Treasure
At that moment, Ao Xie was utterly shaken.
After undergoing his Transformation Tribulation, Ao Xie had reached the early Mahayana Realm. With the Dragon Clan's naturally formidable strength, and the Star Halberd in his hand—a True Immortal weapon passed down from ancient times—his full-power strike just now had nearly matched that of a True Immortal who had passed the Immortal Tribulation and attained an immortal body.
Yet the Guardian Array protecting the Nangong Family's treasure vault had withstood his full-power attack without breaking, even though no one was there to control it.
"The Nangong Family is formidable indeed. No wonder even the young master doesn't dare underestimate them."
During his Transformation Tribulation, Ao Xie had been ambushed by the Sea Ghost Clan. If Chen Xiao hadn't wanted him as a Tribulation Disciple and spared him that calamity, Ao Xie would have long since been reduced to ashes.
In fact, Chen Xiao had never heard of Ao Xie in his previous life. Ao Xie had indeed been ambushed and killed during his Transformation Tribulation. This time, Chen Xiao had undoubtedly defied fate and changed Ao Xie's destiny.
Though Ao Xie knew nothing of this, he understood Chen Xiao's identity. Chen Xiao was the Tribulation Master who wielded the power of heavenly tribulations. No matter how weak his cultivation was now, his status remained unchanged.
Ao Xie took a deep breath. The Star Halberd in his hand had been stripped of its aura and turned bronze. He swung it again and again, smashing it fiercely into the golden array.
The entire Nangong Mansion trembled, but the Guardian Array stood firm. Clearly, it was on par with the Golden Light Demon-Defending Array at the City Lord's Mansion.
Quite a few cultivators had already arrived. Seeing a powerful Mahayana Realm cultivator with silver hair and white robes, wielding an ancient bronze halberd as he repeatedly attacked a defensive array that would not so much as budge, they couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement.
Anyone could see it now. There was something wrong with the Nangong Family—something seriously wrong!
Dozens of Heavenly Mystery Spirit Stones lay scattered around Ao Xie, but he hadn't bothered to collect them. It was as if they meant nothing to him; he only cared about battering the defensive array around the treasure vault.
The Nangong Family's treasure vault lay underground, concealed beneath a massive artificial hill. But Ao Xie's devastating attacks had already smashed the hill to pieces and blasted a huge hole in the ground. The vault's treasures glittered inside, dazzling enough to make even Ao Xie narrow his eyes.
The cultivators outside the array swallowed repeatedly at the sight.
"Hmph! What are you standing around for? Hurry up and help!"
Ao Xie swept his gaze across the surrounding cultivators and snorted.
"But, senior..."
A purple-faced cultivator at the late Integrated Body Stage hesitated.
"But what?"
Ao Xie glared at him, unleashing his formidable aura and pressing it down on the cultivator.
"Senior, we have no feud with the Nangong Family. Coming here to investigate on a whim was already out of line. But if we break through the defenses of their treasure vault, we'll surely incur an irreconcilable feud with them!"
The purple-faced cultivator was no coward. He stood firm beneath Ao Xie's oppressive aura.
Were any of the cultivators sent here to gather information fools? Judging by the arrangements at the Nangong Family's residence and recalling Nangong Xiangyan's earlier appearance in Moon-Gazing City, they had already figured out that the Nangong Family here was, in fact, a branch of the Nangong Family of Glazed Heaven—the family known as the Southern Overlord!
Otherwise, how could some backwater family afford such an extravagant setup? Offending the Southern Overlord? They weren't ready to die just yet. Besides, many of the forces behind the cultivators here were far weaker than the Southern Overlord.
But even if this really were nothing more than a local landowner in Moon-Gazing City, they still couldn't bring themselves to raid the treasure vault. They all came from prestigious families, born with silver spoons in their mouths and wrapped in glory. Why would they turn bandit?
"Don't worry. If you help me this time, I'll owe you a favor. A mere Nangong Family is nothing to me."
Ao Xie spoke with supreme arrogance.
By now, he had also guessed who stood behind the Nangong Family. Ao Xie had long been immersed in cultivation and paid little attention to worldly affairs, but he still knew something of how the powers of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were arranged.
The Nangong Family in southern Glazed Heaven, known as the Southern Overlord, was one of the top powers in Glazed Heaven. But the Southern Overlord... was indeed nothing to Ao Xie.
Who was Ao Xie? He was the Ninth Prince of the Crystal Dragon Palace in the Worry-Free Sea. Behind him stood the entire Worry-Free Sea. In his eyes, the Nangong Family truly amounted to nothing.
These cultivators didn't know who he was, but they weren't foolish enough to mistake a Mahayana Realm cultivator for an idiot.
If he said the Nangong Family meant nothing to him, then he must mean that the Southern Overlord meant nothing to him either. So who was he?
"Don't worry. This treasure vault is full of treasures, but I only want one thing. I'll take full responsibility for offending the Nangong Family. It has nothing to do with you."
Ao Xie paid no mind to what the others were thinking. He was clever, but he had no interest in schemes and machinations. To him, a fist was the strongest argument.
If you wouldn't listen, he'd beat you until you did.
That was also the Crystal Dragon Palace's way of doing things.
"Since you've put it that way, senior, we won't stand on ceremony. We'll lend you a hand."
The purple-faced cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly, evidently weighing something in his mind. He gave a small wave, and more than a dozen cultivators at the Division Spirit Realm or above stepped out behind him.
Seeing the purple-faced cultivator take the lead, the other cultivators nearby also stepped forward. Only a few hung back, clearly unwilling to risk offending the Nangong Family.
Ao Xie was merely trying to inflame the conflict between the Nangong Family and the outsiders in the city. Once the array around the vault broke, his Heaven-Concealing Talisman would activate completely, and he would vanish without a trace.
That was Cai Di's plan as well.
And weren't these cultivators thinking along the same lines? They would wait for the array to break, see what the Mahayana Realm cultivator was after, then quickly contact the forces behind them and make preparations.
They already understood that Moon-Gazing City was no ordinary place. Otherwise, why would the Nangong Family have been plotting here for hundreds of years?
Besides, if a Mahayana Realm powerhouse wanted something from the Nangong Family's treasure vault, what exactly was it?
For a moment, their minds teemed with questions. Now, they hoped to muddy the waters in Moon-Gazing City. That way, the Nangong Clan's plans would inevitably be thrown into disarray, giving the forces behind them a chance to grab a share of the spoils.
Boom!
This time, Ao Xie and nearly two hundred cultivators at the Division Spirit Realm or above attacked together, striking a crack into the golden array's barrier.
"Who dares cause trouble at the Nangong Mansion?!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar rang out from a hidden part of the Nangong Family's estate.
The Tribulation Transcendence Realm powerhouse who had remained at the Nangong Mansion had finally appeared.