Tang Hui was so furious his lungs nearly burst.
Ning Fengzhi's actions were undoubtedly a declaration of his stance, and a rejection of Tang Hui's plan.
Among the Upper Three Sects, he was now the only one still insisting on this plan.
Ning Fengzhi's decision not to join would seriously affect his plan.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's influence was considerable.
Once they decided to withdraw, they would inevitably take many others with them.
Sure enough, after Ning Fengzhi left, the sect masters and clan leaders of several Soul Master factions rose to their feet.
"Sect Master Tang Hui, I just remembered I left the stove burning at home. I'll head back first."
A burly middle-aged man cupped his fists and swiftly made himself scarce.
Another wiry clan leader coughed. "My third grandfather gave birth today. I'm going to see what's going on."
"Sect Master Tang Hui..."
In less than a dozen seconds, seven or eight sect masters and clan leaders had left.
Their excuses nearly made Tang Hui cough up blood.
What the fuck? Was this a joke?
Let's see your third grandfather give birth!
Where would the baby come out of?
But now, with Ning Fengzhi's departure and Huyan Zhen's earlier words, nearly half the people had left.
Those remaining seemed hesitant, unsure whether to withdraw.
After all, the Spirit Holy Hall was an enormous cake, and everyone wanted a slice.
Tang Hui took a deep breath and immediately said, "Ignore them. The bold gorge themselves to death while the timid starve."
"With so many Soul Master factions, we can still put pressure on Spirit Hall."
"Even if Spirit Hall refuses to hand it over, we won't lose anything."
"Could Spirit Hall actually attack all these Soul Master factions?"
Realization dawned on everyone.
Right, they had nearly forgotten!
According to Tang Hui, their main aim was to pressure Spirit Hall into coming forward to negotiate.
They were not going to attack Spirit Hall!
Even if negotiations failed, Spirit Hall would have no reason to strike at them.
Even if Spirit Hall really wanted to settle accounts, whom could they target?
They all understood the principle that the law could not punish the masses.
This was just an attempt!
If Spirit Hall backed down, they would profit.
If Spirit Hall stood firm, they could simply leave.
However they looked at it, they would not lose out.
"Let's risk it!"
"Fuck! Let's take a gamble!"
"We can't go wrong following Sect Master Tang Hui!"
The people from the Four Single-Attribute Clans were the first to declare their support.
They were all subordinate factions of the Clear Sky Sect.
Now that their master wanted to pressure Spirit Hall, they naturally could not fall behind as subordinate factions. They had to support their master with all their might.
Hearing this, the others grew excited as well.
If their gamble paid off, they would fill their pots and bowls to the brim.
Those Soul Master factions that had left would probably regret it until their guts turned green.
Inside the Eastern Abyss Pavilion, Gu Yuan found the lively scene rather entertaining.
The Clear Sky Sect had occupied the throne of the world's number one sect for so long that they truly thought themselves invincible.
So now they even dared covet Spirit Hall's possessions?
They had actually joined forces with these Soul Master factions to cause trouble.
He truly had no idea where their courage came from.
And as for Tang Hui, since he was Tang Chen's son, he ought to know how strong Qian Daoliu was.
Under these circumstances, he still dared gather a bunch of riffraff to pressure Spirit Hall?
They really did need to be taught a lesson.
"Brother Gu Yuan, why don't we just wipe out the Clear Sky Sect?"
Bibi Dong was seething with rage as she watched.
The Clear Sky Sect actually dared covet the Hundredfold Spirit Gathering Array Brother Gu Yuan had set up?
And they were doing it so openly.
What outrageous gall!
Gu Yuan smiled faintly and stroked her hair.
"There's no rush. If they like jumping around, let them keep jumping."
"The higher the bugs jump, the harder they fall."
Bibi Dong paused, then asked, "Brother Gu Yuan, do you have a plan?"
Was Brother Gu Yuan going to act personally and slap them to death?
If so, the matter would be easily resolved.
Gu Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "They're nothing but a bunch of jumping clowns. They aren't worth my intervention."
"You've been cultivating the Myriad Spirits Art for a while now. You can use them to test yourselves."
"If you perform well, I'll teach you some spells and divine abilities."
The Myriad Spirits Art only cultivated spiritual power and introduced some information about the Myriad Heavens and Myriad Worlds. It did not cover spells or divine abilities.
For immortal cultivators, spells and divine abilities were particularly important.
Bibi Dong's eyes lit up.
He was going to teach them spells and divine abilities?
Then she had to perform well this time. She had to make the entire Soul Master World see clearly that, before their Spirit Hall, the so-called world's number one sect was no different from one by the roadside.
"Brother Gu Yuan, I'll go find the Great Enshrined and the others and have them prepare."
"Ah Yin, come with me."
Bibi Dong eagerly headed outside, pulling Ah Yin along.
Ah Yin was rather speechless. Was she guarding against me this closely?
Even with a hundred times the courage, she would not dare harbor any designs on Senior.
Liking him in secret was fine, but if she said it aloud, the outcome might not be what she imagined. That would be tragic.
Gu Yuan inwardly shook his head.
She was a grown woman of twenty-five, yet sometimes her temperament was still like a child's.
But that was good too.
In cultivation, one ought to preserve a pure, childlike heart. Only then could one go further.
Some so-called powerhouses thought about too many things, scheming over this and plotting over that, seemingly gaining countless things.
Yet in reality, their Dao hearts were unstable, and hundreds of millions of years of cultivation could all flow away down the river.
Only by holding firm to one's convictions and never forgetting one's original aspirations could one's Dao heart become indestructible.
His gaze shifted to the screen of light, but it no longer showed the Clear Sky Sect's main hall. Instead, it showed Ning Fengzhi and Huyan Zhen.
The four of them emerged from the main hall and left together with their respective people.
After walking out through the Clear Sky Sect's mountain gate, Huyan Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned and cupped his fists. "Thank you for lending a hand, Sect Master Ning. Otherwise, I might have met my end here today."
He knew very well that without those words from Ning Fengzhi, Tang Hui would not have let him off so easily.
He might even have attacked outright.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was one of the Upper Three Sects, and its strength was not lacking.
Moreover, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo were accompanying him. If Tang Hui truly wanted to attack, he would have to weigh the consequences.
After all, Sword Douluo held the title of the Titled Douluo with the strongest attack.
If he truly flew into a rage, the Clear Sky Sect would suffer devastating losses too.
Tang Hui absolutely could not afford such a price.
With a gentle smile, Ning Fengzhi said, "Sect Master Huyan, you saw the flaws in Tang Hui's plan, proving that you haven't let profit blind you. I deeply admire that."
"If you have time, Sect Master Huyan, why not come to Seven Treasure City with us?"
This was an invitation!
Clearly, Huyan Zhen's clearheaded understanding had given Ning Fengzhi the desire to befriend him.
The others had been swayed by just a few words from Tang Hui and had even made many promises.
But Huyan Zhen had held to his bottom line.
First, because of Spirit Hall's mysterious powerhouse.
Second, because that was Spirit Hall's territory, and had been since ancient times.
If they really went there, how would they be any different from bandits?
"Since you've invited me, Sect Master Ning, it would be impolite to decline."
Huyan Zhen laughed heartily.
Just then, a voice rang out from the sky.
"Since you all have so much free time, how about coming to Spirit City for a chat?"