Prelude to War

"Since my Heavenly Underworld Sect has come to offer congratulations, we naturally cannot lose face," Heavenly Underworld Old Demon said with a beaming smile.

"Netherworld Ghost Revered, present our Heavenly Underworld Sect's congratulatory gift."

"Yes." Netherworld Ghost Revered answered somewhat strangely. He stepped forward and offered up a gift box with both hands.

He was still rather frightened in his heart. Though he was extremely arrogant in front of others, he was not a fool. After all, someone without enough intelligence could never have cultivated to Dou Zun.

He knew very well that if this "congratulatory gift" was truly presented, then they would basically be fighting Langya Pavilion to the death. Was this what they called not worrying about debts when one had too many, adding hatred on top of hatred?

And causing trouble in front of so many powerful figures of the Central Plains—would they not be attacked by everyone at once?

However, since the ancestor had said so, he could only comply.

Just as Elder Wang was smiling and preparing to accept this congratulatory gift from an enemy, Netherworld Ghost Revered suddenly announced the gift aloud.

"My Heavenly Underworld Sect presents one Meteorite Jade Pear."

His voice carried far and wide. At this moment, Xiao Han and his companion, who were hurrying toward the venue, heard it as well.

Ye Jianxin first froze, then grew furious, before looking at Xiao Han with some worry.

When he saw that his brother's face was utterly expressionless, his heart trembled, and he inwardly cried, Not good!

Only those familiar with Xiao Han knew that whenever this expression appeared on his face, it already meant Xiao Han was about to start killing.

"I'll go on ahead. Follow after me.

"Gather all the disciples of Langya Pavilion. From today onward, Langya Pavilion and the Heavenly Underworld Sect are at war! To the death." His voice held not the slightest fluctuation, yet its contents made one feel as though they had fallen into the depths of winter.

When Ye Jianxin looked again, Xiao Han had already vanished.

"Sigh! The Heavenly Underworld Sect is finished." He rubbed his forehead. "Was living properly not good enough? Great, now even the Soul Hall won't be able to save you."

He used the laziest tone to say the most ruthless words. From a certain perspective, these two belonged to the same type of person.

However, Ye Jianxin's hands did not slow at all. Message after message was sent out from his hands in an endless stream.

"Ah, damn, now I'm going to be worked to death again." Though he was complaining, he suddenly became terrifying as well.

"Now I'll just have to kill a few scoundrels from the Heavenly Underworld Sect to vent the hatred in my heart. I also need to help that girl Yi Huang blow off some steam."

Mm, it was about time to test the results of the Langya Guard as well.

The venue.

Once again, there was silence.

No one knew how long passed before someone finally spoke up again. "I say... does this Heavenly Underworld Sect want to go to war with Langya Pavilion that badly? What benefit is there in fighting them to the death?"

"Who knows? How many dishes did they drink with to get this carried away?"

"But shouldn't we be leaving first? After all, it doesn't look like we'll be able to eat this banquet."

"Exactly~"

"May I ask this elder, I fear I no longer have the fortune to enjoy today's banquet. Moreover, I suddenly remembered that there is urgent business in my sect that needs handling. Might I be permitted to leave?"

Finally, the head of a faction rose and took his leave. After all, what came next was not something a small sect like his could participate in.

There was only one Dou Zun in his sect—him. If anything unexpected happened, everything would be over.

At this moment, the elder's entire body radiated a chill, but that was only natural. Who could remain unmoved in the face of such humiliation?

This was also what everyone else was ridiculing. If your Heavenly Underworld Sect wanted to start a war, fine, but couldn't you have picked any other day? Did it have to be today?

Even if you had sent someone with a challenge letter, come to make a formal challenge, or even launched a sneak attack, none of those would have bred hatred this deep!

Meteorite Jade Pear! Tell me, is the Langya Pavilion Master supposed to accept this "pear" or not?

You really are something. Even the Soul Hall isn't as good at drawing hatred as you are.

Meteorite Jade was a unique jade produced from meteors beyond the heavens. Its texture was hard, and only a Dou Zun expert could break it.

Its price was extremely high. A palm-sized piece of Meteorite Jade could be worth one Eighth Grade Pill, to say nothing of the labor cost of hiring a Dou Zun expert to work it.

Its trait of enduring through the years without being destroyed made it extremely popular. It was a top choice for many powerful experts when making tokens of love.

But when other people gave tokens of love, they gifted hearts and all kinds of shapes with auspicious meanings. What exactly did you mean by giving a pear?

An indestructible separation? And gifting this on a day of great joy—ruthless enough!

"There is no need. The banquet will continue. Esteemed guests, please rest assured, the auspicious hour will not be delayed." From the transmission just now, the elder had learned that the Pavilion Master had already broken through.

Today, since the Heavenly Underworld Sect dared to provoke them, they would let them taste the consequences of angering Langya Pavilion.

It seemed Langya Pavilion had been silent for too long. Did they really think that was all they were capable of?

After a hundred years of quietly focusing on development, all they had lacked was high-end combat power. Now that the Pavilion Master had filled that gap, it was time to display Langya Pavilion's strength.

Hiss~ Everyone sucked in a cold breath.

From this elder's calm tone, how could the crowd fail to hear his powerful confidence?

Could it be that they were already capable of dealing with the Heavenly Underworld Sect in a short period of time?

Then Langya Pavilion's obscurity over the past hundred years... the more one thought about it, the more terrifying it became!

At that moment, the expressions of the representatives from Four Directions Pavilion turned rather ugly. The gap in strength was simply too great.

And of all things, they were called Langya Pavilion! It made Four Directions Pavilion, a so-called first-rate faction, seem somewhat unworthy of its name.

However, Hill Elder of Pill Tower and Heavenly Sound Old Man of Sound Valley both revealed knowing smiles.

Though they were somewhat amazed by Langya Pavilion's speed of development, it was nothing compared to confirming that Xiao Han had already broken through to Half-Saint.

But very soon, their brows furrowed in puzzlement.

Heavenly Underworld Old Demon was no fool. Could he really not know the news that Xiao Han had very likely already broken through to Half-Saint?

If so, where did this old fox get the confidence to directly provoke Langya Pavilion?

Could it be that the Heavenly Underworld Sect still had some hidden foundation they did not know about? But even then, there was no need to pay such a huge price, was there?

Alas, the two of them sighed inwardly at the same time. The world was changing too quickly. In the blink of an eye, it had actually become so unfamiliar.

At this moment, Elder Wang could no longer suppress his fire-attribute Dou Qi.

Looking at the "congratulatory gift" in his hand, he gritted his teeth and said, "May I ask if everyone from the Heavenly Underworld Sect can give us an explanation? Otherwise, we are not so easy to talk to." By the end, Dou Qi had already surged out of Elder Wang's body.

If not for the fact that he could not win, Elder Wang would have already chopped down with the Dou Technique that made him famous, Fierce Fire Mad Blade.

At this moment, many of the Heavenly Underworld Sect elders who had come along to offer congratulations while being kept in the dark were also stunned. Since when had their old ancestor become so well-versed in the art of provocation?

They had not even prepared for war yet! If they had known earlier, they would have brought more medicinal pills.

Dou Techniques had no eyes! One careless moment, and they could really take your life.

Looking at the steadily increasing number of Langya Pavilion elders around them, that powerful aura made many people tremble all over.

The guests who had not yet entered the venue had all avoided the area from the very beginning. When the city gate caught fire, even the fish in the moat suffered.

The disciples of Langya Pavilion had long since withdrawn. The battle that was about to begin was no longer something they could take part in.

Even Heavenly Underworld Old Demon was somewhat surprised. There were actually this many experts! But very quickly, he felt that his decision had been wise.

They were already this formidable now. If Langya Pavilion were allowed to develop for a while longer, perhaps the Heavenly Underworld Sect truly would be no match for them at all.

"There is nothing to explain," Heavenly Underworld Old Demon said with an evil laugh. "Today, we specially came to test the title of Ice Saint. If he lives up to his name, then my Heavenly Underworld Sect will naturally offer an apology."

Then his tone shifted. "If he does not live up to his name, then, hmph..."

"My Langya Pavilion is no marketplace. How could it be somewhere the likes of you can come and go as you please?" At that moment, a voice familiar to the members of Langya Pavilion, and one that put them at ease, rang beside their ears.