many people wore delighted expressions. Couldn't he see that his servant was practically on the verge of tears? Something enormous had clearly happened at home. Instead of hurrying back, he was still squabbling here. That was spoiled brat behavior at its finest.
"Chen Xiao, get down here this instant! I'm going to avenge the family steward!"
Nangong Wenyang shouted, but he had already led his men toward the stairs to the third floor.
At that moment, Chen Xiao's private room was heaped with delicacies from land and sea. The spread was so enormous that even the large table could barely hold it all. As Chen Xiao packed the dishes into his Storage Ring, he swore, "Go to hell! You think I'm an easy target? If someone in your family died, go home and hold a funeral. Why come here to bother me?"
Chen Xiao cursed with gusto, displaying the full measure of a spoiled brat. Bei Yu Xian and the other two followed his lead, cursing just as loudly, no better than street thugs.
As for the three trusted followers of Bei Yu Xian and the others, they couldn't help rolling their eyes as they watched Chen Xiao stuff barely touched dishes into his Storage Ring.
They had never seen anyone so shamelessly cheap.
But now, Chen Xiao's Storage Ring was nothing more than a front. It was actually connected to the Golden Immortal Kingdom, and he was sending the food directly inside.
After all, there were five little ones in the Golden Immortal Kingdom. Though they were innate spiritual beings and didn't need to eat, Chen Xiao didn't mind letting them sample the delicacies of the Immortal World.
He had done the same thing on several previous occasions. Mengmeng and he had small appetites, so he sent most of the dishes into the Golden Immortal Kingdom for the five little ones.
Just then, Xianxian, Guigui, and the others saw Chen Xiao sending food into the Golden Immortal Kingdom again, and their faces lit up with joy. After communicating with them briefly through divine sense, Chen Xiao left the Golden Immortal Kingdom.
There was still a Nangong Wenyang outside for him to deal with.
By then, Nangong Wenyang had already brought more than fifty guards from the mansion and was facing off against the thirty or so attendants accompanying Bei Yu Xian and the others on the second floor.
Heavenly Abode was protected by an array, but if more than eighty cultivators started fighting there, they would surely tear the entire restaurant apart.
Hearing Chen Xiao's words, some of the cultivators from outside the city at Heavenly Abode couldn't help curling their lips. They had just thought well of him, and now his true colors were showing.
"What happened to the family?"
The head manager of Heavenly Abode beckoned the servant who had brought the news into a secluded corner and asked him through a voice transmission.
The head manager of Heavenly Abode was, in fact, a steward of the Nangong Family with some standing within the clan. Otherwise, Nangong Shenhe would never have left him in charge here.
"They're dead. They're all dead..." the servant from Nangong Mansion stammered through a voice transmission. "The Primordial Spirit Jade Slips... Of the family's eighteen elders at the Body Integration Realm or higher, sixteen of their slips have shattered!"
The servant was almost in tears.
The Primordial Spirit Jade Slips were linked to the cultivators' true Primordial Spirits. If a slip shattered, it could only mean... that cultivator had perished.
Hearing this, the head manager of Heavenly Abode turned deathly pale. In the cultivation world, Body Integration Realm cultivators were already renowned experts. After all, those at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm and Mahayana Realm had begun preparing to become immortals and rarely appeared in public.
Body Integration Realm cultivators were the backbone of a cultivation family. Including Nangong Shenhe, the Nangong Family had thirteen such experts known to the public. The others were hidden away.
But now, sixteen of the eighteen Body Integration Realm elders had died all at once. If the Nangong Family had been nothing more than an ordinary family, this blow would have been enough to erase it from Moon-Gazing City.
All eighteen cultivators at the Body Integration Realm belonged to Nangong Shenhe's branch. He had painstakingly built up their strength in secret, without receiving a shred of help from the Nangong Family's headquarters.
If Nangong Shenhe learned of this, he would surely cough up three mouthfuls of blood. They were all the fruits of his labor, cultivated for the sake of the family's great ambitions!
"And... there's more..." the servant said timidly.
"What else?" The head manager could feel his heart beginning to tremble.
"Young Master Yue's jade slip... shattered too!"