In Progress

Because Cai Di was not a Tribulation Disciple of Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao could not communicate with him directly through the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book and had to rely on Ao Xie and Shadow to relay messages.

Ao Xie and Shadow—one, a prince of the Crystal Dragon Palace and a cultivation fanatic; the other, a spirit born from the transformation of an ancient corpse, as simple-minded as a blank sheet of paper—could hardly compare to Cai Di, an old fox who had been rolling through the Immortal World for hundreds of years.

Upon receiving the news, Cai Di's eyes flickered slightly, and he already began to calculate in his heart.

Although Ao Xie's Heaven-Concealing Talisman was far superior to those used by Cai Di and the others, the three of them now understood that while the Nangong Mansion appeared weak, it was secretly protected by some extremely sophisticated formations. This was especially true for the areas where the family elders went into seclusion; if they acted alone, they would never be able to break in within a short period.

Thus, out of necessity, the three of them gradually began to join forces.

Ao Xie and Shadow could not grasp the situation, but how could Cai Di fail to understand Chen Xiao's intentions?

As the three of them relied on the power of the Heaven-Concealing Talisman to cautiously navigate and investigate the Nangong Family, the more they saw, the more shocked Cai Di became.

"This... how is this possible?"

After the three of them joined forces and slaughtered sixteen Body Integration Realm elders of the Nangong Family in succession, Cai Di finally discovered the problem.

"How could a tiny Nangong Family possess so many sophisticated methods? This is... a Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stone?"

Every location housing a Nangong Family Integrated Body expert was centered around a massive formation that concentrated most of the spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius. In other words, half of the spiritual energy in Moon-Gazing City was being plundered by the Nangong Family.

Moreover, they had done it so quietly that if Cai Di hadn't come here himself and seen these formations, he would never have believed the Nangong Family was capable of such a grand feat.

Although he had already witnessed some of the Nangong Family's foundations at Mingyu Mountain, his opinion of them had not changed; he had merely viewed them as country squires with slightly larger ambitions and bolder guts.

But now, seeing these highly sophisticated formations, he was completely stunned. One or two might not have been much, but over a dozen in a row, used solely for the cultivation of Body Integration Realm cultivators? This was far too extravagant.

The foundation of these formations was clearly laid using Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones, which were even higher in grade than Heavenly Mystery Stones.

In a small place like Moon-Gazing City, Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones were a mythical existence; even Chen Fengyang had never seen one. Yet, the Nangong Family had used these stones to set up over a dozen highly advanced spirit-gathering formations, silently concentrating most of the spiritual energy in the Moon-Gazing City area here.

Unlike Heavenly Mystery Stones, which were divided into supreme, high, medium, and low grades, Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones had only one grade. In the Immortal World, a single Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stone could be exchanged for ten thousand supreme Heavenly Mystery Stones!

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Seeing the look of shock on Cai Di's face, Ao Xie frowned slightly, his pale silver eyebrows knitting together. It was just a few large formations and a few Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones—was there any need to be this surprised?

"This Nangong Family is indeed as the Young Master said: they are hiding their true strength." Cai Di shook his head.

"They're just a few low-level spirit-gathering formations; that doesn't prove anything."

Shadow, standing to the side, also raised an eyebrow. Shadow did not use a Heaven-Concealing Talisman to hide himself; his innate talent was even more powerful than the talisman's ability, so he had no need for it.

"What do you two know?" Cai Di said with a frown. "You were born into high status, so naturally, you don't think much of a few Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones or a few formations. But don't forget, this is Moon-Gazing City. In the Glazed Heaven, it's nothing more than a backwater town. Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones are a myth here, and this kind of formation... even the City Lord's Mansion doesn't have one!"

Shadow and Ao Xie were stunned. While their knowledge was not shallow, their life experience was far inferior to Cai Di's. Ao Xie came from the Crystal Dragon Palace and had seen every treasure imaginable, while Shadow seemed to have inherited the memories of the corpse he had once been.

After Cai Di's prompt, the two of them understood instantly.

At that moment, Chen Xiao's voice transmission arrived.

"Cai Di, what do you think we should do?"

Shadow relayed Chen Xiao's words directly to Cai Di, letting him make the call. Clearly, the three had reached a tacit agreement to let Cai Di lead.

Cai Di frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Ao Xie, go to the Nangong Family's treasury and attack the formations there. Make as much noise as possible!"

Ao Xie nodded. With a wave of his hand, he shattered the spirit-gathering formation before him, retrieved dozens of Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones, and then, as his Heaven-Concealing Talisman activated, he turned and vanished.

"This Ao Xie, his brain isn't slow."

A faint smile appeared on Cai Di's face.

"What should we do?" Cai Di looked at the outside cultivators who were becoming increasingly brazen within the Nangong Mansion, a smile playing on his lips.

Clearly, they had also discovered the extraordinary nature of the Nangong Family.

Originally, these vital areas of the Nangong Family were protected by formations and guarded by cultivators. Once the formations were activated, even a Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator would struggle to see through the reality of the situation, and the strongest among those who had arrived were only in the Body Integration Realm.

But now, Nangong Wenyang had waved his hand and pulled away most of the guards stationed at the Nangong Mansion, leaving these vital areas defenseless. More importantly, the hidden Integrated Body elders of the family had already been silently dealt with by the three of them; who was left to preside over these powerful formations?

Now, the longer Chen Xiao dragged things out at the Heavenly Abode, the worse it would be for the Nangong Family.

At this moment, the entire Nangong Mansion could be described as chaotic. Some of the confused servants and maids trembled in fear at the sight of the flickering shadows in the sky, while many others gathered their courage to shout angrily at the cultivators.

The cultivators had originally only come to take a look under their masters' orders, but the Nangong Mansion had given them one surprise after another.

Spirit-gathering formations? Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones? Was this something a tiny Nangong Family could possess?

Consequently, these cultivators grew bolder. Furthermore, they had encountered no resistance upon arriving; everything had been unusually smooth. In an instant, they realized that someone was targeting the Nangong Family.

However, at this point, neither the family's defensive forces, the elders, nor the family head had appeared, which forced them to let their imaginations run wild.

As for the fifty-some guards Nangong Wenyang had taken to the Heavenly Abode, they had long since been dismissed. A family capable of using Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones to set up high-level spirit-gathering formations—could their defensive strength really be limited to just those few people?

BOOM!

Just then, a massive explosion rang out, and the entire Nangong Mansion shuddered.

"A Mahayana Realm expert!"

In an instant, someone had sensed the source of the sound.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Following that, a series of violent explosions erupted, and the Nangong Mansion shook as if the earth were quaking.

The cultivators exchanged glances, then took to the air in unison, flying toward the source of the commotion.

"It's the Nangong Family's treasury!"

The next moment, someone shouted aloud, and in an instant, everyone's eyes burned with greed.

If the Nangong Family possessed Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones, then how many treasures must be hidden within their treasury?

To these people, the Nangong Family had now become a fat sheep ripe for the slaughter. Although the factions behind them also possessed Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones, those who were out running errands still relied on Heavenly Mystery Stones for their daily cultivation.

Additionally, I would like to thank the first disciple of this book, Han Tian, for his support.