Poor in Youth?

"Presumptuous!"

"You bastard!"

Gu Yongshi slammed his hand on the table, shattering it, unable to contain his anger any longer.

This is an insult! This is an insult!

If he were to tolerate this, not only would it be a disgrace for him, a dignified figure of the Purple Mansion, to abandon his dignity, but it would also be a disgrace to the entire Gu and Lu families of Wuzhong!

Even the Ye Clan should know that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. The Gu and Lu families had put their faces up and were prepared, but they never expected to be so humiliated!

Send a clock!

Are you trying to drive us to the brink of extinction? Since you've gone this far, why should I give you any face?

Do not forget, this world still belongs to the Sima Clan! Surely a dignified Golden Core True Lord, a figure of immense stature in the Cangxuan Ancient Realm, would not stray into the mortal world and personally intervene?

Within the Purple Mansion and in the mortal world, the Gu and Lu families are not to be trifled with!

Gu Yongshi's Purple Mansion Late Stage aura suddenly erupted, causing the entire hall to tremble.

The spirit pearl flashed intensely, and the silk carpet on the ground was blown away by the shockwave, causing nearby guests to stagger backward.

"Qi Ming, I only gave you some face and allowed you to enter the manor because of our friendship, and because of my respect for Yunlan and the Ye Clan!"

Do you think that just because you're a mere Foundation Establishment, you can run wild in my Gu Clan's Trouble-Dispelling Immortal Estate?!

Qi Ming's knees were bent and shattered by the terrifying pressure, leaving a bloody mess. Blood seeped into the hall, and veins bulged on his forehead. He tried to hold on and not kneel, but his legs disappeared in an instant.

At the same time, the bronze bell emitted a deep and long echo in the silent hall.

When--when--when--

The bell tolled three times, like a death knell.

The faces of all the guests changed drastically.

"The Ye Clan! The Cloud Mist Ye Clan!" Lu Hongyuan laughed angrily, his voice like thunder, but he wasn't stupid; he knew the consequences and wouldn't go...

"Sending Qi Ming to deliver the bell, turning joy into sorrow, is a slap in the face to the Gu and Lu families of Wuzhong! The Gu and Lu families are virtuous and loyal ministers of the court!"

"To deceive Gu Lu is to deceive the imperial court! How could Yunlan have gone this far? We must appeal to Azure Waves Heaven and to the imperial court, and let the Supreme Emperor of Huainan judge this matter! Let all the officials of the court see just how arrogant and rampant Jiangnan truly is!"

With one step, his aura, also at the Purple Mansion Late Stage, surged forth like a collapsing mountain, once again crushing down on Qi Ming.

Qi Ming groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his body almost reduced to a blurry mass of flesh and blood.

The four Ye Clan guards behind him stepped forward at the same time, joining forces to erect a spiritual light barrier, but in an instant, it exploded into a blood mist and vanished into thin air. The blood also covered Qi Ming. Upon seeing this, Qi Ming laughed loudly.

"Hahahaha! You just wait! Hahahaha!"

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... Don't be fooled... glug glug."

The words were left unsaid, or rather, they were simply impossible to express.

Blood gushed from Qi Ming's mouth, accompanied by the sound of clear water and a continuous gurgling of a spring.

Gu Yongshi's eyes gleamed with a clear light, and a cold smile graced his face.

"Hehe."

A soft laugh came from outside the hall.

The words, spoken slowly and deliberately, reached everyone's ears clearly, as if the speaker were right beside them.

Lu Yongshi frowned, withdrew his oppressive aura, and looked in the direction of the sound.

There was another person at the entrance of the hall, someone I didn't know had appeared at the time.

The scholar in the green robe, with the Cloud Haze Azure Nether Token hanging at his waist, acted on behalf of the young master, who was the future head of the Ye Clan. He was like Yunlan!

He had a thin face, but his eyes were surprisingly bright; it was Yu Liang.

He stood with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face, as if strolling leisurely.

"I am but a humble servant, and I was ordered by the young master to accompany Young Master Qi on this journey. However, I am a bit slow on my feet and arrived late, just in time to overhear some untrue rumors."

He looked up at Lu Hongyuan, his smile unchanged, "Patriarch Lu Household, you have quite the air of power. To attack a Foundation Establishment junior, aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"

"And what right do you have to talk about the world and the imperial court? What right do you have to speak of the world and the imperial court? What right do you have to make such presumptuous remarks?"

"Injustice? How could this be? You are overstepping your bounds and disrespecting the emperor, speaking recklessly about Yunlan!!"

This is utterly outrageous, disrespectful, and contemptible! How dare they think the Gu and Lu families can withstand the wrath of the Ye Clan?!

"The world belongs to the Sima Clan, but it is also a world in which the Cangxuan All-Heavens participate and assist. All the heavens revere it, and it transcends worldly affairs."

The Sima clan holds a position above him, and only the Sima Clan, as rulers, can speak of the errors of the heavens. How dare the Supreme Azure Waves punish the Ye Clan? This is the young master's will; the young master of the Ye Clan, Jinyu, is the future head of the Ye Clan, and is therefore the heavens themselves!

"You call it arrogant, you call it domineering—how disrespectful!"

That was the formidable reputation of the Ye Clan, that was the Ye Clan's dominance over the Jianghuai!

"You noble clans of the Purple Mansion have forgotten hierarchy, forgotten rules and etiquette? The heavens are guilty, the sins lie with all! Today, I, Yu, act on behalf of the young master, representing Yunlan!"

With that, Yu Liang raised the Azure Nether Token from his waist and shouted.

"Now that you see the Azure Nether, why not pay homage?"

As soon as he finished speaking, it seemed as if heaven and earth responded, and the sound echoed throughout the entire immortal abode!

In the Jiangnan region, seeing the Azure Nether Token is like seeing the Cangxuan Sovereign, namely the Great Jin.

"Now that you see the Azure Nether, why not pay homage!?"

"Now that you see the Azure Nether, why not pay homage?!"

Lu Hongyuan sneered inwardly, suppressing his extreme anger, and bowed deeply.

Gu Yongshi was the same.

All the guests, whether willing or not, immediately performed the prayer.

Even the Purple Mansion, hidden in the void, revealed itself and bowed before the echoing sound ceased.

The second head of the Gu family was furious!

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!!"

Qi Ming grinned, even though he was still a bloody mess, his eyes full of mockery!

"Actually, Young Master Qi's gift of the bell was not a sign of his passing!" Yu Liang said after everyone bowed and paid their respects.

A surge of excitement welled up inside me; it was a feeling of fulfillment and exhilaration after my inner desires were satisfied.

Yu Liang smiled meaningfully and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The two family heads, Gu and Lu, have realized their mistake and must be punished. However, the Ye Clan has always been reasonable, and the whole story must be explained."

"This bell was specially commissioned by Young Master Ye to be cast from a thousand-year-old bronze mother ore retrieved from the Zhong Mountain Ancient Mine. It symbolizes 'the sound of bells and the sumptuousness of food,' wishing the Gu and Lu families lasting wealth and a distinguished lineage!"

He paused, his tone suddenly turning cold. "Of course, if Patriarch Lu Household insists on interpreting it differently... then the young master has said so, which means he's ungrateful!"

The room erupted in uproar!

This is clearly telling everyone.

I'm humiliating you, what can you do about it?

Gu Yongshi's face turned ashen, and his eyes surged with murderous intent.

He took a deep breath and transmitted his voice to several elders in the Purple Mansion around him, even crushing a jade-like object.

Suppressing his anger, he said again in a deep voice, "Mr. Yu... this has gone too far! It's not that the Gu and Lu families can't fight to the death. The Immortal Clan is noble, and the Ye Clan is not the only powerful family!"

Yu Liang smiled faintly, "A fight to the death? Do you even deserve that? Gu Household Gu's words are too harsh. Young Master Ye was merely considering our past relationship and sent Young Master Qi to deliver a congratulatory gift."

Don't say you weren't warned!

He turned to look at the puddle of Qi Ming on the ground, his gaze gentle. "Young Master Qi, the gifts have been delivered, we should be going now."

Qi Ming nodded, but his flesh and blood were a mess, and he couldn't move. Yu Liang seemed to only then notice, and used his spiritual power to put him away, then made him take a pill, and then transmitted his voice.

"Delay it a little longer..."

Qi Ming recovered as usual in an instant.

"Stop!"

Gu Qingyin's voice suddenly rang out.

She stood up, her phoenix coronet and wedding gown gleaming in the light, her face cold and beautiful, her gaze sharp as a knife.

She had received instructions from her father to stall for time; was her father determined to do so?

She walked towards Qi Ming step by step, her footsteps crisp and clear, jarring in the hall.

"Qi Ming, do you think you can swagger around in front of me just because you've climbed up to the Ye Clan?"

She sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. "Your master, Ye Chen, was nothing but a discarded son of the Ye Clan, only remembered after his death. What are you? You're nothing more than a dog of the Ye Clan now."

"You sent me this clock today to embarrass me? To make me regret breaking off the engagement?"

She walked up to Qi Ming, looking down at him. "You're wrong. I, Gu Qingyin, never regret anything."

"Your master is a good-for-nothing, and so are you. The Ye Clan only took you in out of pity, to use you as a pawn. Who do you think you are? A hidden gem from Jiangnan? Hahahaha..."

She laughed so hard she nearly fell over, her laughter filled with sarcasm.

Qi Ming stood there, listening to these harsh words, but his heart was surprisingly calm.

"My master isn't useless. He's a hero. And I shouldn't be useless either!"

Qi Ming raised his head and looked directly into Gu Qingyin's eyes.

Are you finished speaking?

Gu Qingyin was taken aback.

Qi Ming suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with contempt.

"You're right, my master was abandoned by the Ye Clan. But he was able to refine the Thunder Nether Ninefold Mystery Divine Edict Pill with his remnant soul, which made the Supreme Lord of Huainan wary, and even made Young Master Ye personally vindicate him."

"And you?"

He looked at Gu Qingyin, his gaze chillingly calm. "Besides being born into a good family, what else do you have?"

Gu Qingyin's expression changed.

Qi Ming continued, "You call me a piece of trash. But this piece of trash, standing here today, does your Gu Household dare to take my life? Do you dare?"

He looked around, his voice not loud, but every word was like thunder:

"Your Gu and Lu families, with six Purple Mansion cultivators, how impressive! But I'm just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, presenting you with this bell in public. What can you do besides boast and show off? You still have to pay your respects now!"

"Kill me?"

He laughed, a laugh full of sarcasm, "You wouldn't dare. Because you know that touching me is tantamount to slapping the young master's face, Ye Clan won't let it go."

"You organized this wedding just so I would cause a scene, force you to apologize in public, save face for the Ye Clan family, and protect your business empire, right? But I never expected you to be humiliated to this extent, and now you can't take it anymore!"

Gu Yongshi's face turned completely gloomy, but in his eyes, there was a hint of madness!

Looking at Gu Changfeng's ashen face, Qi Ming suddenly felt incredibly relieved.

"What a pity," he shook his head, "You're mistaken. The young master doesn't want this little bit today."

Before he could finish speaking, the world suddenly changed!

Rumble--

Thunder roared from the heavens!

The thunder was unlike ordinary thunder; it carried a domineering intent that could destroy all laws, as if the heavens and earth were trembling. The waters of Lake Tai surged back up, with towering waves crashing against the shore. The seventy-two peaks trembled simultaneously, and the spiritual mist was dispersed by the thunder, revealing a clear blue sky.

But above the azure sky, a crack is slowly tearing open.

Within the crack, lightning cascaded like waterfalls, purple bolts slithered like snakes, and countless bolts of lightning rolled and roared within the crack, as if some terrifying entity was struggling to break free from it.

"This is..."

Gu Yongshi's pupils contracted sharply, and he abruptly looked up at the sky.

Lu Hongyuan's expression changed as well, and he exclaimed, "Thunder Nether Grotto-Heaven! How could it have fallen prematurely?! How could it be in Jianghuai!"

All the guests were stunned, staring at the ever-expanding crack in the sky and feeling the aura of destruction emanating from it. Many of them collapsed to the ground on the spot.

Golden Core True Lord to the mortal realm!?

It seems this isn't just one case.

What level of competition is this? It shouldn't be something that the Gu and Lu families could have orchestrated.

But if someone were to take advantage of the chaos and wipe out the Gu and Lu families, it seems... the heavens wouldn't care.

Even through the barrier of the Heavenly Cave, that terrifying aura was enough to suffocate Purple Mansion True Person.

Yu Liang stood beside Qi Ming, gazing at the sky, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"It's finally starting."

He turned to Qi Ming: "Young Master Qi, it's time to go. What happens next is none of our business."

Qi Ming nodded, taking one last look at Gu Qingyin.

Gu Qingyin had lost her earlier arrogance. She stared at the strange changes in the sky, her face pale and her body trembling slightly.

She suddenly realized that her proud Gu Household was nothing in the face of these real forces.

Qi Ming turned around and followed Yu Liang outside.

Behind him, Gu Yongshi's voice rang out, tinged with urgency. "Quickly! Send a message to Azure Waves Heaven! Request the Supreme Azure Waves to take action! Request Chief Clerk Li to send Azure Waves Heaven Purple Mansion True Person for support!"

"Elders of the clan, quickly activate the grand formation and go to the ancestral tomb to invite the ancestors out!"

"The timing is wrong. Are you elders protecting your disciples and juniors as you flee?"

Several Gu Household cultivators immediately took out communication Jade Slip and frantically activated them.

But the next moment, their expressions changed drastically.

"Master! The communication... has been blocked!"

"What?!"

"The communication arrays throughout Wu Commandery have been disrupted! We are unable to contact the outside world!"

"The Lu Household is the same!!"

Gu Yongshi's pupils contracted, and he abruptly turned his head to look in the direction Qi Ming had left.